Can't stop N O W [o.p.e.n]

[coon]

Coon poked his head out from the top of the box to see the car retreating down the road, away from the forest, away from the rain-
Away from him.
He put his head back down, trying to keep his fur dry. This night would be all the more miserable if he was soaked, and his long gray coat wouldn't let him forget the cold in any time soon. Biting one of the flaps and trying to pull it back over top of the box, he was dismayed to feel it tear in half uselessly. The box was soaked, and so was he. With a sigh, he sat back in the growing puddle underneath him.
I just want to disappear.
You couldn't see the stars tonight, couldn't see much of anything really. It was just gray clouds, gray puddles, and a gray pelt sitting on a long dirty road that didn't seem to go anywhere at all. He was alone, trapped in his own life.
Coon stopped squirming in his seat, realizing that he wasn't getting anywhere. He was soaked already, and just as he was about to jump out of the box, it did that for him and he fell back in surprise as the sides fell apart around him and he tumbled back over onto his shoulders, his head on an awkward angle and his back feet dangling over top of his ears in front of him. He blew at the random white fur, watching it sway side to side. He moaned in annoyance. This was just so infuriating, doing everything right only to end up cold in the rain, with no one around him. Infuriating, and unfamiliar.
But Coon wasn't scared. Despite his current home- or lack thereof- He felt ready. Ready for anything. More than ready, really- excited. And although he was miserable, Coon puzzled over this. What would he have to be eager about? He didn't even know where he was!
His feet finally toppled over and he did a somersault, landing on his bottom with his feet stuck out in front of him. Little streams played out in front of him, rolling down the road and towards an old rusty drain. Then, through his keen brown eyes, Coon saw something shimmer. It looked like-
Silver? Was that a necklace? He remembered jewelry, the shiny trinkets that resembled collars. The traitor Eliza had adored them, and used to drape them around Bell's neck, too. She liked them as well, strutting down the hallway happily, showing off the shiny chain...
Coon snapped out of his memories, finally seeming just where the nostalgic necklace was headed. It rode effortlessly in one of the roads streams, right in front of the drain. And without even thinking about it, he darted forward to grab the necklace delicately between his teeth. He caught it right as it had begun to slide down into the drain, and Coon pulled the silver string back to safely. He settled under a tree where he could see straight. He had begun to shiver, though.
Inspecting the small necklace, he noticed it was fairly simple; A long, silver string with a small charm in the middle. His whiskers twitched in amusement at it; it was in the shape of a small fish. As close to laughing as he had been all day, he lowered his head and lifted his paw, poking the gray face through the chain so it hung around his neck like back home. He patted at the silver charm, and it swung back in forth as he gazed at the metallic fish. It was making him hungrier, but he stopped himself. Sitting underneath of his almost-shelter, Coon watched the rain pound down. It showed no signs of stopping.

[hakumei]

Azalea blinked her eyes, rubbing at them furiously with her front paws. She was absolutely soaked-- she knew rain was wet, but why did it have to be cold? She had been ducking under a bush and the raindrops got in her eyes, burning them as they seeped into the lid. And it would come out! All we was accomplishing, no matter how many times she batted her third eyelids, was making it worse.
Squinting just to be safe, she looked at her paws as she went into the clearing, looking around. She crouched, curled in on herself, to maintain warmth as she shook. She began to purr, trying to soothe herself. There had to be a way out of this situation.
She walked over to a bush with branches lying higher than she was tall at the lowest, and sat down, wincing slightly at the cold, wet ground seeping through her fur. Soft as it was, she wished it were thicker. Wishes wishes wishes... I need to find help. I think i'm going to die. she thought. She could always go back, but what would that get her?
Suddenly, she saw that the grey and brown shape wasn't a rock. It was moving! And a tearing sound came from it too. Perring out through slanted blue eyes, she padded towards it. Sniffing the road, it smelled bad. She paused for a moment, hoping it was sade. If that grey cat was there, of course it was safe. She stepped onto it, amazed at how hard and compact it was.
"H-hello? Are you without an owner too?" she meowed in a high voice. She couldn't bellow in this weather, so she just hoped he heard her. She tried to say hello with her tail, but with this rain soaking most of the puff and body of it away, it didn't quite work so well.

[coon]

Coon spun around at the voice, breathing out when he realized it was another cat. He couldn't smell a thing in this weather, and his fur was already soaked, leaving him shivering. He couldn't fight off any strangers at the moment, nor did he have to energy to be sarcastic, so instead he faced the pretty calico and spoke.
'Yeah, abandoned by more than without an owner. He told her in a rough voice. Coon knew he had better get out of the rain, or he might get sick, and it looked like this new cat was in the same position. He couldn't tell by smell if this cat was female, but judging by the voice he assumed she was, so he gestured with his tail to follow and looked around for a warm place to shelter from the downpour. Spotting a hollowed out log, he quickly slipped into, rasping his tongue over his fur in an attempt to warm it up. Of course Coon was annoyed that he was making himself look stupid, pushing the fur in the wrong direction does that to you. Unfortunately, it's the only way to warm oneself up properly in these kinds of conditions.
But I look like a porcupine... He thought with a twitch of his whiskers. He called out to the she-cat waiting outside of his make-shift den.
Come on in, it's drier in her than it is out there!
He shook heartily before she entered to make sure he wouldn't get her more wet than she was, and then tried to smile but failed. He was in another miserable mood, and he couldn't help it. So instead, Coon bit down on the little fish necklace, chewing thoughtfully. It didn't even make a scratch.

[hakumei]

"A-abandoned? What owner would downright abandon a cat?" the Japanese Bobtail exclaimed. What a hideous act! It almost made the half-kitten guilty for running away, but not quite. She was sick of her owners. The guilt squelched in her stomach, not sure of what to say. Thankfully, the rain made an effective interlude, and she recoiled every time a cold drop hit her nose. The rest of her was numb with cold and wet, but her nose felt the cold searing through it every time. Soon the cat spoke, walking towards something Azalea couldn't see from here. She followed the tip of his tail, trotting along as well as she could, numb as she was.

Not knowing what to do, she copied the tom before her. She shook herself out as well, and entered the log, pressing herself up against the side as more drops of water ran down the side out of her long fur, making a small puddle. She licked as much as she could out of her fur, especially her tail. It looked especially pitiful today; it looked shorter than it was. She spiked it up as mucha s she could with her tongue, and sat facing the tom. She knew it was a tom now that scents were more easily smelled than out in the stormy weather.

She flicked a bothersome water droplet off of one ear and then said, "As long as we're stuck here, what's your name? I'm Azalea."

The calico looked curiously at the shiny object Coon was chewing, and remembered she was strictly forbidden back home(by the humans) to lay a paw on one like it. Politely, she said nothing and looked away.

[coon]

Coon almost laughed out loud when he realized that he hadn't told her his name yet. It had been almost twenty minutes now and he'd hardly said a thing!
Typical Coon. Rude as always. Said that alter-ego in the back of his mind.
I should apologize, he thought, ignoring the comment. But instead he just said,
'I'm Coon. Coon...Whitekey.' He told her, thinking about his second name given to him by Bell, his little sister. It sounded oddly right, as if that was always his name. As if it had been his fathers. He never knew the tom.

Lifting a gray paw, he began to carve out his name into the wood with one claw. On impulse he decided to mark the log, just so that any other cats may see it and realize they weren't alone, or something equally selfless. Then he sighed, realizing that he sounded like a bad fortune-cookie. He just wanted to to something, he was so itchy. So bored. So he jumped up, his tail lashing as he paced along the insides of the log, once again chewing on the fish necklace.

Then he remembered Azalea, and turned bright red under his fur. He had completely forgotten he had company over his anger at Eliza the Traitor for leaving him behind. So Coon turned around and smiled apologetically. His tail continued to lash. I must seem so weird. I bet she wishes she'd never met me.

Sorry, I guess I'm in shock or something. Azalea? That's a pretty name. I like your tail, by the way. He told her randomly, noticing the cute bob the folded behind her. She reminded him of a bunny, and he laughed. When he finally looked at the kitten, he realized just how young she was. Around seven months, in fact. She had blue eyes, really light blue ons, and a neat coloring that covered her head and tail. The rest of her was snow-white, aside from the gray that covered it due to the downpour.

He grinned at her, and then thought about Bell. She sort of reminded him of his little sister, even though they looked alike. There was no figuring it out, except that maybe it was because of age and gender. But Coon thought once more about it, and then came up with his closest answer.

Maybe it's her eyes.

ooc: I loooove your siggy! its so cute!! Did you make that? Good job! And sorry about the short post, I'm supa busy today. It's really random too, I gots writers block I guess. I dunno, couldn't think of much to write about XDD

[hakumei]

Azalea recognized 'Coon' from somewhere. But where? I don't know a Coon. I've never met anyone who didn't have a Bobtail name before. She thought to herself. She then remembered, wondering why it never popped up in the first place. The retired cats were talking about some cat called a Maine Coon, another breed apparently. She only knew they were very tall with long fur, and Coon seemed to fit the bill. Azalea could never tell when a cat was genuinely tall or she was just kitten-size.

"R-really? Thankyou very much, sir!" She thanked him. Azalea had always been quite fond of her name, although when she saw a real Azalea she couldn't help wishing her name was Tigerlilly or Wysteria or something more tropical. She had to say that for a name, it was better than it's floral counterpart. Afterall, she could have been called Crocus. The thought!

But then the tom commented on her tail, which really surprised her. Her neck fur, although plastered down, rose for a second. She wagged it a little, as her breed was wont to do when they're happy. Weird little buggers. "Why, thankyou again! I've never gotten a comment from another cat on my tail before, sir." she said, still retaining formality. It was something she'd hung onto from her cattery, a memory of home. She'd just met this cat, and he was obviously her senior.

But her elder or not, it didn't stop her curiosity. "Does it rain all the time around here?" she asked, hoping the answer to be know. She prayed that she was just caught on a bad day. The sun had to come out sooner or later.

Or maybe, it did rain a lot. maybe he had a white coat like every other cat she knew(which, albeit, wasn't a large number) and it was grey from the frequent rains. Looking at his face, she saw only a few white markings on his face, which were clearly where the rain didn't grey his coat.

Well, this isn't a good sign...

((Thanks! :D yeah, I made it in photoshop, they're a lot of fun to make. :3 I don't take credit for the style however, but I like them too. ^^ And I know exactly what you mean about writer's block-- I'm just recovering myself. x3))

[coon]

Coon smiled at the little kitten as she thanked him. He had almost laughed at her face or surprise when he had complimented her tail, and had had to stifle it in order to keep from embarrassing her, so he held his tongue and listened as she rattled off another thank you. He grinned warmly at the new stray kitten, hoping to keep her from panicking. It was hard to keep himself from panicking when he thought about what his new life would be like, and his head spun when he thought about it. So the last thing he wanted was a crying kitten.
Her blue eyes widened when she asked about the rain, and again he was reminded of his little sister. At this he almost began to cry, stopping himself. Stay strong. He told himself determinedly. It could have been worse. What if you had passed out and gotten sick? Instead of that, you met another cat. Calm down.

'No, it doesn't always rain, it's just strange weather. We won't have to worry about this again for a while yet anyways, because its finally summer. The Solstice was just a few days ago.

He told her matter-of-factly. On top of that, he was tired and a little bit hungry. Coon didn't know too much about hunting, aside from fishing, and he didn't see a lot of rivers around here. I guess this is a first for both of us. But despite their newly shared fate having the same birthday, he couldn't help feeling a little protective of the kitten. She was younger than him, and her blue eyes were so innocent, he just wanted to climb a tree and make sure there was no danger for miles before giving her a great big hug. And that was out-of-character for the cynical tomcat that was Coon. Maybe I'm changing. With my new life, I'm changing too. And he had to admit, it frightened him.

Carpe Diem!

He told himself, quoting something he had heard Ryan laugh. His old owner had been Latin and always mumbling something in the language, and that saying was one of his favorites. He had explained to his girlfriend Eliza what it had meant: seize the day. So instead of cowering in the log like he wanted to, he stepped out into the rain-which had eased up over the time to a slight drizzle- to search for prey. He hadn't a clue about techniques, so he planned on waiting until one was in sight and then trying his luck with randomly jumping out and attacking. So he turned back to his short-tailed friend and called out in a teasing tone to lighten the mood,

'Come here, little rabbit, I'm hungry and I bet you are too. Want to look for food?

He took a look around, spotting a few holes that may or may not be animal dens. A bird chirped; he whipped around to face the bird. Of course it saw him and freaked, letting out an alarm call and flying off, destroying any slight chances they had had to actually catch something instead of having to scavenge. Sighing, he tried a different approach, leaping up into the branches of a tall oak to look around his new home. A large sign wrote 'Nenbrook' in big black acrylic letter, which had chipped in places but was still readable.

He gasped at the view, smiling in spite of his mood. It was beautiful, the forest spread out in all directions to reveal streams and farmland, and to the far south a little human town and neighborhood. It wasn't his old home though, but it looked interesting enough. He vowed to visit it someday. And then he saw what he was looking for- a dump. Maybe he could find something there. So he leaped back down to find Azalea and tell her what the plan was- that is, if she would come.

[hakumei]

Azalea let out a breath of relief. "Well, that's good atleast! I could use something that's not... completely overcast. It's not pounding in the log right now, atleast." She commented, but wished she hadn't as Coon had already walked outside, and already knew. Iciot, always stating the obvious, she chided herself. But since she was dry and warm, she wouldn't let it spoil her mood; Coon seemed not to notice as he leapt somewhere--seemingly upwards--and disappeared from the bobtail's view from the log.

Instantly panicking, she poked her calico head out of the shelter, looking around hurriedly. The thought of being alone again made her anxiuos, light on her feet. She'd gotten a few pointers from other cats, but none seemed to stick or be relevant at the moment. I always knew I should be less dependent, but what did he do, fly? She looked up into the sky, squinting her large eyes at the glowing white sky. Sure it was cloudy, but the sun couldn't be far behind those clouds. Not if they were this bright.

Then she saw something leap down from a tree, startling her into raising her neck fur, but she flattened it when she realized it was just Coon and not some large, furry predator trying to get her. Her heart was pounding quickly for a few seconds after; her paws still tingled as well. She wagged her tail, though, happy he was back atleast. She then looked where he had come from. A large tree, almost like the shinier human towers, but this one had more little doo-dads hanging off of the leaves, and it was harder to climb, or atleast appeared so.

She listened intently on what Coon had to say, tilting her head and her tail had slowed down to a friendly, more cat-like expression. Her head tilten a little the side.

"A... dump? What's a dump?" she said, playing around with the word in her mouth. It must be a human word, but she'd never heard of it before. Compared to some of the cats around where she used to live, she was the human-language dictionary, so it confused her that she wouldn't know what it was.

Hopefully I'll find out in a second. It sounds interesting, though; and if it has food, what's to lose?

[coon]

Coon grinned as Azalea jumped. He guessed she hadn't realized where he had gone, so he answered her question, trying not to laugh.

'A dump? Well, it's nothing great I guess, just a... a massive pile of garbage. But the humans always throw away food, so it's like 50% edible.

He told the kitten, still stifling a laugh. The gray tom hoped he wouldn't disappoint her with the sight of a big hill of trash instead of something amazing and and all-nature, like a huge waterfall or something. Then a rainbow would appear and mice would float down the river, prepared with the perfect balance of saffron and marinara covering the juicy meal. He thought sarcastically, sighing now and turning towards the direction he had been looking in. Coon pointed with his long gray tail.

'It's over there, just waiting to be eaten. How can you restrain yourself? He joked, twitching an ear. We can probably get over there in about twenty minutes, and ten squirrels says that theres somewhere over there we could shelter under if the rain decided its not finished with us.'

Coon finished, and began to walk. He probably would have broken into a run, since he didn't like this road much, but the gray tom worried that Azalea might not be able to keep up. He wondered if her absence of a tail hindered her balance, but shook it off. That was a trait of her breed, so obviously she had some other talent that made up for it. The curious blue eyes looked at him patiently, and he turned back to continue his trot. Oh, what the hell! He thought before leaping over a short log and continued his journey with long strides.

Coon had decided to run anyways, keeping his pace just slow enough for a kitten to follow. Besides, why wait? He had his whole life ahead of him. A new life.

A new home.

ooc: Lol, corny end, but whatever. You wanna start a new thread in the dump? Name it whatever, but put a reservation at the bottom and everything if ya want it to be just them. Or maybe we should have it open so lil Azalea could make more friends. Lol, and Coon XD