The Falling City

Lily stalked down the alley, her breath forming clouds of frost in front of her and the chilly air biting her paws. She caught the scent of rat, and lowered herself into a crouch. She slunk forward and pounced, crushing the rodent beneath her paws then delivering the killing blow to its spine.

Things don't look good. Was the only thing going through Talula's head as she travelled along the roads she once loved to run, past the buildings that she used to find food, past the kittypet's dens she used to play with. Past the Chinese restaurant, as the kittypets called them, where she got fed by the loving twolegs, past the twoleg's prey pile, or 'Shopping Centre' as Kita had called it. Where should she go now? She cant hunt, she's a fighter through and through! Talula's eyes turn towards the overcast sky, which used to be so full of life.

Lily heard pawsteps and whipped to face the other loner, flattening her ears. "Who are you?" she snarled.

Talula's eyes turn to the rogue, before she smiles and sits down, licking her matted fur. "Hi! I'm Talula!" It was unlike Talula to be aggressive to anyone. She looks at the rogue, analysing everything about her. She must be well off. She's not skinny like most cats ive seen.

Lily narrowed her eyes and flicked her tail. "You're the first cat I've seen in a quarter moon, I almost thought everyone else had died," she responded, standing between herself and her kill. "Are you a kittypet?"

"Kittypet?!" She growls, narrowing her eyes. "I'm no Kittypet. I'm a loner, through and through!" She says, happily. She then frowns. "What do you mean everyone else? I've met a few cats myself but not many. Are there more of you?" She asks.

Lily shook her head. "I'm alone. Last cat I saw was some ginger tom strutting about like he owned the place." she mewed.

"Ginger cat?" She asks, quickly going over her memories. "I know... knew a few ginger cats. But the ones I knew were Kittypets." She says, licking her paw. "

"When was the last time you ate?" Lily asked the skinny cat curiously.

The rain stung Jasper's skin, what little the liquid could reach of it through his thick fur, anyways. He flattened his nicked ears, catching only Lily's last question as he passed from a nearby street. Stiffening, he flattened himself low to the concrete and crept along, peering round the corner of what little remained of a building. His mismatched eyes landed on the two shecats, and he cocked his head to the side. The black and white one looks awfully thin... Rowan might want me to bring her back. He stood up straight and padded forward, clearing his throat. "I have the same question as her," he mewed, gesturing to Lily with his tail.

"Uhh…" Talula quickly thinks over the last time she ate, which was a couple days ago with a barely fresh mouse. "Couple of days ago. Not much food round these parts for a loner who cant hunt." She says, saying the truth. She never learnt how to hunt.

Lily scowled at Jasper. "And who exactly are you?" she snapped, bushing up defensively.

"Relax, kitty," Jasper snapped back and flattened his torn ears. "I'm a rogue, I suppose. I'm part of a group lead by a tom named Rowan. I came here in hopes of hunting for the kits, queens, and other cats back there," he mewed and straightened up once more. "My name's Jasper."

"Oh, you're one of his cronies." Lily growled, "Can't you find your own place to hunt?"

"Last I checked, loners didn't claim territory." Jasper stalked round Lily in a slow circle, once, but stopped again in front of her, flicking his fluffy tail. "Nowhere is entirely safe to hunt either way, and the chances of catching anything are roughly the same everywhere, in my experience. So, it doesn't seem to really matter too much," he meowed.

Lily flattened her ears. "I doubt you've been in twolegplace since the skyfall if you think there's the same amount of prey here as everywhere else." she grumbled, "I've seen enough scavengers keel over from eating old corpses to know something's not right around here."

Jasper's eyes widened at the news, and he dropped his defensive attitude, whirling on Talula, though he spoke to Lily. "If she can't hunt, then what's she been eating since the skyfall? And is what those corpses have contagious?" He sounded worried, his tail flicking back and forth while he pinned his ears down.

Lily's ears pricked, her eyes widening in worry. "Talula, what have you been eating?" she repeated.

Talula narrows her eyes. “Fresh corpses and prey I’ve managed to steal from birds and foxes... but why do you two care?” She asks. “It’s lovely to have you two worrying and all of that, however in my part of twolegplace cats normally... idk.. chase other cats away.” She says. These are some unique cats.

"Fresh or not, they probably died to what the other prey died to." Jasper curled his tail around his left hind leg, glancing worriedly at Lily. "I'm not sure about her, but I'm worrying in case it's contagious. I don't exactly want to have lived this long only to die to something caught from prey."

Talula growls, narrowing her eyes as she looks at Jasper. "I am perfectly fine!" She growls. "I am not sick!" She looks from Jasper to Lily. Who do these cats think they are?

Lily picked up her rat. The rain that had been falling was beginning to thin out. She glared at both cats, tail twitching, then began trotting toward where she had made her nest.

Dusty's tail twitched. "I smell loners," he noted, "We should be careful, they might want to steal our prey."

Salem snorted, but frowned at the slightly dizzy feeling she began to come by. Shaking it off, she passed by Axel as she padded towards where she could faintly smell rats, tail tip twitching behind her.
Tempest nodded happily to the ginger shecat. "Of course! We've stuck together through everything else after all," she mewed softly and nudged Petal with her shoulder.

Lily caught the scent of the large group and tensed, curling around the rat she was eating.
Dusty trotted along the thunderpath, smelling for prey.

Axel sniffed and caught faint traces of rat, but they seemed so far away. This reminded him of his own hunger and he tried to not think too much about being hungry. He gazed cautiously at Salem, but looked away instantly. She brushed against you like a friend would, pull yourself together. He thought to himself.

Salem scented the air and nodded to herself, breaking off from the group to pad in the direction of rats. Her ears pinned back to her head and she lashed her tail, glancing back briefly to Axel. Pausing, she trotted back over to him, nudging him toward the direction she'd been heading. "This way," she mewed before continuing on.

Axel held in a gasp of surprise. "o..okay." He said and followed after Salem, silently slinking away from the rest of the group. He took in a breath of air and looked back before following her again.

Salem chuckled lightly at Axel's stuttering, her tail swaying while she moved into a crouch. Her paws padded lightly across the ground, her tail hovering above it.
Tempest glanced up at Rowan and beamed, nodding. "We're fine, yes," she purred, waving her striped tail.

Axel stopped in his tracks and crouched a bit so he couldn't be seen by whatever prey she was stalking. I hope she's actually stalking prey or I'd look stupid. He thought sadly.

Lily puffed up as a cat rounded the corner, spitting furiously.
"Who are you?" Dusty snarled at the tortoiseshell, tail lashing.