ripple colony ₊ ☾ EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE ╱ OPEN

[BROKEN MOON]

He hums to himself as he moves around the riverbank, with the softest spinning pawsteps to imagine. A waltz, should cats know of such a thing– steps forward, and to the side, back and forward again, until his path takes him straight to the edge. It has receded some. A few steps back since they have arrived, strange waters; strange happenings. Was it the others that lived here? The changing of seasons? Briefly he wonders after their luck; their home lost, and this one, lost just the same. A low, unhappy noise, but he shoos it like the pain in his stomach. Worry does not suit Broken Moon. As his paw dips into the water's surface and his unblinking eyes go round and soft, they melt away. Like a soft spring rain, or moonlight through the clouds.

"Oh, you are so unhappy!" Though Moon does not swim, he lowers himself slightly more, until it almost threatens to sweep his paw away. Such a silly feeling. Silly water. "Do you not like the sun? It will storm for you soon."

──── ∘ ₊ ☾  OOC NOTES REFERENCE 06.18.2023 ☽ ₊

• ooc: —

• 

• broken moon. named for the crescent moon marking on his chest.
  —— dmab demibody, seems to find gender confusing! uses he - him, but really doesn't mind.
  —— member of the ripple colony ╱ will eventually join riverclan ╱ he's quite excited for that.
  —— unknown age, but is certainly an adult. has been in the ripple colony for quite some time.
  
  a black tabby with high white and heterochromia, one eye being a deep, shadowy brown and the other an ice-like blue. he is shorter than normal but not beyond reason, and is thick-furred with a prominent crescent moon marking on his chest.
  
  moon is sweet and mellow in the friendly sort of way that you cannot help but be drawn in by, and so quietly supportive that at times you can overlook him. as much as part of the ripple colony as the paws that each of them walk with; as much a part of this world as the trees, or the wind. moon has a tendency to fall in love with the small parts of life, and can often be found simply sitting and admiring whatever view catches his attention. he has a good visual memory and will likely remember what he sees for a very long time!

• "speech"
• 

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[Tidesong]

She stood by the water as well, dragging her claws through a fluffy mane to straighten lightly tangled fur. A gentle hum emits from soft features, and Ballad could not be more calm. The waters recede, but she knows it will return. Just like the ebb and flow of the great expanse she used to live by many moons ago, when water recedes, it always rushes back in.

The river would be no different. Be it the weather draining it or a blockage, soon it will come rushing back twice as strong. But she knew if a blockage were the culprit, they would have to take action. And what ill fortune it was that the land nearby was occupied already.

"The river weeps, and we cannot decipher its woes...." She says. "Perhaps it is not ready to share."

When will the river tell them what's wrong? A second time now, she has lost a home to the water's wrath. She hopes a third will not come to pass.​

 

[goldfish]

"What are you guys talking about?" she meows from nearby, her head tilting much like a confused puppy as she stares at them, letting the water lap at her paws. She liked the water, and she liked her friends! But she doesn't know what they were talking about and theres a twinge of frustration that leaves her body with an exhale. She shivers in excitement as she shuffles in slightly further, further than she has ever gone out due to receding waters. It's like a cool breeze and its everything welcoming and more. Perhaps the river would give her super powers if she reached the bottom of it, or... Or maybe, maybe she could catch two big, big, BIG fish just like Kaede did with rabbits! She giggles.

"The river isn't a cat, silly, silly, silly billies!" she has a large, innocent smile on her face as she glances over again. "I don't think it can hear you two, nuh uh." and it certainly did not hear them when their old home had been flooded, nuh uh, nuh uh! The river does not like to listen at all, Goldfish had learned. "You'll have to uh, uh, talk to a river spirit! Yeah huh." Goldfish makes her way closer to them, her tail wagging back and forth playfully. "... You really think its sad, Broken Moon?" she flits an aqua gaze at both of them and then to the shoreline. "May not be a cat, but maybe we can make it happy, mhm? I'm good at that!" she muses to herself, puffing out her bottom lip. Broken Moon and Yua were both older than Goldfish, so naturally she assumes they have answers! All cool, grown up, big, big adults have answers.​

"speech"​

 

[✧ Frondfeather.]

I'LL BE THE MAGIC STORY YOU'VE BEEN TOLD
frond | 23 months | female | she/her| physically hard | mentally medium | attack in bold #674099

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The colony has always been home to a variety of faces and personalities - this has only grown more apparent when they'd been forced to move, to travel - picking up a few extras along the way at that. Green eyes blink slowly as she watches those gathered at the rivers edge, a soft smile on her own maw. "Hm... I don't thinks it's sad - just tired?" frond pipes up, her curled tail giving a slowly swish before arching once more to dance along her spine. The cool clear water has grown murky and sluggish over the past few days, all manner of things that don't belong making an appearance as it begins to trickle away, more and more of the pebble and stone riverbed exposed. Yes - tired indeed, she thinks. She would be too, if she was always running.
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[MOUSE]

(=〃ﻌ〃=)ﾉ — Little Mouse hangs back at first, tucked away within the reeds as she observes the elder cats through large, round eyes as they talk to the river. How can it hear them? Does it have ears? No way. She would've seen them by now. Then again, birds don't have ears and they can definitely hear things. At least, she thinks they can. Yeah, all animals can, for sure. That's just how things work. But how do they do it without ears? The same way the river does, she figures, however that may be. Can the trees hear them, too? The reeds? Her gaze flits upward, following the tall stalks surrounding her skyward. "Hi," she whispers, and then waits. No response. Rude.

With a sniff, she looks back at the others, ears pricking up at the mention of spirits. Oh, is that who Broken Moon was talking to? That makes more sense. And makes her all the more offended that the reed spirits ignored her, because while reeds can't listen and talk spirits definitely can. Maybe the river spirits will be friendlier, now that she's aware enough to acknowledge them. Maybe playing will cheer them up if they're sad! The spotted tabby drops to a crouch, shifting her weight in her haunches. In her fixation, she's deaf to Frond's suggestion, doesn't stop to consider that they may be too tired for playtime.

She darts out from the reeds, stopping at the edge of the flowing river to rear up on hind legs, rounded little toes spreading apart before she slams them down into the water with a small splash.
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[DAWNSTORM]

die with memories , not dreams .

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶​

Kaede wasn’t a spiritual cat, preferring to see rather than believe, but watching them converse with the water was … odd to say the least. His brows furrowed, willowy mottled tail swishing idly, tip dragging against the water’s surface causing ripples to form.

He’d never been a brilliant swimmer, his body mass barely able to keep himself above water, but he liked the feeling it brought. The way the water smoothed aching bruises, calming his heart that threatened to beat out of his chest.

He blinked, staring quizzedly at Yua, pondering over such confusing words. Not ready to share? His duo-toned optics narrowed. Why did they have to wait? It certainly didn’t wait when it sought destruction, flooding their camp, leaving them distraught and hungry. The bi-colored tom blinked. Tired? Did rivers get tired? Why didn’t it get tired when it overflowed its banks, tugging cats and objects alike into its watery depths?

Shouldn’t it be full? I’m confused. He didn’t understand it. He didn’t understand—His father had blamed him for the floods. A bad omen. After all, he had been the cause of his mother and sibling's death, even if Kaede wasn’t sure why.

Maw parted to voice his thoughts, undoubtedly stirring up something he didn’t intentionally mean until Mouse—Kaede sputtered, hackles rising, dual-toned optics shooting forward, staring beadily at the brown spotted tabby. “You’re causing a ruckus.” He stated, tone deadpan. If the river was tired, wouldn’t splashing in the crystalline waters make it worse? “You’re making it worse.” ​

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thought speech​

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[HEMLOCKSNAP]

TAGS — Hemlock does not understand the river as Broken Moon or Yua seem to. No; his home had been the forests, a deep glade near the old mountain's summit, and it had not been his own choice to leave it. As he stares balefully at the river's shy banks now, he is reminded of the harbinger of his old residence's ending. Day after day of heat, then a dry spell that would make any cat long for rain, and then... a spark. He's not sure how it started, but the fire had raged for days, driving his old colony and himself out of their homes; driving the birds out of the sky; driving the eye out of his face; driving the comfort out of his life. Then he'd met the ripple colony-- and then they'd had to move, too. And now, now the river recedes, minnows teasing him from the bank. This is not the life you were born for, they sing, and yet this is the one he has been forced into. Hemlock allows himself to resent it for a moment.

The other cats muse about the river's feelings. Hemlock knows better-- though he doesn't know why it turns its face away from them all. His gray gaze casts upstream without much intent; he knows little of the waters that churn through these banks, and he knows even littler about fixing its current or the causes behind its illness. A simmering frustration heats his forelimbs. Surely they would not have to move a second time, yes? He is so sick of coming to know a sky only to have it whisked away from him. A short puff of acerbic amusement leaves him as he listens in on Goldfish's chitter. Of course it can't hear them. It's wishful thinking to believe the river might tell them why it swelled and shrank as it did.

Mouse splashes Kaede and Hemlock does little to comment on the younger tom's attitude. Instead, he heaves a small sigh, ears twitching. "You'd think it would be kind after flooding our old camp," Hemlock muses, tone acidic. He shifts his focus to Broken Moon, a cat who he has known since the founding of the colony. There is a heaviness in his gaze. Another move would be taxing, but can we even fix this? "Fickle thing."​

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[RYESTALK]

——————————————【 She/her | 34 moons | Ripple Colony 】——————————————

【◈】To Rye, the river retreating is nothing more than what it seems at face value - just the waters receding, albeit uncharacteristically. There's something wrong, obviously, but it's not because the river has feelings, as if it's alive like they are; after all, while the water brings life, it's not actually alive in the same sense as a cat was. If it were, it'd be just about one of the cruelest creatures she'd ever met, giving out life and taking it away with no rhyme or reason. Still, though she can't fault the rest of them for attributing such things to the waters, not after the flooding had chased them all out of their home, and not after this new river had begun to rescind as well. "Well, I don't know about all that, but something sure has gone awry with the river. This keeps up and there won't be anything left for us out here," Rye adds to the conversation, passive gaze trailing over the remaining water. Let the others try to cheer up the river, or play with it - she'd much rather seek out the actual cause of its continued disappearance.

Perhaps it was an omen of sorts, if you believed in that kind of thing, the river trying to tell them to move on to somewhere better. Not that she would ever call it such - mere coincidence, however unfortunate, is what Rye would label both the flooding and the river beginning to dry up. Still, whatever you want to call it, there's wisdom in heeding the signs around, and she's never been one to ignore her surroundings. They'd have to move on soon, she's certain, chasing after the dying water in search of somewhere new to call home, though she has a sneaking suspicion that they might never find a place to settle if the Colony does chase after the water. Again, she finds herself longing for the mountains they'd been forced out of, the mountains she had called home for so many moons - this place, and probably any other place they'd end up coming across, just can't compare. Wherever the rest of the Colony went she'd follow, though; after all, she'd rather be with everybody else chasing the river than back up in the mountains, alone save for the ghosts of what used to be.

[penned by hijinks].

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[MOUSE]

(=〃ﻌ〃=)ﾉ — Unkempt fur bristles a bit as Kaede challenges her. Mouse looks over her shoulder at him with childish indignation in her gaze, tail lashing this way and that. "I'm cheering up the river spirits," she replies matter of factly. Duh, obviously. Despite her own belief in her cause, she hesitates to continue lest the others feel the same way as Kaede. With quivering whiskers she glances around at the gathered cats, searching their gazes for any sign of approval or disapproval, although Hemlocksnap and Rye's concerning words quickly distract her. "No water at all...?" She looks out at the receding river, brows creased into a frown.​