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Post by bast on Mar 11, 2012 16:43:22 GMT
THERE was a stillness in the dusky air that came with an impending nighttime storm as soon as the sun went down. Right now the sun was hanging on to the edge of the horizon, spreading fiery orange light over the dusty, dirty streets of Hexasol's slums. Shadows from the broken down buildings stretched out tall and proud across the dusty roads and crumbling bits of pavement. Most of the places were broken down cheap apartment buildings with broken windows and rotting supports. Other homes included freestanding houses with caved in roofs, covered in ivy and with old wood floors growing more and more rotten every day. Before the outbreak of plague, this place had been dying already. By Mercy' assumption, the first humans had probably died here just because it looked like it had always been filthy and diseased. Compared to other parts of the city the young tortoiseshell had explored, this was the most broken and sickly and had the air of a place that had always been so. Such disrepair could have only meant illness could spread easily. Not to mention all the houses and apartment buildings and little shops were crammed together in a way that was far too close for comfort. Some of the little alleys between them, Mercy wouldn't even dare venture down for fear of getting stuck. All this coming from a petite she-cat as she was.
WALKING along someone's swayed back fence, petite white paws easily keeping on the upright boards, dappled tail waving behind her to help maintain balance, Mercy kept a sharp eye out for something interesting. She'd been on the hunt for something to do for most of the day after she'd feasted this morning on a nice fat pigeon. So far her search was coming up empty. She hadn't even found another cat! That was truly unusual, especially in this part of Hexasol since a lot of loners were cats just trying to stay out of the silly pack-tribe-pride wars. Personally, Mercy didn't see the point. It was hard enough getting enough food for herself, much less wasting time fighting battles when there was shelter to find, food to catch and safety to seek.
SPRINGING off the fence row, Mercy climbed up a sloped roof until she reached the peak of the eves. Even under her light feet she could feel the wood groaning, as if being forced to bear a heavy weight. Twitching her ears, Mercy glanced at her tortoiseshell dappled side. She wasn't that heavy! In fact if she got much smaller you'd see her ribs!
"EVERYBODY'S a critic," Mercy muttered, glancing scathingly at the old roof tiles under her feet. Giving a humph and twitching her tail dismissively, Mercy continued on her way to the very edge of the roof where she sat back on her haunches and drew her multi-colored tail around her paws so the tip rested against her white front feet. From here she had an awesome view of Hexasol's lonely slums and the sun sinking under the horizon. Overhead, dark navy sky began overtaking the last of the light daytime blue and with it, it drove Mercy to seek out shelter for a bit. These houses were old, probably full of mice and rats, a perfect place to hunt up an evening meal.
FOOD on her mind, the young she-cat got up and began walking back along the eve at the house's peak seeking an open window or hole in the wall to sneak in through. She found it in a second story window that had been broken by something or another with a hole just big enough for a sly kitty cat to slither in through. Just as Mercy began making her way along the roof toward the window, there was an ear-splitting crack and suddenly there was nothing under Mercy's feet. A surprised yowl was yanked from her throat as the little she-cat was sent tumbling down into the house as the roofing gave way. Under the roofing tiles, the wood had rotted out from years of leaking rain and no maintenance to the point where even light little Mercy broke it. She hit the attic floor with a thump, utterly winded, only to have dust and bits of the roof rain down on her in a fine shower. For several long moments, heartbeat after heartbeat, Mercy didn't dare to move. She focused on trying to breathe but her lungs seemed shocked or a second. When she could finally heave in a breath, it was all dust, sending her into a coughing fit.
FINE dust floated through the air, stinging her mossy green eyes when Mercy finally dragged her head up. She was indeed in the attic of the old house, bits of wood, roofing tile and insulation scattered over and around her. Her pelt was thoroughly discolored as the dust settled on it, turning the ginger and white patches just as brown as the brown patches. Sent into another little coughing fit, Mercy pushed herself up, kicking off the debris that had fallen on her, taking a moment to be thankful nothing heavy had landed on her.
"SO much for...cats...landing on...their feet..." Mercy gasped out, coughing every few words, wriggling her way stiffly out from under the debris.
A hole of last minute afternoon sunshine was settled on the young she-cat as she sat in the dusty attic, darkening by the second. Using that little light, Mercy looked around, her normal eye leading the eye with it's permanently over-sized pupil. Somewhere in the house, wood groaned ominously.
"IS somebody in here?" Mercy called, ears going up and alert as she slowly sat up, a bit of wood tumbling to the floor. A moment's pause and then another groan. Mercy's fur bristled as her eyes were drawn to the open attic trapdoor at the far end of the triangular shaped room. "Hello?"
Tagged;; Open
Words;; 1020
Background Song;; "I Did it Again" by Brittany Spears
Notes;; Open to all ^^
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