Winter Mountains

[JustJoye]

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/81/a7/1a/81a71a447bb08b2280c7f77ecc34c217.jpg

This place is based off of one of Bob Ross's paintings of a small shed, shrouded in white snow and smoke, looking forward to a new day's pink and promising light.


Please PM JustJoye for details about this Thread.


The wind was rushing. It howled and moaned through the trees, catching leaves and twigs and snowflakes that dared to pop out of their warm, cloudy homes to venture into the valley. Oaks cast disapproving glares as small saplings that bent in the gusts through hardened wooden eyes. They frowned through their though exteriors down on the shrubs and things below them who refused to stand their ground in the midst of the winter. Soon, their wood stares landed on a dull orange figure.

A long blaze of pale tangerine moved forcefully against the wind and snow, heaving it's paws forward with every step into the foreboding white mass the blanketed the ground. Every inch forward was a battle, every foot a war that seemed stacked against her. The feline's blazing amber eyes were narrowed against the raging pale flecks. Her tail was like a flag in the breeze lashing like a fish out of water as she walked towards the light she wasn't sure was real.

Mirages seemed not too far-fetched to her now. Her body was gripped with cold, bleeding and weakened by her long trek, it made sense her mind was just as desperate for some shelter. The shed she supposedly imagined before her seemed comforting, warm, welcoming to her more than anything had been for as long as she could remember. A silver shaft of moonlight struck the structure, and her eyes immediately flew open, amazed with the clarity. The feline now saw the building like nothing was in her way. She began jogging forward, using every last ounce of energy left in her frail body. The orange and grey molly felt light on her feet, a weight lifted from her shoulders.

In a matter of minutes, she'd reached the wooden building. It never looked so good to her. She slithered through the cracked oaken door into the stone-floored shack. Rotting wood was stacked on the side of the shed. A furnace with charcoal shavings stirred, and kicked a cloud of ebony dust into the middle of the room, where she now lay, eyes closed. Her beaten body shutdown, and she allowed drowsiness to overtake her. Peach slept.

[The Cannibal]

The cold. That was something that Insidious was used to, she was born in the cold, lived in the cold, traveled in the cold, at this point in her life, it didn't matter much to her. It helped that she had a thick coat of fur to protect her from the ripping wind and the pelting snow, but at this point, the freezing temperatures wouldn't matter to the Himalayan even if she were short-furred, there were very few things that mattered to this she-cat anymore.
Her large paws crunched down on the snow that was rapidly covering the ground, a few inches of the white precipitation already down and within a few hours it would likely double. Snow covered her back but every once in a while she would give her body a shake and send a powdery layer whisking off in the wind, drug away by the howling, body-less entity that caused the wind to swirl and the trees to whisper. And still she trudged on, icy blue eyes staring ahead, a blank look in her eyes as she recalled the few memories of her childhood that she could, from when she was still called Indigo by her mother and father.
I need to find shelter soon, it's getting dark.
As the thought entered her mind, she blinked her eyes and glanced up at the sky, though there really wasn't much to see with the furious snow that whipped around, but she could tell there was a crimson stain to the sky, it was about sun-down and the temperatures would only plummet more the darker it got and while she did have long fur, it could only do so much. She needed to get out of the wind and the snow to a dry place. A cave maybe, or an abandoned two leg den, it didn't matter. She was used to traveling.

The cream colorpoint trudged on, the red light from the sky fading and being replaced by darkness, the snow hardly ceasing the more time passed and still she somehow managed to block out the terrible bite of cold the air held. There was a gnawing hunger at her stomach but she could fix that later, her main priority now, was shelter.
This wasn't the first time she's been caught out in a blizzard, hungry and cold, in fact, it's happened plenty of times before and each time she's always survived, I mean, obviously.
She had a good knack for finding shelters and things she needed to survive, this was the type of life she and her parents had always lived. A hard life but a good life, it built character, it made you humble. Or at least.. Well. It did at one point.

At some point in the night, the she-cat finally came across the dark figure of an old two-leg den, and by the smell of it, it was abandoned, though it was hard to tell with all of the snow, at this point, even she was having a hard time walking in it and she was quickly growing exhausted.
Heaving out breaths, the vapor expelled from them [the breaths] glittering in the moonlight as it froze in the air, her eyes training solely on that lone building before her, a few foxlengths ahead now.
Finally a place to spend the night.
With a small surge of energy the ragged she-cat burst towards the shed and quickly squeezed through the same gap that Peach had managed to squeeze through and simply stood there for a moment, panting in the darkness, closing her eyes to finally catch her breath. It was much warmer in here than it was out there. After taking a moment to catch her breath, Insidious would open her eyes again and this time, she saw the sleeping figure of a feeling, her jaws clenching shut and her eyes narrowing.
I could kill them. Right there. Right now.
But slowly, she shook her head.
No, I'm too tired for that, besides, she's ragged and not worth my time. If I have to, I'll chase her out in the morning. I think I'll stay here for a while.

With that decided, the she-cat, filled with exhaustion, made her way to a far corner of the shack, giving herself another shake, the snow shimmering off of her and beginning to melt in the structure that was slightly warmer than it was out there. After settling down onto the ground, she hardly bothered in grooming herself and simply laid her head to rest and within seconds was whisked into a dark sleep where images of her past haunted her.

[JustJoye]

It had been a few hours. Or, at least, that's what Peach assumed after waking up. Her eyes flickered open slower than her mind set to work. Going through a mental checklist of things to do, she automatically assumed the position of workaholic that she had held her entire life, and well at that.
First things first.
The tricolor blinked, allowing herself barely a second, then set to work. Her nose, taking up a mind of it's own, inspected her whole body, tail-tip to muzzle. Her ribs were visible. She was bleeding from her stomach, ear, and left hind leg. Her fur, what little of it she did have, was frozen at the tips despite the warmer temperature of the shed. She stood and winced, attempting to shake.
She had little success. A few chips of pale stuff was flung across the room as she held back tear of pain. A shiver ran up her spine, frosted ants marching one by one into her pelt.

Amber eyes blazing with determination to make the small shed home, she looked around.
Wooden, small, up-walker smelling, war--
Peach hardly had time to form a complete thought before stopping herself. A feline, laying in the corner-- her corner, was dozing peacefully. The other molly's himalayan fur was frozen too, though she had much more and didn't look at all like the pale molly. This cat was well-fed, though it was hard to tell, and obviously knew these woods well, or else she'd probably look just like Peach, beaten and malnourished.
Without a sound, Peach slunk over to where the colorpoint dozed, claws not unsheathed. She'd come in after the former-Commander has began her rest, seen the other feline, and continued to curl up in the corner like nothing was the matter. How dare this cat assume the structure for her own.
Peach almost let her ambition get the better of her smarts.

What good would killing this cat do?
Put her in her place.
She couldn't help the thought. Ever since her banishment from her former home, she'd become overly-self absorbed. Care for yourself, kill possible enemies, hide; that was her philosophy, but that had to change. Now she had a place to live, to hunt, Peach didn't have to wander and hide anymore. Now, she could use this cat.
Thick fur meant that the molly could resist cold, and had adapted to the environment, she knew that. And no shown ribs meant that she could hunt and feed herself, a valuable attribute in a possible associate. She smiled.
The worn female stepped to the wall adjacent from Insidious and sat, supported by the oak boards. Claws still bared and wits lingering, she allowed herself to relax as she waited for her prospective partner to wake. Keen like a vulture stalking prey, her amber eyes never left the furred mass of pale tan and white.

[JustJoye]

bump~

[The Cannibal]

The colorpoint would rest a good long while, she had nothing particularly troublesome to think about that might keep her up or disturb her sleep in any way, just useless dreams that she followed along halfheartedly as her body recuperated, healed and energized itself once more as it did night after night after she laid down and closed her eyes. She wasn't even worried about the other cat that she had seen when she came across the structure, she had no reason to be, because, while she did look like nothing but a mass of fur, she had some wiry, dangerous strength beneath that pelt that she often used to surprise others when it was time for her toying to come to an end and it was time to end the others life, or when things went south and they began to catch on to her antics. To say in the least, Insidious was definitely more than a pretty face and there was a reason her name is now what it is as opposed to what it used to be.

But nonetheless, approximately an hour after the tricolored feline awoke and began to watch the himilayan, she finally awoke, slowly at first as if she were frozen and was slowly thawing, groaning quietly and slowly stretching each of her limbs outwards, clenching those eyes of hers shut and clamping her jaws together tightly, the tip of her long fluffy tail curling slightly before she relaxed onto the floor she laid on, exhaling slowly. For a moment, she forgot that there was even another cat in this old building, that is until she slowly pulled in a breath through her nose.
Oh, right, the other cat.
The she-cat half pondered whether she should even open her eyes, knowing that the other was very likely staring at her if they hadn't left already.
Well, time to get acquainted I suppose.

Licking her lips slowly, Insidious finally opened her beautiful, icy eyes to look around for a second, vision blurry until she slowly blinked it away, remaining laying for the moment until she allowed her gaze to settle onto Peach.
Blinking in apparent surprise, the himilayan quickly scrambled up onto her paws and gave herself a shake with a short, "O-Oh, oh dear, hello there!", a soft southern drawl to her voice before she promptly began to drag her tongue through her fur as if to halfway clean up her appearance in front of the other.
"Hello there ma'am, I apologize for joining you in this establishment, it was, well, it was just so cold last night and this was the only place for miles that I could stay! It was snowing pretty hard too, had clumps of snow all over my fur, I was practically a walking snowball!" A delicate, musical giggle escaped from her and she glanced at her paws before looking back at the she-cat.
"I really meant no harm by staying here ma'am, I can get going if you want me to go, no harm done!"

But that's the thing, Insidious wasn't going to leave without a hard, vicious fight because you know what? She liked this place. It was a nice place and the only one like it for what seemed like a moons walk and she wasn't going to give it up to some scrawny, beat up, tri-colored piece of crowfood like the she-cat she was staying at right now. But she could make it seem like she was just some polite wanderer who'd be more than happy to move along their merry way at the simple request of the other, sure, let them believe that, then she'd come back a day later, ambush them, kill them, take the place for her own, simple as that.
But these thoughts were hidden, the cream and brown she-cat maintaining a polite, lighthearted and even friendly demeanor with an almost sort of apologetic smile aimed at Peach as she waited for the other cat's response, her ears perked up attentively and her long tail curled neatly over her relatively large paws, blue eyes almost seeming to sparkle with a genuine friendliness.

[Brunch]

(Hope you don't mind me posting... x3)
Sulking in the shadows, a cream cat stood; Milk was a sight, vibrant against the shadows of the pines. The small kit had taken the worst time to leave her home; the snow and cold felt like needles pricking her with every step. Her pelt was seemingly made of water, dripping with the melted snow. Milk's eyes were rough with exhaustion, and were filled with the hunger that filled her. Since her normally fluffy fur was stained with wet, it was curled over her skinny, malnourished frame. Milk's one twisted paw was hung in the air as she searched the air with one small sniff.
Milk's breaths caught the air in large white puffs; wheezes came out of her maw, making loud sounds against the silent night. As Milk neared the small shed, one that she claimed as her own, voices came louder then her own thoughts. Who's in the shed? she thought, her eyebrows furrowed in curiosity. Milk slowly walked up to the dark shed, her tail flicking gently behind her; her eyes were narrowed, trying to penetrate the darkness. Two cats, each one seemingly sweet to each other, but the she-kit wasn't fooled, they were each angry at each other. Milk's heart dropped to her stomach, her chest hurting as she tried to steady herself. Milk didn't know that leaving her shed for even one night would mean surrendering it to two she-cats.
Milk knew that walking into the shed would promise a death sentence for her, but yet, she stepped one paw-- the un-crippled one-- in, shuddering slightly as she stood in front of the two cats. They were so much taller than her; she had never seen other cats that were so large. Milk regretted her sudden decision to walk in.
"O-oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on you..." Milk stuttered; she had not anticipated for both she-cats to look so strong and threatening. "It's just that I was already staying here, and..." Milk started to teeter into a taller position, trying make herself look as scary as possible, but she could almost guarantee that it would be useless,"and um..." Milk finally cowered back to the ground, "I guess you can have it..." Milk cringed at her own stupidity as she started to back up.

[JustJoye]

Peach flicked her brow at the other she-cat as she awoke, savoring the few moments before her own plan was put into action. She watched carefully, not saying a word, not daring to, until her soon-to-be adversary did.

Peach was sucked into the colorpoint's trap.
She relished in the other feline's scrambling to get up, her shock. Surprising others had always catered to her own liking, and she hardly ever passed up a chance to use the maneuver. The tricolored molly blinked her eyes with her own shock, though, when the himalayan began her apology. Her face grew a startled, slightly appalled look. this cat seemed far so far from the type she'd expected to live in this region. Ever feline she'd had an encounter with was probably willing to kill her, weather or not they said it out loud. Her claws clicked the floor and she stood, suspicious of the himalayan's intentions.

What is she rambling on about now?

Peach could hardly believe her ears. A cat willing to give up her spot in a warm cabin to go live outside in the snow for another moon before finding any sign of heat again? She was more than doubtful and wore it proudly on her muzzle.

"And I'm sure, too, that you'd be so kind as to tell me where your main food supply is? Any good hunting spots around here? I've just been a little peckish the last few sunrises, and, gosh, I just could really go for a mouse!"

The words flowed out of her mouth like molasses from a jar. She pitched her voice just high enough to cue the colorpoint in on her sarcasm and bared her teeth after the little speech. Peach flexed her claws she leaned in close, vaporous breath hot against the cool winter air.

"Don’t hold your breath, pretty,” Peach growled in the other’s face, muscle on her face taught, “You won’t last long in here with me still around.”

Out of habit, the pale orange and grey she-cat twined her tail about her left hind leg. Like a snake, it knotted around her rear paw as the tension of the room rose. Another hot breath of air showed itself against the cold, daring to direct itself towards her adversary’s face. She bared her teeth and gapped her mouth, about to snap another remark-- but was interrupted by a soprano-pitched voice.

Her head whipped around, ivory-leafed jaws still showing. Eyes like slits, ears targeting the wall behind her, she drew back her noggin at the sight. A kit!

She scanned the thing in the entryway, confused and startled, off her guard.

Crippled paw, white coat, young as sapling in spring!

The mental list went through her head like a train bulldozing through all other thoughts. She had no comment on her tongue, and nothing in her head, just a blank, semi-angered stare on her face. She stood, taken aback, not knowing what to do, and only wondering how a kit could survive conditions as harsh as the ones just behind it.

[Ludicrous Lunacy]

((*Casually places an ad for a cat to fall in a river* Siri is, as you may or may not know, going to join the group soon. To do this, she has to save a cat as me and Joye agreed. If you have a charrie who would NOT WANT TO ADMIT they fell in, pm me ^^))

Looking at the abandoned shack of a cabin was a slender white molly, pale eyes glinting in the faint light that managed to find where she sat. She was relatively friendly--well, friendly as in did not eat--the cats there. Well, as long as they left her alone for the most part, she didn't mind. Actually, unless they went dying all over the place. That would be... Unfortunate.

[Brunch]

The dumbfounded look of Pech made Milk stumble a little; though it was not exactly scary, she felt odd, with that star holding her. Milk's amber gaze found the ground, fixing it on it for long enough to where her body was heaving with the numbness of the cold, and the exasperation of keeping herself up. Milk laid her small form doen, placing her crippled paw softly of over her uninjured forepaaw. Milk felt Peach's gaze tread across her small and useless paw. Perhaps she'll be more aggressive and kill me for my paw... Milk thought with a strained look. The young cream kit finally found the courage to speak again, since no one was.
"It's the reason why I had to leave my mother," Milk said blatantly said, "she kicked me out of the den at two moons old because I was... Useless..." Milk pondered on what she would say for a moment. Because I'm not fit for show... wasMilk's first thought, since it was the truth, but she had a feeling that the older she-cat wouldn't accept a kittypet, even a former one.

[JustJoye]

((*Casually places an ad for a cat to fall in a river* Siri is, as you may or may not know, going to join the group soon. To do this, she has to save a cat as me and Joye agreed. If you have a charrie who would NOT WANT TO ADMIT they fell in, pm me ^^))

Looking at the abandoned shack of a cabin was a slender white molly, pale eyes glinting in the faint light that managed to find where she sat. She was relatively friendly--well, friendly as in did not eat--the cats there. Well, as long as they left her alone for the most part, she didn't mind. Actually, unless they went dying all over the place. That would be... Unfortunate.
Hey sorry if I didn't tell you in our correspondence but I'd rather no more than one character be introduced at a time. Sorry!

Also PSA for Cloudy, I'm going to let Insidious post in reply.

[The Cannibal]

{I am so sorry about this late reply everyone!}
JustJoye Cloudy

It was always a deep satisfaction she felt when she saw cats fall into her carefully crafted traps, that same feeling feeling being felt now as she saw the other relish in the looking of surprise that she thought she caused Insidious to feel, of the desperate attempt to get up. Maybe this'll be easier than I thought. Some cat's. They were easier to fool, so wrapped up in themselves that they didn't think it was a ruse, didn't think for a second to look carefully at her act, because even though it was pretty dang good, it was not perfect. Not that there was ever a reason to think that the shock and scrambling and politeness was faked, it usually was placed correctly so that it was reasonable.
Though when she started her apology it was clear that Peach was growing suspicious of her, though the look was vague, she felt it. That's interesting, clearly she's not used to overly nice cats. Nonetheless if I change the act now, she'll definitely know something is up. Though she made a careful note of the reaction, and continued on without seeming to change at all, not even a flicker of change.
Though if she wasn't sure about the doubt and suspicion before, the sarcasm gave it completely away. But it didn't phase her, she's dealt with worse.

But part of her wanted to just give up the act and show that nasty side of hers that she only showed to cats she was about to kill, the faintest flicker of a twisted, devilish look glittering in her blue hues before the usual look of friendliness and innocence covered it a split second later as she tilted her head.

"I'm really sorry ma'am if you don't trust me, I know it's not usual for loners to be all too nice to each other, but that's just how I was raised! If you really want me to tell you some good hunting spots round here, I can give you some!" That sweet southern accent of years hadn't changed at all, her voice remaining as soft and cheery as a singing bird, the tip of her tail curling in a graceful way, the long fur cascading like a waterfall of fur in the direction she curled it. There almost appeared to be a worried look on her face as she saw the rather aggressive stance the other took, one of her paws raised delicately and her body seeming to lean away as if in fear of Peach, a nervous look on her face and yet the smile still remained, though appearing a smidgen more unsure now. It was a look she has learned to nearly perfect over the years.

Though at the sound of another voice a sudden look of frustration flitted into her eyes just as Peach's head turned, her jaw tightening in slight anger. Other cats always compromise things don't they?
Blinking away the look, she looked over at Milk with surprise on her face, paw still delicately raised in the air and ears still slightly folded against her head.
Seeming to blink a bit, Insidious slowly stood up with a light, pleasant smile, ears perked up now as she went to take a step towards the kit.
"Well howdy there little one! We weren't planning on keeping this little establishment here, it was just a short stay is all, until the snow had passed! Come on in, we don't bite. Well.. " She seemed to give a nervous look to Peach before looking back with that unsure smile. "I don't bite anyways."
The himilayan colorpoint made no mention of the kits injured paw in her conversation, knowing that mentioning it while acting in a nice character wouldn't exactly fit the script and just deciding to ignore it all together. But inside, she knew that this kit would be easy to take out as soon as things quieted down. Once the kit was out of the picture, she could work on Peach. But for now. The act.
She sat down again and made a motion for Milk to come closer, a gentle purr escaping her chest and a light, almost motherly look in her eyes, waiting to see what the kit would do.

[JustJoye]

Peach raised the skin on her muzzle, rolling hills and grooves forming behind her nose in an obvious act of aggression towards the other adult. Some sick trick she was playing! And to take advantage of a small kit! Peach back away from the himalayan just as her adversary had before, though her's was deliberate. Her paws moved out of fear, her mindset out of anger and suspicion.

She narrowed blazing amber eyes with et black pupils almost to the point in which her visibility was skewed. Her claws, still unsheathed from the moment she'd laid eyes on the colorpoint, tapped with floor in a flex. Her body was ready for a fight, though her mind held back the impulse.

She couldn't live out here alone, she knew. Peach would surely be too weak to hunt anything filling for a few more days. That would give her enough time to shutdown and slowly die of malnutrition, blood loss, and hypothermia. All of which, the tricolor recognized, were pitiful ways of dying. She grunted and her breath was hot against the cold, forming water around her screwed-up nose.

"Disgusting!" She hollered, gaping at Insidious, not afraid to show her red-stained jaws. Peach raised her chin and glared downward at the molly.

"No trick is worth playing on a mindless kit!" The orange and grey she-cat spat, finally uttering a another phrase. "Anyone with real skill wouldn't bother wasting energy on such an easy target! It's disgraceful and pitiful!" A snarl sounded.

Tail twitching, Peach reached out a clawed paw. She gently slid her pads around the kit and began to bring it more towards herself in an attempted to protect it.

[JustJoye]

Ivy was walking around the shed unknowingly when she heard Peach shout. The bengal kitten was then scared and let out a high-pitched squeak. She was a mindless kitten - always relying on her littermates. Her father told her enough times that she was dumb, worthless, even more so with her blindness. The kitten then started to dig in the snow, trying to make a small hollow for her to stay in. She always quickly moved to another task if she dwelled on the past because her family was killed either by predators or the cold or maybe the lack of food.

Ivy was almost never fed because she was the runt, yet she survived - just barely. She then dug a small hollow and hid in it, her tail sticking out. She then listened carefully for any sign of anything, then she moved back to the past. Oh how she missed her brother. He ran away not to long after she left, and she was sure he died. Ivy's father said that he found Birch, and buried him. But knowing her father, she was sure he was lying. But as the kit she was, she didn't know if he was lying or not so she beleived her father.

[[sorry! this is a closed thread! if you could delete this post, it would be much appreciated!]]