Stranger in a strange land } Open

[Kody]

One thing I knew for sure; I was lost. Completely and utterly lost. I'd never wandered this far from home before. But then, I'd had no reason to. I'd had a home. I never had to think about looking for a new one. This place was eerie, not quite the dream home. It's tall trees blocking out most of the sunlight, small patches of light seeping through the leaves to illuminate the forest floor. I was used to brightly lit rooms, and, well, life. This place showed barely any signs of life at all. Except for the thing that drew me here.

Cats.

Their scent was spread all around this place, yet not. The scents were stale, but they were there nonetheless. Curiosity had bested me, and I'd shifted course and attempted to follow the scent. It hadn't worked, obviously. I was seemingly in the middle of no-where, totally alone, and completely clueless as to which way i should go now. Sit here, and wait for winter to take your life, or keep walking, and maybe find another cat who could help you? I choose the latter, sighing as I trudged forward, large paws almost silent as I moved across the earth. Honestly, I was in no hurry to meet any other creature right now, but my survival instinct wouldn't shut-up, practically screaming at me. So i put aside my issues, for the moment, and attempted to find someone who could tell me where the hell I was, and maybe steer me in the direction of some food. God knows i needed that.



Word count; 262
Notes; Not the best first post, but I'm still a bit rusty. Hopefully they'll get better later on. :] Oh, and anyone can post. It's not for any particular cat. :3

[bambi.]

[ You're doing well for rusty. I nearly posted, only to discover a lack of muse. I have decided it is best to leave this thread to another, for reasons of my character's timid personality and the OOC fact that I have already got a thread with him and it would seem to me like monopoly to post on the only other loner thread. ]

[}xx.£eaƒm∞n , ,]

Don't hate

[/i] me because I'm
* beautiful[/i] *[/size][/font]


One more step... I was safe. A great tree had fallen across a narrow part of the huge river, probably from the weight of snow and ice. I didn't mind, for it got me across to the other bank safe and sound without having to risk walking across the ice. Sandy tongue groomed down shoulder fur in a little celebration for myself, before I began to walk once more.

I'm not sure what had pulled me here. Not always spending my time in this part of the Greensun woods, I was curious to how it functioned in winter, and what kind of faces I could potentially meet. Sure, nothing would be exciting until spring came back around, but it didn't hurt to put some connections in place for later. A small mhhrrrr of a laugh escape my nose, thinking of springtimes past and how I had met a few colleagues when snow covered the forests like thick fur.

The breeze picked up and changed direction, blowing right into my face and bringing scent-tales of what had been here recently. The usual; crows, deer, rodents, even a fox. It was a chill wind, making my eyes water to where I had to lower my head to duck its touch. As I passed a certain patch of undergrowth, though, my low nose caught a scent. A scent of a cat, a female possibly. Whiskerpads drew back to more closely analyze the scent, and the wind brought more of the scent from up ahead. Finally, another soul to alleviate my growing boredom of the past few days. That was the only downside of winter, really, it chased all the strangers away.

A few brisk paces, and the dark tabby form was in sight, and not moving very fast. I stopped where I was, tail raised in a sign of peace and friendliness, and called out to the feline. " 'Ayo there! What brings you here?" It was a simple enough greeting I suppose, perhaps even cliche, but I didn't know this cat from anywhere or how she would respond.
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[Kody]

It wasn’t long before I came to another stop, but this time I allowed my tail end to sink toward the earth, stub-tail twitching in agitation. It wasn’t surprising to me when thoughts of trying to find my way back to the home that had abandoned me. Just as quickly, though, they left my mind, an agitated growl chasing them off even quicker. There was nothing for me there, nothing. My humans had abandoned me, and there was nothing I could do about that. Except suck it up and live as best I could out here in the harsh wilderness. “That I’m not accustomed to…” I mumbled, my voice trailing off and I stood once more, a quick scan of the land letting me know I was still completely alone.

I’d only walked a few yards when a sound behind me caught my attention. Hair standing on end, I spun myself around, eyes widening. I was prepared to defend myself from some terrible threat, and what I saw nearly made me laugh at myself. Another cat. And the cat seemed friendly, if its greeting was any clue at all. I simply stood there for a moment, wondering if this cat wasn’t some figment of my imagination that I’d created to make myself feel a little less alone. ”Yeah right, Kody. You’re not that creative,” I told myself, allowing my rear end to once again fall into the snow as I gazed quietly at the stranger, curious as to where it had come from.

Shaking myself from my silence, I tilted my head, eyes narrowing slightly before relaxing back into their round shapes. “I’m lost.” I stated, a pointed sweep of my gaze signaling to the landscape before I spoke once again. “Where is here, exactly?” It was easy to admit that I was…lost, I mean. If I didn’t, and this cat knew this land it would have been a poor decision on my part, and right now I was all about finding out where I was. Orange orbs landed back on the cat before me as I waited for a response. I knew not what the cat’s next move would be so I kept my eyes sharp, tuned to the others body language. Just in case. Being attacked definitely wasn’t on my to-do list today.

Notes: Finally found time to post. So sorry for the long wait.

[}xx.£eaƒm∞n , ,]

Don't hate

[/i] me because I'm
* beautiful[/i] *[/size][/font]


I must have frightened the poor thing, the way she spun around on end before relaxing at the sight of me. A peculiarity I noticed: she was missing a tail, though it looked wonderfully healed if it had been lost accidentally. Thoughts of the cult trailed through my mind like smoke, but I blew them away; if she were a cult cat, she certainly didn't act like one.

Her face was pretty enough, with the big orange eyes and somewhat fluffy build. My guess was she wasn't very old, and an aura of innocence seemed to surround her. I figured it best if I let her keep it, and not scare her half to death with tales of the things that take place in the wild forests.

I'm lost. ...Where is here, exactly? Oh, the poor dear! Instantly I wondered if she were an escaped housecat like me, still learning the lands and what they can contain. It's a lucky wonder she found me and not some begrudged territory holder, in my opinion. "This is the western Greensun woods, near the Greatvein River. How did you get so lost?" I asked with a friendly playfulness, hinting that it's hard to get lost when there's a river nearby. I padded a little closer but not too close, I didn't want to appear threatening. Body language remained neutral though somewhat friendly, not sensing ill wishes from the wanderer I had stumbled upon. She seemed genuinely in need of a little guidance, so while I would have rather been hunting, I suppose I could help a pretty girl out.

Inching closer still, I finally settled where I was into a sitting pose, grooming a burr off of the top of a paw. I wasn't worried about an attack, I had survived plenty before, and few females ever proved aggressive. Hopefully, I had found a conversationalist instead. "If you keep to the river and go north, you can find the colonies and the ...cult, if that is where you're from," I added with some hesitation, not really thinking her to be a cult cat but ready to leave if she was. The cult followers were just plain strange and I had decided long ago to avoid their lands. But if this wanderer decided their ranks were worthwhile, well, I suppose I'd let her go in peace. A sickening thought, really.
Ears remained perked throughout my little grooming session for anything that may be spoken by the stranger.
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[Kody]

I still couldn’t help but wonder where this cat had come from, as well as why these woods smelled of multiple cats, honestly. I hadn’t really thought about it when I’d caught their scent on the wind, but now that I was here, and I’d actually found one it seemed odd. Sure, I’d seen the occasional stray pass by in the distance on my ranch, but I’d never expected to actually find cats out here…in the middle of no-where. Living like wild animals none the less. Not that I didn’t think we didn’t have it in us. Heck, even I’d hunted the occasional bird when I’d stayed with my humans.

The big tom’s voice pulled me from my thoughts, his answer to my question confusing me even further. Greensun woods? Greatvien River? What were these places this stranger spoke of? I was sure my confusion seeped into my expression and I debated asking about the two places he’d mentioned. Why not? I couldn’t really embarrass myself further. Getting lost was about as embarrassing as it could get. I’d opened my mouth to question the tom once more, but then snapped it shut when I recalled him asking his own question. “I…uhhh.” I hesitated for a moment, eyes alert as the tom padded closer to where I was sitting. The words slipped from my mouth before I could really decide what to say. “I’m new here,” I answered, deciding I could relax a little more. Strangers weren’t high on my list, but this one actually seemed friendly. Now, I just hoped he’d stay that way.

In the short silence that followed my statement I took a moment to closer examine the tom, simple curiosity causing me to examine his features. I couldn’t help but notice his size. Even as large as I was, he easily dwarfed me. Though I lacked knowledge on other cats, for the most part, I did know I was rather large for a pet. I’d overheard my humans bragging about it many a time. He was a handsome tom…in my opinion. Though, I didn’t have much experience with that sort of thing either, I did find his features….attractive.

The toms movement caught my attention, and my eyes flicked down toward the paw he’d become suddenly interested in grooming. Orange orbs widened, and then narrowed as surprise and confusion washed through me all at the same time. No, no. That was wrong. All wrong. And so very, very strange. I almost spoke, almost pointed out that he was missing toes, but I kept my mouth shut....figuratively, anyway. I was sure my jaw was hanging open in a rather dumbfounded expression, but I could do nothing to change that. It would be rather rude to point out deformities, so while I sat there, trying to think of what may have caused his little imperfection, I did my best to ignore it and focus on something else, anything else.

Fortunately, the tom chose that moment to speak, and I was able to focus on a higher point instead of his paws. And yet again, his words confused me, but only slightly. I was at least familiar with these words, and I didn’t have to sit there looking too confused. Instead, my face scrunched up in obvious distaste. “Cult” was almost never associated with anything good in the human world, so why would it be any different here? Feeling the need to explain my cluelessness of the wild life, I shook my head lightly, an apologetic expression making its way onto my face. “I’m sorry; I don’t really know what you speak of. Colonies? The cult? I’ve only just recently made these woods home. I lived with humans for most of my life.” Until they abandoned me. I added silently, frowning slightly, patiently waiting on the Tom to elaborate. I was curious now; about the colonies and the cult. I hadn’t failed to notice the toms’ hesitation before he’d mentioned the cult and it made me curious.

Words; 668.
Notes; Mwuahaha. FINALLY, Kody notices his lack of extra toes. x]