overnight frost -- open, snow

( MALE // SINGLE // LONER // TAGS )

The tortoiseshell had been born in late March, in the moon where cold became warmth and snow became rain. If it had snowed during her lifetime, she had been far too young to remember it. When she stepped out of the Blood-house that morning, her breath was stolen quite literally. It crystallized before her very eyes before a frigid wind snatched it away. Ruth's eyes were glued to the white landscape, admiring how ice hung like unsheathed claws from the roofs of buildings and how the ice crystals glistened in the sun. A blanket of snow covered everything - the grass, the trees, rooftops, and monsters alike. The sight was a beautiful one to behold.

As she stepped out onto the frosty landscape, a shiver ran up her spine as her sensitive paw pads touched the snow. "Brrr..." she purred, her teeth chattering as she shook out her long pelt in an attempt to shield herself from the cold. "It's so beautiful but so cold!" she said to no one in particular.

/tracking until i can post <3 deer bby needs to experience snow before moving

∙∙thoughts∙∙ ∙∙speech∙∙

(c)trexgirl

Three winters had placed the ivory grip of hate around his neck, threatening to squeeze the remaining bit of life that rippled the stagnant waters of his soul. Putrid was the scent upon the pavement, irony and sharp as it shook the monster from his slumber. Upon the ice-cold railing he lay with his hind leg extending from his perch. A loud sneeze thundered from his nostrils as bits of frosty flakes sucked into his nasal cavity. "heavens" he huffed as another sneeze traveled across his body.

He had met waspwing in winter, the snow made her pelt look so beautiful. He had also used the snow to cover up his blatant markings to travel across enemy ground as an anonymous stranger. Though, nothing would cover his scar, in fact, the cold made it hurt worse than the day it happened upon him.

Ice-capped hues fell to the ground below, shadows falling across the snow as one child after the next witnessed their first snow. He began to reminisce. When his mother took him out to witness his first snow. She had lost him in the alabaster mush, luckily finding him in seconds, messing with a frozen puddle. His childish laughter giving away his position.

As the memory faded so did the smile he didn't know he was wearing. Canary missed his first winter. Ellie, missed hers. After his lids fell , tears cut through the fur of his cheeks and a whimper escaped his marred muzzle more like a growl. And pain, engulfed him.

Ruth had to agree with Sheogorath's statement. The bitter cold and the freshly fallen snow could mean a shortage of prey and the possibility for the cold to seep too far into the cats' thick pelts. She'd keep a close eye on the kits as the weather grew colder. Maybe she'd go on a search for extra blankets and pillows to ensure her Clanmates stayed warm. These thoughts brought a sudden burst of alarm as Artemis and Slowhand came to see the soft, powdery substance that had settled on the ground outside but the logical part of her mind reminded her that short exposure to the snow would do them no harm.

Her thoughts were drawn away when Caledon, who had approached without her noticing, let out a strange whimper. Was that... a tear? Tentatively, the young feline approached his side and reluctantly pressed her nose against his shoulder to alert him of her presence. "Are you okay?" she murmured so as to not draw attention to her leader's moment of weakness. As his guard, however, she felt as though it was her duty to check on his wellbeing. While she waited for an answer, her eyes were directed in Aleksei's direction as he announced that they could build with the snow. She purred in amusement. "And what would you suggest we make, Aleksei?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe snow forts? Or snow cats!"

Dualeyes

Ivory claws skimmed over the frost that clung to the outside walls of the bloodhouse, the chatter of the kittens was loud as they experienced their first snow fall. She turned her head to look over her shoulder at the scene, blue and brown eyes skimming the snow and the cats standing in it. Her claws retracted upon the sight of her father out, she was out of range to hear Ruth's words though saw her proximity to him. Dualeyes gaze averted sharply as she turned to face the wall she had scratched the frost off of. Jealousy was a nasty thing, something she fell victim to far too many times than she'd like to admit. But to have a sliver of it to her underling? This was getting absurd.. The molly knew who she was and while she acted on her own in independence, she still sought out her father's approval. It seemed everytime she heard about him personally training someone or had built a fondness for a cat outside of their family it always led to her feeling as though she didn't fill a void that she was meant to. Glaring at the wall for a moment more she turned to join the rest, was she supposed to be good with kittens like Ruth seemed to be?

"Why don't we find something to shape your snow cats?" Dualeyes piped up, the falseness of the deed hidden. "Why don't we find stuff to make claws for the snow cats too!"

The sudden movement of a muscular figure caught her attention, a shadow stretching silently in the cloudy, muffled sunlight. Long brown fur like the end of a broom greeted her prying gaze. The tabby pattern painted upon his figurine was recognizable - Sheo. The grimalkin awkwardly brought her rear half through the window as she began the descent to the ground, gigantic pedestals beating against the stony windowsills. The molly was never as steady on her feet as she used to be. Her once feathery cauda had been torn away from her during a stormy night as the chill seeped into her bones. She felt...old. It was painful, but she would recover...right?

Slipping towards the group which gawked at the alabaster covered floor she smiled. Hah, snow. She hadn't seen that in a good while. Yet deep within she grew this cold worry, with winter came sickness and death. She shuddered but hoped it could be brushed off as a shiver from the chills. Jailbird frowned cringing as her body ached as she moved to sit by her mate. "Sheo," she whispered softly, voice almost disappearing in the frosty air yet creating a billow which showed she said something.

Turning to her brother she noticed the pain striking his whole body causing a even more icy aura. Standing up once more she decided to move to her older brother. Funny was it he seemed much younger than her yet she was the youngest. Wonders those 9 lives could do. As she moved to Caledon she brushed pelts with Sheogorath lovingly and dipped her gaze to Ruth. Such a fine young molly the tortoiseshell was. In the short moment Jailbird spoke with her under the sunset she'd found such an unsure cat. But she knew there was something there she couldn't even see just yet. She held this unseen power waiting to emerge. She held such promise. A warm smile came over her rubbery lips stained wet with flakes which fell upon her. Her pelt became littered with white spots as she sat beside her brother. She said nothing yet nudged her head into his shoulder giving a small smile. She almost longed to race into the snow and gather clumps and playfully throw them at her sibling. But she wasn't a child anymore. A hum escaped her maw at the thought of such antics though.

Her head tilted up with a curve of lips which warmed her whole body. It was a fairy-tale world, child-like and funny. Boughs of trees adorned with thick pillows, so fluffy someone must have plumped them up; the ground a series of humps and mounds, beneath which slinking underbrush or outcrops of rock lay hidden; a landscape of crouching, cowering gnomes in droll disguises—it was comic to behold, straight out of a book of fairy tales. But if there was something roguish and fantastic about the immediate vicinity, the towering statues of snow-clad buildings, gazing down from the distance, awakened in Jailbird these feelings of the sublime and holy. Watching Dual and all the other youngster move about she felt so much cheer and joy fill her.

I'm a nightmare, dressed like a daydream.

To bed, to sleep, perchance to dream—the cold that sunk beneath the sinew and muscle invaded her bones and left her sleepless and chilled. She curled tighter into her corner, silver and orange fluffed in an effort to retain more heat. She couldn’t remember ever being this cold before. Sweet summer kitten and all that, she’d yet to live through a winter.

Eyes like molten metal opened, and Severa stretched—the movement only further accentuating the sharp skeletal nature of her figure.

“Bloody mouse innards, why’s it so cold?” she growled, tail twitching but she drifted out the front doors, following the scent of something crisp and wet on the wind.

It was bright outside. The shine of white reflected and refracted light until the entire space seemed to glow. She straightened, bringing herself to her full height as she stared around at the changed world. “So this is snow,” she whispered, and she experimentally touched it with the pad of her paw. A shock of chill hit her and she jerked back.

It was cold. But it was also fascinating. She leapt forward into the snow, and a smile slid across her face. She raced down the steps, slipping and sliding and grinning like a maniac until she skidded into a snowdrift, and vanished beneath a puff of white.

Cruelty is the gift we give ourselves.

^{Cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream —}

^{Jynx shivered as she walked outside. Her short fur was not intended for this cold weather, and she could feel it. She sat on the edge of the group, somewhere between the kits and adult cats, like she usually was. She traced small designs in the snow; a few claw shapes, even a pretty good cat head.}

^{Hm. Cold, but you can draw in it. Maybe some color would make the drawings even better. She shrugged, dismissing the thought. That's not important now. With this cold snow on the ground, prey will be harder to find. I'll have to look extra hard.}

something beyond the grip of common knowledge twisted within the pit of his stomach as he realized he had an audience. Ruth, one of his best guards. Though, he wasn’t one to feel ashamed of much of anything, sympathy wasn’t something he adjusted to perfectly. Her voice ringing aloud and drowning the shrieks of excitement below. "relatively" he cleared his throat and pushed away his tears with a massive paw. "no matter how wicked, we all have out moments. " he added slowly before straightening out his slumped frame. "I appreciate the concern. Ruth." he added slowly, not even turning to look toward her before he slid forward from the railing and landed on the soft white mush below. Sauntering forward, he lifted his gaze toward the speckled alabaster just paw-steps ahead. "i suspect your ‘snow-cat’ will be the best of them all?" he challenged mild playfulness raiding his tone. Twisting his skull toward Jailbird, just in time to watch her nuzzle Sheogorath, a steady peace fell over him. This. Was a family he never thought he would have. ‘family’ he stiffened. Did I ask for this? is this not a branch of weakness demanding to be snapped? classic Caledon. A snort escaped his nostrils as he trotted across the clearing. His icy hues coming to rest on the youthful pelt of Severa. Agitation and curiosity had ensnared her senses. Something playful cast itself over demeanor before he scooped up a ball of snow with a massive tattered paw before hurling it toward the unsuspecting she-cat. It was unlike the tyrant to be so playful, so there was no telling how his victim would react.

Ruth nodded solemnly to Caledon and watched as he hopped off the porch to involve himself in the snowy fun his Clanmates shared together. She watched as he hurtled a snowball at Severa, chuckling to herself as she went to join Aleksei and Dualeyes for their snow cat making, stumpy tail twitching behind her as she dashed over.

“That’s a good idea,” she mewed when Aleksei suggested they give their snow cats collars so they know which one of them made which snow cat. “Giving them claws would be fun. Maybe we could use sticks and sharpen the ends,” she added to Dualeyes’s suggestion. Her eager gaze turned towards Aleksei awaiting a response.

✦ ✧ ✦ Snow. Bitter cold and yet so beautiful; a blanket of peace had taken over the concrete jungle, coating everything in a layer of blinding white powder. The cold was enough to make even the fuzziest of cat's jaws chatter from the freezing temperatures, though this didn't stop a handful of Bloodclanners from indulging in the rare phenomenon. Waspwing, perched on a high ledge above where the rest of her clanmates were playing, she could spectate without being in range of a rogue snowball or any other dangerous projectile.

"Don't break your hips, old man!" Waspwing called to Caledon from above, a quick bubble of laughter coming from her as she rested her chin on her paws. "If you can find some leaves, they could act as the leather for the collar? If you squish them far enough into the snow, they will hold and you can use the sharpened sticks to push them through, just like claws." The healer suggested as she watched the rest of the cats from her perch, tail hanging off the side lazily. She might join them later, but for now she was having plenty of fun watching them have fun from up on her private overhang.