[Forsaken].wanderer

[[Jinxed.Forever]]

reserved

{If you find your family, don't you cry}

A small, grey body wove its way in and out of the charred trees, delicate steps leaving no impressions behind on the cold forest floor. Shadows danced along the she-cat's ashen pelt, blending her into the darkened foliage. Only her eyes could not be hidden. Sharp and scarlet, the feline's eyes fluttered and skipped about, searching their surroundings with quiet desperation.

Her mother had told her to be careful.

But Shrew wasn't afraid, oh no- she held no fear for the blackened trees standing in ominous silence, or for the piercing silence that infested the air. She walked on comfortably, fueled by the burning curiosity she had clearly inherited from Vole. The young she-cat and her mother had been walking together for near six moons, traversing cold and unfamiliar lands with the unfailing desire to see their family again. Even though the faces had faded and names were difficult to recognize for her now, Shrew missed the cats that had once been a part of her life just as much as her mother did. She'd heard all of the stories during the many nights she'd spent walking alongside Vole- the two were all each other had now.

Shrew had separated from her mother just earlier this morning, promising to be back before the sun had gone down. Now, however, the blazing orb was dipping below the horizon, and Shrew still could not bring herself to turn back. Something pressed her on. In spite of the threatening scents that laced the trees, and traces of danger lining the air, the young, seemingly fearless she-cat, prodded on, eyes always alight; Shrew had no idea that her mother was frantically searching for her back where they'd chosen to rest for the day.

She had no idea of the dangers lurking within Ebony Forest

{In this land of make-believe, dead and dry}

[[whispers] in the .[wind].]

In the near silent forest a noise rang across the ink-colored trees and through the sparsh shrubbery. It wasn't just any noise, the noise if listened to turned out to be words formed into a sentance. If your curious of the contents of the sentance it was this:

"Give me back my fresh-kill"

Obviously somewhere in the expanse of darkened trees, somebody was having a bad day. That current someone was streaking through the forest like an auburn lightning bolt with legs. It was closely following an orange lightning bolt with legs.

Upon closer examination that lightning bolt is a member of the feline species and had been named by Raptor. He was currently in pursuit of a rather small fox with appearently a white bunny rabbit held within its teeth, now that the previous statement from Raptor now seems to make alot more sense.

With a quick movement of the paws, the fox dashed deep within the bowels of its den that had been strategically near the point of theft leaving an hungry and angery Raptor pacing in the woods.

"I will hunt your down!" He exclaimed with utter futility.

[[Jinxed.Forever]]

{If you find your family, don't you cry}

Shrew's pelt bristled, the young feline nearly jumping out of her fur at the sudden commotion ringing through the trees around her. Her scarlet eyes widened and darted around, her dainty feet carrying her into the shelter of some dark foliage. She watched the tom from the shadows at a distance, hesitant at first of making herself known. The tom, clearly frustrated, for now seemed unaware of her presence.

After a moment longer of simply observing the stranger, Shrew's ears perked forward and she crept out from her hiding place. She remained silent as she approached, expression becoming more and more thoughtful the closer she came. Despite his scars, despite his flared temper, despite the tom's off-putting appearance, Shrew felt no uneasiness around him. This fueled her curiosity. It wasn't often that Shrew was wrong with her judgments of others.

"Hello?" Shrew called in her light, dancing voice, halting a few taillengths away from Raptor. Her crimson eyes- even more beautiful than her mother's- glistened and sparkled in the light of the early evening, hiding nothing from this stranger.

{In this land of make-believe, dead and dry}

[[whispers] in the .[wind].]

Raptor isn't what you would call a cat with humility... not in any sense of the word in the slightest. If you were to see this cats mouth hinge open, the look of utter shock plastered upon his face. His mind had to take a few moments until it comprehended the fact this young ashen colored shecat had managed to witness his one of his most humiliating moments.

Had he ever given up his lunch... nothing came to mind, the slightest similarity to giving his food up was he shared his fresh-kill with Inktears a few times... 'Inktears... Inktears'. He had finally managed to get over the fact that he hadn't been able to find her anywhere... he had been split up with all his friends. He had been split up with... Inktears. This young kit seemed to stir something within him, he didn't remember who she ever was.

He supposed the quickest way to figure out who she is was to ask her. Though he did believe himself to be a charismatic cat, that was probably pure ego. He realized that he looked absolutely goofy staring at that kit with his mouth hinged open so he closed it slowly and looked around quickly to take check that nobody else had seen him.

"Well... um, hi?"

[[Jinxed.Forever]]

{If you find your family, don't you cry}

A quiet purr of amusement twinkled in Shrew's throat. She smiled up at the stranger, sitting neatly with her tail raised and curling behind her. The young she-cat tilted her head to the side, ears perked and scarlet eyes alight. Shrew- very politely- looked Raptor once over, taking him in, committing his image to memory. His scars, his pelt- and lastly, his eyes. Her gaze locked onto his, and her purr gently faded away. Her instincts told Shrew- screamed at Shrew- that she could trust this tom.

"I'm sorry," she began sincerely, voice light and dancing. "if I disturbed you- I don't mean to intrude." The young she-cat smiled. "My mother and I are passing through the area, and I was wondering..." Shrew paused, a breeze caressing her ashen pelt. Her ear pivoted around as though listening for something particular, but soon her attention was brought back to Raptor. "Do you know of any large..." She paused again, searching for the proper descriptive word. "...gatherings of cats? Maybe who haven't been in this area for very long?" And then, abruptly, as though jolted by something unseen, Shrew all but sprang to her delicate paws. Her crimson eyes widened slightly, tail twitching behind her. The she-cat bowed her head.

"Pardon me!" she mewed, somewhat abashed. "I was very rude for not introducing myself before!" Of course she would have inherited her mother's insatiable need for courtesy. Lifting her head to once again meet Raptor's gaze, the she-cat smiled warmly, her embarrassment draining from her eyes. "My name is Shrew- and I would be most grateful for your assistance."

{In this land of make-believe, dead and dry}