M o r n i n g || S t a r

[robin]

A large paw across the landscape, landing heavily on the shoulder of a tall ebony black cat. Osprey winced, but managed to keep his balance at the dog's powerful blow. He staggered a few paces, then lumbered back towards the dog, before twisting away. In confusion and fury, Caesar stuck out blindly, smacking his powerful paw straight through thin air. The cat however dodged once again. He was exhausted already, he really wasn't up to all this activity just yet. Osprey's muscles ached, but he breathed a sigh of relief when out of the corner of his eye he spotted a calico shape dart towards their target. Thankfully, he dodged around the canine and appeared to be heading in the oppisite direction to Twilight, but he turned sharply which sent the Doberman skidding uncontrollably around the bend. With a cry of determination, Osprey ran.

His limbs looked just like a blur of inky blackness, he was moving as fast as his figure enabled him. Although he looked pretty quick, his pace was slow and Caesar was catching up fast. His paws were stabbed with pain every single time he put them down, but he managed to keep going. Some miracle that was. Osprey's amber eyes were fixed ahead of him, no other thoughts crossed his mind apart from Run, run run. With one final bound, he made an unexpected turn and swivelled around the corner through the narrow gap in the thistles. A chorus of angry curses and mocking insults came roaring from outside, but the charcoal tom didn't care. His vision swayed from side to side, his legs felt weak. He swayed, once, twice, before he collapsing. His body resembled a ball of useless black fluff, slumped effortlessly on the floor without a second thought.

Osprey dreamed. He blinked open his eyes, a burning light was shining above him. Struggling to his feet, he realized the pain was gone. He had a gushing wound in his left foreleg, but it didn't hurt at all. His amber eyes adjusted to his surroundings. A bright park without any humans, crawling with mice and squirrels, along with plenty of satisfactory bowls of pet food. Many cats crouded in groups around him, some were smiling, all were happy. Two figures appeared over the horizon, and as the charcoal feline squinted further he saw his brother and sister bounding towards him, excited grins spread across their bright faces.

"Twig, Kite, Twig, Kite," The pain had returned. Osprey was lying in the small open space, dark and small but better than out there. The dog had gone. He realized he had been talking in his sleep, but that didn't really matter at the moment. Every muscle in his body seemed to ache, and he recieved regular stabs of pain from his front leg limb, which was bleeding badly. He tried to struggle to his paws, but he failed and collapsed again. Fully concious now, he looked around for the cat who had saved his life.

[Twilight Spitfire]

Panting heavily the rare calico tom licked his lips and took in a deep sharp breath in suring his normal breathing rate. His emerald orbs darted around franticly searching for the black feline he had saved already once before. "Osprey?" He questioned aloud wandering the small area the black tom told them to take cover in. A shiver ran down his spine as he got a semi-bad feeling. He shouldn't have left the black tom alone. "Osprey...?" He cried out in a soft slow voice, almost hesitently. The sudden unplesent image of the black cat lying lifelessly on the ground made Twilight flinch and shake his head furiously. 'No, he's fine... He's smart enough to escape that mutt.' He though or more so hoped with a small gulp, swallowing the lump in his throat. Pressing forward the calico continued his search.

Finally the calico tom spotted the black feline he was looking for and gave a heavy sigh of relief. "Osprey!" He exclaimed patting up over to him and grinned a little. "We did it, glad to see you made it." He meowed cooly licking his lips. However there was no responce from the black feline. Twilight's heart thumped in his chest, as the image of Osprey's lifeless body flashed into his head again. Shaking his head feriously once more the calico time leaned in closer to him and sniffed his body. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he realized he was alive, just asleep. He smiled slightly and sat next to him, waiting for him to awaken, he didn't want to wake him he seemed somewhat peaceful.

Soft utters escaped the black feline's lips as he slept. 'He must be dreaming.' He though not really wanting to pry but since he was so near he could hear his utterations clearly. Twig? Kite? Old friends? Siblings? Either or had to be it. He wondered why he was dreaming about them. 'Probably misses them, god knows I miss Whiskers and Jesse.' He though with a soft sigh, though he was happy here as a stray. Life was just so much easier, despite he had to fend for himself now. He felt free, and calm.

Different colored ears perked forward as Osprey awoke. "Hey, you alright?" Twilight asked with slight consern, his emerald eyes spotted his bleeding leg as he tried to struggle to his feet but collapsed again. "hey don't push it, you're pretty badly hurt." He put his paw on Osprey's side urging him to lay back down. "We can rest here a bit. Then once you're feeling up to strength we can go to the springs to wash up your wounds." He said with a smile small. It was weird but somehow him and this solid black as night feline formed a quick but odd friendship. His friend real friend here on the streets this Osprey. Of course there was Dandi and Plum too but he hadn't seen them for a while. 'I should try and find them again.' He though making the mental note to seek them out whenever.

[osprey]

Once a cat has witnessed death, things change. They are often a lot more reserved, quiet and overall less sociable. The same thing can happen when a cat comes whithin a whisker of death. They can be shaken, for a while at least. But, thankfully Osprey wasn't exactly the most easily-frightened feline. He scrambled slightly, attempting to push himself to his paws. Obviously, it wasn't going to work just yet and the best course of action in the black tom's eyes was to relax for a while. Calming down completely, he scanned the area for Twilight, the cat who had saved his life. His silky, ebony black ears twisted towards the uncommon calico tom. He smiled slightly as he looked up at his friend. How glad was he that Twilight was there! Although Lilly had become a pretty close friend, in the end she was just a kitten and she wouldn't be the ideal cat to help him recover.

The charcoal feline decided he should reply, no need to wait any longer, Twilight was obviously finished. "I'm kind of alright," he spoke slowly, wondering if he was actually speaking the truth. His limbs still ached and he was in fact bleeding. He dipped his head down to swiftly tend to his wound, before he decided to attempt to get up once again. He heard Twilight continue talking to the other him, and he listened quietly before replying. "That's a good idea actually," he smiled as he spoke. He realized Twilight was one of his best friends here, he was really growing to like him. For now, all he could do was rest and try and ease the pain actually. He dropped his head once again, and winced as he watched a steady supply of blood ooze through a large cut on his front left leg. Sighing softly, he slipped out his rough pink tongue and began to groom the injury. This wound would most likely be a permanent scar. He'd bear the aftermath of this battle for life.

As he groomed he remembered his dream. He might of spoken his thoughts aloud... Would Twilight have heard it. Osprey decided on a less-direct approach. He'd sound really weird if he hadn't actually been sleep-talking. But, he knew from stories his siblings had told him that he did have a strange habit of talking about what he was dreaming. It was weird, yes, but he knew he did do it. Trying to keep his visible embarrassment to a minimal, he casually asked Twilight a question. "Do you sleep-talk, Twilight? I know I do, my siblings told me that when I was still with them." The inky shadow bit his lip as he noticed that he had probably said to much. Nervously, he carried on grooming his injury. Thankfully, it wasn't bleeding at all, nothing like it was before at least. Osprey wondered where they were going to go after he was fit to travel. He didn't want to hold Twilight back with what ever he was planning on doing. Well, he had managed to devour quite a bit of the pumpkin, so he wasn't hungry. He took a subtle glance as his good friend, wondering what he was thinking.

[Twilight Spitfire]

Kind of alright? What was kind of alright? Nonetheless the calico tom smiled and nodded. 'At lest he's quote on quote kind of all right.' He spoke mentally with a smile his little bobbed tail twitched slightly. He kind of liked not having a full tail, then again he always wondered what it was like to have a full tail. A tail was used for balance and nothing more really but he found that if he had a tail it could be useful. However he had very little of a tail and so he didn't have the best of balance but he still held his posture well he had learned to adjust.

Emerald orbs fell on the jet black feline beside him and a small smile crept up on his face. He was glad he was alright and equally greatful to have a goo friend like him. When his black feline friend commented going to the steam was a good idea he grinned softly and nodded. "Yeah. The cool water will probably help with any swelling." He commented with a flick of his left ear. He though that over in his mind before licking his lips with a nod. Sounded right he wasn't too familiar with what to do when you where injuried though Whiskers had taught him a thing or two.

As Twix watched the feline groom his wound he felt the sudden urge to smooth down his fur as well. With nothing better to do he did just that. His rough pink tongue combed through his fur like a wet brush. He was lucky he hadn't have been more hurt that what he was. A bruse or two and that was probably it. His back did hurt from when he hit the pumpkin but that would soon pass. 'It'll probably be a little sore though.' He though to himself staring blankly in the distance until he was brough back to reality by the sound of Osprey's voice.

"Huh?" He questioned looking toward the gold eyes that spoke to him. Blinking his own emeralds he shook his head. "Not that I know of." He answered the question licking his fur again. "My siblings teased me that I did when I was younger." He added remembering a time he had been taking a nap and woke up to his brother and sisters around him giggling. They had said he was talking in his sleep but he didn't really believe them when they said so. He though they where just being mean to him.

Raising a curious eyebrow at the jet black feline he smiled a little. He was obviously asking if he had been but dodged a direct question. Licking his lips he went back to grooming his fur in a nonchant manner. "You spoke in your sleep just now. You didn't say much just murmured the names "Kite" and "Twig"." The male calico carried on the conversation like normal. He looked up at the ebony feline with a smile. "Old friends? Or siblings?" He questioned but knew it wasn't his place to ask however he wanted to know more about this cat, they where friends after all.

[osprey]

In truth the solid jet black tom hadn't noticed that the calico only had a small tail. He curled his own long tail around his legs sympathetically. Osprey couldn't help his amber eyes from silently studying it. How could Twilight balance? He hadn't seen any difference in his posture before. He shrugged his fluffy feline shoulders slightly. What did it matter? It didn't make him any more or less of a cat. It just made Twix look pleasently different. Twix was different. Unique. Fun. A great friend. Osprey, however, was relatively plain. Ordinary. Tedious. But, although he felt this he wasn't affected by it much, because he knew he had such great friends that it was alright if he was a bit boring. They could obviously put up with him, so it couldn't possibly be that bad. Could it? Well, he'd never truly find out so he'd just have to go along with the idea.

One charcoal ear casually swung around towards the calico cat as he nodded and spoke. Osprey replied with a swift nod too. The water would be a good remedy for his (still searing with pain) cut. Very helpful, very helpful indeed. There was no rush though, he'd managed to improve the appearence of his scar quite a lot, and it wasn't bleeding, well, hardly at all any more. He used his right front leg to push down on the earth, and scrambled to his paws using his back legs. His left foreleg lay limp beside him, Osprey had no intentions to put any pressure on it just yet. For now, he slipped into a sitting position, and smiled at Twilight. He'd easily be able to make the journey. It would be painful, yet he'd be able to do it. The inky black cat was certain of that at least. It was worth it, to make the large injury feel better than it was. He didn't mind the water and a good soak would he heavenly.

This time, he swivelled his whole semi-longhaired head around to Twilight as he spoke. A small smile crept onto his face, that was just like siblings did. Just made fun of you for random things that weren't true! "I hope you informed them of their sleep-talking habits," he mewed, still grinning. He continued to listen casually as the tom explained what Osprey had been saying not all that long ago. "I do, yep," he nodded. "Twig and Kite? They were my brother and siblings. I was born in an 'animal shelter' you see, and we managed to escape before we were adopted by some smelly old human. We travelled for months and months, as strays in these fields, catching mice and eating well, what ever we could find. But one day, I lost them," he spoke more carefully at this point, finding the right words to say. "And then, as you know, I came across this big old road and started walking, and walking, and walking. I don't know how long I walked for before I finally ended up bumping into some calico!" Osprey smiled as he finished, before getting up.

He carefully padded a few paces, and pointed a seperate path where they could get out of the bush without using the enterance they used before. The dog might still be watching.

[Twilight Spitfire]

A small smile played on the mixed colored felines lips as he listened to his good friend speak about his past. He was so heartily speaking to him like they had been friends forever. Twilight was happy to have a friend who trusted him like that. 'You did save his life after all.' A voice in the back of his mind reminded him of the dog attack. If Twilight hadn't have done anything he would have been killed. Licking his fine black lined lips Twilight gave his inky black friend a bright grin. "Sounds fun, I hope you can find them again someday!" He said energetically licking at his own mixed colored pelt. Twilight felt a little better about being a stray knowing he had a good friend like Osprey around.

Licking his lips a couple more times the mixed colored cat watched his jet black friend stand up and test out his paw. He was sure it was still sore but it looked well enough to walk a short distance on. "Think you can make it?" He questioned running his tongue along his paw before twisting around and smoothing out the fur on his back. He could feel the bruises lining down his back. Each lump that was a plate of his spine hurt when his tongue caressed it. 'I hit that pumpkin pretty hard, at lest there isn't anything serious.' He smiled slightly to himself as he continued to groom his fur before he turned back to his ebony friend.

"Ya know." He started with a small smile as he looked out at the patch of pumpkins. "I didn't have such an easy life growing up. I was born in a nice house hold with a busy family. Two of my siblings ran away along with my father. It was for the best for the family was too busy to feed us so living a stray was best. I went to follow my siblings and father to be a stray but got into the wound crowd along with my pop. He was murdered by some ally cats, I never went there again." He sighed softly flicking his ears slightly toward the inky black cat. He gave him a reassuring smile to show he was over that now.

He was more fortunate now than what he used to be. "I did meet a good cat by the name of Whiskers though he was a good friend. However our family took us to a shelter since they couldn't take care of us, I was adopted into a poor family after that. Then I was dumped on this road when they decided they didn't want me anymore." He licked his lips and sighed softly. He was glad when they got ride of him, he couldn't stand that place. Just the smell, the thought, the sight. It made him cringe. "I'm glad to be a stray now full time. I'm also glad there are friendly strays like you here." He grinned at his jet black friend. He wouldn't be anywhere without great friends like him. He hoped someday he could start a family of his own with someone nice that he could get along with and love. Someone that would love him too in return.

Shaking his pelt the mixed colored feline stood up. "Ready to head down to the river now?" He questioned with a slight cock of his head and a smile. His friend real friend, Osprey Coldenwing. How long would he be allowed to travel with this tom? 'We'll probably head separate ways after cleaning his wound...' He thought although he was a little sad, knowing he had Osprey as a friend was enough to be satisfied alone.

[robin]

ooc :: Shall I start a new post somewhere, or do you want to do it? :]

[Twilight Spitfire]

ooc: You can start the new thread. :]

[robin]

ooc:; Where should it be? There's a couple of 'watery' places available now.