slowly tears you apart (open)

What a day. Felix was beginning to grow tired of the heat beating down upon him, day after day, from morning till evening. It gave him the urge to leave--to go, to travel, to run by night and sleep in the shade by day, until he found a more pleasant dwelling place. Perhaps in the higher mountains, there would be a cooler breeze. Or perhaps the coast would offer shelter from the sweltering sun. But no. As longingly as he thought about it, he remained here for now. With a sigh, he turned his attention to finding food for the day. Wandering through the streets of the town brought him once again to the tall wooden fence that bordered the Sky Clan. He'd spoken there a week or so ago with Fox Trot and Gray Wind--one of the most interesting conversations he'd had since the absence of Perch. Maybe he'd run into someone else nearby? He was quickly distracted from the thought by the sight of a gray squirrel running along the top of the fence. It didn't seem to see him. Perhaps it was fleeing from someone else. His golden eyes narrowed, and he remained perfectly still, hoping it would run past where he lingered in the shade of a small building. His dark fur camouflaged him well. It did not see him, and the moment it drew close, he pounced. His aim was true--he landed on it and killed it with a quick bite. Not a bad meal, all things considered. With a satisfied smile, the loner bent down and began to eat.

Felix attempted to catch a squirrel. Success! -3 SP

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

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'Hunting Dice' : 3

Ambersun had found a squirrel on the edge of Twolegplace. Silently stalking it, the young she-cat launched herself at it. Unfortunately, the small rodent noticed her, just barely escaping from her before scurrying up onto the fence. Snarling, she chased it further than she should have, to one of the Twolegplace dens they lived in. As she galloped to catch up to the squirrel, she heard it yelp, before falling silent. The ginger she-cat then turned the corner of the Twolegplace, before screeching to a halt.

A cat was there, eating the squirrel she chased.

At first, she found herself offended. That was her squirrel, after all. She was going to catch it if this... tom wasn't there. At the same time, this was probably where he lived, so Ambersun needed to be careful when interacting around him. "Oh, hey there!" Ambersun tried masking her fear scent as well as she could, while awkwardly smiling at the tom. "Didn't see ya there. I'm Ambersun." Oh, she hoped he wouldn't attack her. Maybe now that he knew her name, he would give her his, then leave her alone. I really got into something this time.

Felix only got partway through the squirrel before he was interrupted. His ears pricked upwards at the sound of footsteps. He got to his feet quickly, glancing around, before the intruder made themselves known. A molly who smelled of foliage and bark. Was she from Sky Clan? She had the same scent as Gray Wind and Fox Trot. I suppose that the squirrel must have been scared off by her. The loner regarded her curiously for a moment, noticing the anxiety behind how she tried to smile. Still... she did smile. She wasn't instantly on the defensive, or the offensive. The slim ginger wild cat named herself Amber Sun.

Golden eyes regarded her for a moment. Then, Felix smiled in return. "What a surprise," he said pleasantly. "Normally, cats from the forest don't come this far into the town. Are you from Sky Clan? I've met some of your kind before." He sat back down, relaxed now that he knew there was no danger. If she'd wanted to attack him then she would have by now. His dark, long-furred tail swept over his paws in a subconscious gesture that he did not realize was an imitation of Perch. "Nice to meet you, Amber Sun. What an interesting name you have. I'm called Felix." He glanced down at the half-eaten squirrel, then back up at her. "My sincerest apologies--I did not mean to take prey that was already spoken for. If I had seen you chasing it, I would not have interfered." Was that completely true? Well, he knew better than to get between another cat and their food, so he would not have interrupted Amber Sun if he had seen her chasing it. Or... not visibly so, anyway. "I would offer it to you, but I fear it is no longer an offer worth accepting."

Ambersun chuckled. Honestly, this loner (Felix?) seemed to be pretty nice, so she felt better just... talking with him. "It's nice to meet you, Felix," she said. "Don't worry about the squirrel. I'll be able to find something else."

"I'm not familiar with the word 'town'. Is that what you call... the place we are right now?" She usually called it Twolegplace, but she assumed that... town was what Felix called it. Maybe afterwards, she could ask him which of her clanmates he met before.

Ah, yes. Another forest cat unfamiliar with the world outside their tight boundaries. Amber Sun seemed kind, but remarkably naive. If a little kindness was all it took to put her off her guard... Well, it was a good thing that he was a wanderer and not a rogue. A more shameless cat would have taken advantage of her friendliness immediately. As it was, the only thing he was starved for was conversation, so he was content to be genuine. As much as he could be, anyway. "I'm sure a cat of your hunting prowess will have no issue finding more prey," he agreed with a purr. The squirrel was practically finished by now, so he pressed it gently to the side with one deep black paw before sitting back in his comfortable position. "And, yes! This area is called a 'town.' I believe in the tongue of you forest-dwellers, it's... Two Leg Place? A little bit too wordy, if you ask me, but I suppose that we practically speak different languages."

Golden eyes glimmered as they searched the face of Amber Sun. "A town is a name for a place like this, full of buildings and alleyways and fences. Housecats live here--or, you call them Kitty Pets--as well as rogues, and wanderers such as myself. And of course, townfolk. Two Legs." Felix glanced around the area they were sitting in, noting the dinginess of the corner. A rather nice house was nearby, with a tall white fence and soft grasses, but he was content to sit here on the stone pathway instead. He looked back at his companion. "When a town is larger than this one, much larger, it's called a city. Those are my favorite. Buildings so tall that they pierce the clouds... Lights so bright that they vie with the stars for glory. Ah, there are truly beautiful things out there, beyond the mountains and upon the hills." He sighed longingly, before shaking out his fur and resuming his charming smile. "But, I fear that I digress. You likely do not want to hear me speak of my world, as it is not one that you have any interest in--living sequestered in a forest clan as you do."

Ambersun chuckled at Felix's compliment. "I appreciate it," she said, getting herself more comfortable. Honestly, she wasn't in the mood of flirting right now, mainly just because she wanted to learn so much more. As Felix asked for confirmation about the word 'Twolegplace', Ambersun nodded. "Yep," Ambersun confirmed. "We call it Twolegplace." It was so interesting how different their worlds were. It kept the young she-cat hooked.

When the black tom described what a city was - seemingly a bigger town - Ambersun shuddered. That kind of messing with the sky and stars... She was surprised StarClan didn't immediately attack the Twolegs for what could very easily be an attack. Maybe it doesn't really bother them. If it did, the medicine cats would be all over that, right? "That's so cool," she said, listening to Felix talk.

With him cutting his description of the city short, Ambersun let out a small 'aw'. "Quite the contrary, actually. I love hearing about new places. If you got more, please tell me." She still loved SkyClan, and she couldn't bear to leave it, but it didn't mean she wouldn't be interested in learning about what was outside of their borders. Maybe some day I'll make a trip to a city. The young she-cat gazed around at the place she stood, the giant structures (buildings?) surrounding her. Don't get ahead of yourself, Ambersun. You gotta explore this town first.

Felix wasn't sure whether he should be surprised or not that Amber Sun was intrigued by the descriptions of cities. Gray Wind had seemed similarly curious, almost intoxicated by the idea of such things that were so far from her perception of the world. There were some cats in the forest that had no care what lay outside their borders. However, it appeared there was also a not-inconsiderable number of cats who wondered what it would be like elsewhere... or who were at least interested in the idea of such things. For many, it had never really occurred to them how different it would be for those "rogues" who lived elsewhere. Well, there was little he liked more than spinning tales that required very little exaggeration. "As you wish," he said, waving his tail with a flourish behind him.

"Usually in the summer months, when the sun grows warm and the days last longer, I visit a very different type of place. There is one large city that I return to often. Not only because of its tall buildings and glittering nighttime lights, not only due to the many smells of food and interesting cats who live there, but because it borders the coast... and the coast borders the ocean." There was suitable reverence in his voice when he spoke the last two words, which would not be words that Amber Sun recognized. "If you have ever been near a river, you know the sandy soil that crumbles by its banks. Imagine that sand, but far more bright golden, and far finer to the touch, slipping away beneath your paws as you walk across a somehow-firm surface. The yellow dunes stretch for miles and miles, far beyond what you could ever hope to see... and across the sand, from the other side of the city, is the ocean."

Felix's eyes grew distant as he spoke, but his voice retained an engaging pace and charming, intriguing tone. "The ocean: not a river or a lake or a puddle, but water that is a million million times wider than one could possibly imagine. It is a body of water so big, so unthinkably vast, that you would be forgiven for thinking that you had found the place that the sky touched the earth. But you can dip a paw in and feel its cold current washing up to you. Shivers run up your fur. If you stare across the horizon, it becomes impossible to tell where water ends and sky begins. Soft white foam crashes in on gentle waves, rolling back and forth in a steady rhythm decreed by whatever higher power lives behind the reflected clouds. And when you bend down for a drink, parched by your long journey across scorchingly hot sand... the water tastes of salt."

His voice slowed to a halt as he concluded constructing the image. His dark-furred tail waved again behind him, golden eyes regarding his companion as if to gauge her reaction. "And yet, I suppose it is a good thing that I have not gone to visit my vacation home this season. For if I had, I would not have met you. Perhaps such a meeting was decreed by fate."