; where troubles melt like lemon drops (open)

[`MOUSEPELT *]

away above the chimney tops

it was nearly dawn, the sun just barely peeking above the horizon, a dull light cascading upon the forest, faint rays poking through holes in the tree canopies. there was a thin layer of frost covering the grassy earth.

a dainty paw stepped out from the queens' den, and another followed it. mousepelt was the first to rise and greet the day, as she often was, mostly just to have some time to herself and be in the safety of the camp and still have the peace and quiet that was so rare these days. sighing, the tabby gray she-cat gazed up at the sky, blinking as a tiny snowflake landed on her eyelashes. it looked to be another bleary day.

mousepelt stared across the horizon, looking at how far away the treeline went on, on and on for what seemed like forever. she wondered if somewhere far, far away there were other cats in clans like her. cats that did what they were told without question and went about their daily routine without a meaning, without a purpose. she longed for some sort of meaning to grasp onto, something more than what she had been doing. some cats had been standing up for themselves, some she-cats had left the clan. mousepelt shivered, partly from the cold and partly from the thought of leaving the clan, leaving all she had ever known.

her ears twitched as she heard the sound of leaves being crunched behind her. she turned around, swiveling on her hind legs to see a deer. breath caught in her throat, she froze,not daring to move. she had only seen a deer one other time in her life, when she was a kit, about 20 moons or so ago. the deer leaned its head down to gingerly pick at some grass, its large, round, eyes seemed empty except for a slight bit of emotion...sadness? mousepelt felt sad as well, longing for something. but she didn't really know what, or did she? was she just too afraid to admit it to herself?

that's where you'll find me

[* GOLDENWIND]

The sun poked out from the dense clouds above, causing strange patterns to be casted down upon the ground of the camp. Along with the clouds came snow. Small little balls of snow each feel slowly and softly from the heavens. Each one would fall gingerly, and then add to the mass beginning to form on the earth. The gentel sound that had once lulled the she-cat to sleep now awoken her. The sound of the howling wind eased her out of her den to stagger outside. Her movements were anything but graceful, but she made it outside. The smell of snow hit her in the face as she peered around the clearing with her sightless eyes. Her nose picking up all the scents she needed. Somebody had already been awake, a she-cat, and everyone else was still sleeping, quite soundly. An ear flicked back to the dens behind her and listened to the sound of snoring, and breathing. Everything was silent and peaceful as it always was in the morning when nobody else had awoken from their night time slumbers. Stretching out her wary limbs, and muscles. Keen ears flickered around her skull like radars, still catching everyone's movements, it was so quite it was almost as if something had died.

After sitting for a few minutes, thinking foggy morning thoughts and getting her day arranged in her mind she finally decided it was about time she did something, after all, she'd been in camp for four days now and hadn't spoken to anyone or anything that whole time. Nobody wanted to talk to her anyways. Clumsily getting to her dainty paws, a sound not created by her sounded off behind her. She didn't even bother turning her head to face the sound, that wouldn't tell her anything. Looking straight ahead with her ears pealed back and her fur slightly on end she waited. The smell was fresh and came in a large amount, instantly telling the she-cat this was a large beast. Also the scent of plants also reached her paper thin nares. What was this beast?

She slowly turned around, her paws blindly trying to find their way around without tripping on something and falling. Yarrow, did she hate falling down. Snap! the sound of a branch broke underneath her weight and she feel forward, landing with a loud noise. She heard the heavy beast become unsettled and released a frightening snorting sound. "Oh my!" she cried, eyes wide and shifted as she tried to pick up the scent of the animal. Which way was it going? Was it coming for her?! "Somebody, help!" her tones were frightened and panicked. The smell of the beast still lingered on her taste buds. She huddled down and waited for the animal to trample her...

[`MOUSEPELT *]

away above the chimney tops

Mousepelt's ears swiveled as she heard a cry from behind her. Turning around, she saw a flash of white as the deer that she had been watching dashed into the forest, it's tail flipped up like a white flag showing submission. Submission, that word again. When did submission become a bad thing. It was just a way of life...but some cats decided they needed to take a stand against it.

Looking to see who or what had scared the deer away, Mousepelt caught a whiff of another cat, and saw a hint of patched fur bundled near a bush on the outskirts of camp. It was Goldenwind, the pretty but unfortunate queen that always seemed so confused. Mousepelt had pity for the queen, having even raised a few of her kits, who were now apprentices. Padding gently towards her, Mousepelt cleared her throat, to give Goldenwind some sort of warning that she was near. "It's alright. There's nothing here to hurt you," she said, her voice still slightly husky from sleep. The she-cat looked as if she was terrified, hunched up in a ball, tail rattling. Mousepelt leaned down and nudged the uniquely colored queen.

"I'll be right back, she said, then padded over to the pathetically small fresh kill pile. It seemed to be slowly diminishing everyday they got closer to the middle of leaf-bare. There was a thin coat of snow on the ground now, pawprints led a trail back to Goldenwind, and Mousepelt placed a bony mouse next to her mouth. "Here, eat something," she said softly, nudging it closer. She touched the queen's shoulder with the tip of her tail in a soothing manner, but shivered as she could feel how cold the cat was.

that's where you'll find me