Skyscraper Forest // a casual jump-in

Mirrorstar  [-]  Outside SilverClan Camp  [-]  Open

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The silver tabby tom wanted a fight. Well, maybe not, but he was getting tired of the daily routine. Yeah, yeah, he knew that wasn't the right mentality for a good leader, but Thunderstar knew of his... penchant for troublemaking before naming him deputy, so he figured it was a minor flaw overall. Mirrorstar flicked his tail over the railing, the hot metal tingling uncomfortably through his fur onto his skin. He left it for a few moments just to feel something, pushing the pain until it burned, then let his tail drop before it caused any real harm. He flopped onto the concrete wall, letting the air fall out of him with a whumph, showing his stomach to the sunlight and pushing his paw to the sky-- the left, the one with scars down the side from where it had nearly gotten bitten off by a dog, the tear in his pelt was almost as silvered as his fur now.

Mirrorstar had a good view of camp from here, though with his eyes blurry and spotted from the bright sunlight, he couldn't see far down the shadowy gloom of the concrete ramp. He'd know if anyone left, though, or entered. That was the point of his perch, really: a guard post. What he was guarding SilverClan from was the real question since they hadn't had a good squabble in the last moon. He sighed again and let his paw drop onto his chest.



Hornetshine  [-]  Hunting Patrol, Compost alley  [-]  Open

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"Ha!" she exclaimed, the mouse dead under her claws. "I knew t'wasn't wind." The mouse had been hiding beneath a pile of orange rinds, which was all she could smell from the alley entrance and now also what coated her paws in citrusy sweetness, only the barest hint of decay soured the scent, and the ginger she-cat hummed through the mouse's fur as she skipped back into the main alley track. Grasses grew from between the cracks in the pavement, along with tomato plants, oddly enough, which had been inadvertently seeded when the rotting fruit from the grocer's dumpster delivered the seeds into the slivers of dirt. Tomatoes were like hornet nests: they didn't need permission to take up residence in the slightest of gaps and hardest of circumstances.

She dropped the mouse at her paws, triumphant. The patrol had only just arrived, so she'd have plenty of time to catch another, and the squeeze of alleys leading behind storefronts always had an abundance of them, especially the day before the garbage trucks rumbled down this larger track to collect the rotting food. Hornetshine secreted the mouse away under a sheet of metal --commonly used by SilverClan to hide prey when they hunted here-- and trotted down a different side alley, her nose twitching as she searched for more prey, even if all she could smell was the orange's sticky juice on her paws.




Smokey  [-]  Floral Shop  [-]  Open

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The large grey tom purred as sunlight streamed through the window onto his favorite perch. Jessica, the dear old woman who owned the floral arrangements shop, always left a blanket on the wide sill for the alley cats to sleep between two large, permanent vases of carnations (they were fake, the dust made his nose itch). In between customers, she would talk to him. He didn't often listen to what she was saying, preferring not to interrupt his nap to parse the clunky human words, but this time he perked his ears and flicked his tail to show he was listening. "There's always more customers coming in when there's a cat in the window," Jessica said. It wasn't the first time she said this, but Smokey flicked his tail in agreement with the old woman's words anyhow. 

Hidden between the fake flowers and behind their large, unyielding, electric blue vases, Smokey wasn't bothered by the customers. Sometimes a child would try to worm their grubby hands between, but they were easily avoided if he rolled towards the glass out of reach. Even more rarely a quiet individual would come inside, radiating sadness as they browsed the shop; Smokey would stretch and squeeze between the vases, approaching them with a soft mrow in greeting. "He doesn't come out often, he must like you," was Jessica's soft reply. The sad people were always gentle. Smokey liked that.

But there had been no sad customers today. Few customers at all, really. That wasn't Smokey's problem, but he knew Jessica would grow increasingly irritable for every hour the shop sat empty.

Chester [-]  White Fence Lane  [-]  Open

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He wanted to catch a glimpse of Aria through the windows, but after having staked out the yard since the crack of dawn with no sign of his friend, Chester had to admit that her family must have went to the vacation house. She'd have many stories to tell him when she returned, no doubt. With a sigh he shook the petals out of his fur (the best spot to lurk was under the dogwood tree, which was constantly shedding blossoms throughout the summer) and slipped under the blindingly white fence to the street beyond.

It was about a mile's walk back to the heart of the city from Aria's house, and the chubby black and white patched tom took his time on the stroll. Chester let the elderly couple that passed by every day pet him in the sunshine (he loved their soft hands and gentle voices); he stalked a sparrow in a patch of grass (he didn't attempt to catch it and watched it fly away with a satisfied swish of his tail); he crossed the street as the angry, yapping dog on the corner of Fifth street ran to the edge of its rope (sometimes he'd stay and taunt it, but that game wasn't as fun without Aria).

Before long, the street had narrowed and the houses crept closer to the road, eating up lawns and replacing them with paved paths and wooden porches. Houses mixed with soulless grey business blocks, then disappeared entirely; the only signs of life coming from flags and potted plants hanging from balconies stacked atop one another like bricks. Aria disliked the noise of the city, but Chester found it comforting. Then again, he was born in a cardboard box while Aria's mother had her pick of seven plush beds bought specifically for kitting.

It was of Chester's opinion that he adopted his family, not the other way around (though he had to admit they had the paperwork while he only had his word). They were a pair of young women who doted on him and left the balcony window open so he could come and go as he pleased, which he appreciated, but he'd chosen the young couple for another reason: their apartment was right across the street from SilverClan's camp. 

"Afternoon, Mirrorstar," he called to the silver tabby perched on the concrete wall beside the parking garage. At one point, there had been shrubs planted behind him, now there were only two scraggly twigs stuck in woodchips. One had part of a paper flapping in its dead branches.

Mirrorstar flicked his tail over the rusted metal railing, gesturing with his paw in greeting as he slowly rolled around. "Hello, Chester. How's Aria?"

"Gone. Her family must have surprised the kids with a trip to the lake house."

Mirrorstar chuffed agreement or perhaps sympathy. He pulled his tail off the railing, pointing the black tip Chester's direction. "You look well fed. Haven't been stealing any mice off SilverClan's territory, have you?" he teased, knowing Chester was plump with expensive kibble (and the occasional salmon, as a treat) up in his apartment.

Chester played into it, like he always did with SilverClan's leader. "Nope, but I did stalk a starling in the suburbs this morning and I almost got it, so you'd better watch out. Soon I'll be stealing all the prey." Chester gestured expansively to the city blocks with a grin.

[[ I will keep making random characters until people join~ That's just the kind of person I am. ]]