Freedom At Last! (OPEN!)

[NightWishRaven]

Hues of pink and orange streaked the blue sky as dusk started to fall. Pegasus breathed in the crisp leaf-fall air and sighed. It`s so nice to be away from the garden. Leaves fluttered around at her paws as she trotted farther into the woodland.

Suddenly, in the corner of her vision, a squirrel darted up a tree; it`s teeth chattered in alarm. The strong tabby she-cat made her way after it and her claws sank easily into the soft wood as she propelled herself upwards. By now, the squirrel had jumped to one of the few branches near the tip of the tree. She growled with frustration and leaped from tree branch to tree branch as she decended. A scrawny squirrel wasn`t worth a broken leg or two! Her stomach grumbled and she pushed away the fact that she was starving before curling up the roots of an oak tree and taking a nap.



((Feel free to join in! ))

[Whitestream]

Ash slunk through the shadows at the base of the trees, his dark pelt allowing him to blend in neatly as he made his stealthy way through the winding path cut through the middle of the forest.

He was worried about his sister, she had gone with an old cat to visit a ‘Clan’ and so far he hadn’t been able to relocate her, his stomach twisted as he considered absolutely everything which could have befallen her; foxes, badgers, dogs, twolegs, the ‘Clan’ could have eaten her, she could have fallen in a rabbit warren and broken a limb… His heartbeat sped up in panic, Saffron, where are you? He wondered desperately as he continued through the trees.

Of course, while panicking it was rather difficult for the small, black, grey, brown and white tom cat to watch where he was going, he was only very young after all… and so, it came as a huge surprise to him when he tripped over the root of an oak tree and fell almost on top of a bundle of feline fur.

“Ah!”

He shrieked, leaping backwards and cornering himself against the oak, his heart racing from the shock, his eyes stretched wide with alarm.

[NightWishRaven]

The she-cat`s blue eyes widened with suprise as another cat crashed onto her. When her sleepy gaze focused she could see a small tortoiseshell tom with the same shocked expression she probably wore on her muzzle. Pegasus`s once-tired muscles were now tensed and ready for battle; yet again, this tom didn`t seem much of a threat. She forced her thick fur to lie fat again as she spoke. "And who, are you?"


(( Short but ehh, whateves XD))

[Whitestream]

((I’m sorry I got so distracted, here have a reply ;u; Ash is a little bit odd XD))

Ash bundled himself backwards, pushing against what he hoped was a tree root… then again, when was it ever just a tree root? Oh why wasn’t it ever just a tree root? He cast his gaze behind him suspiciously, bracing himself to come nose to nose with a badger, fox or one of the ‘Clan’ his sister had gone to visit… what he saw left him stunned, it was…

A tree root.

“Huh, for once it really was just a tree root. A pleasant surprise.”

He muttered to himself. All at once he seemed to recall the threat larger than the offending root and whirled back towards the she-cat, the fur of the long tom cat fluffed up in alarm.

“Who am I? Oh, I’m Ash. My mother is Adelia and my sister is Saffron. Who are you?”

He babbled, paws kneading the ground nervously, his young heart thumping hard against his chest, The one time a tree root is only a tree root and it’s blocking my escape… Why do trees hate me? The forest made him nervous, so far his experiences had served to have him chased off by a swarm of miniature foxes and all the trees just watched, never helping him despite their superior size… Where in the name of the almighty and terrifying trees was his sister?

[NightWishRaven]

The tabby she-cat narrowed her eyes to blue slits. She wrinkled her nose as he backed into a tree root. Weirdo! Pegasus tilted her chin towards the cloud-dappled sky, eyes closed with an expression on her muzzle that clearly states what she thought of him: clumsy, odd and overall strange!

"I, am Pegasus," She paused to think of what to say next. It's nice to meet you? Maybe just a simple "hello"? Instead, she went with a more stinging greeting and she cleared her throat. "By the way, I didn't need to know your backstory, family or whatever you were babbling about," She huffed and continued with an annoyed tone. "Now that you've[\i] woke me, I'd best be out hunting. Care to join me, Ash?" She regretted that last sentence; he would [i]definately scare all the prey with his clumsiness!

[Whitestream]

Ash perked up as she introduced herself, maybe she wasn’t too mad he disturbed her sleep… this thought was promptly discarded as the she-cat continued, the scorn in her voice making his pelt flush with humiliation, Scratch that, she’s mad. He slumped, shoulders hunching in a meek posture, one could even say that he was sulking and be correct. The young tom’s pale green gaze cast away from the she-cat, suddenly wanting to just be gone from there, away from her scorn and spite and back to searching for his sister… but he owed her something for disturbing her rest. Sighing deeply he resigned himself to what she asked, he would hunt with her and then be gone to find Saffron.

“Alright, I’ll hunt with you.”

He offered her a smile, a peace treaty for the moment, his dark tortoiseshell tail flicking anxiously. As he stood, pulling himself from the false safety of the oak tree and stepping hesitantly towards her, wary of her sharp claws and nasty words.

[NightWishRaven]

With a twitch of her whiskers, the brown tabby she-cat got to her paws and began to move deeper into the forest. The undergrouth was dying but still provided good hiding places. Prey seemed plentiful as well, according to her nose yet crinkly lea- a sharp chirp sounded from a pine tree and studied the robin that sat perched on a thin, low branch. She crept towards it and scrambled up the tree, bark showering down as she pursuited the bird. The robin fluttered away quickly and Pegasus slid back down the trunk of the tree, hissing with frustration.

A shred of bark dropped just infront of her nose.

She gazed upwards. A large grey squirrel chattered at her and swished it`s tail. It sat on a high branch but at least squirrels don`t fly. She flew up the trunk and gave chase to her prey. Together, they jumped from branch, to branch, even tree to tree. The squirrel froze, about 3 branches below her. The former kittypet froze too. It seemed like moons before Pegasus leaped down and caught the squirrel between her claws, finishing it off. She thin high branch she balanced on creaked and wobbled. Her eyes widened with terror as the squirrel and herself came plummeting to the ground. Fortunatly, she manged to hook her hind claws into the limb and she took a deep breath of relife, bouncing easily down to the ground towards Ash. She nudged her catch towards him. "Wants some?"

[Whitestream]

Ash watched her catch in awe, she was larger than him, clearly older and more experienced at hunting. Her catch had been graceful, calculated and accurate… until she lost her footing. Despite himself the young tom found his heart leaping into his throat and hammering violently in fear as it looked as though she would fall, crashing to the ground…. Then her hind claws hooked into the branch and she pulled herself elegantly back down to the earth, unscathed and triumphant with her squirrel in her jaws.

He was jealous now, he wanted to be able to hunt as well as her, if it had been him he would have fallen and broken all four legs or something. Muttering in quiet indignance to himself he crept away, eyes scanning the brush for any sort of life…

RUSTLE. CRACK!

The breaking stem drew the hunter’s attention and there it was, a mouse, crunching seeds and breaking through a long stem of some plant or another… He drew closer, placing his paws down carefully, thoughtfully, eyes narrowed as he drew nearer to the mouse, he could do this. He was good at catching mice, he was Ash the mighty Mouse Slayer…

Closer and closer he drew until with a loud SNAP a twig cracked and shattered beneath his hind paw and the mouse, squealing in alarm, turned and fled. Thwarted, the mouse slayer sat back on his haunches, irritation blazing in his eyes,

[NightWishRaven]

Pegasus ducked her head and took a quick nibble of the squirrel she had caught. It was warm and a bit dry, far better than the fake-smelling mush her Twolegs had fed her. She watched as Ash go into a crouch and creep towards his prey. Good, good. Now just a little farther, and- A twig cracked behind him and the mouse skittered away into the forest.

"Why don't you try hunting rabbits?" She suggested, noticing his long legs and slim build.

[Whitestream]

Ash looked up at Pegasus, his fur burning with shame from his failure with the mouse. What use was he if he couldn’t even catch a mouse? No wonder his sister ditched him for those other cats, he bet they could catch mice. His tail drooped sulkily and his ears flattened as he tucked his body into a compact resting position, he didn’t want to catch rabbits. He wanted this mean old she-cat to share her squirrel and leave him alone… but he knew she was only trying to help. Forcing himself to his paws again he looked down at his long legs, he looked elegant, he knew that but he moved with the grace of a rabid possum…

“I don’t know how, they hear much better than mice do.”

He admitted reluctantly.

[NightWishRaven]

"I guess so,"

She'd never really learned how to hunt or any useful tactics to do so, being cooped up in her Twoleg nest. She plopped down onto her side and tore off a few large chunks of of her meal, nudging the rest towards Ash. "Here, I probably won't finish it," Too full with all of that goop they fed me, She thought bitterly. The mere thought of that revolting stuff made her shudder. "I apologize for my, erm, rude outburst earlier," She mewed quietly, chewing the squirrel meat.

[Sorrelpelt]

(OOC: I hope you guys dont mind me barging in here. =) )

IC: Luna was out hunting since she had been recovering in her new "home". Crouching down, she caught a fairly plump mouse. Picking it up in her mouth, getting ready to head back to her warm nest to eat, she heard a couple cats talking, loudly she might add. Padding quietly in that direction she saw two cats. One, a grey-black tom and a tabby she-cat. Silently, she crept out of the bushes she was hiding in and revealed herself to the two cats. "Hello..." She mewed after dropping her mouse at her feet.

[Whitestream]

((Not a problem Sorrelpelt! The more the merrier.))

Ash sulkily allowed himself to look over at the remains of the squirrel she pushed towards him, forcing a smile as he looked down at the still warm body. Shame prickled at his pelt as he crouched to take a small bite, the warm, hearty taste reminding him how hungry he was, in all his worry for Saffron he hadn’t eaten at all that day, he tore a chunk off the fresh kill, swallowing greedily and was soon immersed in his eating, he was so distracted by this past time that he almost missed her hushed apology.

"I apologize for my, erm, rude outburst earlier,"

His head snapped up to fix a stare on the older she-cat, she was apologising? He flicked an ear in confusion, looking at her a puzzled gaze.

“It’s alright, it didn’t bother me greatly.”

He replied about to continue as another she-cat joined the group, he looked up, noting the mouse at the other cat’s paws before smiling warily over at her, placing a possessive paw on what was left of the squirrel.

“Hi there.”

[NightWishRaven]

Pegasus turned her head as the new comer approached. Her blue eyes seemed more icy and penetrating than usual as she narrowed them, staring.

"Hello," She mewed warily, a little bit of annoyance in her tone. A cold breeze ruffled her fur and she squinted her eyes against the orange glare of the setting sun as it began to disappear over the horizon.

"I'd better find a place to spend the night. Do you two have any place to stay?"

[Sorrelpelt]

Luna watched the two cats act wearily and guarded oncw she approached them. Purring in amusement she tilted her head to the side. "I'm not going to steal your squirrel nor am I going to hurt you. The odds are against me anyways. But I do have a warm place for you to sleep tonight. Its no human nest, but it works." She mewed, trying to settle their ruffled fur.

[Whitestream]

Ash listened quietly to each cat inquiring about his plans for the evening and with a gasp he realised just how late it was, he looked up at the sky and hissed, he had to get moving. Swallowing the rest of his squirrel – she may have the luxury of wasting prey but living out around the lake his whole life the little tom never had that luxury – he leaped to his paws, nodding to the two she-cats rapidly.

“I’m sorry but I need to go, my sister went to help an old cat find her family or something earlier. I have to go find her, I haven’t seen her since.”

He explained, itching to just get out of there and find her, plus that spot was getting a little crowded for his liking. Oh, Saffron, please be alright!

[Sorrelpelt]

Luna looked over at the tom. "Are you sure? Its getting dark and foxes and badgers are out. I'm sure your sister will be fine until dawn..." She mewed. She didn't care if the tom left or not, but she didn't want word that he died or something happened and she hadn't tried to convince him to stay somewhere safe until dawn.