CYNEFIN

Thorn

GROUP:Loner

WRITTEN:5 posts

TAG:@thornshadow

Dog Days Are Over

POSTED ON Feb 10, 2023 15:44:31 GMT -5

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Post by Thorn on Feb 10, 2023 15:44:31 GMT -5

You'll never make it here if you don't learn how to bend

Dogs. Those creatures of nothing but carnage and hate towards cats could be a real pain in the backside. Some were small and harmless if one dealt with them appropriately, which normally meant a swipe across the face. Others... others were far larger and more troublesome. Thorn had recently run into a pack of a few mid-sized ones. They weren't the largest she'd seen before, but they definitely didn't heed the calls of twoleg masters. That made them more dangerous.

In any case, she'd done her best to get ahead of their movements, but not without some light injury. A dog's claw had gotten her on the cheek, which was now leaving blood in her fur and on the earth behind her. Not to mention the burrs in her pelt from crossing a briar patch to dissuade any following. Yet now she could hear the howls in the distance.

Would they follow to the bottom of this rocky pit? She needed to wash herself before infection killed her, anyways. However, Thorn stopped when she scented another cat in the vicinity. "Are you crazy?" she snarled. "There's dogs on the way!"

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willowcloud

GROUP:Alive Character Account

WRITTEN:3 posts

TAG:@willowcloud

Dog Days Are Over

POSTED ON May 6, 2023 13:55:51 GMT -5

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Post by willowcloud on May 6, 2023 13:55:51 GMT -5

Willowcloud was completely spent.

Moons and moons of walking from one forest to the next had made her pads swollen with exertion, her usually luscious fur tangled and filthy, and her body aching for her to quit on her hopeless quest. And yet, she'd barely stopped for a second, knowing that if she did give in, then she'd never complete her quest. She could not give in to the fear that she'd never see her clanmates again; that her Clan really had been destroyed by the fire all those moons ago that broke out in the Clans. No, she could not think like that. She would find them, and she would see Darkclan rise once more.

Her travels had brought her past the twoleg dens, and she gazed down towards the rocky pit that lay in front of her. She allowed herself a moment to rest, deciding a plan was needed before she made her next move, but that didn't last long as the distant sound of barking made her ears perk in alarm. A second later, a cat shot out from behind her, snarling a warning at her, and that was all she needed to start running herself, knowing that she could not risk injury herself without a medicine cat nearby.

212 words

@Thorn

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Thorn

GROUP:Loner

WRITTEN:5 posts

TAG:@thornshadow

Dog Days Are Over

POSTED ON May 10, 2023 21:39:24 GMT -5

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Post by Thorn on May 10, 2023 21:39:24 GMT -5

You'll never make it here if you don't learn how to bend

Meeting new cats was always a risk. Some were kind, some were cruel.

Thorn herself wasn't the most benevolent cat either, however. Normally, she might not have even bothered to warn the cat she just came across and kept going, but the exhaustion of running brought out something else in her. Whether she just wanted to avoid giving the dogs a taste for cats or felt some kind of pity for a kindred spirit was lost on even herself. Once the other she-cat began her sprint, Thorn found herself following along. Once they were barreling through the scrub that lined the quarry, Thorn made an obvious gesture towards some fences.

"Over there! I've been through that hole at least a hundred times; the dogs that came after me won't fit through it."

Taking a sharp bank turn, Thorn scraped herself under the rather small hole in the fence. The bottoms of the pickets had been broken long ago, leaving nothing besides the dug-out mess beneath. Plenty of cats used this as a way through to the garden within. The twoleg that lived in the space didn't seem to mind much, so long as the herbs within were untouched. It would be a perfect space to regain stamina before moving along. She didn't really want to test the strength of the fence against the angry maws of dogs.

Assuming the other she-cat joined her, Thorn would explain her knowledge in between pants. "The twoleg here doesn't keep any cats, but there's strays that come here for food. It won't bother us if we don't mess with the herbs."

willowcloud

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willowcloud

GROUP:Alive Character Account

WRITTEN:3 posts

TAG:@willowcloud

Dog Days Are Over

POSTED ON May 11, 2023 22:41:27 GMT -5

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Post by willowcloud on May 11, 2023 22:41:27 GMT -5

Please Starclan, let me live another day!

Willowcloud didn't dare look back, knowing that one little slip-up could mean the difference between getting to safety uninjured or death itself. And by the sound of the angry howls behind her, she knew death would not be so kind a fate. But against all odds, she pushed on, her exhausted body fueled solely by adrenaline and fear as she ran beside her unlikely companion. If the circumstances had been different, she would have accessed the other she-cat further, but there just hadn't been the time, not with the situation they were in.

That was why when the she-cat pointed out a hole in one of the fences, she didn't think twice before making a sharp turn to follow her lead, her claws scrapping into the dirt to swing herself in the right direction. The hole was small, but thankfully, for all her fur, Willowcloud was a slender cat, and so, besides feeling a couple of hairs pulling against her skin, she came out of it practically unscathed.

Once behind the protection of the fences, Willowcloud finally allowed herself to catch her breath, the dogs from outside making their displeasure known in their whines and useless pawing at the fence. Slowly but surely, the sounds quieted until the silence indicated their departure.

With a glance up towards the sky and a silent prayer on her lips, the grey and white she-cat finally turned her gaze to the other, giving a silent nod at her words. She didn't care for twolegs, but she guessed she had no choice in the matter. This was their only protection from the dogs outside. "Thank you," she said, her voice slightly raspy from the run. "It was very noble what you did. If not for you, I don't know if I would have been so lucky in avoiding those dogs."

312 words

@Thorn

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Dog Days Are Over

Post by Thorn on Feb 10, 2023 15:44:31 GMT -5

Post by willowcloud on May 6, 2023 13:55:51 GMT -5

Post by Thorn on May 10, 2023 21:39:24 GMT -5

Post by willowcloud on May 11, 2023 22:41:27 GMT -5

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