you could let it all go - lost // joining

[pumpkin]

"MEET ME IN THE WOODS"​

A frustrated breath left the young female as she slinked along the marsh, frustrated with the fact that her mother left her, frustrated even more with the fact that she had abandoned her in unknown territory. If you had just let me explain myself! She thinks with a huff, her tail tip now beginning to flick in agitation. She knew her mother had a terrible temper, but she didn't think it'd be this bad, and now she had been cold and hungry for... How many moonrises? She can barely remember the taste of prey, and perhaps she was dramatizing it, she knew cats could go hungry for quite some time and not die but gosh did it feel like she was dying! Thank you mother, for refusing to let me hunt! Thank you dearest mother for never teaching me! Six moons and you still wont let me!
As she began to sit down and inwardly grumble, a twig snaps behind her and all of the sudden shes a blur of orange, white and brown, running through the territory before she (comically, to be fair) trips over her own paws, feeling her chin hit the ground and her stomach feels like a void and she doesn't have much energy, not much at all and she feels scared once more. "Stay back whoever you are! I have claws and i'm not afraid to use them!" she growls out but her voice cracks and shes about to cry. Shes so alone, scared, but she must not be seen like this! She was a strong cat!
​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[salamander]

The bog had an overwhelming amount of scents - a lot of them not being of the most pleasant aroma. Living in the swamplands her entire life, though, caused the she-cat to go "nose blind" to the carrion and filth. This meant that any disturbances, any abrupt changes in scent pattern, were noticeable. Two lizards dangling from her mouth, Salamander traced the intruder's path. They didn't smell like those of the pine colony which, for their sake, was a good thing.

Salamander wasn't sure what she was expecting: a lost kittypet or hungry loner, perhaps? Either way, she didn't expect to see a skinny young she-cat shivering either due to the lack of sun or fear. Or, more likely, both. Sighing, the blue molly gingerly placed the two slain lizards onto a nearby rock.

"Be calm." Comforting words sounded like a powerful demand when coming out of Salamander's mouth. Unfortunately, the she-cat remained oblivious to the natural aloofness in her voice. "I do not intend to raise claws against a child." Unlike other members of the group her thoughts bitterly added.

"Where are your parents?"​

​

 

[HATCHINGSTORM]

He assured the group that he can actually hunt when he joined, but, it's definitely not one of the blue smoke's strong suits. Hardly a scrap of fur when he was left to fend for himself, Hatch had to learn things on his own, and obtaining food was one of those. Though, it was typically through means of stealing, rather than catching it with his own teeth and claws. But he knows how to hunt. Sort of.

The stormy tom was on a frog's trail. He almost had it- he would promise the marsh cats later, when he inevitably loses track of it. Hatch crept up to it slowly, carefully. Not carefully enough, it seemed, as a grey paw landed clumsily on a twig. The snap of it felt loud in the silence around him, and of course, the frog found it just as loud, hopping out of his sight. Hatch hissed under his breath, ready to give up and go back to camp. Maybe he could blame the pine cats on this; tell Briar and Willow and anyone else who's bound to question his lack of fresh-kill that there's simply not enough prey- that those 'kittypets,' as they called them, took it all.

But, then he thought of the poor kid from the pine forest that got thrown into the mess between the two groups- of the scars that will become permanent fixtures on the tom- and decided that it's perhaps for the best if he kept trying to catch something, anything.

It wasn't long before Hatch found himself distracted by the orange-toned blur that ran in front of him, an unrecognizable scent attached to it. It wasn't prey, nor one from pine or marsh, but Hatch decided to follow its trail anyway. Salamander got to it first, it seemed, as he arrived upon the blue she-cat. He spots lizards on a nearby rock. They're most likely Salamander's, but for a moment he wonders if he could get away with claiming them as his own and get out of having to continue chasing frogs for the rest of the day.

But Salamander sat with a kit. And this kit, she looked no older than he was when he was first on his own. She looked just the same as he did - scared, cold. Hungry. Salamander asked where her parents were, but, Hatch wasn't quite sure if they were even around. Not anymore, at least.

"Are you okay?" Hatch found himself asking, unsure of what else he can do. He didn't have a meal to give the kid, and wasn't sure if Briar would even take her in- if he needed to be told about hunting and fighting, would someone as young as the cat before him be turned away for not being capable of holding their own? He gave a concerned look to Salamander, as if to ask for guidance. After all, he'd never been on this side of this situation. No, he'd only ever been on the young she-cat's side of it.
​

 

[SPIDER]

❝ Webbed paws carry the lithe tom through the shadows, orange eyes glinting. A frog dangles, limp, from his maw. It’s a scrawny thing, barely enough to feed a kit. But in the marsh, any catch is a good one. Better than eating carrion by far.

Voices gather nearby. Spider’s head swings around, his ears angling in the direction they drift from. With a curious twitch of his nose, the cinnamon smoke redirects his route towards the commotion, materializing from the darkness behind his groupmates. His narrowed gaze lands on a child, as scrawny as the frog he carries and shaking like a leaf. He doesn’t know if it’s from fear or cold; perhaps both. The lackluster prey falls from his mouth as he opens it to speak, his plumed tail sweeping over the damp soil. “Cool it, kid, we’re not gonna gut ya.” Spider tries for a reassuring smile, but unfortunately, it ends up looking far too close to a toothy sneer. The tom doesn’t seem to take notice of his less-than-welcoming expression, however. “Too little meat on ya bones for our likin’, anyway, HAH!” It’s a poor attempt at a joke to lighten the mood, and far from true, judging by the scrappy frog he carried with pride.​

 

[pumpkin]

"MEET ME IN THE WOODS"​

She braced herself, watching with bated breath, ears pinned back to her skull. A blue molly appears, placing down two lizards; just the sight of them made her stomach growl, food was food, no matter what. ‘Be calm’ was a powerful command, one she didn’t think she could follow- the new girl towered over her and she was scared. Her tail lashed as she slightly cowered back, but a reassuring sentence was made after. It allowed her to breathe out a breath she was holding in, her stomach twisting as she asked about her parents. “Gone. Don’t know. She left me here to die.” her voice was bitter and the words were spat with venom, eyes fiery as she scowled.
Next to approach was a male and immediately she felt uneasy, a small hiss leaving her mouth before she got herself in check. She remembers her mothers words about her father, about how all men are the same and she cant help but grimace. He asks if shes okay and honestly she doesnt know. She hasn’t been asked this in forever and she looks like shes about to burst in to tears. “Does it look like i’m okay?” she musters up the meanest voice she can, but it comes out a squeak and nervous tears began to fall.
Spider approaches and shes immediately on her guard again despite the tears, scowling at his comment. “I wouldn’t even let you try!” she takes note of his sneer and returns the favor, ears pinning back to her skull again. She knew she was being feisty, unwelcoming, unable to let these strangers in when all she wanted was a hug at this point. A single embrace and she’d feel okay, but she lashes out again. “Too little meat? I’ll have you know i’m perfectly fine thank you very much!” she accentuated her words with a roll of her eyes, desperately scrubbing at them with her paws to stop the river that was now flowing. She just wanted her mom.​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[salamander]

Cats crawled out like roaches from the muck. Peace and quiet had been a rare commodity lately. Something always seemed to occur or unwanted company would be summoned from the shadows.

Salamander sent a curt nod in salutations toward Hatch. Spider, meanwhile, earned an exaggerated eye-roll that she didn't even attempt to hide. He.. he tried to lighten the mood but.. Well, the keyword being tried.

And now the kit was crying.

Salamander shifted uncomfortably under the weight of the sudden emotions. The molly appeared to shut down until, at last, she moved away from the kit. At first, it looked like the blue she-cat was going to slink away but instead, she grabbed one of the lizards from the rock.

The dead reptile was dropped gruffly at the kit's paws. "Eat." Mentally, she noted that she'd have to tell Briar about her actions. Maybe she'd try a paw at catching one of the large, fat rabbits that roamed the lands across the thunderpath? Still, one would have to be heartless to chide her actions -- it was downright cruel to let a child starve.

Then again... Salamander stiffened. Before the pine colony appeared, the she-cat could say with confidence that no one would allow a young kit to starve. But now? Now she wasn't so sure. Especially when not even a moon ago one of their own attacked a child for their food.​

​

 

[HATCHINGSTORM]

Hatch takes a step back- an effort to give the kit some space. She wasn't okay. Of course she wasn't; the blue smoke knew that before he even began to ask. With what was now three strangers- since Spider decided to join in with a poor attempt at lightening the mood- surrounding her, she was probably more afraid than ever.

Between the tears and snappy remarks made in an attempt to look brave, looking at the kit feels like looking at a reflection of his own past- and the storm-furred tom doesn't like it. No kit should have to be on their own like that.

"Nobody's going to eat anyone," he says in response to Spider's words, before turning his head to look directly at the cinnamon tom with a glint of amusement in his eyes, "But if we get to the point of eating each other, I can make sure you're eaten first."

He sees Salamander move in the corner of his eye, and turns back to face her, watching as she offers a lizard to the kid. He isn't sure how long the kit's been on her own, but knows the toll hunger can take on someone so young. Would one lizard be enough?

"Should we take her to Briar...?" he asks the blue she-cat, uncertainty in his voice. He knows how empty the fresh-kill pile has been- knows that leading an extra mouth to feed into the camp, while having caught no prey himself to justify bringing said extra mouth in, isn't going to bode well. But, the young kit needed some food, and probably somewhere to rest for the night. He's unsure that Briar will allow the kit in, but it wouldn't hurt to try. ​

 

[SPIDER]

❝ Abandoned. Left to die by her own mother.

The explanation leaves a sour taste on Spider’s tongue, orange eyes simmering as they narrow into slits. “Better off without that scumbag anyway, kid,” he mutters, dangerously low, the misplaced humor from before disintegrating as quickly as it had appeared. His claws itch, pleading with him to sink themselves into the pathetic flesh of this kid’s so-called mother. I have every right to track her down and hunt her for sport, he thinks to himself with a derisive snort.

If there’s one thing that Spider despises, it’s low-life parents who couldn’t give less of a shit about their kits.

His ‘joke’ is met not with laughter, but with a sneer from the kit and an eye roll from Salamander. Spider just huffs, his tail tip flicking in a dismissive manner. Unappreciated in my time. If he was in this kid’s place, he wouldn’t mind a good laugh. He would’ve loved it, even. It takes the edge off, leaves the wound with less of a sting. Laughter is the best medicine, after all.

…

Although, he does feel a little guilty about making the girl cry…

“It’s a joke, kid.” Spider eyes her with a frown. It’s his turn to roll his eyes when she claims that she’s perfectly fine. “Really? Doesn’t look like it.” He gestures towards the lizard that Salamander offers her in a silent command for her to eat, quirking a brow. If anyone tries to argue against giving this half-starved kit a meal, he’d claw both ears off and feed them to the crows.

Hatching Bird declares that they would eat him first if their hunger got to the point of cannibalism. Spider just snorts, aiming to cuff one of his groupmate’s ears with a sheathed paw. “Yeah, right! We all know we’d go for those plump kittypets livin’ in the forest first.”

When Hatch asks if they should take the kit to Briar, Spider would send him an exasperated glance. That answer should be obvious. There is no way in hell they’re leaving her to die out here. “Oh, no, just leave the defenseless kit out here on her own to get picked off by a badger,” he retorts, voice barbed with sarcasm. “Of course we should take her to Briar, you toad-brain.”​

 

[pumpkin]

"MEET ME IN THE WOODS"​

Shes on edge, tears slowly slowing their downfall, her tail puffing up twice her size as her lips pull back in to a hiss. Salamander leaves, the gray one- no, don’t leave me here with them, come back! And she does, she returns with one of the lizards and its all that is on her mind her stomach hurts so bad and the ‘eat’ command was thrown out. She scarfs it down, messily, finishing in record time but she is still hungry. She wants to whine, but mother taught her to be grateful for any meals she gets and her ears raise. “…Thank you.” her voice is quiet, a sigh.
Hatching is the next to comment and for a second she opens her mouth to reply rudely, only to realize he had been speaking to the newcomer that had practically called her worthless food wise! But… She assumes it’s better than being worth full in that regard? She thinks for a second, oh, thinking is confusing! She watches pointedly as Spider jokes with the other gray tom. “Kittypets…? Is that like. Prey or something?” she blurts out, eyes wide with awe. She’d never heard of the word before, and if they were plump, that means they were good enough to eat, right?! “I mean- I know what they are! You don’t have to tell me! I’d drag one here by its tail all by myself!” she boasts, feeling a bit better from her meal. Slightly fuller, something in her stomach, energy.
They go off topic, something about a Briar and her suspicions raise again. “I am not defenseless! I told you I have claws and I am NOT afraid to use them! See? I’d be pretty sorry for anyone who crosses my path.” she unsheathes her claws from tiny paws, hooking the air with them as if it were some enemy. “Whose Briar? Is Briar your like, mom or something? I bet theyre cooler than mine. Anybody is. Can I meet them? I’ll show them my mega cool fighting moves to PROVE that I am not defenseless!” ​

✦ ★ ✦​

 

[Shimmerkit]

The commotion had drawn the child from camp. She had spent much of her time since her own rescue lingering near the entrance and peeking out intermittently. Because after all, she couldn't be too sure that her father wouldn't have managed to follow her here. And she didnt want anybody else to get hurt, not at her expense. And not being quite able to make out what was happening, Sage crept hurriedly through the entrance and towards the sound of the other marshlanders.

Peeking out from behind a bush, she watched the debate on whether or not to bring the other kit back to camp. The orange molly, only a bit older than Sage herself, immediately blurted that she was in fact not defenseless, unsheathing her claws to swipe at the air and boasting about all the fighting moves she knew.

"Wow," Sage breathed softly, briefly looking down at her own small white forepaws. She didn't dare approach the other she-cat, opting instead to watch through awestruck blue optics. She wondered if maybe she could get the stranger to teach her some fighting moves if she asked nicely enough. Not that it'd probably be easy for her to pick up. She flinched slightly, remembering the claws out training sessions her father had put her through. She'd never won one.

 

[BRIARSTAR]

There was no need to bring the newcomer to Briar, for she had heard the commotion not far from where she had been hunting. The she-cat basically materialized from the shadows in front of the group, eying the kit that had been discovered by her groupmates. From what she had overheard, the kit had been abandoned by her mother. A sadly common story that she had grown accustomed to hearing over the years. She could never imagine leaving her kits. What would possess a mother to do such a thing?

She might not ever understand it but she did know what it was like to be alone like this little one, she knew what it was like to be taken in. They didn't have the resources for it, but Briar knew she couldn't leave this little one out here to fend for herself. "I'm Briar. I lead this group, though I do have children of my own. We can give you a warm place to sleep and something to eat if you are interested. The world alone is a dangerous place for anyone, regardless of age."​