Aspen Grove

Chapter 2; Beyond the Borders

A fair amount of time had passed since Asiya had truly hunted. She had eaten mostly scraps or any small prey she came across as of late; though she decided it was time to hunt once again. Asiya had been marking and naming the major landmarks in her territory and even went as far as the Galasauluk Sea; a great ocean spanning across the globe - or at least she believed so, anyway. Unfortunately, due to the distance between her camp and the sea, she couldn't stay for long and she can't travel there too often.

Last time she went hunting, Asiya had visited Imingua Pond in an effort to contact the cat-like being, Eliora. This time, however, Asiya wasn't looking to contact any celestial being. She was more interested in exploring the territory rather than the gods. As she reached the edges of Sekinek Field, the tall yellow grasses now but small shrubs at her feet, she took a deep breath and took all the scents in the air. Now that the territory had been mostly marked out and, at the very least, understood, she wanted to explore the finer details. Padding along, she kept her ears pricked and her mouth ajar, taking in as much information as she could.

The wooded area behind her that her camp resides in had a fine mix of deciduous and aspen trees, though down towards the Satora Circle towards her right was mostly just deciduous trees, and further past that beyond the empty fields was the great Galasualuk Sea. In front of her was a small strip of aspen and deciduous trees hiding the beautiful spiritual small body of water; the Imingua Pond. To her left was the edges of the trees and her territory. A mystery lies beyond. Before claiming Aspen Grove, she had come from that very direction, though her journey began a great distance away from where she was now. She never bothered to see what was around her, though she knew there were hardly any other clans around. Carefully, she turned towards the small line of trees and began towards the edges of her home.

~~(Below written based off of Alledowaya's response)~~

As Asiya approached the edge of the tree line, she could faintly hear the golden grasses shuffling around. As she turned, she could faintly see a small, scraggily white cat. The small thing slowly approached Asiya at a crouch, trying to appear non-threatening. As he emerged from the golden fonds, she could see his ribs faintly peaking through his coat. He seemed to have been starving; maybe to avoid hunting on her territory? Or maybe he was just a bad hunter? Whatever the reason, Asiya approached him, deciding to welcome this feline into her home. He seemed to weak and small to really be of much harm, and, by the looks of it, could really use her help.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Asiya stately calmly, letting the scrawny cat rise a bit. "What's your name?"

"...Valerius." He looked into her eyes, likely wondering why she chose to ask his name above anything else.

"Well, Valerius, what is the reason that I find you in my territory?" This is a question she was sure Valerius was anticipating; new or not, Asiya was not neglectful of her territory markers.

"I'm looking for food... I didn't realize I had crossed into your territory! Please forgive me, it won't happen again. Just let me go and this will be the end of it," Valerius had his head down and was cowering again at this point. Asiya looked at him with a touch of sympathy. 

"Fine. You can hunt here, so long as you join my clan." Looking at him expectantly, Valerius jumped up and thanked her five times over.

"Thank you so much, I promise I'll make this choice worth it!" 

"You will; you'll have to help hunt and keep our herbal supply fresh. I expect you to be up and ready to go at sunrise tomorrow." She didn't want to be too harsh on the poor thing, but despite that, Valerius agreed to her terms eagerly. As he rushed forward, Asiya allowed herself to smile a bit. It had seemed Eliora, the god of healing and light, had answered her prayers after all.

As the two moved under the cover of the ever tall Aspen trees, Asiya was stopped by Valerius who was holding an item Asiya had never seen before. The item glittered like the stars at night and smelled of Wisteria, which was odd considering the fact that Wisteria didn't grow near Aspen trees - or anywhere near their location. 

Valerius sat the strange item at Asiya's paws. "It's a gift! I heard it does something special to expecting queens..." He whispered, though Asiya had grown skeptical.

"What, are they supposed to eat this thing?"

"What? No!" Valerius chuckled. "You have to do this ritual... Look, I'll explain it all to you later, if you ever want to try it. It's called Star's Gift where I'm from."

"And... Where are you from, Valerius?" 

"Like the Star's Gift, we'll talk about it later." He said with a faint smile and continued forward.

The two didn't end up hunting other than finding some scraps. While Valerius ate, Asiya had wandered over to a small patch of blackberry bushes and plucked some of the bitter berries for a later use. 

Today was a great day, but not the greatest yet. One day, she'll run the most powerful and largest clan any cat had seen yet. She'll lay reign to the entire stretch of land from the Sekinek Field all the way to Galasualuk Sea and all animals around for miles will admire her, her enemies would shiver in fear at the sound of her, and if anyone dare try to take her home or her warriors, she would lay them into the ground with ease. The day that she becomes a ruler would be the greatest day.

AN; I decided to include a picture of the map of the territory! I couldn't find any Aspen trees to use, so I had to use deciduous trees instead. I like to think of Aspen Grove as having both types of trees; maybe one day I'll get a more official looking map, but for now, this will do.

Also might need to edit some stuff in here, like certain words and whatnot. Nothing too major.