[Archaeopteryx.]

What is a secret this cat carries with them?

Ends the 26th at rollover (26 -> 27)

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:
Gender:
Rank:
Clan:
Description: Black smoke ghost classic tabby with medium
topaz white and age-related graying
Age:
Edits: [nr] expression, accessory
[c] eye shape, sclera, pupil, whiskers
[uc] mid fur, long tail, unnatural eye color, short ears, round ears
Owner:

[crexmii]

Username: crexmii
Cat Name: moira
Gender: male
Rank: god of destiny, basically determines everybody’s fate.
Clan: softclan
Age: eons, the oldest of the gods
Prompt: the code of fate. universal rules every god and being has to live by.
no interfering with fate, even if horrible things are going to happen.
moira didn’t like this job, but he had to. he too had his own code; don’t change the future. what’s done is done.

WIP

[feverrr]

oh wow pretty
mark :0

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

[Thani]

marking omg

[unohdettu.lupaus]

Mark!!

[Whovian5EVA]

Username: Whovian5eva
Cat Name: Spiritcaller
Gender: Male
Rank: Wandering Rogue
Clan: Cats of the Desert
Age: 4 years
Prompt:

Silent winds screamed in his mind…
Spiritcaller looked around the dark grasslands he found himself in, his heart filled with unease. The grass seemed to be nothing more than shadows, and the sky was a deep blood red. Horrid trees stretched out over his head bending in much like awful spider-like claws creeping in to grab him.
“You know what you did… You know what you owe…” a chilling voice crawled into his mind.
Spiritcaller snapped their head around to see the figure that was the source of the voice.
A shapeless void glowered back at him. He felt like he could fall into its darkness for an eternity
His heart stopped in his chest, he had to run!
His tired legs waded through the tarry grass. Ahead he saw skies of midnight blue, he desperately clawed his way forwards, but the darkness was closing in…

Only now did he hear the wind of the desert and the cool light of the evening sun. Despite his warm nest cradling him his heart was still pumping. His mind flickered back to that awful promise he had made, the fire in the dingo’s eyes as it ran him down. He winced at the fear he still felt as its snapping jaws charged towards him, he’d been cornered… After that, he didn’t remember how he made it to the otherworlds. He only remembered he made a promise… and the terrible knowing grin as the void-like entity was burned into his heart.
Nothing made his stomach churn like that grin…
The void had demanded the life of an innocent in exchange for his own, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to follow through with his promise.
For many moons the void called to him. Each time he dreamt of the void, it grew closer to catching him. It’s dark grasp creeping in closer and closer, to the point he could now feel it’s horrible dark energy flowing around his tail. The torment crept into his every waking moment, he was worried that a dark fate would come to him at every turn.

This particular dusk, the horrors of it all were particularly surreal. He couldn’t follow through now, and maybe he never could. Maybe that was the void’s plan, for him to battle with his own thoughts forever… Nothing but despair filled his heart. He found himself crying to the stars above and even to the moon if she may listen. Begging with his whole soul, his whole heart and body. He promised to serve the moon herself for an eternity if that was what she wished. He needed an escape, because he wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up for…

A small glowing light broke off from the moon, floating down to meet the horizon. At first it was still on the horizon, but then it began to grow, it was racing towards him!
A voice echoed in his mind “You’d like to make a deal, let your cry be heard!” the light grew close to the ground.
Was this a bow? He hesitated before bowing back, unsure of what in the world was happening.
He now noticed an otherworldly echo to her voice, “my child, you are the victim of unfortunate circumstances.” I wish for you to be freed from this torment. You will still need to put in work, but this will aid you.
Taking a fearful step backwards as it grew closer, at last she touched his forehead, granting him a gift that he might now stand a chance against the void.

How had he gotten here, sandwiched between both sides of the afterlife…

[Knickknacks]

Username: knickknacks
Cat Name: Quartz
Gender: female
Rank: acolyte
Clan: knollclan (yew following)
Age: 3.5 years
Prompt: [1,223 words]

Foremost among the rules of the Following are these:

However far you wander, return to the Hollow by nightfall. It is right for the followers of Mother Yew to pass the night in the embrace of her roots. To abandon the Following is to forsake your place as one of Mother Yew's children.

Do not speak ill of the priests, those extensions of Mother Yew. They are there to serve Mother and her Following, and are not to be disrespected. Slander of them is tantamount to insulting Mother Yew and her choice of guardians, and will be punished as such.

Above all- do nothing to bring harm to others in the Following. In the shade of Mother Yew, all are as brothers and sisters, taken into her care. To raise claws against your fellows is an affront to Mother Yew. If a cat is to die, Mother Yew will take them in their time- do nothing to hasten this departure.

Quartz knows these rules- grew up reciting them, her voice and that of her brother recalling the words in harmony. Quartz and Copper were raised in perfect keeping of these rules, knowing the law of the Following to be true, confident that their faithful service would be rewarded: after all, Foxtrot had told them so, smiling and saying that elevation to the priesthood was all but certain, for cats as devoted as they. Quartz assumed that was the future that awaited them both- and did not notice her brother's downcast eyes, did not see his growing hesitance, the way his voice quavered as they repeated their mantras.

"Life begets death, begets life again." He muttered the familiar creed to himself- and her ears caught it, decided she did not like the shape of the words in her brother's mouth. The words she had come to find comfort in rolled off his tongue as something bitter, something he had bitten into and found lacking.

"What troubles you, Copper?" She asked, peering at him. Though it was dark, she could see the way that he bared his teeth.

"Where to start?" He asked, voice quavering as though on the edge of a laugh. It struck her then, peering through the dark, how unwell her brother looked- his muscles tensing, his eyes wide, the fur along his spine standing on end. He did not smell or feel feverish, but he looked about to keel over.

"This place," he croaked. "I can't stay here any longer, Quartz."

Quartz hissed, in spite of herself, attempting to shush him. Copper went quiet, his ears flattening.

"I'm sorry." She relented, giving him a quick lick on the forehead. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just- you can't say things like that, Copper. Someone might hear you."

"Why shouldn't I?" He flared up, his lip curling. "I mean it. This place- this dark, this worship of death- Foxtrot and his secrets and his lies- I don't want any part of it. I know you think of this tree as a mother, but I find no comfort here."

"You can't say that," Quartz echoed automatically. "You can't mean it." Now she was the one beginning to shake.

"I do," he insisted. "I'm- I'm going to leave, Quartz."

"No." Her voice had gone very small, without her intending it.

"Come with me." Now he looked back at her, his eyes shining with eagerness. "We can both escape, and go someplace with the sun on our back, where we don't have to be looking over our shoulders all the time."

"I can't." She shook her head. "I can't leave Mother Yew."

Copper stopped, looking at her with an expression of deep sadness.

"I don't want to go without you," he said, leaning over to touch noses with her. "But I can't stay with you here, either.

"I will leave tomorrow, just before dawn. Find me before then if you change your mind."

He looked like he wanted to say more, for a moment, but- after giving her fur one last lick, he was gone.


- - - - -

"Foxtrot?"

Her leader's eyes sharpened with interest as she approached.

"Quartz- what is it, my child? It is rare for you to seek an audience with me."

"I don't want to intrude." She sunk into a crouch, bowing her head in deference. "I wouldn't have come if it wasn't something important."

"Tell me." Peering upward, she saw Foxtrot's eyes gleaming with curiosity- and something of a dangerous edge. "Tell me now."

"It's Copper." The words spilled out of her, just as his had spilled out of him, the previous night, when he told her he intended to leave. "He's- I don't know what's wrong with him. Last night, he said some horrible things to me, and talked about leaving. I don't know what to say to make him stay. Please- Foxtrot, you have to speak with him. He'll listen to you where he didn't listen to me, I'm sure of it."

"Hmm." Foxtrot turned his head to the side, so she could not see his eyes anymore. "I will speak with him."

"Thank you," she gasped, the words coming out a bit like a sob. "Thank you-"

"Now leave me," Foxtrot said brusquely, giving her one last sidelong look. "You have given me much to consider."


- - - - -

Quartz did not say goodbye to her brother.

It was cowardly of her, perhaps- but she did not want to see the maddened light in his eyes, did not want to be tempted into leaving alongside him. And so she hid, and hoped that when she woke, he would not have gone. That she would never have needed to say goodbye at all.


- - - - -

Copper was not the one to find her first.

It was Foxtrot- and his claws were stained with blood.

"He would not listen," the leader explained through her sobs. "He was bent on leaving, on dishonoring Mother Yew-"

"He was a part of the Following!" she cried, grief loosing her tongue to shout at the cat she had always followed unquestioningly. "He was one of your children- one of Mother Yew's children. Our law says not to raise claws against our brethren."

"The minute he aimed to leave, he ceased to be one of us." Foxtrot's eyes were cold. "What I have done is a mercy- better that he should die, before knowing what it is like to live as an infidel."

The challenge in his eyes stopped her from speaking further. She choked back her tears, not wanting to be the next to bloody his claws. It had never occurred to her that Foxtrot might be a danger.

"Speak of this to no one," he said. And then he was gone.


- - - - -

Quartz has never yet told another of what became of her brother. He was denounced by the Following as a deserter, and she could not speak up, could not tell them that he was killed by the cat supposed to lead them.

She is angry at Foxtrot, but cannot say so. She is angry at herself, too, and wishes she had not revealed her brother's plan in the first place.

She does not know why she holds her tongue- to protect the faith of her brethren, to avoid Foxtrot's anger, or to avoid her own guilt.

She is silent regardless.

None may know what became of her brother.

[CupidCola]

Mark

[Mercuré]

Username: Mercuré
Cat Name: Diabulu
Gender: male
Rank: Kubisa Lesa
Clan: Spirits of the Mayombé
Age: ???? Moons (47 regular cat moons)
Prompt:

Diabulu could’ve been more discreet, he knew, when he hid his identity to live among mortals. His brother before his exile had commented on it, laughing cruelly.

“You couldn’t choose a more subtle form? if they found out you were an exiled Lesa… what would they think?”

Diabulu didn’t plan to find out. When he descended from the Kayengele and met the cats of Buala he lied about his appearance.

“I'm a traveler from the north. we all look like this” he explained, nervous, but keeping the emotion from his voice.

Immediately there was a fascination with him. A traveler from the far north? One that looked unusual? Of course there was intrigue. Diabulu thought maybe he should have come up with another lie because he didn’t if he could keep up with the questions. Unable to come up with a story about his past or what led him to the Buala (for some reason talking about it, even if lying, was painful), Diabulu simply stated that he “didn’t want to talk about it” which ultimately just led to more intrigue.

The cats were friendly about the whole situation he noted. He had expected to experience ridicule for some reason. He couldn’t place his paw on why but he had expected mortals to be meaner. He was part mortal after all, maybe he should’ve expected them to be like him.

Quickly Diabulu iintegrated into the clan. After showing off his hunting, stalking, fishing, and other skills he quickly became a warrior. He even went through the traditional ceremony the Buala had for warriors. It felt odd praising the spirits and Lesa when he was one. It felt backwards. Oh well.

At night he dreamt. He dreamt of what had happened and each night he woke up in a cold sweat, ashamed.

The dream always began the same, starting from the beginning it flashed through everything that had happened.


It all begins with the cold. Floating in the Kayengele, somewhere between a spirit and a Lesa, but not quite. The shame of not being something more and the hunger for it. He remembers the bone-deep feeling of wantingmore.

Then the warmth. A banquet. Hunted fish and meat, sweet berries, and of course the nectar of the Lesa, golden and tantalizing. He remembered head down in his disguise and shuffling forward to the nectarjust a sip. That’s all that was needed. Just a sip. A sip and he would be one of them. Shining and brilliant. He remembers his paws shaking as he tipped the golden bowl forward to lap at the nectar. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. It reminded him of the fresh smell after rain and the thrill of a hunt. He had no time to enjoy however.

“An imposter!” One of the Lesa, Kabezia Mpungu, cried

Immediately they were on him, a flurry of paws and claws and biting and more. In a spot of anger a Lesa of incredible strength threw him to where the Kayengele (realm of the spirits) and the Ntoto (realm of the living) touched, where the moon and the heavens lay. His form covered the moon long enough for both realms to experience their first ever eclipse.

Battered and bruised, the now Lesa, Diabulu, lay on the ground. He had what he had wanted- the touch of immortality- but he knew he would not escape this unscathed. Sure enough, multiple Lesas descended to where he lay. He saw his brother, a proper Lesa, one who didn’t have to steal, grinning in a mockery of him.

The Lesas gave him an ultimatum, “Live amongst the mortals for the duration of three mortal lives, being of use in any way you can, or have your immortality stripped from you. The choice was clear.


And so the mortals could never know, Diabulu thought, laying once more in a cold sweat in an old abandoned twoleg hut. Which is why it was complicated that he had taken a liking to one of the cats, a Ntomi named Nyitu. Nyitu always preached truthfulness, he lived by it, which made it even more difficult. How was he supposed to lie to Nyitu. But he had to. Plus he had the problem that he was immortal, eventually cats would realize he hadn’t died…

All of that’s a problem for later. I can keep a secret

[néktar]

Username: néktar
Cat Name: bittersnow
Gender: tom
Rank: warrior
Clan: shallowclan
Age: 81 moons
Prompt: bearing a very heavy secret on his shoulders since he first became a warrior, bittersnow still flinches at the name of a past deputy, nettlestone. a young molly with a heart full of pride. she took a few too many things seriously, the code that they lived by included. in her obsessiveness for order she made a mistake, a mistake that loomed over her constantly. having grown up with bittersnow she confided in him..

there had been a disappearance of a pair of apprentices. they were never found and thought to have fallen off once of the many cliffs located on the island. he had assisted the leader and deputy on many patrols searching for the two endlessly but to no avail. the clan mourned for many moons, nettle had grown increasingly unhinged. speaking out of turn, wandering off by herself and leaving her duties unfinished, sleeping during the day and showing up with her fur unkempt. even refusing to eat.

the tom was beside himself with worry until one day nettlestone asked him to join her on a walk which she hadn’t done in a few seasons at that point. he was more then happy to tag along with his oldest friend. after walking along the beach for a while they came to the edge of the cove, winding through a shallow cave they came out the other side which is where the deputy stopped and turned to the tom. “i did it.. i let those poor young ones die. my duty was to them and i-” she spoke with utter defeat in her voice and so much regret in her eyes that it made bittersnow’s veins run cold. she didn’t say anymore and he need not push, he vowed to keep her secret though he watched it eat away at her until the end of her life. she died protecting a few apprentices from a honey badger a few moons later.

unsure if her debt was paid with her life, he now waits still holding her secret.