Avalanche
Wanderlust Incarnate

The Gate

Avalanche ran through the gate after Nestor opened it, thrilled with the thoughts of new lands. As she fell through, thunder roared in her ears. Rain started to dampen her fur as she looked around at the new environment. Trees whipped through the air, leaves tearing away to dance in the wind. Avalanche turned, seeking shelter, and started off, fighting through the wind. After a long dash through the storm, she arrived at a small grotto, and slipped into a small cave to rest.

A New Beginning

As sunlight drifted lazily through the leaves, Avalanche stretched, then lifted her head to realize the storm had past. She stepped out into the nearby clearing, shaking of dreariness with the morning dew. Watching the trees sway in the gentle morning air, she smiled, and leaped about, excited for a new day of adventuring. Behind her, leaves rustled, but she paid it no mind, until she heard a voice behind her.
"Oh? Another not-cat! Finally!" the voice exclaimed, a light brown tabby wandering into view, "I was getting tired of wandering around!"
They plopped down on the ground.
"You mind if I stay here? I'm not great at much, but I'll do my best to help out."
Avalanche begin to speak, but was interrupted by more leaves rustling. A rabbit ran out, followed by a ginger tortoiseshell, who pounced upon it just before it could finish crossing the clearing. They turned about, rabbit in mouth, to look at the others.
"Oh, hewwoh. Sorrer, dinnit mean toh intrude," they said, mouth full of fur. They dropped the rabbit on the ground after a hard bite, and licked their paws.
"If you want, you can take a cut, I'm perfectly happy to share."
Avalanche glared, sighed, and turned back to the tabby.
"So, what is your name, anyway?"
The tabby looked up sleepily.
"Sugarcane. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, Sugarcane."
The ginger looked up from their meal.
"I should probably introduce myself too. I'm Ember."
"Pleased to meet you. I wasn't planning to stay here, so feel free to stake your claim."
"Oh? Why are you leaving? It's rather pretty here."
"I want to explore! Yes it's pretty here, but there's so much more to explore!"
"What will you do, if you have nowhere to return to? You're going to need food, and water."
"I... er. Good point."

The Stormhaven
Avalanche looked up, listening to the grass, blowing in the breeze, rustling with life.... and Ember hunting for food. She yawned, and stood up, sauntering over to the grass to investigate the buzzing of the morning insects. She wasn't totally convinced of Ember and Sugarcane's idea - to found a village as an exploration center - but was still willing to give it a shot. Though she wasn't sure how a village well an adventuring center would work, if they had to waste their energy hunting. Soon, she was in a full sprint, chasing dragonflies back and forth across the grotto. After a while, she started to hear something other than the occasional rustling of the grass and buzzing of insects. It sounded like humming, not of a dragonfly's wings, but of another not-cat. Avalanche shuffled throught the grass, crouching beneath the surface of it, in order to get a closer look. She watched as a long-haired tortoiseshell picked a flower out of the ground. Stepping out of the tall grass, she waved her tail back and forth, head tilted, watching as the other not-cat picked various flowers out of the ground. They wandered back and forth, closer and closer to Avalanche. After about a minute, they bumped directly into Avalanche's chest.
"O-oh! Sorry! I got a bit caught up in my work."
"No worries! Name's Avalanche. You are...?"
"Arbor. Sorry if I'm intruding on your grounds."
"You're not. We've only started setting up a village," Avalanche stated, matter-of-factly, following it up after a moment with, "You want to join us? We'd appreciate having something to eat other than meat."
"Oh? Sure! I haven't got anywhere else to go," Arbor smiled, as xe sat down, enjoying the company.