[Vinson]

Round Three
Username: Vinson
Cat Name: Serpentslither
Clan: Clan of the Broken Night
Previous Response: (98/100)
Serpentslither unsheathed his claws and began to pad around in the muddy bank of the creek. Its surface was unsteady, showing dangerous rapids and rushes of white water. He shook his head - there was no way he was getting across by himself. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t cross at all.
Without hesitating he continued to trek along the riverbank, scenting the air, until the scent of twolegs grew stronger. Peeking out from behind a rock, he smirked smugly. That was how he would cross, hitching a ride unnoticed on the floating rocks that traversed the creek.
Prompt: (188/200)
The dark tabby tom narrowed his gaze, eyes focused on the figure in front of him, further down his path. Others may waver - Serpentslither would not. Never in his life had he allowed others to control his decisions or his path, his destiny. What could some measly birds do to him? He had already stolen the crow, and now his in plain site in a clan full of those named after birds - raven, hawk, gull, eagle, sparrow…he had earned their trust and allegiance. And he could do the same with whatever stood in front of him now.
Continuing along unfazed, Serpentslither was sure of his decision to continue onwards, true North. He alone controlled his fate and his direction, and his paws carried him faithfully forward. Others may call him arrogant, rude, brash, overly confident - but Serpentslither knew himself only as a proud and self assured tom who knew how to achieve and to push forward. It was not often he lost anything, and he would go the length of the world, on a direct path of his own choosing, to recover what was his.

[Meowdle]

Round Three
Username: Meowdle
Cat Name: Ambertide
Clan: https://toyhou.se/Meowdle/characters/folder:2328361
Previous Response: x
Prompt:

When Ambertide's eyes settled on the silhouetted figure, he froze. Whatever the silhouette was, it seemed to be alive. Well, he could've sworn he saw it move, anyway -- unless that was his anxiety messing with him. Either way, he had to make a move. He was wasting daylight.

As much as he wanted to find his lost item, the tomcat still hesitated. What could the figure be -- something dangerous or something harmless? Maybe it wasn't even alive at all. Would it be worth it to approach and potentially risk his life?

The tomcat then recalled the birds he had seen flying this direction. Surely those birds wouldn't fly towards danger, right? Could that mean that the figure meant no harm? Granted, birds could always just fly away from trouble, unlike cats, but Ambertide pushed that thought away. He would continue North, despite his apprehension. The lost item felt closer than ever, and this was no time to give up.

He strode forward, puffing out his chest in a facade of confidence. Everything's okay. Get yourself together, Ambertide. Everything will be fine. You can do this. Perhaps his bravado would pay off. Or, at least, he sure hoped so.

[198/200 words]

[xem]

Round Three
Username: xem
Cat Name: Leopold
Clan: The Empire
Previous Response: [ Round Two ]
Prompt:

It seemed the spirits continued to look down on him happily, the sky now bright and alive with birds flying above him. His guides. How he wished to soar too, break free of his heavy body and let his bones become hollow. To sift away from land and travel at safer elevations. But as the strange silhouette appeared before him, he couldn’t help but become tense. It had to be a trick, surely. Something to catch him off guard, a mirage? He moved his eyes away from the silhouette and marched forward. His pelt rippled with muscle tension, not daring to let his eyes stray from the path. “I will not look at you, Siren of the land! It is not worth the risk, or the effort!” He snapped, trudging along to the beat of his own drum. Oh goodness, but what if it was the Sphynx? His ears twitched, “I swear if it’s you trying to mess with my head, you silly prophet, your skin will no longer be covered in wrinkles alone, but will be covered in dastardly scars!” He yowled, his eyes twitching. “Speak if you so dare ask for my attention. Otherwise, I will walk on.”

[ 200 Words ]

[Vivika]

Round Three
Username: Vivika
Cat Name: Coalblaze
Clan: Falls of Eden
Previous Response: Round two
Prompt: [200 words!]

True north.

It was the direction that beckoned, that called to him. A tremor deep within his bones, so inexplicable. The Sphynx said to head north, not northeast, northwest or a roundabout way, but north. And north he would go.

He surveyed the scene. To the silhouette that oozed power and commanded attention. To the two birds in the skies, similar, but different. Birds, one a forager and the other a hunter. They were… coexisting. At peace.

Peace.
Such a fickle thing, but if dissimilar birds could manage. He could with this… creature.

But not without precautions.

He surged on, climbing the hill. His eyes focused on a jagged boulder ahead.
Carefully, he mounted it, concealing a shudder.

The ground beneath him swarmed, blurring. Heights… were never his thing. It elevated cats above their status, but he and the rock were one.

His namesake… a coal. He hated it.

Coal and rocks. Similar, but different. And for now... coexisting.

The birds... a dual meaning? Peace for what was to come and a coexistence with his fears. Peace with himself━both past and present. And perhaps... the answer he sought.

As the two birds soared overhead, he held his head high. Waiting.

[Mythz]

Round 3 is over!



You reach the crest of the hill and are surprised to find that the creature you first saw is but a fellow feline!
He seems to be expecting you, as there is no surprise in his gaze - only mild amusement.

"Ah, come in search of the Lost Things? Your kind always seems to find themselves here."
Confusion ripples through you as you begin to think. How did it get all the way out here? My kind?

You open your mouth, but hesitate.
The two birds that you saw earlier land beside the cat, they show no signs of hostility and seem
rather calm and thoughtful. That's when it hits you.

"Ah yes, now comes the realisation. Well, what is it that you so horribly misplaced?"
[min 250 words, no max]

Round 4 will finish in 24 hours or once both users have posted

Code: Select all

[i]Round Four[/i]
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Cat Name:[/b]
[b]Clan:[/b] (Please link)
[b]Previous Response:[/b] (Round 3)
[b]Prompt:[/b]


The following users move on to round 4
xem
vivika


As a thank you to everyone who participated, all users from round 1 who reached the requirements will receive an HM!
The two users who did not make it to the final round (Vinson and Meowdle) will receive RU's!

[Vivika]

Round Four
Username: Vivika
Cat Name: Coalblaze
Clan: Falls of Eden
Previous Response: Round 3
Prompt: click for entry! <33

[xem]

Round Four
Username: xem
Cat Name: Leopold
Clan: The Empire
Previous Response: (Round 3)
Prompt:

Leopold suppressed a growl as he heard a voice come from the creature, unable to help but finally glance at whatever it was beside him. It wasn’t the probable liar Sphynx, but a different cat. He opened his jaws to speak, to yell, to ask if he was just another lying prophet like that hairless cat. But before anything got off his tongue, the cat spoke. And what he said sparked a confused expression from Leopold. Lost things? What could he have possibly lost during his life of solitude? Perhaps his youth, because hell, that was sure something that slipped away through his paws so quickly. And the idea of this gnarly bird cat associating him with some likely stereotypical group made him only grow more frustrated. “Who are you to talk? You’ve hardly got a tail on your rear end, and are some sort of weird bird whisperer! What are you trying to do, fill me with the nonsense you only speak to your birds about?!” He snapped, becoming visibly upset. But the question the cat asked him continued to gnaw at him viciously, and thought practically toying with his mind.

He began to feel dizzy, “Enough of this! I’m leaving!” He said quickly, his mind spinning faster than time itself. He couldn’t bring his paws to move forward, and his vision blurred, before catching on one of the birds. Yes, the small one. With the beautiful belly of a sunset.



Sunset. His eyes suddenly paled to a drastic white color, a glow echoing off them as he seemed to be transported back into distant memories. He trembled, the world soon filling with the saturated colors of an evening sky. His pelt was warm, someone pressed against him. A beautiful silver she-cat, with silky stripes and white tipped paws. Her eyes were the colors of soft green lily pads, her eyes shining with love as she looked at Leopold. Their tails entwined, and his heart thrummed in his chest. Love.

A flash of white, and a new scene emerged. The lovely she-cat was there again. He knew her name. Lusa. But her belly was swollen with soon to be kits, as she laid in the grass on a warm spring morning. He laid beside her, gently grooming her pelt as a soft breeze played with their fur. He felt something for her now, more than just love. He felt protective.



White again, before a heavy summer storm blew in. Thunder pierced the sky and the ground began to flood. He wasn’t alone this time, everyone was here. Everyone. He knew them all, these cats that struck familiarity in him whenever he caught their gaze. He nudged his lovely mate along, urging her to walk faster, to join the others in seeking high ground. Sounds of pain bellowed through her jaws. The kits were coming. In that moment, he felt something he hadn’t felt in a very long time. Fear.

The kits did not wait. They came. The rain lessened, but didn’t hold off quite yet. Three were born. There was no happiness this time, as he was quite duly informed, things didn’t look well. Not only for the kits, but for poor coughing Lusa. He assured himself it was the dull weather, and that everyone would be alright. He would care for them, and nothing would go wrong. Ignorance.

Lusa made it. After the storm died down and the lands began to clear, she became healthy again. Her fur glistened in the sun, and her eyes became full of love. She cared happily for her one dear kit, the only kit that survived. Despite the grief, she was proud, and motherly. Leopold’s ignorance sucked him into a wave of anger. The spirits above were there to protect him, why had they taken his new family? He did his best to care for his only kitten, but didn’t do the best job at being a fatherly figure. He was absorbed in frustration.

His son grew. Lusa grew with him, as a mother. Leopold, however, began to realize his mistake. He realized that life was too short to stay angry at something that was likely inevitable. And from the days to come, he thanked the spirits for the blessing of a healthy kit. The tom apologized to his deepest love, and became the father he should have been early on. The family of three became close once again, and forgave one another.



Leopold’s eyes changed back to normal once more, continuing to tremble. Were those old memories? No, they couldn’t be. As far as he could remember, he had always been alone! It didn’t make any sense. “Why is this happening, I don’t understand, please stop, whatever you’re doing!” He begged the strange cat, but before he could even meet the cat’s gaze, his eyes grew white again. His being was sucked back into a distant past, one he couldn’t remember on his own.

Sunset. Again. He sat up on a cliff edge with Lusa, leaning against her soft pelt. He was lucky to be with such a graciously kind and beautiful cat. Together they prayed softly, sharing their dreams and ideas. The world was perfect for a moment. Perfect.



The cry of a crow cut the silence, rumbling soon to follow. Crows suddenly flew over their heads, coming from the peaks above them. The sounds of chaos ensued, as the two looked behind them to see true terror. The higher cliffs above them had collapsed, weakened from the previous flood. Rocks, mud, and loose dirt tumbled at them in rapid speeds, quickly sealing off any exits, except for the steep cliff below. A rapid river flowed below that cliff, sealing a promise of death. A single tree uprooted from the upper cliffs joined the slide, tumbling down towards them. His gaze turned towards his lover as the world moved slowly. She was not saddened, but her eyes glimmered with love for him and for the world. He held that moment there, as she dove off the cliff, towards the water below. He dove with her, and all at once, he felt free like a bird. The wind rippled in his pelt, and he flew for a few moments. Lusa crashed into the water first, her silver fur disappearing in an instant. But his own body was suddenly slammed into by a rock, directly in the head. His body was thrown against a bush roughly, and the world seemed to spin. He could see something on the rocks near the water. A sliver of green. Lusa’s eyes, looking at him from the waves. She desperately tried to cling to the surface, but the injuries she obtained from the fall were nothing that she would survive with. “Take care… of him…” Her raspy voice called, her lovely eyes bearing into his for a single second. Then, she was swept under again, taken by the very thing that gave her life. Water. And in that moment, his vision danced with patches of black. The injury to the head was enough to send him into unconsciousness. And also, extreme memory loss.

And as his eyes opened again, he was awake. In a bush, rather sore. What had happened? He couldn’t recall. From then, he was emotionless, relying on his instincts to get by. He was a cat, a lone cat. That’s all he knew. But that’s not all he’d ever known.

Leopold gasped for air as he was brought into the real world again. “Lusa…” He choked out, his voice wavering with emotions and grief. He hadn’t felt such things in such a long time. How could he have forgotten his life before this? How could he have forgotten his true love, the beautiful silver cat with green eyes? And how could he have forgotten the parental instincts that crashed over him when caring for his one and only kit.

The cat’s words came back to him. Lost things. Sure, he had lost his life, and his lover. He could never truly get back what he had. But now he remembered what he had lost. His blood, his kin, his beautiful son. That shared the eyes of his mother, and had the kindness and strength of a true survivor. His son. He had lost the thing that had any value left to him anymore. For now, he couldn’t quite remember the connections with the other cats he lived with. Leopold knew he could trust them, nonetheless, and that his son had surely been raised by them after his disappearance.

All his emotions came crashing down on him once more, as he bowed before the cat and his birds. “Great stranger, whoever you may be, thank you… for whatever you did.” He said with a shaky voice. Was the cat magic? Or had the cat done anything at all? He thought back on his strange journey, the riddle of the crow, the river, the storm, the tree falling, and the bird's belly of sunset. Was it coincidence, or was it fate?

“Please forgive me for anything I have said wrong to you, strange cat, but after these revelations, I must find my son again!” Leopold said, trying to stand up straight. “Bless all those who have led me down this path to remembrance of my forgotten son, you, the birds, the Sphynx, and whatever other spirits have helped me do so. May you live a lightened life, my friend!” He called, before dashing off again. Where he was going? He wasn’t sure. He remembered the scenes from the distant memories, and as he ran, more soft visions filled his mind. He was heading north, somehow he knew that this was the way home. And if he ever strayed from his path, he knew he could look to the skies, and to the birds for guidance.

And as the night began to grow on the sky, a silver moon made its appearance, glowing softly like Lusa’s beautiful pelt. A star suddenly shot across the sky with a blazing tail, sending a spark of a memory through his being. He remembered his son's name. Star Chaser.

And as he took a moment to admire the moon, he looked out into the distance. And he saw the cliffs, and the land that looked all too familiar. He would rest tonight, under the moonlight before returning home. Home, where his son was.

He looked up at the sky one last time before closing his eyes, seeing another flash of orange up above. He didn’t think it was a shooting star, but was pretty positive it was something else. Maybe it was just his imagination, or nothing at all. But in his mind, it was the bird, with the sunset belly. He knew what it was like to be a bird now, falling, flying, feeling the wind against you. Letting yourself fall, hoping, you’ll glide against the storm, and make it back home. Home, where his own lost things would be found.

[Mythz]

Round 4 is now closed!! Results will be posted soon <3

[Mythz]

Both of your entries were incredible - I thoroughly enjoyed the character development and
the twist both stories took!
That being said, I would like to congradulate Vivika as the winner! Xem your entry was amazing and I
would like to give you a RU as well <3
Thank you both for participating!

Quoting from the closure of round 3 -
As a thank you to everyone who participated, all users from round 1 who reached the requirements will
receive an HM!
The two users who did not make it to the final round (Vinson and Meowdle) will receive RU's!

These are the users who qualify for an HM
.Lyrebird, ToraOkami303, ethium, Allynabean, miraphoenix, MutatedCry, ԏєѧѻӆғוѓԑ,
lovage, wildsight, .sins., rainbow!, dascandiansparkle, cqnstellations

[Vivika]

sgsgdjdisgs thank you so much, mythz! i' excited to develop this little one! <33

and congrats xem, vinson and meowdle for the rus! absolutely well-deserved -- i loved following all of your stories! ^^

congrats to the hm winners as well, ahh.