TW: Death Open The Farm It doesn't matter where you roam, when no one's left to call you home [Introduction]

[Hibiscus.'s iconHibiscus.]

{$title} Hibiscus' remembers about his past and looks up for new friends.

Hibiscus woke up agitated. Looking around frantically for his dear owner. Only to remember where he was. A sigh left his mouth. It had been a few months already, but he still had nightmares.

He used to live with a dear old lady, as her only cat and spoiled little son. He received everyday, as lunch and dinner, delicious wet food, of a variety of flavours. Not only that, he lived in a warm and cozy house, full of toys and bes for him to use as he pleased. And the most important part: he lived with his owner, to cuddle whenever he felt like.

He would meow for attention, for pats, for love, and he would always receive it. He was a well loved cat, he felt like no one would ever be as loved as he was.

He lived 12 moons like that. The best 12 moons anyone could ask for. Until, one day, his dear owner just never woke up. He knew she was old, she would complain of pains, and he would do his due deligency: lay on her and purr until she felt better.

It was a day like so many others, it was breakfast time and his owner hadn't woken up yet. So he went to wake her up, like it was his job. He meowed, he touched her, he meowed more. She was so, so cold.

It took a whole day for someone to come see how she was and find Hibiscus meowing loudly for help. One of her children, the one who visited Hibiscus' dear owner often, came to see her. She cried so much, and Hibiscus cried with her. But she did remember to feed Hibiscus as she cried. She patted him, saying things he couldn't understand very well, until people came and took his owner away.

Hibiscus cried so much, yelled as best as he could. But his owner's daughter only picked him up and did not allow him to go with his owner. They cried together for a bit.

One day. That's what Hibiscus was allowed to mourn for his owner. One whole day and The Daughter picked him up, gave him some more food and then took him for a car ride.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we just can't take care of you," The Daughter kept saying, crying and crying.

She drove Hibiscus to the farm, put a container with some wet food and another with water on the ground. Hibiscus gladly went for the wet food, leaving the car. As soon as he left, The Daughter closed the car's door and left him there.

Once he noticed, he ran towards the car, yelling as best as he could: "You forgot me! You forgot me!" She never came back.

Every night Hibiscus would dream of his owner. Dream of his days in a cozy home, dream of his wet food, lunch and dinner, always served at the right time. And some nights, the dreams were nightmares: the day his owner never woke up, the day he was abandoned by The Daughter.

But that was life. And he couldn't mourn forever. He stretched his back, and went about his day.

"Today is the day I make a friend," he decided, cheerfully. Living alone was starting to be more of a bother than it was worth.

He saw a cat passing by and he immediately perked up.

"Hey, hello! I'm Hibiscus, what is your name?" he asked, a big smile on his face.

 

[Meadowpaw]

The cold days dragged on, each one stretching out longer than the last. When it was bitter and grey out, Mama insisted that Meadow stay inside. Up in the loft, she would watch the other barncats bustle about—imagining herself darting in games of tag with the other kits, or gathering wildflowers in a warm, green world far removed from the frost.

Finally, when the grip of winter loosened just enough, Meadow was allowed to venture outside again. She burst from the barn, ears flinching at her Mama's stern voice, telling her to slow her horses before she got hurt again. "Okay, Mama!" She replied before tromping out into the snow. Her speckled, tri-colored pelt stood out against the pale ground.

Today she was gonna do everything! Run through the snow—pick snowdrops and try to catch mice. She never caught nothin' before but it sure was fun running after them. Everything was an adventure, and she was looking forward to stretching her legs.

Just as she was about to go tromping around looking for something to do, a cream-colored tom appeared at the barn's edge. Frozen mid-stride, Meadow's ears swiveled nervously. She thought of Mama's warning about strange cats. But there were lots of cats around the barn, she couldn't keep track of them all never mind remember names. Still, Meadow was sure she hadn't seen him before.

"I'm Meadow…" She chirruped softly, offering a hesitant smile in return. "Do I… know you? I don't think I've seen you around before." It was probably okay to give her name—she was just being polite. So as long as she didn't wander far from the barn with him. Mama was sure to give her a nice cuff over the head if she did.

__________There's a place where all the stories begin ✿ Begin with you and me___________

• "speech" - thoughts
  

• 

• Meadow she/her & barncat
  ✿ Black and red tortoiseshell w/ high white and green eyes.
  ✿ 6 moons
  ✿ Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted.
  ✿ Fur smells floral and mildly sweet.
  
  
  penned by Scarlet​

 

[Hibiscus.'s iconHibiscus.]

"Ah, I don't think so! I'm kind of new here," Hibiscus said unsure, a small and quick nervous laugh leaving his mouth. He could feel his heart beating fast, he was so nervous about finally being able to talk to someone. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Meadow!"

Hibbie made a pause, unsure of how to follow the conversation. He did want a friend, of course he did! It was the thing he he wanted most right at that moment! However, he wasn't expecting that the first cat he found to talk to would be so young. He looked at Meadow for a moment: yeah, she seemed to be no more than half of his age. If he was stipulating correctly her age.

"Sooo... are you... alone here...?" Hibiscus asked, his face turning in a worried frown. He wasn't that ready to parent a child either, but neither would he leave her alone like that. "You seem awfully young to be wandering all alone."

Not that Hibiscus knew much about how wild cats worked. He was used to having someone taking care of all his needs until, well, two moons ago. Maybe small kittens could wander around alone from a small age. Well, actually, he wasn't even sure if she was that small either. He was an indoor cat, and he had no interaction with other cats since he was taken from his mother, having only one or two moons. She sure was younger than him, and she seemed like a kid. Guessing more than that was hard for him.

 

[Meadowpaw]

Meadow eyed the tom with a mix of curiosity and wariness. The barnyard was home to all kinds of cats, coming and going, so his sudden appearance didn't surprise her too much. What was more interesting was the faint upwalker scent clinging to him—strange, so different from the barn's mildewed wheaty smells. She wondered how he got here. Had he escaped from his upwalkers somehow? There wasn't wrong with that. He was far from the first Meadow had met.

Her tail flicked nervously when he asked about her family, and she shifted on her paws. Did he realize how creepy that sounded? Meadow was taught to be honest, but she didn't wanna make him upset neither. "My family's here in the barn. Mama, big sister Nugmeg, and b…" Meadow clamped her maw shut like she almost said something foul. In her family, mentioning her older brother was a bit no. The only time Meadow ever saw her Mama cry was when she slipped up once, asking about him. After that Mama told her never to talk about him again. Nugmeg always got sad too when she brought him up, so she didn't anymore.

She recovered swiftly, a soft smile on her face as though nothing had happened. "Also mister, that's pretty rude. I'm six moons old! Plenty old enough to go exploring." She wasn't sure that Mama agreed, especially about her little expeditions, but she always found a way. Meadow could be sneaky if she needed to be. But most of the time long as she didn't wander far from the barn, it was allowed.

He wasn't from around here, and Meadow wondered if he would be ok. Sure, he was an adult, but if there was one thing she knew, it was that the barn was full of things that could get a newcomer hurt—the chicken coop, the rafters, lesser friendly barncats than herself. "Besides, you said you're new. So if you want, I can show you around. Wouldn't want you getting lost and wandering into the chicken coop—trust me, you don't want to mess those birds. They get real mean."

__________There's a place where all the stories begin ✿ Begin with you and me___________

• "speech" - thoughts
  

• 

• Meadow she/her & barncat
  ✿ Black and red tortoiseshell w/ high white and green eyes.
  ✿ 6 moons
  ✿ Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted.
  ✿ Fur smells floral and mildly sweet.
  
  
  penned by Scarlet​

 

[Hibiscus.'s iconHibiscus.]

"Ah, I see!" Hibiscus nodded, trying not to show so clearly how relieved he was to know Meadow had family close by. Of course, Hibiscus was an open book and his whole body showed relief. And, well, she did say she had enough age to be around alone, so one less thing for him to worry about. "Good, good, it's important to always be close by your family, you know? You never know when danger may arise!"

If there was one thing Hibiscus was, besides cheerful, it was oblivious. He sure had a way of saying stuff that sounded, well, notas good as he expected. At all.

"I am indeed new here, yes. I would really appreciate a tour around!" Hibiscus nodded enthusiastically, a big smile plastered on his face. "I didn't even know we had chickens around! I was never allowed to play with birds before..."

Hibiscus smiled fondly, recalling how his former owner would scoop up any bird that entered their house. 'Birds are friends, not food', as she would always tell him. Not that he would truly listen. He would test his hunting skills at any given opportunity.

 

[nutmeg ♡]

Meadow isn't in Ma's nest, which isn't exactly unusual per se, but she swears her heart skips a beat as her spying unearths it. The earth would have to freeze twice over before Nutmeg would sit and have a half decent conversation with her mother, so she turns on her paws and starts searching by herself. In fact, shes sure if she asked, and unbeknownst to her Meadow had asked, she would say she didn't know where her kit went. She grumbles under her breath as she scales a fencepost, spotting her sister at first. "Meadow? Are you there?" she squints, and then sees an unfamiliar cat right besides her little sister.

Her paws scramble faster than they ever have towards the pair.

Her fur bristles instinctively, as if she could ever help it, as she arrives right next to Meadow in the tail-end of their conversation. She does not miss the fact that Meadow almost mentions another, and her throat tightens and her mouth dries. She has no choice but to brush past it like it never happened, taking a deep breath before she speaks warily. "And i'm Nutmeg." her ear flicks, eyeing the stranger with a sort of morbid curiosity and suspicion. "Meadow doesn't have a chance to be in danger." she knows not to take the strangers words personally, but some sort of protective indignation flares in her chest. He smells like the house cats that would escape their nests and come here, so she relaxes just a little bit. Naivety is what this must be, the questions, the lack of fear about strangers. For all he knows, Meadow could have been just as dangerous as he could have been, and thats a funny thought. She cannot imagine her sister as fierce, only views her as a precious thing; "You might want to be careful." falls from her mouth before she can stop it, and she backtracks quite quickly with a slight look of shock. Sounds more like a threat than anything... Oops! "I mean- No one here is going to hurt you, but there are dogs around. And the upwalkers." she stiffly nods. She, herself, avoids most and all interactions with the two-legged creatures, shes seen what their monsters, or even hands, can do to cats.

"N' stay away from the horses, while you're at it." she thinks of Hush's crumpled body. Her heart skips another beat. "They're startled easy. Wouldn't go by that pasture at all if I were you." she murmurs, trying to be helpful if the stranger decides the barn was the place to settle down, though it seems hes already made up his mind. She nudges Meadow gently. "Come on, buttercup, i'll let you show em' around."

 

[Pebble]

pebble

I'm on top of the world, 'ey, waiting on this for a while now, paying my dues to the dirt

Pebble had been watching Meadow and Hibiscus with wide, curious eyes, his tail flicking eagerly as he crouched low to the ground. His ears flattened against his head in concentration, he was stalking, perfecting his technique. And so far? He was doing very well. They hadn't noticed him yet! But then Nutmeg joined the group, and Pebble let out an exaggerated sigh before springing forward, his cover blown. " Not alone! Not in danger! Have no fear, for I-- " he puffed out his chest dramatically, flashing a big, toothy grin at Nutmeg. " Was looking after her! " He bounced from one paw to another before rounding on Hibiscus with an eager smile.

" I've seen you around a bit! But I don't think we've really talked! I usually talk a lot with other cats, but there's been so many new faces lately, I think I lost track of some, sorry about that! I'm Pebble! And you're Hibiscus, right? " He rattled on, nodding enthusiastically. Then, as if just remembering, he turned back to Nutmeg with a determined nod. " Oh! And you should listen to Nutmeg, because she's right, you know! There are dogs, and some of them are very dumb and don't understand that they can't hurt us, because that would just be mean! Swiftwatcher and Merry got a nasty bite from a dog a while back! And horses? Very dangerous! But I think Buck is learning how to ride one. He'll be a horse cat! " Pebble beamed, clearly delighted by the idea.

But then… Wait.

Was he talking too much again?

He hesitated before turning to Meadow with a sheepish grin. " Um… Can I join the tour? I promise I'll try not to talk too much…! "

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[Meadowpaw]

Shaking off all those heavy chains
Now I will find my own way

.

"Well, I wouldn't play with those. They almost pecked me real good once, and all I wanted was a feather." Meadow's whiskers twitched, recoiling slightly as she recalled how she'd almost become chicken scraps trying to get that feather for Ashen. They were faster than they looked, those beady-eyed, feathery critters.

Before she could properly begin the tour, a familiar voice rang beside her. Seemed like every time she so much as poked her nose outside the barn, somecat or somebody was already on her tail. Nutmeg had a knack for showing up at just the right time, like she had tunnels hidden all over the farm, waiting to pop out of nowhere.

Not that Meadow minded, really—she was always happy to see her sister. "Meggie!" She brushed against her sister, tail wriggling. But she seems a bit tense... is it cause of the stranger?

And then—another voice. "Pebble?" Meadow blinked, ears flicking in surprise. "How long have you been there?" Had he been hiding this whole time? She hadn't even noticed him.

"And I can look after m'self, I'll have you know!" She stood up straighter, puffing out her chest. "Mama says I'm big enough that I can take care of myself before long." She postured, making sure they got a good look at just how tall she was now. Meadow thought she was almost as big as Nugmeg and Mama, if she stood on her toes a little.

Pebble got to rambling and Meadow listened, her whiskers twitching. "No way those things are gonna let Buck ride 'em." She hadn't been there to see what happened to Hush, but she'd heard about it. Meadow didn't want anyone else to get hurt… "They kick real hard… Buck shouldn't do that." Meadow mewls softly.

She hadn't been expecting extra company for her little tour, but she didn't mind it at all. Actually, she was kind of excited. Her tail curled high, beckoning them to follow her.

"Let's go to the chicken coop first!"


Speech, thoughts/emphasis

6 MOONS

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BARNCAT

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SONG

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bio

 

[Hibiscus.'s iconHibiscus.]

Hibiscus felt a bit dizzy with so many cats appearing out of the blue. He watched as they talked back and forth. However, they all seemed friendly and helpful, so who was he to complain about it? "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Nutmeg and Pebble!"

He listened attentively to all of their recommendations. "I see, I see! Stay away from dogs, and chickens, and horses, and upleggers," Hibiscus said, nodding along. He found it a bit funny how worried the little cats were about him. He was already an adult, he could take care of himself. Probably. Maybe. Well, maybe not that easily, but he was sure things would turn alright. "Anything else?"

"I don't expect to be here for long, anyway! My owner's kid forgot me here, but I'm sure she will come back to pick me up again. She has been taking her time, sure, but I know for sure that at any moment she will be back!" Hibiscus smiled softly, nodding along. It had been two whole moons, but he was sure she would remember their time together and she would come back. She wouldn't just abandon him like that, right? "But a tour does sound nice!"

___________________ WHEN MY TIME COMES DOWN ☆ I WILL BE FOUND ___________________

• "speech"
  

• 

• HIBISCUS he/him, barn cat, 14 moons.
  ☆ Cream ticked tabby, stands of average height, with a little scruff in his chin.
  ☆ Mentoring no one
  ☆ Ex-kittypet in need of friends
  ☆ Peaceful and healing powerplay permitted
  ☆ Penned by Elliot ↛ draculaelliot on discord, feel free to dm for plots.