[craig?]

Marky mark

[Centipedes]

Extended to the 25th upon request !!

[mal du pays]

Username: Kris Dreemurr
Cat Name: Gabriel
Gender: Male
Rank: Loner
Clan: The Veil (by proxy)
Age: Unknown age, at least 50+ moons
Prompt:

Perhaps it was a good omen that the next thing to come out of the rift was a normal cat.
Or, better put, as close to “normal” as Garion was used to. Possibly in more ways than one.

The purple rosetted tabby scrambled to his feet, shaking out his fur. Where was he? Last he remembered, he was working with--
Ah, right. She’d gone missing some time ago, and the rest of their group had had to haul ass to make up for the loss of their command. Gabriel hadn’t exactly been pleased about that, but he made do with the work he had been handed in her absence.
And now his team was going to repeat the process.
The most important thing, he thought, would be finding out where he’d landed. Wasting no time, he began to trudge through the territory he’d ended up in, entering the dense line of trees as he searched. It’s just my luck that I got shuffled into the middle of nowhere, he thought to himself, and he pushed onward.
It was only a moment or so later his ears caught the sound of a discussion going on, and he became cautious. Creeping forward, he peered through the brush to see who it was who was speaking. In front of him, he spotted a pure white cat - or what seemed to be one - having a discussion with--
“Garion!” He let out a startled yell, forgetting he was hiding in the bushes. Her attention snapped back in his direction, and he could see her eye narrow. Same old, same old. Figuring there’d be no point in delaying further, he got back up onto his feet and approached.
“It’s been a while.” Garion replied, albeit skeptical. “Although I’m surprised you even ended up here. Aren’t there more wormholes than the one leading here?”
“We’ve not been able to figure out where they go.” Gabriel replied, looking around. “So this is where you’ve been. Everyone’s had to pick up the pace since you just suddenly disappeared.”
“Not my fault.” Garion’s tone was sharp. “You should’ve been more prepared in the event of an emergency, Gabriel.”
“I’m well aware.” He replied shortly. “You know how it is back there. Even with preparations we were overwhelmed.”
“But that was then. You can’t go back there, Gabriel.” Garion got to her feet. “So, I will ask now: what’s your plan?”
Gabriel stared at her, expression shifting just briefly. “My plan?”
“But of course, Gabriel.” He could see the smallest of a smirk on her face. “You of all people should have a plan. If you’re thinking about staying here, you’re going to have to prove you belong here.”
“That’s not--! Hey, I thought we were friends!” Gabriel stood there, a bit in disbelief.
“Coworkers, yes. I wouldn’t say friends.” Garion’s expression flattened. “If you want to stay here, prove to me and to Carmen you’ll be able to handle the work we manage here.”

“Maintain control of the Birds. This is your task, and if you fail it you will not be welcome.”
Gabriel had accepted the task begrudgingly, wishing in part that Garion would have given him just a sliver of mercy. Then again, this is just like her. He made his way to where he was told one of the Birds was staying, and he immediately felt a sense of regret.
This one was the biggest of the four, and it stared down at him with wide yellow eyes. The birds it kept with it stared toward him, giving a trill.
“Apocalypse Bird.” Gabriel greeted the bird to no response. He sighed, setting to work in managing the beast. It gave him no response, and Gabriel assumed this was the best result. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he finished his work, turning to leave the Bird to its own devices.
It stopped for a moment as it slammed a limb on his spine, and he snarled. He swiped at it to pull himself free, and he tore off toward where Garion’s camp was. He didn’t see if the Bird was following behind him as he ran as fast as he could.
“Garion!”
“Enoch! Find Kali!” Garion called, her tone laced with an emotion Gabriel couldn’t parse. Her attention snapped to him, and her eyes narrowed. “You had one job. You have failed.”
“You’re insane if you think I could handle that thing alone!” He snarled in response.
“It makes no difference to me. You have failed. You are not welcome here, Gabriel. If I see you here again you will not be leaving alive.”

Perhaps it wasn’t a good omen Gabriel had come through after all.
Garion knew that much.

[Centipedes]

Extended to August 1st upon request ^^

[nindroidzane]

Username: nindroidzane
Cat Name: Beetlebite
Gender: Nonbinary (she/her, he/him)
Rank: Warrior
Clan: FluxClan
Age: ??
Prompt:
Fitting in had always seemed easy enough. Maybe no other cat looked like quite like her, but it wasn't that unusual for cats to look a mite bit like she did, whether they were purple or green or just had eyes as funky as all the berries in the forest smushed together.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing different about him. He wasn't born in his Clan - nobody knew where he'd come from, and he honestly wasn't sure himself. He couldn't remember much before he showed up, though he'd arrived as peppy as ever.

Strangely, he did fit in in another regard - he had the same abilities the rest of the cats had. Which, apparently, most of their take-in strays did not.

Still, it wasn't exactly the same. She was able to transform into any animal she felt like, while most cats were limited to only one. Which she loved! She could be whatever she felt like on a whim - some days you just wanted to be a sunbathing lizard, y'know?

It didn't help with fitting in, though. Most cats were jealous - she could sense there'd already been tension, and that she probably wasn't helping. She didn't mean to show off, really, it just… she was just trying to be herself.

When she realized that wasn't exactly the only thing that was different about her… well, he decided it was probably best if nobody knew about "being able to float" or the, ah… "laser eyes", as he'd determined (via the local kittypets - who he had told, yes. In a "laser eyes" accident? Yes.)

He fit in rather alright, once he learned how. He still made use of his other morphs - how could he not? - as well as his other powers, just… not when any of his Clanmates were around. And that was alright! She didn't need their approval or anything. Or… friends, she guessed. She was happy enough. She was fine.

…

It was many moons before he realized how he'd ended up here. What his purpose had been meant to be.

She wasn't exactly a… cat. They hadn't explained exactly what she was, just that she was one of them. And that she'd never been meant to fit in with those cats at all - at least not completely. Not forever.

She was supposed to… learn about them. And eventually, probably… get rid of them.

Obviously, she wasn't very keen on that. She'd been living with these cats for moons! More moons than most of the rest of them, actually, but she'd usually just brushed that off as "Sparkly! I will live forever."

And apparently, she quite possibly could.

Still. He'd told those whatever-they-were not-cats to stuff it, and go away, and never speak to him again. They'd obliged - somewhat ominously - and still hadn't returned. But they'd left a lasting impression.

He wasn't a cat. He had no idea what he was at all.

At first, this revelation was a bit crisis inducing. Of course it was! But the more and more he thought about it, the more he realized…

That was actually great news! No wonder he'd never fit in. No wonder everyone had thought he was strange. Surely if he just told them all of this (well maybe not all of it, she wouldn't want to freak them out about like, that other stuff), they'd all change their minds!

And… some cats didn't. They looked at her funny, minds unchanged or worse, clearly not thinking she'd ever fit in.

But some cats weren't like that at all. Many, actually, told her they'd never felt that way in the first place. She'd always fit in - in her own strange way, she was still one of them.

Maybe he hadn't always seen it, but… it seemed maybe he'd fit in all along.

And once half the Clan had known her from kithood, she felt more appreciated than ever! They thought she was the swaggest, with her sparkly fur and kind of dangerous laser eyes! Whoo-hoo!

[Centipedes]

This is now closed for judging!!! Thanks so much for your interest and entries!

[Swishy & Broken]

Username: LiLi041
Cat Name: Sparkle
Gender: Female
Rank: Nyan Cat
Clan: eNUF
Age: 35 moons
Prompt: Sparkle is the incarnation of the famous Nyan Cat, star of another world's popular internet meme. She provides most of the fun and cheer in eNUF, happily prancing across rainbows as she sings, "nyanyanyanyanyanyanya~", showering everyone with sparkles and happiness. With eNUF being a clan fraught with deep schemes and frigity between groups, her role is not an easy one; to date, she is the only one who is suitable for the role, being the only one who can get along with every other cat.

Sparkle hadn't wanted to come to eNUF, originally. There weren't any other meme kitties in the clan, meaning that she would be- and still is- the only cat of the meme group. However, Sparkle had some Very Specific Desires, and 'making close friends' was ranked lower than 'live in my dream castle.'

And eNUF... just happened to have that lovely purple castle, perched atop the Rainbow Bridges. The Rainbow Bridges were originally there for the cultivator cats who would arrive in the future, but for now, it held her dream castle!

Sparkle immediately decided to pack up and move for eNUF. Dream castle, check!

--

When Sparkle first moved to eNUF, she wasn't particularly welcomed. No one prevented her from joining in on the public activities, like Circus Leader Grecia's shows or Fairy Godfather Johan's mass blessings. But when it came to interpersonal relationships, she was hitting cold shoulder after cold shoulder. Even in her temporary group, General NovelVerse, the group for the cats still waiting to form a group with their own compatriots, she was having trouble forming friendships. It wasn't at all easy to get close to these cats, whose hearts only had room for cats from their own universe, in a clan where every group is separated by a gaping divide, each off in their own world.

'Making close friends' might have been lower than 'living in my dream castle' in her Very Specific Desires, but that didn't mean she didn't want friends! Sparkle was determined, despite the constant rejections.

--

Then came her first breakthrough, her first friendship in eNUF. Wolf, from Fairy Tales. At their first meeting, Wolf tried to scare her away with his wolf howl attempts, the effect ruined in part by his high-pitched, yowl-y voice; the intent was clear, however.

But the longer Sparkle talked to him, the more she realized that in fact, Wolf was a prime example of an onion; tough on the outside, but tender on the inside. Though he acted mean in order to maintain his "Big Bad Wolf" title, he was truly a giant softie inside, missing his big brother (the original Big Bad Wolf).

Sparkle often comforted him by telling him tales of her own past life, as a famous beloved kitty who would sing songs while running across rainbows. Though she couldn't leave behind a rainbow trail as she ran anymore, she would still take him to run across the Rainbow Bridges while showering him with sparkles, before finally inviting him to play in her castle.

She was really happy to be friends with Wolf.

Also, close friends? Check!

--

After becoming friends with wolf, Sparkle gradually became friends with the other cats of the clan, to varying degrees of closeness. For example, she got along particularly well with Rhino, who loved climbing trees, and doubly loved jumping off the Rainbow Bridges onto the trees below. And though sometimes Santa's scheming with game rules was too much, even for her, they were still friends. Sparkle even occasionally helped out with decorating Santa's parties.

--

Sparkle often uses her own charms to cheer up her clanmates through a particularly bad day. She'll perform a few tricks and with some poofs and sparkles, her favorite accessories would appear on the other cats, lending them some of her good cheer.

In a way, she was also half a stylist for the clan, with every-cat being her model and her dressing them up with her accessory stash.

"Oh, what's this?"
"Is this a star? Wow, you've got a crown!"
"And you have a rainbow!"

After the initial surprised reaction...

"Oh, I recognize this- this is what Sparkle always wears!"
"It must be Sparkle's blessing to us for the day, right?"
"Thank you Sparkle!"

Sparkle was glad to see the gloominess fade away. This was truly the perfect role for her.

--

She eyed her list of Very Specific Desires... what's left? Oh? 'Become a famous star'? Challenge accepted!


[758/1000 words]

I read this entry.. and just knew it had to be yours! This kitty would love to be in your clan Lili!!
Thank you, everyone, for such amazing entries !

[nio]

WAHHH CONGRATS!! so well deserved <333 you can keep my art!

[LiLi041]

aaa tysm!! I'm super excited to welcome Sparkle into eNUF, and thank you for letting me keep your lovely art too, nio!! <33