--) extra writing for rise

[doge fruit]

please don't post here, thank you!
<3

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° Tribe of Toto Rā °

/

· rise adopts ·

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[doge fruit]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ｗｉｌｄ Ｆｉｒｅ ／／ Ｒｏｓｅ Ｄａｐｐｌｅ

{ Wild Fire meets Rose Dapple }

Cold wind whipped the grasses and the trees swayed in a chorus of rustling leaves. Icy rain spattered the ground in heavy drops, drenching any living creature who dared to move outside from their dens.
The Whakangau hunting party emerged into view, their heads low and steps slow to protect them from the rough wind and rain. The ocean waters were too high for the Hī ika party to go out and fish as usual. It was just as hard for the land-hunters as well, since various parts of the island were flooded. As the party drew closer, each of the 4 cats carried a single piece of prey. The critters either ran to different parts of the island or hidden away spmewhere. It wasn't much food but it would be given to the kits and elders, luckily no cat was sick or injured in this terrible weather.
Wild Fire watched as the hunting party split in 2 and each cat dropped their prey near the Elders or Nursery dens. She lay sheltered under the inside of a split, fallen tree. The rain couldn't get in but it was making the insides of the trunk humid and heavy. Leaf sat behind her, the brown tabby she-cat's fluffy backside pressed against Wild Fire's. Leaf talked endlessly about food and wishing the weather would go away with Speckle, a small yellow spotted she-cat who murmured steady agreement with every statement. Wild Fire wasn't paying attention much to them.
Swift, a pale tabby tom who delivered a squrriel to the nursery, veered away from shelter from a small cave-in on the side of the Nursery with other warriors, and headed up slope to the Chief's den. Wild Fire watched as Swift's pale tail disappeared into the small cave under the large tree roots. In a few moments, Rok's grey tabby body emerged out with Swift. Wild Fire's eyes watched amazed as the old chief climbed down the slope effortlessly. Even though his pelt was flecked with white from age, muscles still flexed under his short pelt.
Rok padded along side Swift, his eyes focused in concentration as the pale tabby told him of the hunting report. Swift must have mentioned sending out another party to check again because Rok shook his head before turning back to the slope to his den. Swift quickly dived into the small cave near the Nursery while Rok slowly marched up the slope. Wild Fire kept a steady eye on him as his grey striped tail disappeared into the brush covering the entrance of his den. She twitched her tail, wondering what the Tribe would do to get through the rains. Leaf sneezed before flopping to her side and stretching her limbs, pushing her hindlegs into Wild Fire's side.
"You should get some rest. The rain isn't going away any time soon.", meowed Leaf as she looked over ger shoulder, her fluffy brown tail resting on Wild Fire's back.
Wild Fire sighed, not looking at Leaf, but rested her chin on her paws. She wasn't really tired, listening to the rain drops on the tree trunk as the wind calmed down. But after a few moments, the soft pattering of rain lulled her to sleep.

~~~~~~

The following day, Rok organized a Whakangau party again. The rain had stopped but the roll of thunder and the gray swirling clouds still hung in the air. Weak sunlight broke throw the trees and lit some parts of the island. Today's hunting party consisted of Tik, a small lithe white tom, Sal, a fluffy gray and black tom, Ridge, a tabby she-cat, and Gully, an orange tabby and white tom. The cats, although reluctant to hunt in fear the weather changed, filed out of camp.
Wild Fire was awake and tending to the mothers in their nursery. Snail Shell, a black cat, and Fig, a calico, was busy with their rowdy kits while Red, a ginger cat, was expecting her first. Wild Fire had to change out the nests since they were pretty damp and the queens were grateful. Leaf and Sand Dune was helping out, since all the apprentices had to change nests and gather more nesting material. Within time, nest were remade and the kits were glad to tumble and climb onto the cats once they were finished. Ripple, one of Fig's kits, had one of Wild Fire's paws locked while two of Snail Shell's kits clambered on her back. Dramatically, the orange she-cat toppled over and play fought the kits while Leaf helped them and Sand Dune played dead.
Wild Fire, Leaf, and Sand Dune were tired out by time the playing was finished and it was pretty late in the day once they left the Nursery. The mothers were pleased that they wore out the kits well enough for them to sleep. The other apprentices were chatting under a bush and Leaf and Sand Dune broke away to be with them. Now with some alone time, Wild Fire went visit Rok. Walking softly up the slope, Rok was sitting by the entrance of his den watching the camp below in half-closed eyes.
"Kia ora. I heard you and those two in the Nursery. I know the kōkaras are happy their young well sleep well tonight.", Rok purred deeply.
"Kia ora. Has the hunting party returned yet?", Wild Fire questioned as she settled down beside the old tom, he slowly shook his head.
For a while after, they watched as daily life happened in the camp below. The rain had stopped today but was probably coming back tonight or tomorrow. The apprentices were practicing hunting moves while the two elders, Needle Tooth and Red Fish, sat by their den and chatted while watching the apprentices. A calico kit padded out from the Nursery, Wild Fire recognized her as Fig's kit.
"Bloom's almost big enough to be a pia now.", Rok nodded to the calico as she hopped up to the apprentices, probably begging to join them.
The other apprentices seemed reluctant to include her but Leaf, Sand Dune, and Speckle took her aside to teach her.
"You used to do the same thing...begging the apprenctices to show you their moves when you were that age. Now look at you, you're one of the best cats in the Tribe of Toto Rā!", purred Rok as he gently nosed Wild Fire's fluffy cheek.
"All thanks to the best cat that ever raised me!", Wild Fire replied back with warmth in her eyes.
Before they could talk, the hunting party came back. Tik, Sal, Ridge, and Gully padded back to came, with a little more prey than yesterday, however, they had another cat with them. Sal dropped away from the group, handed his catch of three mice to Ridge, while signaling the strange cat to flow him. Rok and Wild Fire were on their paws as they watched Sal lead the stranger up the slope, something seemed familiar to Wild Fire.
"I'll take it from here Sal. Thank you.", Rok meowed as Sal nodded and turned away.
The stranger, a skinny tortieshell she-cat, dropped the fluffy bundle she was caring by her paws. The little thing, also a tortie, slowly turned and blinked at Rok and then Wild Fire.
"I see you have grown well. Rok took great care of you.", the tortie rasped as she dipped her head towards her.
"I've made sure she was raised well, Mink.", Rok spoke as he stepped forward.
Wild Fire lashed her tail with uncertainty. She hadn't seen her mother, Mink, in moons. The last she saw of Mink was long before the rainy season, when she was out hunting by the ocean and briefly met Mink heading away from the shower. Not many words were shared between them before Mink disappeared again, like she always did.
"What brings you hear?", Wild Fire asked with tension.
Mink's gaze seemed to glisten with emotion before she pawed the little tortie kit in front of her. The little she-cat squeaked in protest but kept a wary and wide gaze at Rok and Wild Fire.
"This is the worst rainy season so far. Prey is scarce and everything is soaked to the bone.", Mink croaked sadly, shaking her head."This is Rose Dapple. My last and only kit. All her littermates died either from sickness or drowning. I'm only doing the same thing I did with Wild Fire. I can't provide for her anymore...not in this weather. I don't want to see her starve, not to end up like me."
Wild Fire's shoulders drooped as her gaze flicked between Mink and Rose Dapple. The little kit seemed bony herself, her damp fur spiked as she stared up at Mink with scared eyes.
Now looking deeply at Wild Fire, Mink said,"She is your sister, Wild Fire. I know it's strange for you and sudden, but she is your kin. Please...please take care of her. It seems like a lot to ask but...let Rose Dapple take a place besides you in the Tribe."
Wild Fire dropped her gaze as Mink padded forward with Rose Dapple in her jaws. Mink placed the little kit in front of her large, white paws.
"Rose Dapple will be well taken cared for. I'll make sure me and Wild Fire help her find her paws within the Tribe.", Rok softly spoke as he pressed his nosse lightly to Mink's cheek.
"Farewell Rok...And farewell Wild Fire. Please keep Rose Dapple safe.", Mink choked, eyes brimming with emotion.
Turning tail, Mink leaped down the slope and disappeared out of the camp entrance. The sun had gone down by then and all cats were holed up in their dens. Rose Dapple crouched by her paws, blinking at her with wide eyes.
"Is Mink leaving me?" was the first thing she whimpered as she stared up at Wild Fire, her pale green eyes showing worry.
"You'll be fine here. I promise. I'm here and I'll take care of you until you're old enough to take care of yourself. You'll enjoy the Tribe.", Wild Fire whispered as she touched the kit's head with her nose.
"Come on. I know place where there's lots of kits like you." , she said as she lead the kit down the slope, Rok nodded in agreement as she passed by him.

[doge fruit]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ｗｉｌｄ Ｆｉｒｅ ／／ Ｌｅａｆ

{ Wild Fire & Leaf's Relationship }

Wild Fire first meet Leaf as a curious kit who always had something to say about something. While many of the Tribe cats were uncertain of Wild Fire's loyalty however, Leaf wasn't blinded by worry and concern. Since Wild Fire was tasked with helping cleaning dens and gather nest materials the first moon she joined the Tribe, Leaf was able to be always near Wild Fire constantly talking and suggesting games to play. Leaf was annoying at first but Wild Fire appreciated having someone to talk too, plus it was easy to learn things about the camp and tribe.

However, as they grew older, they grew close like siblings and went out on hunting patrols frequently. Both hunted by the sea and enjoyed fishing and splashing among the tide pools. When the Great Flood came to the island, Leaf managed to save Rose Dapple and a few other Tribe members from the rising waters. The survivors assumed all was lost but Wild Fire and Leaf motivated them to keep going. Wild Fire and Leaf helped rebuild the clan on better ground.

Seeing how Leaf took amazing charge in directing the survivors as well as keeping their hopes up, Wild Fire appointed her as deputy. Since then, Leaf has proved herself well that she deserved the title. Her leadership isn't harsh nor weak and it pleases Wild Fire to see her friend so mature.

[doge fruit]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ｓａｇｅ Ｌｅａｆ

{ The Healing Paws }

"You know, there's reasons not to mess with the wild pigs. Especially a mother and her offspring!"

The statement was met with an angry snort. Sage, a dusty colored tom, eyed around the small pile of leaves and roots by a rock. A black and white she-cat, named Jinx, groaned dramatically from behind him. Jinx had came to Sage's services after getting into a scuffle with one of the feral pigs found on the island. She tried to get one of the babies but the mother got her first. Her left side had a shallow, narrow but long scar running down her side.

"I TOLD her that before, Sage! But OOH NOO she had to mess with them pigs! They say to never get too close to their offspring, even if one of them is alone. The mother is always watching!", yowled a black tom as he stared grudgingly at Jinx.

"Shut up, Thorn', Jinx grumbled as she buried her face in her paws, 'before I give you a matching scar."

Thorn grumbled a reply that Sage couldn't hear and stormed off into the nearby shrubs. Sage turned back to Jinx, having finished chewed up some herbs and began to carefully spread it into her side. The she-cat's wound was healing better after two days.

"You should be able to get going after tomorrow. Just remember to stay away from those pigs.", Sage teased after applying a new dressing to the she-cat's side. She looked over her shoulder abd gave Sage a scowl.

Thorn came padding back, two plump birds dangling in jaw. He padded over to Jinx and dropped one before pawing over the last one to Sage.

"For helping Jinx.", Thorn said as he nodded towards the bird.

Blinking gratefully, Sage took the bird and sat down by the pair and began to eat. The bird was delicious and meaty, especially in the warm weather. Jinx was ripping into the other while Thorn happily chewed on a wing. It was a nice quiet as animals in the jungle settled in for sleep. The trio cleaned up for a night's rest, Thorn curled against Jinx and Sage gathering leaves at the base of the rock as a nest. The three cats called it in for the night.

--------------------------------------------

{ 5 moons later }

Four cats appeared in the distance and Sage kept a steady eye on them as they approached. Sage's new home was in a large, hollow fallen log in the jungle, surrounded by tall tree roots and moss clinging to almost everything. It was darker in this part of the jungle, light passed very thinly in the dense canopy of leaves and branches. Sage was even more hidden underneath a log. One of the four cats laid limp between two of the cats, a large grey tabby tom with determined eyes leading the group over the roots.

Sage crawled onto the top of his log home, greeting the the cats as they approached.

"Are you the healer?", the grey tom questioned as he stopped some ways ahead of Sage, his eyes narrowed.

"Of course I am who you are looking for. How can I be of use?", Sage meowed as he jumped down in front of the tom.

The grey tom, who's shoulder and muzzle were covered in old scars, twitched his tail to his two companions, keeping a steady eye on Sage. An orange and white tabby tom and a solid black she-cat padded forward in lowered heads. A small, skinny pale grey she-cat laid on their backs. Sage nimbly stepped around the grey tom and his prying eyes and gave the cat a sniff, smelling a hint of infection in her pelt.

"Come. Bring her this way.", Sage twitched his tail towards a spot in front of spot cleared near his log den.

The two other cats, who Sage noticed were skinny than the greg tom, carefully laid the she-cat in some laid-out leaves. Sage deeply inspected the sick cat, noticing her hind paw had a cut that was badly infected. It seemed to have been festering for a good couple of days. The pale she-cat had her eyes closed and weakly gasped in whizzing breathes. Sage quickly leaped over to his den, the three other cats watching him silently. He found the herbs need, quickly chewing them up with his back turned and spat it out on a small leaf, grabbing a half of a hollowed coconut shell in the back as well.

"Here. There's a large puddle nearby full of water. Just past that moss covered boulder. Fill this coconut with it.", he instructed the orange and white tabby. With an obedient nod, the tom bounded away.

"How long will this take?", the grey tom impatiently asked, tail lashing. Sage was still getting a closer look at the she-cat's leg, feeling a fever as well in her pelt.

"How long has she been like this? Her infection is so far gone and it's spread in deeply. What happened?", Sage retaliated, not moving his eyes or paws from the she-cat's side.

"I don't have time to be sitting around here all day. I-"

"Here!", interrupted the voice of the orange and white tom, placing the coconut next to Sage.

The grey tom growled in protest as the other tom slunk back in place with the black she-cat, both huddled and keepimg distance. Sage carefully poured some water on the pale cat's leg and a little into her mouth. The poor thing was to weak to lap it up and barely moved as Sage touched her leg. Carefully, he applied some of the chewed up herbs on her leg, and then using some large enough leaves, carefully wrapped it into place. There wasn't much else to do to help it.

"Is that all you're going to do? Isn't there supposed to be more?", the grey tom growled in a hint of outrage.

"It's all he can do Ash. You should've brought Mellow earlier if it mattered!", hissed the orange and white tom as he curled deeper into the black she-cat.

"Shut up Sunny! Was I addressing you?! That's what I HATE the MOST, cats who talk out of line! Now you just go back to being an overgrown TICK on Styx's side!", snapped Ash as he grey pelt bristled all over. Sunny narrowed his eyes and laid his ears back but didn't make another move.

"Listen. Just wait until mourning. Maybe Mellow while be a little better. Maybe one of you can go hunt and bring her something to eat when she's strong enough.", Sage suggested, hoping to diffuse the argument.

Ash growled but stormed off and over the tree roots, grumbling his frustration to the trees. Sunny and Styx flashed a grateful look to Sage and rested their tired eyes on the pale grey she-cat, Mellow. He curled up into his small den inside the fallen log, wishing he could offer up a spot for both of the cats but it was already too cramp with him inside it. Luckily, no rain was falling tonight so the rustling of leaves in the wind, and Sage's eyes grew weak with sleep.

The next mourning, the sun was out overhead and its rays of lights flickered between the tall canopy. Birds sang their songs and lizards darted about roots and rocks. However, Sage couldn't enjoy the peaceful mourning. Not with Ash pinning him down with his claws against his neck.

"SHE'S DEAD. MELLOW IS DEAD! YOU SAID YOU COULD SAVE HER. BUT YOU LIED!, the large grey tabby tom yowled inches away from Sage's face.

Sage couldn't fight back. He never really did like fighting. But even if he did choose too, he couldn't since his limbs were held down. Mellow, the sick cat succumbed tl her injuries over night, most likely from fever. Ash had came back from hunting, left only her some prey, and went to sleep. The next mourning, Styx woke up to check on her and was greeted with a cold body. Ash woke up in a rage, and unleashed his fury on poor Sage, even Sunny and Styx couldn't help him.

"Listen...Ash. I did what I could. I couldn't save her, her time was up.", Sage gasped as his face was pressed harder into the ground.

"She was all I had left in life. My little one, my kit. And now she's gone. My beautiful little Mellow is gone. She's dead. Never to breathe and see the light of day ever again. And you won't either.", Ash hissed into Sage's ear, his words dripping in burning venom.

Ash calls sunk deeper into the helpless tom's throat. Sage couldn't struggle but he hoped his death would be more heroic than this. Pain flared in his neck and his eyes closed, hoping to not concentrate and focus on something happy. All of a sudden, a weight was lefted off of him. Ash's angered howl filled the air. Sunny quickly shoved Sage to the outside before block the entrance of the log, his orange and white pelt prickled and arched as he hissed at Ash. The grey tabby barely paid Sunny any mind, trying to get at Sage. He attempted to go underneath the orange tom's legs but was met with a fury of blows. Styx quickly came up to back her friend, her dark pelt bushy and teeth showing.

Sage stood by, assessing the situation. Looking at the three cats yowling at each other. Looking at the skinny body of the pale grey she-cat. Looking at her leg wrapped in leaves and the bird that Ash left beside her. Something fell into place within Sage. Ash had taken to running into the back of the log and viciously shredding the stored Sage had taken days to collect and organize, tossing out and tearing up leaves, flowers, and roots as he screamed his hate for Sage. Sternly, Sage marched up behind the two other tense cats just as Ash reappeared in the entrance again.

The two toms narrowed their eye at each other, each with their eyes back. Sage twitched his tail to signal Sunny and Styx to back up.

"You would leave if I were you. I don't want to see you again.", Ash snarled through shut teeth.

"When I go, I want you to live with the fact that YOU were the one to kill Mellow. You were the one to let their own kin die and now you want to throw blame on another. If you came days before, maybe she could have been saved. But you didn't. You let Mellow, your own kit, suffer before coming to me. I never killed her. You did.", Sage growled, his pelt burning in rage.

"We told you to bring her earlier but you didn't! YOU put her through this!", Styx yowled in rage and grief from behind.

"How dare you put this on me!", Ash snapped, his eyes blazing at Styx but Sage noticed the uneasiness in his voice.

"Why didn't you listen to her pleas. She was sick...and hurt. But you didn't listen. Mellow was a good cat, she wasn't like you. She cared about us.", Sunny said in heavy grief.

"A father would never wish death onto his kits but you failed as one. You lost your kit. And now, this Island has lost its healer. I'm leaving so I can stay far away from cats like you, who find the cause of their own created problems in others. I hope you live with this for as many moons you live. I have no place to be around your kind.", Sage growled as he turned away, flashing a look at Ash one last time. The grey tom still was tense but now he looked more uneasy and guilty than before.

"Yea, we're leaving you too. You only cared about yourself. I don't think you even cared about Mellow that much most times.", Styx meowed sternly, her black tail swaying slowly.

"Run Sage. Get far away.", Sunny quickly hissed.

And with that, Sage didn't hesitate to run. He felt wrong about leaving them with Ash as he ran further north but he was grateful of escape. Ash was the first angry cat to try and attack him for failing to help someone. More rogues were coming south of the island, their violent tendencies rubbing off on others. Sage was just happy to be away from them. Happy to leave rogue country.

[doge fruit]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ｒｏｓｅ Ｄａｐｐｌｅ ／／ Ｌｅａｆ ／／ Ｂｌｏｏｍ ／／ Ｍａｎｇō ／／ Ｃｒｉｃｋｅｔ ／／
Ｌｉｔｔｌｅ Ｓｋｙ

{ The Poaka Hunt }

Today was a big day for the Tribe. Today was The Poaka(Pig) Hunt, a special hunt that happened once or twice a moon. The wild pig, not usually hunted often or by a single cat, could feed the Tribe for days. Its meat is quite feeling and can fill bellies fast as well as the tough hide can be dried and used in making dens and sleeping mats. The thing is, these pigs are hard to hunt. They can stay hidden but once caught, they'll fight just about anything, the most dangerous being boars and mother pigs. The only real way to evade an attack is to run up a tree. However, today marked a successful hunt or at least that's what Leaf said.

Leaf and Mangō were hosting the Poaka Hunt and both weren't strangers to the dynamics, Mangō being part of five hunts while Leaf was part of seven. The little hunting tradition stemmed as far as the early days of the Tribe, being something risk-taking apprentices did to an offical tradition of the Tribe. Leaf and Mangō had organized it, making sure the time was right and the participants knew what would happen. Today they were taking the younger cats; Rose Dapple, Bloom, Cricket, and Little Sky. With approval from Wild Fire, they were allowed to hunt for the day.

-----------------------------

It was early morning when Leaf had woken up the young cats, whispering excitedly to not wake up the others. The day was warm as faint rays of sun shimmered through the leaves, at this time the pigs would be up and rooting for food. Leaf had already awaken Cricket and Little Sky, the two young toms excitedly speaking in hushed tones. Little Sky had a little more worry but Cricket, as always, was bouncing around and showing off his hunting crouch. Mangō was up early as well, giving the rundown to Wild Fire and getting permission. Bloom's eyes quickly opened up and she excitedly poked Rose Dapple to wake up. The tortie she-cat yawned lazily but within seconds of realization, scrambled to her paws with the others.

Mangō appeared with Wild Fire as the two cats walked up to the main camp under the eager eyes of the young cats. Wild Fire gave each of the cats and approving nod and wished the group luck and success. As the fiery orange she-cat padded back to her den, Mangō and Leaf went on their long speech about the hunt and it's safety, though all young cats groaned but Little Sky listened intently. With some final words of encouragement and luck, and a small prayer to the Ancestors, the group sat out on the hunt.

Mangō took most of the lead, Cricket happily prancing and chattering by the large black tom's side. Rose Dapple and Bloom excitedly talked, Little Sky keeping close to the two cats's side. Leaf brought up the rear, contently in her thoughts as she sniffed the air every once awhile. The trees grew lusher and denser in the part of the jungle they were currently walking in, thick green moss clinging almost to every surface. It smelled strongly of earth, the ground soft and squishy underfoot. Sunlight poured through the various gapes in the tree canopy and birds began their loud, glorious songs. Dragonflies buzzed in frantic speed and lizards began peaking from cracks and crevices. As the tall, looping roots and trees began to thin out from the scenery, Mangō raised his tail in signal.

The cats stopped and went silent. Mangō twitched the tip of his tail, letting them know to creep up slowly and quietly. All the cats were crouched under a half fallen log, with a gap big enough for all to crouch down and see through. In a grassy patch up ahead, a medium sized spotted pig, big enough to be taking down by the group, with a few smaller ones were grazing through the grass, grunting all at random. Leaf pricked her eyes intently, and nodded at to let them know there weren't any hidden pigs or boars.

"Do you remember what to do?", Mangō hissed to the young cats softly, his eyes focusing hard on the pig.

"Keep downwind. No loud sounds or sudden movement. Aim for the legs. Kill swiftly so it's cries don't alert a boar.", Little Sky recited back smartly and quietly.

"Good! The pig seems like it can go down in under 2-e cats. Me and Mangō will be watching all of you and we'll step in if there's trouble.", Leaf purred to the astonishment of the young cats.

Mangō wished them luck as he took a spot beside Leaf, hidden someways behind the trees roots. And with that, the young cats were set to hunt the pig.

-----------------------------

The whooe thing seemed like there was supposed to be more build up but it all happened quickly. As the cats spread out a little further and prepared their stances, the pig itself continued to chew on a nearby berry bush, it's offspring sniffing along the bottom for fallen ones. Once everyone was set, Rose Dapple was the first to explode from cover. The pig seemed stunned for a split second and its young reacted the same, but quickly turned to run. By then, Bloom and Little Sky had already darted out and leapt onto it's back as it started up it's cries. Quickly, Rose Dapple aomed for the legs, swiftly biting the tendon and immobilized the pig. Cricket ran out and eagerly clamped his teeth around one of the front legs.

The pig squealed loudly, it's yound had long darted away as the cats attacked their mother. The little calico she-cat, Bloom, had maneuvered her way to the pig's throat and with the help of Rose Dapple, gave the killing blow. Standing back to admire their effort and work, the young cats rejoiced. Mangō and Leaf stepped out from the fallen tree, their face approving and relieved. They dragged the pig home, too eager to eat to worry about the heavy weight. They had stopped by a passing stream and carefully cleaned up the pig before bringing it to camp. Cricket was the first to tell the successful news and the Tribe cats gathered around in purring approval.

For many days later, the Tribe ate gloriously. No need for any hunting parties as their bellies grew plump. This moon's Pig Hunt was an success!

[doge fruit]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ｌｅａｆ ／／ Ｒａｉｎ Ｓｐｌａｓｈ

{ A Leaf in the Rain }

Rain Splash shifted his paws nervously in the sand below. He was murmuring softly, his tone nervous but the ways just someways in front of him drowned out his fears. Tonight was a lovely night like always in this cool weather, the stars were shining brightly in the deep blue-purple sky and if you had a keen eye, you could still see the pale purple-pink of the sunset fading in the distance. Rain Splash always loved this time, right when you get to see night emerge. He was looking up at the half-moon when he suddenly heard the soft rustle of leaves behind him.

He felt is heart momentarily leap, every single enemy he can think of flashed rapidly in his head, but then, a familiar brown face emerged from the dark undergrowth.

"Did I frighten the brave fighter?", a bemused purr emerged from Leaf's throat.

"I wasn't scared, just thinking of easy ways to defend myself.", Rain Splash puffed up trying hard to look tough.

Leaf only purred affectionately, brushing her long, bushy tail under his chin. Rain Splash felt little flutters in his throat, as wispy and soft as her fur. Catching himself, he questioned Leaf about whether Wild Fire knew she was away from the campgrounds.

"Leaf does whatever Leaf wants to do!", declared Leaf triumphantly as proudly stood tall on a medium rock embedded into the sandy beach. Rain Splash only chuckled at her boldness, it was just one of the many things he liked about.

After a while, they played a small game of catch-a-mouse near the shore. Leaf yelped gleefully as Rain Splash caught her each time, and he couldn't help but join in with her laughter. Rain Splash was usually caught more easily than Leaf since his lighter pelt could be easily distinguished in the dark. Leaf, however, was bit of a challenge since her deep, brown fur blended more easily in the shadows. The waves mostly drowned out most of their joyful noises, keeping their fun contained within from prying eyes. After a while, Rain Splash and Leaf laid on their backs in the sand, their fur and paws blended in a mess of fluffy grey and brown. The stars were in full force in the clear, night sky and the moon hung full and bright, illuminating the ocean beyond them.

Even though where they laid was open and exposed, Rain Splash could feel the closeness. The waves and trees seemed to lean in eagerly at the two lovers. Leaf's purr filled his ears with warmth and softness, like he was a kit being purred to sleep again. Her head was nestled under his chin and he gave her a couple of licks on the tips of her ears. Rain Splash felt like he was in a dreamy state, floating into the clouds, higher than any bird to live, and the gentle caressing purrs fueling his flight. Still staring up at the stars, Rain Splash felt himself slowly drifting to sleep...
All of a sudden, Leaf's weight lifted from him, making him jolt awake.

"Is something wrong?", he asked in a half-stupor before sitting up next to Leaf.

The brown tabby she-cat's eyes were shut, as if in intense thought. She didn't answer his question at first.

"Leaf is...", Rain Splash said, worry starting to inch into his words. She didn't convey a word and Rain Splash sat in a defeated and confused state. But before he could say something else...

"I love you...a lot Rain Splash. We've been meeting her for a good few moons. Does that make us officially mates...right?", Leaf asked, her orange eyes meeting his with hope.

"Of course it does. Of course I'm your mate. I love you with everything within me. I'll love you to the moon and back again.", Rain Splash declared as he pressed himself closer to her side. Leaf's eyes softened and her muzzle crinkled in the cute bemused way that made Rain Splash's heart flutter.

The two cats leaned into each other for a brief moment before Leaf broke away again. Her expression was replaced with the previous one, some desperation on her face and her eyes locked on the ocean this time. Taking a moment to collect herself, Leaf leaned back into Rain Splash, her tail draped over his tail, and in a soft whisper she whispered, "I'm expecting kits."

The ground seemed to rumble under Rain Splash's paws and the sand seemed to shift like currents and waves. The trees rustled and swayed a little too loud and the distant waves on the ocean seemed to be taller than two mountains on top of each other. The silver tabby tom didn't say anything at first but the emotions were traveling wildly in his head. He stared at the she-cat, mouth agape in surprise and shock as he worked hard to think of words to say.

Within a spur of the moment, he managed to stumble out a surprised "Kits?!" in which, Leaf nodded in amused agreement.

"I went to check with Sage Leaf earlier today and he says they have a pretty good chance of being healthy. If he's correct, they will be here in a moon or two.", Leaf purred again.

Now that she did say that, Rain Splash did notice some subtle signs. She wasn't as fast and had gotten a little tired quicker than Rain Splash when they were playing, and in the moonlight he could see the faint fullness of her belly. He couldn't feel any less happier than at this moment and he purred loudly. Rain Splash was going to be a father!

[doge fruit]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Ｔｈｅ Ｎｉｇｈｔ ｏｆ Ｓｉｌｅｎｔ Ｒｏｃｋｓ

{ A Toto Rā tradition }

"Come on, wake up. It's time to go.", a soft voice spoke as a paw prodded Blazing Sun.

The young orange tom blinked awake as fluffy, white fur beside him let out a loud yawn. As his vision cleared, he saw the snowy white fur of his mentor, Cloud Feather, illuminating in the moonlight.

[doge fruit]

res