: : L o o k i n g A r o u n d : :

[Dansen[Mouse]]

The shadows fell around the like a soft blanket as it cloaked the stream in a void of darkness. To any Clan cat the place would have looked evil, sad, and depressing. To a Kittypet gone Loner, it looked almost welcoming. A silent, three-legged loner slowly crept out of the bushes. His fur was dull and the color of coal. He was thin and faintly smelled of kittypet and crowfood.

He licked his lips clean from the mouse he had just killed and eaten, but it was small and scrawny and already felt moons away. His clouded eyes looked around before he bent down to take a few laps of water. The water tasted bitter but it satisfied his thirst so he was ready to go on. But the sun was setting and his remaining hind leg was hurting so he knew that he needed to find a place to rest for the night.

[(aurora) of the problematique]

Quetzal
sitting in this room playing Russian Roulette,
finger on the ^trigger to my dear _Juliet

<sub>An afternoon so dark it seemed night. Rainy. Cloudy skies branching out overhead, seen through the finger-like webs of trees. Somewhat chilly. Crickets chirping.

Oh yes, that’s probably what you’d notice at first glance if told to look at the darker part of the creek. It would be cheating at this point in time. She’s already beyond the trees. The short fur and tail flailed, hell-bound souls pleading for mercy. Muscles rippled, waves fluctuating across blood-stained dirt. Head tossed, light caressing the X-shaped scar. Its meaning was a dark purpose, bestowed by a battle long-ago that had driven steely claws across her rounded cheeks. She paused, lifting one ivory-hued forefront. Her ears flickered slowly. The muscled brow over her eyes furrowed.

Quetzal snorted warily, trotting out slowly. Grasses and pebbles made their exodus out of her way, her cold stature intimidating anything as she passed by imperiously. She lowered her crown, sniffing the waving strands of blue-green. Her lips parted, teeth following suit soon after before snipping down upon the gray threads of mouse. She ate contentedly, ignoring the purplish factor in the grass here as compared to the Elysian wannabes on the other side. She snorted and slapped her coccyx in slight irritation.

Her brutal claws--tools of assassination--dove into the loamy earth beneath her as she moved from her place to continue her pace on another shock of smoke. Auditory organs suddenly forced their cartilage backwards as Quetzals dark butte-hued eyes lifted through her shaded lashes. She knew someone was here.

“Who is there?”

The voice escaping the femme's maw was quiet and guttural, a cross between a cautious call and a cattish snarl. ‘Twas practically inaudible.

Quetzal elevated her cranium, assuming a warning stance. The femme turned around, hump following a trail of a semi-circle as she swiveled to see the intruder upon her person. However much the fields were open, it was still common courtesy to meow or something of that matter when entering a place. One wouldn’t want to get attacked for simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and that, all too often, happened.

The silver tabby frowned, quaking her head to ruffle up her thick locks. Still guarded, her gentle claw lifted and stroked the wintry grass before standing upon it. She looked up briefly and nosed a trampled dandelion blossom that was crumbling downward idly. I gazed at the white flower and then nosed it reverently to the ground, to finish its solemn requiem.

The wind picked up, howling balefully. The dandelion blooms whipped around in a lariat formation, twisting and turning around Quetzal's crouched form. The ashen-hued flowers came to rest around the fae, flying in all directions. Her hair lifted for a brief moment, settling around the curves of her silvery coat once more. She did not mind the chill. She was quite used to the temperature of her own heart.

“Quetzal…,” the wind whined, her name trickling from its lips. Quetzal's head turned like a called dog’s.

She finished her food icily, rotating herself away to capture another falling dandelion blossom. She suddenly smelled it. The blood pooling in a puddle from a dead cat made a sunspot-like effect on the pallid skin of the flower once it nestled in the carmine grave. She curved and pushed the crimson-tinged bloom by the male’s side. She looked pained, her eyes darkening slightly. Quetzal's hazel slits lifted anxiously, wondering if the chaos of war was still around.

But first, to deal with this newcomer. She smiled as she came upon him.</sub>

[Dansen[Mouse]]

Night licked his dripping muzzle as he turned around to stare at the scarred she-cat. For a moment he flinched as he began to wonder if he should either run from the cat or stick around to see if she was friendly. If she attacked, Night knew he would be no match for her. Just by looking at her you could tell that she was strong and could kill with one swipe of her claws. But he also knew that if he tried to run, she would catch him, so it was better to face death then run from it.

"Greeting." He told her as he respectfully bowed his head towards her. His eyes were narrowed as he inspected this rogue, he watched to see if she would attack or not.

[(aurora) of the problematique]

Quetzal
sitting in this room playing ^{Russian Roulette},
finger on the trigger to my dear _Juliet

[/size]

<sub>So you say I make a man as it is. Well, give us your sad, sad trip. You're right. I get it. It all makes sense. You're the perfect person. So right, so wrong. Let's all live in your imaginary life. Assumed it's whether we’re right or wrong. We're doomed, and there's plenty for all. How dare you catch me counting. How dare you call it off. How dare you call it suffering. How dare you call it off. You're right. I get it. It all makes sense. You're the perfect person. So right, so wrong. Let's all live in your imaginary life. Dress all these turings. They're doubled in time. The touch of life. What's failed to mention so far. Of course the lionous fountains. Or face the face we've mauled. Of fast and restless blackmail. Like pent-up vanished falls.

Ears flicked back slowly as a voice returned the demand, thrown back at her with a respectful hiss. A smile molded her lips, baring teeth slightly before curling them back into their proper positions. Eyes then staring at the claw-plowed earth lifted for a moment to gaze at the male. Quetzal wasn’t here for some confrontation.

“My name is Quetzal.”

The mare’s reply was shortened as she turned a ninety-degree angle from the tom, scar nearly disappearing. Its tale told of legendary killings but she usually didn’t allow her name to get out there. She had killed enough to have a bounty on her head, quite odd for a female. That nonsense was reserved for the males, who concerned themselves with such irrelevant trash. Quetzal's only concern was for her quarry. She was not infatuated with her prety, as most seemed to think. She proved them wrong enough, certainly. She harbored no feelings for the food she played with

The rogue lifted up her head, swiveling the beak towards the sir.

“Do you have a purpose for being here?” she asked with a fox-like smile. “Are you here to join a band?”</sub>

[Dansen[Mouse]]

"Join a band?" He echoed, clearly confused. He sat down and gave his chest a few nervous licks. He didn't like it here, and he didn't know how he was going to get out of this. He tried to be brave, but the life of a kittypet made him soft and he knew that Quetzal could already smell his fear scent.

"My name is Night." He replied, pausing a moment before he continued, his tail flicking to and fro behind him. "To tell you the truth I haven't a clue as to why I'm out here. I'm new to these parts, a common traveler, if you would."

[(aurora) of the problematique]

Quetzal
sitting in this room playing Russian Roulette,
finger on the ^trigger to my dear _Juliet

<sub>"You better watch yourself then, traveler," Quetzal said, her smile not extending to her sly eyes.

Such a burning sensation, that lightning in the sky. It smelled rank, as if it had struck a carcass. The sky broiled with clouds, holding death over her head with a threatening air. Cool drops made a point to fall down on her silken threads of silver and sable. The frenzy was trying to compete with the uproar ahead. Her head rested below a frond of half-dead ferns, dark rain dripping rhythmically at a steady pace. Her tresses became damp, hanging limply from her body as she rested on all fours. Her dark rings of fur shadowed her eyes, their harsh incisions of obsidian slits and ivory sclera. Her nose wrinkled as she sniffed the air, head lifting slowly.

A piercing, whistling sound lanced the heavens, and she swiftly swiveled my body, placidly lifting her forearm and paw that bore her shadowed talons. Her frame shook, ridding myself of the annoying drops for the faintest moment. Mud clung to her talons as she stepped out of the underbrush. The noise struck the skies once more. Her lip curled as she slowly rose into a bipedal position. Her body lurched forward, and she suddenly found herself racing towards the resonance. The call sounded again, and she snarled, her body reacting in strange ways. Flints caressed the earth with each carefully placed footfall. The silvery-haired she leapt upward into the gently glowing moon, eyes turning slowly as she faced downward. Her harks perked forward as she watched the field before her. The moon danced across her pelt. Her icy eyes met that of her prey, to which she instantly captured.

She brought the bird back and tossed it over to him. "You look like you haven't eaten for a week, " Quetzal commented, shaking her pelt as the rain continued. The poor thing had been trying to get back home before the worse hit. Too bad.

"You can join Chaosfire's band if you're looking not to get mobbed by cannabalistic rogues," she added, noting the male's missing limb. "With that mishap, however, you might be in a state of rejection. You shouldn't be out here though."</sub>

[[xoxo] shard. :)]

<sup>Slowly, a figure became visible as it crept some dying reeds by the stream. Here, an unnamed she-kit had made temporary refuge for the night. She yawned, blinking sleepy eyes, and then searched for some berries to fill her famished stomach. The desolate area brought her only to ail in her search, though. The lit sighed and slumped, snivveling and whimpering. All she wanted was a family, someone to love her and care for her. And a name would be nice too. But, quite apparently, that was too much to ask for. No, no cat could give time from their busy, selfish schedule to nurture her, even if only for a few moons so she could learn to fend for herself.

But no, that was far too overboard.

She then saw two others. Despite her longing for a family, he kept herself hidden, afraid they might attack. he scar under her eye still throbbed sometimes. She still remembered that horrible day, oh so vividly. Little did she know she was upwind.</sup>

[Dansen[Mouse]]

The black Loner looked Quetzal over before crouching down to tear at the Black bird. His stomach welcomed the much needed nourishment as he swallowed it in three bites. He slowly licked his lips and took his time in replying to Quetzal, thinking carefully on what he should tell her. If said the wrong thing, he knew that she could rip him to shreds in a heartbeat.

"I'm just merely pasting through." He finally replied. "As I said, I'm a common traveler and I don't feel as if I should settle down just yet.

He got up as if he was going to leave but something in the wind smelt different. He opened his mouth and tasted the air and found the sent of the kit.

"It seems like we have a visitor." He motioned with his tail to the reeds nearby. "Or do you have some friends nearby?"

[(aurora) of the problematique]

Quetzal
sitting in this room playing Russian Roulette,
finger on the ^trigger to my dear _Juliet

<sub>"Ah, very well then," Quetzal said. "Suit yourself." Her dry tone didn't fade. The beautiful silver-and-black tabby flicked her tail and noted the male's hunger and proposal to leave. She did not stop him, merely blinking when Night spoke.

She lifted herself to her quaint paws, the lissome female winding her way upward to sniff the air. "No, that's not Zephyr," she said. She placed a dainty paw upon her lips thoughtfully. She wondered who would intrude upon her. Must have been another foreigner, she thought sarcastically.

Quetzal kept her smile as she walked over to the source of the smell. "Why hello there!" she said in an almost-overly cheery way. The tabby touched the black and white she-kit. "Oh dear." Her saccharine voice was borderline condescending, as always. She sighed slightly and turned to Night.

"Alright, this is starting to become ridiculous," she said. "I am going to deal with this youngling here." She turned elegantly, wondering how Zephyr was going to take this development. She knew very well that her smaller-yet-older companion did not take well to children.

"You'll get challenged again if you don't find yourself some place to stay. You should leave right away." Quetzal flicked her tail at Night as she then picked up the she-kit. She winked a pretty blue-green iris and walked off.</sub>

[[xoxo] shard. :)]

^{The young kit's eyes flew wide with fear as one of the cats noticed her. An anguished yowl rose from her throat as one came and picked her up, but she seemed to relax quickly. The holder did not seem vicious. They actually seemed happy to find her. The nameless kit was unsure as to why, though. After all, she'd never met any cat who'd given a care about her besides that one loner who'd nurtured her for a moon.}