[ from within ] [ semi-lit ] [ open ]

[painted rose]

Can I be the prince?

[val.]

شجاعت|she-cat|with no one|feeling tired|no kits|out in the forest

The thick morning fog was just enough to get any cat annoyed, but with the damp air, it was hard to get any sleep. Courage's sleek black coat was now damp from the mist, her paws dirty with mud. She couldn't help it one bit. With a empty stomach that gave her a headache the she-cat had woken up to get her own food, though she was not fit for the job. The slim black cat moved gracefully through the grass, watching what little sun there was hit the dew drops and make them sparkle and shine, tremble as she passed by them and fall onto the ground. Courage sighed quietly as she neared a oak tree which she had found a few days ago holding a Sparrow and it's eggs. The she-cat took up a nice canter, before crouching at the base of the tree and spring a few feet up it before landing on the low branch where the nest was. The mother bird seemed to have left to go find her own food, which left Courage with a quick snack. She moved on the branch slowly before lowering her head to fit all four eggs in her mouth. She leaped down, and quickly started to pad back to the food pile, her long black tail held high with the tip flicking back and fourth. Courage saw Heir Loon, and slowed her pace to a walk. She bowed her head to the Loon, gently putting all the eggs on the ground but taking two quickly. Good Morning, Heir Loon. The she-cat said, bowing her head as she moved off towards the cave. Courage sat down in her nest, and spit the eggs out, before cracking them open and eating the little baby bird inside. Courage licked her ivory colored teeth and muzzle, gazing around before moving the eggshells out of her nest. She started to clean her black paws, both of her ears erect and listening to the forest that was coming alive.

[Incarna]

Mihr trudged silently through the heavy fog, his damp gray fur tangled into loose knots. Hungry but too tired to hunt, he let out a soft sigh. The house he lived in was prone to cracks and the interest of dust bunny colonies that never quite went away. The small tom would always be cleaning hours on end, yet by the time he slept cold wind coursed through unseen niches and his paws were sticky with dust. This morning he had woken early to head quickly to a drainage pipe nearby and scrub away the filth until the dirty water ran red. Lifting his head a little, it was too late when he bumped into a familiar tom.
"I-I'm so sorry!" Mihr said, jumping backwards in a jittery leap. Pain shot through his injured paw, but he avoided wincing and bit his tongue instead. He averted his eyes from Dandelion, an otherwise friendly tom if it had been anyone but Mihr. Mihr had never been good with cats, not even with cats he had been with for moons. "I-I'll go out of y-your way now." He stammered, ducking his head and moving aside. He was hungry, but did not dare enter the Castle on a daily basis except when the need called for it. Most of the Colony knew about his unorthodox personality and his different behavior when hunting and fighting, that did not mean they would react to it differently though.

~

The white tom was a ghost in the early morning, padding through the Cloud's hallways with a vague expression on his face. Angel woke up earlier than everyone else, going for a fast-paced stroll precisely at dawn. He never failed to miss it. It was a few minutes past sunrise when Angel padded back into the Cloud with an accomplished atmosphere, settling down in an empty room and tucked into a mouse. With a quick prayer for the animal, he finished it withing moments and swiped tongue over his muzzle. A quiet and uncommon chorus of birdsong startled him slightly, but his indifferent features softened up into a smile. It was these kind of days that he appreciated, the simple sound of birds and the cool and refreshing dampness of the mist. Thin sunlight filtered through boards on the windows, radiating and comfortable warmth on his back. But even so, he was not one to stay still.
His instinct tugged him back towards the nesting area. Having caught an extra bit of prey, Angel headed inside, careful to be utterly silent. With a quick duck inside he saw that some were stirring and perhaps some were missing and others still out cold. Very quickly the tom dropped the prey there and left, padding rapidly to the main hall and curled up and closed his eyes, as if he had fallen asleep outside.

[oh_deer!]

The dark ginger she-cat woke in her nest with a jolt. Her dreams, haunted with her stupid kin. A father who doesn't care for his kit? Any cat like this should be slaughtered. There was no room in a utopia for weak and feeble creatures. But she didn't live in utopia. Instead, a world of anger, hatred, jealousy and revenge. And revenge was all Artemis could care about. She sighed heavily, starting to groom any loose pieces of straw from her long russet fur. Her piercing green eyes searched the ghostly gloom, looking for any signs of a cat...or life. The ginger cat stood slowly, sniffing the air cautiously. She froze. A loud dripping sound echoed through the Storm Cloud, booming through the cell in which she had slept. Her green eyes flickered to the darkest corner. A damp patch lay on the stone floor, and more water was quickly falling through the ceiling. Artemis made a mental note to switch her nests with another cat the next time she came in. Where is everyone? And Queen Lark? She thought, staring into the darkness desperately. Her paws automatically made her creep forward. The russet she-cat slipped through the stretched gap between the cell bars, sucking in her breath. She padded out of the old police station, glancing back at the sleeping Lightning Strike members. As she was inhaling the fresh morning air, the sweet song of birds filled her ears. I will hunt, she thought, gazing at possible hunting places. Her paws walked her for a while until she came across a small meadow. She entered, looking around in awe. It was filled with lush green grass, the type you may see in paintings. The grass was high, a good place for hunting. Then she saw the beauty as more of an image of sadness. It was like the wonderful meadow she and her father used to play in. That was when he wasn't crazy. They would have pretended to hunt, but really Artemis was learning for the future. She hadn't known at the time, but she'd turned out to be a great hunter for the Lightning Strike. Shaking the depressing thoughts away, the dark ginger cat padded deeper into the grass. The chirping of crickets filled her ears, again reminding her of the old kithood games she once played. Her green eyes quickly caught sight of a skinny vole. It was a poor meal, but something was better than nothing. Crouching down, she slowly crawled across the ground, breathing in the delicious scent of the prey. She lowered her belly further until her long fur was gently brushing the earth. The furry she-cat pounced, blood rushing through her ears, blurring her pelt of fire. Swiftly swiping her claws across the vole, it fell into death quickly. She gratefully picked up the catch, silently analysing her mistakes. Her long fur against the ground had been rustling the grass. Maybe the prey was deaf. She padded back down through the meadow, to the Storm Cloud.

[bin child]

The twitching tail of a red squirrel that was hardly visible through the fog alerted Dandelion of it's presence. Dropping into a crouch with his tail out flat behind him as to not scare away his prey, he took careful, expert pawsteps closer, olive colored eyes fixed intently on his target. He bunched his muscles, ready to pounce, when it skittered away, startled. A cat bumped into him, blubbering "sorry". Apologzes catch no prey, he mused, disapointed and a smidge frustrated. He pushed back his emotions and softly touched Mihr's shoulder with the tip of his tail.
It's alright, no harm done" He meowed. Why don't you hunt with me, Mihr?" The tom had a feeling he could be more hinderance than help, but he felt as though a bit of exercise and stimulation would be good for the skittish commoner. He stalked away, whether the other tom would follow or not. He reached a familiar clearing that he knew tended to have abundant prey and after the first step out into the open, he froze.

A figure of a feline was what he saw in the distance, with thick, fiery fur. He inhaled, drinking in her scent. Definately not a cat from the Colony. Instinctively, his muscles tensed and claws unsheathed, holding his tail up to alert Mihr. He really hoped no harm would come from this encounter; the hunter preferred to solve conflict without shedding blood, but if the need arises, he'd be ready.

---

"Not really," Loon replied, nodding back at Courage as she greeted her and placed two round eggs at her paws. The way the black cat had gotten the eggs were impressive, she must admit, certainly not something she'd even think of. Not that she needed to really, thats why they had cats like her to fetch food.

The black and white she-cat broke the shell delicatly after watching the fighter do the same. After devouring the baby birds, Loon swiped her tongue around her lips. They weren't nearly as bad as she'd expected, slimy, but not bad.

[eugenides]

the betraying princess, lark
female >> orange tabby with green eyes >> cruel

mood;; bored
location;; castle-storm cloud
doing;; walking
tagged;; no one

lark woke, as always, with the morning sun. which was pretty early. she made sure of this, as no one could catch her going on her daily trip to the storm cloud. after stretching luxuriously, she reluctantly padded out of her shared den, making sure not to wake any of the sleeping cats. on her way out of the castle, she snagged a mouse to munch on. sometimes she wondered why she was so cautious. no one ever worried about her disappearances anyway, she had taken care of that a long time ago. "i just want to escape all of the formalities." her parents took her excuse. the young princess smirked.

arriving at the storm cloud, she headed straight for her den.

[[ lark and echo are open if you need anyone to interact with c: ]]

[Keith-Kogane]

Charcoal
- Female - 23 moons - Lightning Strike Fighter -

Charcoal woke after most others had. She loved to sleep, and the only thing that woke her up as early as it had was the rumbling of her stomach. It shook her from slumber, eliciting a groan of anger from her. She stood, stretching herself thoroughly before trotting out. Her den was in the furthest cell to the back, just where she liked it. As she came to the door, her eyes fell on the dwindling meat pile. Shrugging a bit, she simply grabbed the first thing she could get- which happened to be a squirrel- and ate it quickly. Licking her lips, Charcoal trotted out of the building and into the foggy air of morning.

Just as her paws cleared the threshold of the building, another cat came trotting over. Instantly recognizing the form of Lark, Charcoal bowed in greeting. Her voice was oddly low and growly for a female, but she spoke differently when addressing Lark. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

[peppersdots]

{ Whoa, sorry I haven't posted yet. Is there anywhere I can jump in? Is anyone open? }

[eugenides]

the betraying princess, lark
female >> orange tabby with green eyes >> cruel

mood;; bored
location;; storm cloud
doing;; talking
tagged;; artemis

seeing charcoal, lark paused. a small, almost inconceivable, smile appeared when the fighter bowed. it felt good to be respected. "good morning." she replied curtly.

the princess, or queen should i say, was bored. so she did something that was quite foolish in the long run, if you consider it. "charcoal, i have an assignment for you. gather up one if my fighters and capture a fighter from the colony. i want some action. don't let anyone see you. dismissed." with that, she stalked away to her den.

[[ echo is open.
rose, that's your cue for dimitri! ]]

[Incarna]

"Um, a-are you sure...?" There was no response to that question, instead Dandelion walked swiftly away and left the smaller male to follow.
"If I may," Mihr finished, muttering. He had to walk faster to match Dandelion's stride.
When he mentioned hunting, Mihr inwardly brightened. He felt guilty for losing the hunter's prey; perhaps he could pay it back with an exceptional catch this morning. The pale gray tom stopped abruptly behind Dandelion like a slightly breathless ghost, his soft and small paw steps vanishing. His first thought went to prey, but he realized it was something much larger by the uncomfortable feeling now rising in his chest.
Nevertheless Mihr grinned and flexed his claws, catching wind of the strange cat. It awakened the hidden side of him, the one who found battle glamorous through the blood and loved the exhilaration of strategy. That side sensed that the wind had shifted so that he was downwind. Meeting the ginger tabby's olive green eyes for just a moment, Mihr took advantage of the silence and slipped deep into the tall grass, vanishing from sight and sliding closer the the intruder ever so quietly.
If this was the time he was overlooked, it would be now.

When the sounds of padding and voices drifted through the dismal room, Angel raised his head and silent surveyed his surroundings with blank interest. But he had heard enough and stood up, sliding smoothly into action.
"Charcoal? I trust that you wouldn't mind if I joined you today?" Smiling faintly Angel knew the younger, ashen-gray she cat well enough to recognize her personal strength and spirit, so the word "trust" was more of a vague replacement for "hope." Either way, having eaten his full, it would be the perfect opportunity to make the day worthwhile and get some action done. As Queen Lark accurately phrases it, the tom added to himself.