Did You Just Drink That? That's Nitroglycerin!
Shelby!
What the hell had she been thinking? Her natural feline curiosity had gotten the better of her and while summer still clung stubbornly to the north Natha had decided to investigate the strange island she'd seen on her travels southward. She climbed out of the water, shaking first one foot and then the other before she sat down and began to groom her fur. Bleck! She shook herself out and eyed the rocky cliffs that stretched up tall before her. The dark cliffs would be difficult to climb but she had not swam all the way over here to be deterred. She knew there just had to be more to this island than the strange cliffs that seemed to ring it in. She shook herself out once more and started to climb, pausing for a moment to find the best way up while keeping herself out of the wind as much as possible.
Knight
Tamsyn was beginning to wonder if her drive to indulge the curiosities she had never been allowed to explore might just be the death of her. The day before she had ended her journey on the shore that now lay behind her. It had been a clear night, plenty clear enough to spot the island that was surely within swimming distance. It of course made her curious and that morning she had woken up with the sole intention of going to said island... only to see everything shrouded in fog and mist. It made her doubt her own memory for a moment, but after waiting for the sun to fully rise and for the mist to disparate a bit, she could begin to see the rocky landscape of the island begin to poke though. With her will to visit the unknown island renewed, she took off across the water to find it.
However, now that she had actually made it to the opposite shore she was wondering why she had wanted to come here in the first place. Everything just appeared to be rocky, steep terrain without much interest. Her mint eyes scanned the cliff ahead of her and spotted a few places where she may be able to find a path up toward the top. The promise of a strenuous climb to keep her occupied and the possibility of something curious being at the top was enough to get her paws moving again. The ebony loner started the steady climb confident and sure footed, but as she got about half way up and the ledges became more and more hard to find she felt herself begin to falter. Her front paw slipped and sent a few crumbles of rock rolling down the side of the cliff, making her stop with her ears back as she scanned for her next footing, struggling to see where to go next.
Natha worked her way continuously higher. Her large paws and strong legs were an asset when it came to climbing and she used them as well as her natural flexibility to climb higher and higher until at last she was about at the top. She heard the shifting of rock and instinctively flattened herself against the terrain, grateful for a coat that helped her blend in. She peered down with her big golden eyes to see a wolf climbing up as well. Huh, she hadn't expected wolves to live here. Unless this wolf was exploring as well. Her ears twitched for a moment before she climbed up to the top and peered down into a vast bowl. Below her lay the heart of the island, cloaked in lush green forest. Fog was rolling through casting a strange atmosphere over the place.
Natha peered down at the wolf and cleared her throat. "The view is worth the climb if it's any encouragement."
The sound of someone clearing their throat and a voice from above her made her ears perk upright and her gaze snap up to see the feline that was speaking to her from the top of the cliff. Tamsyn blinked with surprise - both from not expecting to see anyone else here and from the fact that she had never spoken to a feline of any kind before. In fact, she wasn’t sure she had ever seen one in person. The encouragement registered in her mind and she nodded, calling back, ”It’s perfect encouragement!” Now knowing that the climb was at least worth the effort, Tam focused back on the task at hand and spotted her next foot hold. It still wasn’t an easy climb and there were several moments when she wished she was far more agile and dexterous than she was, but with some effort she made it to the top. She was panting lightly as she pulled herself up onto the ledge, but once she was able to look down into the surprisingly lush forest below she just stood there in awe. ”Well, you certainly were not kidding,” she mentioned as she glanced over at her new acquaintance. Normally Tam was more than happy to be solitary in her explorations, but perhaps today should be different. ”Any interest in a partner to explore what’s down there?”
Natha settled down to wait, pleased to see that the wolf was friendly enough. She never knew when she'd mean a wolf with an interest in talking to a cat or one who would rather chase her up a tree. Natha gazed back down as the wolf made it too the top and agreed with her sentiment. The view really was breath taking.
At the wolf's invitation the lynx grinned. "Sounds good to me! My name is Natha." With that the cat began to descend into the basin, carefully working her way down. Maybe it was just her imagination but it seemed almost steeper going down than it did going up. "I have to admit, I don't like the descent too much." She slipped a little but quickly caught herself as a small tumble of stones rolled their way to the bottom.
When she finally made it to the bottom Natha found herself at the edge of a rich, luxurious forest. She could hear the sounds of a number of birds singing in the trees. "It is really pretty down here. Kind of an odd place though. I wonder what happened to make it be like this."
She couldn’t help but smile a little at the lynx’s grin when her invitation was accepted. ”Nice to meet you. I’m Tamsyn.” She let the cat lead the way down the opposite side of the cliff, whole heartedly agreeing with the opinion that getting down into the forest was worse than getting up the first side of this climb. ”Getting out of here is going to be interesting,” Tam muttered, already imagining having to climb up this seep cliff side and then back down the one they had climbed before. Her paws slipped a few more times than Natha’s nimble movements, but she luckily got to the bottom safely at the end of it all.
Tamsyn gave herself a shake and then looked out into the forest ahead of them. She hummed thoughtfully to her companion’s question and nodded as she began to walk into the trees. The bird song was lovely and the sun beaming down into the surprisingly vibrant landscape made it feel more like a rainforest than an island somewhere in the north. Her head tipped up as she scanned the sky line though the trees, her eyes following the ridge of rock that surrounded them. ”The only thing I can think of that would make a round, empty rock formation like this is a volcano, but... how would a forest be in a volcano?”
The wolf introduced herself as Tamsyn and Natha grimaced at her mention that it was going to be interesting trying to get out. She nodded. "Yea, I'm not looking forward to that part. Especially the swim! Regular water is bad enough but then you have to go and throw salt in." She groomed herself by licking her fur and by the time she was finished cleaning herself up from this journey she was going to end up with a pickled tongue!
Natha shuddered at the mention of the word 'volcano' considering that Boreas had been hit by one not too long ago. Thankfully it was before she had arrived but the aftermath was hard to miss if one journeyed too far to the east. She nodded, though. "That explanation makes sense. I'm not sure what happens after a volcano erupts. Maybe if it falls dormant, truly dormant well… stuff should be able to grow on it them. Maybe it just filled up with soil?"
Natha stretched up a nearby tree and sharpened her claws for a few moments before settling back down on her haunches. "Say, do you like to explore Tamsyn? I've made it my goal to explore as much of the north as I can before winter sets in. If you wanted to you'd be welcome to join me. I'm thinking of heading out east next. There's a mountain there that's supposed to have a huge waterfall." She figured she'd visit it then able her way back north and sort of work her way back and forth across the territory.
A squirrel caught Natha's eye and she watched it scurry higher up into a tree before disappearing from view. She imagined this place was a haven for small wildlife. She doubted the island was large enough to sustain many large predators. Natha grinned, pleased that Tamsyn was going to accompany her. While the cat was more a solitary creature Natha found herself enjoying having someone to explore with. "Yea, it's probably best to just get that part over with." Natha headed back to where they'd entered the inner ring, figuring it might be easier to climb out the same way they went in. At least that way they'd be more familiar with the terrain. Carefully setting one paw after the other Natha worked her way out of the basin and down to the sea.