Everybody Let's Go!

 He'd traveled further north, back towards the mountains but not quite there yet. His progress was slow, unhurried. What rush did he have otherwise? He would catch himself some breakfast and then journey back to the mountains to find Moir. Maybe he'd make a surprise entrance, jump on his friend's back or something. He chuckled to himself, amused at such a thought.

 As he walked, his mouth was open as he tasted the air around him. It wasn't long before he found the smell of rabbit. That would be quite the feast for a lone cat. Easily, he dropped down into a light crouch. He remembered from his apprentice days that rabbits would hear you before they smelled you. He had never been the best hunter but he could do well enough when forced... and he was forced since coming here. 

 He made sure to keep checking the wind so that the creature wouldn't smell him. 

 So far so good. He eventually came upon the rabbit as it nibbled a patch of clovers. He crept closer and closer to it, knowing that if it bolted he would have no hope of catching it. 

 He was nearly upon it when it finally realized something was amiss. At that point Moosebellow pounced and it was far too late for the rabbit to bolt. He caught the prey and easily wrestled it down and killed it with a swift bite to the throat. He said his whispered thanks to StarClan before tucking into the meal. He listened around him to make sure that he wouldn't be one to be caught off guard next.

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Snail's rock art

---

 Snail was often inspired by the quiet persistence of nature, the beauty of resolve. He found such rapture in the slow melting creeks, and the river-smooth rocks such thaw had brought to his artful paws. 

 The wizened tabby worked with this same patience, spending days carefully searching, placing, and nudging these ivory stones into a spiral, a jetty of inspiration. He'd just finished, quite pleased with himself, when he heard a ruckus in the thicket of brambles to his right. 

 So snared in the passion of his work, he hadn't noticed the other cat or the rabbit who had sacrificed its life for the stranger's meal. Snail leapt up on a nearby boulder to make himself known, tail twitching. 

 “Well caught! They are quick and graceful souls.”

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 If there was one thing he wasn't expecting as he feasted on his meal, it was another cat. Another cat that wasn't Quinn. He looked up at the old-timer, amber eyes in shock for a moment before he recovered himself and replaced the look with a smirk. "Thanks! That's a fancy way of sayin' they're 'fast as shit'." He bellowed out a bit of laughter at his own joke. "You wanna share?" Two cats in such quick succession. Now that far-off dream of a clan didn't seem so far away... well, if this guy wanted to join them, anyway. 

 He would pick his catch up and drag it a bit closer before settling down again. This other feline was pretty heavy with swirling tabby stripes. He felt like he'd seen the pattern before on a snail. It was interesting, to say the least. "What's your name, old timer?" He meowed as he ran his tongue around his maw to clean it of blood.

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 Snail wheezed out a chuckle at the other cat's colorful vocabulary. “It is, indeed.” 

 Warmed by the stranger's generous spirit, Snail eased off the boulder, hopping on one ledge and then another to the ground instead of taking the jump in one leap. “I'd be much obliged, thank you.” Situating himself next to the younger cat, Snail sniffed the rabbit, the air from his lungs ruffling the downy its downy fur like a moorland breeze. Closing his eyes, he gave quiet thanks to the sacrificed spirit before he sank needle teeth into tender flesh. 

 “My name is Snail. It's good to see another cat around these parts - I don't believe I've come across one in many years. What may I call you?”

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 The elder cat crept down from his bouldered perch and wandered over to him. Moosebellow scooted over to make some room and give him space to eat his fill. "Don't mention it!" He said with a grin as he tucked back into the catch himself. As he was pulling back with a mouthful, he could see the older cat speaking whispered words. Huh, must be spiritual like himself. Surely he couldn't have worshipped StarClan, especially not with the name that was spoken next. It was almost a clan name but not quite, but certainly closer than anything else he'd heard the other cats called. 

 In fact!

 The younger cat brightened at his words and exclaimed, "Well, you're in fuckin' luck! I'm not the only cat 'round these parts. I'm travelling with a friend, who's also a cat." Which shouldn't be such a big revelation but 'round these parts, it really was. "Couldn't believe my own fuckin' luck when I found her and you! I'm gettin' all sorts of lucky breaks! StarClan must fuckin' love me right now or somethin'!" He laughed. Really though! Things seemed to be turning up rosy. When he'd mentioned building a clan with Quinn he'd been --mostly-- joking but now it didn't seem outside of the realm of possibility. "Oh! The name's Moosebellow. You interested in meetin' up with my friend? We're thinkin' of buildin' a clan together so all of us cats have somewhere to congregate." And why not? The wolves had their packs, why shouldn't they get to build something?

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 Snail took his time, savoring a meal he had not had for many moons. Rabbits were too fast for the elderly cat, so this gift posed as a rare and precious treat. 

 Curled ears listened as he ate, but the other cat's exclamations made him sit up, his mismatched gaze widening with mirth and excitement. “This is incredible! I never thought I would get the privilege to be among so many felines.” And now in the twilight of his life, he could, perhaps, find solace from his solitude. 

 “I'd be more than interested, particularly if your friend is as kind and jovial as you are.”

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It seemed as if the old cat was quite interested! That was fucking awesome! Moosebellow grinned back at him and nodded. "Neither did I! It's like all of a sudden us cats are popping out! I fuckin' love it." At this rate that far off dream wasn't so far off.

He thought of Quinn and how excited he'd be to get back to her and introduce her to this guy. "Fuck yeah she is! One of the nicest fuckin' cats I've ever met. Although I don't know if I'd call myself 'jovial' or 'kind', smartass or asshole seems more suitable." Least that's what his old leader said. He was probably glad to be rid of him after that battle.

"What's say we meet her after this rabbit's finished off, yeah?"
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 The cat before him was filled with youthful vigor, playful energy quavering like the summer sun melting towards the horizon. 

 A pebble loosed, the prospective idea pinged down the steep ravine of their mutual excitement, gaining momentum with every exchange. 

 “That sounds like a wonderful plan.” The boisterous fellow far from the descriptors he seemed to use for himself in Snail's eyes.

-fade!-
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