The Shelter {the Main Camp}

A gap in the middle of the Deadwoods is the place known as the Shelter; an old greenleaf-twolegplace leaves a large, open area with grasses growing up to four tail-lengths high in places, and old, dead monsters litter the gravelly area just to the south. The main 'camp' for the survivors is an old Twoleg shelter, the only one that wasn't burnt down in the fires that ruined further south of the area. The structure is solid and almost impenetrable, with plenty of nieches for nests and a heavy roof that can protect from the heaviest of rains.

Rowan yawned and stretched as sunlight dappled through the tiny gaps in the wood walls around them, accidentally bumping into his mate and purring lightly. "Good morning," he licked her ear in greeting, noting the stirring of other cats around them.

Poppy started in shock, then turned and started grooming his chest. "Did you sleep well?" she purred, "I had the strangest dreams about snakes."

Owl rose from his nest and stretched, looking around for his mate.

Missy sat grooming her kits, rasping her tongue over the knots in Spider's fur while he complained at his mother for doing so, insisting he needed to look as strong as a dog. "Spider, you're not even half the size of a dog," she purred, to which she received a huff from her son. The ginger tabby's ears twitched when she heard movement, and she looked up to see her mate, chuffing affectionately at him.

Tempest rolled over onto her back, stretching out her slender legs with a wide mouthed yawn. Her striped tail swayed across the bottom of her nest, and she rolled once more onto her stomach, small white paws pushing her up. A shake of her fur and she wandered over to Petal's nest.

Axel heard the shrill sound of a bird. Or was it a bird? Whatever, it didn’t matter anyways. He rolled onto his side and lifted a paw and started to groom his chest with rapid strokes.

Owl licked the top of Missy's head. His ears pricked at the sound of light rain outside. "Are you hungry?" he asked, "I can go out hunting soon."

Before his mother could answer, Spider jumped to his paws, tail lashing. "I'm hungry, I'm hungry! I want to go hunting too, dad!" He whined the last part, rolling onto his back and batting at his father's neck with his soft paws. He glanced up at his mother's soft chuckling. 
"I could go for something to eat," Missy mewed and pushed herself to her sandy paws. She nudged Spider back to his paws, grooming out another tangle in his sleek fur.

Owl purred and touched the top of Spider's head. "I can take you out hunting later this afternoon," he mewed, quickly turning to Missy and saying "If you're okay with it."

"He's already seen what's happened out there, so I don't see any harm in taking him out." Missy's amber eyes, despite her statement, showed a bit of worry. "Just keep an eye out. He's still young," she mewed and licked the side of her mate's muzzle.

"I don't wait to take him out in the rain." Owl muttered, remembering the sharp burns the rains could give sometimes, "But it looks like it should stop around sunhigh. I'll try to catch something quickly and be back before then, okay?"

"Right." Missy mumbled and cast a glance at her other kits, who were still curled up sleeping. She looked back to her mate with flattened ears. "Be careful, okay? Don't stay out in the rain too long, and watch out for other animals," she mewed.

He nodded and trotted out of the shelter into the deadwood trees.

Upon finished his grooming, Axel took a long needed stretch. “Well that’s better.” He muttered and arched his back, his back hairs pricking up a bit before relaxing.

Dusty nodded to Axel. "Want to go hunting?" he asked the older tom.

“I don’t see why not.” Axel said with his normal bored tone, scuffing the earth with a lazy paw.

"I want to go see how the world looks now." Dusty chirped, "I haven't been far from the shelter since I met Rowan, and I figured you haven't either."

Missy cast an anxious look toward the exit of the shelter before leading Spider back to their nest, licking his ear. She laid down, curling round her kits while her head rested on her sandy paws. 

Jasper rested in one of the nieches on the walls, his nest hidden beneath his heavy black fur. His mismatched eyes looked around with little interest while he rasped his tongue over his paw, dragging it over his ear.

"Yeah, true." Axel said, now realizing how true it was and adding it to his mental list of things to say when he had a quarrel with Rowan next. "Hopefully by the time we leave this are the rain will let out." Axel added in a mutter.

"I was thinking we could explore the twolegplace," Dusty suggested, "I want to see what it looks like when there aren't twolegs crawling all over it."

Amber creeped inside the shelter, muttering a curse under her breath as she realised her parents were already awake.

"Snakes?" Rowan purred. "No snakes here. Unless you want me to go looking for them."

Missy parted her gaze from her son and instead looked to where her other two kits were supposed to be, tensing up and pinning her ears back with worry. Hissing, she slid easily to her paws and glanced around, relaxing at the sight of her daughter's cream colored pelt. "Amber! You know you're not supposed to go out by yourself," she hissed, though there was no serious anger behind her tone, only relief at seeing her daughter safe.
Spider snorted and crossed his front paws, smiling smugly at his sister. "You're in trouble now! You've been gone all morning. I wonder how dad is going to react when he gets back," he teased, slender tail lashing.

Pidge snuggled deep into her nest. She half-listened to the movement of waking cats below but was too tired to try to make out what they were saying. A rumble started deep in her stomach, bringing her out of her sleepy trance. Lifting her head, she looked out from her niche down at the cats. Her fur was messy along her left flank from sleeping, which she noticed quickly. Pidge ran her tongue along her flank a few times.

Salem slipped back into the shelter with a rat in her jaws. Bunching up her haunches, she jumped back up into her nest, close by to Pidge. The Bengal shecat settled down in her nest, biting a large chunk out of the rat she'd caught. Piercing blue orbs scanned the ground beneath, and she muttered bitterly at the sight of Missy being a caring mother. "Lucky little brats," she hissed under her breath, dragging her tongue over her muzzle.

Poppy snorted, getting to her paws and stretching. "So, what are we doing today in the midst of the world'd end?" she purred.

Ahady stretched herself quietly before slipping out of her makeshift nest and shaking her fur. She glanced around at the group as she jumped silently down from the smaller ledge she slept on and yawned.

Rowan purred again, licking his mate's ear. "It's only the end of the world if you believe it is. I, on the other paw, believe it is the beginning of something great." He walked out into the centre of the Shelter, stretching again and flicking his tail. "I'm going to hunt, so anyone who wants to join me can if they wish."

Petal opened one eye, glancing at the sleeping figure in the nest beside hers to gage their reaction. I still can't jump well enough to catch anything useful, she thought to herself grumpily.

Amber ducked away from her mother's tongue. "I'm almost six moons, I can do things by myself!" she insisted stubbornly, aiming a swipe at Spider.

Jasper stretched out and jumped down, shaking out his heavy fur. "I'll go with," he muttered, and the scarred tom walked out ahead of Rowan, mismatched eyes scanning the terrain outside of the shelter. 

Tempest woke at the sound of Rowan's announcement, and she grumbled slightly while she pushed herself up. She shook out her tabby fur, glancing at Petal and beaming at the shecat. "Should we go? We can practice hunting together," she mewed, crouching and waving her striped tail excitedly. 

Spider snorted once more at his sister and leaped to his paws before jumping at her with a playful battle cry. "So am I, Amber! You don't see me running off," he meowed and batted at her face with his paws. 

Salem gulped down the last few bites of her rat and licked her muzzle clean, rolling her eyes once her ears picked up on the sound of Spider. She glanced to Rowan, crossing her front paws. "We should bring back quite a bit of prey before the rain gets heavier and kills any of it. Want me to come with?"

Dusty turned away from his conversation with Axel, drawn to the more powerful cat. "I can hunt, where are we going?" he mewed to Rowan.

“I’ll go too.” Ahady said with a smile, trotting across the shelter floor  towards Rowan, fluffy tail flicking. I need to start getting the hang of this hunting stuff. She reminded herself as she stopped near the group of cats going.

"Can I go? Or am I too fragile?" Poppy purred sarcastically. She felt a short wave of nausea, then shook it off. Probably just hunger.

Typhoon narrows his eyes as the cats start to go hunting, his ears flicking as he stands. "May I go?" He asks, his eyes untrusting. "I wish to learn more about hunting." He says.

"I'll go." Axel grumbled, refusing to make eye contact with his older brother and instead starting at the damp dirt around his paws. "Nothing else to do around here anyways."

Salem cast a glance at Axel and cocked her head to the side in her curiosity. She moved to her paws and stretched out, parting her jaws in a wide yawn. Her stomach was full and she was content, but the little rats known as kits couldn't hunt for themselves. She jumped down, landing lightly and padding softly over.

Petal nodded at Tempest, leaping down and landing slightly unsteadily on the floor, but managing to catch herself before she slipped.
Rowan's tail flicked in satisfaction. "Perfect. I was planning to go through the Deadwoods but maybe we should venture into the city?" He glanced around at the cats, seeing what they thought.

Amber snarled a little, unsheathing her claws to swipe at her brother. "Go away!"

"We could split up and meet back here?" Poppy suggested sweetly.
Dusty rolled his eyes. "Weaseling her way into power over us because of her mate," he thought to himself.

Rowan licked her ear. "You're too fragile, Poppy, I can't let you go out. But I'll catch an extra fat squirrel for you?" He purred softly at his mate.

"City sounds good. Maybe the rain cleared there." Salem slid up next to the group, azure orbs narrowed slightly. She glanced over as Tempest bounded over to the group, and her lip pulled back in disgust. "Kittypets," she hissed beneath her breath, turning away again.

"Amber!" Missy snapped sharply at her daughter and grabbed the cream colored kitten by the scruff, dragging her away from Spider, who watched with wide eyes. "You know better than to use your claws, young lady."

Owl trotted into camp with a mouse dangling from his jaws, dropping it at Missy's paws and blinking affectionately.
Poppy huffed. "I still have a half moon until the kits are due, I can care for myself." she grumbled.

Rowan licked her cheek. "I know, but stay safe," he murmured to her, then turned back to the rest of the cats. "All right, last time we went into the city we got ambushed, so I'd rather not split up if possible. We should bring back a little more than we can eat, because that should save us from having to keep going there."

"Hi Salem." Axel greeted the newcomer, his eyes squinted to prevent rain in his eyes. "And yeah that sounds good." He said to Rowan, his tail flicking and curling on occasion.

Typhoon nods in agreement. “I agree, that sounds good.” He says. His eyes turn to the other cats. If you would stop being mushy with your mate then we would already be out there. He thinks.

Salem nodded to Axel and flicked her ears. She was growing impatient, and she kneaded at the dirt with her front paws, tail tip twitching in her seemingly ever present irritation. With a quiet huff, she flexed her claws and brushed her tail along Axel's side as she padded past, walking ahead. "Let's not wait then. Many mouths to feed, after all," she purred. 

Tempest nuzzled against Petal's shoulder and purred at the shecat, her striped tail swaying excitedly behind her.

Axel felt a bit flustered when Salem brushed against him. "yeah... yeah that's smart." he said, half stammering.

"The rain seems to be settling." Dusty meowed, "We should probably head out before it picks up again."

Rowan rolled his eyes at Salem, yawning and stretching once more. "Follow me," he flicked his tail, bounding outside with ease.

Dusty followed the intimidating older cat eagerly.

Owl settled down next to Missy. "I got you this mouse." he mewed gently.

Missy purred affectionately at her mate and licked his cheek. Even with just the short amount of time he was gone, she was already exhausted. "Thank you. Share it with me?" She mewed and nudged the mouse so it was between them, draping her tail over Owl's back.

Ahady bounded off after the group, her long legs stretching out in front of her. She hoped she could keep up with her group members, but she wasn’t completely sure if she could or not.

Axel followed after the others quietly, staying towards the back- He was still shocked from how Salem had brushed against him.

Pidge leaped down from her nest, landing neatly. She had the intent to hunt since the rain was lessening. She walked along the wall of the shelter, trying to avoid the cats nearby. Her eyes were still sticky with sleep, so she didn't want to have to communicate in her current state.