the end will come . open

[ASHES.]

dim light streamed through that hole in the ceiling that had given him entrance to this dusty pit in the ground. particles floated in and out of the light, giving the large tom something to stare at in his solitude. that was the one thing wrong then, there wasn't a single cat around for miles probably. the life of a vagrant he supposed. not even someone to share his thoughts with, as if that was what he really wanted to do anyway. he hadn't seen the flow of cat blood on months it felt like. the world seemed so gray without the crimson liquid. of course the other day when he stepped on that shard of glass didn't count, it was his own blood, though the way it colored his white fur was quite lovely. still, it wasn't as if he could build on that. he was tired of maiming prey.

there was certainly enough of it around. playing with his food made socks feel like a kit again. the days when he was so innocent, so interested in the processes of life and death. what he wouldn't give for that curiosity, that rush once again. the discovery of something new. sitting around like this, he just couldn't stand it. rolling over, the tabby and white tom lifted himself from the makeshift bed of cloth and grass and thrown together and stretched a bit. an old sack he'd found in the pit and some dead, dry grass from outside had served him well enough. slowly, almost lazily, he padded into the light and looked up, squinting into the sun that streamed in to his little hole. just seeing all the dust floating around him made him want to sneeze.

socks used some old crates stacked off to the side to get up to the hole in the ceiling and make his escape from that pit of emptiness. the world above was bright despite the season. no snow on the ground surprisingly, just dull gray and tan tones. the sky was somewhat pretty, a nice blue, but even that held some gray still. he felt like he might go mad. some bright color really was hard to find this time of year. it was a hard time for him every year, something to numb the pain of boredom.

a soft, icy wind buffeted his fur, and he lifted his thick tail slightly so the longer hairs could hand in the breeze for a moment. streaks of white were painted on the sky but did nothing to shield the land from the sun. the tom did feel slightly warmer from just being in it even though his paw pads were numb against the frozen ground. he could only imagine how much worse it was going to get. the pit was probably the only shelter around so if it snowed he would have to make a somewhat difficult decision. if it snowed hard he didn't really have a choice. who wants to go trekking across the hills in the blizzard? really? maybe he would still freeze to death in the hole, but at least it would take longer. he had some rags. that was something at least. something. the garss helped too he supposed. and it was dry.

[ 542 ]
ooc: open to anyone willing to deal with this brute ^^

[THEA!]

It looked like it was going to snow later today, and Noelle was not one bit happy with this. Of course, there was the fact that she was a new council member of the Eastern monarchy, and yes, she was very fortunate. But this was spoiled by the fact that Aishisu had won the honor with her. Aishisu. Of all people, that stuck-up snob who thought she knew everything got the job. A smile curled for a moment on her lips as she thought to herself, Maybe if I threaten her or something she'll crack under the pressure. Haha. See, in a time where there wasn't much she could do, suicide jokes about Aishisu was really the only thing she enjoyed. Though she had been promoted to the position of council member, thanks to her crafty use of threats, it seemed that every other thing in her life was wrong. And though some may have shrugged it off ("hey, you win some, you lose some"), Noelle had never lost a thing in her life. She always won. And now that she wasn't winning, it was becoming hard to deal with the pressure.

Nobody liked a queen who couldn't stand pressure.

You see, Noelle had one cat in the whole world she really loved. Some people have giant hearts and spread out their love amongst a lot of people (ugh, those annoying happy ones). Noelle had the same size heart, but she concentrated her love all on one person. Allegra. They were slaves together and had been friends since the very beginning. People used to call Allegra dumb and Noelle bratty, and they would always stand up for each other, if only for the fact that no one else would. But it's hard to not become friends with a cat after you've stuck up for them for quite a few times, so Noelle began to love Allegra. She told Allegra every secret thought she had, like a diary. She knew that if she told her not to tell, she would either forget it, or she really wouldn't tell. Allegra wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but she had a heart, and was willing to give Noelle her sympathy, her understanding, her love - something nobody else had ever done for Noelle in her life.

She had gone missing.

Anger rushed through Noelle and she paused to tear at the dead grass on the ground fiercely. She had last seen Allegra near the Western border, and there, too, was a bit of blood. It had to be those crazy Western monarchy cats - and next time they had a meeting among the monarchies, she would tell them. The only thing was that Noelle would have to get Aishisu on her side. Something she didn't know if she could do.

Adrenaline raced through her veins and she raced across the ground, not knowing where she was going, just having to run. Blood. She wanted blood for what had happened to Allegra. Not just anyone's. Revenge. A battle. Her legs moved faster, faster, until she was at her full speed. A battle among the monarchies. And I'll win. And I'll become Queen.

All for Allegra.

Her relationship with Allegra was complicated. Best friends...or something more than that? Allegra had always thought they were best friends. It didn't matter. They had never talked about feelings. But sometimes, when they curled up together at night, Noelle touched her tail to Allegra's, like one does to their mate. They never talked about their feelings, so Noelle didn't know how Allegra felt.

This sudden thought about her relationship with Allegra didn't just happen. When she first became a council member, an old, graying cat led her through a hall. "This is where the last council member and his family lived," he meowed, then turned to look at her. "You may raise your family here someday as well. Any suitors?"

And she'd had to say no. Other cats had little crushes and flings and loved other males. The truth was, Noelle had never felt that sort of attraction to a male. She thought they were idiots, things to use and then walk away while they cried out for her to come back. Really, the only purpose they served in her life was boosting her self esteem when they cried for her to come back.

And the only person she did ever feel that way with was Allegra. But that was unthinkable. The facts were right there, but still. It didn't feel right. Noelle had teased all the homosexual slaves back when he was one.

Karma was certainly a bitch, for lack of a better word.

Still running, the adrenaline was dying down and she found herself tired. Her fur was still pristine and perfect, thankfully, even though, since it was so long, it tangled easily. Slowing down, Noelle looked up to the sky. Listen, whoever's up there, this is sort of my first time praying or whatever, but I'd like it if you'd take the time to make my life a bit better, and tell me where Allegra -

With an oomph, Noelle's chin connected with the Earth. Looking back, she noticed the tom she had tripped over. It was time to be the old Noelle. Forget about everything.

"Sorry," she meowed, a flirty smile on her face, then sighed. "Too bad there's no knight to save me here," she mocked him.

[ASHES.]

he must have drifted off, in his thoughts or in the warmth of the sunlight. either way he became unaware for just a moment, something that rarely happened to him. he must have subconsciously made the decision that there was no immediate danger in dozing off at this point or in this area. it was open and flat, but there was no cat he could see. not in front of him, at least. he didn't notice the she-cat stumbling upon him, and apparently she didn't notice either since she stepped on and tripped over his tail all in one go. he gave her props for being able to manage that, but the pain in his tail did make him dislike her just a little bit more.

her reaction to him, a pretty daunting cat to look at, made his dislike even stronger. the attraction of a female had never touched him and he didn't think it was about to. sure, she was pretty, but that meant nothing to him really. all that beauty was going to be ripped to shreds eventually anyway. just bumping into him made that a fact. and she didn't show even a slight bit of caution. usually running into a large tom in the middle of nowhere caused some form of fear in a cat, any cat really. she sealed her fate with that pretty little smile. "yes, too bad." he mumbled under his breath. a slight twitch of the lips revealed his true nature for just a moment, but he doubted she would have caught it.

he lifted himself to his paws and turned to her, putting on a friendly mask to shield his true thoughts and intentions. "lost by any chance?" he said in a smooth, friendly voice. he made his eyes wide, nonthreatening, and out a hint of a purr in his voice. his expression showed nothing more than a cat happy to have found company. it was pretty close to the truth actually, he was happy to have find a soul in this wasteland. invigorated even. he was looking for something other than just company though.

he looked the she-cat over, up and down. she was maybe half his age, give or take a few months. certainly didn't look like a vagrant, too fragile. probably a monarchy cat, of which he could not tell just by looking. he'd have to weasel that bit out of her. certainly didn't look like a serf, but so far out in vagrant land made it unlikely she was of high rank. still, if she was a council member or something of the sort she could probably get away with just about anything. but really, this little thing a council member? what a joke, almost enough to make him laugh. he liked her fur, the colors weren't half bad. nice and thick. it would probably soak up quite a bit of blood. she was pretty, like his sister, though they did look different. very different, actually. even the attitudes were different. the eyes maybe? no. the youth probably. lizebth had been so young when he'd ended her life. it had been a while since he'd met such a pretty young thing. it sent shivers down his spine.

[ 537 ]

[THEA!]

Now that she had a good look at him, Noelle could see that this wasn't any old tom. Rather, his muscles were large, covered by a thin coat of fur, and she could see that this cat could rip anyone in half. Nothing I can't handle, she reassured herself, turning on the charm. Sitting down, she wrapped her tail delicately over her paws. No, it wouldn't do any good to get killed. In fact, Noelle had to stop her mouth from twisting into a smirk. If she got killed, there was no way in hell that they'd get away with it. They cared for her too much. In fact, Noelle thought of herself as more of a celebrity than a council member - someone that cats ogled at, loved, and wanted to be like. Not someone who made decisions. But she'd have to start making them soon. Her heart plummeted. The dream of her becoming Queen would have to wait. There were more pressing matters - Allegra. Her muscles tightened for just a moment. She'd do anything to make the Western monarchy pay for messing with Allegra. She'd accuse them, spy on them, lie about them. Kill one of them just to start the war. The war that she'd win. For Allegra.

Then, after they'd captured the Western monarchy, she'd go through the territory, and she'd find Allegra in some little cell somewhere. And they'd run toward each other. And Noelle would say, "I love you."

Was it realistic?

First, there was the matter of whether or not Allegra was still even alive. No, Noelle scolded herself, Allegra has to be alive. But something told her she was fooling herself. What would the Western monarchy want with keeping an Eastern monarchy cat alive? And then there was the blood she'd found on the border. The blood that, she was sure, was Allegra's.

WIP