SURFACE PRESSURE [skyclan rescue attempt/OPEN]

[BRAMBLEHEART]

જ➶ With quite hope in honey brown eyes the tom waits and then it is his turn to be freed. She did not forget him and with a step forward he breathes out in relief. His body for the moment is not hindered by pain and so he gives her a dip of his head. "Thank you...thank you so much. All of you." The risk they are taking is a great one and even a kittypet such as himself can understand that. The shelter is one thing and he has often been to the vet, fed awful tasting tablets but through trial he has figured out that they help him in the long run. Still he does not have the heart to return back to his upwalkers. Embarking on this task, this journey has opened him up to the world that he has not once thought of treading on his own before. Turning away he makes himself shift, bunching muscles to jump to the sill and walk along to the open window. A small wince pulls at his face but the pink collared tom moves as quickly as he can to not hinder those that are behind him. With a soft huff he pulls himself up to the window and his eyes shift over so many that are already out and waiting.

So many freed to experience the world not through the bars of a cage. Will he be able to handle such a thing? Flicking his tail he suddenly takes note of a tom there to help and his eyes widen. Gaze roaming over him, taking in the pelt coloration, the scars and that purple collar. Can this be? Maybe?! That other cat did say that he stayed in Skyclan. His maw parts and he is about to speak but someone gentle nudges him. "Oh..sorry, sorry." He doesn't need to hold up the line of escapees and so he shifts a little to try and get down. All the while trying to steal glances @ThistleBack .​

 

[shrewflight.]

He landed on something soft, yet bumpy, on another cat? Pocket let out a nervous giggle as the other cats response was not happy. "I-I didn't see him, I was scared, it was high," his tiny voice broken up in pants from the overwhelming feeling and his stomach dropping from falling.

"I'm sorry," he said climbing down from the other and looking up pitifully at @spiderpaw . He didn't want the bigger cat to decide that he wasn't worthy of joining Skyclan now and tossing him to the side like his no furs did. He didn't want to live on the streets, or with another no fur. He wanted to be with Skyclan.

"P-please don't be mad, I didn't know," his lip trembled a bit and his ears flattened backwards.

Did he already mess this one up? Sentencing himself to be cast aside?

 

[spiderpaw ✧]

[ ♱ ] Spiderpaw's heavy tail lashed as she finished spilling her venomously-toned words from her maw, looking down at the kit now that she had managed to get to her paws after the whole event. She glanced down at the sound of a tiny mew, prepared to unleash another torrent of choice words upon the little creature—up until now, she'd barely interacted with kits, and she was fully prepared to ream it out as everyone expected her to.

But, oh hell, it's still so tiny, even compared to the other kits. The tiniest, sweetest little voice she's ever heard, panting from the fall, lapses into pitiful stammering. Its huge eyes are staring up at her, shiny and giant and sad, and there's still that little blue bow around its neck. And, oh hell again, its little lip is trembling and its tiny ears are flattening and the damn kit looks like it's about to cry because of what she said, a stark change from her Clanmates, who just scold her or snark her back. I'm sorry ... P-please don't be mad, I didn't know ... For some bizarre reason she simply cannot make sense of, the tiny thing's pathetic little voice pierces Spiderpaw in a way no reaction to her cruelty ever has.

The smoky apprentice glares down at her paws, her pelt bristling with heat and humiliation at this strange emotional reaction the little beast has elicited in her, stammering, "W-Whatever, it's fine ... I, uh, um, I'm not mad at you," Spiderpaw twists on her paws to glare at the cats crowding around, "You all clear out! You know where to go, don't you, or has all that shelter time melted your brains?" She bristles, harsher than usual as if to compensate, turning back to the kit, "I, I'm not mad, okay?"

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// all opinions are purely ic lol <3

 

[ThistleBack]

He barely has time to turn around and a small shape is whisking past his forelimbs. " seven hells " he whispered, peering down the ledge in time to see the culprit on Spiderpaw’s shoulders.

A striped frail thing appears after another stream of strangers, striped ash and olive eyes. They seemingly pause at the sight of him, the halt in movement catches his eye. He can see the boy wince as he climbs up.

" come on, I only look like I bite " he urges with a gruff tone, leaning down to peer better at the stranger. A few blinks, and a strange flicker of memory passes behind his eyes like a spark of light in an eternal darkness. A memory, a memory of what. " y- huh … " Thistleback shakes his crown subtly, jaws shifting. What was that? a puzzled stillness falls over his face as the young shelter cat keeps stealing looks his way.

Spiderpaw is facing the small bundle below, speaking with it. " lots more coming your way lass " he hisses down to her.

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OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  Thirty-seven moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22 | polyamorous
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Pricklepaw, and Eveningpaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

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[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN
BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN​

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OOC- rolled a 6, opens 2 more cages!

It was a strange feeling to do something against the twolegs, even stranger to take such pleasure in it. Johnny knew that the world was filled with all kinds of people, and that not all of them were kind. Hell, some of them were even entirely indifferent. Still, it was the first time the patchwork tabby had ever crossed paths with a group of twolegs that he would willingly work against. Hell, he might even harbor some resentment after all was said and done.

Paws quickly worked to open the cage of Wolfthorn next, setting the tom free with a grin before gesturing to the window. "Out you go. Your friend will be out right behind you." he said as he turned to then work on the cage next to it, quickly releasing Rushwind as well. "Right to the window now, no dawdlin!" he encouraged.
[/SIZE]​

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[AVILIUS]

The flood of cats grows ever more persistent. The whole shelter seems fit to flee– though he cannot blame them their escape, the closeness of wandering paws makes the feral tom twitch. It is no better than the twolegs that wore gloves to hold him still, or shove food to their cage. He eats scarcely, and sleeps rarely. Sarsaparilla is far more at ease than he; that is a minor comfort. To come from a life with minimal contact with these beasts to being surrounded by them has left him reeling. That his defensiveness may come as a detriment to Sarsaparilla, he does not seem to understand. Curly fur is lifted along his spine in a subtle arch, his tail lashing. Though he does not stand close to the bars of the cage, it is clear that he has no intention of settling down. The low growling resonates up the column of his throat to escape through bared teeth, and it has dragged on for an eternity.

When it slows to a stop, it is for a simple answer: "Twenty. Twenty-one." Late, a few more bodies released– he may have missed some, or counted another twice. Between the flow of rescuers and open cages, he cannot make sense of who they are, what they are, where they are going. He presses himself back further into the box, tension flexing his limbs and widening his eyes. And in his aggravation, anxiety. Even if only Sarsaparilla would see it.

˗ˏˋ《  OOC 05.11.2023 》´ˎ˗

• ooc: caged with @sarsaparilla
• avilius ╱╱ he - him. warrior of skyclan.
  ──── a stoic, cold former loner / rogue with a storied past. very protective of sarsaparilla.
  ──── high endurance, high strength build. not built for speed, but able to tank anything.
  ──── former shelter cat, still adjusting to clan life. has difficulty speaking nicely to others.
  
  a sturdily built brown tabby with fur that tinges towards golden in thick, dense curls. though often messy, he carries himself with composure and certainty– it is obvious that this tom is accustomed to battle, and will not hesitate to put his skill to the test if need be.
• "speech"

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[SWORDPAW]

Noise. Lots of it. The metal crashes and clangs and he is a malleable meat - thing between the curvature of it all. His time here feels like an eternity, one only spend between statue - like stillness and overanimation. The noise, noise, jolts him out of his frozeness. Pale eyes are wide, dull flesh form perked. Cloth still lies draped over his own enclosure, and he can only catch glimpses of shifting fur and rumbles. Were they going somewhere? Where was there to go? It's hopeless, he'd concluded long ago, but the shuffling of feet would of course, inspire some curiosity. Just a little, not a lot. A lot to dream would be a lot to shatter, and he couldn't handle all that. " Wh-what's happening? " he squawks into darkness, unsheathed claws loud against the once - cold surface.

His claws grapple at the walls, seeking change. Seeking at all. He wanted to see. His lip wobbles and his fur is freyed. Was it the clan cats they had talked about? But how was that possible? How had the upwalkers not taken them up and made them dance for eternity? How had they managed to be real and true? More real than even his own... Fear is a sticky solution in his throat. He couldn't be left here, just him? He had one – a twoleg, but he couldn't just be left. " H-hey! Are you–? Please! Can I come? I... "​

 

[TALLULAHWING]

Tallulahwing watches more cats flee, and her paws continue working. Two cats caged together, murmuring to themselves -- her next target. She thinks she's finally getting the hang of this, because the latch slips easily, and they are free. "Follow the crowd, darlin'," she says urgently to both, already fixing her gaze on the next felines to be freed.

A scared torbie, small, flinching in fear away from the SkyClan cats. Tallulahwing's yellow gaze softens, but her voice is brisk as she opens the cage: "Don't hesitate too long, young'un. If the Twolegs come in here, they'll put ya right back where ya came from." She gives her a curt nod, and moves along, industrious as always.

// rolled a 5, opened two cages soundlessly!
freed @THEO @AVILIUS @sarsaparilla ​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[WYRM]

She looked about as confused as she was, and honestly, Wyrm was glad he wasn't alone on this matter. He tries his best to remain on the money enough to watch her make it to safety, but frantic and scared for his life (could you blame him?) he moves on quickly for the sake of havin' something to do with his paws. Standing around gives him more time to think. What would he think about? Stupid shit, probably.

He watches as his clanmates(?) move onto freeing the other shelter cats, and inwardly groans at the fact that these randos were becoming their responsibility. Honor and nobility and all that blah blah blah, as if clan cats didn't kill each other over food when they had the chance when they could literally go next door for an effortless meal. Whatever! Whatever. Woo, jailbreak!

Without looking, asking, or caring, Wyrm unconciously moves to the next full cage he finds and proceeds with the painstaking process of opening one of these things. He feels like he practically cuts a limb off in the process and again, if the upwalkers hadn't heard the rest of the racket, they were absolutely coming for their asses now. He only becomes more decrepit looking which each second, fur fluzzing out of control, but like, what's new.

He tunes in just in time to hear the old tom unfortunately croak thoughts similar to his own. The guilt isn't hidden at all on his face, but still, like he was gonna do all that just for this guy to go 'ooh i'm good actually'

Still, uh, he wasn't a very great salesguy, or nothin'. " Uhhh... I mean, ya sure? I mean, i've already opened it for ya and we've got... um, lookouts and stuff... " Confidence oozing from every word, totally. Wyrm scratches an itch on his foreleg like this wasnt a high-stakes heist. " I mean, do whatcha want. " He almost adds somethin' about how he'll look stupid bein' the only one left here, but Wyrm's pretty sure old people are immune to peer pressure. He points to where Thistleback is standin guard, all tough and muscly and stuff, in case this guy wants to change his mind. Fine, whatever.

[ freeing & talking to @M. MOUSER ; rolled a 1... +1 modifier again ]​

 

[TALLULAHWING]

Tallulahwing gives Wyrm a dark look for the unholy screeching he causes the cage to make, but her luck has run out. The next latch is stuck, and she fumbles with it for too long before it slides out with an earsplitting crank of metal on metal. Her ears flatten, and she lets out a hiss. "Oh, damn it all!"

Still, it was open enough... two cats in this cage, and she's thankful. Tallulahwing shooes them out with a quick paw. "Go, go, go! Before all this noise brings'em in here!"

// rolled a 1, no modifier
freed @Junco @Soma ​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[WYRM]

Wyrm moves on, not having the time (or brainpower, really.... Nor the conviction. Okay, he's lacking a LOT of things if he's honest) to convince this old guy to move his ass. Maybe seeing Wyrm walk away from him would motivate him... or something. The numbers seem to be dwindeling at last, and he comes to one of the last trapped shelter cats. He doesn't care for that StarClan, or whatever, but he could almost cry to the stars about how he should be dead right now but he isn't. Go him!

He repeats the previous steps. This time, he doesn't feel like he's somehow in mortal danger by undoing the damned thing. He's numb to the loud creaking at this point. Scream your heart out, weird door. The sigh he lets out is long and deep. He's going to need to like, recover after this. " Follow the crowd – I mean, I'm comin' with you anyways, actually. " and he was never doing this shit again. His paws are already moving back toward the point of entry. Hopefully the tabby would be able to pick up on things quick enough.

[ freeing @Fanta ! ! ; rolled a 2 +1 modifier; Ls to the very end ]​

 

[Wolfthorn]

His cage pops open and he leaps down, impulsively almost bounding away on instinct alone before catching himself and pausing next to the tabby, "Nothing personal, kid, but I'm not leaving until I see the idiot out too." His white dipped paws tapped the ground as he shifted in place uncomfortable, unsure, dark blue eyes narrowed in thought until the second cage was opened and he shook his head in annoyance, "Move it, Rush-we're out of here."
Wherever these cats were going they'd follow for now, better to stick to this group less they get grabbed again or lost in some strange place. The second the golden tom hopped down he was turning to head to that window the other forest cats were clambering out of.
​

 

[Soma]

WENT FACE TO FACE WITH ALL OUR FEARS
LEARNED OUR LESSONS THROUGH THE TEARS​

---

He forced himself to be patient as the Skyclan cats worked, crouching near the door or his cage next to his brother with tense muscles and a chest full of anticipation. This was their chance to get out of the system, to leave the vicious loop they were stuck in that bounced them from one home to another. Soma wasn't stupid. He knew that sooner or later the twolegs would either separate them or get sick of seeing them brought back so often. And then how long would it be until they ended up like that shecat they'd taken into that room?

When the door to their cage finally swung open, Soma paused to dip his head toward the shecat before bolting with his sibling. Under different circumstances the large tuxedo tomcat would have stopped to thank her properly, but the loud bang the cage door made had him quickly shoving Junco ahead of him and rushing toward the window.
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---

LONER - male - 10 months - bisexual - homoromantic - single - a large black and white tomcat with asymmetrical tuxedo markings and deep green eyes.

 

[TALLULAHWING]

A young cat, frail-looking and thin as wire, arches strangely in his cage. He calls to her as she passes by -- is it her? -- "H-hey! Are you--? Please! Can I come? I..." Tallulahwing halts, swinging her floral-bright gaze to meet his strange, twitching eyes. "Hold on a sec, mister," she says, resigned -- will the flood of cats begging for release ever end?

Her paws get to work, this time quietly, and the latch opens. The cat the cage frees is lanky and strange-looking, all angles. She looks at him questionably, wondering how long he's been in there, but brushes the thought away. "Follow the rest of 'em, kid," she instructs, gazing about her to see if there are others needing freedom.

// rolled a 3, no modifiers
freed @SWORD ART ONLINE​

[ PENNED BY MARQUETTE ]​

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[Rushwind]

he waited with baited breath as the other cats were freed. Anxiety gnawed at him as every noise was made, every noise that could alert the twolegs who watch the place. He worried what they might do, after what they all saw happen to Daisyflight. He didnt want to see it happen again, so his gaze often drifted to the door where twolegs usually came through to check on them.

He watched Wolf be freed from his cage and he felt touched that his prickly, thorny friend waited for him at the bottom. He gave a big smile. "I'll be down in just a second!" He said. He was like sap, sticky and hard to get rid of.

When his cage was opened, he gave Talullawing a bright "Thank you!" and hopped down, landing next to Wolf.

"Alright, lets get out of here before we get found out!" He said, giving him a friendly head bump.

Because it WOULD be just his luck that those twolegs come in right after he got free.


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[ATHENA !]

ATHENA — you and I drink the poison from the same vine.
She doesn’t think she could miss the sudden crashing if she tried.
It was quick, all too quick. She had barely scrambled to her paws before the cries began, cats begging to be freed.
The scent of sap spread over like fire, hitting Athena’s senses like a bittersweet punch.
She barely had time to let her jaw slack in astonishment, "Skyclan?" She gasped to herself… no, there was no way!
Cages rattled, frantic paws scurried across the floor as a cat below her bee-lined towards freedom.
Freedom.
The thought sends the tortoiseshells adrenaline into overdrive, the thought that she would get left behind if she didn’t move quickly sending her crashing against her own door, forepaws banging against it.
"The up-walkers are going to come! Please take me with you!" Never before had she been one to beg, but her desperation not to get left behind was too much to bear- even for her.
She’d point her attention on the nearest forest cat she could see, the sudden fear of meeting the same fate as that Daisyflight had gnawing at her. No, she couldnt stay- she’d gouge the eyes out of the next up-walker that touched her.

"speech"

tags​

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[PIPER]

Strigine eyes swam not in the strained silence but in the unraveling chaos.

Piper's heart threatened to burst out of her chest with each harrowing beat, as though it were a beast floating in the tar sea, whose limbs grew lethargic but spirit never such. Ever since she came to this accursed shelter, she was slowly drowning. Trapped in a loud room with louder strangers, she found it unimportant to converse with them. After all, they were just that - strangers. They told the shelter cats their name - which had striated from the truth, though she saw no obligation to open her heart to those that happened to share the same space as her. They could be friends one day and enemies the next, whichever way the sun blew. He told her everything: how fickle the cat's whim was and how capricious their noses were when they found a new scent trail to follow. Piper was no such thing - she was a boulder upon the blowing blusters, an ivory pillar where the fort once lie.

Those once trapped in cages now fluttered frantically about, like doves being freed from their chains, birds bumbling and bustling about upon wings that had rusted and rimed. Piper exercised her own claws as well, drawing them in and out in some sort of rhythm within the tangled strings of bedlam. There was screaming, yelling, and screeching, and it all funneled into Piper's sharpened ears. The black-and-white feline cautiously peered out to see what was unfolding, watching with an owlish gaze as she still lie within her throne of marble and gunmetal greys. She was still here, and would she be saved? She wanted to fly, too. It wasn't her fault that the upwalkers had clipped her wings, shoved her into a box with only the sorrowful shadows to drink from.

Cats... Freeing other cats? How did they escape? Through the overwhelming sterile scent of the shelter, she could detect the freedom of the forest. It was an aroma that, before it comforted her, flooded her with the warmth of steeled adrenaline. Before it had embraced her, the forest had hurt her. Before it had birthed her, it had taken her. And yet, she yearned for it. That was what home was, after all. A place to store her tragedies, on weak butterfly-wings she would keep them close. She longed for her grief, for it was all that she knew. Outside...? Outside! They came from outside? She searched around for... No, she hadn't seen him in months. He wouldn't be here, not now. Especially after what he said to her.

They hadn't the time to question what saving grace had descended upon them, and they knew they must act fast before such angels returned to their heavens. She never believed in some higher power, but perhaps the gracious goddess of dumb luck had stumbled into her wayward path. "Hey! You, let me out! I need to see my family again!" She mewed with a voice hoarse from disuse, clawing at the metal bars of her cage in frenetic futility. This might be her only chance, but what had chance ever done for her?
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[✧ Mottledove.]

MY LITTLE DOVE WHY DO YOU CRY
chiara | 14 months | female | she/her | physically extremely easy | mentally very hard | attack in bold #74a2a5

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She wakes to the sound of voices franticly shouting, and it takes blue eyes a minute to take in her surroundings. Cool metal bars and walls and floors - she's at not-the-cutters but somewhere worse. She remembers the horror stories of her kithood well - she doesn't want to be like them. Limbs are tired as the molly goes to stand - tail curling protectively against the swell of her belly. She knows by now what lies within - and as she hobble over to press her face to the opening it is this knowledge that spurs her into action. "H-hey! Y-you're from that skyclan they were talking about right? The forest cats? Take me with you! Please! They're going to take away my kits if you don't!" she calls - her soft voice shaking and warbling with terror. She slams herself against the bas, rattling them - she needs out. This is her only chance at freedom - she's already been abandoned by her mate and now her owners, she doesn't want to be left behind now too.

// i cannot read four pages of replies sorry so please just assume she slept through most of the commotion whoops;

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[Johnnyflame]

HE SAID, "WELL MY NAME'S JOHNNY, AND IT MIGHT BE A SIN

BUT I'LL TAKE YOUR BET, AND YOU'RE GONNA REGRET, CUZ IM THE BEST THERE'S EVER BEEN."​

---

The noise was slowly growing around him, a crescendo of cries that echoed the countdown of a ticking clock. The tom could feel his nerves buzzing with anticipation, knowing that the clamor of cages banging and cats calling out would soon draw in the twolegs, forcing the entire operation to a stop.

Two more cages opened under near-expert paws, @PIPER and @ATHENA ! now faced with the freedom they'd been asking for. "Right to the window- I don't know how much more time we have!" he warned, letting both shecats know that things could come crashing down at any moment and hoping they'd take the bid for freedom rather than linger.

// rolled an 8, opened two cages!
[/justify

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