A small gray nose poked out from a thick, funny smelling den door. It twitched as it sniffed, before finally a mostly white cat with a red nub of a tail and a red splotch on his head emerged. Max wore no collar, but he lived with his Twolegs. His Twolegs had a rather spacious garden, with flowerbeds and soft grass to laze in. A tall white border ran along the edge, thick enough for a cat to comfortably perch. And a river ran close by outside.

Lush trees grew int he garden, some dropped different fruit during greenleaf and newleaf and his Twolegs would pick them. Max let out a contented sigh, he had a good life here, he had to admit. Safe and warm, food and water always provided. But unlike many of the other cats who lives with Twolegs, he had a deep respect for clan cats who lived happily without any of those comforts.

Max strode confidently over to the edge of his garden, bunching up his legs underneath him, and then jumping to the top of the white border. He unsheathed his claws to grab the wood better, and then sat down for a moment. Lazily enjoying the view from his perch.

Another lazy, warm day found Max lounging on the top of his housefolk's white barrier - he's heard other housecats like him refer to them as fences - basking in the warm sun. He balanced his weight carefully, using his extra toes to help grip the wood to compensate for his lack of a tail for balance. His head rested in his paws, he gazed out to the forest beyond. His mind whirling with questions about the cats who lived there in groups and called themselves "warriors".

[This post takes place after the fire.]

Max sat in the remnants of his garden in disbelief. He had fled with the other cats, and now returned to his home only to find it...abandoned. His housefolk were nowhere to be seen. "They...they left." He mumbled to himself. Well, of course they left. But then...they didn't come back. Max's fur was stained with smoke and in sore need of cleaning. And he was hungry. As much as Max admired the clan cats, he wasn't as skilled of hunter as they were. Feeding off wild prey was much more difficult than he thought.

Beyond that, the nest was mostly burned. Max tentatively approached his old home, memories flooding his mind of how things used to look. Now it was...a skeleton. He entered the den, now exposed to the elements but at least there was some coverage. He found his old nest, or what was left of it, on the second floor and settled down with a huff. The manx cat was too exhausted to move right then, shaken by the experience and weighed down with sorrow. All he had the energy to do right now was sleep...

one moon later

Max's mostly white pelt was in total disarray now, and his ribs were visible. As the weather grew colder, he struggled more and more to hunt. Having to rely mostly on the kindness of passing Twolegs who would leave food by his den. Max still waited at his old home for his housefolk to return. He still held on to the hope that they would come back for him, surely they hadn't forgotten him entirely? Or worse... He refused to consider it. But something surely needed to change, even Max knew he couldn't continue like this for very much longer.

The manx’s pelt spiked with surprise at another voice. Max leapt to his paws, not sure now if he was facing friend or foe. Before, he was always certain that he wasn’t facing an enemy, but now…it was anycat’s guess. He looked around for the source, but couldn’t find the other cat. They called him…’buddy’? So maybe…not a threat. Max couldn’t fully relax though, he wasn’t sure what he was dealing with.

“I-I live here.”Well, that wasn’t very convincing. His stub of a tail twitched anxiously. “Name’s Max.” His ears flattened at the comment about eating, he knew he looked rough but geez! Not that he really had any good defense for the accusation. “Well…I didn’t forget per say…” For once, he realized how odd it must be for a cat to not know how to hunt.

[ @geoblazer - Wilder - sorry for the delay!]

Max’s eyes shot over to where the cat emerged, startled to see such a strong and confident voice coming from a cat who barely looked to be better off than he was. He nodded at the tom, showing appreciation for him stepping out. “I wish I could offer you something but…” He glanced around at the remnants of his home.

Max blinked warmly when Wilder introduced himself, but heaved a heavy sigh at his question. “I know it seems…odd to forest cats.” He meowed, nimbly making his way down the wreckage to get to the ground. He didn’t want to speak to Wilder from a higher angle like that, it seemed rude. His extra toes helping him to grip the planks of wood as he made his way, allowing him to compensate for not having a tail. He leapt and landed in front of Wilder, sitting down in front of him. “I fled after the fire, and ran into the forest with some other cats from the neighborhood.” He explained. “When I came back, my housefolk - er, Twolegs - they were still gone…” He looked down as he shuffled his paws. “I stay because…well they could still come back for me. They were…they were my family.”

Even as he spoke, he knew the odds of that were slim. It had been almost two moons since the fire, and his housefolk hadn’t returned for him.

[ @geoblazer - Wilder]

Max frowned at Wilder's summary, that wasn't quite it... "More like...this is the home I shared with my family. So I'm just...reluctant to leave it." He meowed, looking over his shoulder at the ruins of his home. He turned his bright yellow eyes back to Wilder. "Have you ever had a home like that?" He asked, realizing after that it could be a rude question. "S-Sorry...I don't mean to pry or anything."

He blinked in surprise at Wilder's offer and nodded eagerly. He had to admit, learning proper hunting techniques would be a nice change of pace. "That would be much appreciated, friend!" He purred, rising to his paws with a smile. "Not starving is...preferred." He meowed with an awkward chuckle.

Max blinked in surprise at Wilder's answer. Alone? Totally alone? For that long? He couldn't even imagine it! He wasn't born in this house with these housefolk, but he was never totally alone. Even when his housefolk left, they always came back. Well...except this time that is. But, he did find that he related with Wilder on something.

"I was...I think 2 moons old when I last saw any of my kin." He meowed, blinking empathetically at Wilder. He hoped the other cat didn't think he was trying to compare his upbringing to Wilder's, Max was only making conversation and trying to find a way to connect. "It's not uncommon I hear for...I guess you would refer to us as kittypets? It's not uncommon for our housefolk to take us from our mothers as soon as we're weaned and then give us to new families." He explained. Without a tail to motion around him, Max lifted and turned his head in a loop to indicate the cluster of large dens around them.

"Many of the cats around here had similar experiences." He didn't return to the topic of Wilder's sister, it seemed the other cat would prefer not to discuss it. Max grinned a toothy grin when Wilder returned to the topic of food, and nodded eagerly. Leaping to his extra-toed paws, Max followed Wilder towards the woods. "I certainly share in your hunger my friend...I appreciate you taking the time to help a stranger like me." He meowed, a friendly smile on his face. "I'm sure a cat like me must look pathetic to a strong cat like yourself." There was no hostility in Max's voice, only fact. He could only imagine how he must look to a cat like Wilder, why it was even in his name! Wild-er. As they entered the...rather sparse shading of the trees, he glanced at Wilder, noticing another difference between them: coats.

The black-and-white tom would likely have an easier time blending into their surroundings than Max's mostly white one. Yes his coat was dulled greatly and didn't exactly have a tail to worry about, so maybe they were about even? He looked at Wilder expectantly. Surely this amazing wild cat would have a plan?

[OOC: Honestly no idea lol. I think that technically, ThC is close enough to the fires to have known it was happening because Bumblestar decided to take some cats in from it and there was a thread about it. So in my head, ThC territory lies in the forest, but not right up against the treeline so they still have some space to hunt and explore before crossing the boundary. If that makes sense?]