the circle } p] black note && invader yin

This is an archived version of FeralFront. While you can surf through all the content that was ever created on FeralFront, no new content can be created.
If you'd like some free FeralFront memorabilia to look back on fondly, see this thread from Dynamo (if this message is still here, we still have memorabilia): https://feralfront.com/thread/2669184-free-feralfront-memorabilia/.


    [ooc] Did you know a circle was the symbol for nothing?
    And I've changed my mind about my character.
    Feel free to made a hundred characters as suspects, witnesses or otherwise passers by xD


    [ic] A ginger tom crouched down next to a crumpled white figure. His emerald eyes scanned her, every nerve alert as his senses tried to pick something out from the dank alleyway he was in at the moment. The victim was on her left flank. The neck was broken, which was probably the cause of death. No scent of any other cat on her matted white pelt, no telltale sign of someone else's presence. The ginger sleuth lifted his head in thought, his muscular build illuminated by a streak of moonlight that escaped from the gaps between the clouds. Curiously, he lifted a large stocky paw to turn her over.
    That's when he saw it, for the first time in many to come.
    That's when he saw the circle.


    [ooc] Failness at creating tension xD


    [justify]
    ooc;; Sorry. Dx
    ic;;


    A little way off, a calico she-cat crouched by a dark brown tabby tom. Her icy blue eyes searched the body for a long moment before padding round to the head. Scanning the face, she saw a few off scratches before noticing the right eye. A circle of blood was drawn around it, and the eye itself was swollen. Own eyes narrowing, she reached forward and sniffed the eye, and then around the other scratches. She smelt nothing, no traces of what cat could have done this, nor how she could find them. Sighing softly, she got to her paws and scratched in the freshly laid cement, forming a shape around the body. Hearing a twoleg shout, she glanced at the body before darting around the corner. She'd get back to it later.
    [/justify]


    [ooc] No worries ;)


    [ic] The ginger sleuth turned the white she-cat over, frowning. Not even a scent on the circle. He sniffed again. It was almost as if the victim had died willingly. Up ahead, he heard a twoleg. Looking back at the victim, he bounded off to investigate. The human was bending over the body of another cat. He lay in wait until they left, and hurried over to it. Just as he'd thought. The circle, again. Who could be doing these things? The ginger tom straightened up. Perhaps he should be returning to his hideout to work it all out.


    [justify]
    The detective padded back to the fresh cement as she heard the twoleg move away. As fresh cat scent hit her nose, though, she stopped in her tracks. Watching the tom for a moment, she took a few steps forward. When she spoke, it was crisp and clear, but spoken softly at the same time.
    "So, you a murderer or trying to steal my thunder?"
    [/justify]


    "Neither," said the tom, not looking up. "But as an alternative, you can call me Macavity."
    The green eyes found hers, and he nicked a few hairs from the victim's cheek. "Hmm. You're a new detective, then? Your age says you haven't been doing this for a long time, so you must be an ambitious she-cat wanting to prove herself. To whom, I cannot yet guess, but you're taking the job quite seriously. This leads to two more theories. Either you're the best of your lot, or just a amateur who believes in her own authority and achievements... I think we'll go with the first one."


    [justify]
    She raised an invisible eyebrow at him, padding forward and flexing her paws as they lifted from the cement each time. Not daring to sit down in the wet stuff, she stood on the other side of the body, facing him. "Name's Ariadne."


    //bedtime
    [/justify]


    [ooc] Okay. It's my bedtime too, but I'm hooked on Youtube.


    [ic] Macavity smiled thinly. "What do you make of this, then?" He stooped down to dap a toe at the circle of blood, then tasted it on his tongue. He spat it out soon after. "Victim's blood, alright," he muttered. "No scent, not a whisker of whoever did this. Clever. But may become a rather perpetual problem – did you see the body up the alley, a couple of meters away? White she-cat, same mark left on the chest, no sign of the murderer."


    [justify]
    "Sophisticated murder - perhaps even area-based assassination. Very skilled and executed almost perfectly. But no matter how perfect they seem to be, there has to be a flaw here. Just something to help us find them. The circle is something, but it doesn't have a scent or define the cat - or otherwise - that did this."
    Suddenly seeming distracted, her eyes scanned the fallen figure. Eyes narrowing, she leaned forward, looking at the cement by the cat. She lowered herself to it, glancing up at Macativity and glancing between him and the tom for a moment before looking at her own fur. After a moment, she murmured, "Don't suppose this grey fur is yours?"
    [/justify]


    "I've never met a ginger cat who has grey fur," Macavity said flatly. He straightened his posture. "I should consult an ally of mine. He resides in a Colony close by. Perhaps one of his sentries spotted something." He said this half to himself. "Good day, Ariadne."


    [justify]
    Ariadne nodded, licking her paw and picking up the piece of fur on it. Dipping her head to Macavity, she continued to search the body for clues for a long moment before straightening up and padding away. She had places to go, and cats to talk to. She needed to find a good lead, maybe talk to her friend about this grey fur; she was pretty sociable.
    [/justify]


    Macavity trotted down the alleyway, slinking along the walls till he came to a dead end. Using the dustbins as a platform, the ginger tom climbed his way up to the wall and leaped down the other side. Here was an overgrown garden with a ramshackle shed – Macavity's hideout.
    Inside were old cabinets, bookshelves, boxes, newspapers. From old clay pots to bone china, and numerous skeleton selections. His colleague, Lyger, was waiting for him. A white cat with amber eyes and a permanent smirk on his face. A high ranking tom in the colony that resided here.


    [justify]
    Trotting forward, she reached a long wooden fence and jumped up, moving quickly and agilely across it. Jumping from it onto a low rooftop, she jumped along on top of the buildings. Her past had prepared her for moving quickly well, but now wasn't the time for walking down memory lane. Right now, she needed to get to the dark alley where her friend resided.
    [/justify]


    Lyger lifted his head. "Ah, Macavity. There was something I wanted to discuss with you."
    "The serial killings?"
    "Yes–"
    "There's only been two."
    "But you haven't found out who it is yet?"
    "That what I came here to ask you."
    "I see..."
    "Well? Do you know anything?"
    "I'm afraid not. The killings were outside of our territory."
    "Lyger, they were literally two feet away from the border."
    The white tom smiled. "Two strays are hardly enough to convince the Dominant Male of the colony to take action."
    "So you're saying I'm only getting recognition when one of his lackies get's mauled?"
    "You said it."


    [justify]
    Eyes scanning the area to check no-one was watching, she jumped gracefully down from the fence and hurried into an alley so dark she could barely see. Sitting down and letting her eyes adjust for a moment, she smiled thinly as a pure black she-cat stepped out of the shadows.
    "Ariadne." The cat murmured, voice almost suspicious.
    "Oh, come on, Glad - I need your help here." She tilted her head, a playful glint entering her eyes. Sighing, the cat nodded.
    "Fine, I'll help. But my name is Gladiator, not 'Glad'."
    "Got it. Now, do you think you could narrow it down to a few cats if I gave you this strand of fur."
    Placing the grey fur in front of her, Ariadne watched as her friend got to work observing it and sniffing it.
    [/justify]


    Macavity huffed. "This isn't good enough."
    "I smell she-cat scent on you," Lyger pointed out suspiciously.
    "Another amateur. She found grey fur," Macavity said. "But leaving one clump of fur behind whereas everywhere else is spotless? It's a trap."
    "Nothing escapes you," the white tom chuckled, scouring a fishbone with his teeth. "I'll tell my sentries to keep a lookout, but if I'm caught, you can't get me out of trouble."
    "Oh, we'll see," Macavity said gruffly. "You won't get caught for being cautious."
    Lyger got up, sighing, his paws kicking up dust. "For years, we've had peace. Macavity, there's no point in stirring up trouble because of two dead bodies. Cats fall everyday to natural disasters. You say there is no evidence of murder, well perhaps it wasn't."
    "A circle, Lyger, on the victim's chest, how is that natural disaster? Some disease I haven't heard about that target's the chest and stops the heart, leaving behind a perfectly drawn circle?"
    Lyger flicked away a piece of flesh from his claws. "Just don't get the Colony involved unless you have to. I'll keep a lookout, no more. But mark my words - it's bound to be another street demon. Here today and gone the next."
    With no more than a dip of the head, he exited the shed, leaving Macavity alone with his thoughts.


    [justify]
    Ariadne padded away unsuccessful. She'd left the strand with Gladiator for further examination, but it seemed nothing would come of it. With such few clues, she barely knew what to do.
    [/justify]