sleetskies18

[sleetskies18]

I've got another AU to dump on you, an ☆angsty one☆

Having a favourite franchise gives you the urge to absolutely crush the characters and I'm here to deliver.

TW for hurricanes, injury and trauma, mentions of death

---

"The end of CLADE"

CLADE agents, and in continuation their home are prepared for anything. They figured that HQ could easily withstand the severe hurricane outdoors..until the walls cracked and the cafeteria window smashed, that is.

The panic ensued quickly, people struggled to find their aircraft or any means to evacuate. CLADEs orderly pride was smashed. Some injured, some sadly didn't make it off the island in time. For the two top agents and their friends? It was as close a call as ever.

They had all taken shelter in the nearby forest, gracefully being given a clearing to use for camp by the residents, and their wounds taken care of. However, even safe and sound, lasting affects lingered.

Sams simple water dislike became a full blown phobia. Water, rain and storms became intense triggers that the others dare not even mention. He finds himself hiding out in the shelter and hardly leaving. He was one of the agents hurt in the evacuation. Or rather, RONS hatch opened mid-flight and he slipped out and into the sea. He was left with impaired vision and a hoarse voice as a result. It took everything that made him a master detective.

Kit grew paranoid. Watching her friends get hurt messed with her head. She wasn't as confident anymore. Not as happy. She didn't smile as much..her main goal was keeping everyone else safe and happy in the lowest points of their lives. She worried constantly, only allowing herself to stay calm infront of her partner. Even then, that was for his sake. She gained a horrible habit of catastrophising

Indies wing was broken when a chunk of the wall hit him. He's typically around Sam or Kit, cautiously optimistic things could get better. He took Sam's 'CLADE agents never give up' advice to heart..and he wishes he could convince everyone if that again. He's upset that he watched everything crumble around him.

Cubby was in fierce denail. Confused and upset. She had hardly even started training. Why did this have to happen? Some sick joke fate played? She tries to help kit out whenever she can, but kit often lashes out and tells her to stay with the others. She winds up staying with Sam or the director, the ladder of which training cubby in secret without Sam or kits know how. It took away her certainty and future.

The mice squad and stinkwells were effected similarly. Terrified, but backing the director and trying to piece together what's left of the agents. Of their team. The mice squad tries to entertain and make them feel better, while the stinkwells rebuild tech and repair the many aircrafts, while drafting blueprints to hopefully rebuild HQ one day.

Director Scratch tries to pretend she wasn't affected, but seeing her poor agents, whom of which she views as her own kin, so broken...it hurt her deeply..when not planning the agency's revival, she was gently helping her agents heal after the disaster.

Wallys here, too! Wally, though not impacted, got his mum to put up fliers around the forest requesting materials like food, blankets etc, while also making them swear to keep CLADEs status inside the forest only (They didn't want the rest of the world knowing why CLADE suddenly declared a case break). He's surprisingly helpful, and helping director scratch cheer everyone up. He focuses on Sam and Kit alot, and accompanies kit to make sure she's safe when out collecting stuff.

They WOULD succeed in rebuilding CLADE eventually, but with a few changes, in both architecture and how the system works.

[sleetskies18]

many a Doodle!

The last one is my oc, Rowan! They're a Caowl (cat x owl)

[sleetskies18]

Honestly on a creative fever rn so have fluff and begone

"Stars."

----

"Sam?"

"Sam!"

Kit had paced the entire headquarters two times by that point, yet she couldn't find him. It was late. She was worried, her ears lowered as she came to a stop in the Cafeteria, where she noticed that cubby had a stack of work infront of her for her training, but was distracted by something outside. Her ears perked back up and the vixen dashed over "Cubby! Have you seen sam anywhere?"

Cubby ripped her attention away from the window "...he's down there." She pointed to the beach on their humble little island, where kit could make out a feline figure. And considering CLADE only housed one feline, it was definitely him. She gave Cubby a brisk thank you and made her way to the large underground doors. She pressed her paw on the scanner, and once she was authorised, the doors slid open, and the lights in the tunnel flicked on, illuminating her path. She walked down the hall in silence..what was Sam doing outside so late? Is he okay? Her stomach bubbled with worry as she left the second door and stood on a small grassy cliff outlooking the sea, and climbed down to the beach.

Now that she could see better, she could 100% confirm it was Sam. Her snow leopard partner was sitting knees to his chest a safe distance from the gentle swish and backwash of the waves, his head tilted upwards staring at the sky. The light from the moon reflected off his eyes, giving them a blue glow. His tail was curled around, resting just beside his feet. He didn't look upset. Quite peaceful, infact. But Kit just wanted to make sure. She sat down beside him, following his gaze upwards "...are you okay, Sam?" She asked warily. Sam's head tilted to the side "...I'm fine." He responded.

"...what are you doing out here? It's 10:30pm...you'd usually start your bedtime routine right about now.."

"...I wanted to look at the stars."

Kit raised an eyebrow at this, her head turning to the twinkling stars above "really? What's so exciting about them?" She inquired. Sam's tailtip twitched slightly. He let the silence linger for a moment before talking "back home, it was often too cloudy to see the stars properly...if at all. I just like to look at them whenever I can."

Right...unlike the desert Kit called home, Sam came from the himalayas. Asian tundra, as RON would say. Very high up at that, too. The cold combined with the altitude would mean alot of clouds covered the sky. Her expression softened as she processed Sam's motives "Ah..." she nodded "...well, I like the stars, too. I remember when I was young, my parents would take me and my siblings to the best part of the valley to stargaze. We even got to see a few meteor showers."

"Meteor what?" Sam blinked.

"Ah- right. It's like...a bunch of shooting stars."

"Okay. That makes more sense."

The two stayed in a comfortable silence for a few breaths, Sam's eyes still glued to the sky. The kit fox glanced away "...did your parents do anything special with you?" She found herself asking. A warm smile spread across her partners face "Oh, all the time. We may not have had stars to look at, but we'd go to everest base camp. The friendship and..warmth there. It was nice. And we actually got a glimpse of the moon from there...when I was around...what, 9? 10? My mum said something that I'll never forget."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"She told me that...even if my path isn't clear...even if I don't have the light to guide me when I'm lost in the dark and can't see...I'll always have my heart to guide me. Because...love is Brighter than any flashlight or star up there...and unlike those things, this light can't die. Can't fizzle out. Can't....spontaneously combust into a black hole. It's permanent. Just as it should be. Because wherever you are, home is where the heart is...and home, family, friends...its what makes you shine."

Kits mouth was agape. That was....wow. Sam's mother really was something, alright. Sweetheart of a snow leopard, as far as she's concerned "that's....beautiful, Sam...." she smiled, her expression soft "...she's so wise...you really are your mommas son."

Sam covered his reddening nose "w...well..." he mumbled. Kit giggled slightly "you have really beautiful eyes, by the way...when they reflect the light like that. That specific shade of blue..its my favourite colour." She shifted closer and rested her head on his shoulder "...maybe we should visit our home places again, y'know....you can show me the warmth and stuff of the base camp, and I can show you a meteor shower...see our parents again...all the mushy stuff."

Sams pupils dilated, his head falling to rest atop of Kit's "...you'd do that with me?"

"Well, sure! If I can be the reason you stay happy, that light in your heart continues to shine...well...you can bet on this big wooly world I'd never pass that up."

Sam exhaled, his nose resting in Kit's fur. The two were silent for a minute, before he spoke again.

"You smell like dirt."

"Oh, way to ruin the moment, kitty boy!"

"Bahahaha!"

[sleetskies18]

EVEN MORE HEADCANONS!

---

- Sam's guilty pleasure is romance dramas. Kit has walked in on him sobbing violently on multiple occasions while watching one. At first she'd always comfort him, but at this point she knows not to interfere with his....moment.

- Kit has a full on 'fox laugh' if she laughs long enough. It's super embarrassing for her, but unbelievably cute to literally everyone around her.

- Sam's favourite animal species outside of his own is penguins. He doesn't know why. He just likes them.

- Kit is capable of just about any art medium. Drawing, sculpting, pottery, etc etc. The only one she can't do is origami. Not enough patience for it. Funnily enough though, origami is the only type of art Sam CAN do well.

- Sam is tone deaf. To better listen to music, he's memorised what vibrations are what pitches and notes, and uses his whiskers and pawpads to take them in. He doesn't like songs with heavy bass' very much, because they block every other vibration out and are just quite overstimulating. He also can't sing for the life of him.. he still has rhythm though. The mice squad always make sure to make their songs with varying notes and pitches, and a clear rhythm so folks like Sam can enjoy it, too.

- Kits ability to make all sorts of noises is uncanny. She's often called a 'lyrebird in a foxes body'. She can imitate bird calls, other mammal calls (though this is more roughly), and various other random sounds. She enjoys using this strange skill as a harmless prank to spook folks. She can't explain where this talent comes from. She was just born able to imitate just about anything with a bit of practice. She can't do cats, though.

- Sam's pawpads and nose get cracked up and sore during the summer or when its hot. Kit takes time every morning and night to apply a cream to atleast try to prevent and soothe it. They focus on the pawpads on his feet the most. If they crack up walking is miserable and that can't really go with their job.

- Kit lays awake at night wondering just how her Ispygoggles project stuff. Can they display her thoughts? Is there more buttons she doesn't know about? Where on earth do the buttons go on the sides of her head when it's not switched on? It's better not to dwell on it.

- Sam is lactose intolerant.

- Kit uses a 2 in one fur shampoo and conditioner. She could not care less if she looks dirty. So long as she feels clean. The only part of her self care routine she takes proper time for is ear care.

- Sam's fur care routine is an entire operation. He uses special soaps which are gentle on his skin and get the grime out of his light-coloured fur, a hair mask, you name it. He prides himself on his fur. He also takes exclusively bubble baths. It's the only way he'll willingly go into water.

- Kit hates the sound of cracking knuckles. It drives her crazy to hear the very quiet but audible popping multiple times.

- Sam had a whole identity crisis when he learnt snow leopards are closer related to tigers than leopards. He cried to kit asking why he didn't have stripes, why he wasn't called a snow tiger etc.

- Sam and Kit genuinely begged the director to let them get a plant. Director scratch treated it like they were getting their first living pet or something. The classic "will you take care of it, give it water" etc etc. That went on for a month until they got Dotty.

- Sam uses he/they pronouns, Kit uses any pronouns, mostly she/her.

[sleetskies18]

Kit learnt the hard way that Sam simply can't handle the more..water centric horrors and thrillers.

I am aware that Sam looks too small but my idiotic brain was PLANNING to do the lineart for them both on different layers incase that issue happened and I forgot so we're living with it.

[sleetskies18]

I felt bored, so have a video of every chapter 4 teaser in the top 5 tundra animals video (none others had teasers)

full video;

[sleetskies18]

I cant even explain why but a teensy part of me honestly wants some Sam angst in chapter 4. I doubt it'll happen but if it does I will be overjoyed.

Thank you for coming to my thought dump.

[sleetskies18]

So, one of the tcc top 5s showed some more footage of chapter 4, so imma drop it here

Here's the playlist!

[sleetskies18]

So, I mentioned that in TCCR cities and towns n such are replaced with counties and didn't elaborate, so, here's a few of the biggest (or most important to the plot) ones!

(Fair disclaimer I do not speak any language fluently outside of English, so any place names will be in English, but if you'd like, you can imagine that they are in the native language of that specific area!)

---

Amazonian County

The amazon rainforest is one big county, with diverse wildlife. Each section (forest floor, understory, canopy, emergent) is considered its own town. The Amazonian County is best known for its culture and tourism, and the residents are often more than happy to greet any passerby with a warm smile.

NOTABLE PLACES:

- Riverside Academy (SCHOOL)

- Flora Clinic (HOSPITAL)

- The Happy Howler Resort

- Treetop Hotel

- Amazon Police Force (APF) station

- Keiatur Falls (LANDMARK)

- Amazon River (LANDMARK)

- Fresh Water Fire Brigade Station

- Amazon Jail (JAILHOUSE)

- Canopy Cuisine (RESTAURANT)

- Amazonian Postal Office

- Palm market

South/North Chomolungma (Sagarmāthā to nepali/sanskrit speakers)

South/North Chomolungma/Sagarmāthā (known as south/North everest to non-locals) are two closely connected halves which encapsulate the whole of Mt. Everest. To the south is Nepals side, and to the North is Tibets/Chinas side. Both counties are best known for their mountain and care for mountaineers. The home counties of Agent Sam Snow. (In different points of his life)

NOTEABLE PLACES

- Everest Base Camps

- Mountain's Medical Centre (LAYS ON THE BORDER. DOCTORS/MEDICS TEND TO MOVE ABOUT OUTSIDE OF THE CENTRE ALOT)

- The Himalayan SAR base (SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM BASED IN THE FIRST BASE CAMP)

- Mt Everest/Chomolungma/Sagarmāthā (LANDMARK)

- Northern/Southern Police Force stations

- ColdPaws Resort (HOTEL/TOURIST RESORT)

- Summiter Rememberance Ground (MEMORIAL SITE)

- South Side Educational Institution (SCHOOL ON SOUTH)

- North Side Educational institution (SCHOOL ON NORTH)

(side note but the two schools are highly competitive with eachother)

San Joaquin Valley

Located in California, USA, San Joaquin Valley is a...well, Valley. An agricultural community, most residents make a living from farming, trading or market work. San Joaquin Valley residents are known for their creativity and resourcefulness, they know every trick in the book to beat the heat! The home county of Agent Kit Casey

NOTEABLE PLACES

- San Joaquin River (LANDMARK)

- Various family owned farms

- Tule fog market

- CliffRock Institute (SCHOOL)

- Valley Police Force (VPF) Station

- Lazy River Waterpark (TOURIST ATTRACTION)

- San Joaquin Hospital

- Millerton Lake (LANDMARK)

- Burrow and Co building. (HOMEBUILDERS, WORKPLACE OF KITS MOTHER)

Saharan County

The Sahara desert. You know what it is. Hottest desert in the world. The residents of the desert are known for being often reclusive, not that they want to. The heat is often just too harsh. It's the perfect holiday destination for any nocturnal goers, when the temperature drops and the residents burst alive!

NOTEABLE PLACES

- Moonlit Retreat (NOCTURNAL RESORT)

- Sunray Infirmary (HOSPITAL)

- Sahara Fire Protection Centre

- the nile river (LANDMARK)

- Desert Police Station

- Oasis Hotel

- Fig Tree Marketplace

Serengeti County

The serengeti County is the biggest grasslands County in Africa. Its a vast, quite beautiful County. Its residents can be Hardy, but they do mean well. This county is best known for its beauty and diversity. The markets here are the biggest on earth, and trading of materials is common. The serengeti County is one of the only ones to have an established monarchy, in the form of the Acacia lion Pride

NOTEABLE PLACES

- Watering Hole Club

- The Spectacled School (GORDYS SCHOOL. EXCEPT ALL SORTS OF ANIMALS GO)

- Royal Rock (HOME TO THE ACACIA LION PRIDE)

- Grasslands Clinic (HOSPITAL)

- Serengeti Police Force (SPF) station

- The Floodplanes (TRADING HUB/MARKET)

- The great 6 Rivers (LANDMARKS. INCLUDES THE MARA, GRUMETI, NIARONYA, NANYUKI, MBALAGETI AND SERONERA RIVERS)

- Crocodile Lake/Potamus Pond (TOWNS)

- Grazer Town

[sleetskies18]

Petition for the hyena clan to appear in chapter 4 please please

(They were in exactly one episode and they are some of my favourite characters)

If Reggie came back so can they!

[sleetskies18]

International snow leopard day was on the 23rd of October and me being me, I forgot about it. BUT!

I drew something for it! I was definitely going for a sort of 'kids educational poster' type vibe

But nevertheless, a happy (late) international snow leopard day to you! Always glad to have my favourite animal recognised ❤️

[sleetskies18]

ive been wanting to draw more smitten kit BUT ITS SO HARD WHEN SMITTEN SAM IS RIGHT THERE... he is sooo in love with her. can you blame him

[sleetskies18]

Snowcase writing for the soul

"Late-night fact dump"

----

Sam took a sip of his tea, droopy eyes lazily looking at his beloved partner, who in that moment, had been rattling off animal facts for...oh, what? Two hours? Since their last case she just wouldn't be quiet...but that was okay. He liked seeing her so happy. The two of them were already in pyjamas, relaxing after a hard day's work.

"Oh! And did you know that geese have teeth on their Tongues? Well. Technically not teeth...they're actually called conical papillae!" Kit rambled on, her tail steadily wagging "and on the subject of geese I....uh..." she trailed "nevermind."

Her snow leopard companion tilted his head "...whyd you stop?" He inquired, leaning forward slightly. Kit frowned, her tail slowing to a stop "I..I just thought I was boring you.." she mumbled, her ears tilting back. Sam shook his head, taking another sip of his tea "you weren't." He meowed faintly "infact, I was quite enjoying it. How about this? You tell me everything you know about snow leopards."

"Snow leopards?" Kit echoed. Come to think of it. She didn't know much about snow leopards. Pretty weird considering she lives with one "well...you hug your tail alot..is that something..?" She asked. Sam nodded, brushing a paw across his fur "that it is. Us snow leopards use then as blankets or comforters, so to speak."

"Ah! Is that why you chew them, too?"

"Well. Other snow leopards do that but I don't."

Kit snorted "Sammy, one time I walked into your bedroom and you were sleeping sucking on your tail like a little cub!" She giggled, even more amused when Sam's face flushed and got hot. He stammered incoherently for a moment "I do NOT!"

"Haha! Well. Back to the facts. More about snow leopards." The vixen pressed her paws together "..well. you can't roar. I know that much...and you're classified as big cats anyways because you still have that hyoid bone.."

"Mhm...and what about my fur?"

"..yours specifically is 4.7 inches thick...though some can max out at 5 or 6."

The ounce tilted his head. She knew his fur thickness down to the exact decimal? It was endearing, almost a bit flattering. "Thats right." He yawned, raising a paw to rub his eyes "you know more about us than you think, Kit.." his voice devolved to a soft mumble. Kit smiled warmly, carefully taking his mug and setting it on the coffee table "...well. if there's one fact I do know, its that its THIS snow leopards bedtime." She stated, gently pushing Sam to lay down on the sofa with his head on the arm. The felid chuffed softly as he was pushed "No...m...its..no.." he trailed

"Yes it is.." Kit hummed, grabbing a blanket from a nearby cupboard and throwing it over him "lights out in HQ is in half an hour anyhow.." she pat his shoulder, then went off to grab Sam's currently charging white noise machine from their kitchenette. She selected the wind option and set it on the coffee table. She then hopped on the sofa just behind him, running her paw across his side through the layers of fabric. "Comfy?"

"Mn.."

The fox stared off over Sam's shoulder, resting her chin in the crook of his neck "...youre funny when you're tired. You get all..whiney. it's cute in a way."

"No.." Sam shifted his body, his nose growing brighter. Kit could only giggle at his expense, nuzzling his cheek "yeah, yeah....just shut your eyes.." she implored. The two shared a period of comfortable silence, quietly taking in eachothwrs presence. Kit lifted her head slightly to properly look at Sam's face.

Twist her tail he was doing it.

Sam was sound asleep, his tail held between his jaws, his ears backwards and paws scrunched up in a t-rex like fashion. She covered her mouth to avoid disturbing him. Slowly, she removed herself from their snuggling and grabbed her camera from her backpack. She made sure to turn off the flash before snapping a picture. Oh, Sam is gonna freak..she smiled lovingly, gently pressing her nose to his forehead "sleep tight, Sammy...I love you."

With that, Kit turned and wandered off to her bedroom to get some well deserved shut eye.

[sleetskies18]

Some people are having trouble finding it, so!

Lovingly cropped and edited just for you.

The quality is bad but it's not anywhere else yet

[sleetskies18]

I was feeling silly

Shading is not my strong point 💔

[sleetskies18]

I ACTUALLY FREAKED OUT ONG

I watched the trailer thing and HOLY CRAP the animation is SMOOTH

Also I predicted the inclusion of a hoatzin somewhere I'm very happy

[sleetskies18]

More The Creature Cases: Reimagined stuff!

The training course

----

The training course is split into three sections. Academic, physical and mental. They graduate depending on how long each recruit takes to complete the course. Typically a year, though some can take longer for various reasons.

ACADEMIC

The academic part is peppered in amongst the others. It includes basic classroom stuff such as animal knowledge, pawprint identification, analysis, gear prep, first aid, etc. It also counts as a meeting area for the mentors for the physical and mental parts to collect their respective recruits. Despite the agents' individual mentors, they all share an academic teacher.

PHYSICAL

The physical, as you can guess, is physical training. Climbing, agility, swimming, endurance, jumping, basically any physical thing which could come in handy when it comes to case solving and rescue. The specialised mentors for the physical course also handle the mental course. They're selected to best match with their recruit.

MENTAL

The mental course includes anxiety and anger management, concentration, puzzle-solving, energy management, mental endurance, time management, withstanding pressure and so on and so forth. Occasionally physical training and mental training are done at once. For example endurance and energy management.

How mentors are selected

Mentors are selected based on a few different factors:

1. Their rank

2. Their personality

3. Their skill.

To qualify to be a mentor at all, an agent needs to be an 'experienced agent' or higher.

(For context the ranks go:

Junior Agent/Recruit

New Agent

Novice Agent

Mid-rank Agent

Intermediate Agent

Experienced Agent

Senior Agent

Super Senior Agent

Super Duper Senior (SDS) Agent)

And afterwards, they're judged exclusively on them as a person and in their work. Here's two examples;

1. Sam and Kits mentor was a grizzly bear (whom I can't think of a name for). He was an SDS agent, close to retirement. He had alot of experience with all sorts of personality types, hence being given two incredibly different recruits to teach. His record was near perfect. And with personality, he worked well for both Sam and Kit. He carried himself with an air of sternness and authority, which was used to reign Kit in and push Sam out of his comfort zone. Yet he also was supportive and caring, to make the two feel safe despite it. He was meticulous and thorough with their training, and took the time to make them the best they could be before graduating, even taking the extra month to paitently guide Sam through the swimming tests and exercises.

2. Sam and Kit were selected as Cubbys mentors together for the main reason of neither of them have the ability to teach a recruit on their own. Director scratch initially planned to give each their own apprentice, but quickly realised they're only truly good at teaching one area each. Kit physical and Sam mental. So, she gave Cubby to both of them. Cubby is taught well under the two. Kits laid-back nature and sams 'discipline' keeps her smooth on track. The two had adopted a gentler teaching style then their own mentor, which seems to be working. They're also great teachers of teamwork. Their main goal, like their mentor for them, is to keep Cubby safe and help her become the best agent she can be.

The graduation ceremony

At graduation, it begins with the apprentices and their mentors coming up one by one to receive a speech from the director themselves, and for the mentor to give the new agent their own ID, plus a speech of their own. Followed by a celebration party. If a recruit was set to graduate for a certain time but didn't for one reason or another, like Sam, they were still invited to the party and got to watch their peers.

Once the late-graduater is able to graduate themselves, they get their own mini version of the party, with the same level of importance as the other recruits whom graduated before them (though for Sam he specifically requested his party be smaller than the bigger graduation.)

What happens next?

The new agents go on a few more cases with their mentor(s) before setting off on their first one alone, typically a simple one. The cases slowly increase in difficulty as the new agent grows more experienced