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Post by Shad on Aug 30, 2015 19:34:21 GMT
Crescent The large snowy creature wobbled slightly as it picked its way unsteadily through the dense grasses. It set its paws heavily against the dirt, thumping a trail onward as if it had not the energy for stealth nor the will to care if anyone should find it traipsing through their lands. Perhaps it thought its large size would protect it, but that was doubtful. A closer inspection showed the large beast, which was actually just a cat, to be hardly more than skin and bones. The cat's fur hung loose and sagged on its frame, showing the weight loss had been rapid. As if the creature had been starved. The cat raised its head to check its direction and its slow, steady progress away from the mountains. A crescent shaped scar glared on its face to the left of a dull blue eye that was ever so slightly cloudy, as if it had been damaged in the injury as well. The lynx point cat turned its head to get a good look behind itself with its one good eye. Seemingly dissatisfied with its progress, it pressed onward. Then the cat stumbled. It rose. It stumbled again. This time, the sad creature did not get up.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2015 21:18:44 GMT
Crescendo padded forward, paws soft against the ground as he kept moving. He wasn't sure where he was, or where he was going, but that mattered little. He was just moving, having lost track of his sibling. He wasn't sure where his sibling went, but they'd get back together soon, and would be able to get back to exploring together.
Now something he never expected to find upon his travels was another cat. Let a lone a giant of one. He scrambled back, hiding in some near by grass as he crouched down, just hoping his mix of colors wouldn't be noticed. But he noticed something odd. The other feline wasn't getting up. Were they sleeping?
Slowly he crept from the grass to pad forward, keeping low, and ready to bolt if needed. He kept his approach slow, two shades of blue eyes watching as he got even closer.. "a-a-are you okay?" he stammered out barely. He looked over the large frame of the other cat and frowned, noticing the poor state of the fur and how the skin hung loosely. When was the last time this other cat got to eat?
He sighed, and turned, bolting off to find something, thankfully not taking long to track down a mouse. It took longer to catch the buggar, but he was soon returning with the kill clamped in his jaws.
He stepped closer, waiting just a moment before he dropped the now deceased rodent, and gently nudged it closer to the cat with a paw. "you.. you should eat.." he had no idea if this fluffy cat was a tom or not, he didn't feel right checking, and he never really could tell the difference in the scents.
(Uh, let me know if I need to edit, I feel this was lame >>)
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Post by Shad on Aug 30, 2015 22:31:53 GMT
Crescent Warmth. The sense of warmth is what brought Crescent back from the blackness. Her consciousness floated in the swirling shadows, ethereal and amorphous, but the warmth was a tether. It was solid and most of all undeniably real. How long had it been since she felt that? How many days had there been only darkness? Only cold? How long had she lived with phantoms that tormented her until her throat and ears burned from the echoes of her screams? How long? How long? She could not focus on those right now. Instead she latched onto what she could. What she knew. She knew there was warmth, and she knew she could not sleep. Soon. Soon she would gladly give herself over to the night, but for now, she had one last thing to do. She had to move. She had to wake. She had to know. Blood. The fresh scent of blood flooded the large shecat's brain. She had never quite enjoyed the smell but half-starved it drove her dangerously near madness as her stomach clenched in need and her mouth watered. She could hardly think as the need to eat, to consume, to devour, overcame every thought. It seemed that now that her soul had renewed her decision to live, her body was going no two ways about it. It was taking what it needed and damning the consequences. High on bloodlust, Crescent herself was in no state to deny it. Blue eyes snapped open, unseeing, as the large shecat lurched forward to sink her claws deep into the very warmth, the very blood, that had first awoken her from the immaterial nothingness into which she had strayed. Hardly even human, she only knew the sweetness of life, a life that flowed freely from the poor creature that had woken her and into her cold body. The blood wet Crescent's dry lips. Fur and bone crunched in her massive jaws tore into the victim with a savagery that Crescent's old friends would never have thought possible of her. Yes, she was more than this. She was kind, and giving, and gentle. Or at least, had been. The sharp pain of that thought slowly brought back a piece of the shecat that had been lost in the darkness. Dull blue eyes looked down at the remains of some small creature. Prey, most likely. It was so badly mangled and torn there was no way to tell what it had once been. She saw the blood on her paws. A small, detached part of her was terrified by what she had done, but then, why be terrified of herself? Why be afraid of anything when you were only going to die soon anyway? It seemed rather pointless. Something shifted and the creature called Crescent lifted her head to see another cat. They stared at one another for a time. The large beast tried to think of something to say. She probably should say... what? What should she say? And why should she bother? You're more than this.Was she? Was she really? Crescent could not say. Some small part of her wanted to be. However, what good was there in that? She had been more once and look where it had gotten her. Look where it had gotten all she cared about in the world - dead, broken, in agony. She was on a foolhardy mission to see her brother, but that meant nothing to her. At least, nothing she could understand now. She only knew she had to do this, this one thing, before the blackness returned again. Despite all that, Crescent found her wet, blood soaked muzzle opening with a whispy voice emerging as her dull eyes laid on the cat before her. "Tha....nk... you."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2015 22:41:43 GMT
It seemed to take forever for the other cat to move. Crescendo stood warily, not sure if he should stay near by, but the feline moved finally, and he gasped, taking a step back, feeling a little 'green around the gills' so to speak as she ripped into the mouse with such a ferocity that it made him scared, nervous, what have you. Tearing into the mouse Crescendo could do nothing but watch in slight horror. He had been able to tell she was starved, but he never thought... never realized the other cat would attack a meal with such fervor.
But the cat seemed to come about to their self. Looking down at what little remained of the meal, and he wasn't sure but he was pretty sure the cat looked at the blood on their paws for a bit of time. two shades of blue watched her cautiously, and he twitched when her gaze lifted to look at him. He gulped, practically holding his breath. It felt like forever, but was probably only a few scant minutes.
The blood cover feline finally spoke, and all it was, was a slightly broken thank you. Crescendo gulped, not sure how comfortable he felt standing there, near another feline he didn't really know. But they needed help, and he couldn't bring himself to just leave. "Uhm... you... You're welcome." he got out finally. Watching the large cat a moment more, he took a slow breath, his lungs felt as if they burned from how many times he had been paused holding his breath.
He turned his head some, watching off to a side for a moment, before looking back to her once more, "I... I can get something else... If you would like?" he asked gently. Such a large cat surely needed more than just one mouse, right?
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Post by Shad on Aug 30, 2015 23:24:22 GMT
Crescent The large shecat gave a long, slow blink as she watched the tom. He was a tom. Some small part of her hated him for that. She was learning not to listen to the small part. She did not like it. It worried too much, and Crescent could not be bothered. "No."The words came out sharp and hoarse, like sand had scraped down the lynx point's throat. The small voice chided her, but the rebuke was quiet as a whisper under the fresh blood that flowed and roared like a waterfall in Crescent's veins. More. She wanted more. This boy could feed her, but he was a mere scrap. There were other ways. The shecat pulled herself to her paws, her limbs yearning to shake unsteadily but Crescent held firm. "Teach me," she commanded, stepping up to the tom and towering over him. "I want to learn."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2015 0:19:43 GMT
Crescendo twitched at the no, and just ducked his head, taking a step back. Then the other feline was rising to their feet and he gulped watching the towering form. She got closer to him, and it took all the will power he had to not just bolt.
Teach them. They wanted him to teach them how to hunt? "Oh uh.. I can try.." He never taught another before, and he wasn't sure how to teach. He remembered his mother encouraging he and his sibling to hunt crickets. But they'd been so young, and it had just been a game. He glanced to a side, edging back a little, clearing his throat some, trying to keep his vocal cords in working order. "Have you.. ever play hunted? Like... bugs or anything? Maybe even siblings, or other kits?" he asked, play hunting taught a cat how to pounce and use their paws and claws to catch something. He knew nothing of the cat before him, so he wasn't sure where he would have to start on teaching them.
"I could show you.. I suppose, how I do it... Maybe that would work?" he asked unsure as he looked back up to the large feline once more. He hoped he wouldn't anger this one, he felt like a snack next to them..
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Post by Shad on Aug 31, 2015 0:29:07 GMT
Crescent The shecat watched the tom closely for a moment. He was almost like a kit. She remembered teaching kits. The small bit of her twitched uncomfortably but Crescent ignored it, instead turning away from the tom to pick up the mangle prey carcass in her jaws. Turning her head back, she tossed it away and into the air, drips of blood and pieces of bone trailing behind the ragged bit of fur as it sailed through the sky. Crescent's paws thudded against the earth as she gave chase. She had lost all her fat, and most of her muscle, but she still flew over the land seamlessly. Powerful back legs propelled her from the clutches of gravity and up into the air. Her fangs locked onto the escaping fur projectile, dragging it back down to earth as she dropped delicately to her paws. She spat out the remains and looked back to the tom. "I know that. Teach me forest hunting."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2015 0:40:12 GMT
Crescendo had twitched, stepping back as the other feline once again did something unexpected. He gulped watching the carcass fly off, flinching a little at the mess it made in it's flight. But the larger feline was soon after it, and caught it before it hit the ground. He gulped quite audibly as he watched the feline. He slowly stepped closer to the other cat taking careful steps, taking a slow breath, hesitating, "I'm not... entirely sure.. What you need to learn?" he stopped freezing in his steps and backing up a little as she looked at him more levelly and spoke to him again. She was able to catch things, had the speed and what not for it, so what was he to teach her? Forest Hunting? What the heck was that even suppose to mean? Was she once a house cat? He remembered bits and pieces of his life from before the fire at his two legs home.
He crouched some watching the other cat, taking a slow breath, "I'm not sure what you mean be forest hunting. You mean stalking prey?" He asked unsure, and not wanting to upset this large feline. He wish he knew, oh he really did. "It's not hard.. Mice are easier to get than birds though." he answered gently, he was a good mouser, birds on the other hand usually alluded him, his sibling was better at catching the birds.
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Post by Shad on Sept 1, 2015 11:57:17 GMT
Crescent The shecat padded back to the tom. Her pawsteps were strange. Her feet seemed to lightly feather over the earth, testing each step as she went before putting her full weight on it. In the mountains, this was important to keep a cat from cutting their pads on sharp edges or falling prey to loose rocks that would send them tumbling down a cliff face. Here in the forest however, it was simply odd to see. As the tom spoke, a little more light seemed to dawn in the massive shecat's eyes, a little more of herself returning in the presence of another cat to talk to. This time when she open her mouth, a faint friendly smile crept out as her cheeks felt warm. She was not flushed from the heat. It was simply... embarrassment. Yes, that was it. Crescent... was not used to being praised. It had been a while since she had been on the receiving end of a compliment rather than a harsh rebuke. "Scenting," she clarified. "I don't know how to track here. The smells... they are all new to me. I can't hunt prey if I can't find it first."The shecat almost flinched as her voice cracked near the end. It was such a harsh, gruttal sound. Her voice sounded harsh and scratchy now that she bothered to think about it. She began to notice the burning pain in her throat. Looking around she only saw barren, empty fields of grass stretching onward like a desert. "Water," she added with a bow of her head -she remembered now that cats felt safer when she made herself seem smaller-, "would be very helpful too, if you know how to find that as well."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2015 5:40:23 GMT
Crescendo tilted his head and gave a nod, "O-oh, Tracking's not to hard, you just have to pay attention to trails, along the ground, and on grass and things.." It it was harder than that, even he didn't really notice, as that is all he did. "The fresher a scent also is a sign of whether they were by recently. Sometimes a scent will smell cold and that usually means it's been quite the time since whatever had happened by."
Then she mentioned water and he smiled, nodding, "I know of a steam near by, It's not very big at all, but its enough to get some water. It's this way." he flicked his head to a side, before he turned to head in that direction, going slow, and looking over his shoulder to see how the other feline was doing. He walked that way for awhile, glancing back to the other feline before he gasped, "Oh! My name is Crescendo, sorry I almost forgot to say.. What is your name?" he asked curiously, wondering what this feline was named. Such a large cat, he's never seen anyone as big!
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Post by Shad on Sept 8, 2015 1:04:57 GMT
Crescent The shecat nodded her head as if she understood, but the confused frown on her face betrayed the fact that she had not a single clue as to what the tom was talking about. Still, she dutifully followed him as he began walking, finding his chatter to be... comforting. Yes, her lips were even curling into a soft smile again. Crescent was remembering she liked smiling. She had done it quite a lot once upon a time. When the tom shared his name, the shecat paused to look at him incredulously. "Really? Crescendo?" she asked, a tinge of laughter coloring her husky, water-starved voice. Her deep blue eyes seemed to get a slight bit of a spark back in them as she continued. "I'm Crescent, and it is very nice to meet you, Crescendo."They came to the stream at last. Crescent almost dove in head first as the water sang to her in the sweetest call she had ever heard, but she was more herself now. The food and company and shaken her out of her survival-driven state. She crouched to daintily sip the cool water that soothed her throat. It had been days since she had anything to drink that had not come from a puddle. The clean, clear taste was almost as good as the mountains -or maybe she had just missed water more than she thought. Finally refreshed, the shecat stood and smiled at her companion. She actually had quite a beautiful smile, if memory served. Many toms liked it. "So... tracking?" she asked. Her voice was still rough, but there was a sweeter undertone now that could not be mistaken. Yes, the real Crescent was surfacing now, like a plant reaching toward the sunlight after a long life in a tree's shadow. She was blooming before the stranger's eyes, becoming... more with every second. More awake. More happy. More alive.
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