Riley
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Post by Riley on Jul 28, 2022 7:18:23 GMT
It wasn't often that Juniper came this far from her den in the pine forest. Normally she tried to stay in one area to make it easier for cats to find her in case of emergency. But that dream she'd had, with Shadowstar and her own father... It had unnerved her. It had only been a few days since then and Juniper had thought of little else since then.
And each day she'd wandered a little farther to collect more herbs. She didn't know what she might need for the foreseeable future. Being it was the very beginning of newleaf still, she stocked up more on the herbs for sickness. Feverfew for fevers, catmint for greencough, tansy for coughs. Unfortunately when she'd gone for juniper berries, the only ones left were useless shriveled husks. There were other bushes she could have done to, but Juniper felt she was too old to go traipsing across the forest to find one that might have some useful berries left.
Today was a new day however, and she'd focused her energies on searching for herbs to be used for wounds. Horsetail and marigold were both good to cure infections while dried oak leaves were good for preventing them. Goldenrod occasionally too, but that was more for small wounds than the bigger stuff. Example being if a cat stepped on a thorn, she'd use goldenrod over horsetail. Dock leaves, while initially stinging, helped ease the pain of cuts. And they helped with dried and cracked paw pads too, which was all too often during the cold weather.
Right now, she was searching for tormentil. Typically it was found in cool, shady areas like the pine forest, but Juniper happened to know of a small clump of it. There was a tree, a sycamore that rose higher than the surrounding oaks, whose roots formed a natural cave. Not big enough to be a den, not without digging, but big enough that the clump of tormentil could still breathe and grow and replant itself every season.
Juniper made her way slowly, steadily. Her gaze was pointed downward, sweeping back and forth in a search pattern her father had drilled into her before his death. She wasn't searching for much in specific until she got to the clump of herbs she'd needed, but she kept her senses perked anyway. Which is why she heard the snap of a twig from downwind, far too close for comfort.
She spun around and faced it, fluffing out her already fluffy pelt to appear twice her self. "Who's there? Reveal yourself!" she demanded, claws unsheathed in case it was a hostile.
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Post by Solaris on Jul 31, 2022 4:43:35 GMT
P R O W L  He/Him | 47 Moons | Loner His stomach grumbled, causing him to seethe his teeth. He fought the urge to snap at his empty belly; words wouldn’t bring prey to his mouth. If there was one thing he missed about his time as a kittypet, it was the food that magically appeared in those silver objects. The pellets were dry and plain, but it was food nonetheless.
Here, he had to actually hunt for it. Use his nose, pounce, all those things. He wished food was found in dumpsters and not by sniffing bushes. It would save a lot of energy. He crawled around the forest terrain, following the trails of prey-scent that hung in the air. As luck would have it, he caught the quick movement of a mouse darting from one shrub to the next. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on his target.
Until his paw hit something underneath, a twig. Snapped it in half. The sound was loud enough to scare off the mouse. Another stench struck his nose, that of another cat. He froze, sweeping his gaze around the landscape, but there were only trees as far as he could see.
He spun around, unsheathing his claws to face off against the stranger, meeting eyes with them. A quick glance at the other cat’s physique and he relaxed his stance slightly. He could probably overpower the cat with a few slashes.
“My name is Prowl. I don’t recall this territory being claimed by anyone?” he watched her carefully as he spoke. |
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Riley
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Post by Riley on Aug 6, 2022 1:13:02 GMT
The cat that appeared was larger than herself, though only marginally. If it came to a fight, Juniper wasn't sure she could win. Cowardly as it might have seemed to some, Juniper did her best to avoid battles she wasn't one hundred percent certain she could win. The stranger must have come to the same conclusion, for his defensive stance relaxed slightly as he introduced himself. "Well met, Prowl." she meowed, dipping her head slightly to keep him in her sights. "Truthfully this stretch of territory isn't claimed by anybody. The area by the river is a different matter."
She gestured with her thick, plumy tail in the direction of the river and curled her lip slightly. "A bunch of fools claiming to be a 'Clan'. Adult cats, going around pretending to be 'warriors' like from those kithood stories." Juniper gave an inelegant snort before tossing her head with a roll of her eyes. "I've heard there's even some kittypets playing wild cat. Catching prey like they don't have cozy homes and food on demand with their twolegs."
Taking a deep breath, Juniper settled herself, clearing her throat. "Apologies. I'm not usually... that excitable. Or that rude, I haven't yet introduced myself." Juniper bowed her head, crossing her left foreleg behind her right. "I am called Juniper. I'm known around these parts as a healer... for the right price of course. A piece of prey, herbs you think I need, shiny baubles... In cases of emergencies, I will even accept unnamed favors. I'm not heartless."
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Post by Solaris on Aug 6, 2022 2:51:27 GMT
P R O W L He/Him | 47 Moons | Loner He returned the cat’s greeting with a head dip of his own. When his head returned to level, his lips quirked the slightest bit to indicate a polite, placating smile.
“A pleasure to meet you as well. Glad to hear that I haven’t crossed any boundaries. Some cats are rather sensitive about that, acting like you’ve stubbed their toe over a thin border marker. They don’t tend to be forgiving,” said Prowl, lightly chuckling. He looked down the hill, where the land sloped into lowlands and plains, and a stream ran at the end. That must be the landmark the cat was pointing at.
He saw its breadth, its hurtling speed, and its bottomless depth and knew to avoid crossing the river unless he was desperate for a drink. To know there was a group of cats—a clan, was that what that she called them?—beyond the forest sent an unsettling tug at his stomach. This “clan” reminded him of the syndicates of twolegplace, and they certainly weren’t places for kittypets to mess with. He swallowed, the mention of kittypets swirling about memories of someone he’d rather forget.
“I’ve lived a season as a kittypet, but I’ve lived in the streets of twolegplace longer,” he started. He shook his head. “In that place, kittypets wouldn’t have survived long on their own. I can’t imagine it’s the same here. A few seasons or so and they’ll be gone.”
He dipped his head again, finally getting a hold of her name. He’d have to remember her, in case he needed her services. Healers were quite valuable back in twolegplace; you didn’t typically find one wandering around. “I’m a newcomer to the forest. Travelled from twolegplace for a new life. I’ve lived there for far too many moons. In any case, I’ve come to like the forest for the few moons I’ve spent here. There aren’t as many fights between cats.” |
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Riley
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349 Posts
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Post by Riley on Sept 29, 2022 2:37:37 GMT
Well, at least this one seemed to have some common sense. Juniper herself didn't quite understand what was so special about borders. It was a scentline and nothing more. Certain herbs only grew in certain parts of the forest so if anybody even tried to stop her from getting them, she'd have some choice words for them. The idea of this large cat being a kittypet though was laughable, and Juniper gave an audible snort to it. "Apologies. The thought of someone of your stature and," she eyed his multiple scars with something resembling curiosity, "obvious spirit being a toy for twolegs is laughable."Juniper turned in the direction of the river with a scowl for all the kittypets down there. How any wild cat could stand for the pampered pets taking what they needed to survive, she would never know. If a kittypet ever came to her for anything less than a life threatening wound, she would turn them away back to their homes and tell them to think twice before thinking survival was a game. She smoothed her expression back to cool detachment when Prowl went on, and Juniper nodded with a thump of her tail. "Better resources, for one. With every piece of fresh-kill you catch, another births a full litter. Prey replenishes itself every year, awakening from hibernation and continuing the circle of life. Death unto life unto death once more."Solaris |
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Post by Solaris on Oct 1, 2022 13:43:06 GMT
River 23, 2021 | RileyProwl’s fur bristled at Juniper’s comment and an anger seethed in his creasing brow, but his own composure held him back from making any impulsive action. “I’ll have you know that I wasn’t used as a toy for any twolegs. My teeth made sure of that.”
Cooling off from its initial reaction, he added, “Though, it was awkward for the twoleg to manage my size. I’ve seen— Ahem, well either way, I’m no kittypet anymore.”
His features smoothed when Juniper spoke of the forest as a place of replenishing prey, but instead of twoleg scrap, it was real food. None of the kittypet mesh he’d eaten. He already had taste of mice in the forest, and they were much more fulfilling than the ones at twolegplace. If this was the norm here, then Prowl found a new home.
However, as he considered Juniper’s words more, he realized there wasn’t much mention of leaf-bare. “How is the forest during leaf-bare? You mentioned that the prey hibernates. How do you find prey then?”
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Riley
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349 Posts
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Post by Riley on Mar 6, 2023 2:15:05 GMT
Ooooh boy. She'd offended him. Juniper wasn't a stranger to offending cats, accidentally or otherwise. But with his build and experience, he wasn't the kind of cat she wanted to be enemies with. Juniper took a half-step back at his obvious upset, carefully taking in his body language in case he was about to pounce. He must have had a remarkable amount of self control though, for soon he had that anger tucked away someplace she couldn't see it.
She didn't regain her position though. Just because Prowl wasn't showing his anger didn't mean it went away. She didn't want to prod at it anymore, and therefore decided it would be best to move on from talk of kittypets. Prowl questioned how the forest dealt with leaf-bare, and Juniper pondered it. "Well enough, I suppose, depending on where you decide to hunt. I'm not much of a hunter myself, my brother typically takes care of both of us while I do my job as a healer for anybody well enough to seek me out. During leaf-bare though, depending on how long you'll stay around, you might have better luck hunting birds in the gardens of twolegplace, with those little feeders some of them have. Barring that though..."
Juniper paused, putting some thought into it. "There's a collection of boulders down that way." She pointed in the direction of where she meant. "During Greenleaf and warm days the rest of the seasons, it's populated by adders. A single bite from them is enough to fell a full grown cat. During the colder seasons though, it MIGHT be a good place for mice or squirrels."
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Post by Solaris on Mar 7, 2023 0:10:53 GMT
River 23, 2021 | Riley He noticed the half-step Juniper took away from him, and he took a huff of satisfaction. Better that others acknowledge his power than dare to challenge him. The forest had sensible cats, it seemed. More sensible than the strays back at twolegplace, who dug at your sore sides and provoked it for the fun of a fight. Not that Prowl was above provocation himself, but for the sake of others’, he didn’t want to get into more fights than he needed to. And for her sake, he was willing to ignore Juniper’s comment.
He nodded along as Juniper described the forest during leafbare, listening carefully so he could remember for future reference. Leafbare seemed far enough away, but of course, one could never be too careful. He parroted some of Juniper’s words back, mostly so he could remember them. “I’ll have better luck hunting birds because of twoleg feeders. How fascinating. Are birds pets to twolegs as well as cats?
His distaste for twolegs always found new boundaries.
Prowl turned to where Juniper pointed, trying to peer over the dense foliage to get a look. From the faint distance, he made out the shape of mossy stones. “In greenleaf, snakes hang around there, but in leafbare, I might find more mice. I see.”
He eyed Junioer again. “You also mentioned that your brother does the hunting while you heal? Where do you stay or tend to go to, in case I may need your assistance for… injuries and the like?”
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Riley
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349 Posts
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Post by Riley on Mar 7, 2023 0:56:37 GMT
Prowl repeated her words about the birds, even questioning about if the twolegs keep the birds as pets. Juniper snorted and shrugged, rolling her shoulders as she did so. "Perhaps. I only ever go to Twolegplace to stock up on catmint before the frost and snows come. It's the only known cure for greencough so it's a rather invaluable herb. So if the twolegs ever try to catch the birds like they do cats, I've never personally seen it."
He turned in the direction of the stones she spoke of. Juniper had no idea if he'd be able to spot them or not, but he had the direction well enough that she didn't correct him. If he missed them and kept going, he'd eventually hit the river, and he'd know by himself.
She would have thought that would be it, but Prowl asked about where she could be found, and Juniper turned to point. "That way. You'd have to cross a Thunderpath if you were in a hurry, but in case you weren't, there's a tunnel leading underneath it. My brother and I live in what was an abandoned fox den, but we dug it out ourselves once we found it. We have space for extra nests in case I want to keep an eye on anybody, or if somebody needs shelter from a storm. It's further uphill from the marshes so it never floods either, but not as Carrionplace. So if you're looking for me and you smell something like it died, was rolled in foxdung, and left in the sun for too long, you've gone too far."
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Post by Solaris on Mar 22, 2023 1:52:35 GMT
River 23, 2021 | Riley “Interesting,” said Prowl. He had heard of catmint before, seen it in twoleg gardens (though he remembered them acting oddly defensive of the catmint when he was around), though he never knew about its medicinal usage for treating greencough. He had seen a few cat fall ill to greencough in the midst of leaf-bare, seen how the disease racked their bodies until they turned limp like cardboard. It was never pretty. Having catmint around would be handy, he noted. “Does catmint grow anywhere else?”
He dipped his head in thanks, repeating her directions in his head. Some of the names were vaguely familiar, like the putrid stories Prowl heard of Carrionplace. Even the name sounded unsavory, and he shuddered at the thought of being trapped in an area that reeked of fox-dung. He would avoid that place, alright. But finding Juniper seemed like an easy enough matter. If he ever got into a bad enough skirmish with a cat, Prowl would know who to ask for help.
“Thank you for all of your help today. I truly, truly appreciate it. The forest seems a foreboding place, but I’m sure I’ll make a life here,” he said with a rather polite smile, managing to hide his eagerness to move on from the conversation. He wasn’t quite in the mood for further chat, unwilling to stand idly any longer. Oh, he had places to be and things to do, and his questions for Juniper were mostly dried up. Not point in staying any longer than he had to.
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