[Lex]

LEX

foray forever

actions - “speech” - thoughts

It seemed that Lex had been running for eternity underneath an endless night; trees stretched their gnarled arms to graze the sky, casting long shadows in the moonlight that danced across the frozen ground. His paws ached, though the ends of his toes were uncomfortably numb. The primal urge to escape, to flee, to hide from the hairless pink creature that slayed his mother overcame all rationality -- as much rationality as a five month old cub could possess. As he delved more deeply into the umbrage of the woodland, he found himself increasingly consumed by darkness, though his legs kept pumping, until --

Thunk!

Lex found himself tripping over a knotted root, sending him head over paws into a bramble bush.

Ouch.

The small wildcat's lungs burned, and he suddenly recognized the throbbing of his right paw as well as the undoubtable sting of thorns digging into his pelt. He couldn't help but wail aloud, fear slowly creeping from the crevices of his mind as he realized that he could smell other felines.
Large felines.

His wary gaze traveled from the brambles to the expanse of trees above. His heart skipped when he noticed the telltale signs of claw marks gouging the bark. With a grunt, Lex attempted to drag himself out of the bramble bush, wincing with every movement and snag of his pelt. In one day, the poor thing had not only lost his mother to a poacher, but lost his dignity, and likely temporarily the function of his right paw. He held the pulsing limb close to his chest, using his other three legs to limp forward and out of the brambles. This sure was a mess.

ooc

serval picture by big cat rescue / coding © vixxie's codes

[Amabelle]

That day, Amabelle had woken up with a purpose. She would gather what plants she found around the territory, searching for ones that seemed like they might have a possible medicinal purpose. From what she had gathered from those around her, she could figure out a few of the plants. Like stallifer, a moss-like plant that one individual had told her helped with joint pains, or cat's claw, meant to help with allergic reactions and irritation. Those ones were easy to identify, although stallifer was more likely to grow in the forests near the edges of the territory. Amabelle had giggled to herself when she had found out that stallifer, an herb used to aid those heading towards the end of their lives, grew mostly in the Forest of Beginnings. Regardless, the little snow leopard had bid farewell to her pride-mates and gone to the Forest, not bothering to request an escort since she doubted she would encounter any problems.

Treading carefully through the forest, Amabelle regarded the prairie at her back with a nod before walking deeper into the woodlands. She wasn't accustomed to all the roots and such, so used to harsh mountains tones and endless fields of pure white snow. Really, she wasn't used to many of the things that joining Stoneclaw had introduced to her. Fish still left an odd taste in her mouth, the ocean was still so new and interesting, and there were so many new things for her to see. Forests were so interesting, grand and towering with trees that didn't bear needles and instead were lined with broad leaves, ones that had shifted colors--much to Amabelle's amazement--and had begun to fall. Yes, she missed the things she had left behind, but she was incredibly happy that she had chosen to leave her mountain behind and venture out to see what the world had to offer.

She plucked herself from her thoughts, realizing that if she got too distracted by thoughts of snow and ice that she might trip over one of the many pieces of flora that littered the forest floor. She was vigilant, making sure to not trip and possibly injure herself. That would be embarrassing, to say the least. Amabelle, the pride's only healer, tripping and hurting herself while as far away from the cave as she could get without leaving the territory. So, she watched her steps while also searching for the little leaves and buds that signified the presence of the soothing herb. With the decaying leaves, surely the moss-like plant would begin to thrive thanks to the nutrients that came from the decomposing detritus.

But it was not her being distracted that led her to stumble over her paws, eyes wide. It was the wailing of a child, stopping the snow leopard dead in her tracks. No, this was not the normal wailing of a discontent babe. This was true pain and grief that met the healer's ears, prompting her to turn so quickly in its direction that she thought she might get whiplash. She went off autopilot, bounding through the forest with little regard for her own safety and her previous quest for stallifer. There was a child in need and let the gods above damn her to whatever lay below if she didn't help. Once, she almost stumbled over a root but quickly salvaged herself, pausing for the slightest of moments before she was looking for the source of the cries once again.

And then she saw him.

So small, so frail, so weak. Such a pitiful little thing, his pelt torn in places from grasping thorns and a paw clutched tightly to his chest. Her heart ached, eyes going wide. Where was his mother? Or father? What kind of parent left a child that was little more than a babe alone and injured in the territory of an unknown pride? For a moment, a mother's fury ignited in the snow leopard before it was quickly quelled by her need to help him. He looked so fearful. She sat down nearby, quickly compacting herself so she didn't appear as large or threatening (as if she appeared threatening originally, but children were always so frightful of strangers). Her ears, as always, sat back on her head as she called softly, "Child? Are you alright?" The kindest of smiles that she could manage gently curled her lips, a compassion entering her eyes to hide away what pity she felt for him.

#Momabelle