hold on til may [closed]

A growling stomach prevented Hyacinth from being nearly as quiet as she wished she could be. In combination with the crunchy, dried-up leaves littering the ground, all hope of finding prey seemed to be lost upon her. She'd even crossed territories and searched high and low, but it seemed no matter how hard she tried, the prey got away from her somehow or another. Whether it be her clumsy hunting tactics (her only training had very briefly been with Asylum, and that was moons and moons ago) or nearly being caught by a warrior of whatever territory she was hunting in, something always happened, and her stomach remained empty. It felt like a moon since she'd last eaten, and though the rational side of her knew it hadn't been that long ago, the gnawing in her stomach said otherwise.

Her hunger had led her to what she viewed as a last resort- the old camp where she had been made a Scout by Eris, Head of the Asylum. Very little actual time had been spent there, but she thought she knew enough about the camp and where it was to find it and potentially catch some unexpecting prey. Actually locating the camp proved to be much more difficult than she had expected, but eventually, she began to recognize where she was. The camp couldn't have been very far from where she was now, but every muscle in her body was screaming at her to drop right where she was. Sleep felt so close, almost tangible even as she kept walking. Just a little nap couldn't hurt her... Surely, there were no remaining Asylum members around to harm her, anyway. Perhaps she was tired enough that she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit her paws, rather than ruminating on her mother's death and how it had left her helpless. Perhaps, for once, she wouldn't have to think about all the ways in which she felt lost, confused, and abandoned. Almost involuntarily, she dropped to the ground, exhausted. She lay her head on her paws and curled her tail around her side, trying her best to maintain what little warmth her scrawny form had. Sleep felt so close, yet so distant, and she gazed at a distant tree, pushing away the memories that threatened to bring tears to her eyes.

The member 'Maple' has done the following action : Dices roll

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'Invasion Dice' :

The she-cat was watched from the outskirts of the old Asylum camp by cold, piercing blue eyes. Klaus bristled and his claws gouged the earth when she stepped across the borders that he and Tarot had clearly left in place. She was skinny... but why would that be his problem? The white and gold tom moved after her, silently stepping behind her several fox-lengths away. He thought about rushing up behind her and forcing her to the ground many times, but so far, he saw no reason to react with immediate hostility. He scented no clan smell on her... which meant she could be a potential candidate for the crew that he and Tarot were trying to form.

Cats generally disliked you when you reacted with claws first. As she suddenly flopped down in the middle of camp and curled her tail around her, Klaus paused mid-stride. That was it? She came all this way to take a nap? She was clearly in no fighting condition. She wasn't a threat. For several moments Klaus watched her before he slowly reclined into a calm sit.

"Tell me, miss, do you have anosmia?" Klaus spoke softly and his tone held no threat. As a matter of fact, his voice was so soft and comforting that it could soothe a fawn. His face and his body language betrayed no threat at all. Still... under the surface of that angelic softness was a beat ready to spring at the drop of a leaf and tear the she-cat apart. His friend still needed to eat too, and he had a particular taste for cat flesh.

Klaus sat there and patiently awaited an answer from the molly. His eyes were then drawn to her shoulder where...

Was that an Asylum Scout scar? Interesting...

Hyacinth nearly jumped out of her pelt at the sound of a tom behind her, fur raising and tail bushy. Her scared eyes portrayed how little she had expected someone to be present, and it was evident that she was afraid, even if she attempted to conceal it. ”N-No, I don’t think I do, at least.” She mewed carefully, puzzled at what exactly he was talking about. Her expression remained guarded. His tone was clearly not an aggressive one, but she’d met some very deceiving, conniving cats before, and she’d learned to keep her guard up, no matter the appearance of the stranger.

”I’m sorry if I’m on your territory… I’m just looking for food.” She muttered, immediately regretting it and chastising herself in her head. If this tom was looking to harm her, she’d just given away her biggest weakness… Not that it wasn’t immediately obvious by the way that her ribs showed underneath her pelt. ”I don’t mean any trouble. I’ll leave, if that’s what you want.” She mewed, heart pounding. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears as she locked eyes with the tom, still as a sturdy oak. She was ready to dart away at the slightest provocation- moons of running from predators and angry warriors alike had taught her to be swift and nimble.

She had her sense of smell, good. Sort of. "So you did smell the territory markers then?" Now he was on his feet. His tail tip twitched like a rattlesnake's and his eyes suddenly had a hard edge to them. She began to speak and offered to leave if that's what he wanted. Maybe if she was a typical rogue, he may or may not have said yes. However... the Asylum scar on her shoulder had piqued his interest. Another glance at it and his tail finally stopped moving.

"I suppose that depends on what brought you here to begin with." He plunged his left forepaw into the bit of snow that was on the ground and worked it into his right shoulder. The snow melted and became water, causing his medium-length fur to stick to his skin. He swiped over it a few times with his tongue to make sure the image was very very clear.

Klaus turned so his right shoulder was facing the she-cat, revealing the Standard Captain's scars that were hidden there previously. They were a bit marred from his fight with Copperfox, but the mark was there. "Did you come to this place in your time of need because it was familiar to you?" He asked, though whether or not she answered was irrelevant to him. Tarot would likely be back soon, so even if this was one of the more well-trained rogues... and he doubted it given her low rank, he'd have back up if he needed it. She wasn't in the best fighting condition right now either anyway.

"It has been awhile since I have run into another Asylum member... and you're the first one I have found that wasn't confined to a clan. So... why are you on your own?" Her answer could determine how the rest of this encounter was going to go. He wasn't thrilled about letting someone off easy after crossing his border, but if she had a use or was willing to be useful, he was willing to listen.

Recoiling a bit when the tom got up and his gaze hardened, Hyacinth strongly considered running away. She was probably much faster than this tom was, if she had to guess... She could at least escape his grasp if she needed to. "I suppose I did." She said simply, not bothering to explain much further than that. Really, she just didn't want to explain that she was far too exhausted to pay them any mind. Her multi-colored fur stood on end as he smothered the fur on his shoulder, revealing his own Asylum scars. "You were a Captain? Is that why you're here?" She questioned, heart still thumping wildly in her chest. Somehow, the idea that there was still someone left that shared her predicament after Asylum's fall was comforting.

Slowly, Hyacinth sheathed her claws and attempted to relax her muscles, staying alert yet showing that she still meant no harm. "... Yes. Back in newleaf, there was plenty of food here, I knew where to look for it. I was trained here, but I guess you already knew that." She mewed, ears flicking warily. Her mind drifted to her sibling as he spoke of Asylum members within the Clan. She'd abandoned Hyacinth and her family... She deserved to rot with the rest of ShadowClan in the Carrionplace. "That's a long story," Hyacinth commented with a huff, releasing a cloud of thin, wispy hot air from her lips. "My sister abandoned us for the Clans after Eris was killed and Asylum fell. We were going to leave the forest, and find a new place to live- my mother and siblings and me. Plans changed and we turned around to find my sister in ShadowClan. Tavora wanted to 'teach her a lesson,' whatever that meant. She drowned in the deep marsh trying to march us into their camp. My siblings and I split after that, and I haven't seen them since. If I had to guess, they were all killed by those fox-hearts within the Clans." Her resentment for the five Clans of the forest was clear in the manner in which she spoke. Curling her tail over her paws, she shivered in the cold wind that brushed her pelt. She'd lost her animal pelt moons ago, and hadn't bothered trying to take on a predator by herself for fear that she'd lose her life in the process.

Well, if Hyacinth wanted to keep her secrets hush-hush, she'd really messed up now. "I... Don't know why I told you all of that. It's irrelevant. I'm on my own because my family was comprised of a bunch of fluff-for-brains idiots with no sense of loyalty." Anger shined through as she commented on her family members. She had nobody to talk to about these kinds of things, and it all seemed to spill out at once. Though it upset her, she was beyond the point of tears. At times, it felt as though she had no tears left within her to cry. "Anyway, I came here to look for food. Those foxing Clans are so stingy they leave so little prey behind, and they've tightened up their border patrols as well."

Tarot had caught the scent of a cat that didn't belong crossing their border. He had just returned from hunting and was already contentedly full. Still, this was an intruder, he couldn't just let them waltz through. Luckily though, when he arrived at the scene, he saw that Klaus had already confronted the intruder, and caught the tail-end of the conversation.

Stalking out from the underbrush he arrived at his companion's side, looking down at the pitifully thin cat that had decided their land was a great place to take a nap. Crouching down he sniffed the stranger skeptically. "My my, aren't you in a terrible state? Is it that hard for ex-clan cats to survive on their own?" he mused. or maybe it was just easier for him because he was willing to eat any opposition that attacked him, not just waste the perfectly good food the corpses of your enemies offered.

Their little backstory was impressive as well, just going to show how clans were terrible hosts. Still, he supposed purging one's group numbers was a great way to not die in leafbare. Shifting into a sitting position the loner looked over to the pale tom beside him raising a brow. "What do you want to do with them, Klaus?"

Tarot had half the mind to recommend them as a new member for their budding creation of their own gang, or, 'clan' as groups of cats around the forest were called. The stranger had all the motivation they were looking for among future members, and they really needed to start growing their numbers if they were going to try going against the clans. Though getting this cat back into healthy shape would be a troublesome task if they were to do that. Well, he supposed just killing them wouldn't be very hard either, they looked utterly helpless.

Well, he'd leave the decision up to the one that actually had a vendetta against the clans. Tarot was just along for the ride after all.

Klaus watched her reaction and nodded once at her words. "I was a Captain... but with the other captains dead and Eris obviously dead, I daresay that makes me the Asylum Head now." He gave her a smug half-smile, but it didn't last long. He began to pay attention to her story, quietly listening and piecing things together. She was Iniko's daughter... The tension he had in his body relaxed and his eyes softened considerably. Iniko had set him on the path that he was on now... had given him recognition and power that he had craved so much back when he was a newly named warrior.

Stars... how stupid he had been back then. All rage and no thought behind it beyond how to irritate his sister and Redfall as much as possible without getting in trouble. That felt like several lifetimes ago now.

"Iniko was your father." He wasn't asking. He had already figured it out. "I owe him a lot. If food is what you need, I'll gladly catch you something. You can stay here as long as you need to." His eyes flicked around, looking for something to catch, but for the time being it was empty. He'd have to find something else for her elsewhere. If all else failed, he could always snatch one of those kittypet food bowls up from the twoleg place and bring it to her. It wasn't glorious, but it would keep her alive.

She sounded lost and like she needed somewhere to go anyway. He'd had this thought earlier, that they could really use a she-cat to... seriously fix this place. Maybe there would be a job here for her after all and he'd have to tell Tarot to please not ingest their housekeeper. If she worked, then she could eat.

"I have a companion that lives here with me as well. He's a dark brown tabby with odd violet-ish eyes. His name is... Tarot." As if on queue... Tarot had appeared. He nodded once at his companion, though for the moment all was under control. He paused for a moment as a song bird flew low overhead. His eyes locked onto it when it changed direction and he kicked hard off of the ground to intercept it's flight. Claws smacked the little bird from the air, one that clearly had not been expecting even a cat to jump as high as Klaus did. He swiftly crushed the small, fragile neck between his teeth and ended it's life.

Without hesitation, Klaus brought it to the she-cat and dropped it at her feet. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. "The Asylum knew me as Dawnhawk. My rogue name is Klaus. I am also not fond of the clan cats. We have more in common than I thought we would." His eyes then went to Tarot, thinking along the same wavelength of letting her stay.

"I knew her father. He helped me acquire power and recognition in the Asylum. I was never able to pay him back before he died, so..." His voice trailed off, letting Tarot fill in the blanks like he knew he'd be able to. He wanted the she-cat to stay, but if Tarot had objections... well... The bottom line was that he and Tarot had a bond and a pact already, and while he felt he still had a debt to Iniko, it did not change the fact that the tom was dead. A dead cat and his wayward daughter could only help him so much...

An airy sigh parted Hyacinth’s lips, with a little shake of her head at the tom’s remark. ”That’s a good thought, isn’t it?” She said sadly, becoming a bit more comfortable as Klaus visibly relaxed as well. Her father’s name sparked little interest in the she-cat, as she’d never had the privilege of meeting him. Food, however, meant much more to her than mention of her late father’s name. Ears perked, hopefully yet still holding doubt, she looked up to the tom with eyes the size of the moon. ”I never met Iniko, he died before I had the opportunity. Are… Are you sure?”

Just then, a tom slinked out of the shadows and into her line of sight. Her brow furrowed as he spoke, making mention of Clan cats. ”I’m not a Clan cat, never have been and never will be. I may not possess much strength, but I will never stoop to that level. I come from the Asylum.” Her tone wasn’t quite aggressive, but one could tell she’d taken offense to the notion of coming from within the Clans. Her attention was soon shifted to that of the little songbird that flew overhead, and was soon overtaken by the powerful paws of the former SkyClanner in front of her. In an instant the bird was dead and at her paws, waiting to be torn into. ”Thank you, Klaus.” She murmured quietly, disbelief tainting her genuine tone. Slowly, as if she wasn’t actually sure the ton was serious, she bit into the bird and began eating it, pushing past the feathers and spitting the occasional stray out. Her stomach quickly became full, and despite how hungry she’d felt just moments before, she was unable to eat any more without feeling nauseous.

Pushing the remaining nearly half of the bird towards Klaus, she licked the blood from her lips and bowed her head to him in thanks once again. ”My name is Hyacinth. Please, let me repay you somehow… I’m sure I can be of some help, somehow or another…” She mewed, still hoping he was genuinely offering to let her stay as long as she needed. Because the trith was that she really needed it.

She was a bit snappy about his comment about her being an ex-clan cat. Well, she apparently wasn't, but he had only arrived mid-speech. "Pardon me, I only really heard half of the conversation, you understand." He spoke, amusement light in his tone. Idly he watched as his pale-furred companion caught the she-cat some food, not showing any signs of caring about him giving food to a relative stranger.

The loner sat by the other tom's side, idly grooming the few remains of crusted blood off his paw and fur. When Klause spoke to him he glanced up after finishing untangling a knot in his silken fur. "Do what you well my friend, I hardly know anything about organizing groups of cats, after all. Besides we do need to start collecting more vagabonds." He mused, "Hopefully I'll pick some skills up from you on this journey if everything actually goes as planned. I've really only worked in groups of two, that's the extent of my actual experience." To anyone who had absolutely no background behind the words he was spewing he was making absolutely no sense.. which was the plan because this was, indeed, between him and Klaus until the latter decided to let others in on their ambitions. "She has the motivation, the experience. With some honing she'll likely do well."

He glanced at the she-cat in quiet consideration, "I'm perfectly fine with letting her stay. Though, in the end, the choice is up to her I suppose. It's her path, after all." He smiled slightly at the offhand reference.

Unless the molly opposed, Tarot was quite sure she was the perfect first member for their gang.

Klaus nodded in confirmation that she could stay if she wanted to... and luckily Tarot agreed. He was right though, her skills needed to be sharpened. He had had many apprentices before... it wouldn't be difficult to train another. She had survived this long after all. How bad could she be? She pushed the bird toward him and he looked at Tarot. If his friend wanted it, he could have it. He understood that eating too much after not eating much at all could have... undesirable effects.

"Alright, it's decided then. You can stay. I only ask that you keep an eye out for clan cats. They're looking for me. Don't use my rogue name in front of them, as I introduce myself as Klaus to other rogues in case clan cats start asking them where I may be. The clans know me as Dawnhawk... no one else but clan cats call me that. Okay?"

He sat back on his haunches, wondering what he should do now. A little bit more of the overhang crumbled, though they were tiny tiny pieces of rock rather than significant amounts. He stared at, scowled at it more like, and sighed.

"It won't be glorious living here, but it's better than being caught out in the snow. Could you maybe..." His ears air-planed out on either side of his head and a sheepish smirk spread across his face. "Help us make this look... nicer?" Hopefully she wasn't one of those she-cats that was easily offended for being asked to perform what could be considered "she-cat duties". Klaus was many things, but a true sexist? Not really... He only lobbed insults like that to get under other cats' skins.

"Don't feel like you need to do anything to the place right now, I know you're tired and hungry. You need to get your strength back. I'll go out with Tarot and we'll catch hares and kill foxes or whatever and bring you the pelts back so you have something soft for your nest at least. It's going to be very cold soon, after all."

Leaf-fall and leaf-bare never really bothered Klaus as long as he was dry, but sometimes the bitter winds would whip hard enough to penetrate his medium-length fur.

A simple, slow nod showed Tarot that Hyacinth acknowledged what he'd said, and that she understood how he'd missed parts of the conversation. "Organizing groups of cats?" Hyacinth questioned, wondering exactly what they were talking about. She was positive it had little similarity to the Clans, but exactly what they were talking about, she was unsure.

The idea of staying with these two toms... She found herself slightly uncertain, as she didn't know them, after all... But if Klaus knew her father, then he must be a good cat, especially if Iniko had thought highly of him as it seemed. Her attention was pulled back to Klaus as he spoke, telling her about his Clan name and how to go about interacting with Clan cats, should it come to that. "Got it." She mewed, paying little attention to the fact that the Clan cats were looking for him. It meant nothing to her at the moment, as he was willing to feed and house her, it seemed.

Another quick nod from the she-cat indicated her willingness to help the duo make their dwelling more appealing, and perhaps more functional in the process. "Oh, of course. Maybe I'll make it look more like it used to... More like home. I don't mind at all." She said gently, remembering how the little clearing where she was officially named a Scout used to look.

Her eyes grew wide at the mention of fox and hare pelts, ears drooping slightly. "You'd do that for me?" Glancing between Tarot and Klaus in disbelief, a smile worked its way onto her face. "I haven't worn a pelt in ages, it feels, let alone slept in a nest of them. Please... Don't feel like you've got to do that. I can manage without, really." Her statement was genuine, but there was a part of her that hoped he'd shake his head and deny her plea, and bring her back a pelt anyway. Feeling wanted and cared for was something she hadn't felt since the fall of Asylum, or perhaps even before that. It seemed as if maybe... She'd never felt that at all. She craved it now, and it was evident in her wide, gullible eyes as she continued to look up at Klaus.

It seemed Klaus wanted to keep her, and would train her up, less work for him. He was tossed the remains of the bird, and he ate it without a word, not keen on letting any food go to waste. While his friend and the she-cat talked he idly listened and finished the morsel of food right as his companion mentioned hunting for.. pelts.

An interesting idea, the loner wondered why he never thought of using the pelts of his prey?

Tarot glanced up, shooting his companion an amused expression "As long as we get a few for our nests I'm quite all right with adding 'fox hunter' to my dossier of abilities." He let out a light chuckle before straightening and cleaning his whiskers. Then he hummed, "I've fought dogs before and came back scarred, but alive. Foxes are smaller so at least there's that going for me. If all goes well it'll be worth it, the chill of leafbare is nothing to scoff at, I've heard keeping warmer helps to keep someone from falling ill with sicknesses such as greecough."

He tilted his head pondering a particular memory. "Ironically, I think the elderly molly I heard that from died from greencough the following winter. She had been kicked out of the abandoned twoleg nest that she took shelter in from the winds of leaf-bare." The tom then shrugged, "So perhaps there's merit to that speculation."

Better than not taking any actions to defend themselves from illnesses he supposed.

"It's not a problem. Tarot is right. Greencough is easily prevented and it should be, because it spreads very easily. Foxpelts will be used for your nest... all of ours. The warmer we can be, the better." His mind was made up. Thankfully Hyacinth was going to fix up the place a bit. The Dark Forest knew the camp needed it. He turned away towards the forest, his eyes narrowed as he thought about where he might find foxes. There should be plenty of younger, less experienced ones running around still from being born this newleaf. They would still be big enough to make nice pelts but be less a danger to cats who have killed foxes before.

"Go ahead and pick a spot for your nest, Hyacinth. We'll be back before too long." Hopefully they could bring back prey too. She would need to recover her strength. If neither of them had anything more to say, Klaus would be off with Tarot in tow.