[Swishy & Broken]

About 1.5 days left !

[/nyx.]

Cat Name: tbd
Gender: female
Rank: tbd
Clan: CaladiumClan
Age: 14 moons
Prompt: [1000/1000]

“Lost, are you?” the cardinal seriema smirks at me. She drops down from the branches above, effortlessly blocking my path. “What’s your name, trogon?” she asks brashly, only to tch at the silence she receives in return. “Fine, then. Come with me. Condorstar isn’t gonna like it if you don’t speak up to his face, but this isn’t his first time dealing with flutterhearts. We’re gonna beat the skittishness out of you, yet.”

The boldness of those words do nothing to alleviate the inkling of fear within me. I hesitantly follow this strange feline deeper into the vibrant jungles she calls “Feral,” not out of curiosity, but to preserve my life. The feline—Poinsettiabriar—earlier warned me that she doesn’t take to intruders lightly. Although quiet, I am not naive. I know that one wrong move could end with my untimely death.

Do not trust the rogues from the jungle, my mother always used to tell me. Yet, here I am. I’m not a fighter; I have no escape. The only choice I have is to listen for now, then hopefully escape.

We approach a small depression though the trees remain dense as ever. Soaked dusky soil coats my paws, and various ferns protrude from the earth. I have to hand it to the rogues—they’re smart. If not for the crack in the stone that I bet serves as the entrance to some sort of cavern, I would pass this off as an area of no importance. Few predators would be able to detect such a well-hidden place.

“Welcome to the Mire,” Poinsettiabriar announces in that same impudent voice. I wonder if the cats here are equally impertinent. I sure hope not; however, it won’t surprise me if they are.

A hefty black tom slinks over to us. Noting the mock-derisive glare he sends towards Poinsettiabriar, I immediately identify him as Condorstar.

“Nyx. I see you’ve brought a trogon,” he says in means of greeting. Condorstar spits out the term like a loon flicking away mud. My stomach churns, and I force my fur bristling out of terror to lay flat.

“Not only a trogon but a flutterheart,” my escort replies disdainfully.

“You.” It takes me more than a moment to realize that Condorstar’s speaking to me. “What happened to your tanagers?” he questions humorlessly.

My maw falls open, yet no words come out. Embarrassment surges through me. Eventually, I convince muscles to work properly and admit softly, “They left one day, and never came back.”

Silence. Then: “It seems that we have something in common.”

Gathering up all my courage, I plead, “I—I want to go back home. Don’t kill me—please.”

“Oh, now it speaks,” the most sarcastic of us three snipes. “Where you gonna go; huh, trogon? Nowhere. I—”

“Poinsettiabriar,” Condorstar warns. “Silence.” Turning to me, the leader allows, “I will take you back to your tanager nest should you wish. However, as Poinsettiabriar kindly pointed out, there will be nothing awaiting you there. I ask that you stay with us for the night at the very least. Nightfall approaches, and I promise that not all felines of the Caladium outwardly antagonize outsiders. Most only jest; I advise that you do not take their words to heart, Poinsettiabriar and I included.”

For a rogue, he has manners. I contemplate my choices: either stay with the rogues or die from predation. Both strike fear into my heart, but I decide quickly, “I’ll stay the night.” Though they might murder me in my sleep, at least this way I’ll actually get some rest.

The black-furred feline nods slowly as if deep in thought, then commands, “Follow me.” I’m not a fighter or a trickster, but a follower. Correspondingly, I do as he says.

In the end, I chose to stay, not only for the night, but for the rest of my days. The cats of Caladium aren’t bad. Not like I once thought, anyway. However, they are ruthless and merciless. Sometimes, I dream that this is not my calling, yet I find myself trapped, unable to escape.

Here are some interesting things I learned from them:

1. All their ranks are named after birds.

2. Seriemas take precedence over caracaras; accordingly, mollies naturally rank higher than tomcats.

3. No healer resides within the clan. All their medicinal knowledge is shared between all members, yet this barely changes the rate of death due to injury since all felines know basic first-aid.

4. Despite their outward rudeness, they value their manners.

5. Condorstar is a jerk but everyone listens to him, anyway. He’s saved everyone in the clan at least once, and has personal connections with them all.

6. The majority of the clan consists of former trogons, yet they always greet newcomers with the same hostility. Like Condorstar told me on the first day, they never really mean it.

7. The clan is nomadic, which caught me off guard. Each leafbare we migrate to the Roost, which lies atop the mountains, and each greenleaf we travel back towards the Basin. In between the two seasons, we stay at the Mire.

8. I mentioned that those of the Caladium show no mercy. I’ve never seen such terrible injuries inflicted from one clan member to the next without any negative feelings cropping up between those affected. An extreme test of loyalty is what I call it. Almost all felines pass.

9. They force you to speak up. Shyness isn’t tolerated; they’ll bug you until you tell them to stop, all while giving you all the time in the world that you need to get used to it. They respect boundaries and personal space, and they don’t push when it’s too much, but they force you to speak. Even the quietest of felines will eventually feel comfortable around them.

10. They hunt predators more than they hunt prey. They say that they like the challenge, but I think they just love to fight.

11. Everyone’s always there for each other—even the worst of rivals. Condorstar has a bad habit of forcing enemies to work together.

[Swishy & Broken]

Only 6 hours left, make sure to put your final touches and submit them before then !

[Swishy & Broken]

Username: cryologic.

Cat Name: tbd
Gender: tbd
Rank: tbd
Clan: tribe of the blooming mounts
Age: tbd

[1000 / 1000 words]

"hello there! oh... you must be lost. come on and follow me"
through the thick snow, you can just about make out the few patches of orange and brown of the cat in front of you; you’re not quite sure how whoever they are can see you, but they must be used to this weather by now. you sit up slowly from the curled up position you had originally put yourself in to protect yourself from the cold, shivering the moment the cold fully claws at your body.
“do not worry, i will take you somewhere safe and get you warmed right up, alright?”
it’s the same voice again. it sounds gentle, and welcoming, and like someone you could probably trust for at least a little bit. so you follow them with careful, unsteady steps through the thick blanket of white that has coated the ground, curious as to how the figure in front of you appears to not struggle at all in such harsh weather.

there wasn’t really much for you to see throughout the short journey; everything was covered in snow, and the heavy snowfall didn’t help much. the cat led you down into a cave, through a somewhat small entrance. it was a bit of a squeeze, but the difference in temperature between the outside and the inside was worth it. inside, there were a few more cats, all seemingly perfectly fine with being in a cave and not in a warm home like they should be. why would they choose to live here, without a warm fire to lay by on days like this? you shook your head slightly, then looked around to try find the stranger that led you here.

she was sitting a few tail-lengths away from you, smiling gently as she waited patiently for you. maybe a reaction like yours was somewhat frequent here. now that you could see her properly, you could make out that although she was thinner than you, she had a few better built muscles. they were covered by slightly thicker fur than your own, and it was no wonder that you could only see the patches on her back while outdoors, as her fur was almost completely white (without taking into account the flakes of snow that had settled on her).

“please do not be afraid, i am lily that roars like tiger, but you’re fine to just call me lily.” she paused for a bit, letting you take in what she had said, “i am this tribe’s healer, and it is my job to make sure everyone here is safe and healthy, especially during leaf-bare.”

lily stood up, and beckoned with her head for you to follow her as she ventured further into the cave. to the right, it appeared to be a lot brighter than the semi-clearing. there stood a large twisted tree, climbing up the walls of the cave and up into a hole in the ceiling. although its leaves blocked some of the sunlight, and there overall wasn’t much today due to the falling snow, some light filtered down through the leaves and onto the ground below.

“this is where our apprentices live, right here in this tree. all of our younger, newer apprentices live towards the bottom of the tree to keep them safe; not all of them know how to climb very well, or even at all. the older apprentices that are ready to be turned into hunters and fighters live towards the top of the tree. it allows our younger tribe members to live close to each other, while also giving them the space they need if they so wish to have some alone time.” you could see a tail or two hanging out of the holes in the tree, as some cats rested in their beds. it felt bizarre learning that some cats lived here in this cave, sleeping inside a tree, on leaves and moss and whatever else their beds were made of.

some quiet chattering brought you through to a cave behind the tree a small gathering of cats sat around in a circle, some old and some young, as one of the older cats appeared to be sharing a story. although at first the smaller cave looked dark, on the inside there were a few spots where gaps in the ceiling allowed a bit of light through, and the light from the hole by the tree still illuminated this part of the cave.

“our elders live in this part of the cave; it’s further away from the main social spot in the centre than any other part we could find. the apprentices are a bit loud sometimes, but elders love telling stories to them and to the kits. if you wish to stay and listen to them talking about their lives, feel free to stay, otherwise i can bring you to the other side to my den and see if there’s any herbs i can give you.”

you walked past a few smaller tunnels, which you assumed were where the ‘hunters’ and ‘fighters’ lived, and maybe any other cat that lived here. you still didn’t quite understand why they’d willingly choose to stay here, but it was beginning to make a bit more space; everyone seemed really close, and they all looked out for each other. it would be quite nice to have others that cared.
over in lily’s den, there was a small stream of water, and a few beds made of moss. the whole place smelled of herbs and flowers right from when you first entered, and it was soothing. as she led you over to one of the beds to lay down and warm up, you already felt your legs beginning to give in and sleep take over. maybe this place really was safe, and the cats here could really be trusted. as darkness filled your vision, you heard lily speak again.

“rest up young one, and warm up. i’ll stay here with you”

I love this entry, the POV and thoughtout nature of your response was lovely. Thank you for doing such a great job on this beautiful entry ^^ ! Your new kitty will be revealed ASAP ! !

[sunny-skies]

congrats cryologic!! your entry was so good! <3

[beebun]

Congrats ! <3

[cryologic.]

ty swishy for the lovely kitty, i love them a lot!
and ty to those who congratulated me, i do appreciate it :0

anyway i'll fill in the missing info, if that's alright?

Username: cryologic.
Cat Name: dawn light that makes frost shine
Gender: male
Rank: fighter
Age: 18 moons