spider-man theme [p]lays in the distance

[Peter]

Natalia and @yeah

No parents, no siblings, and no sense of direction made for a surprisingly well put together kit. Peter said "please" and "thank you", and he always remembered to cover his dirt. Yet, all of this didn't add up for a sense of direction and that was taken away from him not once, but twice. First his parents left and then his human died. Well, his parents didn't leave so much as he was captured by the shelter when he was too young to run and too heavy to carry. He was in a cage for a moon before a human picked him up.


He had a few moons with him brefore the bang went of and the scent of blood filled the air. 


So, Peter ran without knowing where he was heading. There was nothing else he could do, really. The first time he tried he remained frozen and the second time he didn't want to. He didn't want to run now, but he couldn't stay. He ran as far as his small legs would carry him and then some. He ran until nothing smelled the same and the ground was wet then pushed himself a bit further. His paws became sore and his legs weak; his vision blurry and nose confused. All he could do was go forward and not look back.

Perhaps "well put together" was reaching a bit, because Peter was falling apart at an alarming rate. Quite litereally too, for he ran too far withought looking and found himself feeling as though he was being bitten all over. 

"Please help," Peter whispered in a small, broken voice. He stopped running.

[Natalia]

Natalia didn't enjoy the swamp. She doubted anyone did, the very nature of the swamp made it unpleasant for cats in general. As far as she knew, cats didn't generally enjoy being wet. Of course there were the cats who didn't mind it, some who even enjoyed it. Natalia herself didn't mind getting wet. The swamps however, clung to your pelt annoyingly. It hung heavy on her ginger tabby fur. Why Jude wanted to stroll through here was beyond her. Though, she was thankful for any time spent with him, no matter how unpleasant the environment. 

She sighed in response to Jude's upbeat question.

Then she thought she heard a whisper. She scanned around, her ears folding down slightly, as her eyes gleamed with suspicion. Her nose twitched and there was a scent that didn't smell particularly Deathclan. Perhaps a new recruit? Or perhaps someone who stumbled here intentionally or on accident.

She turned the corner and she saw him.

A kid was stuck in some brambles and looked quiet honestly pathetic. She briefly considered helping him... She wouldn't admit it, but she had a bit of a soft spot for kids. She all too clearly remembered being a scared little kid once upon a time, being all alone and trying to shut out the world in a desperate attempt to shut out her pain and anger. There had been too much hurt and no one had helped her.

She had called out for help and nobody came.

But... Maybe it didn't have to be that way with this kid. But.... She still had some doubts. She sighed. She looked to Jude, to see if he had noticed the kid.


((Perhaps not my best post. Who knows, to be perfectly honest?))

[Deleted]

Jude, unlike Natalia, did enjoy the swamp. It was so different from the rest of the territory, and there were so many things to look at. Frogs, for example. You wouldn't find them hopping around the forest, but they were abundant here. He looked at his friend with a smile. "Isn't this nice?" They hardly spent any time together now, all thanks to stupid Patch and her stupid idea of living with the stupid barn cats. 'She's such a jerk.'

"Please help."

Jude frowned and looked around, still trotting alongside Natalia. Did she hear it too? 'Maybe it was just the wind.' Then he turned the corner and spotted the poor scrap of fur. 'Oh no.' He didn't think twice about rushing over and helping the youngling. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked softly, dragging the brambles off of him. "Are you lost?"

[Peter]

Now that he had stopped running Peter's muscles were screaming at him. He wanted nothing more than to sink to the ground and rest, but every small movement caused the thorns to prick him even more. His mouth opened to scent the air for blood, but it was already all he could smell; blood and fear. He had to calm down-- his heaving sides only caused more pain, but how could he?

The scene replayed itself in his mind; the earth-shattering bang, ears ringing, the heavy scent of blood, walking in and seeing his human lying on the floor without moving a muscle. The worst part about it was that her eyes never shut, and they stared at him with a glassy stare which held no warmth. The small cat was shaking and it wasn't entirely from exhaustion.

Peter hardly heard the sound of another cat speaking to him; all he could really hear was the dull roar of blood rushing through his ears, accompanied by his own rushing heartbeat. Yet, he did hear something and looked up. The quick movement caused the brambles to scratch against his skin and Peter let out a sharp hiss of pain. Brown eyes looked around to see if they were alone-- they weren't. Both cats were much larger than he and they looked feral. He probably should have been more concerned than he was, but honestly he couldn't bring himself to care if they wanted to kill him. He was trembling like a leaf and had just witnessed that, what more could they do to him?

"No."

[Natalia]

Natalia briefly sighed before she rushed over as well, taking a good look at the kid, while Jude pulled the brambles off. They seemed to be primarily superficial scratches, with some deeper ones here and there. He'd be fine... Probably. 

Though, there was something off about the kid. They didn't seem particularly responsive. Her ears folded back as something strange shimmered in her gaze. Though the movement of the brambles certainly evoked a physical response from the kid - God, she needed to get his name after this - One that wasn't entirely pleasant. She had yet to meet a cat who genuinely enjoyed another's pain regardless of the victim.

Great, now the kid was shivering and wasn't that pathetic. It wasn't that cold yet, so she could only figure the kid was scared and suspicious of the big scary adults around him. She tried crouching down so she wasn't towering over him. It might make him feel threatened, which wasn't exactly her end game here.

The denial. Of course she didn't believe it. The lack of response earlier until Jude pulled the brambles off of him was troubling to her. She didn't really have any real proof, but she just had the feeling this kid was hurt in more ways than were visible to those without keen eyes and similar experience. 

She sighed. "Alright, then. Wanna tell us your name kid? Mine's Natalia. The softy next to me is Jude."

[Deleted]

Jude continued to push the brambles away, trying not to drag them along the cat's fur. It was sad to see the youngling's state. 'He seems pretty shaken up. I wonder what happened.' He thought, now stopping and looking down at the tom. Most of the brambles were gone, now only a few leftover thorns remaining. He noticed the cat had some scratches. 'I hope they weren't from me trying to help him.' "Are you hurt?" They looked pretty minor, but there could be some injuries hiding beneath his fur.

He took a seat and wrapped his tail around his paws, trying not to appear threatening. He looked at Natalia as she introduced them, a small, humorous smile on his muzzle. 'Softy? Thanks a lot.' With a shake of his head he turned back to the younger cat, wondering what was going through his mind. He felt bad just looking at him. 'I hope he knows we just want to help him. It's a good thing he ran into us and not someone else, like Pain or Static.' That would have been very bad.

[Peter]

Peter tried not to wince as the brambles were pulled off of him, but some had hooked into and brought pain as they were pulled out. It didn't take long, but the larger tom had removed most of the brambles, the only ones remained were the ones which bit into his skin instead of just his fur. The thorns gone meant that there was nothing between he and the two cats so he quickly backed up a few paces, but due to his exhaustion he ended up tripping and landing on his rump.

Brown eyes flashed between the two as the she-cat introduced them. Natalia and Jude. Natalia looked as though she was going to pounce on him at any second and Jude was just sitting, but that could change in a few seconds. A lot could change in a few seconds.

"My name is Peter." And if he had any way to compartmentalize he would have offered his thanks, but, he was lost, scared, confused, and had just lost everything he knew. "If you're going to kill me just do it now." He was still shaking and his sentences were punctuated with short, heaving breaths. Peter allowed his body to drop to the ground in the relief it much needed. It didn't really matter what position he was in, did it? It didn't matter an hour ago and it sure as hell didn't matter now.

[Natalia]

Natalia watched as Jude seemed to think along similar lines as her, trying to not seem threatening. She briefly glanced towards him to see a slight grin on his face. She huffed subtly as her gaze returned to the kid. God, it was exhausting to keep referring to him as the kid.

Then the kid seemed to almost panic, backpedalling, but tripping and falling onto his rump. Natalia sighed. Maybe even crouching... She settled down, laying down as her tail curled around herself. Perhaps this would convey the message of a complete lack of violent intentions. 

Finally, a name. Peter. God, even thinking of him as 'the kid' had gotten really old really quickly. Then came the muttered reply that spoke miles of hurt, despair, and desperation. Likely some fear as well. Maybe even a dash of anger. She sighed. 

"We're not going to kill a kid." She told him, her voice patient. She never spoke this way with anyone before, her voice was never patient. Irritated, tired, sarcastic... Sure. Patient? It wasn't exactly a virtue of her's.

But... Right now, she was reasonably sure it was what the kid needed. The kid was still shaking as he collapsed back onto the ground. She sighed.

She didn't really think a swamp was the place for this. She stood back on her paws and walked over to Peter. "Hey kid, why don't we move somewhere more comfortable?" 

[Deleted]

Jude sighed when the cat skittered back, but he wasn't going to follow him in fear that it'd freak him out more. He watched as the tom flicked his gaze between the two. Then he gave a name. 'Peter.' It sounded like a kittypet's name, so he had to wonder if the youngling was from the twolegplace. Then again, Natalia and himself didn't exactly have rogue-like names, so Peter could've been from anywhere.

He frowned when Peter spoke again. He hated hearing that shaky voice. 'Is he afraid of us?' "We're not gonna hurt you." He said quietly, watching as Natalia stepped closer. He nodded after she was done speaking. "Yeah. Are you hungry, or maybe thirsty? You look pretty worn out."

[Peter]

Stupid, stupid, he was being oh so very stupid. He was acting so defensive and they weren't even attacking (yet). Peter took in a long, deep breath, but it didn't do much. He was still shaking and the blood was still roaring. What could he expect? He had nightmares for a long time after leaving his parents, and this was so much worse. May had fed him, kept him warm, and spend every moment she could with him. Lazy afternoons would be spent in the sun as she told him about her Ben who died in a war. Gone.

Peter looked over at the two, considering their questions. Hell, what more did he have to lose? They could kill him any time they wanted, but if he could get food and rest before it? Well, who was he to turn that up? Except the food, the thought of eating made his stomach churn. He knew how feral cats ate; the flesh would be raw and dripping with blood.

"Sure, no, yes." He answered in the order which the questions were given. Though, he didn't make any move to raise from his current position.

[Natalia]

Natalia sighed and shook her head at Jude. She had a feeling with this kid, they needed to show it more than anything. At least Jude was trying to check for Peter's wellbeing. Though, she wasn't sure there was any guarantee he'd be honest. She was hoping he wasn't a sort of hide their pain, even if it was somewhat hypocritical.

She sighed again. "Alright, kiddo. Let's go." She reached down to try and grab Peter's scruff and lift him up onto her back so she could carry him back to her den. She wouldn't normally do this, but he seemed to be in rough shape.

[Deleted]

"Sure, no, yes." They could work with that.

Jude watched as Natalia lifted Peter onto her back. He held in a giggle, then started trotting alongside them. He stayed close in case either of them needed him for balance.

Once they were approaching Natalia's den, he started heading off on his own. "I'll come back with some wet moss, okay? That way he can have something to drink." He said, and with that he trotted away.

[Peter]

It probably said a lot for Peter's current state when he made no complaints at being picked up by the scruff. All he did was let his body hang limply from Natalia's mouth. He wasn't in any mood to walk on his own and he didn't really care where they went. He vaguely heard the other tom say something, but all Peter really focused on was the feeling of teeth pinching at his scruff. It had been a long time since he had felt anything like that.

Soon after the tom left they stopped moving. Wherever they were going Peter assumed they had arrived. All he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and maybe not move forever. "Are we there?" He just wanted to be let down.

[Natalia]

If Natalia was troubled by the lack of resistance on Peter's part she didn't show it. Peter was transferred to her back without fuss and gave Jude a dirty look. She'd noticed him trying not to laugh at her. Her ears folded back.

Then she began to move, not too quickly, so as to not have him fall off, but she wasn't moving at a snail's pace. The kid was quiet most of the way there. Again, if Natalia thought something was up, she gave no indication of her thoughts. Though, when she was not too far from their destination, Peter finally spoke up. He asked if they were there yet.

"Almost." She answered, and sure enough, came into the clearing where her den was. Her den was dug into the roots of a tree that was partially uprooted. She slipped inside, carefully making sure not to drop Peter. Then she gently let him slide off her back into her nest. She wondered what she was doing. If her kindness was only going to be laughed at....

No. She needed to be better... Especially with a kid involved. She lay down next to her nest, giving the kid some space. "Jude should be here soon with some water."

[Deleted]

Quickly finding an old, green-covered tree trunk, Jude began scraping some moss off and dropping it at his paws. He didn't know how thirsty Peter was, so he clawed off what was probably more than necessary, just in case. He then gathered it together and started heading for the river. He passed some puddles on the way, though decided not to get the water from there since it wouldn't be as cold.

Reaching the river, pushed the moss down into it with a paw, then quickly gathered it up again and bounded away for Natalia's den. He held his head high and tried not to squeeze the moss too much. He wanted to get as much water as possible.

He padded into the den and placed the dripping moss down in front of Peter. "Go ahead." He nodded at it, then sat down next to Natalia.