Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

Smudge was sooo bored. He sat on a windowsill watching all the happenings of the outside world that he had never explored, or even touched! All he had was a few limp playthings the housefolk brought in and the little housefolk kit that seemed like they wanted to play, but would just hit him when he started to play fight! He got up and ran out the room to his foodbowl and took a few nibbles of the stale, flavorless, dry food.

Sometimes his housefolk would bring in this wet food, which would be amazing in taste, but’s they always took it away from him way before he was finished. He looked out the invisible barrier again and beyond the couple of rows of dwellings to the place where there was trees. He always wondered what was out there. He went to the big room where there was openings that the housefolk came and went, to get a better view, and discovered something peculiar: the opening was cracked open.

Smudge went up to it and sniffed the chilly air that was coming from it, smelling all sorts of new and exiting scents. He used a paw to try and make an opening that he could crawl out of, and the thing swung open easily. A breeze came through, and made him exited, terrified, and curious all at the same time. I’ll just go to the forest and explore it a bit, and I’ll be able to come back here if I don’t like it.he said to himself reassuringly, though he doubted he will ever come back. With a deep breath, he took his first step outside of what he knew, into the unknown.

After getting outside, he itched to run to the trees, so, making sure the tree line was in his sight, he sprinted as fast as he could toward it, not one looking back at his home. He didn’t stop until he was well into the forest, and he felt short of breath. He looked around in wonder at all of the sights and sounds around him, and was completely oblivious to anyone who could be sneaking up on him.

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

Lady crouched, shivering, under the bush. She had managed to hunt some old little vole and wolfed it down, but she was already hungry again, and it was so cold - Sniffling, she rested a paw on her cold muzzle. She missed her housefolk, the warmth of the bed, the gentle feel of her old wrinkled hand sliding from head to tail. When she had died and those horrible twolegs came... Lady didn't want to think about it anymore. She could never trust twolegs again, not after what they'd done to her.

If she kept living alone, though, she was as good as dead.

Her mismatched eyes grew wide at the sound of someone walking through the forest. She peered out from between the twisted branches and dried leaves, spotting a young cat. No, more of a kit, if she had to guess. Had he been abandoned, too? At the thought of such a fate, her heart ached for the stranger, and she slowly slunk out of her hiding spot.

"H-hello. What are you doing here?" she mewed, making her way towards him carefully. "Did your housefolk leave you?"

@BlueGamerGirl

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

Smudge was playing in a small patch of dormant grass. His thicker than average grey and white pelt took a bit of the harsh cold’s sting away, and moving around so much kept him warm as well. He had just a slight feeling of growing hunger, but was too busy having fun to notice.

He turned at the sound of the cat's voice smiling at the other cat. The only memories of other cats were his faint memory of his mother, and seeing the occasional cat walk around outside. “Hi, I’m Smudge! What’s your name?” He padded eagerly toward the cat noticing her pretty eyes that were different colors. “I’m exploring!” He replied to her; “And I don’t think they abandoned me, but I escaped because I was bored and tired of them hitting me every so often.. I never met another cat before. Do you live here?” He gushed excitedly. “Maybe we could live together!” @damaatsii

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

@damaatsii @BlueGamerGirl

Soot had spent her day resting, once again. It was what most days had consisted of since she'd woken up by the water with a twisted paw. It was a while ago- she'd been just a bit more than a kit. She had thought about it, and even if she didn't really know, she had a hunch that her paw must have been treated, since it was steadily healing.

The thing is, she didn't remember. At all.

Soot didn't remember where she was, why she was there, or even who she was, except for her name. It frustrated her, with no doubt, but she had hope that her memories would return as she healed and rested. There was nothing else she could do, at least. So, she had managed to hunt a bit, because even with her hurt paw the moves felt like instincts to her. This world, though, it was unfamiliar. Soot didn't want to admit it, but it was frightening for a small cat like her. To begin with, strong muscles had been visible underneath her fluffy fur, but slowly they'd disappeared as she didn't move much during her day. She didn't even know any cat here!

Soot had wanted to avoid any cats until she found her way home, but months had passed and nothing had happened. Now, she saw two cats talking a little further away. They seemed nice. Should she approach them? She thoughtfully looked around herself to decide. The green trees and warm sun had disappeared to leave a cold season coming. Would she really like to face that alone? No. So, the answer was clear.¨

Soot took a bumbling step forward. "Uh, hello there," she tried softly, hoping she wasn't interuppting anything.

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

Cloud looked on at the scene before her. 'What are they doing out here in the cold?' She thought, her sleek pelt not enough to keep her warm. 'The kit seems nice, maybe I'll speak with him. So, she walked out of the bushes, and finally spoke.
"Do you know where we are... What was it, Smudge?"

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

Yeet

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

@BlueGamerGirl @ponyapan @Cloudsky

Two more cats joined them before she even had a chance to answer the kit. Lady blinked at them in surprise, shrinking away slightly as fear almost got the best of her, then forced herself to find her voice. They seemed friendly enough, and she trusted cats much more than she trusted twolegs anymore. Besides, they all seemed friendly enough.

"I'm Lady," she mewed. Poor Smudge had been struck by a twoleg? How terrible! Her housefolk never struck her, though the twolegs that came later were a little rough with her. "I... I suppose I live here now, yes."

The idea of living with even one other cat filled her with joy. She had never been alone before, and the past few days had been the worst she could ever remember. Would she be able to take care of Smudge, though? He was too young to hunt for himself, certainly, but Lady wasn't much of a hunter herself. Maybe if the other two she-cats helped, they would be able to scrape by.

"If you aren't going back to your housefolk," she answered after a moment, "then yes, we can live together. It's much better than being alone, isn't it?"

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

Smudge greeted the other cats cheerfully. "I don't know..." He told the silver and white cat, "somewhere in the forest I guess. Oh and yeah, I'm Smudge!"

"Its nice to meet you Lady, and everyone!" he jumped up and down in excitement, thinking that escaping from his prison of a twoleg home was the best thing he had done. "And I'm definitely not heading back there; it'll definitely be better to live together!"

He turned to the couple of other she-cats and asked, "Are you guys going to come live together with us two?" His expression was overflowing with excitement and hope.
@damaatsii @ponyapan @Cloudsky

Re: Ballistic Runaway (OPEN! TO EVERYONE!)
 

@damaatsii @Cloudsky @BlueGamerGirl

Soot hesitated, one paw frozen in the air, before she purred. The whole scene before her had just reminded her of... something, but the memory was gone as quickly as it came. "That sounds like a good idea, actually. It's not like I have anywhere else to go," Soot answered, almost feeling the buzzing hapiness in the air with her whiskers. It felt safe to be surrounded by these cats. There was safety in numbers!
She suddenly remembered she hadn't even introduced herself. "Oh, right! I'm Soot, nice to meet you!" In turn, she tried to memorize the names of all the cats- so far, she'd learnt she could be quite easily distracted.