Hey wait, come back! [intro]

[Cloudy]

The sun was already high in the sky when Cloudy awoke in her giant fluffy cat bed. Okay truthfully it was a giant fluffy dog bed for her brother Rutherford, but Cloudy wanted it so she claimed it and Rutherford can't do anything about it. Cloudy rolled around in the bed more, just to get her scent further into it, before exiting the bed.

One of her Housefolk was standing at the sink, doing something with the running water, and Cloudy rubbed herself against the female's leg with a purr before leaving her home out of the cat flap. Immediately the heat of the day hit, and Cloudy stretched to let the sun reach her muscles.

A flash of white had her tilt her head, and Cloudy chirped when she spotted a white butterfly. Immediately she sank into a crouch, lopsided and wobbly, before creeping up on it. The butterfly dodged her pounce and fluttered away, into the forest, and Cloudy whined. "Hey! Get back here!" she cried for it. Without stopping to think about it, Cloudy jumped onto her fence and then down, taking off into the trees.

The wall of scents hit her nose, and Cloudy blinked as she looked around, muzzle wiggling as she took in all the smells. She'd never been this far from her home! There was so much to explore, and Cloudy wiggled in excitement before rushing off and shoving herself under the nearest bush, just to see what was under it.

 

[CHAR]

Now that the marsh cats are brutalizing them for mice, Char feels wary about hunting in the woods alone. He isn't afraid of a fight--not by any means. The big gray tabby wears his victories and losses over seventy moons without thinking twice about a single scar. If a cat thinks to approach him with hostility, he will not hesitate to meet them in battle.

But Char does not want to spill another feline's blood. There's been too much of that in his life. He's still recovering from the last bout of brutality, had come to Rain's group to get away from that sort of existence. He's done with the bleak, hopeless sort of life he's lived. He wants peace, sunshine, the distant company of other cats. Prey. Sleep. He wants to retire in a beautiful home.

The incident where one of Briar's had assaulted Finch... it won't leave his brain. He has children Finch's age, younger, and the idea that they could be out there fighting for their lives like the ginger and white tom sends him spiraling. He can't quite understand the instinct to steal a piece of prey from another cat's mouth when the forests are teeming... at least, compared to where he'd come from...

A wriggle catches him off guard, lulls him out of his thoughts. Char swings his scarred head to peer at a bush. His first thought is that a mouse is prepared to walk right into his paws. After tasting the air, however, he determines a cat has crawled its way into the foliage.

"Might as well come out," he says, voice gruff and guarded. The cat doesn't smell like swamp water, but he still doesn't know who it could be. "I know you're in there. State yer business." Moss-colored eyes focus coldly on the trembling leaves, and he waits.
​

 

[Blinding Star]

( ✧ ) The tom strides through the undergrowth, weaving through winding pines and ignoring the spiked byproducts it left in its wake─ Certainly not something to be admired like fallen leaves, or a morsel that would attract any wandering prey. Only useless, nothing more than a small pain for cats too dim to avoid it. He supposes you could say that about pretty much anything around here.

A trained hunter, he's able to resist the urge to kick them aside as he goes. His steps remain light and controlled. Narrowed eyes scan the branches; snow-white ears flicker forward.

And there's sound, low chattering. In an instant, his stance shifts into something more relaxed, a hunter's crouch no longer needed. Why bother keeping quiet, when another clearly had no such plan? Aggravating.

Still, while he's here, he'll see what the fuss is about. He's in no hurry to approach, especially once he grasps just how close to twolegplace he was. His muzzle wrinkles at the scent of pet kitty, and lo and behold, here's his source. Clearly there's a strange little thing wriggling about a bush as if they had nothing better to do. And let's be honest, they didn't. He witholds his sigh─ disdain for their Incompetent twolegs.

Char is barely acknowledged aside from a passing glance. He held not much of an opinion towards him, though the way he spoke to the pet kitty had his lips curling into a smile. "Relax, it's no threat," he tells him, grinning maybe a little too sweetly. His gaze shifts back towards the bush, smile mellowing into something more passive. "Far from home, aren't you?"
​

 

[BUGPAW]

( ⋆✦° ) Branches quiver as she leaps between them, her ears perked in the direction of chattering. It draws her in, like a moth to a flame. Within heartbeats, she's perched above two of her groupmates, her whiskers twitching. There's an unfamiliar scent in the air, but Blinding Star assures them that it's not a threat, and Bug believes him without question. "Hi!" chirps the calico to her groupmates, her tail swaying.

As usual, Char has taken to grumbling. With a playful roll of their eyes, Bug clambers down from their perch to the forest floor. They don't understand why Char has to be so unwelcoming to everyone; sure, the group in the marshlands have been less than friendly, but that doesn't mean that every cat is unfriendly! "Yeah, take it easy! You'll scare everyone away with that scowl." As they speak, they shift closer to the bush of interest, their nose twitching as they sniff at it. Whoever it is, they smell funny. "Come on out, we won't bite!" Bug sends a glance towards Char, their tail tip twitching. "Even Mr. Grumpy-tail over there." No matter how grumpy a cat may be, Bug doesn't believe that anyone in her group would attack unprovoked.​