Stars V.2 • Catvent

[Vivika]

↬ catvent day: sixteen

↬ username & id: vivika + 966947
↬ clan archive: azeryn

↬ word count: 645 words
↬ prompt:

when the worst scenario in the realm breaks the very fabric of everything you know, how would you react? what could you possibly say or do or think that could possibly banish the nightmare unfolding like a garish creature before your eyes?

i don’t know.
i don’t know.
i don’t know.

i don’t know if i should laugh or cry or plead my case or beg for mercy. treason. insurrection. conspiracy. stars, i never did any of those things. i never did any of them, but someone had to take the fall for it.

and fate chose me.

the fragrance of blood roses oozes in the stale air of the prisons. it hangs, lilting, sending the world in an endless vertigo spin. the hallway blurs into a stream of watercolor pixels, falling apart with each passing step. but the cool kiss of a blade against my shoulder propels me forward. it keeps me moving, keeps me from shattering, keeps me breathing.

“almost there.” the sentinel’s voice flattens to an impassive note, an obsidian mask of onyx and rubies concealing his features. his grip on his blade loosens ever so slightly and artificial light grins, cruel and casual, from the tip. “you can rest in your cell.”

my tongue is a lump of dried paint in my jaws, useless and heavy. i don’t answer. instead, i let him lead me to whatever cell he deems fit. or the cell he’s been ordered to take me.

✦✦✦

the hallway fades into a spherical room.

a dome of iridescent bubbles radiates in the open space, floating in all colors from pale rose golds to soft sages to sun-kissed golds. the more translucent colors reveal shadowed forms ━ other prisoners ━ within; some curled up for a nap and others bouncing off the walls. the spheres all orbit a single scepter coiled with three gold vipers with a different azerynian moon engraved in its forehead, each serpent striving to reach the top of scepter, where an intricate crown awaits.

welcome to the king’s hold.
home to all traitors of the crown.

with a signal from the sentinel’s nexus, one of the spherical bubbles glides over. his eyes flick once to me and something kindles in those eyes. something less otherworldly. something i recognize. something… more than just cool apathy. “color preference?”

my voice croaks. “what?”

“for your cell.” his touch skips over a color wheel, different colors blooming and extinguishing from existence. “neon green? purple? pink?”


✦✦✦

i chose black.

i need the darkness. the sleep. less prying eyes and more time to think. to string myself together into something worth defending in court as the nightmare before me unravels. unfortunately, the spheres are not soundproof.

“... is she asleep?” soft and feminine, a voice like a lark’s song.

a cough. “yeah, she’s not moving.”

“oh. well, maybe after she wakes. it’s been a long night for her.” the voice sighs, settling down. “do you think it’s true? there’s been so many rumors, but this one is interesting. it’s the perfect story whenever the entertainment sector hears of it. would make someone’s career.”

“i don’t know. she doesn’t seem the type.”

“maybe, but the scientists always says it runs in the bloodlines. rebellion. treason. conspiracy. and she, well, she has it from both sides. like daughter, like mother and father.”

“whatever. why don’t you just ask hans and lois?”

and the last string i’d tried so hard to stitch together rips at the seams, washing this nightmare in something. something that sends my breath into the voids and my thoughts in a tailspin. and whether it’s a hopeful light or a torrential downpour of darkness, i can’t tell.

trembling, i rise to my paws and my voice is a faltering mess. so much weaker and softer and so utterly useless. “you… you said hans and lois. a-are they alive?”

[SkywardtheDragon]

↬ catvent day: sixteen

↬ username & id: Skywardthedragon 935233
↬ clan archive: Company of Fools

↬ word count: 353 words
↬ prompt:

Beechbreeze can’t help being a bit of a sneak. They’re naturally such a quiet cat, after all; their fluffy paws don’t make much of a noise when they touch the ground. They’ve learned from experience not to randomly approach others from behind; Thistlechase almost clawed their nose off when they startled him. Such is life, really.

But today, Beechbreeze wants to listen in, just a bit. Emb and Darkness have been acting close lately, and Beechbreeze wants to know if they’re scheming or dating. Or maybe both!

—

“Okay, so you found a ghost. Is it attacking us? No? Then why are you messing with it?”

“Listen, Darkness! There’s something going on! I recognize this cat. I think Reedy would too, if mley came and looked.”

“Well then, if you recognize it, what’s its name?”

Emb looked away. “Y’see… I’m pretty sure they’re from the Company of Grand Misdeeds, but when I was there I hardly learned anyone’s names! Especially not the old dudes. I thought they were boring… and of course now I realize they weren’t! A little too late!”

“You know, evil spirits are capable of reading your mind and changing their appearance to look like someone you lost, right?” Darkness said. “And then they GET YOU ALONE and then they KILL YOU and REMOVE ALL YOUR BLOOD and DO SOMETHING WITH IT.”

“Oh, I have a suggestion!” Beechbreeze said, stepping out of the shadows.

Darkness’s fur puffed up, and Emb instinctively hissed. “WHAT WERE YOU DOING THERE?”

“Nothing important,” Beechbreeze said, “but I have an idea! You said you don’t know the ghost’s name, but Reedy should, right? How about you go ask it its name? It won’t be able to read your mind and see it, because there’s nothing there to read! Then you can cross-check with Reedy, and if the names match it’s probably not an evil ghost! Discounting the possibility that the original cat was evil, of course…”

“Or, you know, we could just use a mind-shielding spell,” Darkness said.

“I thought my idea was clever,” Beechbreeze pouted. “Some of us don’t know how to use magic…”

[faelyn]

all participating users have earned +1 stamp each!
screenshot to earned coupons - day sixteen coupon earnings are found here
your catcafe rewards cards are also now updated! please contact
faelyn via dms (in cs/discord) if you spot any mistakes <3

[faelyn]

xxxxxxxxxxxx

★ Catcafe Day Seventeen

If one of your kitties was an inanimate object, what object
would they be and why?


*this is a short prompt; no word count needed! we're also rolling
randomly for coupons as well for the last week of catvent <3

Code: Select all

[size=85][list][b]↬ catvent day:[/b] seventeen

[b]↬ username & id:[/b]
[b]↬ clan archive:[/b]

[b]↬ word count:[/b] n/a
[b]↬ prompt:[/b] [/list][/size]

#catcafeprompt

[Vivika]

★ we’re at the homestretch, stars friends!! 🎉🎉🎉 to celebrate the final week-ish of catvent (dec 17th-25th), we’ll be rolling for coupons on every single prompt day (minus special release days) up till christmas! all participating users on those days will have the chance to randomly earn a bronze/silver/gold coupon c:

★ the catcafe event trade-in shop is tentatively set to open a few hours after rollover on dec 27th (cs time)! it’ll be open for two weeks, so you’ll have plenty of time (+ reminders) to trade-in your stamps / coupons c:
⤷ view a little wip sneak peak* of potential prizes here! our starclan shop, ticket info post and our previous event shop has info/details about the prizes you see if you’re curious + full/complete details will be given once the event trade-in shop officially opens ^^
⤷ * keep in-mind that things may shuffle around/be subject to change <3

★ mythz has also released our second special release kitty! make sure to link three catvent prompts you’ve completed from dec 9th-14th (cs time) for a chance to take this lil apple cider inspired babie home <33

★ other housekeeping shenanigans;
⤷ the rest of our catcafe prompts will be short + simple with just one medium-ish prompt on dec 20th!
⤷ there are two more special release kitties on the horizon c: keep an eye out for our dec 22nd special release kitty coming up soon! our dec 25th christmas kitty will be raffled off / entries calculated by staff so dw about linking prompts for it!

[I Like Bees]

↬ catvent day: seventeen

↬ username & id: I Like Bees
↬ clan archive: The Travelers

↬ word count: n/a
↬ prompt: Pancake would be... a singular pancake. Not just for their name, but something about being able to lie flat on the floor like a pancake (except literally, because now they are a pancake) fits their vibe.

[feverrr]

↬ catvent day: seventeen

↬ username & id: feverrr
↬ clan archive: link

↬ word count: n/a
↬ prompt: honeylight would be a candle!

[crexmii]

↬ catvent day: seventeen

↬ username & id: crexmii
↬ clan archive: clans here

↬ word count: n/a
↬ prompt: tulipspeck would be a box of chocolates. the luxury kind. why? simply because….chocolate coloured hehe go boom

[feather ']

↬ catvent day: seventeen

↬ username & id: feather ' + 979911
↬ clan archive: xxx

↬ word count: n/a
↬ prompt: pearprickle would be a hammer! <33 he likes to slap at pomeloprickle, much like a hammer!

[zutopia]

↬ catvent day: seventeen

↬ username & id: zutopia [510718]
↬ clan archive: crescentclan

↬ word count: n/a
↬ prompt: wolfstar would be a magic 8-ball, sometimes his advice is good, and sometimes it's downright awful. he's not the best at it, to say the least.