CYNEFIN

sleek as a shriek

POSTED ON Feb 4, 2023 14:33:40 GMT -5

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Post by odette on Feb 4, 2023 14:33:40 GMT -5

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[attr="class","ltr-tags"]for Bleakfur

[attr="class","ltr-lyrics"]true that love in withdrawal [break]was the weeping of me

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Odette was hopelessly lost. Horrid tree trunks stretched ever upwards, while their limbs spread out like so many claws above her head, shadows slinking where once there had been threads of sunlight. Leaves that had rustled so gently in the warm breeze had, at the cool dawn of stars, begun to almost rattle– a discordant susurrus that set Odette’s tail twitching. The wisps of fear that had drifted through her mind earlier had solidified into an ache not unlike a lump of food lodged in her throat, caught. Why oh why oh why had she come here?
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It had seemed so grand at the time– trees as far as her eyes could see, rising in rows, swaying so gently and offering such tempting promise of blessed shade. Perhaps she could find a mouse or two. Rest her paws. Explore, even! That was what Odette was here to do, was it not?
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Explore she had, explore she regretted. The tightly-packed trees were hard to navigate, and any attempts at tracking her path had been easily thwarted. The forest which had been so inviting quickly closed in on her, and no matter which way she turned, the treeline seemed to have vanished. Cool shade was nowhere to be found– despite the lack of sun, the humidity clung to her fur most distressingly. Soon, the fog began swirl about her feet, and whenever she stumbled she couldn’t shake the notion it was not roots but tendrils of mist twisting her paws.
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Having tripped for the third time, Odette slowed her pace to a sluggish crawl and leant against the nearest tree to cool her head, breath shaky against the bark. She raised her eyes to peer into the rapidly darkening night, but, just like every time previous, it all looked the same. The same except...
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A figure in the mists. Odette fought the urge to shriek and shrunk further back into her tree, eyes locked on the cat’s silhouette. In another place, she might've sprung forth, but she hadn’t seen any sign of other cats in this dreadful forest until now. Was it truly another cat? Was it an apparition? Her grandmother had seen such cats, cold and deadly, always watching.
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She stumbled further backwards but to her terror, another cursed root caught her paw and she fell, letting out a piercing shriek before she could think to clamp her jaws shut. Horror-stricken, Odette squeezed her eyes shut, curled as small as she could manage, and waited for death to take her.

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[attr="class","gimcredits"]made by gimmick

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sleek as a shriek

POSTED ON Feb 4, 2023 23:01:15 GMT -5

Quote

Post by Bleakfur on Feb 4, 2023 23:01:15 GMT -5

The misty forest. He could feel the heaviness in the air, a maze of woods thick with cold sweat. There was a noticeable comfort he felt in the shrouded trees, and as he maneuvered expertly beneath their boughs, he admired them with a soft flick of his tail or brush of his whiskers: a brief, heartfelt greeting in passing. They were a grounded, stolid, and strong presence. They were blind yet ever-watching. Singular yet interconnected. They bore shade, shelter, seed, fruit, and so much more to the world, somehow turning plain soil into life and prosperity.

There were so many theories. Some thought that trees were sacred. Some thought them to be weeds. The best one he had heard yet, was that someone thought the trees grew so tall and mighty because of invisible food in the dirt.

He stopped walking and stood still. A deep breath flooded his lungs, then curled out from his maw like smoke. He felt it warm on his lips and tasted the fresh, crisp air, albeit dense.

Who was he to say otherwise? He met a scientist’s cat once, though he didn’t get her take on it. He always regretted forgetting to ask, but that one opted more so to talk about the weather than something of substance. Though it was a nice temperature that day, the sun hot on his fur with a cool breeze to wisp away any excess heat.

A terribly close screech set his fur on end, and within moments, he was several yards up the nearest tree, heart pounding like the hooves of a thousand horses. Very few times in his life he had actually flown, and this was one of them.

His mind was immediately cleared, and adrenaline sent his senses on high alert. The scent of fear, the pattering of startled heartbeats, the…absence of anything but his presence, and the presence of another very horrified feline.

After a few moments, he crawled down from the tree and tiptoed over, slinking from tree to tree until the scent of fear and feline was overwhelming. He could almost hear her silence, and he had honestly never been so scared in his life of another cat. Was she okay? He didn’t sense an injury. He felt unfathomably inescapable fingers of dread squeeze the air out of his chest as he slunk from behind his oaken shield.

”H-hello?” He meowed shakily, hackles fluffed. He swallowed dryly, mouth parched from concern. He cleared his chords and tried to force out his common greeting, heart slamming against his chest and attempting to claw it’s way out his throat. Enjoying the view? He wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out.

Although he very well knew she likely was not. If he had eyes, he would be scared for them. The tom braced for impact, leaning backwards with a paw tentatively lifted off of the ground.

odette

sleek as a shriek

Post by odette on Feb 4, 2023 14:33:40 GMT -5

Post by Bleakfur on Feb 4, 2023 23:01:15 GMT -5

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