[Archaeopteryx.]

Unlimited impress me! Only rule is that it has to relate somewhat to their identity (aromantic asexual), otherwise, go wild!

Ends January 25th at rollover (25th to 26th)

Code: Select all

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

x
Name: sandstorm’rose roscoe
Gender: nonbinary [it/its]
Rank: guardian
Clan: lily meadow alliance
Description: Black gold rosette tabby sepia point with mid white
Age: 38 moons
Edits: [nr] expression, accessories
[c] whiskers, ear tufts, eye shape, pupils, colored sclera, teeth
[uc] short ears, mid fur, long tail, heterochromia
Owner: K1NGCL3M3NT1N3

[néktar]

mark o v o

[Arrikanez]

Username: Arrikanez
Cat Name: Heartbreaker
Gender: Male
Rank: Knight
Clan: The Dark Carnival
Age: 2.9
Prompt:

Once upon a time, it had been easy to deceive. His name had, before he wound up in this godforsaken place, been Cody Sallinger. Up-and-coming businessman, ruthless CEO, top dog in the who's who of the city in which he lived. He had subsided on champagne and caviar, lavish dinners, and catered lunches. Never once had he lacked for anything, working his way up from a shill for the mob to the emperor of his own business enterprise. Life had been good. Sweet. Ten shades of luxury tied up in a fancy bow of lies. Back then, he'd ruled the world, so to speak - and had no problem playing his investors like pawns. Everyone who had worked for him was either a tool to further his career, or a threat to be eliminated. Sometimes both, if they were especially gifted.

What had been the easiest for him was the currency - not money, although he was good at that too. But love. Love, affection, trust, it was all currency. All tokens of exchange. Once, a secretary he had been laying with had ask him if he'd "truly loved anyone at all" - and all he'd done was laugh. Affection and love - romance and yes, even the physical act - it was all a ploy. A plot to draw others into his web. He had no need of those things. Had never felt physical or mental attraction to anyone. However - because of that, it was easy enough to pretend. Even as a child, he never felt the need for physical relationships. Did that make him strange? It certainly seemed to - especially as he had come into his majority.

But he had learned that the rest of the world - no matter his opinion on the matter - bought and sold affection and love like it was a precious commodity. Even his parents had been guilty of that, going through several iterations of 'family' over the years. When Cody had left home, he had a vast knowledge of what people find attractive, what they don't, and how to cultivate it to great degree. He kept himself trim, he made sure to brush up on conversation topics every so often, and he was always quick with a word of praise, or an invitation to the house. This was enough to bank on most times.

To his reckoning, the rest of the world was so obsessed with physical gratification, that they couldn't see the bigger picture - the things that really mattered. For some, that was health, happiness, and the pursuit of a dream. Cody had his own dreams, but they mainly revolved around power, control, and holding the puppet strings. He'd worked his way up - through bedrooms as well as through boardrooms - learning to wield, mold, and shape that power to his own benefit. All while keeping his deepest secret - he felt nothing akin to what his 'partners' were feeling. It was a play, a farce. Even if he did like some of them as good friends. It was something he used to get ahead in his life.

And now that his life of deceit and his rise to power was over - he had to step back and realize that what he was, what he felt deep inside, was not a tool to be used, but an area of himself that just was. Even as a cat, he felt none of the fluttery-eyed, mushy-brained emotions that the others around him felt. Chroma had named him right - he WAS a heartbreaker. First, on purpose, in his life of illicit dealings and cruel practices. Now, accidentally. He had turned down several advances thusfar - one even by his Leader - or... Ringmaster, he liked to be called. There was no... love there. No desire for physical contact like Viperstar had, and Cody - now Heartbreaker - was trying to be better. Trying to DO better in this life that he'd been granted by Chroma. Trying to... what was that word.... right, redeem himself in ways that he'd never had to truly grapple with before.

Sure, he loved his clan... group... thing. The Dark Carnival was the most fun he'd had in ages - as a human or as a cat. But the kind of love he had for his group was not the kind that they often held for each other. He'd noticed Fortune's End sneaking off to have relations with a larger cat in one of the voids. He'd noticed HeartHunter stalking Luck of the Draw, and turning on and off the charm like a spigot. Some part of him wished he felt that way. All the cats around him were at least passing attractive as things went... but he wasn't that good of a judge of that. he had to keep telling himself, over and over again - as well as Chroma reiterating it whenever he felt isolated, that he wasn't broken, he wasn't a mistake. These feelings were a natural part of him, and shouldn't be taken for granted.

Besides, what he lacked in his ambition for a relationship could be turned to other pursuits - like figuring out how to stop the spread of the void borders, something he'd been putting his not-inconsiderable mind to for the last couple of weeks since he was appointed a Knight. Chroma was appreciative for the help, and expected nothing of him in return - somewhat of a refreshing notion, actually. Being able to be himself had done him worlds of good, and being looked upon as a stalwart member of something much larger, without having to scramble and pull and deceive his way into the good graces of others? It was a breath of much-needed fresh air after a life replete with a veritable plethora of wrongdoing.

To know that his group needed his intellect, and not his loins, was something he was still coming to terms with and correcting his thinking over. Old habits die hard, he supposed. But it was fine now - to be himself - to not have to focus on things he had no interest in. To instead recenter his mind to more useful past times. And because of that, he was much-loved by this little group of ragtags he'd managed to wind up in. Not for his physical appearance, or his endowment - but for the actual good that he was able to put forth. No attraction also meant no jealousy, and that was one bullet he was glad had been left behind in his old life. This new one was turning out to be something of a miracle. He really should die more often, and be reborn into the body of a cat. Regardless - he was now in charge of solving that one very pressing issue... and doing so with his mind fully turned to the task. He would say it here - without the fear of being judged - Love was a wasted emotion, when there was so much else to focus on in this life.

Like keeping his group safe - which he turned back to the task of. After that walk down memory lane, he was ready to put all that past aside to focus on the future - and without the web of lies he'd concocted - it looked bright indeed.

[Skiteralz]

mork

[jay.]

MARK.

[partlysocial]

Mark

[SilentMelody]

Username: SilentMelody
Cat Name:
Gender:
Rank:
Clan: (Please link)
Age: (1 year or above)
Prompt: Mark!!

[espen.]

Username: quirky;
Cat Name: Leaping Serval
Gender: Non-binary [ He/him ]
Rank: Village Trapper
Clan: The Principality
Age: 60 moons
Prompt: Leaping Serval, the village trapper, chose his profession because of the solitude. Unlike most cats, he didn't feel he had another half out in the world. As the legend goes, felines used to have twice the limbs and heads, until a powerful, unnamed deity was wronged by a mortal group, resulting in all cats being split, forever longing for their completed form. Serval never believed that all cats felt that way. Surely there's got to be at least one other out there who doesn't crave the swooning and brain fog brought on by love. Either way, Serval didn't really care. He was happy to spend hours alone in the woods, setting snares and traps for larger prey. The birdsong soothed him, and didn't really feel alone. There was comfort and companionship in the moss, the twittering birds, even the snails that lazily trailed behind him. He didn't need another cat to feel complete; he feels complete in himself.

He enjoys hunting for treasures in the woods, like crystals, animal bones, and moss-covered objects. Serval dreams of living alone in the woods, without any cats to expect things of him or bother him. In a way, foraging for treasures is his way of feeling connected to something. Something tangible, more personal than the woods: his passion and love.

Playlist
Moodboard - Existing in the woods - x x x x x
Favorite Aesthetic - Hunting for treasures to complete his hoard

[changeling.]

Username: K1NGCL3M3NT1N3
Cat Name: sandstorm’rose roscoe
Gender: nonbinary [it/its]
Rank: guardian
Clan: lily meadow alliance
Age: 38 moons
Prompt:
i.
dusty bumped sandstorm’s shoulder. “hey! are you listening?”

“uh,” it responded eloquently, and the little molly huffed and says, “i said, who do you have a crush on in our training group? cactus said she likes little stream, but little steam says that she likes you! but then sun said you totally love him! so?”

sandstorm gave itself a moment to think. dusty laughed at what must have been an incredibly focused look on its face, but it hardly took notice. truthfully, it hadn’t realized anyone liked anyone like that at all. sure, it was aware that all cats loved someone eventually, sometimes lots of someones until they found the right someone. but it had always pushed that away and thought it was something you didn’t start feeling until later, like when you were grown-up. but apparently that wasn’t true.

returning to its sister’s question, sandstorm felt its face furrow a bit more. it really, really liked sun. he was sandstorm’s best friend, after all. of course it liked him. and little stream was a really nice cat, and it had always thought she looked really cool; not to mention her awesome feather collection. but it didn’t think it loved either of them. how could you tell anyways?

hesitantly, sandstorm took on a soft, whispering but serious tone that it knew the adults did often when telling secrets. “um, i guess… i like sun.” that made sense, right? sandstorm loved to spend time with him and go on training missions together, and it liked making him laugh… maybe that’s what it meant to have a crush?

dusty gasped, and then giggled with the delight of knowing a special secret. “don’t tell anyone though!” sandstorm barely got the chance to call out before dusty was scampering off. “oh, of course not!” she had called back over her shoulder.

but as much as sandstorm loved its sister, she really couldn’t keep her mouth shut, not when she thought she had something really interesting to share. the next time sandstorm bounded up to little stream, feather in its jaws and beaming, the taller lynxpoint stiffly took his gift with an awkward, “…thanks,” leaving little room for sandstorm’s excited rambling as she had padded off.

sandstorm sadly asked sun why little stream didn’t want to talk to it anymore. the tom only snorted and said, “course she doesn’t! she was really upset when dusty told her you don’t like her. you can’t expect her to want to be friends after that- and anyways, you’ve got me!” sun laughed and intertwined their tails together, the only real gesture of affection the young cats used.

it still didn’t really understand. why couldn’t sandstorm just be friends with both of them?

ii.
as they all got older and grew from trainees into full-grown cats, sandstorm was forced to notice everyone getting a bit more… obsessed, perhaps it was, with love. it wouldn’t be too bothered with it, really, if it weren’t still caught by the words from its youth.

sandstorm believed with its whole heart that it truly loved sun more than anything; but sun no longer seemed so convinced by just the words it used to express that. he wanted more- he wanted to be near each other so often that sandstorm hardly could breathe, to make their nests together and call each other mates. he spoke fondly of the future when they would go through all the convoluted practices that would make them officially partners in the eyes of the stars and the desert.

it tried so hard, it really did, but the thought of all that filled sandstorm with a sort of dread. it couldn’t help that exchanging ‘i love you‘s with the only possible interpretation being romantic made its heart sink every time, no matter how much it tried to push it down. that

“you’re my best friend,” sandstorm cried. “i didn’t ever really like you, but- but i do like you! why can’t we just be friends anymore?”

“because you’ve been lying,” sun yelled back, “for all of our training moons! i really thought you loved me, because you said you did! excuse me for being upset that you’ve apparently had a broken definition of love this whole time!”

sandstorm flinched back hard. sun’s black coat gleamed in the harsh sunlight, spark-like flecks of ginger looking a lot more like the product of a hungry flame than the comforting campfire sandstorm used to joke to about them being.

there was nothing to say to that. what could it argue- that it wasn’t broken? making its best friend believe that it really loved him when it hadn’t really ever felt what he wanted it to feel- nobody who was normal, who was whole, did that.

“spirits. have you ever really loved anyone? you just always been so heartless, so willing to string cats along?”

the whistling of the wind and the sweep of sand around them was the only answer. sun’s teeth were exposed a little more as his snarl curled back. finally, sandstorm unstuck its jaw and murmured, “i- i really did. love you, and- and plenty of cats. i… still do. it’s just…”

“not real love. not the kind of love that makes you a person. of course.” he turned and stalked away, a growl in his throat that seemed to die with the blaze of his anger. sandstorm watched him go. it was helpless to do anything against the shaking of his shoulders from the soft tears that stain the sand in his wake, it’s own eyes too blurry.

if i were normal this wouldn’t have happened. i’m sorry i can’t love right.

iii.
sandstorm had been gone from the desert group for a while. it was too hard, seeing sun everyday, a reminder of how it failed in the most basic way- couldn’t even love right. it had left a message for its sister and mother, a bouquet of plants by sun’s nest that conveyed how much it was sorry, a feather in little stream’s collection for the way she’d stayed in its memory too.

and then it had left to travel. despite everything, all the cats it met in its travels, all the others it stayed with- it realized it couldn’t envision itself doing any of the things that any of them envisioned as representative of truly loving someone. it moved on each time it failed to find someone who could understand. eventually it had begun simply isolating itself in order to avoid the hurt each time.

that was until old harriet came along. the molly was on her own, too, another wanderer like it. but she, unlike sandstorm, was the opposite of lonely. she surrounded herself with plenty of friends- from other animals to acquaintances to best friends to family, harriet had plenty others she loved and who loved her back.

but despite all of that, she never spoke of a mate. and sandstorm knew logically that not everyone ends up with someone else, but, well. it just sort of expected such a kind-hearted and loving cat to be loved back, right?

harriet refused to leave it by itself, treating sandstorm almost like a kit of her own. it found it a little frustrating, but… honestly, it was nice, to be loved by someone who didn’t expect anything else of it. just a kind old molly who had too much to give.

vi.

it couldn’t escape the moonlight. no matter what it did, sandstorm wasn’t able to sleep for the past few days. and in this night time it couldn’t rest, it’s thoughts refused too to cease.

hoping for a distraction of some sort, it followed a worn trail down to the ocean. plenty of brooding has been done here, and sandstorm won’t be the first or the last, it’s sure. despite the prime spot for consideration, it doesn’t do much to help its thoughts, and it’s stuck on the reflection of the moon wavering in the soft tide of the sea.

“what’re’ya still doin’ up, hon?”

sandstorm jumps, spins to look behind it, only to be greeted by harriet standing right beside it. it tries to relax, glances back towards the moon.

“harriet? why… why can’t i love anyone right?” it murmurs. the old molly stays by its side as it explains every bit of its life that’s left it broken and lost and confused. and she softly tugs it into her side.

“oh, hon, there’s nothin’ wrong with ya, not a single thing,” she says, and then she shatters its world with a label it’s never heard of.

“aroace,” she calls it, and as she explains, it makes so much sense. and after it’s cried itself out in the relief of knowing it’s not broken, it asks her how she knows so much about it.

“well, i could have plenty of cats as a mate if i wanted, don’tcha think? but that’s never been much my style, nah,” she says with a wink.

a few days later, harriet has scraps of fabric in her jaws and is tying one around sandstorm’s neck. “there you are, kit! one o’ us now, aren’tcha?”

it doesn’t think it’s ever been so overwhelmed with the joy of fitting in until this moment. “i love you,” he says, all teary-eyed, and harriet touches her nose to its head and wipes its excited tears away.

v.

“sandstorm’rose!” comes a shriek from behind it. sandstorm turns to the sound and grins wildly at star’ignition. scowling, the cat hesitates, but leaps out too.

the rain patters on both of their coats and star’ignition’s face furrows. his eyes are mostly shut, and sandstorm can’t help but giggle at the ridiculous expression he wears.

“spirits, come on man! you really wanna be out here in this- this downpour? you’re gonna catch a cold, man, and it’s me firefly’flitter’s gonna be after!”

“it’s fine! i’ll be okay! and besides, this is so worth a thousand lectures.” and it really is. a beautiful storm, the clouds just barely covering the bright sun still in the sky. there’s a rainbow gracing the deep blue of the sky, which is the main reason sandstorm is out here risking a cold. it hardly ever saw rain this hard back in the desert. rainbows were magical, a legend of their own that sandstorm had never seen before it wandered out here.

star grumbles and huffs all annoyed, but they’re clearly fighting a smile. “have it your way, man.” they turn and bound back inside the safety of their den, always the daredevil but never much a fan of the rain or water. sandstorm watches them go until they’re covered in the shadows of the bush, unusual eyes glowing brightly, before it turns back to watch the sky.

the rainbow is staring at sandstorm now, and later it will be forcefully dragged inside by someone less willing to deal with its recklessness; probably firefly’flitter herself, fierce as she’ll be about it out of care; or sleeping’sky who truly does love lots of the others despite his distance; or any number of cats.

and it is loved and it loves, just the way it knows how.

[Fernathy]

Username: Fernathy
Cat Name:
Gender:
Rank:
Clan: (Please link)
Age: (1 year or above)
Prompt: Mark!!