Mission: Find That Camp! (Zimlock; Open)

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Rachel sat, tail curled over her paws, as she gazed across the area. She was a bit away from the Bracken River, but close enough to be able to see it from the distance.

She'd asked Salmarine to meet her here. The she-cat had said at the meeting that she knew of an abandoned twoleg nest that could work as a possible camp for her gang.

The pale tabby wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to camp this far from the twoleg place, but it could work as temperary camp until they found a better one. For now, she'd just have to wait for the loner to come and show her the way to the nest.

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((I was supposed to make a thread but I forgot. Thanks for making htis. XDDD))

To be honest, Rachel was already close to it. It was kind of funny. Then again, the thing was covered with bramble and ferns. The area was grassy itself, even during Leaf-Bare.

Salmarine was on her way to the area, going a bit slow. Her bones ached a bit, for being so old. She tried to remember how it was...

It was always warm. Filled with hay. Mice....

It was soothing. It could fit a bunch of cats in there. There was always enough room. Even if there wasn't, there was always old badgersets near there. That were just as warm...

Even if it wasn't, some cats brought hay in there to make it even more comforting. It was nice... always allowed around that area...

No one really fought. No one did much of anything but lay around, have a fun time, and hunt. Some of the cats swam in the river, because where the 'barn' was, the river wasn't that fast flowing. Even the kits could go in and play. It was so nice...

Until Omizhe(Zimlock) crashed in and warned them about two-legs and sicknesses. He knew what was going to happen, but how did he? Did he travel too far and noticed monsters coming, but he was too fast?

No one believed him. He was driven away... A few days after that... She heard the rumbling... which made her rush away with the kits in her belly. Who was the father? She never said. He was never around. It didn't matter.

From that very day, the whole colony died. Every single one except for Omizhe(Zimlock) and herself...

Now-- here she was agian, for the third time, to live there. The second time she left. Because Omizhe was there. She felt like a burden. Now she HAD to make sure it was a safe place for this alleygang thing.

Salmarine wasn't sure if he was going to approve. He was always bigger than the rest of the toms. He was a Ashera. They were always large, thin, and fast.

Salmarine soon saw the tabby she-cat sitting there. She seemed to be in thought, so Salmarine tried to be quiet while showing up. Ah... she tried the best she could, but her bones couldn't take the cold very well. She soon had to collapse and take a few breathers.

When she did go up to her, Rachel, she spoke in a serene voice, "Hello, Rachel..."

Salmarine closed her eyes softly, breathing in the calming air. She was trying to relax at the moment. It wasn't going to be fun bugging Omizhe(zimlock). He was bi-polar. He didn't like many new cats....

Especially her.

Ah, he was going to have to suck it up, wasn't he?

"Are you ready to get going?" she asked nicely, trying to hold the fear out of her voice.

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Rachel whipped around at the sound of Salmarine tumbling over (I hope that's what she did-I wasn't sure). "Are you alright?" she said, ready to scramble over to the she-cat. But it appeared that she was already making her way towards the pale tabby. She dipped her head in greeting's, not bothering to spare a few words to greet her.

She seemed somewhat... fidgety. Was she afraid of what they would find at the twoleg nest? Or was Rachel just imagining things...?

"Of course," she said. "Lead the way."

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Salmarine knew that Rachel could tell that she was scared to go. Well, of course she was. Then again, Rachel doesn't know about Zimlock. She really didn't...

Zimlock was always different than the rest. He snapped at random moments. No one understood why... It might be because of his father.. ((I'll explain this later))

"Right, this way," she spoke softly, slowly padding over towards these bushes that looked like they were against the river. You would think she was heading dead on for the Bracken River, but she wasn't... she was going towards the bushes.

Fact is, where these bushes were, it covered this whole area. At least, now they were mostly branches...

Fact is, she was going through it. When Rachel got through, this is what she would see--

A wide expanse of land that was covered in grass. Which now was a brown-looking color, due to Leaf-bare, which had frost covered over it. A small thin little river it seemed like going right by a large-looking barn. The river was large enough to have fish, yet shallow enough to let little kits go in. Kind of. You could see a few holes, which are sort of large, at random spots in the ground, which was were the BadgerSets were. You could see hay already sort of out of the barn.

"..Here we are," she gulped, memories smashing into her. When the 'colony' had to die down...

She sniffed the air, Zimlock's scent rather... stale. Then again... you never know.

"Feel... um. Free to look around," the black spotted golden she-cat spoke, letting her bobtail twitch.

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Rachel nodded and followed Salmarine as the she-cat lead the way towards the twoleg nest. But something seemed... wrong. She was headed straight towards the Bracken River... But why?

Some bushes appeared up ahead, and she was prepared to see the black spotted she-cat to take a turn. But to her suprise, she didn't. She went right through.

The pale tabby hesitently crawled underneath them as well, and when she got back up, she couldn't believe her eyes. It was wonderful! It was grassy, had a river that looked good for fishing, and yellowish stuff was coming out of the barn. It looked perfect for bedding.

But it was so far from camp... And she couldn't shake the feeling that someone else was there... Watching... watching...

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Salmarine took a few steps forward a bit, soon stopping because she heard a pounding voice. It was loud. It could only be... Zimlock.

"Salmarine... Why did you come back? AGAIN?" Zimlock padded out of bushes that weren't very far from the two she-cats, "You left once. Then you left twice. I wouldn't think you would be back...."

His eyes narrowed, "you betrayed your old colony twice, is that what you want to do again?"

He growled rather loudly, the black spots against his golden pelt being easily seen, especially due to his muscles rippling under his fur coat.

"Omizhe! N-No... Shut up!" Salmarine couldn't think of what to say. He was right. She did betray them. More than once...

Zimlock hissed, "Don't call me that! I'm Zimlock now, not Omizhe!" he suddenly paused.

His brown eyes moved over towards Rachel, and let his tail swish and lash, "And who is THIS? She seems too pretty to be all the way out here..."

Salmarine didn't think he would be this mad. This furious. Then again, he did have some of his father's genes... No!

He wouldn't be a murderer. He wouldn't turn like that, would he?

No... he was too nice. Sometimes.

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Rachel looked from the newcomer, then to Salmarine. What was going on here? Colony? That must have been why she knew of this place... But who was this tom? And why was he so mad...?

She couldn't help but smile at the black spotted she-cat's... comeback. It didn't seem to do much though... Only seemed to make the tom even more angry.

"Hm... Zimlock, right? My name is Rachel." Her eyes narrowed a bit. "And I'll take that as a compliment."

She had to be careful with her words. The pale tabby didn't want to anger him farther.

"Please stop terrorizing Salmarine. She's done nothing wrong from what I can see. We're just here to look around. We'll leave you in peace if you leave us alone. If not, well..." Her claws unsheathed. "Let's just say it won't be a pretty sight."

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Zimlock padded closer to the she-cat, and rather, well almost hovered over her. He was larger, that was for sure...

"Yeah, you will be the one who's pelt will be in my bedding," he hissed, "She DID do something wrong, by the way. SHE LEFT HER COLONY BEHIND!"

His tail lashed, and then stopped. He suddenly calmed down. He was suddenly okay again.

He looked at Salmarine, "Why did you come back? Do you want to take my land? Is that it...?"

He said it with caution. As if he was scared. As if he was afraid...

"Omi- I mean, Zimlock. Yes, but..." she wrinkled her nose, "Look. She has a new gang thing, and we needed a camp. A temporary camp. Not for keepers. And, I was going to see if you wanted to join-- at least for now. If that's okay with... Rachel."

Salmarine looked over at Rachel, who seemed all puffed up. As in-- she was ready for battle. Yet, she could see confusion in her eyes. Was it the word, "colony"? She decided to explain later, when Zimlock calms down. That would be best.

She looked back at Zimlock, who just blinked.

"What? You expect me to join another one of those things?... Remember what happened last time?" he spoke in bewilderment, "They'll all get killed!"

Salmarine hissed, "When was the last time anything bad like that happened here? Not only that, if we had sickness spread again, we have a cat who knows herbs and stuff! He understands more than anyone else I know!"

That made Zimlock shut up. He just sat there, and sighed. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

He turned back at Rachel.

"Fine. I'll join. For now. And see how this goes. But-- if one thing goes wrong with me, your 'gang' has another thing coming."

Zimlock was lying. He wouldn't really hurt anyone. He would probably just run away. He was always a coward in the end..

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Rachel looked up at him. Dispite him being much bigger, she wasn't afraid of him. Her expression was emotionless. "I wouldn't be so sure about that..." When he brought up the colony again, she scented the air. They were the only ones here... "I don't see your little colony here.If they left, and your still here, wouldn't they have a reason to leave you behind? Perhaps you betrayed them as well." But what reason would they have for leaving? It was perfect here... Perhaps they hadn't left at all... "Or did they all die out? You must have done something to save yourself, if that's the case."

But then, he calmed down. She could almost... sense it. She listened as the two spoke to one another, silent. Why was Salmarine giving away so much information to Zimlock? Then, the pale tabby heard her continue. Join her gang? She wasn't sure if she wanted someone like him in the gang...

"So your colony did die... But how did you two survive?" Rachel asked.

Her eyes narrowed at the tom's last statement. "Is that a threat?" she hissed, tail lashing. "I'll let you join, but if you endanger any of the gang members, your the one who'll have another thing coming. Ever heard the saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'?"

Turning her attention to Salmarine, she meowed, "I'm going to take a good look around. If you need anything, just call." Quietly, she added, "I don't trust this Zimlock person."

With that, she padded away to explore the inside of the nest, glancing back every once in a while.

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Salmarine couldn't help but admire how brave and bold Rachel was being to Zimlock... he was much bigger. That was for sure.

"They exiled me, miss. Because they accused me of lying that nofurs were coming. Twolegs, I mean..." his tail lashed a bit, letting his eyes narrow, "Not a threat, but you should expect that I'll fight back if they try harming me."

Salmarine looked at Rachel walk away. She just sat there for a moment, and then gave Zimlock an odd look, who seemed to follow after the she-cat. Why? To apologize? That was so like him.

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Zimlock was padding behind the she-cat, hoping to catch up with her.

"Look, sorry for how I was acting..."

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"'Sorry' catches no prey," Rachel replied, whipped around to look at him. Her eyes narrowed a bit. She wanted to make a comment, but held herself back.

"Why don't you go keep Salmarine company. I'm sure you two have a bit of catching up to do..."

((Sorry for the short post... Couldn't think of anything more... -_-'))

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"Why can't she-cats accept an apology!!!" he hissed, his tail lashing back and forth, "So stubborn!!"

The tom shook his head back and forth, spit coming out of his jaws, for he was hissing at the same time. He was so frustrated. His head snapped up, and glared at the she-cat, letting his claws scratch at the ground beneath him.

"I can do that later. You're my priority at the moment. You are trying to take my land. Sure, I give permission, but it's nice to know who the mouse-brained fool is!" he growled, his fur starting to rise slowly. As you can see, Zimlock gets angered rather easily..

"So I would like to know who the heck you are! And, at least I apologized, and at least I was trying to be nice not too long ago!!!!"

Zimlock took a step forth towards the she-cat, and suddenly cooled down. His claws sheathed, his fur went down, and his eyes went gentle. He lookd like a nice cat now. Odd, but true.

"Now, can we please talk about this?" he murmured, looking away with embarrassment.

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REPLY PLEASE.

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"Why can't you toms just leave us she-cats alone" she retorted with a hiss. "And I never said I was going to take it, rather borrow. But if you're going to be here, I don't think I want it very much!"

Rachel usually did a good job of keeping her cool in rough situations, but the way the tom went from look ready to rip someones head off to acting like a gentleman was really starting to bother her. And the way he said things like he was so sure he could beat her if it came down to a fight was also starting to tick her off.

But when he called her a mouse-brained fool, that's when she really snapped. "Excuse me? Did I just hear what I thought I heard? I am many things, but I am certainly not mouse-brained, nor a fool! And I've already told you who I am! Or do I have to say it slower so it can get into your head?"

Her claws, now unsheathed, dug into the ground, tearing up dirt. Her fur was now fluffed up so she looked almost twice her size. She didn't care that, in all actually, she was the one who had intruded on his land or that he was much, much larger then herself. She, honestly, just wanted him to be quiet and let her be.

Keep your cool! she silently screamed at herself. You're going to get into an unneeded fight!

But it was to late now. She was really mad now, and she doubted it would take a tiny voice and a few words to calm her down now.

"Well, actions are a whole lot better then words, youldn't one think? A simple 'sorry' isn't going to cut it! How about you actually show me your sorry about treating me that way and then we'll talk!"

((Sorry or not replying! I kinda lost my muse for a while and didn't know how to reply.))