the red nest - thusula

[Afterlife]

Ghost ducked out of the tiny hole which concealed his home. Where many of the members of his Tribe - the Farmland cats, as they were known to most outsiders - kept home in the big red abandoned Up-walker nest, Ghost preferred solitude. His pale blue eyes swept up to the sky, through a large hole in the canopy of oak leaves and clouds, to glimpse the moon. It hung in the sky, big and silver and far away. It was a sliver compared to how big Ghost had seen it grow, appearing as a shining claw that had been drawn in combat.

Nodding, Ghost turned back to his little nest.

In truth, it wasn't much at first glance. It was a tree stump, and tree stumps were never particularly useful to anyone. Maybe the smooth, worn surface of the wood could be used as a resting place or to bask in the sun. Maybe the thick, hard bark could be used to sharpen one's claws if need be. But beyond that, it was just a stump. A worthless, Up-walker-violated stump.

The real deal was what was found under it. There was a tiny little pathway that had been dug by wood ants or something else that led down into a sort of cave under the stump. Perhaps some other cat had come here and dug themselves out a home to stay in, but left. Perhaps it was a Tribescat. Who knew? All Ghost knew was that the cave under the stump had become his salvation. This little cave had pretty much everything a cat would need. There was a hole from above which had been paved with leaves that led to a moss bowl of sorts to hold rain water. Another hole in the wall of the cave was the perfect size for a fresh-kill stash. It was dry and cool and only the smallest of cats would be able to logically fit into it. No one really bothered Ghost at his stump unless they needed him or they were invited. Earlier that day, he had made his way to the red nest and told the Tribe that they were welcome to visit him.

All he had to do was wait, sitting on his stump, staring with dead eyes in the direction of the red nest. Been a while since I've had company, Ghost reflected. Might be nice.

---

Eh. Could've been worse. I'm a bit rusty.

[Thusula]

The scottish fold's pelt was itching with anxiety, wanting to escape from the horrid scents of the newly inducted members of the Tribe. Sure, there were some that he grew up with since kithood, but he was fine with those since they were Tribe-raised as kits too. These newcomers instead were mainly the ages of adults and teens, so they were already exposed to the outside world. And having knowledge that the tom did not know disturbed him - a lot.

Sure, it was nice that the Tribe would grow once more, but what about the purity of the future generations? There was going to be outside blood introduced, and that scared him - tons. He padded around the entrance of the farmhouse, not wanting to sleep beside those that he did not know, but wanted to doze off somewhere.

He eventually came upon a lone cat who was just below the moonlight on a stump. Someone must be quite lonely out here. he thought, sniffing the air. It was a native cat like him, and his coat was so white that Thusula wondered why he did not notice this cat around before. We must have been trained under different Triunes.

But then he remembered someone saying that the Tribescats could visit the stump anytime they wanted, so maybe this was the cat that the others were speaking about? He walked forth, knowing that if this was the cat that was being talked about, there would be some interesting conversations that could stir up, especially on the topic of why solidarity was preferred over the protection of others.

"Do you enjoy looking out to the unknown?" he asked, referring to the stars and moon placed above.