LOGGING IN MEDICAL FILE #32118195 >>> ACCESS GRANTED
Dustlight is a clangen-based mixed-media series which heavily relies on follower participation and choices. Oddie is the sole survivor of an ailment that wiped out their Clan. The lights brought them to a city, where they found refuge in an abandoned bar.
They must now face this ailment, make their place in the city, maybe build a community, and discover what the Bartender -- the spirit haunting the bar -- is.
And they know that not everyone will make it out alive. Nobody does, in the end.
First being a series of fake video games, Dustlight is now primarily told via written chapters from multiple POVs. However, expect videos and illustrations for important moments and for fun down the line.
It follows the curse of the dark forest challenge by ArtemisEnby on discord.
Dustlight is a mixed-media series that would be rated 16+. If any of these topics make you uncomfortable, thank you for your interest, but please take care of yourself first.
Long-term illnesses, medical horror, sci-fi horror, violence and injuries, animal abuse, graphic depictions of animal violence - including kittens, graphic depictions of death - including kittens - and the afterlife, isolation, gore (minor), criminal organizations, cults, substance abuse, elitism, classism, discrimination, trauma and the (mainly trust) issues stemming from it, existential dread, religion, and zombies.
I tag videos for flashing imagery/loud noises when needed.
These are not sorted in any particular order. Please prioritize your health.
Hi, I'm Rain! (Adult. He/they.) When I'm not at work wishing I was home, I make video games, play TTRPGs, and work on Dustlight. My main blog is @rain-spice so if you get faves from there, that's me. I was also the person behind @tideclandiaries !
Feel free to browse around and interact with the kitties going through the horrors! (Spam liking is perfectly fine and makes me really happy โจ)
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All of her injuries are antemortem unless otherwise specified specifically by Minha.
At the time of examination, "Gorse" has the body of a normally developed cat. 23 centimeters for about 3 kilos, a little under a normal cat weight of her size. Rigor mortis is fixed.
She is covered in a medium-length diluted tortoiseshell pelt with darker spots and rosettes, with a white snout, chest, and paws.
The skull is symetric and evidences excessive trauma in the temporal and occipital regions. Her eyes are closed, her irises are amber. Her teeth are natural and well-maintained. Her chest is of normal contour but presents signs of blunt force trauma on the three left lower ribs, which may suggest broken bones and torn tissue. Her abdomen is flat, her pelvis and tail are intact, and there are no abnormal palpable masses.
Her back and her upper and lower extremities are symetric, normally developed. Her right posterior leg swelled up, from a recent injury. There are no residual scars, markings, or tattoos. The paws are dusty, but evidence no injury, side for a healing scar on her left anterior metacarpal pad.
With no other analyses done (namely toxicology, serology, and urinary) from lack of proper equipment, the theory is that "Gorse" died of internal bleeding following her head and rib trauma. The cause of these injuries are unknown.
Feathergale (12 m./M/Warrior) confesses to Oddie (32 m./NB/Healer) that he's wary about the Dustlight's situation.
"What is this?" Oddie asked, looking at the blue flowers adorning Feathergale's ear.
"Bluebells," he said with a smile. "Mistpaw found them yesterday when he was gathering medicine. He said it would look nice. I think he's right."
"Mist was," Oddie confirmed. "Speaking of, I'm very happy about yesterday's excursion. We maybe didn't find a lot of medicine, but we found a lot of food. With two new kittens, we need to plan accordingly."
Feathergale looked down. Pondkit and Firekit. Of course they need to be sheltered and protected. That's the Code of the Dustlight, the Code he helped write down and one he agreed to follow with all his heart. But he can't stop being wary about them, especially Firekit, who, despite his boundless energy, seems to be sick. Nobody except Minha saw their mother. She could come from anywhere, from any of the other "Clans" around the twoleg camp, from any of the Nomad Clans in the desert.
He thinks their scent is familiar, but he can't trace it back to anything. A locked away memory he can't define, nor can Mangospeckle.
He looked in the back. Mistpaw was sleeping with the newcommers, close enough to bring some comfort but not close enough for body heat. This greenleaf has been too hot, and no contact was desirable during the day.
"I thank the Bartender that Minha found them." Oddie added. "Who knows what would have happened to them if he didn't?"
Feathergale didn't want to imagine the worst.
"Why not thank StarClan?"
"StarClan is silent. They don't speak to us, and I don't think they ever spoke to our Healers either. I use the Bartender as she's the closest being to our little group, but I don't know if Minha seeked them out, found them, was guided to themโฆ There are so many possibilities as to how he could have found the kits and their mother, as to how she diedโฆ"
"He could know how she died. Did he even mention it?" Feathergale asked. He knows that the white and silver Healer is the least squirmish out of every cat here. He was the one manipulating dead and questionable things, and he was the one taking care of most "gross" medical practices that needed to be done. Plus, he knows about twoleg medicine.
"Noโฆ He didn't."
"Do we know if he at least performed an 'autopsy'? That would give us more information." He urged. "I trust him, you, and the kits, butโฆ"
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Minha (84 m./M/Healer) tried to communicate with StarClan, ends up bringing two kits home instead.
Ask StarClan for answers.
That is the sentence Minha has heard Oddie say most often about the Medics in their former Clan. When they didn't know, they would wing it and ask for some sort of spiritual help. if Minha didn't see the Bartender himself, he probably would not have believed anything supernatural was real.
He slipped out of the Bar, one evening. He guessed that if he was to speak with the beyond, he had to do it somewhere else, somewhere quiet, somewhere closer to the desert, and he might have found the perfect place for a nap, or meditation: perched atop of the wall circling the district where the Dustlight lives.
It was hot. Almost too hot to focus, despite the setting sun. Minha's paws were wet, trying to cool him down. A small breeze was a blessing, but the heat made it impossible to focus on his meditation. What should he focus on? It's too hot. How should he contact the beyond? It's too hot. Would he be allowed to talk to StarClan cats? It's too hot.
Too hot. Too hot. Too hot.
โฆ
Minha didn't feel himself slip out of consciousness, sprawled out for a nap.
He wasn't sure where he ended up. It was very dark, darker than he had ever seen a sky and a stretch of land, as if the moon and stars were gone from the sprawling desert circling a side of the city and pushing it towards the water. There was nothing around. Nothing at all, except for a whispy figure sitting next ti him, prim and proper.
He yowled and bounced to the side.
"Frankie?"
The spotted she-cat smiled, more serene than he has ever seen her โ it? โ before. Despite her form fading in and out of his field of view like the reflection of smoke over water ripples, Minha wanted to believe that he was seeing a ghost or a StarClan cat, but a rational part of his brain struggled to explain it.
"Are youโฆ" He had a lot to say. To ask. To apologize. To get angry about. "What happened to you?"
She looked sad, shaking her head negatively.
She couldn't speak. Yet the echoes of a wailing cat could be heared in the distance, getting progressively louder.
"Were you sick?"
She nodded.
"Are youโฆ dead?"
Another nod, this time with a relieved smile. The meows were coming closer.
"Are you here as a warning?"
She shrugged. The wails now loud enough to be uncomfortable, to hurt Minha's ears. The dark world around them fading away like sand flying in the wind.
"Areโฆ Are you angry at us?"
"Frankie" looked sad, but eventually, shook her head 'no' as she disappeared with the rest of the dark world, and Minha felt himself fall into his body, waking up with a jolt.
The meows are coming from outside the wall.
He looked around, still uncomfortable in his skin after the weird dream, only to see a brown she-cat and two tiny, oh so tiny, kittens by her side. She looked terrible, moments before passing out, struggling under the slim weight of her own bones. He ran up to her, his mind lazer focused on the protocol he has always used for those he found injured.
"What's wrong? Can I do anything?"
"Take my kittensโฆ" She said in a raspy voice, a barely audible whisper. "Pondkit and Firekitโฆ They haveโฆ"
"Stay with me, Ma'am. I am a Healer, I can help."
"There's nothing you can do nowโฆ" She laid down on her side. "It's too late."
Minha, his heart sinking to the pits of his stomach, wrapped his tail around her and licked her forehead. "I will bring back your kittens to my community. Please allow me to keep you company until the end. What's your name, dear?"
"Grouseโฆ" She managed to choke out, unable to give him her full name before falling asleep for the last time.
Despite the city nearby, in the shade of the wall, the desert seemed more silent and lonely than it ever was.
He doesn't know how long he stayed there, comforting a hollow body and two orphans, but when he found the strength to do so, he picked up the kittens by the scruff and carried them back to the Dustlight, silently promising Grouse that he would be back promptly for a proper burial.
Smoke (10 m./F/Apprentice) acts helpful in front of the adults and has a talk with Ghost (10 m./F/Apprentice) and Mist (10 m./M/Apprentice).
"Thank you for your help, Smoke," Oddie purred, seeing how diligently the apprentice was helping them sort out herbs and medicine, learning more about them in the process.
"S'all good!"
Truth be told, their actions were not out of selflessness, but for Mist. Her brother's tail infection still did not heal. He's still feverish, despite pushing through for his training. Maybe she can learn more about medicine and heal him herself, if Oddie and Minha aren't going to do it. What's holding them back? They have herbs. They have skills. They're supposed to be Healers and they don't heal others? It was all nonsense to her.
Sadly, Oddie didn't explain anything about tail infections specifically, and while she was glad she could help our around camp, she doesn't think she accomplished anything, today.
Mangospeckle reminding Mist to grab some food made her realize that she should also get something, and got a tin can, cracking it open with her claws and a nearby piece of scrap metal.
She padded closer to her brother and sister. "Wanna share?"
"Of course," Ghost said, Mist nodding, lost in his mind.
The fish was salty and oily, a few bones still stuck in its cooked flesh, but it was better than an empty stomach. Perhaps they will be able to go steal food from twolegs by the Harbor, when they are allowed to leave the Bar surroundings as adults.
"You know, Smoke," Ghost started. "I still think about what you told me, about the other day. About the other groups of cats in the city."
"Yeah?"
"I found myself purring at it again, today."
Which means it's the funniest thing her sister has ever heard in her life. That's quite a compliment. Ghost doesn't often get her jokes.
"Aw, thank you! Hope it helped to make today a little better. Especially after... Uh..."
She couldn't say "what you told me you saw yesterday". She forgot if Mist knew about Ghost's visions. Who knows in this clowder? Did she mess up her cover? Was Ghost hiding some secret that would revolutionize the lives of every cat in the city?
Smoke flicked her ear and Ghost nodded. "Yes, Mist knows."
"Phew. Good."
"I have for a while." Mist confirmed in a very tired voice. "You still won't tell me what you see for me."
"I can't predict the future. I just told you that I don't see anything negative around you. Nothing more than what is in this place."
"Can you see or hear the Bartender?" Smoke chirped. "I wonder what she looks like."
"I can't. Not right now."
"You have?"
"I have seen things but I don't know if it is my mind or if it is otherworldly forces trying to show me or tell me something."
"What did you see?"
Ghost looked around. "Wellโฆ I can trust you guys."
They all gathered closer and listened carefully to her stories, trying to understand, decipher, or explain what they all were, meant, or where they came from.
The Dustlight has two new warriors as Mangopaw (12 m./F/Apprentice) and Featherpaw (12 m./M/Apprentice) age up!
"Every cat of the Dustlight, please come closer," Oddie called out, sitting up on the bar, chest puffed out proudly.
Everyone padded towards the bar and its stools, looking at the fluffy brown cat. Nothing serious has happened, why would they have an announcement to make?
"Two of our Apprentices have been taught all that needed to be taught, and their experience makes them ready to graduate as full members of our group. Mangopaw, Featherpaw, please step forward."
As they realized the situation, the twins' ears perked up and they jumped to the front of the crowd, twitching with excitement, eyes sparkling, ready to start a new chapter of their lives.
"As it was customary in our former lives, you will recieve Warrior names. StarClan is silent, so do you allow me to give you your name?"
"Yes," they both replied, Mangopaw in a more solemn tone, and Featherpaw in a more excited tone.
"Very well, then.
Featherpaw, you will now be known as Feathergale. The Dustlight and otherworldly forces honor your strength, and we welcome you as an adult of our community.
Mangopaw, you will now be known as Mangospeckle. The spirits and the members of the Dustlight have recognized your hard work, and we welcome you as an adult of our community."
Oddie jumped down to press their nose on their first kits' foreheads. Their heart was so light. They thought they could grow wings. They haven't had the best upbringing, but they hoped that they gave these kits a better life than what they would have had if left to their own devices. Oddie loves these twins, and they cannot wait to see them act as adults in their group.
They jumped back up on the bar, using a stool as a stepping stone.
"I have one more announcement to make. As we have a Head Healer, Minha, by virtue of him being the eldest and most experienced out of us two, it is only natural that we have a Head Warrior as well, which once held the title of 'Deputy' in the Clans, but the name doesn't fit. We are not a Clan, we are the Dustlight."
They looked around the crowd to check if there were any objections or questions. None so far.
"Mangospeckle and Featherglade, you are twins. You have the same age, and you both have great abilities as Warriors. I will let you two determine who will take upon the position of Head Warrior, and if needed, you can tell me by the end of the quarter-moโ"
"That won't be necessary, Oddie," Feathergale cut off. "We already know. I love helping. I can't lead."
Mangospeckle confirmed with a flick of her ear. "Yes. I want the position of Head Warrior. I think I would be good at it. If not, we can always figure something out."
Oddie tutted and sat back up, not expecting to be interrupted in their speech. "Alright then. I say these words in her home so that the Bartender may accept my choice. Mangospeckle will be the Dustlight's Head Warrior."
And as cheers and chants for the new Warriors echoed in the frail walls of the old bar, for once since they came to the twoleg camp, they were all truly happy. For them, for their little group, and for Feathergale and Mangospeckle.
Observe the humans. Who knows what they could do? (50%)
Go warn the others. They might be on danger! (50%)
"Go warn the others!" Smoke ordered.
Featherpaw didn't have to be told twice. He ran down the roof, almost loosing his footing in the process, and straight to the Bar. The sheet metal clanked as he jumped through the entrance. No time to properly put it back.
"Twolegs!" Was all he said, looking around at nowhere in particular.
Mangopaw was the one to jump out of her nest, claws out and a fire in her eyes. "Where?"
"Where Frankie is!" He said. "Are we in danger?"
A rattling and a yowl answered his question.
Featherpaw rushed back outside, only to see one twoleg drop Smoke, scratches on his arms. She kept attacking him, but not letting herself get caught again.
The other carried Frankie's cage, making sure her gate was closed. Featherpaw did not see what Frankie looked like. He only saw a discolored, almost hairless paw, claws out. Somehow, he's glad he did not see what she looked like.
Mangopaw and Smoke chased after the two primates, their paws silently thundering on the uneven asphalt.
"Where are you going with Frankie?" The dark she-cat cried out, attacking their ankles as they vanished in the dirty, dusty streets.
She got no reply, and didn't know where they went. They disappeared in the crowd. She would not be able to distinguish a twoleg from another.
Smoke caught up to her. "They're gone."
"But..." Her claws raked the ground.
"I also want to fight them. They were too close to our home base. But I think all they wanted was the cage."
They looked at the crowd, dodging a twoleg who wanted to pet them.
"Let's not waste our energy," Smoke continued, nudging Mangopaw to move, but she stayed solid as stone.
"There you are," Featherpaw said, padding closer to them. "What happened?"
"When you ran to tell the others I saw humans get closer to Frankie. I thought they just wanted to see but one of them lifted her up, so I bit their ankle. And they tried to pick me up, and they did, and I scratched them so they let me go-"
"When you two set off, I mean." Featherpaw cut off Smoke.
"Oh... We just ran. We don't know where they are." Smoke looked down. "Will Oddie be disappointed?"
Mangopaw squinted in confusion. "Why Oddie?"
"They were the one who insisted that Frankie was still fed and watched over, even if she couldn't be in the Bar anymore. They did not get along, but they must care at least a bit?"
"... Maybe."
Featherpaw saw that Mangopaw had mixed feelings about all of this. She never looks this uncomfortable, or upset. He needed to make them focus on something else.
He ushered the two cats back to where they came from, getting away from the more crowded areas. "I guess we'll have to wait and ask. Right now, the bar needs fortifications. We can't risk twolegs getting in."
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Featherpaw (11 m./M/Apprentice) and Smoke (9 m./F/Apprentice) go scouting. They see something happening to Frankie.
Featherpaw had to feed Frankie, today.
They all have left her outside in the cage, sheltering her from the elements. He thinks that her treatment is inhumane, but she did try to kill Oddie and can't be reasoned with. Still, he doesn't know how to feel about it, but he knows that she needs to be fed like any other living being, and he had to go search for food. He brought Smoke along, as two heads are better than one, and warned Oddie that they were not leaving a certain perimeter.
"Is Oddie okay?" Smoke asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Yeah, why?"
"They almost died."
"They don't talk about it," Featherpaw shrugged. "But I'm sure they're fine. They have us to support them, and they also have Minha if they need anything medicine-related. Or Mist? I heard he wants to learn more about healing and all that."
He wondered what Mist was up to. He'd like to know more about him. Hopefully he heals soon from his infected wound.
"Okayโฆ Yeah. I need to remember that the new Code tells us to help everyone."
"You don't?"
"I do!" Smoke was almost offended. "I helped dad and my siblings. But it was always us four. And now we have to help the Dustlight AND the others? That's a lot of people. But I'll do it! We'll do it! Oh, should we climb up this house? We'll be able to see better where we could get some food and avoid twolegs."
"Good idea!"
Featherpaw dug his claws in the rocky surface, jumping from platform to trash to the tin roof. A tarp was covering a few holes, and it was still early, so it wasn't as hot and uncomfortable to walk on.
Smoke followed nearby. She looked around for any sign of anything edible.
He turned, watching the path they took from the bar. The metal grates, the trash, the closed and abandoned twoleg nests, the discarded 'fabric' and other items with terms he never thought existed.
He gasped, ears flattened, and Smoke jumped to see what he was staring at.
Twolegs, by the bar.
The ape-like creatures were looking around the area where Frankie's cage is, searching for something. The apprentices stood there, frozen.
Mangopaw (11 m./F/Apprentice) and Ghost (9 m./F/Apprentice) come across a Blinding patrol. Ghost trusts her with a secret.
"Eep!" Ghost squeaked, jumping back, before sitting up straight once more, their face unreadable as always. "You scared me, Mangopaw."
"Sorry. I always forget that it's your bad side." She shrugged. "I saw you trying to leave the bar. If you're going on patrol, can I come with you? I don't think it's a good idea to go out alone."
"Aren't you injured?"
"It's nothing serious, I think? Just cut my paw pad on some rocks. It's already healing up."
Ghost seemed to mull over the answer for a moment. Or stare into the void. Either way, she nodded. "Okay. I already warned Minha. Let's not waste any more time. The city has Shadows that need to be beaten."
"Shadows?" Mangopaw repeated, following her groupmate outside.
She didn't reply, and they both had to cover their eyes, the day was a little breezy and dust and sand flew around them as they walked. Ghost seemed to look around for something, white spotted pelt standing out against the dark detritus laying around their camp. Mangopaw had a little more luck blending in.
They lead each-other through broad and narrow streets, avoiding the reach of twolegs and dogs, until they arrived somewhere that smelled like cats they knew about but never met. A rowdy bunch of maybe-rogues, but the scent was familiar to them.
"Cats from the Blinding?" Ghost asked Mangopaw, as they hid downwind, where they couldn't be seen or scented.
Mangopaw unsheathed her claws, if worst comes to worst, but still knows when she would be easily overpowered by a group of four cats who did not look like they had top cognitive abilities but would wipe the pavement with her black and ginger pelt.
They stank of catnip and medicine and were all purring as they walked by Ghost and Mangopaw's hiding space, pelts scarred and their strong builds casting monstrous shapes on the pavement.
Ghost squinted. "There are no Shadows around here, despite Frankie often coming hereโฆ It's weird."
"There are shadows," Mangopaw said in a hushed tone as the cats left. "Every shape has a shadow."
"That's not what I mean." She huffed. "You don't see them either. I hoped otherwiseโฆ"
The white she-cat pointed a claw towards areas where the tortie couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.
"I do not know what to call them. Sometimes it's Shadows. Sometimes it's Spirits. Through the blur of my eye, I can see dots and arrows and shapes and cats and odd glares in my good eye, as if showing me where the danger is, or explanations I don't understand. I have full conversations with things that don't exist. Because Frankie used to come around here, I wanted to see if I could get some more information on what to look at and what to listen to, and see if I could differenciate the 'good' and the 'evil'."
Mangopaw frowned. This doesn't sound right, but then again, weird things have happened to Oddie too, and she knows of the existence of the Bartender. She doesn't experience it herself, but she was willing to lay down her disbelief.
"Do Minha and Oddie know?"
"No. They have other stuff to worry about. Mist and Smoke know, but don't understand either. I'll tell them when I know what it all means and what I can do with it. Or at least when I understand it all a bit better."
"What do you understand?"
"Nothing. Sometimes I realize that what I hear and see isn't real. Sometimes it's as real as if I was talking to you, but only for me."
"Can I do anything to help?"
"I don't know. Thank you for coming with me and listening, Mangopaw. That helps a little."
"Well if you need someone to talk to, to get another point of view or figure something out, you know where to find me. If you want to and wouldn't prefer talking to your siblings, I mean."
Ghost nodded solemnly. "Thank you. While we're here, should we check if we can scout some food for the Dustlight?"
Mangopaw leaped out of the hiding spot. "Let's go."
Oddie didn't have to remind him that. Minha knows. He has been working day and night to try to find medicine for his son and to change his bandages. Not to say that Oddie hasn't been, but Minha thinks it's normal to worry more about his own kittens, despite the Code set in place.
"Hm."
"I heard that he wants to be a Healer. I'd be happy to give him a few more lessons and pointers if he feels like it."
Minha nodded. He knew Oddie was only speaking to fill the silence. He usually didn't mind as much โ he knows that they feel at ease with him, as they would not talk when Frankie was in the bar with them. But right now, he wanted nothing more than to be alone.
Little Mist. Minha hoped he would be okay, hoped that he will grow up strong enough to be whatever he wants to be, to train with his sisters and the other Apprentices, to study medicine and humansโฆ
"I'm going to check by the vets, see if they have any discarded stuff."
"The vets?" Oddie's ear twitched.
"Human healers. We can get some of their medicine."
"Ooohโฆ We called them 'cutters' in the Nomad Clans."
Minha's ear twitched. That title didn't sit right with him. "Seems awfully pejorative for a human that saves lives."
"I don't know. It's just the term we usedโฆ" Oddie looked down.
"Regardless, I'm going. Keep the Dustlight safe."
The white cat jumped outside of the bar, through the tin tunnel and rubble. The sun was already setting. He would be able to reach the clinic by nighttime, and go through their discarded items, or directly enter the building, if they weren't smart enough to lock it behind them at the end of the day. Hopefully, he wouldn't be stuck in again.
Hey guys! The next chapter will have a bit of a delay. Took a few days off for my birthday to see a cool expo in the capital city and it's getting hard to work in the heatwave </3 I do plan on posting the next chapter in early July, though!
I can already say that the next scene will be between Oddie and Minha.
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Oddie (31 m./NB/Healer) calls for a meeting. The cats from the Bar establish a new Code and a name for their organisation.
The air in the Bar was stuffy after so long spent inside with so many cats. Everyone was assembled under the seats in various states of sleeplessness and hunger and thirst.
But their work here is done.
With Frankie outside, the Bar cleaned, and everyone gathered around a piece of wood that fell off some furniture on which Oddie started scratching rules, they felt a renewed energy, a new will to do good. Even Mist, whose tail got infected, and the pain made it hard for him to focus, wanted to be a part of this.
At last, Minha gave a solemn nod, and Oddie jumped on the bar and cleared their voice.
"Cats of the Bar, we have all worked together to establish our own code, our own rules of life. Let me read them out, so you may consent, or we shall discuss further modifications after a good night's rest.
No kitten should be left alone, no matter if they are ours or not.
Cats of the Dustlight reject an allegiance to a group or a being other than the Bar. By being a member of the Dustlight, you may not join the Blinding, the Bone Society, the Open Eye, the Coven, a Nomad Clan, a group of rogues, or be taken in as a kittypet.
Friendships and help is, however, allowed, for we must do our best to make life in the twoleg camp easier for everyone.
Respect another group's territory. Do not go hunting close to their home base.
Kittens, the sick, and the injured must always eat first.
Prey is killed only to be eaten, for they were living beings like we are and they help sustain us.
Kittens must be six months old to be able to learn how to scout, and may finish their training when they turn a year old.
A Leader is not an all-knowing power. Every tough decision will be decided by the group, the Leader has the role of a mediator.
An honorable cat does not kill to prove its point. This type of action is only excusable in the case of self-defense.
Changes in behavior must be reported at once. The goal is to stay away from the ailment as much as possible.
The word of the Bartender is the law, for this is her home that she graciously has lent us."
A cacophony of meows and cheers rang from inside the building.
"Oddie, wait," Minha hushed everyone down, as if he remembered something of the highest importance. "How should we be named?"
Oddie's ear twitched. A name. They need a name. They can't keep calling themselves "the cats from the bar", that's a mouthful and most well-established groups in the city have an easier name to learn and remember.
They thought about the Bar itself. How they got here. About the sand of the desert, about the odyssey that brought them here, about the Bartender, about the surrounding rogues, about the overwhelming frenzy of this place the more you reach its center with its towering nests and roaring monsters, about the twoleg nests, about the twoleg camp that burns like a beacon in the middle of the night.
Only one name would fit. "The Dustlight. We will be now known as the Dustlight."
And the Bar erupted in a cry of joy once more, singing their new name, glad to have a new, fresh, organized start.
