The Dusty Woods

Mon Dec 05, 2016 3:53 pm

South of the Oak’s Heart Forest and near to the Old Quarry is an area that was previously used as Twoleg access to the Quarry, but has now been left to be reclaimed by nature. A lot of the ground is weedy and there are large rocks everywhere, creating a strange mix of pine forest and almost moorland-like groundcover where grass hasn’t managed to take seed. Prey isn’t as abundant here, however streams are common as the dry ground doesn’t tend to let the water soak through, and small fish live in these streams. The area floods frequently and can be dangerous in storms, but it is safer to climb a tree than to try and traverse the land back to the Quarry.

Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:07 pm

Anora, having ran to this area, finally stopped by some rocks and checked to see if Flash had followed. “Flash, are you around?” She called out, breathing heavily between words.

Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:09 pm

Flash, whose run had slowed to a brisk trot, hurried around a corner of a rock, his breathing rapid. " I'm here." He meowed, waving a tail to make sure she noticed him.

Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:17 pm

Anora sighed with relief, her breathing having slowed down. “Have you ever been here before?” She asked him, curious and having wondered if any of those previous cats had noticed them.

Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:27 am

Flash nodded, his breathing slowing. "I've been here a few times, it's nice." He answered, shaking his pelt of dirt from crawling around under the bush.

Mon Jan 22, 2018 11:44 am

"Should we rest now and scout the area, or scout then rest?" She asked, her gaze curious as she focused on him.

Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:12 pm

Flash brushed past her to sniff at a low hanging branch. " it's probably not very safe to rest without figuring out what's around here to hurt us." He mewed, glancing back at her.

Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:15 pm

She nodded, looking at their surroundings. She sniffed the air, getting a few unfamiliar scents to her. “Do you know a few of these scents? I can’t tell what they are from. They smell foul but strong.” She mentioned, pricking her ears for any signs of movement.

Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:31 pm

Flash straightened up, ears swerving as he let his mouth open slightly. He snapped it close, fur raising along his spine. " foxes.." he stepped protectively infront of her, trying to see how fresh it was.

Thu Jan 25, 2018 1:36 pm

“I’ve never encountered one..” she whispered, the hair on her back standing and suddenly she felt frightened. She was grateful for Flash, but did notice how he stood protectively in front of her. “Are they big or small?” She asked him, her tail low in fear.

Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:19 pm

Flash stilled his tail, sniffing the air. " bigger then us, smaller then badgers. Nasty things, their bites can be infectious." He said quietly, sliding out his claws.

Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:21 pm

Anora, suddenly frozened with fear, stood behind him. Her eyes were wide with fear as she stared ahead, knowing she would need a push and shove if he needed her to fight. All she could do was stand and shake, her fur fluffed up as well.

Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:32 pm

Flash glanced at her, his eyes softening. " calm down, it's ok, if we're quiet it shouldn't notice us." He wasn't thinking, and pressed his nose to her cheek in comfort.

Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:37 pm

Anora, snapped out of her frozen state of fear when Flash had touched her cheek. Her eyes softened a little and her limbs relaxed slightly but her fur was still fluffed up. "Th-thank you... I get scared with things i am not familiar with.. especially enemies that could kill." She told him, remembering having been frightened once by the sight of a badger when she was younger.

Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:48 pm

Flash pulled away with a slight smile. " it's ok, nothing's going to kill yo-" he broke off at a loud snarl from the bushes. His head snapped to the noise.

Fri Jan 26, 2018 1:52 pm

Anora stood now, frozen once more."Run or fight?" She asked, panic in her voice from hearing the growl. Her claws slid out but she still stood in fear.

Fri Jan 26, 2018 2:25 pm

"Back away, slowly.." Flash nudged her slightly, keeping his eyes on the bush.

*The fox growled lowly, its eyes glowing in the darknes, creeping closer.*

Fri Jan 26, 2018 2:29 pm

Anora nodded and forced herself to move, backing away as he had instructed. Without realizing it, she accidentally snapped on a twig, making a loud crunch sound. Her ears shot forward as she kept her eyes on the bushes.

Sun Jan 28, 2018 3:03 am

Flash glanced back, his eyes flashing. While he was distracted the fox leapt out of the bushes, teeth bared. It raced towards Anora, the one that made the noise.

Sun Jan 28, 2018 4:20 am

Anora, realizing the fox was after her now, suddenly snapped inside and she bared her teeth and launched at the fox. She didn’t hesitate to rake her claws at it, but deep inside she was still terrified. She glanced to Flash for a moment, wondering what he’d do.

Sun Feb 18, 2018 11:44 am

The fox snarled at Anora, snapping its jaws at her legs as she slashed her claws into its flesh.

Flash was taken aback for a moment, and reacted slowly for him, leaping onto the foxes back once he realized what was happening. He sunk his claws into its shoulders while trying to snap at its laid back ears.

Sun Feb 18, 2018 11:57 am

The fox, riled with fury and adrenaline, tried shaking Flash of her back. She slashed more at Anora, becoming confused on who to attack.

Anora was glad to see Flash help and so she swiped more at the fox. She had previously missed the first swipe the fox made, but the she-cat’s fear was blinding her to make decisions properly. She had no clue how to fight a fox and where to aim to deal more damage. The fear in her eyes was clear as she swiped blindly some more

Sat Feb 24, 2018 1:13 am

The fox's eyes sharpened, and snarled louder at Anora as she heard her pups nearby whimper and yelp for her. She backed away slightly, still trying to shake off Flash, who hung to her back like a flea. She snapped her jaws again at Anora, aiming at her throat.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:25 am

Anora’s eyes flashed even more fear than before, as she the fox’s mouth closed on her throat. She tasted blood in her mouth, realizing it was her own as the fox held on. Her vision began to get blurry and black dots were forming. Blood oozed out from her neck and mouth and she couldn’t do a thing except silently pleade Flash to help.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 10:47 am

Flash bristled, snapping his jaws onto the fox's throat and pulling as he battered its face with his unstealthed front paws, his back paws still dug into the animal's back. Let go of her! He begged, hoping that he would be strong enough to tear the fox off his new friend.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 10:56 am

The fox, now annoyed and wanting to get back to her pups, let go of the she-cat angrily and rolled onto her back to get the tom off. She then ran back to her pups where they were hiding, blood dripping down her face.

Anora, her vision almost black from blood loss, could barely breath as blood swelled in her mouth and throat. It oozed out more from her throat, the wound deep and the holes slightly big. She didn’t have a clue of what to do next as she stood hunched over, many fearful thoughts racing through her mind.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 11:16 am

Flash payed still for a second, breathing hard trying to get his breath back. He struggled to his paws, coughing slightly as he stumbled to her as quickly as he could. "Anora?" He meowed quietly, eyes widening at the amount of blood oozing from her neck. He spun around, glancing over the terrain for moss or cobwebs. Flash raced to the base of a tree, looking inside carefully for bits of cobweb. He gathered what he could from inside the base. He hobbled back on three paws. "You're going to feel fine, I promise." He meowed, half way to himself, as he pressed what cobwebs he had onto her throat, putting pressure onto the holes of the fox's teeth.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 11:21 am

Anora winced and wanted desperately to yowl in pain, but she couldn’t. All she could do was close her eyes shut and dig her claws into the ground. She began shaking again as before, but as bad. She was afraid to open her eyes, to see her own blood on the ground below her. But she forced herself to and only looked at Flash. All she could think of doing was burying her face in his fur, and without any other thoughts she did just that. She breathed in his warm scent through her nose as best she could, keeping her head in his chest fur to keep her as calm as she could be.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 11:48 am

Flash froze slightly, gazing at her for a moment. He blinked to clear his thoughts as his ears started to heat. He glanced at the cobwebs, witch were soaked with blood. He dropped them, knowing they would be no good now, and used his paws to continue applying pressure to her neck, trying not to shake himself, as he knew nothing of herbs. I hope this is right.. please be right.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 1:34 pm

Anora stepped back a little, realizing she probably stepped over a line. She didn’t move her head or neck much, as she could feel the bleeding slowly go down. The cobwebs were helping but not much. Having a thought, maybe a bad one, she slowly walked over to a thicker patch of grass and tried vomiting. As it didn’t help with getting the blood out of her throat, she coughed instead. That did help as the blood went out a little faster. Once she was done, she found more cobwebs and applied them to her neck. She knew she couldn’t talk so she simply gave him a ‘sorry’ look for what she did earlier with him.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 1:45 pm

Flash watched her, feeling utterly useless as she had to take care of herself. Pathetic, Flash. Come on? You couldn't have helped? He shook himself out of his own thoughts as she looked at him. He padded overly lightly, not really knowing what to say himself, so he touched his nose to her cheek. There is no need to apologize.. he wanted to say, but he knew she couldn't talk at the moment, and he didnt want to try to guess what she was saying back. He pulled away, looking at her neck with a worried look.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 2:10 pm

She gave him a small smile, the pain in her neck terrible, knowing she had to see another cat with herb knowledge before her wound became infected. She wanted to move away from this area now, knowing the fox was still around. She gave him a pleading look to leave, but not having a clue where to go.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 2:35 pm

Flash glanced around, looking towards where they came from. " we could go back to that group... it's the only choice we have, we have to have that bite looked at, and they might have a healer." He said to her, his voice hushed, just in case the fox was still watching and listening.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 3:37 pm

She nodded slightly, as not to cause more bleeding. She flicked her tail, wanting to leave as soon as possible. She was able to manage a ragged and barely audible purr, but it sounded more like an odd growl. She stopped the noise, shocked at herself as she made a funny face.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 4:11 pm

Flash looked at her, holding back a laugh. " what was that?" He purred, starting towards the group slowly, wondering if she would lean against him for support on the way there.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 4:22 pm

Anora shot him a ‘don’t laugh at me’ look, giving him a small glare before padding slowly after him. She hoped his plan would work, as she didn’t want to lose her voice or die from infection.

Sat Feb 24, 2018 5:35 pm

Flash let out a little chuckle anyways, slowing a bit more to stay in pace with her. He walked forward with his eyes ahead, but out of the corner of his eye he kept a look out on Anora.

Sun Feb 25, 2018 1:22 am

Anora shot him another glare, her tail twitching impatiently. She knew if she ran her wound would open more and bleed more. She was feeling quite sluggish and tired, having lost quite a bit of blood. She glanced around as they walked, cautious but also terrified something would attack them.

Sun Feb 25, 2018 2:19 am

Flash stopped as the neared where the group was when they had left. He glanced at her worriedly, flicking his tail to hit her side softly. " it's now or never. You ready?" He asked, glancing back towards the garden the group had stayed.

Sun Feb 25, 2018 2:41 am

She took a few deep, raggedy breaths as best she could, which happened to cause a little more bleeding. She nodded ever slightly, hoping this group of cats ahead would have a healer for her. She suddenly saw black dots in her vision once again, causing her to stagger a little as she began walking. Her tail was drooped down, her neck giving her a terrible aching pain.

Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:54 am

Flash watched her for a second, before positioning himself in a state that he could support her. " Lean on me the rest of the way, it will save your strength." He meowed, his voice tender with care, his eyes flashing with hurt at the thought of her being in so much pain