Closed The Colony Two sides of a fine line // Ghost and Moth

[Mothbite]

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The forest had rapidly gotten colder over the last few days. The pleasant chill of leaffall had quickly been replaced with the grey skies and bitter cold of leafbare. The colony cats found themself helpless against the encroaching season, and the hunger that would surely come with it.

Moth felt as if he had only one option - to follow Sable and his gang. It seemed promising- more promising, at least, than sitting around and waiting for Hawthorne to decide he wanted to do something to help. He knew the plan wasn't popular. Many arguments had already broken out, and relations had been strained over the conflict. It was likely to tear the colony apart, sooner or later. The thought made his stomach turn. It wasn't as if he was particularly close with any other cats, but knowing that the cats who he'd shared meals with, who he'd slept next to during cool nights, would soon be his enemies.

He turned to survey the cats gathered around the camp - possibly his last glimpse of all of them living peacefully together. His gaze settled on a figure resting alone - a massive, scarred tomcat. Gathering his courage, he made his way over.

"Ghost." he mewed, timidly. "How has the weather been treating you?"
It was clear he had other things he wanted to ask - Moth had rarely been one for pleasantries. But he did respect Ghost, and at the very least would like to avoid any extra conflict, if he could.

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[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

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Ghost wasn't one for smalltalk. While his replies were never outright rude or unfriendly, it had been noted by most that he generally did not initiate conversation with others unless he had a reason to. More often than not that 'reason' had been curiosity, something he'd thought he'd lost as a kit. He supposed it was to be expected, though. As much as he tried to detach himself from it all, he was still bound to the world and those trapped in it with him. And this this place, with it's cats who claimed to care, were an oddity to him he was unfortunately compelled to try and understand– if only to better his own understanding of the world he'd been kept isolated from.

Despite his aversion to chatter, however, cats still seemed keen on talking to him. They didn't shy away from his scarred face or hesitate when his unflinching gaze met their own. Didn't seem to sense the danger sitting right in front of them at all. It was as curious as it was irritating, and more often than not Ghost didn't know what to make of it.

"Well enough." he replied, his gruff tone holding none of the hesitation that Moths did, but also a clear lack of enthusiasm. He'd never been a very animated cat. Had never been one to welcome another with a warm smile and kind words. He simply answered when spoken to, as he was taught to do.

Only here, the conversations weren't so one sided. There was a certain expectancy here that when someone initiated conversation, that you conversed back, even if you hardly knew the tom or shecat speaking with you. It was a civility that did not exist where he came from, and he found it a struggle to adapt even though it was as simple as letting words fall from his mouth.

"I expect it'll get worse before it gets better, though. " he offered, not quite sure what had even prompted Moth to come over in the first place.

Their company wasn't unacceptable though. Moth was a lot quieter than other cats that had a tendency to follow him around, and seemed to know when to mind his business as well, unlike a certain medic.
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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

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[Mothbite]

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indent "That is what it's looking like, huh." Moth visibly deflates - it was the truth, but Ghost didn't need to say it so bluntly! "That's true... We probably aren't getting nice sunbathing weather until leafbare ends..." What a shame... taking nice naps in warm patches of sun is one of the few pleasures in Moth's miserable life. He wasn't looking forward to the moons of huddling up in the cold. "You seem pretty tough though, so i'm sure you'll be fine!" Moth gives Ghost his best attempt at a friendly smile, but it turns out more like an awkward grimace. "I bet you could get through anything, no problem."

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[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

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Dark eyes slid away from the other, wondering what exactly it was about him that made these cats find him so approachable. He'd been spoken to by his 'peers' more in the last few weeks that he had in the last year, and he couldn't tell which was to blame– them, or him.

His confusion and aversion to it didn't paint him as needlessly cruel, though, just distant and aloof. Reluctantly willing to engage so long as boundaries were minded and they didn't expect him to put much into the conversation. He considered it a training exercise like anything else, albeit an unpleasant one, just a way to prepare himself for civil encounters in the future since apparently not every cat would be his enemy.

"It's too bad there's no empty twoleg buildings nearby. Might not be as warm as the sun, but it'll keep the wind off your back."

Dark eyes glanced toward the other, wondering what exactly it was they wanted. Their praise made his fur want to prickly in wary warning, unsure how to interpret it. It didn't seem malicious, but he couldn't bring himself to accept it as wholly innocent like he had with Thunder, either, simply because he didn't know moth well enough to guess their intentions.

Not that he knew Thunder any better, he told himself.

He hummed in agreement at their words. "Could do with some longer fur, though." he replied, a dry sort of humor. Ghost knew he was strong, that when it came to physical capabilities he didn't want for much, but come winter even he was vulnerable to the cold.

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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

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[Mothbite]

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indentMoth hums in cautious agreement.

indent "Cuddling up in an old twoleg den sounds way better than hanging around this place!" he mews, punctuating his remark with an anxious laugh. "Even if it weren't for the cold, the energy has been pretty... tense, recently. It's usually a lot more peaceful, you know." When Moth and Rat had first come to the colony, skittish and underfed, it had been like finding water in a drought. Moth didn't have to be on edge at all times - he could rest, and share food from the other cats until he regained enough strength to hunt for himself again. It was the first sense of 'peace' he had ever known.

indentGhost had never seen the colony like that. He's only ever known them as a gang of starving rouges, constantly at eachother's throats. The thought leaves Moth with a heavy feeling in his belly. Was the colony that he knew gone, for good?


indent'Quit thinking like that! Once Sable's in charge, he'll sort everything out. It'll all go back to normal soon'

indentMoth sighs, his shoulders sagging. "You must think we're pretty pathetic, huh. One sick old cat, a little bit of hunger, and we're all thrown into chaos." He turns away from Ghost, avoiding his gaze. His ears redden in shame.

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[GHOSTSTRIKE]

WE SLEEP SAFELY AT NIGHT BECAUSE ROUGH MEN STAND READY TO VISIT VIOLENCE ON THOSE WHO WOULD HARM US

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Never said anything about cuddlin' up. he thought with an inward huff, though he supposed that was just one more thing these cats were odd for– wanting to pile into each others nests. The topic was of little interest to the tom, but the next was not. Talk of the colony being peaceful was enough to draw Ghosts dark gaze back to the tom, signifying he was listening. He wasn't sure if he believed it, but the way some of these cats thought and acted– it was almost as if they weren't used to the tension and hardship. And while Thunder had once told him there was plenty to fear out there, so far the only thing Ghost had seen worth worrying about was other cats.

But as normal as that might be for Ghost, it didn't seem to be Moths normal. And while Ghost was far from an expert on reading cats, he was almost certain he recognized the shame in their eyes when they looked away from him.

"Business as usual, if you ask me." he replied in that gruff rumble, not in order to ease the other toms guilt, but because it was the truth. Ghost had only ever known bleak circumstances and constant rivalry. There'd been no prey pile for the cats of the Coalition. The Hind Mark played 'tag' with the dogs while the Shoulder Mark did their hunting and patrolling, and then Ghost and his cats were left to hunt the scraps with no backup of their own.

"It's the first part that seems off. he admitted. Doesn't seem sustainable."

Peace was a word that had lost meaning to Ghost long ago. When the Coalition had first formed, all those smaller colonies coming together to form one powerhouse, peace had been the goal. To drive out the dogs and reclaim their home. And what had that gotten them? Generations of cats, born into a cause that ended up a twisted facsimile of the original concept. A natural conclusion to such a foolish notion.

The tensions growing between the two sides was enough proof of that for the dark tabby. Though, it did leave questions, curiosities he wished he could snuff out. "How long did it last, your 'peace'?"
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future thunderclanner - male - a large, grey tabby with dark amber eyes and several scars​

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[Mothbite]

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indentNot sustainable? Moth's brow crinkles in doubt. He supposes he hasn't seen a group of cats yet that hasn't fallen apart. He didn't stick around his mother's group very long, but he can't imagine they lasted much longer after everything. The colony in the forest was the only other place he had ever bothered to stick around, and look at where that had ended up. Granted, he hadn't been around very long himself - maybe if he lived long enough, he'd see a group that could make it through this sort of thing.

indent"How long... I'm not sure, really. I only got here six moons ago." Moth tilts hishead to the side, trying to bring up past memories. "I was in real bad shape, at the time. Barely alive, even. But they took me and Rat in anyways. Serpent spent a long time nursing me back to health, before I was on my paws again. I owe her an awful lot." Moth face morphs into a warm smile, for just a second, before falling again. "Not like I've been especially good to her lately, though." He mutters, dejected.

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