Closed The Colony don't lie to yourself [Cherry]

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN​

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There were pros and cons to living with a colony, Wolf was learning. On the positive, it was a lot harder to get snatched up by a hungry mutt or hawk with so many eyes and ears out, and if worst came to worse he wouldn't freeze to death this winter since a good portion of the cats here seemed oddly co-operative with one another. But on the negative, having so many cats crammed into one space made it a competition for resources, and as the days went by more and more cats were struggling to keep themselves fed and warm from the early frost. Some got lucky and had other cats to take pity on them, offering up morsel of food or bits of bedding, but he wondered how long that apparent 'kindness' would last.

At first he'd assumed they were just family groups looking out for each other, but in the short time he'd been there observing, it'd become more and more clear that something else was going on here. These cats had alliances to each other that went beyond the bonds or obligations of kin, and more than once Wolf had wondered 'why?'. Why did these hunters give up their prey to the kits and queens and injured? Why did they patrol the borders together instead of squabbling over it themselves? He was so used to being among his own kind– loners and rogues– that he was still finding it hard to grasp the idea that these cats were simply doing this because they wanted to.

But he stayed, and he watched, even if he didn't intend to participate in their little sharing games– not without a good reason, at least. And as it was now, the colony wasn't structured enough for him to afford expending effort on anyone but himself. From what he'd heard from the other cats and their gossiping, the leader had been sick for a while now and was essentially letting things fall apart in his stead. Which meant there probably wouldn't be a colony for much longer anyways– not unless someone decided to grab the bull by the horns and take charge.

So far, he hadn't seen anyone go for it. Not even the guys own son.

Out in the territory away from the noise of camp, Wolf crouched low to the ground, still and silent as mismatched eyes kept themselves locked on the prey a few paces ahead of him. A rabbit. It was a small thing, the early frost and frequent rains having kept it from feeding properly, likely driving it– along with much of the other prey– into it's burrows. But today had been decent enough. Cloudy, but no rain. Cold, but not enough for the frost to linger much past the morning.

The rabbit didn't stand a chance. Wolf was on it before it had a chance to break from the undergrowth and lose him in a sprint, it's panicked squeal sharply cut off by a precise, ruthless bite to the neck.

He smirked to himself, lifting his head and licking the blood from his lips as he admired the clean kill. The rabbit itself was nothing to brag about, only big enough to offer him a portion or two as far as meals went, and the pelt would hardly be worth adding to his nest, but his technique had been flawless in it's execution, proof that the dark chimera had not lost his touch.

Some of the colony cats could stand to learn a thing or two from him.

OOC- figured they could bump into each other after each having a successful hunt, and could decide to eat and chat in the company of a fellow hunter?
@Cherryblaze
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loner/future shadowclan - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars​

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[Cherryblaze]

Cherry fluffed up their pelt as they padded through the forest. The frost was starting to melt as the day started to move on but the cold was still lingering, making Cherry cold and grumpy. They had joined the colony not too long ago. After being a loner for most of their life they had really enjoyed the company of having other cats around.Still they did prefer to hunt alone.

Cherry sniffed the air around them trying to see if any prey had crawled out of their dens yet. Come on there has to be something out by now the frost is almost all gone by now, They thought to themselves impatiently, twitching their tail with irritation. They quietly walked a little further then checked again to scent for any prey around. Nothing again, they huffed and padded deeper into the woods hoping to find something. Pausing the scented air around them again when they caught the smell of a squirrel. Then quickly looked up and spotted it eating a nut in a tree.

Finally they had found something and their earlier frustration was beginning to wane. Not only did they find prey but it was distracted and wouldn't see them coming. This is perfect, They thought, smiling as they dropped down into a hunter's crouch. After a few heartbeats they launched themselves up the tree grabbing the squirrel by surprise and biting down quickly on its neck.

The ginger tortoiseshell breathed a sigh of relief and began to climb down the tree to find a nice sunny spot to eat their squirrel. As they walked through the forest they smelled something. Their pelt spiked with alarm before realizing it was just the scent of another colony cat. Forcing their pelt to lay flat again they followed the scent till they found a large scared cat sitting with a rabbit that had been recently killed.

Waving a friendly greeting with their tail they padded closer before meowing a greeting. "Nice catch!" Cherry said, sitting down with their squirrel.

OOC - gotcha!! @Wolf

 

[WOLFPACK]

AND I AM SORRY MY CONSCIENCE CALLED IN SICK AGAIN​

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His head lifted at the sound of approaching pawsteps, and the only thing that kept the monochrome chimera from telling them to buzz off was the sight of the prey hanging from the strangers jaws. He'd seen too many beggars and freeloaders in the colony to let another cat anywhere near his catch before he was done with it– and even then there was no promise he was willing to share. Loners and rogues had to look out for themselves first, and while he technically had been living witht he colony for a couple weeks now, he still didn't consider himself one of them. Not when there was still the question of 'am i even going to be here next week' still hung in the air. So far the group was interesting but nothing worth investing in from his point of view, and at the rate they were going they'd likely be disbanded before the spring less they all starve to death stubbornly hunting the same stretch of land over and over again. With fewer cats it might have been manageable, but like this?

It was just a matter of time before things fell apart.

"Thanks. Same to you." he replied, likely the first genuine compliment he'd given someone since arriving, and his decision to do so was only proven right when she chose to sit down a few paces away. More amused than annoyed that she'd invited herself to dinner, he was willing to let it go on the basis that at least she was eating it herself and not dragging it back to the clan to be eaten by someone else– someone who wasn't guaranteed to repay the favor.

"Looks like the territory's in a giving mood today. I'm surprised given how many mouths there are to feed around here." he noted, the words not so much scathing as they were a simple observation. He had no dog in the fight, after all, nothing keeping him here. If things went south he'd just move on like he always did– but the rest of these cats were odd. Stubborn in their desire to remain with a dying leader and an heir that wouldn't embrace the crown to lead them.
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loner/future shadowclan - male - a large, monochrome chimera with mismatched eyes and several scars​

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