live and learn [open]

Something innately terrifying came with the greater world beyond. When secluded to the warmth of a mother, even one adoptive rather than one formed of a blood bond, there was a certain aspect of shelter that secluded the senses from the overwhelming nature of everything outside of them. If one were to be subjected to the cruelty of nature right off the bat, impacts that sudden journey would have to the senses would no doubt be jarring and unavoidable. Significantly detrimental, even, to the health of the youthful life in question. Sensory input firing off left and right was easily a slew of blows that were too much for the average adult, ones who had spent more than just the smallest number of moons having to process it all day in and day out. A new life, on the other hand, had no such time to adjust to the barrage of stimuli outside of whatever protective coccoon a parental figure offered them. It was one of the most basic duties of a parent, to help their young adjust to life, and was one hardly ever failed.

On the instances that it was, however, unique situations arose. Understandably, most would encounter it with a sense of terror, of sheer panic and find themselves growing reclusive from any other attempts to encounter the world beyond the warmth and silence they knew in the womb. There were the rare cases that found themselves finding the exact opposite going on. It was an adrenaline rush that quickly became near addictive, the overloaded senses being something to take apart and decipher rather than something to run away from and pretend never existed. To encounter such a level of curiosity from a young age was unique to say the least, and concerning to be much more accurate.

Such statements didn't bother the young alabaster molly that found herself traveling outside of the warm shelter she'd somehow come to call a home. There was far too much she had already encountered in her young life to even truly be able to begin to say she had a mother during those crucial moments, but certainly found that role to be satisfied by another feline that roamed the forest she had been taken to. Honey-tinted eyes searched momentarily for the familiar multicolored pelt, for the fluffy tail that she'd unintentionally been drawn to as a source of warmth and comfort. But those efforts to search were soon enough drawn away by the flitting of a creature, the movement instantly capturing all of the kit's attention. Widened eyes and scrambling paws decided to attempt to give chance, but not for long, as soon enough, another disruptor of sensory input would catch her attention in turn.

Voices. They were both the easiest thing for her to tune out, but simultaneously, the hardest. There was simply so much to be pulled from them. How had life made their voice that way? Did they use it too much? Too little? Too loudly, too softly? Why did they speak at the volume they did? Was it possible to turn them down without prompting, to make them louder? How did they feel? She'd found herself subconsciously processing all of these questions at once whenever she heard a voice, particularly one she didn't recognize. The small, white chest heaved with a ferocity as if she had just found herself running around the camp in an attempt to hunt down the latest predator to come attack, but was instead simply the kitten's body working overtime to try and take in everything around her.

The scents, the sights, the sounds. There was always so much, something new to draw her attention. At some point, she simply had to stare off into the distance, her gaze turning towards a familiar picture so that her young mind could put its full focus on processing every other tidbit of information around her. High-pitched voices of those she knew she shared the echo chamber of a nursery with could be heard, so those were quickly tuned out. Older voices came next, ones she didn't quite know, so while her gaze seemed to be away, they got her attention. Did she know them? Potentially. But they hadn't found their way into her memory quite yet...

Distracted as she was, it meant the perfect opportunity for anyone around her to sneak up and forcibly steal her attention. If there was any cat on their way to do so, it eluded her senses. There was simply too much to focus on.