a w a k e [p]

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Blinking sleepily, the patchy kitten yawned and shakily rose to her paws.  Spooked, it took her a moment to remember where she was, and the temperature of her dark environment was a quick reminder.  She coughed feebly, shivering inside the frigid cave.  The kitten was rescued by a deathclan she cat, and took up refuge in the vast expanse of cold rock.  Strelka decided that she would get up and investigate the faint sound her fluffy ears had picked up, thinking it was quite possibly Rift, her sister and the deathclan cat who found her. Sighing, the tiny kit padded along the compact tunnel mindfully, her fragile heart beating fast in her chest.  Ever careful where she delicately placed her velvety paws, she mewled softly for her sister, "psinka?"

this is for Indra

[Indra]

Though Indra was not entirely sure that he was supposed to be here, he didn't think that it mattered; DeathClan no longer had a leader, and even before that, the term 'territory' was loose at best among rogues and loners. So, when his curiosity had stirred about the nearby Badlands, the young black tom had answered the call; he'd been wandering the eerie, bleak landscape for several hours now, and the differences between the Canyon and DeathClan's territory was similar to those inherent in night and day. He was fascinated by the strangeness of the area, and though he had yet to meet a cat native to the land, he was certain they'd be interesting as well. Setting his sights on a distant cave, the mottled tom began the trek that would bring him to the mysterious patch of black in the otherwise uniform color of dust. As he ascended the stony path that led to the cavern, Indra stumbled over a rock, twisting his paw ever so slightly. "Darkpool!" he cursed aloud, wincing as he inspected the paw. Though it did not look serious, he thought it best to take a rest before continuing further; hobbling into the cave, he was about to sit down for a more in depth inspection of his injured foot when he heard a voice. "Who's there?" he asked sharply, his natural suspicion of other cats surfacing as his amber gaze raked the surrounding darkness.

[Deleted]

The canyon was a barren and bleak expanse, but it offered spacey caves, which in turn offered a protection unrivalled by the forests and the meadows inhabited by the phenomenon known as the clan cats.  Strelka was safe here, at least until she was big enough to join an alliance, and as she padded through the tunnel such a fierce loneliness shadowed her heart that she felt tears sting her lustrous hazel eyes.  A gentle tap, tap, tap noise wafted to her fleecy ears, the soft sound of paw pads prodding the cavern floor.  She tilted her head to faint-heartedly glance at the much heftier feline.  This was not Rift, far from her.  But, he had the deathclan scent!! and Rift came from a wonderful paradise she called deathclan, so Strelka made the imprudent and innocent decision to trust this stranger.  Revealing her tiny self, she bounced exuberantly up to the foreign cat.  "hii! do you know Rift?  I'm Strelka." 

[Indra]

The sudden appearance of another cat- small, but perhaps a bit older than him- brought the fur on Indra's hackles up almost immediately. After examining the situation for a moment, he calmed down a bit; clearly, this kitten meant him no harm, though why she was so trusting, he had no idea. Though his aggression had faded quickly, the young tom was still wary; you didn't live long in DeathClan without a healthy dose of skepticism. It took him a moment longer to further process what the she-cat had said, and he realized that not only had she asked him a question, but she had also introduced herself. "I'm Indra," he replied stiffly, his amber stare still bright with the flame of suspicion. He thought a moment longer, knowing that he'd heard the name Rift before. "Yeah..." he added after a moment. "Yeah, I do know Rift. Or, at least, I know of her." Though the tone of Indra's voice was still a bit harsh, it was beginning to soften; this Strelka certainly did not seem prepared to harm him, and he did not scent any other cats, something that might hint at an ambush. "What are you doing here, anyway?" he asked after another moment, curiosity at this she-cat's situation replacing wariness in his gaze as he became more and more sure that he would not meet further injury here.

[Deleted]

The cave was drippy.  It went drip, drip, drip, and the pitter-patter soothed Strelka as she tilted her small head at the unfamiliar entity.  He was undoubtedly sceptical, but not aggressive so she continued her playful enthusiasm.  His name, was Indra.  She liked it.  And even better, he knew of Rift.  Instantly drawn to this cat despite his discomfort, she edged closer her eyes bright with curiosity.  "I sleep here.  My mama is gone, but it's okay because Rift is my sister.  She's gonna be the bestest leader of deathclan!  It's this amazing place full of other cats btw."

When she was old enough, she would leave the Caves, and wanted to help Rift assume leadership of deathclan.  But for now, this lonely place was her best option of survival.  And as she looked at Indra, her tail and ears were quivering with excitement.  Because she didn't just want companionship, she wanted adventure.  But somehow, she would need him to like her.  There was only one, questionable thing she could think of ~ to spring at him.  "let's play!" 

[Indra]

"Yeah, well, someone has to," he murmured, more to himself than to Strelka. Personally, he didn't care too much who the next leader would be, so long as he received at least enough power to be considered respectable; although that, he assumed, would have to be earned based upon his own worth, and upon his own merit. Before he could say anything more, the other cat jumped at him; he unsheathed his claws, ready to bat her aside as he berated himself for assuming she was friendly, before he realized what she had said. Hastily sheathing his claws, Indra had just enough time to brace himself before the she-cat bowled into him. "What are you doing!?" he asked, exasperated, as he untangled himself from the other cat. In truth, he was flustered primarily because he had come close to hurting the fragile-looking cat; though cruelty was often necessary in DeathClan, Indra liked to think that he had a conscience- even if he didn't use it all that regularly- and the thought of hurting this odd, seemingly lonely kit upset him more than he would have considered possible. "You should be careful about how you handle yourself around other cats, especially if you plan on joining DeathClan," he added after he'd calmed down, making sure to soften his voice a bit; if Strelka wished to become a member of the vicious pack of rogues, she'd have to learn that not every cat was willing to be friends.

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She barreled into him, getting up with a shake of her fluffy coat, and let her leafy ears droop as she was rebuked.  Her tail trembled and she shrank back.  Again she could hear the muffled thud, thud, thud of her heart.  There was one fundamental need she would always be drawn to, companionship.  And the thought of Indra leaving the Cave upset her so, she started to feel queasy.  Strelka's eyes brimmed with tears, thinking she had completely ruined their chances of friendship, and she blurted "I'm sorry i just wanted to play!"  Sniffling she crept closer to him and her eyes widened.  "we should be allies! i can be a better fighter, i promise.  we can be training partners!"

[Indra]

Guilt flooded through Indra as Strelka's eyes began to well up with tears. "Yeah, I know you wanted to play, its just that you should be more careful; there are cats that would look to injure you if you jumped at the like that," he said quickly, hoping to calm the little she-cat. He sighed inwardly, wondering how exactly it was that he'd ended up in this situation. "Yes, well, I suppose you can never have too many allies," he added after a moment, hoping that this would satisfy the she-cat enough for her to stop crying.

[Deleted]

Her eyes brightened when he said they would be allies and

she purred softly "how lucky i am to have someone in this Cave with me!"

and her eyes widened again "were you there? when Drought fell asleep forever?  but he prolly wasn't a good leader, right?  i mean, if people hated him enough to take his ghost away from him.  i wonder why they would.  i wouldn't hate him, i would be his friend!"

And she noticed only now that, Indra's paw was hurt. "WAIT i can fix it!!" Strelka bounced to the back of the cavern where there was a floppy red leaf.  She found this leaf exploring the river and took it home because, she liked red and it kept her company.

She brought the leaf and aimed to rub it all over his paw

[Indra]

Indra's eyes became hard at the mention of Drought, the former tyrant of DeathClan. Truth be told, he hadn't liked the old, battle scarred tom; his grasp on his clan had been too complete, too constricting. But he doubted Strelka would understand the depths of the terror Drought's reign had instilled in others, and he said instead, "Yes, I was there. But make no mistake; what Drought received was well earned. He was not a good leader, and the era for dictators is now over." The mottled black tom decided that the explanation would suffice, and was content to simply sit and perhaps nap when suddenly the other kit ran off to the back of the cave. When she came back, she carried a red leaf; curious, Indra asked, "What will that do?"