private in the summer silence .. nutmeg

[hazecloud]

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The discomfort of thin metal wired beneath soft pads did not last very long. Hazecloud had pinned herself against the furthest possible corner of her cage as she could, away from fur-barren paws that swayed and swatted at the air while her captors talked in their twolegspeak. Not a single word had crossed into any avenue of recognition, no different than the foreign speech of a dog or an owl.

The insides of a monster were a complete stranger to her and still felt as much. Nothing around her could be compared to what she knew. No trees, shrubs or moss. No dirt or logs or meadows. It's cold, it's loud, and the moment she is transported from one area to another she is released from the confinement and bolted to the closest place to hide. All shadows aside from the light that peaked out at the entrance she dove through.

The twolegs stomp and step around her, a threatening growl rumbled from her chest, and they appear to have left her after the solid sound of crackling metal. Quiet fell over her, and at last Hazecloud felt she could breathe.

"I have to get out of here!" She hissed, unable to keep her fur from rising and it's only now she understood exactly what Foxtail had meant to show her. She must have looked three times her size by the way her fur became animated on its own.

Though the place had grown into its silence, she does not move right away. Caution guided every moment, every pause and she inched closer to the maw of her self claimed cavern and searched for any signs of movement. Light poured in from somewhere behind her and the queen put her skill of stealth to work, sneaking away from the safety of the dark to investigate.

Her head snapped in every direction- she wouldn't be caught off guard again. Strange objects towered over her like oddly shaped limbs that popped whenever she tried to climb them, the material giving into her weight in a way that made it feel too unstable to continue. She could see it though, above where the light flooded in, the outdoors.

After some trial and error she managed to discover a path to her escape, rushing to greet her freedom when her nose smacked right into something blocking her path. Hazecloud hissed, batting her paw forward to fight and push her way through but it would not relent. A glaring obstacle sat itself between her and the return home, taunting her.

"What in StarClan's name-?" Hazecloud huffed as she pressed her paws flat against the surface, looking out to see another cat wandering past. "Hello? Hello! Can you hear me? Come get me out!" She pleaded to be heard from her strange new prison. How had the twolegs not taken a cat so close to their monsters?

// this threads for the swordtail bingo slot! @nutmeg

✿ ———— I'll be your regular mama ✿ ————— And I'll put that gun away

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  Hazecloud
  —⊰⋅ Queen of RiverClan
  —⊰⋅ She/Her
  "SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  —⊰⋅ LH blue smoke with green eyes.
  

​

 

[nutmeg]

This was no ordinary trip, Nutmeg soon came to find out. Through the window, out under the shade of the den's canopy, she watched the Upwalkers drag in cats left and right. They were feral - they screamed, they clawed, they cursed and cried. Why the Upwalkers would want such dreaded company was something she couldn't fathom.

There was a blooming curiosity in Nutmeg. It grew and flourished with each new arrival to these dens. She's seen all different colors, all shapes and sizes - she even saw a kitten whose youth was now tainted with fear. She wondered - why were they so terrified? Who were they? Where were they from?

It wasn't until Nutmeg got her own company that fateful day that she could finally get some answers. A pretty grey molly with jade eyes, twice her size as she pressed up against the wires of her cage, as if she could melt through the holes and escape without a trace. Nutmeg watched without a word as she was brought into the Upwalker den and let go; keenly so, she watched as the stranger darted under the couch until the Upwalkers were gone.

The stranger hadn't noticed Nutmeg yet, sitting high up above a cabinet and noting her every move. The way she cautiously emerged from the couch, placing each paw delicately onto the cold ground. The anticipation in her eyes when she saw what appeared to be an opening, only to slam face-first into a window. It was a mistake many cats have made, and if it weren't so heartbreaking to watch, Nutmeg could laugh.

Nutmeg only emerged from her height advantage when the stranger began speaking; calling and pleading for help. A graceful thump sounded behind Hazecloud as the kittypet leaped down from her perch, and made her way over with assuredly gentle pawsteps. "They can't hear you," Nutmeg finally spoke. Her voice was deep, soft and sickly sweet, like the smooth weight of honey. It dripped with pity. "Not through that - not unless they focus. It's too loud outside."

If she wouldn't get swatted away, Nutmeg would leap up onto the surface next to the stranger and watch her with curious eyes. There were many defining features to this cat, now that she was closer; she was plush and gentle with a curly fringe, sleek water-swept fur and a warm, milky scent that reminded her of her late mother. But there was also a hard edge - her eyes round with narrow irises, fearful and wild.. her paws, hardened to the earth outside with claws that may have never been clipped, not like Nutmeg's. Underneath her round frame held toned muscles and scars - marks of the wild. Nutmeg couldn't imagine how a cat so youthful in appearance could be so rugged up close.. all the hardships she must have endured..

"You don't belong here," the chocolate molly murmured; a statement not unkind, but a realization. Her dull gaze trailed to the stranger's paws pressed against the glass, desperate to push her way through. "I.. cannot imagine why you are you. Upwalkers are.. unpredictable.."

Should she be allowed to remain yet, Nutmeg's eyes would meet the deep eyes of the river-swept feline. Her pity fades into empathy, and curiosity makes way for wonder. "You must be terrified, but do not fret. As unpredictable as they may be, my Upwalkers are kind. Many of us were born outside and fostered into this place. They will take good care of you." Oh, but she isn't helping, is she? The color is all but drained from the stranger's face. Perhaps a less direct approach, or a diversion.. "Do you have a name, dear?" Nutmeg inquires.
​

CHARACTER INFORMATION — ♡ ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ ♡ — OUT OF CHARACTER

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  NUTMEG ━━ penned by ixora
  ━━ KITTYPET
  ━━ 26 MOONS,, ages every 16th
  ━━ MATE to none | PARENT to none
  ━━ MENTOR to none | MENTORED by none
  ━━ HEALTH ♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎ | nutmeg is healthy.​
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• speech is #d1a261​