` bats in the belfry && open

[Tigress]

j e z r a .

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<sub>I absolutely, positively, dread this time of year.

A lithe, russet tinted figure slinked into the faint sunlight, her clear eyes flitting the sky above. Pah! Why must I even bother looking? Everyday captivates the same, lifeless atmosphere. Grumbling and hissing to herself (like always), Jezra wrapped her long tail over her paws. Now what was she supposed to do? No one else seemed to be around.

Either that, or they're being a bunch of lazy mouse brains.

Sighing, and dwelling in her negative aura, she allowed her gaze to drift towards the faraway horizon. Hm, I see the Caribou have started migrating. The thick mass was unmistakable, and so was the black cloud high above the thousands of jutting antlers- bot flies. A shudder ran down the she-cats back. When she was just a kit, her and her two brothers (Crow and Taz) thought it would be fun to chase the Caribou. Oh, how wrong they were. Within minutes they were coated from head to toe with the small black insects, and for weeks after had painfully itchy welts on their skin. Plus, Crow had his front paw crushed by a hoof and could never walk properly after wards.

Standing up, and taking her time to perform an especially acrobatic strech, she made her way back inside of the ice caves. Her nose crinkled slightly, detecting the slight traces of stale polar bear. She always disliked their repulsive, unsanitary stench.

I cannot come to understand how something could lead such a dirty health style!

Jezra sniffed indignantly, pleased that she knew how to act decently. Her thoughts had now returned to her comrades and their whereabouts. Bunching her hind legs, and springing upwards, her claws raked at the icy ledge above. Oh dear... The she-cat grunted with effort, trying desperatley not to slip off. Finally she managed to gain a steady foothold. Panting slightly, she began to look around the what seemed to be, desolate cave.

Hello?</sub>

[Vespera]

Melpomene wasn't taking a liking to the influx of cold which now often pierced her coat. Her pelt was always ruffled and fluffed by the jets of cold which whirled about their oh-so-pleasant dwelling in the stink of the ice caves. The way the northerly wind caught at the uneven crags of ice and spiraled back out often left her in a fury of unrest. She figured she'd best sleep outside of the cataclysmic tunnels. She figured it best to stay out of their permanently, but then her crystal blue eyes would always wander back to them in search of her sparse and often solitary comrades. The Others weren't a clan, necessarily, and not by a long shot. But, she'd like to at least feel a part of a group or something - and that was indeed difficult to feel if no one was ever around...

Melpomene felt her heart fall ever so slightly at the thought. There had been one brief time, many moons ago, when she was a part of something. It might have lasted two moons, and she liked to think she hated her family, seeing as they were all dead, but she still wanted a family.
Mel paced the mouth of the ice caves tentatively, not quite sure if she wanted to dive in or go out in search of food or a friendly face in this hostile and unfriendly environment.
She stopped, fluffed out her long white tale and stared deep into the cavern. Even thought it was pitch inside, she could have sworn she saw another figure. A familiar face?
Mel's hopes suddenly jolted, but then she promptly crushed them.
She shook her head, tempted even to swat herself in the nose.

Pah!
She thought, indignance.
What am I thinking? Of pathetic family and pathetic comradery?
Her fur bristled as she thought of this and rolled her eyes at her own softness. She didn't need this.
What she did need to do was see which cat was scuttling about further into the cavern. Perhaps it was Silverclaw, so she could box his ears because she felt like it. Or maybe it was Lithium, who she could pretend not to fear but then bristle as his piercing eyes and raw rage melted underneath her skin. Or perhaps... perhaps it was someone more friendly. Perhaps it was a newcomer, after all there seemed to be plenty now that cats who were outcasted from the wretched Silentclan and were in need of shelter before a major storm would strike them down on the tundra.

Yes, a newcomer would be a welcome site. But, nonetheless, she felt the need to meet the scuttler face to face, to see who it was and to plan her actions accordingly.
Mel unsheathed her claws, knowing by now the ice caves were not only named because of their icy walls and ceilings, but their icy floors as well.
Knowing this, Mel clambered gracefully (or, at least, so she thought) and aimed for the stranger hew mewled
Hello?

She smiled as her eyes adjusted and she saw the amber colored coat, coarse and probably poor in withstanding the cold, of a she-cat. Melpomene smiled as she approached from the mouth of the cave.

"Why, hello."

She purred softly, not quite sure if she wanted to sound friendly or creepy, and apparently succeeding at both.

((... That was a little rushed, so I'll double check it in a little bit when I've got time. You can still reply if you want to. )