Moment of surrender (open)

[Cloud]

Time in the enclosure seemed at a standstill; hot days passed without number and cold nights seemed like eternities. Scorpions and snakes abounded, and he had to be careful where he stepped. The smell, of course, was best left not described.

It was the smell he endeavored to escape as he lay in the sand, head half-buried, the soft grains shifting at his slightest movement. Nothing was happening lately; even the stream had mostly dried up. At least prey was plentiful.

The dark tabby tom felt hazy, half-awake. If anyone chanced upon him now even he would have few smooth words to say; his throat was parched. Still, he longed for something - anything - to break the monotony.

[duckyaisha]

The heat in the enclosure was stifling, laying thick and oppressive on his fur like a second coat. The silence seemed to absorb and mute any sounds; the only thing traveling through the air was a disgusting scent for which he had no name. In the heat, reality seemed to twist and blur into bizarre shapes, their ever-so-slight wavering the only indication that they did not exist.

In an environment like this, it was no surprise that Patchfur's own body had begun to deteriorate. A pounding headache threatened to split his skull and his mouth was drier than the empty streambeds that crossed the desolate sands. His whole body ached from sheer exhaustion and his mind spun with worry- about the Clan, about the Clanners, about what would happen to him after their inevitable takeover.

He didn't want to think. He wanted to find something to drink or eat, but he had no energy to search out a water source, hunting was completely out of the question, and he was too far away from the blessed shade to take a nap and recover some of his energy. The only option was to continue his rather pointless trek or stop and- do what exactly?

The question was answered for him when he caught sight of a dark tabby tom not far from him. It wasn't a mirage; the heat waves didn't make the image flicker and distort. Patchfur's ears pricked with interest and he summoned the last of his energy to bound over to where Darkfur, one of the few cats he could regard as a friend, was laying in the sand.

"Hello, Darkfur," he said politely, hoping to begin some sort of conversation with him. While dehydration and exhaustion took quite a toll on him, boredom was what drove him completely insane. He needed somebody to talk to like he needed a long drink from the stream.

[Cloud]

Sound? Presence? Yes, a vaguely familiar scent came to his nostrils...a Clanner...who? He opened his lime-colored eyes and looked up to see...ah, Patchfur.

"Salutations, my interestingly opinioned comrade." He mewed lazily. "I watched how you tried to reason with that amusingly idealistic tabby. A good effort, if misdirected. She's not worth bothering with."

Normally, he would never state his opinions so freely. But the heat made his mouth loose and foolish. And it was true, after all. Woodstripe was small compared to what he hoped to set in motion - just a piece on the board. If only he had the energy to ignite the spark to start the game.

[Gosh]

It was dreadfully hot. The problem, thought Nightbreeze wearily as he plodded along, is that it's always either awfully hot or horribly cold - there's nothing in-between. He grimaced at the thought. He wasn't sure what was worse, the light season or the dark season. Normally, he'd be inclined to say the dark season, but right now...

Without realizing it, he had walked right up to a pair of cats lounging in the sand. "Er... hello," he rasped warily. He didn't immediately recognize either of these toms, and they could be hostile. Although... one of the two did look somewhat familiar. He was too exhausted to try to scrounge up memory, however.

[Cloud]

Ah...Nightbreeze. Him. The simpleminded if moderately enjoyable Clanner.

"Sssssalutations, my Clannerly friend." He said lazily, hissing the s on a whim. "What think you of the state of our disunion?" He turned over in the sand, causing it to sift and the gravel to crunch underneath, shaking his whiskers and yawning. Relative comfort and a better position to listen to whatever morsels of conversation this black tom could provide.

[Gosh]

At being addressed as "my Clannerly friend," Nightbreeze realized he must know this tom. After focusing for a little bit, he remembered: this was Darkfur, a rather interesting cat he had met a while ago. Okay, memory, that was the easy bit, now he had to actually provide a coherent response in this heat.

Eventually - not too long after the question had been asked, he hoped - he responded, "Well, I'm afraid I am not terribly up-to-date on recent events. But I feel, as always, that this chaotic place could use the organization of a Clan. Especially in times of extreme temperatures such as this, when cats are most likely to die of thirst, though the dark season is worse in some ways... A Clan couldn't make the heat go away, but it would help everyone keep their strength up. I think."

There, that sounded coherent enough. And if it really wasn't, well, he had already said it and this train of thought was going absolutely nowhere he was stopping it now.

[Cloud]

Darkfur chuckled softly to himself, a dry sort of soft wheeze muffled by his grainy cover. Still repeating what he'd said before, like a cute, amusing cricket, chirping out a song. Such a virtuous little thing. How easily molded.

"Chaos...oh yes, chaos. Chaos abounds in heat or in icccce, Nightbreeze." He said, hissing the c in ice again. It was fun and it kept him awake. "You think? You think! Ahahhaha, when do any of us really think? What are we, but little insects in a game? Even you, little Clanner, even I."

It was evident that the heat was getting to the tabby's brain.

[Gosh]

ooc| Dangit here I go again with the procrastination. Also homework, but mainly procrastination. Even my subconscious is guilty about this - I had a dream that a bunch of people responded since I didn't. Or something.

bic|

Nightbreeze had the presence of mind to know that something about the things Darkfur had just said was off, and raised his eyebrows. "That first thing you said makes sense, I guess," he rasped. "And, ah, it's obvious for anyone with eyes that heat affects one's mental capacity... but could you clarify your remark about... insects?" Halfway through this train of thought he had somewhat given up on being clear and coherent, or even thinking what he was saying through too much. What he wouldn't give for a puddle of water...

[Cloud]

OOC: If only. XD

BiC: The tabby barely had any moisture in his mouth left to reply; he coughed, trying to get some remnant of saliva into his mouth. His mind cleared slightly after doing so; what in the walls had he been saying? He couldn't even recall. Hopefully nothing unseemly.

"Mmph? Don't know...you're talking 'bout. Brain fuzzy." He turned in his sandy bed, trying to sleep again in this horrid heat.

[Gosh]

"Hnnnn." Nightbreeze shook his head, trying to clear it. Everything was muddled, though. And his mouth was so dry... Collecting his thoughts, he spoke. "You were saying something about some wort of insects. Locusts, maybe... or was it beetles?" He wasn't so sure anymore.