decorate your new face - lone queen lost in the territory

[maeve]

---

maeve​

19 moons - skyclan queen - speech​

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ✩ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮



it had been a little over a day since maeve escaped from her wretched excuse of a housefolk, and she feared each step would be her last. amongst the dense forest of skyclan, a lone ragdoll molly trudged through the undergrowth, her steps slow and heavy. her long, once gracious coat was now unkept, muddy and matted. her bones shown through where her fur was thinnest; her shoulders and her haunches, mainly. when was the last time she ate or bathed? a day of wandering away from home wouldn't do this to a cat - she had been rejecting her housefolk's care for days, hoping they would throw her out so she didn't have to run away herself. she looked like a deceased feline rose from the grave, a sentient skeleton. all except for her swollen belly, of course.

maeve guessed that she was due any week now, if she could survive, that is. but her chances were slim, as this was a kittypet who had not once stepped foot outside her den. so what was an expecting queen with no survivability doing out in the middle of a forest? simple - she would sooner die than let those foul beings steal another child from her belly. it was a morbid thought, but she would rather unite with her children in death than separate in life. with such a small figure and youthful face, anyone would assume maeve was a young lover starting her first family. on the contrary, this would be maeve's third litter - and only the first that she would see to adulthood. as for her 'young lover'? he was a nice cat; he was gentle, occasionally checked on her, and played with the kits. the catch was, he had multiple other 'mates'. she didn't even know the tom's name.

maeve was no ordinary kittypet. her housefolk didn't care for her any more than they cared for an antique item. she was born in raised in captivity, in a foul place where valuable breeds like her were kitted young and had their kits young with a purebred tom-cat of the same breed that they would never truly care to know. their kits would be identical to them, prized amongst the housefolk for their silky fur, snowy appearance and striking blue eyes. her mother was victim to this fate, having litter after litter until she was physically poor and could not kit anymore. maeve never knew her mother; she was weaned early and passed on to the next cattery to repeat the process. similarly, she never knew all eleven of her children - she could only hope that they were now cherished by a housefolk family that loved their cats.

all that said, maeve was putting an end to this cycle. as soon as her opportunity presented itself, she made her escape. if the housefolk could run at her pace, as slow and heavy as she was currently, maybe they might've chased - but truthfully, she didn't think they'd put up an effort. there were multiple other she-cats bearing ragdoll kittens. she knew she would not be mourned by her housefolk and the father of her kits, both who didn't care nor love her. unfortunately, maeve didn't really have a gameplan - she ran and ran, endlessly, until she could do little more than drag herself along. she was in a dense forest now with the heavy scent of pine and riverwater. her stomach rumbled. she had to sustain herself, for her children.

she knew there were critters in the forest, it was common sense. however, she didn't know how to catch them. she could follow her instincts - drop into a crouch, stalk a nearby mouse that caught her attention. so, slowly, the fatigued molly crept after the rodent, almost, almost close enough, so close she could taste its earthy scent under her tongue. with a strong kick of her back legs, she broke off running towards the mouse, a strategy she would one day learn even kits were smarter than to perform. the mouse scurried into the undergrowth, but maeve was determined. hurriedly, she sprinted it with a new burst of energy - eventually finding that the mouse was gone, while she skidded to an abrupt halt, nose-to-nose with another cat. bigger than her, healthier, more broad- it was no doubt that the stranger lived here, as weird of a concept it was to her. while fear tempted her to leave the area, she was frozen, perhaps by the same fear, staring dumbfounded-like at the stranger now stood in front of her, holding the mouse she chased right into their jaws.


╰── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ✩ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ step out into the new normal

---

 

[BEARHEART]

(

) Totoro... no! Bearheart! Bearheart wasn't the greatest of hunters, at least not yet anyway. Every day he spent out in the wilds the more weight he began to lose, the fat slowly becoming muscle over time. It would still be a while yet before he looked anything like his fellow SkyClanners, but he was now firmly on the road to becoming just like them.

He was out on a hunting patrol that day, and where the others would opt to ascend the trees for squirrels and the like he instead kept to the forest floor in search of prey that wasn't going to go shooting up trees. Naturally he kept low and took light steps in order to avoid making a sound as he began his hunt, but a commotion ahead had him pause and stand rigid. Then as if the spirits above had blessed him, a mouse shot straight for him from the thick forest undergrowth. His pupils became slits as he snapped his jaws down upon the small creature, a clean kill.

Bearheart stood up straight with a sense of awe and glee over his first catch of the day. He was about to call out to the others about his success but then he found himself face-to-face with a smaller feline. A she-cat to be precise. The rotund tom blinked in bewilderment as he stared down at her with the mouse hanging limp in his jaws. Bumping into strangers was nothing new to him, but judging from the stunned state of the stranger this was perhaps all a bit new to her. Bearheart offered a sympathetic and peaceful blink of his eyes in the hopes of putting her at ease. "Oh, was this your mouse? Sorry, ma'am, I couldn't resist snatching it up. I'm Bearheart, of SkyClan, who might you be?" He hoped that by introducing himself that perhaps any fear she held might begin to pass. "Are you from twolegplace?" He went on to query with a tilt of his head. She looked rather elegant, and he wasn't a stranger to those with pedigree backgrounds.
​

 

[TWITCHBOLT]

Strange scent on the outskirts; strangers, always strangers. Bristles prickled along his spine, his wariness ever-present. An eternal emotion he could never shake, that electric suspicion. But it was a daring one he supposed, because it always beckoned him to investigate too. Snow-strewn, his mess of a form shied up beside Bearheart. Wide mismatched eyes quivered upon befalling the newcomer- fluffy like Blazestar, nose-to-nose with the larger ex-daylight warrior. Frantic pupils flickered between the two, incessant back-and-forth...

She smelled like the Twolegplace. That overwhelming, cloying crowd of a place... full or barking dogs and monsters that trod on leaders. He hated the smell of it, foul and- and too much. Behind Bearheart and the familiarity of the pine forest did he stash himself, for now. He was ready to take on a threat if it arose- but for all his universal wariness, even he could admit this molly was not particularly threatening. Still, it could always be a ruse- a very, very good one...​

penned by pin ✧​

 

[maeve]

---

maeve​

19 moons - skyclan queen - speech​

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ✩ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮



the stranger was the first to break the silence. after half-crouching directly infront of him for several seconds, the molly finally moved back, bristling now a few cat lengths away. another cat followed quickly in his wake - while the first one seemed friendly enough, even offering his name which sounded.. cheesy to her, the younger cat just looked.. unhinged. the larger of the pair's words sounded like gibberish to her - was she hearing him correctly? skyClan? twolegplace? these cats are crazy! no longer was the mouse on her mind as she started at the two cats with a wild look of fear in her eye.

"are you going to kill me?" she managed out in a feeble whisper. instictively, she drew her long bushy tail over her swollen stomach. she would fight tooth and claw if she had to. although, the question she put forward was of little logic - if they wanted to kill her, they would have already, and wouldn't have wasted breath kindly introducing themselves first.


╰── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ✩ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ step out into the new normal

---

 

[subarupaw]

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .​

"Why would we kill you, lady?" a young boy scrambles from the underbrush, prancing to stand besides Bearheart and giving him a huge smile in congratulations. He turns his face towards the girl, noting how she cowers and immediately a frown comes to his lips. "We don't eat cats! So you're okay!" he offers another big smile before he looks down to his collar and her lack of collar. Twitch just seemed like normal old Twitch so he just gives a quick nod in the others direction.

And then the scent hits him. "Where are you from?" he suddenly gasps, nubbed tail wagging much like his twolegs dog. "Cause I am from back there too! We could be neighbors!" the scent of twolegs were fading on her but it still excites him that he could potentially have a friend back in the dens. Eager he waits for a response, practically vibrating next to Bear, oh, this was so fun! He should greet new people more!​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[~Deersong~]

( ♬ ) "My My don't you look lost." The familiar voice of the Skyclan deputy would rain down gently from above the growing group. Deersong was perched gracefully on a low-hanging branch, her half-tail swinging past the branch as her head tilted, aqua gaze glowing gently at the clearly exhausted molly below.

She would jump down carefully, landing just behind the others on her patrol before walking forward and offering the stranger a soft coo of comfort, "Like our Subarupaw here said, no need to freak out pretty kitty, we don't make a habit to hurt Mama's." Her sight moved down to the swollen belly the molly was trying to hide behind a fluffy tail and it was then that Deersong could get a better look at the state of the molly.

Clearly hungry, a constant no matter what in the forest it seemed. Cautious, a smart move for one so close to kitting as this one looked. Sympathy would glow from the deputy as she turned to Bearheart and smiled at him in silent praise for his good job handling this situation before meowing to the queen, "My name is Deersong, Deputy of Skyclan which is the group of cats who claim this part of the forest as our territory." Her tail motions to her clanmates, "This is Bearheart, one of our warriors, and Twitchpaw and Subarupaw, two youngbloods training to become warriors." Her aqua eyes would meet the mollys' as she tilted her head in her whimsical fashion, "I had kittens myself not too long ago, I can't imagine how tired and worried you must feel right now. Why don't we get you somewhere warm to rest and you can tell us your story? And maybe even learn your name?" ​

( LET YOU BREAK; MY HEART AGAIN )

 

[maeve]

---

maeve​

19 moons - skyclan queen - speech​

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ✩ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮



subarupaw's reassurance did little to ease her mind. why would they kill her? because she was trespassing, surely. if cats lived in the wild, how wild were their mentalities? their urges? though, she was starting to relax a little. the young cat's liveliness was cute, she had to admit. she was about to answer subarupaw's questions when a new molly approached. this one seemed elegant, graceful; someone she strived to be. pretty kitty? she felt her ears burn at the compliment. was it a compliment? she knew she was prized for her looks among housefolk, but there it was purely for profit. she wasn't sure she could take such a compliment to heart.

though, the she-cat's kind words and soothing voice helped her relax a little. she was confused about who these cats were, and what their titles meant, but she was sure there was a time and place for questions. right now, as the adrenaline of fear wore off, the hunger bit at her stomach, and her limbs ached from her trek. the cold was freezing her to the bone. their offer was growing more and more appealing to her, and she had no choice now but to accept.

"that's.. very kind of you all," she mumbled meekly. "such beautiful names.. i'm maeve." now felt appropriate to answer subarupaw's question, as deersong inquired the same thing. "i come from a place in the town where.." she took a deep breath. it was more difficult to talk about than she thought it was. "us she-cats have to give away our kits. then have more kits, and give those away too. the cycle repeats." a frown tugged at maeve's lips, and once again the all-familiar lump in her throat came back, a threat of tears. "i can't watch them take my kits away again. i just.. need a place to give birth, and once they're old enough we'll be out of your fur." she looked to deersong, a mother herself, hoping she would understand.


╰── ⋅ ⋅ ───────────────── ✩ ───────────────── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

༶•┈┈⛧┈♛ step out into the new normal

---

 

[BEARHEART]

(

) "K-kill you? I would never do that." Bearheart tried to avoid looking offended, though admittedly his mind did turn to the recent death that had occurred on their border. That... that had been an unfortunate accident caused by tensions over prey. He hadn't been present at the affair but he still felt a strong sense of guilt all the same.

The tom sat himself down as he tried to push the fact that he meant only peace, and as others arrived they too added that they meant no ill towards the traveller. At least now he was beginning to learn more about her and her current predicament. So she was to be a mother soon? Thankfully their nursery would be safe and warm, if she decided to make use of it. However, as she spoke about her reasoning for being there he suddenly felt his chest tighten. Memories of his mother played out in his mind and he was subjected to a brief moment of sadness. He wasn't the product of a breeding mill but his mother had still been bred and her kits sold off once old enough. He had been sold away.

"No one here will ever take your kits away from you. Your family will be safe here, away from the twolegs. We can show you where we live, it's called a 'camp'." Bearheart began as his smile returned and he puffed out his chest with a sense of pride. "I'm a former kittypet, so... I get that this can all be a bit much to take in all at once, Maeve. Once we get to our camp we can let you rest, and you can have this mouse! I believe it more rightfully belongs to you anyway, heh!" Instinctively he looked over at Deersong for reassurance that he was doing the right thing.
​