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Post by Solaris on Nov 25, 2022 2:57:06 GMT
River 9, 2021 | @kaeldra “You can have a quick look-see if that’ll ease your whiskers, but nothing more,” grunted Sunchaser. She scrunched up her nose, and shook her head, once again reiterating the statement she said before. “I’m telling you though—she isn’t going to be here. Don’t get your hopes up.”
With how much Sunchaser was repeating herself, Roots’s certainty in finding Clementine’s mate plummeted. Sunchaser was not one to lie, but if she ever said the same words twice, she was more than sure of herself. But at least she wasn’t going to try and kill Clementine. That was one relief.
“Hmm, if you can give a description of where you last saw Miku, we could find the tunnel that was closest to her?” offered Fieldflight, tilting their head. Then they nudged at Roots’s shoulder. “Roots will know where to lead you. It knows the tunnels like the back of its paws.”
They nodded promptly. “And if we don’t find her now, we can keep a watch for her later.”
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Post by Kaeldra on Dec 1, 2022 2:45:44 GMT
Clementine || she/her || 25 moons A flood of surprise washed through Clementine when Sunchaser acquiesced, although she didn’t seem too hopeful about it. The calico’s eyes lit up with genuine excitement. “Thank you! You don’t understand how much this means to me!” No reason to mention that she wasn’t expecting to find Miku anyway, and so wouldn’t be disappointed when their search turned up empty. Then another shape suddenly materialized out of the darkness, and Clementine had to dig her claws into the earth beneath her to keep from yelping like she had the first time. This cat had the same semi-transparent quality as Sunchaser, but instead of golden, their fur was patched with grey and white. She tried to appear unbothered as the new cat asked her of Miku’s last known whereabouts. “I think she might have run farther up the moor, closer to the pointy stones that lay across the thunderpath there,” she invented. “We live in the barn near there, so maybe she ran that way in hopes I would know to find her there.” That bit was part truth, at least. It would be nice to know if there was an easier way to get into the tunnels from her nest rather than trekking all the way to the entrance Roots had shown her today.
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Post by Solaris on Dec 26, 2022 19:27:42 GMT
River 9, 2021 | @kaeldra“You lived by the barn?” Roots pondered for a moment, visualizing the tunnel routes in its mind before it remembered which passageway was closest to the barn. “There’s a tunnel by that path, but it’s a bit of a ways from the barn itself. We can still check that route if we take a passageway to our right.”
They turned to their friends’ transparent forms, about to ask if they wanted to join Roots and Clementine on that journey, but Sunchaser shook her head. “I’m tired, and I’m sure Fieldflight is too.”
Roots forgot, for the briefest moment, that Sunchaser and Fieldflight could not leave their grave behind. They were restricted to this place, governed by spiritual laws far beyond Roots’s understanding. With a flick her tail, Sunchaser turned to the tunnel’s dead end and sauntered off, before dissipating. Fieldflight smiled sadly at Roots and Clementine. “There’s a saying that my clanmates used to say, long ago. ‘May StarClan’s light guide your paws.’ It’s been seasons since I’ve seen StarClan, but I hope my ancestors will watch over you as well.”
Fieldflight’s body faded into the tunnels until they were no more. Roots’s gaze lingered on where they disappeared, before glancing at Clementine. “We should go. I imagine it’ll be moonhigh before we’ll get to where we need to be.”
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Post by Kaeldra on Jan 18, 2023 5:47:38 GMT
Clementine || she/her || 25 moons “It’s a good place to live,” Clementine explained. “Lots of mice, and nice shelter from the cold and rain. We’ve been there for several moons now.” Well at least, she had been. Who knew where Miku was? She watched as the two ghostly felines shimmered out of existence, and grinned at Roots. “How creepy,” she said appreciatively. The grey cat’s parting words were certainly ominous, but that just made it all the more intriguing. She felt like she had heard the word “StarClan” a few times before, from various cats passing through, but couldn’t remember enough of what it meant to understand wholly what Fieldflight was saying, only that they were wishing them well. Perhaps she’d pick Roots’ brain about that some other time too, if only to satisfy her own curiosity. For now though, they had a tunnel to reach. Clementine shook her head, forcing herself back in character. It was getting harder to continue acting like her lost mate was the most important thing here when she didn’t actually… exist. But if she could just learn where the tunnels closest to the barn were, she could come back any time and wander to her heart’s content. Nodding, she stepped forward. “You’re right, there’s no time to waste. Lead the way.”
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Post by Solaris on Jan 26, 2023 3:39:16 GMT
River 9, 2021 | Kaeldra And in fact, by the time Roots led Clementine out of the tunnel, the sun was already sinking beneath the horizon, shrouding the sky in reds and oranges. Their ears flared up in alarm. Great stars! Where had all the time gone? They tried shield their gaze from the setting sun, but the world was all up in fiery colors. There was nowhere safe to turn. They were certain that if they waited any longer, Miku might not be found at all!
It started in one direction, before pausing, paw halfway up, in a moment of a mind blank. How wonderful that it forgot the one important area it had to go! Oh, what was it looking for? A tunnel? Something about a tunnel… and a lost cat… and… It glanced at Clementine.
“The barn,” Roots whispered to itself. “I need to find the barn.”
Their legs sprung into action, bounding across the open moor, and they called over their shoulder, “This way! There’s another tunnel in this direction!”
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Post by Kaeldra on Feb 9, 2023 6:04:30 GMT
Clementine || she/her || 25 moons Clementine followed Roots as they began padding away, though her whiskers twitched in confusion as they walked out of the tunnel rather than further in. Wouldn’t it be fastest to use the tunnels to get to their destination rather than traversing the surface of the moor?
They had been underground longer than she’d realized, the sky streaked with pinks and reds as they made their way out. Well, at least the weather would be good tomorrow, she thought with amusement. Maybe she would get a chance to come back and poke around on her own.
Roots started off in one direction, taking a few steps before coming to an abrupt halt. Clementine hung back patiently. Perhaps they were scenting the air? But then its pause stretched, and the silence hung heavy between them. The calico was about to cut in with a “you good?” when Roots suddenly came back to life, murmuring to itself and glancing back at her. In the next moment, they began haring away across the moor, calling back to Clementine to follow.
Bewildered, Clementine kicked herself into action and tried her best to keep up. Roots was fast! But goodness, they were entertaining. She never knew what to expect they'd do next, and it seemed fairly easy to get under their fur.
“How far is it?” The she-cat panted, catching up to the tabby and striding alongside them. She didn’t know how long she could keep up this pace, and inwardly cursed herself for becoming so sedentary in the barn. She used to be so fit! “Wouldn’t it be faster to use the tunnels directly? Since they’re all connected?” She hadn’t been planning to ask, but the exertion had made her less hesitant to voice her thoughts.
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Post by Solaris on Feb 18, 2023 1:35:49 GMT
River 9, 2021 | Kaeldra It bounded down the hill, scanning the open moor for a visible mound of dirt that identified the entrance of this particular tunnel. While running, its ears twitched at Clementine’s question, and it strained a neck toward her.
“If we take this tunnel, we’ll have a shortcut straight to the barn,” reassured Roots. They stopped at the mound’s entrance, which had a hole that dropped down to a dark tunnel. They panted, waiting a moment to catch their breath before continuing. “I, uh… have to warn you, though, that this tunnel is a bit… tighter than the other one we were in. At most, the width of this tunnel can fit one cat, so you’ll have to walk behind me. I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”
It dug out around the entrance’s rim, widening the hole a bit to make it easier for them to squeeze inside. Peering into the hole, it wasn’t too big of a jump to reach the bottom. Often, Roots wondered about the origin of these tunnels. Why were there so many? What was their purpose? Who used them? Its incessant questions eventually led Sunchaser to decide, “no more questions about the tunnels” as a hard boundary. It wondered even more, what had riled Sunchaser so badly about the tunnels, but this was certainly not a question it could ask. She would claw its fur off if it tried to.
They snapped back to reality when Clementine asked another question. It vigorously shook its head.
“The tunnels aren’t all connected. The tunnels connect to other tunnels in a cluster, but they don’t form a giant circle or anything like that. They’re more like individual sections with awkward dead-ends where there might have been another or worn-down passages that are too narrow for practical use. Sunchaser told me that the tunnels used to be connected a long time ago, though. So, you’re half right—but functionally, the tunnels are all separate.”
Because of this, Roots had to remember the location of all the major tunnels, and mouse-dung did that take a good few moons of running back and forth around the moor to drill in.
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Post by Kaeldra on Mar 10, 2023 3:07:59 GMT
Clementine || she/her || 25 moons Clementine let out a small noise of understanding as Roots explained. She supposed it would be hard for ghosts to maintain such tunnels, being non-corporeal and all, so it stood to reason that they would deteriorate over time. But that raised the question, who made them in the first place? They seemed too deliberately cat-sized to be simple rabbit burrows, and as far as she knew there was no other animal that tunneled underground with such fervor (except maybe ants).
They approached a second tunnel entrance, and Clementine watched as Roots pawed at the earth, widening it slightly. It was certainly not as spacious as the one they had previously visited, but Clementine didn’t mind too much. She wasn’t one to be claustrophobic. She was determined to commit this specific tunnel to memory, and was curious to see just how close to the barn it got them.
She trailed after Roots into the darkness, feeling her fur brush against the slightly damp soil on either side of the tunnel. She’d definitely be due for a good grooming once she got back to the barn.
“Does this cluster connect to anything else? Or is it just to the barn?” Clementine asked, wondering how many more questions she could get away with asking. “If Miku ran in near the barn, she might have gotten lost in a side tunnel.” And it would be useful to know where the tunnels led without having to use trial and error later.
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Post by Solaris on Mar 30, 2023 0:18:37 GMT
River 9, 2021 | Kaeldra As they led Clementine around the tunnel, they paused by a fork that seemed to lead down two paths, but only one of the paths; the other looked more like a burrow than a full tunnel passageway. They nodded at the bud of a tunnel. “As far as I know, no. There’s evidence that there used to be another pathway over here, but this tunnel is only good for a shortcut to the barn.”
It headed down the tunnel on the right side, leaning against the wall for support, as most of the light from the tunnel’s entrance could not reach this corridor. They were now moving in pitch black darkness. Not even the night skies were as dark as they were now. It cautioned to Clementine: “Make sure you can feel the walls if you can’t see anything.”
They drudged through the tunnel, walking in shadows for a good few moments. Roots piped up after a while. They forgot how lengthy this particular passage was. Not even the bigger tunnel clusters had passages that big! So they started asking questions, mostly out of curiosity.
“So, do you uh… miss Miku a lot?”
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Post by Kaeldra on May 1, 2023 1:10:38 GMT
Clementine || she/her || 25 moons Clementine nodded in understanding, feigning relief, though inwardly she was a bit disappointed. It would have been fun to come back and explore the other tunnels on her own time, but if they didn’t actually lead anywhere she wouldn’t bother.
Then again, she thought as the darkness swallowed them up entirely, she wasn’t sure if she would have wanted to venture through here on her own. The calico did her best to follow Roots’ directions, keeping her tail in contact with the right wall as she trailed behind. It wasn’t that she was scared; no, she had been through far worse. But it seemed like it would be all too easy to get lost in such a tunnel.
The pair walked in absolute silence for a few moments, and Clementine marveled at just how far the passage went. The only sound was the soft pat pat of their paws against the packed earth. Then Roots spoke again, seemingly to pass the time.
“Yes, of course! I miss her very much,” Clementine replied, infusing her voice with longing. “We’re always together, so even just a short time apart feels strange. If I know where she is, it’s not so bad, but being separated like this…” Clementine trailed off, as if it were too awful to say aloud. Thankful for the dark, she rolled her eyes at her own words. Skies help her if she ever started sounding like this for real.
Deciding to turn the subject on Roots themselves, Clementine couldn’t suppress a grin. Keeping her voice soft and innocent, she asked, “What about you? Do you have a special someone waiting for you?”
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Post by Solaris on May 3, 2023 1:00:39 GMT
River 9, 2021 | Kaeldra Their fur was pressed up against the walls as they snaked around a tight corner. Dirt was smeared over their fur, no doubt about it. But while their family members often complained about catching dirt and mud on their paws, Roots rather liked the feeling of being touched by earth. They enjoyed the coolness of mud, and the sandy, almost seed-like, clumps of dirt that were sometimes stuck to their fur. Certainly, it was the closest they could get to living like a worm or a mole.
Clementine went on about her mate, and Roots paid half-attention to her words, while the other half was spent avoiding tripping on exposed rocks. Of course, it was nice to see cats with such devoted connections to another being. Maybe Roots would have felt like that toward Crackle at some point, though it doubted the relationship was quite the same. Admittedly, it found the whole idea of mates odd, but perhaps it was a subject that required more research… Though, the way she prattled on about her mate was nearly word-for-word how other cats spoke of their own mates. It enjoyed unraveling perplexing mysteries, such as that of the puzzling concept of romance, but perhaps there were some puzzles left unsolved. The more Clementine spoke, the more disinterested it became.
Maybe asking about mates was a bad idea, especially when she asked the same question of them.
They responded, as a matter-of-factly, “I don’t find the idea of mates appealing, personally. I am glad you care about your mate, however!”
And at last, they saw light from the end of the passage. No sooner, it climbed out of the hole, and appeared on the other side of a broken fence. They breathed in the fresh air and then faced the abandoned barn. “Well, here we are, it seems. Have a look around, and I do hope you find her.”
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Post by Kaeldra on Jun 3, 2023 23:30:11 GMT
Clementine || she/her || 25 moons Clementine blinked in quiet surprise at Roots’ words, and once again she was rather grateful for the fact that the other cat couldn’t see her. So Roots was uninterested in mates, hm? That was a first for her. Though of course she wouldn’t say it to the cat’s face -- that would destroy the ruse she had been crafting all afternoon -- it was nice to meet another cat who felt the same way. While she was certainly playing the part of a lovestruck she-cat, with lines pulled from conversations she’d had over the moons, she’d never once felt the desire for a relationship herself the way some cats did. Solitary life suited her just fine, thank you very much.
“Fair enough,” she decided to comment, rather than trying to extol the virtues of romance as some other cats had done to her in the past. She’d learned to keep her mouth shut about it after the first few times.
Then suddenly, the tunnel began to lighten, and Clementine’s eyes focused automatically on the source. A few more pawsteps, and Roots was pulling itself out into the open again.
The calico followed eagerly, glad to be out of the squishy tunnels. They didn’t dislike the feeling, but she was unaccustomed to it and the familiarity of the breeze in her whiskers was comforting. She shook out her fur, dislodging any clumps of dirt that may be stuck to it. Then she followed Roots’ gaze to see her barn not three fox-lengths away. Very close, indeed.
“Thank you,” she said, turning to the tabby. “I hope so too. I can only imagine how scared she must be, all alone... But I have to believe she got away from that fox.” Clementine took a deep breath, as if steadying herself. Her act was almost over, but she wouldn’t let the details slip now! “I should probably let you get back to your own worries, you’ve helped so much with mine. But do let me know if you see Miku, won’t you?” She made her eyes as round and beseeching as she could. “And if you’re ever in the area, you’re welcome to stop by the barn for a mouse or two. There’s more here than I could ever eat myself.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them. It was the sort of thing the cat she was pretending to be would do, wasn’t it? Offer the kind cat who had helped her a place to stay should it need one? Of course it was. Plus, she would have a chance to spin another ridiculous tale. Clementine looked forward to it.
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Solaris
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Post by Solaris on Jun 6, 2023 23:21:36 GMT
River 9, 2021 | Kaeldra “For your sake, I do hope that she’s alright,” mewed Roots. Its tail shuffled left and right, a careful eye on the shades of night befalling the sky. Oh how the sun fell oh so quickly. In no time, its green gaze would reflect the twinkle of stars. They ought to hurry back so that their kin would not be worried, and to avoid another long lecture about the importance of returning home at a reasonable time. “I am glad to be able to help you with your troubles, it’s only a shame me and Fieldflight and Sunchaser could not help more.”
They dipped their head in farewell. “Thank you for the offer. I may consider it another time, but you see, I do have to go now. I don’t want my family to worry about where I went.”
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