*Starlight Tavern* A rumor From The South

[Starlight Tavern]

News has spread from the southern kingdoms of a new and exciting breed which has the upper tiers in society buzzing. Weary travelers bring gossip, but none claim to have actually seen them. Perhaps it would be worth the effort to leave the comfort of your Tavern and venture south to see what all the excitement is about? Perhaps some new friends will be made along the way, should you decide to embark.

(If you haven't signed up, go visit the sign ups here! If you aren't sure what to post, a general post of your cat(s) leaving the tavern will do.)

[Keilin Alyr]

((Hey, I'm hoping this is okay, I tend to be quite wordy with my posts. No pressure to match me though, I like writing, and I just does what I does. XD))


On his usual afternoon perch on the most comfortable windowsill in the Starlight Tavern, a massive blue-black calico tom lay outstretched, sleeping. Yet Noir's rest wasn't quite as peaceful as it seemed. Snippets of conversation buzzed around the tavern, causing his ears to flick with each promising word.

A new breed of cat? Seen in the south? Care to elaborate further, humans?

After an hour of lazily eavesdropping, it became quite clear to Noir that none of the usual tavern crowd had heard any useful word, save for the same tired gossip being bandied about again and again. No, this was a job for a cat.

With a luxurious stretch and a huge yawn, Noir unfolded himself from his restless nap. All of his preferred humans appeared distracted by serving dinner guests and entertaining bar patrons. No matter. With extended claws, he raked at the closed window, hoping the grating sound of nails on glass got their attention.

Scritch, scritch. Scritch, scritch.

Nothing.

With an exasperated glare at his humans, Noir sat up and puffed to appear his most dignified. No one should dare ignore this impressive sight. He then uttered a low, plaintive yowl. Out! He wanted out!

"Hey, Tammy, I think Noir wants out."

The calico tom directed narrowed blue eyes at the speaker, marbled tail swishing to signify his obvious annoyance. Yes, human. Noir wanted out.

"Oh, that's fine, Noir's a night owl. You can let him roam, he'll be back in the morning."

Finally! With barely a glance at the inbound human, only to make sure that one was actually coming, Noir bounded from his perch when the window slid open. Upon landing, his whiskers quivered as his nose sampled the dust and damp clinging to the summer air.

South, they said. He could just make out some lingering light peeking over the horizon. Keeping the last of the evening sunlight to his right flank, Noir scampered down a path leading out of town. Let's see what adventure waited toward the south.

[SkySong]

(No worries - I absolutely love it! I'm afraid I won't be playing with a character too much - not for this one anyways - so it may feel a bit like a solo.)

The town crowns the top of the hill, and standing on the main road looking out one can see a far distance. The Senarii river sneaks around the hills from the east with wildwood overhanging it's far bank. Beyond, one can catch a small glimpse of the vast forest that covers the south eastern part of the continent. To the west are patches of fields and beyond one might see the glimmer of a smaller lake, a river running south from the tip of it and a dark smudge of trees on the other side. The main road appears to head south as far as one can see from the town, across the rolling plains and past other little villages.

Any reasonable human would take the main road - seeing as it would be the fastest way to and from any other civilization - but as a cat it's up to you. It could be just as beneficial to follow one of the rivers for a time or forge your own path as it would to follow the main. You have the comfort of civilization behind you and the whole world in front of you! Let your instincts guide you in this hunt.

[Ember]

Camio prowled about the main area of Wildfire Tavern, seeking not the attention of the patrons or his masters. No, he was on his usual rounds of the place, keeping sharp green eyes out for any trouble. When trouble proved itself elusive - thankfully - the small cat leapt up to an open windowsill to keep a look out from there.

His ears caught rather a lot of gossip every day but little was as interesting as the potential of a new breed. It piqued the tavern cat's sense of mystery and adventure that had been long since dormant since his arrival at Wildfire Tavern. He had settled due to feeling like he'd seen enough in his few years of travelling...but evidentally not.

Though loathe to leave his masters' sides he knew the other cats that called the tavern home were almost as adept as him. Kind of. The youngest were still clumsy and foolish but they would learn. With one last scan of his home, the experienced tomcat leaped out the window and let his small paws begin carrying him south.

[Keilin Alyr]

With most of his attention focused on potential feline scents unfamiliar to his territory, Noir continued to follow the meandering curve of the road out toward the highest hill in town. This late in the evening, most tavern cats would be settling down to sleep among their humans, leaving only strays and strangers outside.

Once satisfied that no threats or strange new breeds roamed nearby, the calico tom continued his journey in earnest. Upon reaching the hill crest, he paused to flop in the scraggly grass that lined the path, lifting a hind paw to scratch an itchy spot behind his neck. Oh, that felt good. Much better.

With the majestic countryside spread before him like a human picture map, Noir paused to reflect on his options. A smart cat would likely keep to the deep forests, far from the towns and away from the prying eyes of humans. It would explain why none had yet been seen as tavern guardians.

On the other paw, a smart cat would take considerable effort to simply locate, never mind convincing them to follow him back to his tavern. If the gossip proved true, Noir simply had to gloat... or rather, educate his humans on these newcomers. Imagine the attention and treats such a feat would earn him!

As predictable as humans were in their travels, one of these phantom cats must have been spotted near the road to even start these rumors. Perhaps a wily trickster or curious kitten, wanting to gawk at the strange, two-legged oafs before disappearing back into the brush. This seemed reasonable to him.

Having made his decision, the final hues of sunset disappeared from sight, leaving only the bright moon and the flicker of fireflies to guide him. That would be more than enough. Bounding across and then down the hillside, Noir kept to the road, keeping his eyes open and the rest of his senses alert.

[Lectral]

Morvena stretched, arching her back then reaching her front paws forward as far as she could without budging her hind feet.  She'd been hearing rumors in the tavern the last few days; the humans were talking about unusual cats somewhere to the south.  She sniffed; everywhere was south of Wanderlust, practically.

Still, these rumors had her curiosity piqued.  None of the other cats here seemed to care, but Morvena had decided she wanted to go investigate.  She stopped by the hearth to 'check in' with the matriarch of their little pride, and let her know she was going traveling.  Then headed to the kitchen; the humans who ran the tavern had installed a cat door in one of the doors, so the cats could wander as they chose. 

Nose in the air, the calico scented the evening breeze, and finding nothing unusual, she moved out.  She chose to follow the river for the time being, between it and the road, staying to the brushy areas.  It would be a long ways before she found anything, she was sure; living in the north, while relatively unpopulated by humans, meant you were also farther from other cats.

Still, it should be an interesting journey, she mused as she trotted along.  Maybe she would meet some interesting toms along the way...

[Starlight Tavern]

Camio
To the east of the town, there's a small forest that sits along the west bank of Tonic lake. One might catch a glimpse of the lake through the trees, but there isn't much to see that way. To the west and south there are rolling plains and the occasional copse of trees scattered across the land while the north shows the border into the next region.

The main road through town runs more south west than anything and heading southward on it would eventually bring you to the biggest city in the west. However, Tonic lake feeds a river that runs more truly south than the road. The path might be a bit overgrown for a human, but it'd be possible for a cat to follow. It's up to you whether you take the roads or the river.

Noir
The road eventually winds its way out of the hills and the world seems a lot more open, all of a sudden. It might just be your imagination, but you might be able to see the end of the wildwood crowding the Senarii to your left. To the right there's much of the same and up ahead there's - what? More hills. At least there's a bit of flatter ground between where you are and where they stand.

It's quickly passing midnight, and if you keep going all night you'll be sleeping during the afternoon at least. You've been making good time, but you'd have to continue at this pace if you wanted to reach the hills by next sundown. There doesn't seem to be anything but tall grass on either side of you, but if you decide to rest now the grass could be flattened into a nice enough bed.

Morvena
While the river certainly can bring you south, there are patches of mud that surprise you every so often. They slow you down a little, but the forest is quickly looming ahead of you. It runs a thick line across the horizon, and very soon you'll be entering it. From your position, you really have no idea how thick it is at any point, so it's up to you whether you keep following the river, cross it, or stray away in hopes of finding the quickest way through.

Of course, there's also the choice to turn back and return to the tavern, but now that you've started there'd be little point to that.

[Lectral]

A little mud on the paws, while annoying, never hurt anyone, so Morvena mostly ignored the inconvenience of having to stop often to clean her paws.  She continued to follow the river, while keeping her focus on the forest ahead.  Tales around the hearth led her to believe the forest was narrowest closest to the river, but gave no real hint of how long it might take a cat her size to cross.  Or of how 'narrow' the narrowest point might be...

Still, it was early enough that she should be able to find a reasonably safe place to nap for a bit before continuing on her way.

[SkySong]

(Sorry for taking so long! I didn't even see this. >.<)

Morvena
You find a lovely spot to nap - a hollowed tree on the outskirts of the forest has a bed of moss already growing inside. The last rain must have been a little while ago since the moss is dry, and it is easy to settle down and rest your aching paws. The river gurgles a safe distance away, and the forest is alive with sound. You quickly fall asleep.

When you wake up, the shadows are completely different from when you fell asleep, and it appears there's something moving just inside the forest. It's definitely moving away from the river, though. Do you choose to follow it and potentially lose the river or do you ignore it and keep to your original goal?

[Lectral]

Rested from her nap, Morvena was not surprised to see the deepened shadows, but the movement in the forest was unexpected.  There usually were not a lot of creatures moving through the edge of the wood; it was too exposed for most wild things.  Considering her options, she decided to investigate the movement; even if she left the river's more obvious direction, it wasn't like she was in any particular hurry... or heading to any specific destination.  South, after all, was a very vague term, especially when one lived in the north!