i met a man downtown the other day.

[redshiftreign]

ATHENS

@zozelen [winterpaw] @Rani [crowtooth]

small paws made indents in the springy moor grasses, electricity meeting nerves and fizzing with adrenaline, heartbeat thundering in his ears louder than any storm.

there was a feeling in his chest, one he didn't have words to describe quite. something akin to fear. urgency. if he had to name it. . . he'd call it. . . rancor. was that a word? he had heard it before, he thought.

maybe it was a name.

he didn't know. he just felt. and ran. and moved, looking.

when he heard the rustle of movement, athens dropped low into a crouch and dragged himself forwards, low and slow. he had managed to catch something exactly once- a meagre and sickly mouse. but he was running on sheer spite, sheer adrenaline, and he needed food. rage could not sustain him. not forever, anyway.

but the shadow that crossed over him was too big. for a second, he wavered. it could be an e-gull. they liked eating as much as he did. if that was the case- he didn't have time to wait and figure it out. he had to strike.

so, the small runt of a kitten leapt forwards, claws outstretched, and sunk his claws into the first flesh he found. much to his surprise, this was not a mouse. or mole. or whatever those bigger, fuzzier brown rodents he had saw were. it was a cat! so, with a yowl of shock, the runt kicked off and skid to the ground aside, green eyes wide as he tried to process the situation and figure out his best escape route-

[zozelen]

Winterpaw's wild, snow white tail swished idly back and forth, the young tom standing upon Windclan's rolling moors with his mentor. The two of them were heading back from today's training session, in the warm yet fading light of the setting sun. It seemed like everything was tinted a sort of rosy gold color.

Far, far away in the distance, Winterpaw could see the distinct silhouettes of twoleg nests. There was one isolated, and then another, maybe a barn. Could it be...?

...No, it was too far away to tell. Not from here. Winterpaw looked away like he'd seen nothing at all, focusing back on the path his paws were taking him, back to his home and the nest he'd be sleeping in tonight.

In the back of his mind, Winterpaw wondered if Crowtooth remembered he wasn't born here. He had joined the clan as a young kit, three or four moons old when he was found on the border. He couldn't quite remember. Winterpaw didn't think he was too pleased then, confused as to where he was and missing the cats he used to know. His... family. But predictably, for anyone like Winterpaw, he took it in stride and after a few moons settled down. He was a Windclan cat, now, and had no will or stray desire in him to leave.

So why was this strange, twisting feeling rising up inside of him? Filling up his throat, not the kind that made one incapable of words, it wasn't suffocating- it was almost like it wanted to be set free. Like it wanted him to speak.

Briefly and suddenly, Winterpaw's paws stopped, the apprentice still looking ahead but seeming... frozen. Thoughts raced inside his head, unable to be read from behind his blank yellow eyes, ones that even he couldn't quite understand. He almost turned his head, turned it towards his mentor-

But then, something grabbed Winter's paw.

His eyes travelled down to where the jolt had come from, a hint of mild surprise on the apprentice's face as he spotted a cowering, small kit, sage green eyes wide. That... wasn't one of theirs, was it?

The tom wasn't focused enough on it to realize, but where the kit's little claws had dug in, blood had begun to well up from the small wounds and onto Winterpaw's clean fur.

"Ah," Winterpaw spoke. "Hello."

@Rani @redshiftreign

[Rani]

Crowtooth
Windclan Tunneler/Fury | He/him | 51 Moons

Power Card: Cold Gust

Ok so training was done so just dinner and then sleep. That was manageable, that wasnt too hard he could do that.... Dear lord Crowtooth was tired. On one paw being the guide to two spectacular young cats had so far been the most fulfilling thing he'd experienced it was also exhausting. Rabbitpaw and Winterpaw had so much energy compared to him and while they were not at all troublesome apprentices like some Crowtooth could name at times he wasnt sure how he could keep up.


Nowadays he felt a lot of regret and pity for his own mentor, Creekdash, way back in the day for the absolute hellion he'd acted like. That his brother hadnt smacked him more was a miracle and ode to his patience.



A thought for another time, right now he needed to make it back to camp without just finding a bush to sleep in, eat, and haul himself to his nice soft nest. The walk there was nice though, the two toms seemingly finding no reason for speech as they just walked. All was quiet, all was calm, there was no interruptions or surprises aaaaaaaaaaand Winterpaw had a kit on his paw.


A blink, a second blink, dont worry kiddo captain obvious was here to rescue you. ".....Winterpaw theres a kitten on your paw."

There. That statement totally fixed things Crowtooth was a genius even dog tired! Ok so yeah that probably didnt help things but shaking himself out of his shock the tom snapped into motion.


Deciding that between his terrifying deep and broken voice and large scarred form he'd probably scare the fur off of the kit too much to get any answers the tom gently rasped a "I dont see anyone else around an' he aint one o' ours. Ya mind comfortin' the little thing an' seein' if ya can get some answers outta him while I sniff around? Any luck an' he'll be some outsiders who wish ta join kit an' we can just take 'em ta Twi." to Winterpaw, trying to make himself as un intimidating as possible to the kitten in front of them.


..... He was the obvious leader here though, being older and larger so even as he skirted around the kit to sniff around he gentled his voice as much as possible and reassured "Dont be scared little one, we aint gonna harm ya, we're here ta help. I promise." before he stuck his head into the grass the kit had sprung from to try and find any clues.


@redshiftreign @zozelen

[redshiftreign]

ATHENS

@zozelen [winterpaw] @Rani [crowtooth]

the world spun, and athens looked up with wide eyes, the colour eclipsing his pupils into narrow slits as sharp as a snake's fang. he was tiny and scrawny, a runt perhaps, with golden brown fur and wild green eyes. back arched, fur bristling like daggers on his skin and ears pinned back, the little thing skid along the loose soil as he flung himself off the white apprentice's paw, twisting to land and bare his teeth in a long hiss, finy claws outstretched.

he had fought before. 'fought' wasn't quite the word for it, as fighting would imply there was even a battle to begin with. he had clawed and hissed and bit before. in his eyes, protected himself. it was fear, unadulterated, shoveled into his chest like coal into a furnace. fear became rage. rage became violence. violence became safety.

soon, violence would be safety. but for now, there was a lot more violence and running to be done before athens' body would ever consider itself safe. so, on small and unsteady paws the small tom tried to bound past the pair through the small stretch of terrain between their paws, his pulse pounding in his ears and making him forget about his hunger and his mission for being here if only temporarily.

he wanted to think i have to get back to rome and troy, but that was an old thought. left over from when he would scavenge and search for anything to feed his siblings. when that mattered. when he wasn't the only one left in this monstrous war called existing. he didn't really understand, not fully, what happened to rome and troy, but he knew that they no longer needed food. that they no longer needed him.

that he was alone.

so honestly, he wasn't sure where he was running to, except for away.