like blood like honey [open]

[jori]

dora !
kidnap victim,
domestic abuse survivor,
'born again' into the world

The child was new to this part of town – and it was painfully obvious. Her wide sand eyes flicked this way and that way, every neuron in her body simultaneously firing, her ears perked so acutely that they seemed almost brittle. Every footstep that brushed against the ground was a punctuation mark; silent yet solid, brisk and heavy. She hadn’t remembered exactly the way she had approached the cities, but she did know that she had wandered quite a while and she was awfully tired of it. Perhaps settling in the Junkyard wasn’t the wisest decision she could have made, but as a newcomer to the world, she couldn’t have known this – every decision she made was based on two basic instincts; stay hidden and feed yourself.

And so the ginger and white female set off, her eyes venturing this way and that as she sought a place to settle. A nearby den seemed to be open, buried near several discarded items, but Dora was unable to edge towards it, the simple thought of settling into something so enclosed causing her heart to ram against her chest, panicked, as if there was a stampede of hearts in there instead of just her own. Not after what she had been through could she so easily curl into that den. No, she would find another place. Somewhere without humans, but still large enough for her to see light and stretch out her limbs. Did such a place even exist?

The child had to ponder this a moment, but she was left without an answer. How could she even make a home? She had lived with another for moons, a cat who had taken care of her in the most basic ways (in other ways, he did the very opposite of take care of her) and due to this fact she was incapable of doing most things. With a little sigh, the ginger and white feral feline set off again, edging cautiously past mile-high junk piles and away from the scent of dog when she could. However, she could not always avoid this; when she had been wandering for a while in this endless land of discarded items and fear-scents, she had brushed slightly against one of the larger piles. Shortly after, glass items fell behind her, crashing and smashing to the ground with clanks and shatters.

On high alert, Dora herself immediately leapt backwards, flattening her ears against her head as she shrunk off. Perhaps she would just hide in that nasty ol’ den, and ignore that feeling of panic and claustrophobia…

[theassasindinosaur]

Viperstar (or Snakey I suppose) swiveled her sensitive gray-tipped ears as she made her way through the Junkyard. One could never be too careful in these parts after all. Not even the strong, black and gray she-cat. Suddenly, her ears picked up the sound of breaking glass which worried her somewhat and perked her curiosity so she made her way to the source of the sound, easily passing the obstacles in her way.

"Are you okay?" Snakey asked a young she-cat who seemed to be very upset at the disturbing noise "You look new... Need any help settling in or anything?"

[jori]

If Dora could have chosen a time to disappear, now would be it. She closed her liquid eyes, heart hammering, as if she could fade away by that simple act – only to open them moments later, nothing accomplished but the build-up of panic and bile in the back of her throat, threatening to overwhelm her. Frantically, she straightened up again and took a few more steps backwards, wide eyes not letting up on the pile of shattered glass and broken television sets that now lay scattered across the pathway she came. If she ever wanted to return to the lake, well… she could forget it, at least until some human came to clean it up.

“Are you okay?” A new voice caused another surge of panic to overwhelm her. Someone had seen her blunder, and they surely would blame her for it… it was the end of her life. Frozen in place, she hesitantly allowed herself a glance in the other feline’s direction, not taking in any minute details – she was the very essence of taking the forest for the forest. The cat opposite her was muscular, meaning she could easily overpower her if she wished to do so… She also looked like a very authoritative figure. This alone was enough to send her eyes down to her paws and flatten herself to the ground, as if begging the other not to look at her, not to touch her… “You look new… Need any help settling in or anything?”

Quite frankly, Dora didn’t know what to say to this cat. Randomly wandering up to her and asking her if she needed help – it seemed all too good to be true (though simple acts of kindness were always rather absent in her childhood). However, if she refused there might be anger on the other feline’s part, and anger could only mean one thing… she recalled the grip of claws on her pelt – those same claws creating scars that would forever ruin her pelt. Torn between a yes and a no, the ginger and white cat bobbed her head slightly, neither affirmative or negative. After a moment of silence, she whispered, “O-o-okay…”

[theassasindinosaur]

Snakey was alarmed by the jumpiness and submissive nature of the young one in front of her. Especially when she shrunk down to the ground, obviously extremely scared. She softened her gaze at the young cat to a very motherly look, approaching Dora like she would Secret, her kit, when he was scared or angry.

"I wonder what happened to the poor thing..." Snakey wondered to herself, noticing the scars on the cat's lithe form "I've seen many cats like this but never as bad as this one here. Not to mention she's all by herself which makes things worse for her."

"Okay then." Snakey smiled softly, giving Dora a light lick on the shoulder "Come follow me and I'll get you settled. But first of all, do you have any questions for me?"

[jori]

Body language was obviously not the other’s forte – as she shrank away, the black cat only stepped forward. Sure, there was that welcoming glow in her eyes that seemed to say trust me, I won’t hurt you, but trust was something Dora felt incapable of mustering, especially with it buried somewhere deep in her heart. Trust had gotten her a home back in the day, and that place wasn’t the best she had ever received; starvation, fear, wounds for nothing... she shivered and shrunk a little further back from the feline, still rooted to the spot as she eyed the other cautiously.

“Okay then. Come follow me and I’ll get you settled. But first of all, do you have any questions for me?” A releasing sort of tone, but instead of doing that, the cat approached – Dora felt fear bubbling and tearing inside her – and licked her on the shoulder. The contact immediately set the cat over the edge, and she sprang back at once, her muscles acting faster than her brain. One moment the other cat’s tongue had just barely pressed itself against her fur, the next she had thrashed away, avoiding any more contact with the other. She settled a few foxlengths away from the black cat, her sand eyes cautiously narrowed as she awaited the approach of the other cat.

[theassasindinosaur]

Snakey at once pulled back and gave the younger cat some time to breathe a bit.

"Mouse-brained idiot!" she scolded herself angrily "Might as well get her something to eat. She looks as hungry as a Windclan cat on a small island!"

Snakey then gave the scared cat a comforting look then left to find anything to eat. It wasn't long after Snakey began her hunt that she managed to track down a few mice and a large rat, all of which she killed with a quick bite to the neck.

Once the muscular queen was satisfied with her hunt she returned to her companion with the prey hanging by their tails in her maw.

"Here." Snakey dropped a mouse and the rat in front of the thin cat, hoping she'd eat "Eat it. You'll need your strength young one."