The sun was setting, a chill in the air. A lone figure moved silently among the trees, followed by his own paw prints and a steady trail of blood dripping from his cheek. Three long claw marks ran across his left cheek. The wound was fresh and stung like a bitch. He had no idea how long he had been wandering but it must have been a while. The moon had been rising when he started and now the sun was setting. All he knew was that he had to get as much distance between him and that place as possible. Mud clung to his face, his chest, covered his paws in a thick brown muck all the way up to his elbows. His fur was shabby and unkept. He must look like quite a sight. He didn’t care much for it though. As he approached a clearing he noticed the soft sound of a creek in the distance. Once he slowly exited through the tree like he noticed a few large creatures drinking from a small creek that was running through the grass like a serpent. They looked at him warily as he approached but since was just a tiny cat they weren’t threatened. As he crouched down to take a few drinks the elk turned around and trotted off. Now greeted by the silence around him he felt his muscles relax a little. They were hardened and tired. God, how he longed for a little sleep.

It was a nice evening for a stroll, the air chilly, but clear, stil carrying the smell of that afternoon’s rain. The ground was muddy, and the she-cat carefully put down her paws on the dryer patches to keep them as clean as possible. She hated the taste of mud when she had to wash it off her fur. She made her way to a quiet creek to get some sips of water, but when she was still at a distance, she froze in her tracks. “So they áre real”, she whispered breathlessly, taken in by the gigantic creatures standing at the water’s edge, bending down their majestic heads to drink. Cardinal grinned, amazed. These must be the deers all cats kept on talking about. She had honestly doubted their existence, even after she’d been shown their tracks. It just sounded too much like one of those magical nonsense stories you fooled young to-be’s with. She stood there, unmoving, watching until the creatures left the scene, and the dream was over. And even then, she stayed for a moment longer, before moving again to make her way to the creek.

And then she froze again: there was another cat here, a ragged, muddy thing, blood on his cheek and fur totally unkempt. Cardinal stared at him, then she hardened. She was a Cave Guard after all. She wasn’t afraid of some muddy stranger! Still, she couldn’t help being wary, not after Wisp, not after extra patrols were sent out to look for trespassers exactly like this one here. He looked tired, though, and she was a big girl. She could beat him, she was sure. So she stepped forward and raised her voice: “What are you doing in our mountains, muddy stranger?”

The icy water of the creek felt good against his sore throat. It wasn’t after a few laps that he became aware of someone moving out of the corner of his eye. He turned to face the stranger, cautiously raising to his feet as he regarded her. A dark tortie came his way. She was quite big but her frame had something elegant. He felt a pang of discomfort about the thought that a stranger lived in these woods. He couldn’t rest. Not here. He had to get as much distance between him and them as possible. Now that a stranger had seen him he could be identified. “Just passin’ through,” He answered coolly with a shrug. His tail flicked warily. He was never a fan of strangers. They always seemed to bring trouble, and trouble was exactly the thing he was not looking for.

"Just passing through, hm?" Cardinal repeated, her eyes narrowed. She didn't trust this stranger, who smelled like dirt and blood. Perhaps he was just passing through, it happened often enough that some lone cat crossed the path of the Tribe, caught some mice in the redwoods, and went on their way again. But in light of the recent events, Cardinal wasn't going to take those chances. What if this was the cat who murdered Wisp? She tensed at the thought. If it is him, I should take him down now. But if it wasn't... she could hardly go around attacking random strangers when she'd always learned that she was supposed to show hospitality to visitors. She shot a quick glance over her shoulder when she heard another voice. "Stay back, Cougar", she meowed, after which her attention quickly returned to the stranger. Her Tribemate was just a To-be, and a Prey Hunter on top of that. He couldn't fight. "Who are you, anyway? And who have you been fighting with?" She glanced at the wound on his cheek. It looked pretty ugly. Didn't he know he ought to put some cobwebs on that?

She listened to what he had to say, wondering if she should believe him. Had he really encountered some monster in the woods? Cougar seemed scared enough of it. “Sharptooth is a nursery tale, Cougar”, Cardinal said over her shoulder. Surely there was no huge monstercat prowling about. Right? She had to admit the thought made her a little nervous, but she said to herself that the stranger was probably just exaggerating, the animal growing in his memories with his fear for it. Or maybe it was just a lie. He seemed pretty genuine, but she couldn’t be sure. She didn’t doubt that he had been walking all day, however. He looked like a mess, and could very well do with some rest, clean-up, and treatment of that wound. Cardinal was silent for a moment and Cougar asked if he should get some help. Cardinal thought about it. “No, let’s take him with us”, she decided. She flicked her tail. “Come on, stranger, time to walk a bit more. You can tell our Healer what you’re doing in our land and he’ll decide if you’re trouble or not. Now follow me and stay in my sight.”

Cougar • schreef:

(( It is never too late to be what you might have been.  ))

“Sharptooth is a nursery tale, Cougar” Cardinal meowed over her shoulder. Cougar gasped, was it true? Just a nursery tale? Well, his mother did say things like that, but still. That giant lion who would kill almost half of the tribe? It could be true? Before he could worry even more about it Cardinal decided that they would take the stranger back home to the cave. Without a word, he followed the two. He better could shut his mound before he said more silly things, or nursery tales like Cardinal named it. Maybe it did, maybe it was a bit unrealistic. But still, a shiver ran down his back when he thought about it. They only settled a few steps from the lake when a loud screech echoed through the air. The sound rumbled in his ears and again he gasped. Eagle!
He cringed and looked up anxiously, he saw the giant wings of the birth. Depicted dark by the red-orange sky, "Eagle..." he screamed with his neck fur high up.