SIMPLE THINGS AND SUBTLETIES ☆ o, telling stories

[number nine.]

Some time ago, Quasar had assigned Number Nine a task relating to telling scary stories. It was supposed to be part of the Halloween season, and at the time it had been very fitting. Unfortunately, Nine had grown somewhat busy after the tasks had been handed out, which had meant that he hadn't gotten around to telling stories just yet. Now, it was well past Halloween, and Number Nine felt a bit sheepish about the fact that he hadn't done it yet. However, he had decided that he was just going to do it now. There was nothing wrong with gathering everyone around to tell stories even when it wasn't the Halloween season, and they didn't specifically need to focus just on scary stories. So, even though he was late, the jaguar had thrown himself fully into completing the task now, deciding to go all out. With how freezing cold it had been lately, Nine figured that it would be a good idea to set up the old fire pit, piling a bunch of wood from the forest together on top of the sand and setting it ablaze. Once a good flame was going and the snow around the fire began to melt away, the bounty hunter felt a satisfied grin come to his face.

The jaguar was a bit hesitant to put any food out due to the recent prey shortage, but eventually he decided it wouldn't be bad to have a few pieces of cooked prey for people to eat while telling stories. So, he had grabbed a few plump squirrels, along with a nice and juicy rabbit, and he had set them up over the fire before he sat back, clearing his throat. He wrapped his warm tail around his paws, raising his voice and calling out, "Hey, people, gather around here! I never got around to this during the proper season, so we're gonna tell some stories about our pasts. Or, just stories in general that you like. I'll probably start us off once a few people gather around... even if you don't wanna tell a story, you can still come over. I've got a nice crackling fire, and some good food too." He didn't mind if others came around just to listen, but he hoped that most would come around to properly tell their tales. Things would end up pretty boring, if he was the only one telling any stories. The life of a bounty hunter was exciting, sure, but not that exciting.

HELLBENT ON MAKING YOU LOVE ME TOO

[rhosmari]

A fire, oh my god a fire. It was like a miracle from above and he quickly made his way over. The thought of having a warm fire after all the cold made him shiver and he wanted to lay down beside it. Just soak the warmth in to his black splattered pelt. But he was not a total idiot and even running over he made sure to stop a bit before he actually smooshed his face against the licking flames and burned himself. Panting softly he lifted up one paw and then another as he attempted to shake off the snow that tried to hold down his paws. He lifted his head up to the much larger cat and gave him a bright smile, shaking himself once more and boy was it nice to feel the ground even if it was still chilly and wet. Sitting down there he would turn his sunset orbs to the flames and stare at them, not even realizing that he was drooling. Actually drooling because of the smell of rabbit that was wafting from the meat that was currently being prepared. Oh man, he felt really bad that he couldn't contribute to hunting like he should be doing. He needed to do something and he wondered if he could trade anything for food from somewhere else. The notion of traveling was exciting as always but what if something happened here and he was needed to contribute something. The sudden groaning of his stomach made his ears pull back a bit but he tired to ignore that and instead he tried to be peppy about the situation.

"This is so amazing. Really thanks for the fire. Um, do you know when this stuff is going to go away?" He asked as he tilted his head back up to look at Number Nine. Then again he was always looking to others for explanations and answers to everything. It was how he survived, by following and everyone else seemed to know more than he did. Hircine he also looked to for guidance when he wasn't troubling his older brother so he figured he would follow Number Nine as well. He could eat last, when everyone had their fill. He wouldn't put more stress and make them have to waste food on someone who couldn't catch one mouse. He would just have to try harder, yeah, he could do that. He could force himself to become the best hunter that anyone had ever seen! Or eat lamb's ear till he dropped. Not an appealing idea but it would have to do. "Oh, I'm excited about the stories. I'll listen!"

[sup]template made by tikki[/sup]

[RHINESTONE.]

LEADER ❝ RHINE ❞ PALMCLAN

Stories. Truth be told, there were quite a few stories that Rhine had within him to possibly share with others. After all, he had been around for quite a few moons now, and had at one point been a senior warrior, even if he had ended up skipping over the deputy position. It wasn't as if he had an uneventful existence so far. However, the leader could also see that this was Number Nine's event, and he didn't want to overshadow the jaguar as he made his way over, a faint shake in his every step. The warmth of the fire was honestly a godsend for the ruddy tom, who had been feeling worse and worse as the days continued to pass. He had hoped that the sickness would just fade with time, but it seemed as though it was stubborn, to match with the one who carried it. Despite this, the leader kept on a brave face, a small smile curling on his muzzle as he came to sit nearby, tail curling around his paws. He could already see a few others gathering around, eager to see what stories Nine had to tell, along with Dovah. The male seemed to have a brief flash of a guilty look across his face, something that caused Rhine to tilt his head to one side. It wasn't exactly unusual to see Dovah doing that, considering the feline seemed to put a lot of pressure on his own shoulders.

Regardless, the older feline found himself chuckling when he heard Dovah, offering his own words after a ragged and half-hidden cough, "It should hopefully be going away soon. Palmclan is hardly known for harsh winters, so I doubt we'll be having many more storms like the last one. Or, at least, I really hope we don't..." The thought of the snow lingering for much longer caused Rhine to wince, almost letting out an involuntary little hiss alongside it. He really wouldn't be able to stand it if things remained freezing like they were now. He was lucky enough to have a rather thick pelt, but what about those who didn't, like Medusa? He knew the senior warrior was susceptible to cold, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to take it if she ended up sick as well. For now, however, he just pushed that thought from his mind, a heavy sigh leaving him. Now wasn't the time for worrying, it was the time for exciting stories. With this in mind, he turned back to their host before purring, "It's nice of you to set up this event, Number Nine. I'll be glad to tell a story or two, after you do." Maybe if he told some of his stories from when he was younger, he could give Dovah a better look into what Palmclan was like.

NEVER OPENED MYSELF THIS WAY
LIFE IS OURS, WE LIVE IT OUR WAY

— Reggan