land of plenty (s)

A sleek, silvery shadow darted from thicket to thicket in the little patch of woodland, scarcely able to contain her delight. After so long spent wandering, wandering- walking and running and hiding in carts and cars and even a boat- Rose had finally arrived in a land of plenty. Even this late in the year, the snow had not fallen, leaving green grass and cheery brooks and leaves of every colour imaginable, as if the foxfire from the north had turned them all to sunsets. There were more humans here, true, but in her travels Rose had learned to use them to her advantage, to avoid them when necessary, to flee their hairless paws when things went south. At any rate, there were none in the garden in the evening.

Rose’s blue gaze landed upon a robin, all fluffed up in preparation for winter, scratching for worms on the ground. He looked thin, and for a moment she almost regretted her role as predator; but the rumbling in her stomach could not be ignored. Quietly, she slunk forwards, gathering herself for the jump. Every step mattered. Even though she had been gone for… a while, the instinct native to the grinding ice, the knowledge that she could go without seeing prey again for days- it lingered.

And so did the instinct for danger.

With a startled squawk, the robin took to the skies at the same moment that a wily shape rushed out from the shadows and nearly sunk its sharp teeth into Rose’s paw. The silver molly yelped, springing away and lashing out wildly at the- ermine? Brown ermine? Whatever it was, it growled menacingly at her, with beady little eyes. Oh, how she hated these things, the souls of evildoers trapped in cat-like form to wreak havoc on the living. This one, however, seemed small and scrawny- perhaps other cats had triumphed against it?

“Go away,” Rose hissed, sinking her claws into the ground, fur puffed in panic. “I- I’m not scared of you!”

Rose attempted to catch a robin and failed, costing 7 SP! Weasel has appeared! Rose used Dodge-and-Fight, dealing 5 damage and costing 7 stamina.


Rose
35/35 HP
63/70 SP (-7)

Weasel
15/20 HP (-5)
135/135 SP

The member 'Cocoa' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 9

roll for dodge counterattack

The member 'Cocoa' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Effect Dice' : 5

Before Rose could turn tail and flee, the ermine-thing sprung at her, sinking its fangs into her paw. Gods, why could she not remember the protective charm? The silvery molly sunk her claws into the thing’s silky fur, stomach lurching at the sensation of its unnaturally flexible spine, before she slammed it down on the ground, heart racing. She could not get the thing off- gods, why wouldn’t it come off? Dark-spawn, cursed thing- oh, gods, why must these things be even here?

Weasel used Gripping Bite, dealing 7 damage and costing 15 stamina. Rose used Front Paw Strike and Dirty Trick, dealing (6+ 5) HP and costing (7+ 7) SP.

Rose
28/35 HP (-7)
46/70 SP (-14)

Weasel
4/20 HP (-11)
120/135 SP (-15)

Finally, the brown ermine-like thing seemed to have had enough, releasing its grip and fleeing into the bushes. Rose stood panting and shaking until the sound of its paws faded into the distance, her paw bloodied. Was this a sign, that she had truly been cast off and abandoned? Surely not; she had faced ermine before, back before everything, and even a wolverine once. It was just a coincidence… surely. If it was more than a coincidence, she would need help to know. Surely she could not be expected to assume that everything was a sign.

With a sigh, Rose turned to leave, eyes catching on the sight of a squirrel sitting on a low branch, seemingly confident in its ability to evade her claws. Even the sight made her stomach growl.

The moment she took a hesitant step towards it, bloodied paw held off the ground, the dratted beast fled up into the trees where she could not follow. Ah well. There would be food in the alleyways, kind housecats eager to share their kibble, generous humans with their metal-tasting meat. It would’ve been nice to have real prey again, but she would survive. Here, there were other options.

Weasel has fled! Rose has failed to catch a squirrel.

The member 'Cocoa' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Hunting Dice' : 6