This is Tholan. They are a remarkably average cat with remarkably average stats. But, perhaps your village will like her?

This is a quick writing competition! You can write about how she got to your village, who she'll become friends with, basically anything you want! I'll judge this tomorrow at 20:00 Pixel Cat Time.

Magic sniffed the strange new cat. Who was this? "Hello, I assume you're new.. just like me." "Why yes! I am Tholan, I.. sorta became lost, but I promise that I'll help you guys as much as possible!" Magic nodded in agreement. "We could always use more paws in the village. Right now there's just the six of us, at least until you came around.

The two not-cats padded into the small village. Right away a long furred grey bundle of anger ran up to the twosome. "Did you just bring a loser into the camp?" The unfriendly male hissed. "Stay away from her, you might scare Tholan off!" Before the strange male could spat back, a cool and collected guy strutted between them. "Hmph, Lys, you know that you can't fight anyone other than a newcomer." Lys sulked off, promising revenge as the grey tabby's personality changed on a dime. "Sorry about him, he's a huge grump! I am Riot, because I am a riot when it comes to jokes!"

After a long conversation with the happy go lucky tom, Magic led Tholan to where their leader was, who was currently hanging out with her sister and.. partner? friend? "Hello Magic, I see you brought someone new!" She said, walking over to Tholan. "I'm Chloe jr." "Jr?" "Yes! It's a long story." The pale ginger tom waved his tail at the newbie. "I'm Honeysuckle! Chloe's sister is Jo!" As soon as her name was mentioned, she appeared. "Don't mess with my sis, or you'll get it."

With that, a new cat joined the village, named Spyglass Hollow.

Tholan had always dreamed of seeing the world. When she spoke of leaving to explore the wonders of Not-Earth, her clanmates exchanged skeptical glances. Tholan, going on an adventure? The same unassuming not-cat that was scared of her own shadow? Not likely.

She steeled herself one day and decided to venture into Nestor's wood, hoping the great Guardian could grant her the courage to turn her dream into a reality. But to her surprise the Guardian was absent, and in his place was a portal - as if it had been waiting for her.

She immediately shied away from the gateway. Doubts swam through her mind - surely this wasn't meant for her? She had always lived a quiet life, meek and unremarkable. Nobody looked at her twice, let alone thought of her as a daring adventurer. Who knew where it even led?

She started to turn away, when a voice cried out from the other side. "Help! Somebody help me!"

Tholan's heart leapt. Someone was in trouble! Although she was gripped by fear, she couldn't abandon another cat in need. She took a deep breath and without another thought, leapt through the portal and into the unknown.

She immediately crashed into another cat, and the two of them were sent rolling. When she opened her eyes, a large, grizzled tortoiseshell stared back at her as she frantically looked around for the source of danger.

"Can someone please help me clean this up?" Rowan whined dramatically. "Ecematare knocked over my rock collection again! It's a complete mess-- Oh, who are you?"

She realized there was no imminent peril - instead, she had interrupted a petty quarrel between a strange group of cats. Six bewildered faces peered down at her as the portal fizzled out of existence. "Are you guys seeing this? Where did that portal come from? She just jumped right through!"

The cat that she had knocked into got to his feet, looming above her with an intimidating presence. Gatsby, impressed by her bravery, beamed at the strange not-cat.

"Hey, what's your name? We could use someone with guts like you." He looked back at Rowan and Ecematare, who were still quibbling over a pile of pebbles. "...The rest of these guys are useless."

(Thanks for the opportunity, I had fun with this! )

(I am sorry this is so long lmao )


Sphynx walked towards Nestor, something she became used to do on a daily basis after arriving to this, her new home. On her way there, she glanced over some small camps scattered around Nestor's meeting grounds, and those new not-cats' excitement. She has been around for some days, maybe even a week, time has passed by quickly with all to work she needs to do to build a footing for her friends, her clan.
Life on earth was complicated for Sphynx, but since she arrived here, everything changed, and she smiles with relief at those who are just arriving.

On her way, thanks to looking somewhere else she walked into another cat, pushing it slightly.
"Oh.... I am sorry, I got distracted" she said, backing up and looking up and down this new not-cat, which gulped after seeing Sphynx. "I am sorry if I startled you" Sphynx smiled sweetly at her "My name is Sphynx, could I know yours?"

"Tholand..." The brown cat sat slowly, curling her tail in front of her legs, which prompted Sphynx to sit too.

"What an adorable name, I am sorry for that unpleasant introduction. I am just glad you didn't lash out" The longhair chuckled awkwardly, while Tholand looked at her with concern and confusion.
"I guess that's not too common here huh?" she looked around again, focusing on a group of not-cats trying to light a bonfire to cook some fish. "This is a good place, let me tell you"

Tholand looked at her, then lowered her gaze.

"You... you just arrived, right? Did you come alone?" Sphynx asked, looking at the brown shorthair again.

"Yes... It's pretty scary" Tholand muttered.

"Oh yeah, it can be, more when there is no one to walk alongside you on this new land" she stood slowly

"Say, I have a group close by, right now I am going towards Nestor, you can come with me and stay with us if you wish"

Tholand looked up and then back down. It was an interesting proposition but she knew nothing about this weird cat with a scar, but at the same time she has been trying to collect bravery to approach other not-cats and join them, which didn't work. This not-cat, Sphynx, was the first one to exchange words with her since she arrived, everyone was busy after all. "I can go with you to talk to Nestor, but after that, I am still not sure..."

"That's wonderful, let's go"

On the way there, Tholand walked shyly while Sphynx had a totally different energy, she was careful with not stepping on things other not-cats left around and avoided crashing into others religiously. "I should have been more careful from the start, again, I am sorry for pushing you"

"Ah... that's fine, I think that was something positive, after all" Tholand smiled. "Do you mind... if I ask a question?"

"It depends on the question dear Tholand, but, go ahead"

"Why?" Her tail raised slowly "Why are you picking up 'strays'?"

"Strays" Sphynx repeated "In here, I don't think anyone can be a stray anymore" she looked back at Tholand "We are not "lost" anymore, we are not "homeless", we are home, I would rather say you are... hmmm..." she stopped for a second, her ears tight against her head as she searched for a more suitable word "Ah!" she exclaimed and turned to Tholand "unfamiliar" she smiled with pride and resumed her walking.

"Unfamiliar?" Tholand asked, confused at what she meant.

"Yes! You are unfamiliar with this world, with those who inhabit it and as a result, you have nowhere to go or someone to be close to" she remained in silence for some seconds "You know I might have not answered your question, let me try again"
She took a big mouthful of air, then turned back to face Tholand "This new world, our future lies here, at our paw pads. I had bad experiences back at Earth, and I believe everyone here deserves somewhere to go and someone to help them. We all have a mission, we all have work to do and I would like to help others find those things, and in exchange, I also need help myself. I would like to ask you to help me create a safe place for others, you seem like someone with a loving and pleasant soul" she ended her speech. "I might have made many assumptions but... I will stand my ground, I like what I have seen and hear from you aaaaaaand.... here we are, wait a second".

Sphynx trotted towards Nestor, while Tholand sat down, still thinking about her options... Sphynx didn't seem like a bad not-cat... she was actually pretty gentle and kind. After a few seconds, the longhair came back, holding a fish proudly.

"I aw gowig bac, awe yu cowing?" (I am going back, are you coming?)

Tholand nodded following Sphynx, she felt glad to finally have some company and a place to call home. She was rather anxious about meeting her new companions, but that was something to worry about at another time.

Fallenstar paused, eyeing the strange not-cat from the bushes. In the past, he'd always had to be weary towards strangers, but now that he was in Not-Earth, maybe it'd be better to treat them as future allies...

With a small sigh, he straightened up and pulled himself from the undergrowth, padding up to the stranger after brushing some leaves from his pelt. "Hey, you there."

The stranger startled from their thoughts, presumably having spaced out before. "Oh, hello. Are you from around here?"

"Er... yeah. Me and my friends set up camp in a clearing back there," he gestured back the way he came. "Why are you out here alone?"

"Oh, you know. Adventuring."

"Adventuring?"

"Yeah! I wanted to get away from the others for a bit."

"Huh."

There was a moment of silence as Fallenstar wondered how to approach this. He'd never tried to actively recruit someone - it normally just came up in conversation or something similar.

"So... Do you leave camp often?" He opted to go for a more conversational route, considering nobody liked a door-to-door salesman.

"I suppose I do. I'm not very close with my clanmates."

"Really? That's a shame."

"I guess."

More silence. It was blaringly obvious that Fallenstar was very out of practice when it came to meeting new cats.

"Do you ever consider trying to meet new people somewhere else? Like... a fresh start, I guess."

"Oh! That's a good idea!" They beamed, standing and staring back towards the camp Fallenstar had pointed out. "Can I go with you?"

"Of cour- Wait. Just like that?" He blinked, dumbfounded.

"Mhm! Unless you don't want me to come?" Their mood dampened a bit at the idea.

"Oh, no, no, I do want you to come along, more paws helping around would be great!" He hurriedly assured them. "You just surprised me, promise."

"Okay, then let's go!" They hopped along, leaving Fallenstar to catch up.

He hadn't expected them to be so energetic. Or so willing to leave home. He wouldn't complain, though - he'd meant it when he said more help would be amazing. Getting used to this place was hard with just six of them.

With that, the stranger - Tholan, she introduced herself as, only after Fallenstar had chased after her on the way back to camp - was quickly adopted into EclipseClan. First recruitment - great success!

"So, you came from the Saltshaker, right?"

Tholan was quiet, staring at that very opening in the sky. "What? Er- yeah, that is what it's called, right?"

"Mhm!" The... "not-cat" (she had to get used to that!) nodded cheerfully. "We all are, actually! I bet they'll be happy to let you in, they could probably use an extra set of paws since I'm out exploring." Ae flashed an almost apologetic grin, despite the lack of cats to apologize to.

Their eyebrows furrowed for a moment. "Wait... travelling? I thought we were going to your village now?"

Nuriel's eyes widened. "Oh- oh, shoot, I'm sorry! No, it's about a day's walk from here, actually. Just head towards the mushrooms and they'll probably find you."

Tholan bit their tongue for the moment. Commenting on that detail (or lack thereof) could come later. For now, she needed to get to where she needed to be. "Thank you. I suppose I'll make my way there, then!"

"No problem! Stay safe on your travels, alright?" Nuriel chirped. "Oh, and once you're there, you should totally talk to Bittersweet about all your portal worries! They're so obsessed with Earth, I swear-"

And with that goodbye, the two not-cats parted ways!

There was a small chirp. Then another. Not a cricket kind of chirping, definitely more of a tentative kitten kind of chirping. Turning around, Tholan discovered a young kitten who had yet to master the art of hiding in plain sight.



"Hi," the kitten said, "are you new here too?" Tholan could feel hesitation in the words. She nodded. "I'm Dahlia," the kitten added, "I arrived yesterday. Or the day before? Time is different here, but Mitzi adopted me." They paused. "There's a few of us, a small village. Everyone's been very nice to me so far, and we're all discovering things together. I even found a plank this morning!"

They didn't seem sure just how they'd managed it. Tholan wasn't either. Surely the plank would have weighed more than the small not-cat in front of her!


An older cat walked toward them, trotting even.

"That's Autumn." Dahlia said the words very matter-of-factly. Of course it was Autumn, who else could it be?

"Are you lost?" Autumn asked. Her tone was soft, and although she wasn't Dahlia's parent it was clear she was looking after the little one. Presumably the group was taking turns.

"I don't know." Tholan's word seemed to register too late in her own mind. If she didn't know, then surely she was lost, wasn't she? "Can you be lost if you don't know where you're going?" That felt like a silly question.

"Not knowing where you're going is the best way to find things," Dahlia stated, very sure of themself.
'Also the best way of getting lost' seemed to be Autumn's thoughts. "Maybe we can help? What are you trying to find?" The way the young kitten had spoken their question left not doubt as to whether 'I don't know' was a potential answer.

"Shelter, I suppose." Tholan's reply hadn't even been a full sentence. "For starters. And maybe company. I was lonely, before." Her voice trailed off and she looked away.



"Everything alright Dahlia?" The voice came from a tree behind Tholan and she turned.

"Thatcher! This is..." The kitten stopped short and looked perplexed, turning toward the stranger. "I didn't ask your name."

"I'm Tholan."

"This is Tholan." Dahlia had finished their sentence, not quite realising it wasn't entirely needed. "Not lost, but not found either."

That wasn't a bad summary overall.

"Well, you found me." Tholan felt like they'd be here a while if the kitten was left in charge of conversation. Her stomach grumbled. Whatever kind of travel she'd just been through hadn't solved the hunger she'd felt prior.

"There's fish by the bonfire." Thatcher pointed in the direction Autumn had come from. "If you'd like. Bates and Wish helped this morning. I still caught more though! I could teach you! I like fish, do you?"

Tholan simply nodded. The energetic not-cat was friendly but seemed eager to move. "Race me there? There's enough for everyone!" There was kind mischief in the twinkling eyes as the fluffy not-cat got ready to lunge forward. Should she trust them? Dahlia's small ears pointed to yes, but Tholan suspected they always did!

In a cat's world, there are those who are so determined that they can move mountains
So agile that they can move unseen as the wind,
So strong that even the largest of beasts could stand no chance.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are those who lack affinity in certain characteristics.
Oz who creates toxic abominations when she cooks,
Adonis whose knitting work is so jumbled that even Pic-cat-so couldn't have painted it,
Isla whose social skills are so wretched that he's never had a friend.

Every cat and not-cat alike has a defining characteristic, be it amazing or wretched. Something that sets them apart from others, makes them them.

However

There was Tholan. A perfectly average not-cat by all means. She wasn't too strong, nor weak. Not too clever, nor naïve. Average luck, average wealth, height, weight, yadda yadda. She had always come and gone to her destinations rather quietly; unnoticed. It isn't that anyone would ignore her, no, just that she didn't leave much of an impression.

She had plenty of friends, but none that she would consider herself too close to. Tholan lived a completely average life that anyone could be proud of; she had good access to food, education, and shelter. What more could a cat need?

Substance.

Tholan was tired of being a background character. Must she be a nameless support-cat even in her own life? She wants to be someone, to do something! Despite how she's always been told that she was average, mediocre; she knew there was something special about her inside that was always overlooked: her benevolence. Her love for others. She knew what it was like to be forgotten and did not want that for anyone else. She found a goal, something to strive for: helping others who have been abandoned or disregarded by society!

A goal had been set, now it was just a matter of devising a plan to carry it out.

Tholan tried out a few different methods, hoping that the solution would come to her. She volunteered at the hospital, passed out resources to shelters, and even found some lost trinkets that had been posted. None of this felt quite like what she was looking for. She was trying to find a place to belong, where she would have real friends who saw her and enjoyed being around her.

Just as she was nearing the point where she would take a break from searching, she ran into Isla. And I mean, she really ran right into him! He was turning a corner to fast and then knocked heads!

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, KIT!" exclaimed the chronically angry Isla.



"I'm sorry that we ran into each other, but in all fairness, you were the one running..." Tholan tried to reason-



">:( .... Okay yeah, sorry I guess. I'm just in a bit of a hurry". Isla shifted back and forth on his paws, somewhat apologetically.

"I'm terrible with first impressions, always have been. Uuuhhhh-" The quick-tempered cat seemed to be arguing with himself whether he should continue.

"Well, since you've impeded my mission, I'll just take you instead of the other kitty I was trying to recruit!" Isla exclaimed, prudly!

Tholan was buffering, still trying to process what she just heard, when Isla began dragging her with him.

"Hehe come with me, come with me! Don't worry, I'm not kit-napping you, we just need new recruits hehe! Oz said they'll give me double portions of meat if I was able to get a new recruit!"

!!!

"Now hold on, I never said I'd go with you!" Tholan exclaimed, "You can't just drag someone against their will to some undisclosed location... besides, why would you want me? I have no particular skills or attributes that would be helpful..."

Isla had a look on his face like he just heard the dumbest question in the universe.

"Uh, aren't you the crazy cat who's been scrambling all over town trying to help everyone?"

"?" Tholan wasn't aware that she had made a reputation for herself.. Was this a good thing?

"Hehe, anyone with that much benevolence... MUST BE A GOOD CAT >:) Don't worry, you''l love Oz, they rock. Except when they don't. Ok they kind of suck, but you might like them anyway >:)" The intense cat continues to contradict himself, but Tholan is too tired to argue.

They continue with this impromptu recruitment and Tholan just decides to follow the path the universe set up for her. Maybe this was the oppurtinity she was looking for...

What a fun idea for a contest! Here's my entry. ^^



"Hm. Are you sure?"

Tholan peered into the glowing doorway that Nestor had opened just a few minutes prior, but it was hard to see anything behind all the ethereal glowing. She had been... dithering about jumping through.

Nestor blinked a few eyes in slow reassurance. "You will be safe, little one. I would not send you into danger."

Tholan hemmed and hawed for a few moments more.

"I will give you a fish if you go through the door," Nestor said.

Tholan considered this.

"Well, I suppose I could give it a go," Tholan said, turning a hopeful nose up to the not-moose and blinking their large brown eyes in as kittenish a way as they could manage. "Will it be a big fish?"

Nestor nudged Tholan towards the portal with his big soft snout. "It will be as big as a fish. Come to visit me once you are settled."

"Wait," Tholan paused with one of their paws poised over the edge of the gate. "Does that mean I'm not getting the fish right n-"

Tholan felt Nestor give her another, more insistent push with his nose, and then she was tumbling weighlessly through a cloud of glowing light. The light gave way to real clouds all too quickly, and the gravity of this new world (and the situation she'd just gotten herself into) began to pull her down.

Oh crumbs, they thought as not-Earth rushed up to meet them. I should have asked for the fish before I went through.

True enough to a not-cat's constitution, Tholan was unharmed by the landing, although she did bounce across a forest clearing in a most undignified manner. They waited for a moment after coming to a stop, before jumping up onto their feet and setting about fixing the state of their fur.

That important bit of business complete, she looked around the place she had landed and decided that it was pretty nice despite the method of arrival. The rightness of this place practically thrummed through them. Why, it was almost enough to start a spontaneous purr!

"Aha! See, I told you I saw someone fall out of the gate over here!"

A loud voice drew Tholan's attention to a pair of not-cats approaching from the trees. The fluffier of the two was bouncing on her paws as she moved, while the other cnot-at was padding along in a much more relaxed state.



Tholan might have felt a little nervous, but they both had their tails raised in friendly greeting, so she was just going to assume that Nestor had something to do with their arrival.

"I didn't doubt you," said the more placid not-cat to the bouncy one, before he flicked his tail at Tholan. "Hello there! What's your name?"

"I'm Tholan," Tholan said. "Do you have any fish?"

It all started with the Fall.

"Oh sweet eyes of Nestor, are they okay!?"

Tholan groaned as she heard pawsteps, head swimming as they tried to sit up. "No no no, slow down a bit sweetie. That was quite some fall you took, it was unfortunate that you hit one of the trees instead of the ground..."

Tholan stopped trying to get up at that, instead deigning to open their eyes. It takes a moment for their vision to stop blurring, but after a moment they can clearly see a pretty tortie in front of them, backed up by a few other cats running over towards the sounds. "Guys, can you help me get them back to camp? I think they're hurt"

"Maxine, what's going on?" "They just fell from the Saltshaker, Agnes! They hit a tree on the way down!"

A longfurred dark tabby, apparently Agnes, stares down at them with a more sympathetic expression before nodding. "Alright then. C'mon, let's get them somewhere more comfortable to rest than here..."

Tholan feels herself being moved by sets of gentle paws, and she can't help but purr out a tired laugh "Well this surely isn't how I expected to get here..."

"You're well enough to speak?" "Mhm. Thanks for helping, my head hurts..." "Sorry that we had to meet you like this, kit. I'm Agnes, the one who found you is Max, and the quiet one helping us is Dune"

Tholan looks over at the other not-cats, tail flicking. "I'm Tholan..."

Max nods, tail flicking "That's a good name. There's others back at our village, but they're out hunting right now" "A village?" "Yeah. It's small, but we're doing well enough"

Tholan thinks for a moment, before speaking again "Can I join?"

"What?"

"Yeah... I don't have anywhere else to go..."

Agnes pats her gently on the head "Of course, Kit. There's always room for some more paws in our village if you want to stay"

Tholan could only purr in response, happy to have been dropped, albeit rather roughly, into the hands of what she felt was going to be a loving home.