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Post by niftyshark on Mar 3, 2019 18:09:51 GMT -6
The sun was setting, and he knew that meant trouble. Creatures that wanted to hurt him came out when darkness fell, and if he didn't find shelter soon, he would be stuck--too afraid to move, too afraid to run away. He almost got caught twice before, and those memories clouded his mind. He needed to find somewhere and fast. But his stomach twisted painfully, reminding him he hadn't eaten in two day cycles. Or was it three? He couldn't remember, and he felt his shakiness with each slow step he took. His pelt hung on his frame and he shivered against the air that remained stubbornly cold.
Nori walked through lands that sloped up and down, scattered with clusters of trees and smothered by low-growing bushes and shrubs. He weaved his way through, mouth open as he searched for any prey scent with growing desperation. He was coming to terms with the fact that he would have to go to sleep hungry again. How many more times could he do that before he wouldn't wake up again? The small kit let out a whimper at the thought. He didn't know what to do. As the sun sunk even lower, he paused by a log. It was rotting, but that meant there could be something living inside that would soothe his gnawing stomach. He poked his head in a hollowed-out part and examined every inch of its surface. He bit his lip when he saw nothing. Reluctantly, he peeled off a small piece of bark and tested it between his teeth.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 3, 2019 18:39:25 GMT -6
Every day left Charlotte exhausted and sadder than she'd been at sunrise, every night spent huddling in some thicket left her aching and miserable, but she couldn't go back home. Never again, not without her mother. The den would feel empty, the forest haunted, and she'd rather wander for the rest of her life than be reminded of what she'd lost with every turn.
As the sun fell, and her paws began to ache, she knew she needed to find shelter. As the shadows began to fall, she scented the air, fearing wolves, but was shocked when she caught a whiff of fresh cat scent. She quickly caught the trail and followed it, fear beating in her chest. Had she passed into a territory without realizing it? The scent ended at a log and she slowed, stepping up to peer inside, while remaining safely back.
"Hello?" she called, tail low to the ground. "Is this your territory? I'm not trying to trespass, I just want somewhere to sleep."
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 3, 2019 18:50:34 GMT -6
Nori was so focused on the bark in his mouth that he didn't notice anyone approach. And with the scent of rot filling his nose, he had no way to determine who they were. When he heard a voice out of nowhere, he immediately froze, and his throat closed up in terror as the bark snapped between his clenched teeth. Someone finding him was the last thing he needed. Being seen was bad. Being noticed caused him trouble. He immediately crawled deeper into the shadowed wood, pieces splintering as he forced his way through in a panic. Maybe they were too big to fit and would leave him alone... It was his only hope, because he couldn't go and check. If anyone saw his eyes... he was well aware they were cursed. They would be too interested. They wouldn't leave him alone. Maybe they would die. He squeaked as he scratched his head on a piece of wood that stuck out, and he immediately regretted the sound. One thing he learned in the last moon was that if he gave away any indication of his size, he would bring even more danger to himself. Nori closed his eyes and willed the stranger to lose interest and go away.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 3, 2019 19:01:30 GMT -6
All Charlotte heard in reply was a terrified shriek, and she took a step back, tilting her head in confusion. "You are a cat, right?" she asked, settling down to stare into the log. "I mean...I'm really sure I smelled a cat." She scratched anxiously at the dirt. She was so lonely. "I won't hurt you," she muttered, glancing around. Maybe this wasn't worth the effort, and she could come back in the morning. She'd eaten at sunhigh, but her stomach was aching again, and she wanted to hunt before she settled down for the night.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 3, 2019 19:26:23 GMT -6
The words managed to reach his ears, but for all it was worth, he might as well have been deaf. He was too numb to process them and too numb to move. His breathing quieted to almost nothing, and he was as still as a frightened rabbit. He couldn't even think about wanting the stranger to go away now--he just wanted safety. But that wasn't his luxury or reality anymore... it never had been. Nori kept his eyes closed and continued to wait, shivering when the wood under him transferred more and more of the cold into him.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 3, 2019 19:59:47 GMT -6
Charlotte figured if it was a cat, it wasn't a cat that was going to talk to her, and with a sigh of disappointment, she got up. What had she done wrong? Paws sore and weary, she paced through the trees, running over ideas in her head of what she could've done better. As she stepped through the snow, she spotted a mouse scurrying out of a burrow before her. It must've heard her coming, and been frightened. Quickly, she burst into action, scrambling after it and managing to pin it under one paw. It shrieked in her grasp, and she let out a low huff. She watched it for a long moment, black eyes shining, little paws scratching at the ice, its whole body thudding with desperate heartbeats, and then she ended its life with one killing bite. It was a stupid little thing, really, but she wasn't complaining. She was about to dig in when she remembered the log, and the strange cat, and she eagerly picked the mouse up and dashed back. She set down the prey, looking into the log again.
"You can have some of this!" she called, tail flicking excitedly. "I'm so lonely. Please, will you talk to me?"
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 5, 2019 6:10:29 GMT -6
There was silence for a while, and the terror that consumed him slowly subsided. He opened his eyes cautiously, but he didn’t try moving yet. Were they gone? Did they finally leave him alone? He wondered, but still he waited. He knew by now that it was a tactic used by predators—sit and wait until the prey was unsuspecting. If he left now, then he would be wandering in the darkness, and that was definitely something he couldn’t do.
Nori shifted to try and get more comfortable, but the wood yielded nothing to him. He rested his head on his paws with a feeling of numbness, but it didn’t last long. He heard pawsteps again, and he once again tensed up. But something caught his attention, a smell past the rotting log that immediately made him yearn to find out what it was. Suddenly his stomach was clawing again, and he almost went out then and there. He stilled on his first pawstep and tried to remember what the cat said. He knew now they had a mouse, but why would they want to share it? Hesitantly, he poked his nose out, keeping his blue eye closed, and he stared at a tortoiseshell she-cat, before desperately looking at the mouse with his one open eye. “W-why?” he squeaked out, utterly unable to comprehend any notion from her.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 5, 2019 12:03:37 GMT -6
Charlotte's eyes widened when she saw the cat creep out, one eye closed, tiny and dirty and so young. She took another step back, her heart plummeting in her chest. Oh, the poor thing. He was alone, just like her, he had to be. They needed to be together.
"Because I'm all alone, too," she replied, trying to look as non-threatening as possible. His pelt clung to his spine, leaving a visible ridge. "And I think you are too. We can stay together! My name's Charlotte." She tilted her head, her gaze focusing on his closed eye. "Is that hurt?" she asked, nodding to it. "I know a little about medicine."
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 5, 2019 15:00:00 GMT -6
He had a hard time understanding the words she was using because he barely focused on her. He only cared about the mouse right now—he never encountered anyone or anything that would give him something, he rarely encountered anyone at all. Nori edged closer to it, mouth watering, and he jerked his head forward to snag a bite before retreating slightly.
He watched the she-cat as he chewed, but it didn’t seem like she was going to attack. It was then that he realized she spoke to him again, and he tried to remember what she said. Her name, and... his eye? He couldn’t recall what she said it was, but his eye wasn’t hurt. Not like the scratch on his head. But supposedly his eye hurt in a different way, whatever a curse was. He still couldn’t figure that one out. Nori shook his head as his only answer, and slowly he opened his closed eye. It was far easier to keep it open. He didn’t know what medicine was either, so keeping quiet on that was also the easiest option. “Why?” he asked again, looking between the mouse and the tortoiseshell. He wanted to eat more of it, but he also wanted to understand her.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 7, 2019 8:26:23 GMT -6
Charlotte tilted her head in confusion. "Why /not/?" she replied. Did he not want to stay with her? He seemed like he really needed help. His eye wasn't hurt, it was just a different color than his other one. It was a bit distracting, but really pretty. She wondered why he'd tried to hide it.
"I like your eyes," she said, unsure what else to say, because he was barely talking. "Are you all alone out here?" Charlotte knew she was young, but this was just a kit! Where was his family? "Are you lost? I can help you find your way home."
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 7, 2019 14:08:54 GMT -6
Nori crept forward again, intent on pulling the mouse closer to himself, but the tortoiseshell's next words made him freeze stiff. His eyes... his home... He cowered close to the ground and slowly shook his head. "They're... they're... cursed," he whispered the word that replayed in his mind all too frequently. The word he didn't know, but the word that seemed to define his existence. Like most of what she said, he couldn't comprehend it--liking his eyes? So much confused him that it almost hurt. "They're the reason I'm alone." If he was normal, would his parents have come back for him? Would he have a home to return to? The questions suddenly made him aware of his surroundings and the time ticking away. The brown-and-white tom slowly unfurled from himself and snagged the mouse, eating it faster. The shadows were growing longer, and the light even dimmer. He didn't have much time before darkness fell fully, and he didn't want to be without shelter.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 10, 2019 18:37:52 GMT -6
Charlotte's eyes widened in shock as he spoke. "They /are/?" she said, stepping forward to look closer. They didn't look cursed, and her mom said curses weren't real. Maybe he was lying, but she wasn't sure why he would lie. "Did your curse...uh..." She didn't want to say kill his family. "Does it hurt cats?" She took a step back, looking around anxiously. Maybe she should go.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 15, 2019 18:25:19 GMT -6
Instinctively, Nori closed his blue eye and shrank back halfway into the log. "N-no! I don't know," he whimpered, distraught. The first cat he saw since he was abandoned who didn't just chase him off, and it was him about to chase her off. Maybe he really was cursed. Maybe he was meant to be alone. Maybe his parents were right. The mouse was still between his paws, and he sunk his teeth into it. He was shaking and shivering, and not just from the cold. He needed to eat the rest of it and hide. That was what ensured he would wake up tomorrow. He tried to finish it faster, but he swallowed too soon, and a lump caught in his throat. His eyes widened and he pawed at his neck, panic rushing over him. Couldn't breathe. Nori's eyes watered as he gasped uselessly for air, and his claws scored his skin as he tried to clear the obstruction.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 16, 2019 18:13:33 GMT -6
"I'm sorry!" Charlotte cried, realizing she'd upset him. That had been a rude thing to assume. She looked away, ashamed of herself, when she heard a strange noise come from the little cat. He was clawing at his throat, that was strange. He seemed like he was in trouble. "Is something wrong?" she asked, but realized he couldn't give an answer. The mouse was in his throat. Quickly, Charlotte darted around, rearing up and bringing her paws down hard on his back. Her mother had taught her this once, but she didn't remember the second part. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking at him anxiously.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 17, 2019 9:54:40 GMT -6
Nori felt a hard force on his back as he was yanked from the log, and he managed to spit out what was caught in his throat. He slumped to the ground and sucked in air greedily, heart racing. The terror of the moment faded slowly, and it was a while before he could move or talk. He sat up with tremors shaking his body, and he looked at the she-cat with wide eyes. Was he okay? He wasn't even sure he knew what the definition of that was. Was it as bad as being whatever cursed was? "I... I don't know," he repeated again, tone weak. He didn't know much about anything.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 18, 2019 9:51:03 GMT -6
"Well, you're talking," Charlotte said, relaxing as she saw the kit take a gasping breath. She looked over at the half-chewed remains of the mouse with a grim expression. "Well, there goes the rest of our meal," she muttered, her belly aching at the sight. "Did anyone ever teach you how to hunt?" she asked, turning to Nori. Maybe she could give him a few lessons. She wasn't the best herself, but it seemed she was better off than this kit.
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 23, 2019 19:42:16 GMT -6
The kit blinked at her, wearing a frown. He was growing tired and cold, and all of the questions were getting impossibly difficult for him to keep up with. Hunting? He... it wasn't something he could do yet. He only came across prey that was already dead, and by then it was only scraps. "No..." he said eventually, confused when it felt like his gaze was starting to swim. His mind felt like a heavy fog settled over it, and it was almost hard to remember that he was faced with a stranger. Nori closed his eyes for a moment, jerking abruptly when it felt like he was falling. He opened his eyes and tried to focus on the she-cat in front of him, but it was futile in his exhaustion.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 23, 2019 21:46:40 GMT -6
Charlotte watched with concern, the gravity of the situation finally beginning to dawn on her. She needed to take care of him. Just then, Nori fell, and she quickly scrambled over to assist the weary kitten. “Come along,” she said, nosing Nori gently. “Let’s find somewhere warmer to sleep tonight. Can you walk?”
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Post by niftyshark on Mar 24, 2019 19:05:55 GMT -6
Nori mumbled something incoherent, and by now he completely forgot his fear. He barely remembered the she-cat, barely remembered walking, barely remembered being led somewhere else. Perhaps it was the subconscious sense of security he felt at meeting someone who seemed to care, or maybe he was just desperate and unable to survive on his own anymore, but he was peacefully unaware of his changing circumstances. The next moment he remembered was waking up in dimness, more comfortable and warm than he ever remembered being. He yawned and blinked the sleep out of his eyes, before the fractured memories of the night returned to him. He bolted upright, frozen in place, as he tried to recollect what happened and where he was. He turned around, feeling with his paws, and he touched soft fur. The kit leaped back then when he realized it was a cat, his own fur standing on end.
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Post by gingerluna on Mar 25, 2019 21:33:44 GMT -6
No answer was an answer. Thankfully, the kit was still able to stumble along when guided, so Charlotte led him back to an old burrow she'd spotted a ways back. She'd go to bed hungry, but she didn't care. He needed her. Someone had left a kitten out here to fend for himself, and she wasn't going to let him get eaten by a pack of coyotes or freeze to death. That's not what her mother would've done, and it was the least Charlotte could do, to honor her memory. Plus, it'd been getting real lonely out here, and she wouldn't mind a companion. The kit seemed sweet, she was sure he'd stick around if she kept feeding him.
The kit fell asleep as soon as Charlotte stopped guiding him, and she curled around him, forcing a low purr to lull him into sweet dreams. She lay awake for a long while, warming the kitten, thinking of her aching belly and her lost mother and their home in summer. She could just barely remember the leaves, full green before they curled gold and fell. Soon there would be flowers. She was looking forward to that.
She dozed off eventually, and was awoken by a jerking motion and a scrabbling of paws. Blearily, she opened her eyes, lifting her head to look at the gasping kitten before her.
"Is'okay," she slurred, still half-asleep as she looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "Is' me, Charlotte. 'member? All good, lil guy. Imma friend." She set her head back down on her paws, closing her eyes again. "Stick around. Show you how to hunt later, m'kay?"
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