Journey to the Trinity Tree - Summer event prompts

[ToxicShadow]

Username: ToxicShadow
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Kandra and Pandra
Link to their pride or group: Oddity Pride
Prompt level completion: 5
Prompt:

Story B
Your cats have chosen to follow the strange voice as it leads the way through open field and into the twisting path of the forests, growing darker and darker the further they get from the great tree and into the deep reaches of the bramble and thorn. At the end of the voice, they find another army. A... not so pleasant one. The army of decay stares, expectantly. They do not attack, they simply stare with empty eyes as another tree lies among them, rotted and gnarled. "Ah... I see you have come." a voice responds, deep, polluted, and dripping with mystery. "...Please, sit. We have much to discuss. The goddess isn't who you think she is...." it says, evenly, showing control that the monsters it had sent the night before most certainly had not shown.

Do your cats run right away? Do they decide to hear out this strange dying god? Do they attack, or fight back?

Although they had both come to the conclusion that they would continue to follow that which pulled and called them, it was still difficult for the sisters, Pandra and Kandra, to leave the city, the tree, without causing alarm. It was a very real possibility that leaving this place would also cause them trouble. If they left, it was possible that they would not be able to return and, since the portal lead them directly here, that carried its own risks.

Carefully, before the morning sun had risen too high, the pair managed to set out. There were less eyes to watch them, but, unfortunately, it was likely impossible for their leaving to go unnoticed. The tree, itself, was alive, after all. So, certainly, it, no, she would know.

"Are you certain that this is the right choice?" It was Pandra that asked to confirm this in a quiet voice.

Kandra nodded her head once. "We made this choice together, so we'll follow it through," the more colorful lioness answered.

One thing the pair had come to realize during their time here, was that Kandra actually had a appearance more similar to the residents of this world, than that of where they came from. Unusual colors were not unheard of, of course, but there were few and far between, compared to more... natural colorations. Here, it seemed to be the opposite. There were very colorful folks.

As they carried on, they first came to an open field, and it was then that they both began to wonder how long of a journey that they would be in for here. Would it take just a few hours? Or would it take days? If it took a very long time, then what would happen in this world in the meantime? Would the others be attacked again? They had all sorts of questions cross their minds. But there was hardly any use in wondering about things that they could not answer.

"I seem more out of place here than you do," Pandra mused, at one point, just to give them something to talk about as they crossed the empty field.

Kandra chuckled at a bit, at that statement. "I never thought I'd see the day where I don't really stand out."

"Do you like it?" The primarily brown lioness wondered.

Kandra shrugged as she stepped. "I don't know. I mean, I've always been like this, so it's nothing knew anymore. Perhaps growing up, I felt insecure about it, but I don't feel that way anymore. My colorful appearance is just a part of who I am. So... I guess it doesn't matter, one way or another. It's interesting to see, for sure, but it's not this way or that way. Just interesting." There was a pause in her words, before she asked, "What about you? Do you feel out of place?"

"Not because of my appearance," Pandra replied, flicking her tail a few times, as she gave it some thought. "Just because I'm from a different... world, yeah, I feel out of place for that reason. I'm fortunate enough that no one has really treated me any differently because of the way I look while here, since there are many of us that all look differently."

The carried on with random conversions or peaceful silence as they traveled across the field, and finally made their way to a vague, twisting forest path. It could hardly be called a path, and there was no doubt that it would soon vanish in the thick of the forest. Still, they need not a path to follow, as they were following something else.

The twin sisters were more cautious as they ventured into the forest, but they did not hesitate. Rather than passing the time with idle conversation, each sister remained silent, listening to the world around them. They each stepped lightly, as if they may have been on the prowl, careful not to make even the slightest noise. They were both surveying their surroundings with each step. If something would be out to get them, they had no desire to be caught unaware.

The more they walked, the further they got from the tree and its underground city, the darker the world seemed to become. Perhaps the forest was just growing thicker and thicker, but that did not seem to be the only reason. Soon, they reached the very thick of it all, having to avoid thorn and brambles.

And, then, they came to their destination. Though it took some time, the day was not yet over, and both laid eyes on an entire army. Both lionesses stopped short, when they realized what they were looking at. It was the same creatures that they had just fought off, the day before. But none of these rotting... things moved to attack them. They didn't move at all, in fact.

It was Pandra that stepped forward another pace, when she spotted the gnarled tree, front and center, and it greeted them, then. In a voice full of pain and misery. It was a terrible sound, and so very, very sad.

Kandra was more hesitant than her sister, more cautious, but she didn't turn away. After all, they had been called here, and there was no way she would leave her sister behind. Her mind, actually, began to fill with even more questions. But, ultimately, was there a chance for diplomacy here?

She glanced at Pandra, as she stepped forward to be in line with her again, and, in turn, she glanced back at Kandra. The two nodded. It seemed they shared this thought.

"You have called us here," Pandra began, in response to the rotting tree, her red eyes trained on it "So can we presume that we are safe here? That your army will not come to harm us? Know that if we are attacked, we will not hesitate to do anything within our power to make it out of here." Once she got these words out of the way, she went on, "Please, tell us your story."

[1011]

[Wet Bread]

Username: Wet Bread
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Worm, Aluraune
Link to their pride or group: Rusted Daemons
Prompt level completion: level 3
Prompt:
Story A:
Things were quite a bit more peaceful at the trinity tree now that a good portion of the champions were lured away. The call had stopped, so Aluraune no longer had to worry about the constant hindrance of it pulling at her either. She had taken full advantage of the much quieter atmosphere, investigating nearly every aspect of the tree that she could alone.

Of course, she hadn't been quite successful in finding any magic source she could take herself yet. It was hard to tell, since this magic was much different than the kind of magic Rusted Daemons possessed. Their magic usually came from two sources. There was the magic deep within the cats of Rusted Daemons themselves, not active until awakened by the ancestors. Then there was the magic stored in items they called artefacts. Only the strongest cats were really allowed to possess them. Aluraune possessed one of such artefacts in the form of a flower she always wore. This flower was imbued with a bit of magic that prevented it from dying, but it also contained some fairly powerful charm magic which usually helped Aluraune in more... persuasive matters.

In this realm, it was much different. It seemed to Aluraune that the magic seemed to be stored deep within the tree... Or maybe the goddess herself? Both? It was so hard to trace, the way it seemed to radiate from her surroundings. Aluraune couldn't figure out any feasible way to harvest the magic, but there had to be some artefact or relic somewhere in this realm, right?

As she took her search outside to the surroundings of the tree itself, Aluraune soon found herself alone with the Goddess who simply stared at her, waiting for Aluraune to make the first move. In this moment, Aluraune realized the Goddess was much like herself albeit with much more power. She seemed almighty and benevolent, but underneath the sickly sweet personality, Aluraune sensed something maybe a tad bit... shady. This made things harder. If the Goddess was anything like Aluraune, she would be much harder to charm, much harder to fool. Aluraune realized that it would be much more effective to take a straightforward approach with her.

"Goddess, tell me," She started as she faced her, "Where exactly does all this magic come from?"

[385 words]

Story B
Worm was absolutely mystified by how much more comfortable she was in this rotting forest than she was in the trinity tree. Maybe it because she was used to living in less than stellar conditions or maybe it was just because she found it easier to read the things she knew were bad. Either way, she didn't feel any sense of danger when she was once again faced with the army of decay. She even felt a bit relaxed.

Looking around, Worm realized a fair number of their allies had followed the call as well, including, a distant Lucian much to her surprise. She didn't think he would have been trusting of the call but he was there nonetheless. As the voice spoke to them all, Worm listened intently. She didn't sense any malice from whatever creature spoke to them. They creature actually sounded quite reasonable.

Worm's ears perked right up when they said the goddess wasn't who they thought it was. Of course! How could Worm have been so foolish! Everything about the Goddess should have set of the same alarm signals in Worm that Aluraune did. Something bad masquerading as something good, though it was never as black and white as that. Worm never should have trusted her. Not that Worm would trust this creature either. She would listen to this creature, heed their words, but with an immense amount of caution. She wasn't about to get fooled again, no matter how much her heart told her to trust the creature along with the army of decay.

[259 words]

[644 words total]

[ThatOnePython]

Username: ThatOnePython
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Xia, Tasso and Pecora
Link to their pride or group: EchoLake Pride
Prompt level completion: Level 2
Prompt:
Link

[Panda-Love-100]

Story A
Your cats have chosen to stay in the safety of the tree. An investigation starts into soldiers who were lured off, but to those who ignored the call long enough, it no longer sings to them. They are left to wonder where their companions have gone. In the meantime, when investigating something aboveground, they find themselves alone with the goddess in her tree, her eyes glowing as she studies them. She says nothing, only waiting, as if expectant of them to speak first.

What do they ask of her? What questions do they have? Do they attack her for bringing them to this place, blame her? Do they feel pity, or look down? Do they lash out in fear? Or show respect? Do they ask for a reward or good fortune? Do they walk away without asking a thing?

Story B
Your cats have chosen to follow the strange voice as it leads the way through open field and into the twisting path of the forests, growing darker and darker the further they get from the great tree and into the deep reaches of the bramble and thorn. At the end of the voice, they find another army. A... not so pleasant one. The army of decay stares, expectantly. They do not attack, they simply stare with empty eyes as another tree lies among them, rotted and gnarled. "Ah... I see you have come." a voice responds, deep, polluted, and dripping with mystery. "...Please, sit. We have much to discuss. The goddess isn't who you think she is...." it says, evenly, showing control that the monsters it had sent the night before most certainly had not shown.

Do your cats run right away? Do they decide to hear out this strange dying god? Do they attack, or fight back?

Please note that this marks a split in the story. The next set of prompts will have two prompts to account for both options and you may choose which to complete.

Username: Panda-Love-100
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt:
Desmi + Kairos
Link to their pride or group: Sevasmos Pride
Prompt level completion: Level 5

Prompt: Kairos yawned as he got up from his bed. The strange sensation had stopped and he felt well rested and good about the day ahead. He poked his head out of the door to see everything bustling with activity, everyone starting to get back into the swing of things after the attack the previous night.
“Desmi, wake up!” he yelled over his shoulder. They should get an early start to the day, they needed to prepare for the real battle still yet to come. When he heard no reply he turned around, rolling his eyes. “Come on Desmi, sunlight is already coming down the tunnel.” He looked over to the entrance. “It’s probably already much after sunrise.” He turned back to Desmi. Except, there was no Desmi.
“DESMI?!” he yelled, searching the room frantically. He ran out of the door, looking around wildly, trying to think of where his sister might be. Maybe she went to get breakfast, he thought to himself, starting on the way to the cafe.
“Sis?” He stuck his head into the entrance, scanning the room. She wasn’t there either.
He searched the entire cavern, but with no luck. Desmi was no where to be found.
“Kairos!” He looked around to see a slim lioness calling his name. He walked over to her, curious of how she knew his name. She had an almost galaxy-like pattern on her back, and had white stripes and underbelly. She also had a couple of silver earrings and a tail band.
“My name is Aktina Selinis, but you may call me Akti.” She gave a respectful dip of her head. “The tree has requested your presence.”
Kairos was taken aback. The Trinity tree wanted to see him? Why? Had he done something wrong? He shook his head, totally confused. “Why would the tree want to see me?” he inquired.
Akti shrugged. “Who knows. The tree works in mysterious ways.” Then she turned around and stalked off.
Kairos nervously started up the tunnel. He still couldn’t figure out why it wanted him of all cats. At last he reached the entrance and turned around. There stood the tree in all of its glory. He shuffled his paws nervously on the ground. What should he say? How does one address a goddess?
He cleared his throat and spoke. “Oh great Trinity Tree, of all might and power, why have you requested the presence of a humble soldier as myself?” He thought the words were a little funny coming out of his mouth, but he wanted to be respectful and, frankly, he didn’t really know the proper way.
The feline like face appeared upon the bark. “No need for all of that.” It seemed to wave away the posh words dismissively. “I have brought you here to ask you something.”
Kairos cocked his head, intrigued. “What is it?”
It seemed to be looking him over as if assessing him for something. “If you were able to be granted anything in the world, what would it be?” the many voices sounded gentle as if a mother prying it’s kit to let them help if only they would be let known how.
He had to think for a moment. He had no idea how to answer such a question. “I think I would ask for the wellbeing of others,” he answered after a moment or so. “I am already blessed as it is, with an amazing family and with the gift from Aerolithos.” With a pang he thought of his sister again. He desperately wanted her to be alright
The goddess closed her eyes, as if deep in thought. She opened them again before she spoke. “Because of your selfless and honest answer, I am granting you another gift.” At his wide eyed response she went on. “I am giving you the promise of future joy and happiness, that you may live a life full of love.”
His jaw dropped. Out of all things he definitely didn’t expect this. “Th-thank you,” he finally stuttered.
It seemed to dip it’s head in response, then the face was gone.
Kairos stumbled over to a stone and sat down. He tried to take in all that had happened. He was so full of amazement that every other thought escaped his mind, even his sister.

Desmi sighed and stood up. The feeling was back again and she figured that she was this deep, couldn’t be too bad if she followed it to see where it led. The trees soon grew thicker and she could feel mud squelching beneath her paws. She thought she could smell something rotting, as if an animal had been left to die. She thought she would be more afraid of this strange place, but she felt oddly at home there instead.
Soon she came upon a place where the canopy was so dense she could barely see to put one paw in front of the other. She squinted through the darkness, seeing something up ahead. A huge wall of thorns and bramble stood in front of her, so thick that she couldn’t even dream of pushing herself through it.
She looked around, trying to find a way to get to the other side. She found a large pine that had branches growing thick enough to hold her weight. SHe nimbly climbed up the tree and perched atop it’s branches. It was quite a few tail lengths to the bottom, but she was able to land well enough to keep from being hurt.
As she turned around to face whatever had been behind the wall, she gasped in astonishment. There lay an army of the dark creatures that had attacked the city a couple of nights ago. She felt like she should be quaking in fear and turning to run away, but again she felt strangely at peace here. One of them gestured to something behind them, and the army moved aside to make a way for her to pass.
She cautiously padded through their ranks, still watching them carefully. They were still right then, but she wouldn’t put it past them to strike out at her at any moment.
“Ah… I see you have come.” Desmi jumped as a voice came out of an old, rotting tree in front of her. It looked a bit like the goddess, but much different.
She swallowed, not really knowing what to say. Should she run? But where would she run to? She had no idea how to get back. She sighed, then straightened up. Well, she had come and now she would hear what this someone had to say to her. Maybe it would give her directions on how to get home.
“Please sit, we have much to discuss. The goddess isn’t who you think she is…” the voice was almost dripping with shadows and mystery.
Desmi’s eyes widened. What did it mean the goddess wasn’t who she thought it was. She sat down, still feeling curious rather than afraid. Might as well hear them out.

[1168/1000]

[Breado]

Username: Breado
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Carus & Millie
Link to their pride or group: ▲
Prompt level completion: lvl 4 - 796 words
Prompt: (for prompt 1, will catch up as soon as i can)

The darkling gave out one last roar before the ebony colored blade met its skull once more. Carus swiftly jumped off the monster, landing with little to no noise right in front of his friend. After making sure the darkling was as dead as the late king of their country, the cat sheathed his gladius and dusted himself off.
“A job well done,” he said with a smirk.
“Yes!” Millie cheered. Her hands glowed with a calming orange light - she was readying a healing spell, in case her captain was in need of it. “Anything hurt?”
“Only this guy’s feelings!” Carus said, patting the dead darkling’s head. The creature was about three times the size of Carus; its black, wiry fur now leaning smoothly against its skin. Thick black liquid oozes from the freshly opened hole in its head as the glow of its eyes and claws slowly fades.
A job well done indeed, this part of Dunwall is yet again darkling-free.

Millie gave out a relieved sigh. “Good,” She said. The orange glow disappeared from her hands. She sized up the monster before her, noting the several stab wounds in its body.
“We should call the cleaners. If this thing bleeds more, it’ll make their job a lot more harder than it already is.”
“You do that,” Carus said as he walked towards the darkling, “while I’ll guard our little dead darkie here.”
“What? I thought it’s your turn now!”
“I did it last time so it’s your turn now, Mils!” and with that, the black cat took a seat on the giant arms of the creature.
Millie huffed, then turned around, ready to leave. “Fine,” she said, “just don’t encourage a crowd to check this out like you did last time.”
“Fine.” grumbled Carus.

Just as she was about to step out of the alley, a strange sound hit Millie’s ears. The molly spun around. She studied the alley like someone dropped her in a totally new place.
She saw Carus was already on his feet, his hand floating above the hilt of his gladius.
“You heard it too, I presume?” he whispered.
“What was it though?”
A moment of silence. The two stood there, frozen in place as another wave of the strange noise came. Neither of the two saw anything until a blue, puddle-like thing formed in between the two cats. Its eerie glow was enough to send red flags in Carus’s mind, but to Millie it was like some newfound treasure.
“Woah…” the tom stared at the glowing “puddle” on the ground with awe. Jumping off the arm of the darkling, Carus quickly closed the distance between him and his friend. “What is this?”
Millie shook her head. “I don’t know but I have a feeling this means nothing good.”
“But you always have that feeling when something like this happens!”
“And with good reason, Carus.”

Carus unsheathed his weapon. He knelt down and slowly stuck the blade into the puddle. To his surprise, it went deep into it like there was no ground under it.
“It’s some sort of a portal!” he said as he poked around with his gladius.
“A portal?” Millie knelt down beside him. The two studied it in silence for a while, both thinking the same thing, albeit with opposite feelings towards it.
Carus turned to Millie. Breaking their silence, he said: “We should see what’s on the other side!”

This was the enthusiasm that Millie always feared in Carus. ‘He’s going to get himself killed one day…’ she used to hear his mentor say. And she definitely agreed. If she weren’t with him all the time he’d probably be long dead by now, or missing an appendage or two.
So, before he could’ve gotten any ideas, she quickly tried to shut him down.
“No.”

“What do you mean no?!”
Carus sounded almost offended.
“Millie, just imagine,” the tom started, “there might be something good on the other side! Maybe gold, or- or maybe something better! Maybe some kinda new world or something! Would you like to miss this chance at discovering a new world?!”

Millie shifted uneasily. Sure, she was more than curious, but she couldn’t let her friend get into trouble. Especially if it involved a completely different world.
She sniffed.

“Come on, Mils!”
Leaning a bit closer to her, he added, whispering: “I know you want to know what’s there too.”
“No! We have to report this to the guards- CARUS!”
But he was already gone, swallowed by the portal.
“Dammit, you idiot-”

Millie groaned. She couldn’t believe how stupid her partner could do stupid things like this.
After a moment of hesitation though, she finally jumped after her friend, hoping whatever’s on the other side won’t kill either of them.

[Goddess Sword]

Username: Goddess Sword
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Mitko (Major character), Beatrix (Major character)
Link to their pride or group: The Wayfarers
Prompt level completion: Level 5 (1,997 words)
Prompt:

Story A

After an "enlightening" discussion your cats find themselves given a new task, one asked of them by a majestic older lion with greying beard who called himself the "general" of this place. A simple task- but one he insisted important for your cats to do, to understand, as he so called it. A task to tend to one of the gardens in the city. Of which there were many- but he was very adamant the small sproutlings within them be cared for.

"For life is precious, and should be nurtured. Even if the tree falls, these sprouts may yet stand through the battle we could lose someday, and perhaps one day become the great tree themselves." he says. "And such, we must give them the care they need."

How do your cats respond to something as simple as gardening? can they do so gently, or do they rush to complete their task? How much do they remember? Lions, cats, are certainly not farmers- do they need help to accomplish this, or do they already understand the basics of how a plant may grow? Do they understand the lesson the general seeks to teach them, or view it as unnecessary? Does this offer them some peace in the times to come?

---

Story B

The voice, contented with the heroes who have stayed there shows itself, gleaming silver eyes peering from the gouges of the tree as it studies its new visitors. It's entourage of death stare unblinking at the life before them. "So..you stay." it says. "Good...good you choose to listen. The goddess... She believes in eternal life, and believes that death has no place among the world." it croons, a desperation in its voice and age beyond its words "And she is wrong...for all of life is a circle, and for new life to grow, she must be shown so..." it says. "We need your help... she would call life to fight rebirth, but it is decay who cannot defend itself.... We do not like our burden, but it is so irrevocably necessary- as the great phoenix, life will rise from the ashes even more strong and vibrant than ever" it attempts to explain. Though, despite its words, it's very easy to sense that the tree is not exactly as adept at addressing any sort of community. "She would see us wiped from this plane, and from existence....She would destroy the ways of life..." it says, desperately. The speech it gives does succeed in riling up the creaking wooden soldiers around it, that stomp their feet and let out snarls of anger. "You cannot imagine the consequence of this.."

Will you stand with eternal life, or will you stand with balance, heroes? What is more important to you, what would you stand to lose, or to gain, can you really fight against your friends? Could you bear the consequences if this being is lying to you?

Beatrix shuffled down from her perch within the tree at last - Between the goddess's appearance and Asa's... well, it was hardly a request so much as it was a statement of "You're going to do this," although she didn't mind helping all that much, really - she was rather tired of the great tree's branches. Despite her best efforts, she'd seen no sign of Mitko; wherever he'd wandered to, it was far beyond her gaze, and no doubt past the gaze of the goddess as well.

To be frank, Beatrix was rather exhausted with this whole affair. Being a warrior was fun in concept, but the reality...? Less so, significantly. She missed her owner's soft bed, the sunbeams streaming through her bedroom window in the evenings, her out-of-tune singing along to the themes of her cartoons and games. A break... she wanted a break.

But of course, none came. In war, there is always work to be done, she was finding. And this time it came in the form of a bearded old lion calling himself the tree's general. For a moment, she wished to jokingly call him by the name of another general, this one in another of her human's shows... but found that she could no longer recall the character's name. Her ears drooped at this realization. Lyssa had loved that cartoon so much, even though it had first aired even before she had been born. How long had she been away? How much had she forgotten?

She shook the thoughts aside. No. None of that mattered. She would find her way back, and with the portals the goddess of this place summoned... To keep with her and her people's good graces was her best chance. So when the lion requested that she tend to the gardens, she went willingly, Ragin wandering dejectedly behind her, seemingly even more upset at Mitko's disappearance than she.

"Understand," the lion expounded, "that life is precious, and should be nurtured. Be it the mightiest tree or the smallest blade of grass, felines like you or I, the great goddess, the tiny ants, or that fox-" Ragin perked up just a bit at the word. "-life is meaningful and full of potential. The sprouts that you will be tending today are just the same. Even if the tree falls, these saplings might yet survive. And, if their potential is nurtured, they may grow into the next great tree, long after the current one has left this world."

Truth be told, Beatrix was only half-listening. She had so much on her mind - Mitko, Lyssa, Kat and the others, Ragin, the war... It was hard to keep track of it all. But she nodded anyway. "Yes, of course," she said. Whether the lion could tell her agreement was half-baked, or if his silence was the result of satisfaction with her answer, she didn't know. But they continued on in quiet until they reached the garden which he'd spoken of regardless.

She'd seen humans garden before. Her human's mother grew tomatoes in a little raised bed outside their living room window, and every now and then would enlist Lyssa's assistance; the two would return from their work some time later, knees stained with soil and sweat dripping from their faces in the summer heat. What they did out there, she didn't really know; she'd seen them watering, yes, but there were other things too. Watering, of course, was a given, but at other times they would bring up rotting leaves and twigs from a pile in the backyard - Compost, she believed it was called - to spread among the plants. They would pluck little weak leaves from the bases of the plants, and tug non-tomatoes out of the garden to be thrown away; weeds that choked the life out of the soil, and shoots that could produce no fruit but would gladly eat up the energy the rest of the plants relied on. She didn't really know how to do it herself, but if she could imitate that, then surely she could also be a gardener.

So she set about fetching pails of water to splash across the gardens, and, little though they might have been and long though it might have taken with her small stature, slowly but surely the saplings' soil grew dark and damp. The lion who had brought her here seemed somewhat distracted by the time this job was done, but he looked over the garden nonetheless and nodded approvingly.

It was when she began to pluck some sprouting plants, viny little things, from the gardens that he grew agitated, and he walked over in a huff. "And what are you doing with that?" he growled, eyeing Beatrix with suspicion.

She looked up at the larger cat. "I'm weeding," she said. "These vines aren't the saplings."

"And so you would uproot them and kill them?" he asked.

Still she held her ground. "I've seen vines like these before I came here," she answered evenly. "They wrapped themselves around the trees in the woods we traveled through, cutting into their bark and strangling them, weighing down their branches and snapping them. If you really want these sprouts to grow into new great trees-" She gestured to the rest of the garden. "-then these vines should go. They're absorbing the stuff the saplings need to get bigger, and if they still survive despite that, the vines will kill them like they do to the ones in the forests of my world, too."

The lion squinted at her. "But they are living things. And did I not tell you that life is a precious thing?"

"...Is life still precious if it snuffs out another?" Beatrix challenged.

"Is your life not worthwhile for hunting the mice to sustain yourself? What of your fox, plucking berries from a bush as a meal where meat is scarce?" He gestured to Ragin, who had resumed his anxious digging, this time in a far corner of the garden where no saplings had sprouted. "Should your lives be taken from you because you had the audacity to live?"

Beatrix huffed, and let the vine go. "Then do you at least have any compost? Old dead, rotting things to fertilize the ground, or to cover the soil and keep it moist?"

The lion was quiet. "We have no need for such things here," he said, and turned away. "Come," he commanded, "your work is done for today."

---

This other deity had shown patience the goddess that had summoned Mitko to this world seemingly didn't know. Where the goddess had dragged his companions and him into a war they had no stake in, this voice had been content to answer his questions, and for all the brown cat could tell, it spoke truthfully. When at last he had no more questions, the voice had simply asked him if he would be willing to stay and hear out its side of the story... and he had agreed. And so the voice had offered him refuge within the tree of its own, assuring him that he need wait only a few more hours for any others who had heeded its call, that they might hear his tale as one and come to their decisions together.

And so he had followed the deity's directions, slipping beneath the gnarled roots of this second tree to find another group of felines, several of whom he recognized from the Trinity Tree; one of the lions with ram's horns, the one with the great black wings... and still more he had not recognized, the most jarring being one with glowing eyes and a mane of ice - No, that one was new, she had to be. He would have noticed such an odd feline were they at the other tree, he was sure of it. How far had this second call reached?

Still, he settled down in amongst the other felines and waited. The others mumbled among themselves, and Mitko was tempted to join in, but... No, actually, he really wasn't. Talking might have passed the time, but he hardly wanted any more of it to pass him by. He'd been stuck in this strange place - Not this tree, but this entire world - for long enough already. So instead he sat in silence, listening. Outside there was the occasional, familiar voice of the god, followed by a few more cats filtering in.

And then, some hours later, there was not. And one of the creatures of decay came to the entrance of the tunnel and made a gesture of sorts, seemingly to urge them outside again.

When they assembled, each cat in their places at last, the deity again spoke, this time to all of them. "You stay," it says. "Good... Good of you to choose to listen." Two gleaming eyes opened from within the shadowy gouges of the tree, gazing out over the group. "As I warned before... the goddess is not what she claims to be."

For a moment, Mitko was reminded of his initial idea. So it was a cult! he internally declared. But this train of thought would soon shift its tracks.

"The goddess," the voice said, "believes in eternal life. It is her belief that death is unnecessary, has no place in this world. And yet... this claim ignores the very fact that her guardians must hunt to eat, and in hunting, there must be death." The silver eyes bobbed throughout the tree, as if its owner were prowling between the gnarled branches as it spoke. "Nature, life and death... they are circles. For a tree to sprout, there must be decay, to create and feed the earth that it sinks its roots within. And for that death to take place, another being must live. A cat dies and becomes the earth; the tree grows in that earth and spreads its seeds; those seeds are eaten by a mouse; the mouse is hunted by a cat; the cat dies and becomes the earth."

A circle of life... Mitko could have sworn he'd heard that somewhere before.

The voice continued. "It is not a duty we enjoy, but it is one that is necessary. In decay, new life rises, even greater than before, like a phoenix from ashes. Neither can exist without the other, like..." It paused, contemplative, almost as though it were tracing its words for the first time. Mitko supposed it likely didn't see audiences like these often. "Like yin and yang," it said at last.

Mitko grinned, and glanced at a cat to his right, almost wanting to brag, "I taught it that." But he held his tongue.

"But the goddess denies this fact, and would destroy us. She would have us wiped from existence, destroying the very life she seeks to desperately protect." The soldiers mixed among the felines shuffled and creaked, snarling with a soft anger at the idea, and Mitko shifted uneasily. Despite acknowledging this god's words as true... its armies still made him uncomfortable. "The consequences... If you could imagine them..." the voice continued, "I imagine you would prefer if you were unable. Please... help me, help us. We must protect the balance of this world."

Mitko was quiet as the felines around him muttered among themselves. This deity... shady, quite literally, though it might be, had been far more forthcoming than the goddess. It had answered him with what seemed to be honesty, and spoke of things that simply made sense - To live, one had to hunt. He thought back to the day he'd met Ragin, joining forces to scare field mice from their burrows together. Death was a fact of life, and though it might not always be easy, it was necessary. And... it wasn't even all bad, really. Not always. It had brought him and his closest friend together.

He nodded to himself. At last, he had a reason, a stake in this war. He knew where he stood.

And it was with this second god.

[Runnersback]

Username:Runnersback
Link to lion(s) involved in prompt:Achilles Letaba Diablo
Link to their pride: Realms of L’Oasis Lo
Prompt level completion: Level 5
Prompt:006

[Firedancer77]

Username: Firedancer77
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: Envy, Kina, Cole
Link to their pride or group: Isle of Roses and Graveyard of Gods
Prompt level completion: Level 5
Prompt:

Envy's nose wrinkled in distaste as she and the other remaining champions were directed towards the garden. Suddenly, she was regretting her decision to not follow that strange lure, or, even better, to volunteer to go through the portal in the first place. Gardening was something much more suited to Lust than to Envy; she had absolutely no interest in the plants and other wildlife. Even Gluttony would be better suited for (and more interested in) tending for saplings than she would be, and she had been molded by her previous group to be a ruthless killer (and who suffered from more than a few differences that put her securely in the "crazy" camp in Envy's opinion).

Though, while thinking of her better suited group members - for there were many in the Graveyard of Gods who were better equipped to garden than Envy, who had better things to do - Envy couldn't help but think of Pride. The mere thought of him attempting to garden had the golden she-cat stifling her laughter; the tom cat wouldn't know what to do. Envy would pay to see that entertainment, because entertainment it would be. He wouldn't last long at all before trying to push the job off onto someone else, if he even bothered to make an attempt. Envy supposed that would depend on how easy someone made the task sound; the harder it sounded, the more likely Pride would abandon the task before he even began.

The thought of Pride attempting (or not even bothering to attempt) the task didn't just serve to amuse Envy, however; it also was what inspired her to actually get to work, because, despite the fact that Envy had no interest in gardening, she wasn't going to do the exact same thing that Pride would do, even if she was technically playing along in the same charade as the Graveyard of Gods' leader. She wasn't going to be a complete brat for no reason, no matter how much she'd rather be looking around for more information as opposed to tending to random trees. She would just do a haphazard job to get it over with, and if they really cared, someone could go over her work again and fix her mistakes.

If she actually put in the effort, the golden she-cat was sure she knew enough to actually plant them properly, but Envy didn't care, so she didn't even bother to think of what the plants would need to grow correctly.

Envy fidgeted as she took a brief break after planting a few saplings. What was the point of this exercise? It was obvious that the general saw some reason for it, but she didn't understand what it was. Envy considered herself to be intelligent, but she really didn't know what planting saplings had to do with fighting. What did these saplings have to do with the tree housing the goddess? Honestly, if she thought about it, she was sure that she could figure out some logic behind it, but if she was being honest, Envy didn't care that much. It was a curious matter, a question she wouldn't mind hearing the answer to, but she wasn't going to lose sleep agonizing over it. It was probably some stupid life lesson that he was trying to instill in them, and honestly, Envy couldn't care less. She may consider herself to be morally superior to Pride, mainly because she didn't have any interest in lying and using other cats to the extent that he did, but she didn't care about being perceived as actually good. That was Lust's forte, not hers.

Envy glanced at the last few saplings she was meant to plant before rolling her eyes. "I'm done with this," she said with a sigh, shaking her head. "Someone else can do this busy work. I have more important things to consider."

And with that, the golden she-cat abandoned the saplings and gardening tools they'd been provided with, stalking off to do her own research instead.
---
Despite the tree's words, filled with conviction and what seemed to be genuineness, Cole was not so easily convinced about what was being said. It all sounded great in theory, but there was nothing to prove what he was saying. At the moment, it was this tree god's word against the word of the tree goddess they originally met, and though she was not the most forthcoming (especially in comparison to this new god), Cole was not convinced they should immediately believe him because of that.

But Kina already seemed enraptured with what he had to say. "That explains both calls feeling so similar," she whispered to herself, and despite being interested in what she meant like that, Cole didn't ask her to clarify. He was too nervous to do that, especially since it would mean he would want to put his full attention on her and he would have to stop paying close attention to the newly reinvigorated army of decay around them, and besides, even if he wasn't too scared to ask, the statement obviously wasn't directed at him. Cole did not want to upset her by asking about something he wasn't meant to hear or pay any mind to. "To upset the balance in such a way...that's terrible. She has to be stopped."

Cole bit back the urge to state his own hesitations with the matter. If the goddess in the tree really was trying to circumvent death all together and grant eternal life, then she had to be stopped. While such an idea sounded good in theory, Cole immediately saw the flaws with such an idea. And yet, if she wasn't, then the champions fighting against the other champions, assisting the decaying army of death in reaching the tree, would be disastrous. There was no telling what that would do to the balance of things; Cole didn't even want to think about the consequences of their actions if this tree was lying. The ramifications of that idea were absolutely terrifying.

[ 1003/1000 words ]

continued here

[Kitten-Girl-500]

Story B
The voice, contented with the heroes who have stayed there shows itself, gleaming silver eyes peering from the gouges of the tree as it studies its new visitors. It's entourage of death stare unblinking at the life before them. "So..you stay." it says. "Good...good you choose to listen. The goddess... She believes in eternal life, and believes that death has no place among the world." it croons, a desperation in its voice and age beyond its words "And she is wrong...for all of life is a circle, and for new life to grow, she must be shown so..." it says. "We need your help... she would call life to fight rebirth, but it is decay who cannot defend itself.... We do not like our burden, but it is so irrevocably necessary- as the great phoenix, life will rise from the ashes even more strong and vibrant than ever" it attempts to explain. Though, despite its words, it's very easy to sense that the tree is not exactly as adept at addressing any sort of community. "She would see us wiped from this plane, and from existence....She would destroy the ways of life..." it says, desperately. The speech it gives does succeed in riling up the creaking wooden soldiers around it, that stomp their feet and let out snarls of anger. "You cannot imagine the consequence of this.."

Will you stand with eternal life, or will you stand with balance, heroes? What is more important to you, what would you stand to lose, or to gain, can you really fight against your friends? Could you bear the consequences if this being is lying to you?

Story A
After an "enlightening" discussion your cats find themselves given a new task, one asked of them by a majestic older lion with greying beard who called himself the "general" of this place. A simple task- but one he insisted important for your cats to do, to understand, as he so called it. A task to tend to one of the gardens in the city. Of which there were many- but he was very adamant the small sproutlings within them be cared for.

"For life is precious, and should be nurtured. Even if the tree falls, these sprouts may yet stand through the battle we could lose someday, and perhaps one day become the great tree themselves." he says. "And such, we must give them the care they need."

How do your cats respond to something as simple as gardening? Can they do so gently, or do they rush to complete their task? How much do they remember? Lions, cats, are certainly not farmers- do they need help to accomplish this, or do they already understand the basics of how a plant may grow? Do they understand the lesson the general seeks to teach them, or view it as unnecessary? Does this offer them some peace in the times to come?

Username: Kitten-Girl-500
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt:
Ichyr | Ravah | Subira | Luina
Link to their pride or group: Summitfall Pride
Prompt level completion: Level 5

Prompt:

【ＩＣＨＹＲ】

Two gleaming silver eyes appeared from the depths of the tree’s bark. They studied Ichyr curiously, and it was only then that Ichyr realized there were more lions around him. He could see… was that Desmi? He had thought that the tan-furred lioness from the Sevasmos Pride was too gentle and sweet to come to this god’s dealings, but apparently he had thought wrong.
SPACE“So… you stay,” the voice said, slithering into Ichyr’s ears. The half-manticore fought the urge to run away screeching for the god to get out of his head. “Good… good, you choose to listen. The goddess… She believes in eternal life, and believes that death has no place among the world.”
SPACEIchyr snorted. He knew just how misguided those beliefs were, thanks to the battles upon battles he’d witnessed.
SPACEThe god’s voice grew increasingly desperate and aged, and Ichyr could tell that he had seen more sunrises than any of the gathered lions here would ever see. “And she is wrong… for all of life is a circle, and for new life to grow, she must be shown so…”
SPACEA twinge of discomfort stirred in Ichyr’s chest. He had no mate or cubs of his own, so he couldn’t be considered part of the force to birth new life. But, oh, how he wanted to be.
SPACE“We need your help… she would call life to fight rebirth, but it is decay who cannot defend itself… We do not like our burden, but it is so irrevocably necessary—as the great phoenix, life will rise from the ashes even stronger and more vibrant than ever.” His words were stirring, but there was also hesitancy. Clearly this god was not adept in addressing any sort of force that was not his own.
SPACE“She would see us wiped from this plane, and from existence… She would destroy the ways of life…” The god’s voice was even more desperate now, borderline pleading, if gods could plead. The hiamoe surrounding the tree grew even more restless, wood creaking and primal growls coming from their throats. They stomped their paws and let out snarls of anger, looking even fiercer than when they had ambushed the Trinity tree.
SPACE“You cannot imagine the consequence of this…” the god continued. “All life as we know it will end if she prevails…” It let out a breath that resembled a sigh. “I know you think that I am evil… but balance is worth more than immortality… Will you rob those unborn of life?”
SPACEThe tree fell silent, and murmurs rose around Ichyr from the gathered lions and cats. Ichyr himself was undecided about what to do, but he did not believe that the god was lying. While he couldn’t imagine the goddess being sinister, he could see her trying to stop death altogether.
SPACEHe hung his head. Even if he did believe the god, how could Ichyr persuade the rest of his pridemates that he was right? That they needed to assist the army of decay, instead of fighting against it? It seemed an impossible choice to make, but even as Ichyr weighed the options in his mind, he knew that his heart had already decided.
SPACEIchyr stood up, feeling torn in two, but sure of where he stood. I’m sorry, Trinity Tree. But death is a part of life.

553/500

【ＳＵＢＩＲＡ】

Subira stretched out in front of the Circumvent. She had given up on finding Ichyr for now; he could take care of himself, and there was business here at the Tree to attend to beforehand. Besides, she really didn’t want to offend the goddess by taking off and abandoning her right after she had received a gift from her.
SPACEAn older lion came up to her, his black mane graying. “Ialis. I am the general of the Trinity Tree,” he introduced himself. “I have an important task for you to understand.”
SPACE“Why would I need to understand a task?” Subira stood up. “Wouldn’t I just need to complete it?”
SPACEGeneral laughed, shaking his head. “You can complete a task, but to understand it, that’s true accomplishment. Follow me, we’re headed to one of Ikaika’s gardens. You’re going to tend to it.”
SPACESubira followed him, intrigued. She had never really visited Ikaika’s gardens, though she had heard Cycad talk of them many times. There were over thirty gardens throughout the city, with multiple gardens in each district. Subira couldn’t see why she was needed; surely there were lions and cats to tend to them already? But she followed General without complaint, glad to be given something to do.
SPACEHe led her into one of Meakanu District’s gardens. Inside were beds of small sproutlings, each just poking out of the ground. At General’s command, the cats inside that were tending to the plants cleared out, leaving him alone with Subira.
SPACE“You must tend to these plants and water them,” General instructed. “For life is precious, and should be nurtured. Even if the tree falls, these sprouts may yet stand through the battle we could lose someday, and perhaps one day become the great three themselves. And such, we must give them the care they need.
SPACESubira suppressed a yawn. There were way better things she could be doing with her time right now, but she sucked it up and began digging in the dirt. General supervised her for a minute, then left once she’d turned the soil around three sproutlings.
SPACEShe sat up, wishing she’d turned him down. Gardening was way more boring than she had originally thought. Training with Kadiki would be a much better use of her time.
SPACEWell, Subira had promised that she’d complete it. She’d just do it in the fastest time possible, then.
SPACESubira grabbed a small bowl in her teeth, then scooped up water from the spring in the center of the garden and flung it onto one of the rows of sproutlings. She repeated this until all the dirt was moist—well, soaked was probably the right word for it.
SPACETurning the dirt was a quick and easy job, and then she was done. Subira realized that she may not have done it exactly like General had wanted her to, but the garden was gardened, right? Wasn’t she done now?
SPACESubira shifted into her snake form and slunk away, keeping as low to the ground as possible. It wouldn’t hurt to be covert as she made her way to the training grounds. Better that than getting caught by General and forced to do it all over again.

531/500

[SurgeFire]

Username: SurgeFire
Link to cat(s) or lion(s) involved in prompt: orpheus, lucian
Link to their pride or group: Vallis
Prompt level completion: Level 5
Prompt:

Prompt A.

He soon realized he would get nothing out of this encounter, and he left the goddess, spirits low.
It certainly was a disappointment that Orpheus god no answer from the goddess he would trust. He almost thought that she would have even listened to him; considering his powers and connection to the earth, he figured, right?
..incorrect.

Orpheus sighed, sitting alone, off to the side.
He had nobody during this time. His mate and kit had followed the voices, and he presumed, with much horror, because of their assumption that he had done the same. Lucian had left as well despite his encouraging the opposite.
He wasn't sure what he'd do next.


So when the "general" gave him a task, he wasn't entirely sure of how to feel about it at first.
He had only known that there was a task, after all; and, after all that had happened, his faith and trust in the goddess had been wavering.
But when he heard of the task he suddenly grew slightly more eager - a task to tend to gardens.
The lion - intimidating, at first, Orpheus was unsure how he'd get used to regularly being around lions in his mission - had not yet seen his magic and had likely assumed that he, like some others, would be uninterested.

He was only transported to a time before, a time before he had even been taken to this place through the portal. Although his time here had not been long, it felt like it had already taken a heavy toll on him; he had many regrets already over all he had done, and Orpheus had just wanted to go home.
But he could not. Not yet, at least, and he would just have to make sure that he got out alive - and his family would, too.
But he was taken back to when he had started out his own garden; suddenly finding himself with limited magic and a bad reputation without even knowing what, he decided that this would be an easy enough course of action. It would be a good hobby to calm his fears down; to ease up the anxiety.
Little by little, he had grown better and better of taking care of the garden he had created. He had grown to understand how the plants worked and how to make them grow to the best they could.
He had finally acquired some sort of peace.

Snapped back to reality, he glanced back over at the lion, with a sheepish grin, saying, "Oh, yeah, of course I heard you, of course I'll do it."

He understood the lesson the general was trying to give him and the others, of course; the little sprouts could pave the way to greater things... if nourished and treated well.
He thought back to Alaz, and he suppressed that thought. He could only hope he was being led on a good path.
It did offer him some peace to do this, of course. It brought him back to when he did the same in another difficult time, and he would do it again now.

[517 words]

Prompt B.

Lucian stood where he was, his gaze unwavering.
Some felines might have left; he wouldn't have noticed as he kept watch towards the dying god, its voice enrapturing him with its words. He wasn't disturbed by the encounter he had just had with another blue cat and his - son? Orpheus had mentioned a son, didn't he? - although it wasn't entirely pleasant being questioned on the whereabouts of the aforementioned Orpheus was. Just because he had come with the other cat did not mean he was the black cat's keeper, and he hadn't treated the blue cat kindly.

It still wasn't pleasant when the young black cat had sat besides him, and so did the other blue one - gods, he should remember their names; Nereus and Alaz, he learned from listening to them and remembering what he had been told by Orpheus, time to continue using that - but he kept calm in the face of this annoyance. He was still focusing on the decaying god's words, not the words of the ones who sat next to him.
He had to ignore them for now.

And truthfully, Lucian no longer had any doubts in his mind of what he was going to do.
He listened as the god spoke of the goddess' desire for eternal life in the conquest of death, and he visibly reacted with shock at this. What good was life without death? Although Lucian would desire eternal life for himself, if there was no death whatsoever... there would be no death of others.

He would have to live forever with everyone else, and that wasn't quite something he'd do.
Although he had no intentions of carrying it out himself, of course, he remembered Orpheus and how he wouldn't have minded his death... if he died, Lucian could potentially reclaim his right to be the champion... and how distraught Lucian would be if it would turn out he would live forever.
What this god spoke of, in summary, horrified him.

"I can't believe this," he spoke, to whoever would listen; to the god and to the cats and lions surrounding him, and especially to Alaz and Nereus who sat besides him. "We must listen to what it says. It's horrid that a goddess would even think of destroying death like this..."
He wasn't sure if he'd make sense, but he felt as if he had to persuade the others, regardless.

Because he was not about to let that goddess win.

He would fight for this god however he could, now; swayed by its words - and, he figured, if it was right, and the goddess was making an attempt to destroy balance, if he came out on top this time he would be the true champion.
He would truly prove himself this time; he was protecting balance as opposed to destroying and wiping away this decaying army - was it not unjust?

If it were lying to him, he wouldn't know. He wouldn't know how to bare these consequences.
But it was a risk he felt he had to make.

[508 words]

1025 words total