lingering delirium [OPEN]

[plum]

No sooner had the sun finally set upon this corner of the world did the grotesquely wiry body of a cat rise up from a pile of Twoleg rubble. In the shadows of the little alley that the waste was tossed away in, a set of deep orange discs appear. No sooner than they first open do they narrow to slits, dancing in the darkness and leaping about until, down at the ground, a strange figure slides out into the moonlight and open pavement. Upon closer investigation, anyone could notice it was a cat- A disgustingly bony one at that with a long tail which only feathered out at the very tip.

This is Quince.

The feline surveys the scene through narrowed slits before turning and padding down the street of the Twolegplace. He'd been wandering for a few days now, finding nothing worth noting and nothing worth eating. But the hunger gnawing at his stomach had begun to turn his life around, and the tom had been acting a little bit lesser like himself these days and more like something else. Common sense would have urged him out of the maze of paths and pavement, where he could breathe the fresh air and hunt again. But he was beyond that now.

[Terrestrial]

A light body slid through the twoleg streets his striking blue eyes meet another gaze his claws unsheathed and the expression on his gray face shone with curiosity.
implimm

[Jynx]

Rua padded daintily along the edge of an upwalker's house, her ears perked, soft brown and black coat gleaming in the moonlight from a recent wash. The small molly caught the sound movement in a dark alleyway out of the corner of her gaze, and her head swiveled around curiously. Her gaze caught sight of a feline walking down the street towards her. Flicking her tail, she tried to assess whether he was friendly or hostile. She didn't want to intrude on his territory. "Hello," Rua meowed hesitantly, "er- do you live here?" The she-cat was new to town, and she was still getting used to whose alley and land was whose. Not wanting to intrude, she waited for him to reach her as opposed to entering the street. She spotted another tom emerging from the trees, and her fur prickled uneasily. She didn't know either of them and hoped they weren't as rough and tough as they looked.
implimm & FlameQueen

[Terrestrial]

The toms ears perked his tail flicking. The tom stood infront of the small molly his gray face and striking blue eyes stared into the molly's eyes "yes this is my home" he mewed. His battle-scarred pelt shone in the moonlight. Deranged Llama implimm

[plum]

The skinny tom seems to be walking for a while before he first passes by a raggedy, hostile creature with piercing blue eyes. They seemed to bore into him, even as he paid the gruesome thing no mind while passing by. But attention was his tonight- A pretty little thing assured that much of him as she came skipping by, stopping to say...

Her voice seemingly catches the male off-guard, and he stops in his tracks to look up at her. His own copper optics were duller than the pavement he'd been dragging his paws across. She was pretty. But Quince maintained a distant, stoic expression. "No, I don't," he answers her in a hoarse voice. He'd not used it in a while. "Do you? Seems like it."

It is then that the haggard looking tom suddenly got so much nearer, addressing the she-cat as if answering the question she hadn't asked him. It was a little bit... Creepy. But, not a native of these parts, the rugged tom couldn't bring himself to judge. He narrows his eyes at the two, seemingly contemplating something of importance before letting out a puffy sigh. "Are either of you familiar with the area?"

FlameQueen Deranged Llama

[Jynx]

Rua's ear tip flicked as the blue-eyed, ragged tom answered her. She paused a moment, then nodded. She hadn't really been addressing him, but she decided to be polite about it anyways. "Oh, that's nice. Then, addressing them both, she spoke again. What's your guys' names, anyway?" The small molly's head tilted at her inquiry, meeting his own blue eyes with her light blue and green eyes. She had never lived in an alleyway herself, though she assumed it would be a nice place to live if you didn't want to be disturbed by kittypets or the likes. She preferred somewhere she could see the sky. And, anyway, she never stayed in one place long enough to truly converted a settlement to a home.

"No, I don't, do you? Seems like it." Rua's eyes widened. She didn't know that she seemed like someone familiar with the area. The she-cat gave a small shrug, a half smile on her delicate features. "No, I don't live here." her tone was even, and she studied him curiously. "Are either of you familiar with the area?""No," she meowed again, "I'd just passing through." To where, she had no idea, but that never bothered her. She liked to wander; a life on the road, so to speak, suited her.
implimm FlameQueen

[Terrestrial]

The tom stared into the blue-green gaze "I'm Jayflight" he mewed looking away w-what that's not my name! "I mean Lucky" he corrected himself "and yes I am familiar to this area, this is my home" he finished. implimm Deranged Llama

[plum]

"Quince." The tom only pitches in after the odd, scarred fellow gives his own alias. It felt rough coming off of his tongue, a marred and incomplete thing that wasn't truly his own. But it worked better for him. No one needed to know what he didn't want them to know. It seemed like the same didn't apply to the other tom standing there- As he'd given a blatant Clan name. Jayflight? The wiry remnant of a cat doesn't waste much time thinking of if he recognized the title. It didn't interest him enough. But what did interest him was the molly who still hadn't traded them her own name. "And who are you?"

Frankly, he didn't see why they needed to exchange pleasantries such as names and "where-you-from"s and wanted to be past it sooner rather than later. If this molly never asked, he'd never had prompted her to return the favor. They'd meet and separate as nameless spirits crossing through one another's lives. Quince heaves a deep breath and looks at Lucky then. "You know how to get out to where there ain't no more giant nests? The wild lands out there, where they say the group cats are." He carefully chose terminology that wouldn't place him as a Clan cat. He wasn't one anymore, after all. But the Clans often had a bad rap with outriders, and this tom couldn't be assed about the things one could say about them. To them both, he bestows an explanation: "Lookin' for an old buddy of mine."

Deranged Llama FlameQueen

[Jynx]

Rua blinked. Jayflight? That was an odd name. Odder still, she thought, was his hasty correction. Mentally shrugging it off, she dipped her head slightly. "Nice to meet you, Lucky." Then she turned and listened to the other's rough voice. "Nice to meet you too, Quince," she replied, once he had said his name and questioned hers. "I'm Rua." Her ears perked as he spoke of a group of cats. She had overheard rumors when she had arrived here but didn't know they were so close. She waited to hear what Lucky would say. Maybe she could see how the whole live-in-a-group thing worked around here,

implimm FlameQueen

[Terrestrial]

Lucky looked at Quince then nodded at his question flicking his tail for the other tom to follow him he started walking out towards the forest "nice to meet you ma'am" Lucky winked. implimm Deranged Llama

[plum]

Glad that introductions were out of the way now, the tom takes Lucky's initiative to follow. He'd been needing to get out for a while. Hunting was easier than scavenging for his food, and he preferred a life out of this place. His daughter was used to all of the hardships that came with living in the wilds anyways.

As he goes, he casts Rua a glance and nods his head, sort of an inviting 'come on' gesture to let her know she was free to come if she wished. "Can't stand it in here," the male mutters under his breath as he follows the scarred up cat, copper hues scanning the Twoleg nests and sleeping monsters. He'd definitely find peace the farther away from it all that he could be.

Deranged Llama FlameQueen

[Jynx]

A half self-conscious, half charmed smile crept over her face at Lucky's words and quick wink. She wasn't used to beguiling cats; she was more familiar with tough city cats and soft-hearted kittypets. He seemed nice enough, and she liked his lightheartedness, despite his scarred appearance.
Rua felt a touch of awkwardness, unsure as to whether she should go with the two toms. She was saved from asking, however, as the copper-eyed tom beckoned to her with a jerk of his head. At Quince's invitation, Rua pattered quickly to catch up, tagging along behind them. She was excited to see where they were going.

implimm FlameQueen

[plum]

Lucky was a tough one to follow, the cat apparenly vanishing into thin air once the trio were within eyesight of the broad wilds. The dark brown tom didn't mind all that much though. The scarred up thing wasn't important to him, and he didn't doubt that he'd spot him around again some time. He had that annoying air to him. But he served his duty well.

The loner throws a look over his shoulder towards Rua as they trek further and further from the Twolegplace. "You can bail too, y'know," he tells her, raspy voice low. "I don't know where you settle down when you're tired but don't feel obligated to come along."

Deranged Llama

[Jynx]

You can bail too, y'know, I don't know where you settle down when you're tired but don't feel obligated to come along." Rua flicked her tail. Was he that tired of her presence already? The molly sniffed lightly with quiet amusment; she didn't think she made all that bad of company. Or maybe he was just used to being on his own. She shrugged, either way, not letting it get her down. "I want to see what this big group of cats is all about." Rua meowed, quickening her pace until she was walking next to the taller tom. "I don't really settle down anywhere in particular," she added as an afterthought. "I prefer to stay on the move. Ya know, explore, see the world." She looked at him, wondering if that seemed odd to him. She knew there were a lot of cats that liked to stay in the same general territory their whole lives but also knew a fair few who never stayed in once place more than a couple of nights.
implimm

[plum]

When Rua comes up to be shoulder-to-shoulder with him pace-wise, the tom nearly grinds to a sudden halt. He forces himself to go on, playing his nerves like they were nothing. "See the world, eh," Quince muses. He could remember a time where he felt just like that, back before he'd met his mate. He hadn't thought of it in a long, long time. Sometimes, it was the pain of recalling her, and sometimes it was the pain of imagining his world without. But this molly's little dream wasn't unusual.

"That big group a'cats you mentioned," he says decisively, flicking his ears in dismissal. "They live out here, yes. Four big separate groups, actually. Mean, those ones are. Don't tolerate much unless you're there to help 'em. And even then, it's a matter of chance whether they accept or not." Quince didn't see the fault in telling her little bits of the Clan ways. They were nothing like what she wanted for herself, anyway. "Always making things hard on themselves like that."

Deranged Llama

[Jynx]

When Rua comes up to be shoulder-to-shoulder with him pace-wise, the tom nearly grinds to a sudden halt. He forces himself to go on, playing his nerves like they were nothing. "See the world, eh," Quince muses. He could remember a time where he felt just like that, back before he'd met his mate. He hadn't thought of it in a long, long time. Sometimes, it was the pain of recalling her, and sometimes it was the pain of imagining his world without. But this molly's little dream wasn't unusual.

"That big group a' cats you mentioned," he says decisively, flicking his ears in dismissal. "They live out here, yes. Four big separate groups, actually. Mean, those ones are. Don't tolerate much unless you're there to help 'em. And even then, it's a matter of chance whether they accept or not." Quince didn't see the fault in telling her little bits of the Clan ways. They were nothing like what she wanted for herself, anyway. "Always making things hard on themselves like that."
- implimm -
She nodded, listening to him speak about the clans. She hopped neatly over a stick and her whiskers twitched. Huh, they sounded... interesting. Four big groups? Mean? If they were mean, why did they bother living together? Sometimes, when she was around mean cats, she just wanted to get away. If they lived in big groups, though, where was there to go?

”Have you ever met any of them?” she asked, curious now. Don't tolerate much unless you're there to help 'em. And even then, it's a matter of chance whether they accept or not. She had come across her fair share of proud cats; she sometimes didn’t understand why some cats didn’t accept help when they clearly needed it. She thought that cats should help others in need if they could, but she also knew that not everyone thought that way. From what he was saying, she wondered if he had met with one of them before.

[plum]

Rua seemed quick to catch on to him. A perceptive one, this kitty. The male rolls his shoulders somewhat in response. "You could say that," he meows slowly. Quince wasn't about to spill the beans on who he was and why he was out here to just anybody, and as pleasant as this vagabond feline was being, he just didn't know her enough. "What about you? Haven't you ever run into 'em?"

Jynx

[Jynx]

- implimm -

At the other loner's question, Rua gave a small shake of her head. "Oh, no," she meowed, "I've never been in these parts before. I think it would be... she paused, trying to find the right word to describe her imaginary, and possibly future, encounter with the wild cats. "informative." Rua had never met such a group before and wondered how they would take to a stranger like her. "I wonder if they'd chase me off.." she murmured, half to herself.

[plum]

Ah, so she was unfamiliar with the Clans entirely. Quince shifts his gaze from his company to where they were headed- A vast expanse of snowy white, only marred by a few straying animal trails. "They probably would," he says offhandedly, not sure if she'd even been looking for an answer to her thought. But it was quiet, and he had nothing else to say to her. Now that they'd made it out of the Twolegplace, he hadn't a clue what to do next. The hunger in his stomach was numb by now, subsiding into an ache and nothing more.
Suddenly, the haggard male freezes and flags his tail to let Rua know to stop as well. His deep orange eyes were on the rounded body of a gray squirrel. It seemed young... Probably scavenging up whatever seeds it had stowed away before the snow came upon them. And it wasn't paying them any attention whatsoever. Quince casts a sidelong look at the molly beside him. He hoped that his look delivered the message he was trying to send- Don't do anything. Now hopefully she'd just obey!

Jynx

[Jynx]

- implimm -
Rua looked up, startled to hear his reply. She had been merely voicing her thoughts but appreciated an answer none the less. The small molly opened her jaws to reply but stopped before any words came out. She had seen his warning and froze. Rua sank into a soundless crouch, waiting for him to pounce on the mammal. If he missed, she was tense and ready to assist. Even though she loved a good chase, she wasn't sure if Quince wanted to catch this one himself. So she waited patiently.