endless journey , [open]

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[atrb=background,http://wimg.co.uk/o9c.png] she tiredly limped along the worn down grass, tail dragging against the dirt. she panted, eyes wearily looking up to see the broken barn towering above her. with each agonizing step she winced, continuing forward until she reached the very inside for shelter. then she fell to the cold, rough ground, a groan escaping her dry mouth. thunder rumbled in the distance, skies dark and gray. just enough sunlight to see shed down from the heavens above, a place where charade longed to be. her white fur, now tainted and looking nearly black from motor oil and dust, fluttered along as wind gently breathed life into her lungs. her eyes blinked open, hollow orbs staring at the empty world around her. everything seemed so quiet and peaceful, as well as her with her own still bodice. one might perceive that she was dead, and she was close to it, after trudging along the merciless highway and hopping through the scratching cornfields. even then, she'd run into several unfriendly creatures such as badgers, foxes, and other cats.charade recalled the struggles she went through and she reminded herself of the pain she'll have to go through to get to the city. and for what? nothing! just to search for fools to play along with, for the sake of me getting my taste of travel, blah blah blah... is what she would say to any passersby if they questioned her motives. ah, and they had a right to question her motives -- a random female taking a perilous adventure from the beginnings of the country to the endings of the city. she would have to pass not only through other felines' territories, but through the ancient territories where the tribe cats dwelled, and not to mention the empire! it was quite the dangerous path to take, indeed. most cats, even nomads, would generally stick to their own easy paths, whether it be the country or the city or someplace far off. all i want to do... she thought to herself, taking a deep breath of admittance. is to fill that hole up. there was a hollowness inside of her, as hollow as her eyes appeared to be. all she wanted to do -- all she desired, all she longed, was to fill it up. to find her purpose. most cats never found their purpose; at least, in a nomad's case. all other cats? they knew exactly where their place was in life. the tribes and the empire had little ranks to put each cat in. you hardly needed to think for yourself, it seemed! they were given instructions to do and they did it. how unfair... i wish life could be so easy. but then again, it's just such a cruel place, not caring at all for its inhabitants. it hates me, i'm sure... she just laid there, eyes staring emptily into space as she thought of these things. the storm finally broke out, the clouds opened, and a great downpour scattered across the lands. lighting flashed, thunder crashed. chaos began to form. a small smile inched along her face. yeah... world hates me, she decided, still unmoving, even as wet spray scattered onto her stoic face. a second deep sigh contracted and flew out of her maw, shudders and coughs following. the breezy gusts became intenser as the storm progressed, not calming down as usual. a frown of disgust shadowed her amusement; charade painfully rose to her paws and staggered to the far side of the barn, avoiding the torrent splashes of water falling down the leaks and holes. shivering, she finally found a considerably dry spot in the corner, little weeds poking through the planks to provide a small amount of warmth. it had to be the comfortable-est place she'd found along her journey so far, and even then it was quite uncomfortable. she lay her head down, curled up and snuggled in a little ball. the world hasn't killed me yet! she growled to herself, shutting her eyes and letting that last thought drift along in her mind as she instantly dozed off.

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[spade ♠]

From the rickety loft of the abandoned barn, optics glittering with the fires of an opal peered down toward the weary creature that barely managed to pull herself into the shadows of the abandoned structure, where she promptly collapsed. A loud clap of thunder brought the hunters attention upward toward the oncoming storm. It would be a big one, there were no doubt about it. It would linger and boil, shedding its chilly waters upon the dying earth. Winter would be coming soon, which meant hunting would be scarce. But for the moment his quarry were easy pickings, paying to much attention to gathering foodstuff to watch for the predators that hunted them. The very thought made his mouth water with anticipation.

But for the moment that thought would need to be pushed to the back of his mind, there were other things that required his attention for the moment. Namely the strange female who even now pulled herself into a tight ball in the far corner seeking shelter from the vicious storm that raged outside. A nimble leap, wings spread wide, allowed the miniature cougar to glide to the debris littered ground with little to no effort despite the drafts that fluttered through the cracked boards occasionally. Silent paws paced carefully toward the oil encrusted prone figure, pausing several feet away. Slowly muscles would bunch and contract, lowering his rump to the cold ground while that short thick tail graced in the ticked brown, grey, and white of his coat bore bands of black. The splash of white covering his jaws and throat stood out brightly in the shadowed enhancing the black rimmed pink nose that twitched at the females unkempt state. Twins soldiers found themselves thrust forward, the entirety of his attention focused on her while those earthly brown and black banded wings folded gently against his barrel.

A subtle throat clearing would be issued to gain her attention without frightening her. Within those gem like eyes a gentle kindness might be seen despite the rigidness that coursed along his spine. A faint smile coiling along his lips broke his customary stonic expression. "You're not look'n to well there lil lady." Concern laced that lazy drawl of his, deepening the timbre of his vocals.

[AUGUST !]

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[atrb=background,http://wimg.co.uk/o9c.png] her eyes were closed, drowse easily slipping over her as the gentle croak of a tom roused her tired lids. his voice formed delicate words that ended along with a slip of his tongue, bringing forth a scattered, lazy drawl. his words were pleasant and polite, despite the strange accent he bore. charade's head gently lifted, eyes now wide and intent on the newcomer. his words echoed in her head, "you're not look'n too well there lil lady." she looked him over up and down, slowly rising to her paws and stretching her legs out, even though she didn't even feel a tad bit rested. she found it unsettling to confront and speak to a cat, especially one so grand yet humble, and have your fur ruffled and orbs hidden. and thus, she quickly licked her chest nervously, flicking her ears about here and there. she was still exhausted, although she was flustered by the male and forgot all about such petty physical feelings. she didn't even feel the least bit of desire to unleash her trickery upon him. she felt rather... infatuated with his large wings and pretty neutral bands of dark yet enlightening colors. a small smile took to her maw as she took a step forward in order to observe the stranger more closely. "well, i suppose not," she replied innocently, dipping her head in greeting. she suppressed a shudder as cold crept into her bones, especially after being cramped in a slightly warmer space. her tail waved higher nevertheless, to show that she was still strong -- at least, she wanted to appear so, whether or not she was. she also desired to impress the tom; it was a strange desire, indeed. she had never felt such a way before, although it actually wasn't necessarily surprising to her. he was a grand feline, and she wished to be grand herself in all ways. "so, who are you, fellow?" she inquired, interrogation clear on her tongue. she was surely not afraid to ask such questions; after all, he had invaded her resting space, politely or not. her tail flicked high in the air once more, glittering pools looking over the powerful one in front of her over and over. curiosity bloomed and overflowed the more and more she inspected his wings and his interesting bands; they, indeed, seemed to slightly reveal a slight hypnotism, although she was not drawn to such a thing and she guarded her mind from it. without waiting for his reply, charade let her tongue move on to another subject; perhaps something similar, but not quite the same. "i've never seen you 'round these parts. well, i believe this is the first time we've met, although i'm always on the move so how can i know?" a silky and tempting purr emitted from the depths of her throat, eyes glittering ever so fiercely. she was, in a way, flirting with him and bringing forth much flattery. on purpose or not, she wasn't quite sure, although she knew her heart was forever guarded by the secrets of her kithood and the agony she went through in those times. she could never love again, it seemed; nothing could break through the gates that kept her stony heart impenetrable and inaccessable. it was to the point where she, herself, could not open it. all she felt were desires -- desires to find her purpose and desires to wrap others in trickery to feel the world's pain; the pain she had endured so long ago and the pain she endured even now. the scars hadn't vanished. the nightmares never departed her mind. she wished to unleash it upon them... make them understand. her claws sunk into the earth that wasn't there, replaced by rotting planks of uncomfort. she frowned and let a flash of irritation cross her eyes, although she pretended to not be affected by her very own thoughts.

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[spade ♠]

Wings flared against his sides, the whisper of feathers against fur found themselves drowned out in another clash of thunder. The opal fire of his gaze never wavered as the dame pushed her travel worn body upward. He watched with a bit of amusement locked firmly behind a mask few have ever seen beneath, as her gaze trailed first up, then down his imposing figure. She was exhausted, though her effort was valiant in trying to keep her weariness hidden, but he was trained to look beyond the surface. To look deeper for the truth, it was a lesson harshly given. She needed protein, fresh meat to fill her belly. A brief flicker of her tongue spoke volumes of her conciseness when it came to her appearance. It was often joked upon that women tended to be overly concerned with their appearance, though in the recent years, Stone had learned that this trend seemed to be rubbing off on some of the warriors.

But now wasn't the time to contemplate such silliness as she moved closer to him. Remaining statue still his eyes following her movements. Her voice rose in response to his own, though hardly a pause before she continued onward, inquiring about him. Even before he could form a reply she'd moved onward, babbling somewhat. But then more often then not he thought everyone babbled. To much time wasted on inconsequential words. Still his silence was held as he watched the dance of anger, pain, and finally irritation flickered through the black of her eyes. Claws dug into the soft timber below her paws. For a moment he wondered what had agitated her so, but it was a concern that was pushed from his mind. More important matters lay at paw. The white of that lower jaw dropped enough to allow the deep timbre of his voice free. "I'm called Stonethunder." He did not elaborate nor did he use his title of being the Captain of the Rising Sun's warriors. It wasn't that he expected her to have heard of him, rather he simply didn't give a rats rump what anyone thought. He had no need to brag about his prowess, to boast about his strength. "And you, lil lady? What do they call you round here?"

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[atrb=background,http://wimg.co.uk/o9c.png] she began to feel slightly... unhappy with his silent gaze. she had suddenly become irritable in the past few moments, and her condition wasn't getting any better. she began to hate how his staring eyes melted through her fur and searched deeper, beyond the appearance the and words. her brows began to furrow in anxiety; did he know? did he have the knowledge of her past? did he understand? mixtures of hope, confusion, and fear stirred in her chest. a buzzing sounded in her ears, and she stepped back, inches from letting go a shriek of terror. her insanity was kicking in, but she forced it down with a gulp, letting the buzz fade out and vanish. she was very aware of her insanity; at least, of the dangers of it tipping and overcoming her. charade often had to gulp it down; such buzzing was caused by a rousing of several emotions, especially those of fear and confusion. she was a complicated cat, but that did not mean she was not smart. charade knew her mind was going out of whack and that there were many risks due to the experience she had when she was younger. everything that she'd gone through... it was always there, always lurking. it was always ready to pounce on her and make her heart thump, horror overshadowing her eyes. the more charade thought about these things, the more troubled she became, so she shook her head violently and panted a few times, pushing the hurt from her mind and attempting to execute a more so refined mannerism. it was then when his words came to her ears. they were very calm and icy; he revealed to her his name and questioned charade as to what hers was. she sprung to answer, tilting her head with a gentle light in her eyes. "i am charade," she purred, flicking her tail. she no longer wished to converse with him, so she kept her response very brief, not stirring up any more words. she hung her head, worries returning to her mind. she sighed and tossed looks all around her... her anxiety returned.

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