Warm and Welcoming [solo]

It was a new, beautiful day in a new, beautiful life. Every day could be a new life when one had the freedom to live it how they chose, and Summer was fortunate enough to have such freedom. As the slender, narrow-faced loner loped at an easy pace across an expanse of land with sparse foliage that sloped down towards a distant river, she took in the new surroundings that she’d been moving towards for the last quarter moon or so. She had learned from some other traveler of a river that ran through lush fields and thick forests. There was mention of some other cats that had been settled there for generations, but Summer knew cats could only claim so much territory, and there would be something just far enough way that they wouldn’t try to fight for it but she’d still be able to reap the benefits of such a well-rounded environment. Besides, knowing her typical traveling habits, she probably wouldn’t stay long anyways.

It had been raining somewhat relentlessly for the past three or four days, but a blue sky greeted Summer on this day, welcoming her to the new land that would be her settlement for an unknowable duration of time. She was thankful to not be trekking through pools and puddles, though there was mud aplenty to stain her pale ginger paws and forelegs with muck. The rest of her sleek cream pelt with ginger points was shimmering in the daylight. Summer had spent the dawn grooming herself delicately and intricately, and once the world was alight she set off. She had seen the river in the distance the day before. She was certain she would arrive and find a new place to settle in before the sun set that day.

The consistent patterns in the fields that spanned before Summer indicated to her a place where upwalkers must live and tend the grounds. Sure enough, in the distance she could see some nests and dens of upwalker construction. ’Course they’d settle by the river as well, Summer mused with a slight snort of derision. Not a worry, though - they’ll keep to their dens and I’ll shuffle on through. The loner felt comfortable enough with twolegs, but she rarely truly trusted them. They were unpredictable. Some offered kindness, gentleness, affection, and shelter, but others were hostile and would try to entice her before grabbing or trapping her. She’d learned to treat them with caution, for the rewards they could provide were only occasionally worth the risk.

Overhead a few white or mottled birds with dark-tipped wings circled as Summer made her way across the sloping field. Gulls, she thought brightly, just another assurance I’m going in the right direction. Those birds never bothered with cats, but she kept her blue eyes to the sky anyways to watch for any larger, darker shapes like eagles or osprey. She didn’t fancy being some wrathful bird’s source of entertainment. The flame point she-cat wasted no time in crossing the field, and when she reached her first road in days she considered it a good sign. Summer crossed it easily, as even in the mid-afternoon light there was only one monster to be seen or heard. Once she crossed, the upwalker dens loomed high above her and she quickly took to the hedges, yards, and underbrush wherever she could.

She scented a cat here and there on her journey, but the soft and milky scents indicated only pets in the upwalker settlement she’d found. Summer made a note of it nonetheless; house cats were often easy to befriend, and then getting a delicious, fatty meal was as simple as popping by for a visit. Eventually the she-cat crossed through the settlement, and as she headed into the fields on the other side she heard a sound that brought a sweeping joy to her heart: the sound of a flowing river. When she had wandered farther, the terrain began to change, and she sought out a cluster of boulders to ascend to take in the view of her surroundings now.

Summer’s ginger tail raised in delight. She saw the river in the distance, and beyond that trees, and more trees, and further beyond that a moor, and even further were mountains. Her breath caught, then began to rumble a purr of delight. She murmured to herself, "Yes, I think this will do for a while."

Then she set off to find a place to sleep before the day turned to night.