Open Shipyard SOMEONE TO WATCH ME DIE — INTRODUCTION

Threads taking place in the abandoned shipyard.

PYTHON

♱ . MEGALOMANIA
1
1
Freshkill
5
Pronouns
She / Her
Played by
Tempest

"Run, Great Wolf! For even the hunter becomes the hunted at the end of his day, and it is your time now. Us, the Little Rabbits, shall give chase until the moon turns its belly away and until the grasses fall back into dirt."

The fairytale had been one of the last words that Python uttered to her children, like bloodshed laid gently upon her wake, a corporal reminder of what she had always been. The molly hated that such a mawkish, sentiment string of falsehood would be what her children remembered her as, but perhaps it was much better than the scarlet-stained, half-dead corpse that had become. Metallic tang enfolded her tongue, drowning what verse of heresy that budded within ivory-lined maw. She could not take them in her exile, for they would surely become overspill in the bloodbath that former subjects decreed, and she could not bare any wounds - material or immaterial - that would befall her kittens. Victimless crime had befallen her, for could a martyr ever be a victim, and could a tyrant ever be felled from her legacy? Even if they were born of bastard blood, Python still cared for her children - thus, the most kindness she would ever bestow upon them would be to sever herself from their lives. The woman only held her Goddess close as she ran, but even She became a sequin plastered upon an afterthought in the face of starvation and thirst, reduced to mere prayer pushed into puddled breath. Looking into the breadths of the night sky, Python became acquainted with another feeling that her kingdom had shielded her from - the alienating sense of being alone amongst the stars, and none would speak of guidance nor grace. Solitude as running turned to walking to hobbling and finally, to stopping underneath shrouded shelter.

Python wandered for what seemed like eternities afterwards, as if time engorged itself within her ailing and aching form, a stagnant yet superimposed force. It had only been one full turn of the moon, though, as it slowly arose to be the same as it was when she left. Now, it was morning, and the sun peeked curiously upon her wiry and torn features. The world had not been kind to her, despite her reverence. Her Goddess did not whisper to her, despite her piety. Paws ached as the wiry molly reached the coastline now, soft waves a crown adorning the thankless sands, and sparkling sea extending to form the veil. Weariness dusted at her eyes, and though she attempted to blink it away, she knew it would not phase from her so easily. This was her salvation - a ceaseless expanse, an ever-churning chaos below. Salt-crusted scent informed her that she was farther from home than she had ever been, like a brocade of new and overwhelming senses, though she deftly weaved through them in search of a place to rest her feet. She continued walking, for there was little else to do but continue forwards.

It had not been long until her nostrils detected the strong mark of civilization, as if drivel from the maw of Lady Luck herself, of whom had turned a cold shoulder to her until this very moment. She had taken her most beloved subject to a place where strange 'tails' of planks, like trees stripped of their pelts of greenery, held themselves to the water. By now, the morning had ripened into a glaring mess upon the waters. It was not ideal, but it was what she happened upon first. Python waited near the shade for some passerby to walk into her field of view, allowing the gloom to envelop her as vermeil did to the fresh wound, a vulnerable yet protected blister upon her brittle body. The shadow accuentated skin curling inwards to reveal jutting ribs, and once-fed muscles now almost withered beneath sinew. Perhaps it was best to act as though she were an ailing vagrant rather than an overthrown leader... The molly could only hope that the group who lived here took kindly to strangers, and took little offense to who she had been before this moment. From now, I am nobody except for the name I bear. I have let go of my past shames and failures. Thick saliva seemed to compact in her throat as she swallowed. She remembered, she remembered so well that it hurt to even become the vessel for such terrible memories. Her kittens... could they bear to see the woman she had unraveled into? Could they live with themselves, knowing that their mother had given them up so easily?

She breathed out again, as if to expel away the doubts that clung so stubbornly to paper-thin windpipe. They would not be her voice now, nor her vice. I have let go of those who knew me before.

  • Was intentionally a little vague about her backstory, but to be clear, she is at the end of the Shipyard's borders :3
  • image
  • PYTHON & SHE/HER & 32 MOONS
    —— Member of the Shipyard
    —— A thin, lanky molly with stark tawny ticked tabby coating and molten-sun yellow gaze. She has large, angular ears and a marbled-carved countenance.
    —— Aloof and silent, Python strikes most as the type of cat to lay low. She cares not to divulge where she came from, and any attempts to pry into a past life are met with bared teeth and daggered glare. Ruthless efficiency makes her a diligent warrior though an impersonable character.
    —— Penned by Tempest. Contact on Discord (naruk4mi) for plots and threads.

 
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Wave of the Shipyard
Wave lazily flicked her tail, her icy blue eyes half-closed as she gazed out at the endless horizon. The rhythmic crash of the sea against the rocks soothed her restless mind, drawing her back to days long gone. Memories of the old captain surfaced, his gruff yet gentle scratches beneath her chin, the countless tales he spun that she had carried with her ever since. And her mother... Her fierce, resilient mama... She flitted through her thoughts. Where was she now? Was she still part of a ship's crew, traveling far across unknown waters? Did she have more siblings scattered in the wide world, or had time and misfortune taken them all?

Wave exhaled softly. They were questions she'd never know the answers to, and she'd come to accept that. She'd built her own family, her own home together with Adder, Rushing, and Crescent. Her beautiful kits, her steadfast mate. A warm smile tugged at her lips as she stretched, claws unsheathing briefly to dig into the wooden surface beneath her. Who knew? Maybe one day, there would be more kits, little ones she could name Cascade or something else inspired by the sea she loved.

Her eyes swept over her surroundings, her smile fading. The harbor she called home felt... different lately. Quieter. Almost like it was withering. The hustle and bustle of twolegs and their strange contraptions had long since dwindled. It was an eerie sort of peace, one that gnawed at the back of her mind.

And then she saw it, or rather... She saw them.

Wave's ears perked as her sharp gaze locked onto a shadowy figure in the distance. A cat? Narrowing her eyes, she pushed herself into a sitting position, sniffing the salty air. The scent wasn't familiar. Her tail flicked twice in thought before she cast a quick glance over her shoulder. Rushing and Crescent were off with Adder, likely up to some mischief, leaving her free to investigate.

Letting out a puff of breath, she leapt down from her perch and padded toward the stranger, her pawsteps light yet purposeful.

" Oi, ye over there! " she called, her voice carrying over the sound of the waves. Her expression was a mix of curiosity and suspicion, her head tilted slightly as her tail swayed behind her. " Are ye new 'round these parts? " Her tone softened just enough to reveal intrigue, though her sharp gaze stayed steady. " What's yer name, stranger? "

HOLD ONTO ME AS WE GO ——・゚✦
・゚✦ —— As we roll down this unfamiliar road

 

Garnet laces her past in ribbons of velvet and pricely perfume. Adorns it in falsified goods to bury the bad. The moons starving and wandering place to place with her mother. The lies. The stealing. Burying her only living relative when illness gripped the molly and only death could unlock those shackled tendrils and release her mother's soul.

Those memories rest six feet below, distanced across the sea she had traveled.

Her life now is beautiful. It is everything lovely and loved; enveloped within her mate and mother of their children. Knot had saved Garnet… and perhaps Garnet had saved Knot. Two down on their luck mollies brought together in the depths of trial and punishment by life itself. Two mollies brought upon a ship as ship cats and bonding through proximity and easy affections.

Those days are behind them now. The shipyard remains, a ghost of what it once was. Haunted by the ragtag cats who lay claim to salt crusted wood and wave licked shores.

Garnet pads a short length behind Wave, bright eyes searching for a blur of movement from a wayward mouse or fluttering of avian wings. What she finds in the distance is not prey, but a predator the likes of herself and the others who live in the shipyard. Wave calls out to them first and Garnet sidles up to flank her, just in case things turned upside down. "You are skin and bones, honey," the sweet mouthed molly observes with a slight downturn of her maw. "There's not a lot we can give ya, but I'm sure someone's brought in a morsel to share," Garnet adds. All their bellies grumble during leafbare but this stranger's must be bellowing.
 
Let's play like we're children and sing till the moons full

Before the day we turn to nothing but sand

The sea was starting to become scarce. She wasn't sure why, the salty waves never let her down when it came to fishing but with the desolate ships rusting along the shore line and wood rotting back into the ocean, it appeared the life under the waters were coming around less and less. It was why she had started to venture away from the beach during her recent hunting trips, stepping into the forest tree line to find some source of prey.

Luckily, the land animals were still around in...not exactly abundance but it was better then the ocean. The she-cat had been lucky this day. Peachy had been able to find a den, chocked full of nuts and a rather fat hibernating squirrel slumbering inside. It was to groggy to put up much of a fight, although she did suffer a bite on her paw that she had reached into the den to drag the overfed rat out. With the plump prey hanging from her teeth along with, not one, but two mice, her steps were light with pride as she made her way back. What a good hunt after days of barely being able to scrounge up a single morsel!

As the red tabby stepped out of the treeline, she was surprised to see a few cats hanging so close to the edge. It was rare they stepped so far from the ocean and it didn't look like they were planning a hunting trip into the trees like she had. She recognized Wave's dual toned coat immediately as well as the spotted coat of a newer arrival, although she hadn't slipped her name into her mind's collection just yet. The last pelt though...she did not recognize, which was rare for cats at the shipyard. Was this someone new?

As her paws carried herself closer, perked ears was able to confirm her suspicion. Wave called the new cat stranger, and the leopard like she-cat she couldn't quite remember the name of mentioned said stranger looking thin. Oh what perfect timing for her to come home!! "MMMMMMPH!!" The call, muffled by fur and tail of the prey she was carrying, was made as she advanced on the three cat near the edge of the docks. Once she got close enough, she dropped her prizes with a bright smile on her maw. "She can have some of mine! I was very lucky hunting today and i was planning on sharimg with everyone anyway~"

Picking up the larger of the two rodents, Peachy tossed it at the paws of the stranger with a smile. "Id give you the squirrel, but i heard eating to much after having so little can be bad for you. But we can still split it if you want! It's rather fat." She prodded the fluffy thing with a paw before laughing. "I found it sleeping in its den. Must have eaten a lot of nuts to get this groggy!" She couldn't help the laugh as she turned her attention back to the skinny she-cat in question. "Name's Peachy! What's yours?"
  • ooc
    —— xxx!
  • string of lyrics / lengty or short quote goes
    here
  • Peachy She/Her
    A Long Haired Red Classic Tabby with Low White & Ocean Blue Eyes
    ❀ Warrior of the Shipyard
    ❀ 36 moons; Ages on the 23rd of every month
    speech thought attack
    ❀ peaceful + healing powerplay permitted
    penned by Taru