The next chapter // joiner

[Cattleheart]

The tortoiseshell female had been out wandering for about a moon on her own. She didn't exactly think she felt comfortable in a clan setting with her old clan. There was so many rules to follow and so much drama that went amongst it, it irritated her. However, she did realize that she didnt particularly like being out by herself. Sure, she was great at living alone and adapting to the life of camping out in unknown places every night. She was never malnourished or dehydrated, she knew how to survive on her own because her mother taught her from the day she could walk. She did however grow up in a farm setting so she was never alone, there was a language barrier but she still managed to communicate in some form and have company by her side. It seemed like it had been years since she hadn't had friendly company, she enjoyed her alone time but any healthy mind would get sick of them hearing just their own voice in their mind.

Cattleheart didn't want to venture in look for a farm to take her in because of the risk of twolegs snatching her up for the kittypet life and the guardian dogs that occasionally guarded some farm lands. She grew up with guardian dogs and she knew the things they can inflict on stranger animals they thought posed a risk. It was too risky. She knew it was safer to go into another clan, even if they didn't like her.

The long legged female had a rabbit in her jaws as she approached the scent mark of another clan, her tail up high and waving loosely in a friendly manner. Carefully, she bent down and let it gently fall in front of her paws. Pale yellow eyes gazed out into the distance, nose twitching to drink in the winds scent to find out if anyone was nearby. When she tasted a closeby clan cat she let her chest purr out some words, "Hello? I am interested in join' y'all's... Erm.. establishment. I brough' a.. um.. wha's the name? Peace offern'..?" She let a paw gently push the rabbit a tiny bit, curious eyes scanning the area with perked ears. Hopefully, this will work out. She noted clan cats weren't really friendly with more mature cats, only kittens. Which she understood to an extent but couldn't they tell pretty well which one was a threat and which one wasn't? She hoped the peace offering was enough to help them get the jist of her friendly manner.

//Oof, I am petsitting and don't have my laptop so I'm sorry if this seems off. But I was too eager to get her started again. ​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ One of the benefits of living among the colony, Blaise has found, is that he is slowly beginning to learn to identify different cat scents. He has been working at it, slowly but surely, testing himself when he stumbles upon someone hunting outside of their camp and trying to guess before they reveal themselves. He's gotten to fifty/fifty odds and counts that as a success.

A soft jingling takes the air as the massive flame point reveals himself to the tortoiseshell. He looks at her as though she's spoken in a foreign tongue for a moment. She cradles a rabbit beneath her paw, has a kindly expression on her face, and asks to join them.

He smiles, but the action is strained. "Nice to meet you," he murmurs. "Thank you for the rabbit. We do have some kits here who would appreciate it, I know. Some of us are..." He hesitates. He had been prepared to tell her that many of them weren't up for hunting much yet, but he doesn't know if he should reveal that to a stranger. He lets the sentence linger and vanish rather than reveal their vulnerability.

He does say, however, "We had a leader before who we would have brought to you. He was kind. He... he allowed me to join not so long ago." His heart stings, but he does his best not to show his sorrow. Blaise exhales softly. "He is not here anymore, but he would not have refused you. I can show you where the camp is, if you'd like."
​

✦ PENNED BY MARQUETTE.​

 

[MUDPELT]

Mud would appear from just behind the former kittypet, curiosity filling his gaze as he took in the stranger. She was requesting to join their loner group, and while another cat may have been suspicious of her timing (they were all still licking their wounds, after all), the brown tom's naivety prevented him from feeling such a way. Things were gloomy around the camp lately, with so many denmates mourning fallen loved ones. Perhaps bringing in a new friend would help to heal some of the hurt.

"That looks really tasty! The kits would love rabbit, we don't get many 'round here!" He chimed in, pulling that big smile onto his face. It was easy for him to be more joyful than many other pine cats....he didn't lose his family. Clay was still alive and well. But Rain...and Haku. Those were two friends that had fallen. He agreed with Blaise - he liked to think they would've wanted a new friend, too.
​

"speech"​

 

[BEESONG]

The scent of rabbit is unfamiliar; they do not inhabit the pine forest, rather it is squirrels and birds that he often finds. But the offering is not unwelcome. With so many of his colony injured or- or worse, hunting has been difficult.

What intrigues him about this stranger, however, is the way in which she speaks. Whiskers pull forward, cinnamon ears perking as if hanging on to every syllable. Y'all, she calls them. "Y'all," Honeybee echoes with a chuckle. "Y'all, y'all, y'all. What a funny word!" There's a childlike glee in his eyes as he plays with the word on his tongue. He likes this cat already. He'll have to study more of her funny words. Honeybee sways on his toes, nodding to Blaise's offer. The glimmer in his gaze seems to dim at the mention of their late leader. Still, he forces his smile to remain. "Yeah, any cat who fills our bellies is a friend of ours."​

 

[Cattleheart]

The females eyes widened a bit out of surprise as she saw the massive tom, surprised she got to sight someone a bit taller than her. "Howdy, Handsome!" She chirped, scanning him in a teasing but friendly manner. She nodded a bit at the kitten comment, purring at the thought of seeing kittens again. Excitement stirred inside her mind and body as she listened, looking for a chance to speak. It had been so long since the female had talked to her own species, attempting to push back the urge of her nasty habit of rambling. However, her anticipation and holding back of excitement showed through the kneading of the ground below her.

As soon as she felt a drop in vulnerability she stopped and tightened up her body, eyes softening of the warmth but holding confusion as well until he told her what had happened. Her body held a tinge of body language showing she was uncomfortable but she didn't let it express too much, "Head up darlin', mourn your loss but don' let it knock you down and alter your life. I grew up with loosin' but I don' know losin' a leader... I'm sure it is hard though. My condolences." She didn't ask for the details, mostly because Cattleheart didn't like to settle on loss. It made her uncomfortable. She didn't have a lot of feeling towards loss since it was all she grew up with on the farm. The brutal death finding of her sister didn't quite make her very sad because of this, almost numb in feeling to it. There wasn't a big way for her to relate but she tried her best to understand him. She'd probably grow suspicion if she shared her feelings on loss and be slapped with the title of remorseless, but it wasn't something she couldn't alter. She tried to show empathy towards Blaise since she sensed he was feeling some sorrow.

The arrival of the other two made her sit up and smile, "Well isn' that jus' perfect!" Cassie purred, eyes gleaming with joy as she received friendly welcomes. She sat up straight with pride as Mud mentioned the rabbit, kneading her paws against the ground. "Oh yeah, I caught it as I was travelin' 'round the area. Some grassy open field had a bit!" She was proud of her long legs and lean body due to the advantages of prey she was able to get ahold of. She didn't let herself ramble on about herself, no one liked boastful ramblers! She didn't want to scare new clan mates away.

She chuckled at Honeybee for teasing her for the way she talked, standing to her paws and scanning the younger male. "Now, watch what you laugh at my friend, I might come back and bite ya'!" she joked with a playful wink, her body loose with playfulness. She knew she was different and she embraced it, but Cassie just adored the fact the tom was paying her attention. She enjoyed his attitude and playfulness and she had just the personality to mirror him. She felt like she would fit in, her first ever joining experience was a little tense but less than what she had saw due to her outgoingness. But the three toms were welcoming and she really appreciated that from them. ​

 

[BLAZESTAR]

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ Blaise looks at the newcomer with a mystified expression as she tells him not to let grief alter his life. He cannot tell her this, but his life has been changed by more than just Rain's death. In the span of only a moon, he's left a comfortable and enviable life with housefolk and entered a world of barbarism and bloodshed.

But he cannot say this, of course. Why burden another, especially a stranger, with his inconsequential problems? His frown turns into a weary smile. "Of course," he says. "I didn't get your name earlier. What do you go by? I'm Blaise."

He flicks his tail tip in silent greeting to Mud and Honeybee. They manage to be lighthearted and welcoming where he perhaps has not been, and he's grateful for that. There's no reason to scare someone away who can hunt and aid their colony, after all.​

✦ PENNED BY MARQUETTE.​