ripple colony walkin' down windy roads // mouse (private)

[RYESTALK]

——————————————【 She/her | 34 moons | Ripple Colony 】——————————————

【◈】"Alright, slow down there - don't get too far ahead, y'hear? Never know what trouble you might run right into..." The warning is called out with no bite, meant only as a reminder, and even as it leaves Rye's mouth she's already picking up the slack and closing the distance between herself and Mouse, determined not to let the younger cat wander too far out of her sight. Not that she's convinced this new land is riddled with threats - after all, if that were the case, she'd've just tried a little harder to convince her young companion to remain close to their temporary setup, bribed her with all sorts of fun games and stories to keep her and the other young'uns occupied for the time being. No, she doesn't really expect to be met with trouble on such a fine day, though it's best to set some precautions all the same. "Where are we goin', anyways? Got any special ideas in mind?" Rye asks, questions light on her tongue as she offers a sunny grin. It sure felt nice to just relax for a spell, thoughts of their current predicament pushed aside even if only for a few hours.

While she planned to steer Mouse if she led them too far off-track, the goal of this little outing is more to let the little tabby lead the way, to have her own adventure (with a little supervision, of course). Whatever they might discover is out of her paws, at the very least, though perhaps if they ended up a little closer to the river and a little closer to some warm stones, Rye might be able to persuade Mouse to take a little break to soak in some sun. For now, though she relishes the feel of the ground beneath her paws and the brisk pace she makes to keep up, not quite like the slow march they'd all made down the mountainside or even the quick bursts of speed she'll put on to snatch up prey before it can escape. This is how she'd like to spend her days, though a spell of hunting every now and then wouldn't hurt, either. A shame this little adventure had to happen here of all places, with Mouse spending her younger moons on the move and away from what should have been home, but so long as she doesn't seem to be dwelling on it, Rye won't either, at least for right now. Right now it's time to focus more on the present, and especially on making sure she doesn't get left behind in favor of Mouse's antics.
// @mouse

[penned by hijinks].

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[MOUSE]

(=〃ﻌ〃=)ﾉ — Mouse trots along at a brisk pace, only slowing down a little bit when she hears her companion's good-natured warning. Other than the flood (which she tries hard not to think about), the young molly's hardly encountered any of the world's dangers; it's difficult for her to fully comprehend that there might be threats lurking in this new land, especially when she has Rye with her for protection. She returns the smile once her traveling companion catches up with her, yellow eyes bright with enthusiasm. "I dunno," she mews. "I just wanna see everything." It's a big world, especially when she's so little.

Again she pulls ahead, attention stolen by a butterfly perched atop a flower. It flies away before she even reaches it, which she observes with a slightly parted jaw before running after it. It loops around, leading her back to Rye; she almost bumps into her but manages to skid to a stop just beforehand. "How come cats don't have wings? I wish I could fly." She waits only a beat for an answer before getting distracted by chirping. With pricked ears she swings her head around, scanning their surroundings until her gaze rests on a nearby robin pecking at the grass. With a little gasp she drops to a crouch, staring intently at it with a lashing tail, before springing toward it — and sorely missing. Like the butterfly, it hastily flies away. "Darn it!"
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[RYESTALK]

——————————————【 She/her | 34 moons | Ripple Colony 】——————————————

【◈】Her companion's response earns a small purr in response, punctuated with a slight tilt of the head. "Everythin', huh? Well, you're off to a mighty fine start, I'd say," Rye hums, tearing her gaze away from Mouse to take a better look at their surroundings. It wasn't home, but now that she's taking a closer look, it sure was something else, wasn't it? Certainly full of appeal for such a curious young soul, and perhaps full of appeal for someone like her alike. There'd been some scouting that she'd participated in, and of course she's done some hunting as well, but Rye hasn't necessarily taken the time to just explore the area yet, always busy with some other task. Now, though, following after Mouse, her heart feels a touch lighter, and for that Rye's grateful; things have been far too heavy these past moons, and though it's no fault of anyone's, there's still an unspoken weight that lingers around their little colony at times.

As Mouse bounds ahead, Rye's attention remains half-caught until a flash of color flits into the corner of her vision, followed quickly by a rapidly-approaching Mouse; too little time to slow her gait, she can only brace herself for an impact that never comes, as Mouse just manages to avoid a collision, though it's a near thing. Maybe she'd do better to keep an eye on the girl, but there's no time to focus on that thought as the question of wings is posed to her. "Why don't cats have wings? Well, I reckon it's 'cause if we had wings and four paws, things'd be too easy - wouldn't need to do anything but swoop down and grab whatever we needed, and we'd get too lazy for anything else," Rye responds, tone matter-of-fact. "Would be fun though, wouldn't it?" she adds, considering the idea. There didn't seem to be too many downsides to having wings; in fact, really the only thing she can think up is that it would just be too good. Almost immediately, Mouse is off again, attention easily-caught by their surroundings, and Rye can only watch as she scares off a nearby robin with a hasty leap.

The intensity with which Mouse had suddenly locked onto the bird paired with the enthusiasm in her attempt to pounce on it lights up something in Rye's chest, and she can't help but laugh, though she doesn't let it go on for too long. "'M sorry, 'm sorry - promise I'm not laughin' atcha there - was a real great attempt you had. Your leap there sure looked good, but you gotta get a bit closer - y'know, sneak up to 'em, or else you won't get close enough 'fore scarin' 'em off," she elaborates, dropping into her own hunter's crouch for a quick demonstration. "Make sure you stay real low to the ground so they don't see you comin', though it's no easy task learnin' just when to strike - took me quite awhile until I could figure it out. My advice is to get as close as possible, 'n always be ready to dart forward 'fore you want to in case you get spotted." As she explains, Rye remains crouched low to the ground, taking a few light steps forward to allow Mouse to see how she moves her paws, staying alert and taking care of where she places her paws.

[penned by hijinks].

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