[Only_Sky]

Say hello to 1600!

This kid was made ages ago but alas, I forgot to pick a comp and it was chaos trying to pick something- So that's what I went with!

Be as chaotic (or not) as you want!
Write about a goofy day-in-the-life, draw them as a weird bird-fish-cat creature, whatever you like!

You have no limits for this cat, but I do only ask that if you do large amounts of writing, please section them for easier reading :)

Ends October 16th at CS rollover (rollover to the 16th CS time)
Please PM me or ask staff to get into contact with me if extensions are wanted!

Code: Select all

[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Cat Name:[/b]
[b]Gender:[/b]
[b]Rank:[/b]
[b]Clan:[/b] (Please link)
[b]Age:[/b] (1 year or above)
[b]Prompt:[/b]

x
Name:
Gender:
Rank:
Clan:
Description: Blue-based caramel-purple silver braided
cryptic tortbie with blue-purple sectoral heterochromia.
Age:
Edits: [NR] Expression [C] Sclera colour, ear placement,
pointed ears [UC] Unnatural eye colour, heterochromia, long tail
[R] Max. fur edits, unusual colouring, tall ears [M] Munchkinism
Owner:

[0Zero0]

I... mark to watch

[craig?]

mark

(wew)

[Archaeopteryx.]

Username: MutatedCry
Cat Name: the Stranger
Gender: trans male
Rank: Elsewhere
Clan: Clan of Eternal Sun
Age: ???
Prompt:

Will you promise—

xxxxxxThe air crackled with static, every movement the Stranger made sending tiny shocks through his fur. He couldn't see the ground from up here, swimming through the dark air with the same ease that one might swim through water. It felt good, using his muscles like this, the ache and strain and push and pull as he carried himself through the too-thick air, even as his lungs struggled against the consistency.

xxxxxxGhostfish swam past him, jelly-like bodies brushing against his pelt.

xxxxxxHe felt more than saw a Behemoth rise up from the deep, dark shape moving through the water like a mountain come alive. So long ago, it would have made his fur rise, terror striking his heart even as he knew fleeing would be futile against a predator a hundred times his size. Now, he didn't flinch, letting it survey him with too many golden eyes. A single eye put him to shame, easily twice his size. Its body generated currents all on its own, flashes of scales and lichen just out of eyesight, obscured by murky atmosphere.

xxxxxxIt wouldn't eat him, of that he was certain. There were bigger things out there. He would barely be a morsel to this magnificent creature. Still, it sent a thrill through his heart when it rumbled, shaking the air, before vanishing back into the murky depths.

xxxxxxHe couldn't see the ground from up here. Nor did he want to. It was peaceful up here, surrounded by the faintly glowing, translucent ghostfish. He bobbed in the air, dancing with the currents, letting Elsewhere take him where it pleased.

—you'll be alright?

xxxxxxThe Elsewhere was much less "organized chaos" and more "learnable chaos." There was hardly any rhyme or reason to this place, and yet, with enough time, one could learn to distinguish foe from predator from "maybe might be beneficial in some way." If you heard screaming in the distance, you were to walk towards it and not away from it, lest you walk straight into the fade-mimic's jaws. Most glowing things were to be avoided, save for the ghostfish, whose mandibles packed quite a punch but only bit when threatened.

xxxxxxHis favorite place, though, was the Oasis. When he could find it, it was a welcome break from the constant onslaught, a breath of fresh air. A place of refuge amongst the chaos. While the rest of Elsewhere was filled with roaring waves threatening to sweep one off their feet, the Oasis was calm, gentle, the screaming chaos lessening to a dull but not-unpleasant hum.

xxxxxxIt disappeared and reappeared according to its own whims, fading and flickering against the horizon. After many tests, the Stranger had concluded that there was only one Oasis, though he had always found it in a different place each time. He enjoyed digging up his journal from its space underneath the roots of the Yucca Palm, cataloguing the strange creatures he had come across during his time away. For to name something was to lessen the disorderly chaos, turning the great shadows of the night into familiar friends.

xxxxxxOr, sometimes, familiar fiends. It was all the same in the end. An attempt to wrestle back control. A way to turn the uncertainty into a promise.

xxxxxxThe young springs of false desert coral bled a sap that soaked deep into anything it touched, used as ink for his journal pages. He just had to remember to wash it off in the waters of the Oasis instead of cleaning it with his tongue. Tiny creatures he called the Children scampered around, darting into caves and burrows at his approach, but slowly creeping forward as curiosity got the better of them. Something shone in their eyes, something like the burgeoning sensation of sapience, and he wondered sometimes if, given a few eternities, they too would become like cats. Fish like minnows darted in the Oasis waters, edible if one didn't mind the fact that they looked like they had been cobbled together using spare parts of plants and animals.

Of course. I—

xxxxxxDeep within the starlit fields roamed the remnants of restless souls, trying oh so desperately to get to where they'd believed they'd go after the last of their life slipped away. Before the desert caught their soul, siphoned a small sliver of it the instant they stayed too long, trapping them in this hell for eternity.

xxxxxxThose were the worst to come across, in the Stranger's opinion. He didn't know how to deal with cats, not anymore, and especially not those with tear-stained cheeks and haunting empty eyes and a hundred questions he couldn't answer. "Where is StarClan?" and "Who are you?" and "Please, please, I don't want to be here anymore, can you help lead me back to where I'm supposed to be?"

xxxxxxThe Stranger's answers were always the same, because these were the questions he never knew how to answer. "I don't know," and, "I forgot," and "I'm sorry, I don't know how to get out either."

xxxxxxLiving cats who slipped in-between were more tragic, but at least, they weren't haunting shards of cats that had been. They were rarer, too, cats whose pelts were mottled in the same unnatural colors as his own, as Elsewhere stamped its mark on their pelt, instability soaking into their skin. These were the cats who knew how to ask the right questions, the ones the Stranger knew how to answer. "Where can I find things to eat? What dangers should I look out for? Is there any way to get out?"

xxxxxx"If you're lucky, the Oasis has prey and fresh water. If you're unlucky, the Halocline has prey, but you're not the only hunter. Trust nothing. You might be able to leave, but Elsewhere drags you back every time. I'm sorry."

xxxxxxHe was more afraid of the cats who called the Elsewhere home than anything else that lived here, and yet— every time one crested the horizon, he wondered what it might be like to care for one, to have something to fight for, to return to. A strange, aching longing that never quite left his bones.

xxxxxxSometimes he wondered if he could still be classified as a cat.

xxxxxxOr if he was something else altogether.

—have to come—

xxxxxxA flickering.

xxxxxxSometimes, he took a step. His paws sinking into gray, iridescent sand.

xxxxxxAnd caught a glimpse of something beyond.

xxxxxxThe eternally gray sky flickered, for just a brief moment, becoming something more. A deep abyss, so much similar to the night skies he could barely remember, brilliantly colored lights distant on the horizon. A faint song rung in his ears, and the sensation that if he were just to start walking forward, he would be saved—

xxxxxxAnd then he did, and the illusion disappeared, with only the song lingering behind.

—home to you—

xxxxxxThe feeling of sunlight on his pelt, warm red-gold seeping through his bones.

xxxxxxEverything was still. Quiet. Dust notes dancing in the sun beams as they cascaded down, framing the sky and the ███████ overhead. There was a quiet hum in the air, indistinct enough to be easily lost, but loud enough for him to notice it.

xxxxxxThere were other things on his mind, though. Another warm body pressed against his, curled delicately around his frame, the weight of a head resting on his stomach. He strained to look, tail flicking as he spotted ██████, warmth filling his heart at the sight of them.

xxxxxx"Morning, sleepyhead." They murmured, rubbing their head against his. A purr rumbled in his chest, as finally, everything seemed to snap into place. Something still felt off, strange, in a way he couldn't quite figure out, but he dutifully ignored it. Not when he was finally warm, finally happy, finally home.

xxxxxx"I've missed you, you know."

xxxxxx"What are you talking about?" He snapped, panic welling in his chest. "I've never left. I've always been right here, with you."

xxxxxxThey blinked sadly at him, and he could hear the music changing, shifting slightly in a way that made him feel unsteady, as if he were clinging to a weak branch threatening to snap on the wind. Waiting for it to break and leave him plummeting again.

xxxxxx"I never stopped waiting for you."

xxxxxxHe covered his ears with his paws, screwing his eyes shut. "Stop talking."

xxxxxxThe music became dissonant as ██████ leaned in, breath cold against his ear. "Why did you have to leave me behind, ███████?" They hissed. "Can you even remember my name anymore? You promised you'd return to me—"

xxxxxxThe Stranger jolted upright, chest heaving as he struggled to breathe in the thick atmosphere. There was no more sun, no more disharmony screeching in his ear. There was no more warmth. Slowly, the dream faded, leaving him feeling unsteady, like he had been knocked off his paws, though he couldn't quite remember why.

xxxxxxHe had always been in Elsewhere. There had never been anything else.

xxxxxxSo then why was he crying?

—don't I?

[1502 words]

[Griff]

Mark!

[Only_Sky]

Adding an extension of two weeks by request!

[miraphoenix]

Username: miraphoenix
Cat Name: Elderflower
Gender: Nonbinary [they/he]
Rank: Healer (Assistant)
Clan: Havenclan
Age: 29 moons
Prompt:

"You know, Maplesong..."

The other healer's assistant looked up from where she had been sorting herbs.
"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Far from it. I just wanted to ask you... Do the spirits ever come to your dreams?" Elderflower asked, pushing an empty snailshell across the cedarbark floor of the healer's rootden.
"When you've not asked them to, that is."

Maplesong sat back, a quizzical look on her face as she tried to think of an occasion when such a thing had happened.
"I guess... I guess if you count the spirits showing up to Hawkstar?" she offered, tail twitching in thought. "Or Cedarwhisker; the spirits are always talking to her. Why?"

Elderflower was silent for a long moment. Maplesong sat patiently; she knew her friend would speak when they were ready.

"I've been having these dreams," they began, their long tail sweeping across the cedar as their paws began to trace strange shapes.
"Dreams of being... Oh it sounds so silly, but tall? Tall as a tree, tall enough to see over the mountains. The world shakes as I walk, and my tail could push aside the greatest of forests. I see the small creatures below me, and the water flees before me when I reach the shore. The air is hot, and full of strange sounds..."

Now it was Maplesong's time to sit in silence. Across the now-forgotten herbs, Elderflower squirmed in the awkward quiet, wishing that they'd never said anything about the dreams at all.

"I've... I've never heard of anything like that. Tell me if you have one again?" Maplesong broke the silence, and reached out to touch Elderflower's shoulder with a gentle, reassuring paw. "Come on, there's herbs still to sort; Willowmask will give us that stare if we don't have this done by the time they get back!"

~~~

"Maplesong, you remember how you said to tell you if I had the dreams again?"

The cat in question cracked one eye open, gauging the time. Forest's Heart was still dark as deepest night, but she could smell the herbs on Elderflower's paws. A promise was a promise, though, even if it was before dawn.
"I did, yes," she yawned. "Did you have another one?"

"I did... I was tall again, although not as tall this time as the last one," Elderflower began, trying to keep their voice quiet.
"This time, the land was grass for a moon's travel in any direction, and the only trees were around the water. I ran across the land fast as the wind, looking over the grass. The dust would fly when my feet touched the dirt, and I hunted small creatures that scampered back and forth. Sometimes I would look to see birds overhead, and wish that I could join them up in the sky. But then the warm wind would brush against me, and I would see food or foe, and be running off fast as lightning."

Maplesong nodded, before remembering that her friend couldn't see the gesture.
"Have you... Have you been having this dream a lot?" she asked, stifling yet another yawn.

"The last three nights," Elderflower confirmed. "I didn't... I didn't want to bother you if it was to be nothing."

"How about... How about in the morning, we talk to Cedarwhisker? Maybe she'll have some idea," Maplesong said after another moment, already curling back to sleep; she still couldn't tell if she was awake or not.

"Good idea...! Mind if I sleep here? I almost stepped on Surfpelt's tail on the way over, and I don't want to risk that."

Curled up, Maplesong winced. Waking Surfpelt in the middle of the night was a mistake that cats only made once.
"Yeah, of course. We'll see Cedarwhisker first thing."

~~~

"Have you had any more dreams lately?"

Elderflower looked up to see Maplesong sauntering over, and he smiled to see his friend approaching. It had been half a moon since the pair had gone to see Cedarwhisker about his dreams. The Tree-Speaker had smiled in the most curious way when she had heard, and had told Elderflower that he had a truly old soul. She had also said that the answer was not one she was allowed to give; he would receive his answer on his own, and soon.

"Now that you mention it, I have," he answered, looking around to make sure no-one else was listening. Maplesong, curious, sat down across from him, her ears pricked with anticipation.

"I was taller than the last set," Elderflower began, whiskers twitching in memory. "My legs were like the trunks of great spruce trees, and my fur was thicker than cedar bark to keep out the chill wind that blew down from the mountains. My teeth were enormous, and I scraped away the thick snow to find lichens and grasses beneath the ice. I could hold things with my nose--I know, that was my face when I woke up--and I could call to my kin with a voice like River's Roar."

"But that's not the best part, Maplesong. I recognize where I was in the dream this time; I was by the lake, in the muddy shallows, although it was all frozen in the dream. Something... Something's telling me to go there. Would you come with me?" he asked, hope in his eyes.

"You would have to pin me down to stop me!" Maplesong answered with a grin, and the two healers' assistants ran off to get permission for a 'patrol' to find herbs at the nearby lake.

~~~

Permission from Lichenstep in paw, the pair reached the lake in record time, practically flying in their excitement. Elderflower led the way, with Maplesong following close behind, and it was not long before they drew to a stop by the water's edge. The mud was soft beneath their paws, with the faint graininess of thawing ice crystals after the long, cold winter.

Elderflower looked around, his ears and whiskers twitching. Maplesong stayed as still as she could, not wanting to distract her friend; clearly, they were deep in thought, trying to match up the dream with the surroundings they could see.

"There!"
Elderflower's sudden exclamation made Maplesong jump, and the other cat gave her an apologetic smile.
"Sorry for startling you, but I... I have a feeling we need to clear the reeds off of this bit here?" he said in a quieter voice; that he was worried about the request sounding ridiculous was plain on his face.

"Consider them gone, then!" Maplesong answered with a smile, and took a bundle in her teeth. The roots lifted easily, and between the two of them, the process did not take long to get started. Paw in paw, the two worked to haul the reeds away, and scoop half-frozen mud clear of the site, taking breaks to shake off and warm up in between shifts in the marshy ground. By the end, both were covered in mud and water, and were very glad for their thick coats as they looked at what they had excavated.

"What... What is it?" Maplesong asked, reaching out to touch the dark, smooth surface. "It's not a stone... It almost feels like..."

"It's bone," Elderflower answered, his ears back and his eyes wide, voice barely above a whisper.

Before them, still dripping with the water that had sheltered it for untold moons, sat an immense skull, recognizable as such by the gnarled and ridged teeth gleaming ivory in the pale spring sunlight. Two massive teeth curved out to the sides, their smooth surface covered in cracks stained dark with mud. In the center of the skull was a great hole, like the opening of some great eye.

Maplesong took a step backwards, swallowing hard; a skull of what? She didn't know of anything this large in all of Havenclan territory. Although the teeth were like that of an elk, even an elk could be a threat during the rut or to a cat that startled a cow and her calf. Something this size...
"And your... Your dream told you about this?" she asked, watching as Elderflower touched the enormous skull, their ears laid flat, their eyes still wide in shock.

"I think they did," Elderflower whispered, shivering in the cold wind. "I... I knew this was here because I was here before. I... I know this skull."

Maplesong thought back to the dream that Elderflower had shared before coming out here, and the realization sent ice through her bones. Her friend had dreamed of being of enormous size, with a long and flexible nose, with great teeth that swept out to the sides, and they had dreamed of being here...
"Do you... Do you need to go?" she asked, risking a step forward.

Elderflower was silent for a moment.
"Only to get warm," they admitted. "Come on, let's take some of these reed roots so Lichenstep doesn't get mad?"

~~~

Warm and safe in the rootden, Elderflower stared into the middle distance. They were aware of Maplesong walking over, and they moved their tail to allow her to sit by their side.

"Are you... Are you alright?" she asked after a moment, the worry in her voice.

"I think so," Elderflower replied after a long moment.
"If that skull is real, and I... And I remember that face," they began, voice trailing off as they thought. "Does that mean... Does that mean the other dreams are real, too?"

Maplesong swallowed. Such a thing wasn't unheard of; she sometimes heard the whispers of trees in her dreams and waking hours, so was it so much to conceive of that Elderflower could hear the echoes of spirits long since past? Or embody those spirits in some way?
"I think they very well could be," she answered, looking over at her friend. "I think you're destined for curious things, Elderflower. But no matter what, you'll always be a friend to me. Now, come on; last one to the clearing has to clean up the lamprey skins!"

Both cats ran from the den, the great tree filled with their laughter.

[Image 1: sauropod] || [Image 2: terror bird] || [Image 3: mammoth]

[faelyn]

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im so sorry about the wait for this contest to be judged <3
but due to request ill be taking over for the artist as
she is a little busy atm, but has put in a little bit of
thought into who will be winning this gorgeous kitty!

this was literally so close and chaotic and im absolutely
so shook with both of your entries! the thought put
into each entry was just amazing and i adored reading
both of them so much!

but... the winner of this competition is.... mutated-cry!!!
your world-building in this entry was breathtaking and
all the details you put into creating "the elsewhere"
was so mesmerizing and a blast to read! i can't wait to
see where you take this gorgeous kitty and ill definitely
be keeping my eyes open to seeing what happens to
him next!

im also rewarding 1 rare myo to miraphoenix!!
ah,, i loved your entry so much and the chaos!!
the relationship between elderflower and maplesong
was just priceless and reading the friendship they
have together melted my heart!

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[miraphoenix]

Congratulations, Archaeopteryx.!! Your entry was fantastic!!

Thank you for the MYO, as well! ^^

[Archaeopteryx.]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa thank you so much!!!!! i can't wait to develop this guy further, i've got some found-family ideas 👀

and thank you, mira!! your worldbuilding is so neat and i always look forward to reading more of it ^^