Wilder tilted his head thoughtfully. "I mean, I've been on my own since maybe I was," he had to think for a moment, "fffour moons old? I think? Or five." Wilder licked his chest fur. "I mean, I had a mom and a sister. But Mom let us know that she loved us, but didn't love us. Or something like that. I don't know. She taught us to hunt and then left one night." He shrugged. "No big deal. Strays do that, so I've been told."
"Plus, I had my sister. But then she up and left too -- don't know why. I didn't see any evidence she was killed." Wilder glanced away as he mentioned his sister. It wasn't a necessarily touchy subject, but not something he wanted to share that moment.
The tom stood and shook himself. "But now that we've gotten mushy with each other, I haven't eaten since dawn. Let's head into the woods over there." He flicked his tail to the treeline beyond the fence. "There's some chance we'll see other loners but who knows. I'll show you a spot where the Clan cats don't hunt." Least I can do is teach this cat how to hunt. Wilder thought, leading the way to the trees.
@Luna16 hehe sorry for the delay, i've just started a job and have been more tired than normal -- feel free to ping me if too much time has passed! also idk where are you thinking the treeline is? for some reason I'm imagining riverclan territory but i could be totally off the mark (like there could be no clan territory there but idk im rambling haha)
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?]
Re: Max's Garden
