#today's felid is:

[dailyfelid]

27/10/24

[vuelode-irbis]

Rainy days

[ID: the first image is a detail of the first one. Digital illustration of a cheetah standing over a hill with yellow grass, its face turned to the left, over its shoulder, looking at the horizon. Behing it, the landscape shows big, grey clouds raining over some hills very far away, all in greyish blue tones; above the clouds, though, a brighter blue sky can be seen with lighter clouds. End ID.]

This time I wanted a new desktop background image :D

[great-and-small]

I just finished writing a paper for my evolution class on felid craniodental morphology, and it feels like that paper took as long to write as it did for the Felidae family to evolve. While writing I was reminded of your amazing esoteric biology jokes, so I stopped by to ask: Do you have any extremely niche Felidae memes that you've made? (also, I learned today that the sand cat's scientific name is Felis margarita, and it brings me immense joy for some reason. I am now picturing a sand cat lapping up a margarita with its little tongue.)

Sounds like an interesting paper, congrats on getting it done! I’m thrilled to know someone other than myself appreciates the esoteric biology jokes. I don’t know about extremely niche but I did make this one for a friend in the big cat world.

And now thanks to you I’m going to think about sand cats whenever I have a margarita. I love it! What an excellent fun fact and even better mental image

[synapsid-taxonomy]

I've seen people say that saber-toothed cats couldn't roar because only Panthera felids can today. But if other large carnivorans like bears and pinnipeds could evolve the ability to roar independently, I don't see why saber-toothed cats would be any different. (Even if it would've sounded different from their modern cousins.)

"Roar" is so vaguely defined a term as to be almost nonscientific. What people mean when they say "saber-toothed cats couldn't roar" is referring to a specific vocalization in big cats - this deep, long-distance territorial call. It has a distinct pattern in each species, and between individuals:

These cats have two specializations that make them able to do this. First, they have an incompletely ossified hyoid - the epihyoid is replaced by a ligament. This allows for the larynx to retract deeper into the throat, making the vocalizations deeper and louder. Incidentally, this also means that they can't purr like small cats do. The second adaptation is that the vocal folds within the larynx are really thick, which lowers the pitch even further.

Left: the hyoids of a roaring tiger (A) and a non-roaring caracal (B); from Deutsch et al. 2023. Right: the larynxes of a roaring jaguar (A) and non-roaring snow leopard (B); from Hast 1989.

Snow leopards have an incompletely ossified hyoid (which means they can't purr), but they don't have the thickened vocal folds. They make the exact same long-distance territorial call as the other members of Panthera, but it instead sounds like this:

Clouded leopards have neither of these specializations, and they basically just meow like a small cat:

So what of saber-toothed cats? Hyoid elements are known from Smilodon. Their shape resembles those of small cats, implying that the larynx itself had a similar morphology (i.e., without the thick vocal folds of big cats). However, the hyoids are also significantly bigger than those of any living cats - including big cats. This implies that the larynx itself was proportionally bigger, and that would mean a deeper pitch to the vocalizations. No modern cat has a disproportionately increased larynx like that, but male Mongolian gazelles and hammer-headed bats have larynxes at least twice the size of the females', and consequently make deeper calls (unfortunately I couldn't find good recordings of either online). The fact that Smilodon is also just larger animal would mean its vocalizations would be deeper than those of small cats anyways. However, the lack of laryngeal specializations means that it may not have had the same deep formant frequencies as big cats; this means the sound would have been less resonant and maybe not able to travel as far.

So basically, Smilodon may have been able to "roar", but not the same roar as modern big cats. Rather, it'd be like the calls of small cats, but much deeper in pitch. A baritone meow, if you will.

[manusuchus]

Dinictis felina

A Nimravidae genus from Late Eocene/Early Miocene North America.

Dinictis did not reach large sizes (1.1 m long and 0.6 m high), probably occupying an ecological niche similar to that of some of today's small/medium-sized wild cats, since the position of top predators was occupied by creodonts such as Hyaenodon or entelodonts like Archaeotherium. I must remind you that, although superficially very similar, nimravids like Dinictis were not closely related to true felids, just being another extreme case of convergent evolution.

[grimreaperschild]

happy birthday

pairings: ooc! soft Wednesday x fem reader

summary: birthdays have never been your thing often sneaking away from your own party to think

warnings: use of drugs, mention of abusive households, angst?, comfort

a/n: got a bit carried away kinda like this one tho :) hope you enjoy ❤️

The “surprise” party had been in full swing for about an hour now and it seemed that everyone but you was enjoying themselves, enid and ajax had jumped in the pool wednesday had disappeared to god knows where, and then there was your parents mingling with there friends they’d invited, pushing myself off the living room wall i trudge to my room.

as i lay out everything in my tray i hear a soft knock on my door “come in it’s unlocked” i yell to be heard over the loud music outside, wednesday steps into my room closing the door behind her with a click “i’ve been looking for you” i roll my eyes at her signature glare “well you found me” she hums and steps closer “you know you really shouldn’t smoke that stuff it’s bad for you” pausing as i bring the joint up to my lips to wet the paper “you gonna lecture me addams or are you gonna keep the birthday girl company” not waiting for a response i stand and make my way to the front door both of us slipping out unnoticed.

the walk through the forest was completed in comfortable silence and i reach my destination in record time as i sit on the grass wednesday settles in next to me “beautiful isnt it” i ask looking at the view of field after felid sprawled out below us “found it after me and dad had an argument when i was 10 been my smoke spot since i hit 14” i bring the joint to my lips and light it enjoying the feeling of smoke hitting my lungs “what about you got any cool spots near home i don’t know about” she thinks for a second and the ghost of a smile crosses her face “there’s an old secluded graveyard a short hike from my house not even my mother knows about it i go there when i don’t want to be bothered reading by pugsley” she bumps shoulders with me and i turn my head “thank you, you know for coming im usually alone on my birthday it’s nice to have you here” she reaches up to caress my cheek “you’ll never be alone mi amor, but didn’t we just sneak away from a party thrown in your name” she quirks an eyebrow at me and i chew on my bottom lip thinking about how to explain it all.

i take a breath and it all comes flowing out “and out of everyone there not once person has noticed, not today or any of the other years i’ve left, those parties aren’t for me weds god even my cake says 16 and i turn 18 this year” i run my hands through my (h/c) hair and let out another exasperated sigh “it’s always been rocky with my parents, they always expect more from me and then i ended up at nevermore and it was like a new beginning yeah they would send me letters telling me how upset with my grades they are but atleast i wasn’t going to bed bleeding anymore” i drop my head onto her shoulder not wanting to continue in fear of crying.

wednesday reaches into her pocket and brings out a little necklace with a “W” on it “i know your not one for big gifts or anything but i wanted to show you how much i care” i try to say something and she cuts me off with her lips on mine i sigh into the softness and pull her closer by her jacket “i meant what i said (y/n) your never going to be alone again not now i’ve got you and this just means you’ll take a part of me wherever you go” resting my forehead against hers i smile “thank you weds honestly this has been the best birthday in a while” she pulls away and stands holding her hand out “dance with me pretty girl”

i oblige throwing the butt of my joint in the grass as i stand it hits me and i stumble slightly into wednesdays waiting arms giggling she puts the necklace around my neck and attempts to spin me but being much shorter than me it fails causing more giggling “who would have thought you couldn’t spin someone nes” a blush creeps up her neck and she grumbles out “not my fault your a giant” i giggle at the statement “it’s getting late we should make our way back” she nods reluctantly knowing neither of us want to leave the bubble we created, the walk back was filled with mindless chatter reaching the back gate she turns to me “you seriously think there are pots of gold at the bottom of a rainbow” her eyebrows raised in amusement “personally i think it’s weird as shit that you DONT believe that addams, honestly your supposed to be the smart one” i smile reaching over her to unlatch the gate “ready to go back in?” she looks up and places a kiss to my jaw “i feel like i should be asking you that question but yeah i’m ready” i smile and push the gate open and am met with the screams of people in the pool “oh and for the record i still think your weird as shit” wednesday looks at me as a smile graces her face “the feeling is incredibly mutual amour”

[coochiekrab]

do the cats in ur furryverse do ordinary cat things (like grooming their and their loved ones fur)

God i made a list of animal behaviors that Kuri and Aubrey retained as a species but i couldn’t find it… as for grooming yes they have an instinct to groom other felids but its generally considered pretty gross to groom others or even themself, furs who Do groom anyways would honestly probably be considered what we Call Today “Crunchy” but it would really only occur between a mother and her newborn

[vex-bittys]

Just here to ask if I could adopt a Krait Bitty, I accidentally sent this message to someone completely different initially whoops!

(It’s ok!)

*The Kraits seem to be having some sort of pool party today. Every Krait in the shop is in the play pools, and they are having a blast! Kraits dive. Kraits do flips. Kraits do complex synchronized swimming. Kraits splash and chase. Kraits smile and laugh. It would be a perfect time for a potential adopter to find the Krait of their dreams.

*You've come to the Lamia (and Felid) Bittybones Adoption Center to find the Krait of your dreams. You follow the sounds of splashing and giggles to the back of the shop, where you find the play pools filled with joyful striped lamias. They see you watching them and immediately begin performing aquatic feats to make you smile.

*The Kraits doing choreography begin a new routine. During the routine, they lift a fake clam shell out of the water. The shell opens, revealing a very handsome Krait. The Krait does a spectacular high-dive and the group finishes their routine with the clam shell Krait as the obvious star.

*You know you want to adopt the talented Krait, but you also realize that you didn't bring anything for the little guy to stow away in! Thankfully, Vex anticipated such possible issues and has provided an array of canvas bags near the Krait pools. You take a bag and casually place it near your feet. While you pretend not to pay attention, the synchronized swimmer Kraits help their friend settle into the tote bag... fake clam shell and all!

[zooophagous]

Would it help you today to lean that at AZA’s last felid TAG a researcher decided to officially call multiple of them “a grump of Pallas cats” and was planning on putting it in his newest paper so when he publishes it you can cite it to add legitimacy?? (Seriously tho good luck and strength w the thoughts today)

That's the best thing I've ever heard

[rottenblur]

My modern Romeo |J.MILLER| part two.

Summary: The one year anniversary of meeting joel is your favourite memory, almost getting caught, him confessing his love. Your first kiss with him, only if a year of desire could be cured with just one kiss..

Warnings: fluff, you and joel playing truth or dare like cmon fluffiest shit ever, alcohol you and joel, kissing, making out, grinding on joel???? Semi smut. Joel says a naughty thing y’all. Almost getting caught

It’s one whole year since you met the grumpy old man that lights up your Friday without fail, looking at your watch it reads 2:20am. On your last trade you and joel both decided to meet before four, as every time it ends up dawn before either of you want to go back.

It’s starting to get risky, not that Joel wasn’t trusted to be out till daylight. It’s the fact suspicions of what he was doing out that long, started to rise.

You on the other hand, you weren’t aloud to be out at night, upon request of your parents. Anyone on watch was told to snitch on you, if they saw you out past 8pm.

A whole adult and you were still being treated like you couldn’t fend for yourself.

You take off your grey shorts, slip on your tight black jeans and take a peek in the mirror.

You catch your gaze falling on how your ass looks. God the fuck is wrong with me. Never once have you caught him looking at you in that way, yet you still want him to.

Taking off your loose hoodie to reveal a tight tank top, the heat giving you an excuse to show more skin, you pull on a tight crew neck sweater. Maybe a little too small for you, the bottom of your tank top showing when you lift your arms.

You always dressed up for joel, wanting him to think you were put together. Even though he always showed up in the same worn out blue jeans, he probably had a closet full of them.

You thought about what he might be doing, is he reading one of the many books you had given him, talking with family? Did he have family, you’ll have to remind yourself to ask.

Was he getting ready thinking about what you would think? Probably not, he had confidence. Alot more than you could ever dream of having.

Three am hits, you put on your holster, slipping your gun into it and taking one last glance into the mirror. Okay, you look fine, he probably doesn’t care anyways.

Walking to the meeting spot, a field surrounded by large rocks about a twenty five commute for the both of you. Your heart is in your throat, it always was when you walked to see Joel.

He had an affect on you. Scared of him not showing up, or him actually showing up just share some news that, its getting to risky, he has to stop seeing you.

Your feet hit the familiar grass, it’s worn down into a path from the common commute. You can see a figure sitting in the grass, wearing that same god damn tan jacket. You never got tired of seeing it, seeing him.

A smile that refuses to give rises to your face. “A bit too warm for a jacket don’t you think? Do you have another jacket, poor thing gets too much use.”

He turns his head and a smirk comes to his face, you sit down next to him. “Ya trying to get me outta my clothes? Actually I do you smartass, I just like it.”

Yes. Yes you were trying to get him out of his clothes, even in this god damn felid. You could never say that though.

“So, i know you said we weren’t trading today, but you said something about a walkman last time. I couldn’t forget that, as im incredibly jealous, i got you something.” You pick a cassette out of your pocket and hold it out to him.

He smiles and takes it out of your hand, reading the worn lettering. “Radio head? I actually brought something too..”

You look at him. “What is it?”

He opens his bag and pulls out a bottle of whiskey.

Oh fuck. This, drunk you, is definitely gonna ruin this friendship.

“You ever try this kind before? It’s okay, found it on a supply run. Wanted to save it for a special occasion.” He holds up the bottle for you to see.

He remembered. He remembered!

He opens the bottle takes a swig effortlessly downing it. “To the anniversary of you almost shooting me” He laughs at his own joke, then passes you the bottle.

“Oh fuck you.” You shove him, then take a gulp, coughing as it burns down your throat. He tries to hold a laugh in.

“First time?”

You clear your throat and try to play it cool. “Just been a while”

He shakes his head and takes the bottle back. “No point in lyin’ darlin’. Gonna be a long night, you’re not leaving without getting shitfaced.”

Thirty minutes has passed of you and him passing the bottle back in forth, you’re clearly way more gone than he is, you’re already saying your every last thought.

“You know, i never really got a proper teenage experience like in books.” Taking a sip out of half gone bottle.

“Well I can’t exactly say i know the teenage girl experience, but books are kinda over dramatic.” He looks at you with glossy eyes, maybe he was drunker than you thought.

“Like truth or dare. Never played it before, not alot of kids in the group.” You huff and pass him the bottle.

He laughs, pinching his nose bridge. “I’ll play with ya sweetie.” Tliting his head.

Was he flirting? Was joel fucking miller flirting with me.

“Truth or dare?”

He smiles at the stupid childish game he was playing. “Truth”

You let out a “hmm” then come up with a question. “Do you have family?”

He lets out a groan, takes a sip then passes you the bottle. “I do. A brother, back at jackson, tommy he’s younger.”

A brother, you wondered what their relationship was before the apocalypse. If they got along growing up, if they got along to this day.

You take a swig, slowly growing to the strong burn, a blush spreading to your cheeks.

You two go back and forth for another twenty minutes, the liquor disappearing till the last shot is left, all yours he says.

Its his turn to ask you a question. You’re not sure if you could give him a straight answer, nor talk without giggling. Everything was slowed, the gust of wind didn’t bother you anymore, your body was on fire. You understood why people drank now.

“Truth or dare hun.” The petnames were littered in every sentence now, if you didn’t think he was drunk earlier, he was now. You take the last swig, throwing it across the felid, it shattering on impact.

“Dare.” Little did you know that one word would change everything between you to.

“Kiss me. I dare you to kiss me.”

Fuck. You were in no state to say no, your feelings were overwhelming, the confidence you had was overwhelming.

You were wrong, wrong all this time. Maybe he was checking you out when you weren’t looking. Thinking he was staring at eyes, but he was admiring your plush lips all along.

You swear the blush from the alcohol, mixing with your blush from the words, had turned dark crimson, his desire burned your body.

You lean forward, he looks surprised you’re actually doing it, unknown to him you’ve had a intense crush from the first time you saw him. A year of pining and teasing was finally rewarded.

The space between your face and his disappears, he leans towards you pushing your lips together. He places his hand on your jaw, the other in the crook of your neck. He kisses with hunger, like he wanted to consume you. You kiss him back, he deepens the kiss, pushing his tongue into your mouth, exploring.

It was too late to tell him this was your second kiss, your first real makeout sesh.

You grip his hair and straddle yourself on him, this pulls a groan out of him.

He moves his hands down to your hips, pulling them down onto his. You’re so close to him, you can’t breathe. His jeans rubbing into yours, your chest pressed tight against his, his hands engulfing your hips.

He pulls away for air, panting practically, you can see the blush covering his cheeks. “Is- is this okay- do you want-“ You cut him off pulling him back in for more.

Your hips unknowingly start to grind on him, the more pressure you put on him the more he moans in your mouth. The kisses getting more sloppy, more teeth and spit.

You can feel him hardening underneath you, his jeans uncomfortably tight. Your panties soaked, your jeans creating the perfect amount of friction, all you wanted to was undress him, see all of him, have all of him.

Its getting hot, the harsh weather due to the lack of sun meant nothing. Between the alcohol and the fire that was burning in your core it was unbearable, you rip your sweater off. He pulls away, looking you up and down, his eyes holding a tight gaze on your chest.

You both are out of breath, he moves a hand up to grope your chest, squeezing and holding. Your hips pick up a faster pace, a rougher pace.

The sounds of his groans, your whimpers fill the air. No other sounds are heard in the dead of the night, other than your wet lips fighting for more and the sound of your jeans brushing on his.

He mutters something into your mouth, you pull away.

“What?” You’re out of breath and flustered.

He looks at you, those god damn glossy brown eyes could make you cum alone.

“Fuck, i dont know what to do with you. I can’t stop thinking about you darlin’.”

You whimper. “Neither can i”

He kisses you one last time and pulls you off his lap, adjusting himself and sighing. You spot a stain of precum soaking a spot in his jeans, god that make you tremble.

“I- uh we gotta stop. I won’t be able to control myself other wise.”

Fuck. That make your knees weaker than the alcohol did, you drank a shit ton of alcohol, yet he had a bigger affect on you.

“Fuck, i hate it has to be this way, i want you. All of you.” You say, letting out the biggest sigh you could muster.

He practically growls at that.

“I can’t believe i waited so long to do that.” He shakes his head.

“Are you serious? You’ve liked me that long? I’ve been thinking you didn’t even think i was pretty.” You almost shove him.

“Darlin’, what if you didn’t feel that way ‘bout me? I’d feel like a shitty person, especially since you know, you’re young..” He sounds sad, but jesus he’s fucking hot, how could he ever think you weren’t head over heals for him.

“..For the record, i think you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. Wish i could get you out of my head, thinking the dirtiest things ‘bout you when i get home from seeing ya.”

Fuck. It was unbearable how he was making you feel, you push your thighs together.

“I-“ You get cut off by the sound of  hooves pittering on the ground, matched with a deep voice yelling echoes off the mountain’s rocks.

Your heart jumps to your throat, you check your watch, fuck. It’s five, its been three hours since he had left.

His face drops, he signals you to go hide in a cluster of bushes a couple feet away. You run over trying to be quiet, before you become one with the bushes, he holds up three fingers. Got it three am, next Friday.

“This” wasn’t over, he was willing to risk everything for you.

You try to peek through the bush to see whats going on. Joel pulls out his gun, the man approaches on his horse, dismounting it and pushing joel.

“God damn it joel, the fuck are you doing, you were supposed to be home for patrol.” The man looks around. “What are you even doing here?”

You squint your eyes trying to get a better look at him, the sun aiding you. He looked like joel, longer hair, shorter and younger. Tommy. His brother, it must be.

“Chill tommy, i went for a walk, heard a clicker. I’m fine though, thanks for askin’.

It was almost attractive how easy he could lie, especially when it was to protect you.

They walk off, all you could here is mumbles. Till those mumbles turned to the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground, the sound slowly disappearing.

That was the first time you almost got caught, yet it is your favourite memory.

You replayed the night over and over walking back. Sneaking back in praying you wouldn’t get caught. Even if you did, you would die happy, joel likes you, he kissed you.

Part one here

Part three here

My masterlist

AN: PART TWOO!!! Even though this series isn’t getting much attention i very much like it!! Answering a question no one asked study break part three is coming soon don’t get your panties in a bunch unless joel put em in your mouth, then go right ahead ;)this is kinda a slow burn cause like they aren’t supposed to see eachother

[dailyfelid]

15/11/24

[tysonfurybattlepass]

Trick or treat :)

you get these two ferocious felids: panthera atrox and smilodon fatalis! this is a very cool skeletal mount i had the privilege of seeing up close in los angeles last year. it almost looks like theyre circling each other!

the california sabertooth (s. fatalis) was a lot smaller than its brazilian cousin (s. populator). this is likely because the californian cat had some big competition! the american lion (panthera atrox) is estimated to have rivaled today’s largest amur tigers in size. the north american sabercats simply couldn’t compete with giant mega-lions, so instead fell into a medium-size predator role and targeted different prey animals to avoid direct conflict with them.

this same concept, niche partitioning, can be seen today in areas where similar animals like lions and leopards coexist. predators will occupy different roles in the ecosystem, specialize in different food items, or hunt in different ways/times of day so that they don’t have to come into direct conflict with each other over food or space. like an ecological peace treaty!

[dunwichdumbass]

Today your miserly grandpa was admittedly somewhat befuddled by a strange and whimsical occurrence which took place on the oft-criticized - albeit oft-lauded by those of us foolish enough to frequent its hallowed halls - website of Tumblr.com. Logging on this dreary morning with all the aplomb of a great old shoggoth beset with tuberculosis, I found what else but that which appeared to be a small colorless and irregular oval with a greenish screen affixed to its surface, and, if you’ll excuse my disdain, the word “boop-o-meter” carved in bas-relief in a typeface much too small for even the most tenacious of readers to even dream of reading with any reliable clarity. Within that greenish, glowing screen which seemed to taunt me with all the patience of some great cat hiding under the cover of the jungle canopy, were titles which seemed to denote categories including “given”, “received”, and “global”, all of the values for which were notably zed. I must say I found all this rather perplexing, and I was too set in my ways - as you know - to give much thought to this new and strange development on my dash, and as such it was not until much later, and by much later I mean tonight when SH sent her first BOOP that I realized that this “boop-o-meter” was a means of cataloguing good natured and playful smacks reminiscent of the soft yet firm whacks that a creature of the felid variety might deliver to one of their own, or nay, to one of us! Indeed, since SH’s initial BOOP, I myself have sent a good 200 to Klarkash-Ton, Loveman, Barlow, and the rest of them. It has been a truly good day by all accounts, and I should hope that your boop day has been just as satisfactory.

Yours most sincerely,

HP Lovecraft

[toska-writes]

Omg I couldn’t find the suggestion anymore because I was stupid and I think I deleted it I’m so sorry but I loved it!

“That’s all I ask”

Summary: Being the new medic for the 501st was very intimidating to say the least- but hopefully some friends will help you along the way

Warning: Rex x GN Reader (reader is said to be younger so it’s platonic!)

Word count: 1333 ( NOT PROOFREAD YET sorry this one wasn’t my best)

Notes: I just put together the Lego Rex helmet and I’m in love! Also PLEASE send me request I’m on spring break and need something to do!

The strap of your bag prickled you skin as you ran it up and down, up and down.

The loud bustling city of Coruscant was drowned out by the constant noise of your heartbeat ringing in your ears.

Taking a deep breath as you started walking again while the hanger came into view

To say you were nervous was an understatement. You need money being fresh out of school and the GAR gave you enough to start off your life.

As you entered the huge room, the large ships loomed over you. Sure you loved Coruscant but there was a whole galaxy to see, maybe that’s another reason you jumped on this job.

“Well you must be our felid medic for the time being.” A tall man came smiling over closely followed by a young torgruta and a clone trooper dressed head to toe in armor.

“I’m Anakin.” He stuck his hand out to you which you gladly shook. “This is Ahsoka my padawan, and this is Captain Rex.” Anakin nodded to either side.

All you got from the captain was a small nod but the padawan, Ahsoka you reminded yourself seemed more then thrilled to meet you.

With the ok from her master she led you inside one of the larger ships in the hanger.

“It’s so cool that you’ll be working with us.” She started to ramble on. “New faces always do some good around here. I’m sure the boys will love you.”

You gave a small laugh, her confidence in you help you calm down just a little.

“Ooo look there’s Echo now! He’ll love to meet you!” She dragged you over by the hand. The bag you still haven’t put down nearly fell to the floor in the hassle.

“Sir” Echo nodded to Ahsoka as she smiled back at him. “I’m not sure if I met your friend here Ahsoka, I didn’t know someone else was join us on this mission.”

“Oh no this is our new medic remember they were coming in today.” He stared at you for a moment before it really clicked in his head.

Worried for a moment while he didn’t say anything you added. “I assure you I’m very qualified.” You held your hands out to him.

Echo laughed for a second, the sound put you at a little ease. “Oh I’m just worried when you meet the others and the problems they might get into.”

Before that a loud bang was heard down the corridor. The three of you faced that why with Ahsoka’s and Echo’s hand just hovering over there weapons.

A split second later a man in only half of his armor and something in his hands came bounding down the hallway. His laugh bounced through the halls, as did another very angry voice.

You watched Ahsoka ease up a bit and Echo slam his hand to his face. As the running man came closer Echo called. “Fives what did you do this time to piss off Jesse?”

This Fives person skidded to a stop, with his free hand he held onto echos shoulders and shielded himself from who you could guess was Jesse stomping down the halls.

“And using your own brother as a barricade, not cool.” Ahsoka joked now.

You watched as Fives realized you were there and stood up straighter giving you a small nod. “Sir” he said before he was interrupted by Jesse.

“WHY CAN YOU NEVER KEEP YOUR GUBBY LITTLE HANDS TO YOUR OWN THINGS- I MEAN IF I HAD A CREDIT FOR EVERY TIME…” He trailed now looking at all the members of group that was watching him. “You must be our newest recruit.” He turned to you. “I’m sorry for that sir.”

You took a moment to figure out just what had happened her before you let off a small chuckle. “That’s quite alright, at least I know this won’t be a full group.”

With proper introductions and a lot less yelling Ahsoka now continued through the ship and finally showing you where you could stay.

Rex wasn’t sure on two things:

1. If that was the right person for their open medic position.

2. If you could last more than a few minutes on the battlefield without getting your head blown off.

With all the reckless people he had to watch over already adding one more who seemed fresh out of the tube was already giving him gray hairs.

He stood in the bridge, datapad in hand. He thought about writing a report, thought about talking to Anakin, thought about doing a million things to get you as far away from this war as he could. It was bad enough Ahsoka or even Anakin for this matter were knee deep in it.

In the makeshift ship mess hall you sat with Ahsoka now glued to your side and a few of his brothers with their backs to him.

It pained him just a bit- but he couldn’t simmer on that. What mattered is for now you seemed to fit in really well with the others.

Rex sat to the other side of Ahsoka at the end of the table after getting noticed by the group. The other were tables unoccupied at the moment.

Rex slid into the background of the conversation, weather it was a blessing or a curse Rex was quite an observer.

He noticed a few things. Ahsoka sat close, looking up a few times at your face then at other bumping arms with you. Rex didn’t know how the force worked but he did know how first day jitters worked and clearly so did the torgruta.

He saw the way the others sat, not a care in the world and if he could reassure you that you definitely made the first impression you needed too he would. Sure some would be a little more stoic and closed off like Rex but this was good.

Then he noticed the small way half of your body shook from a light tap of your leg on the ground- or the way your fingers traced small patterns on the table or picked at the table palm of your hand

Rex couldn’t blame you, what were you just out of school? Shipped off into his spiraling war already. He could remember his own deployment and countless others after that.

Simultaneously comm links from all around the table buzzed signaling to departure out of hyperspace.

The shaky breath you let out was lost to the sound of armor and boot hitting different surfaces.

Standing at the door now the newly introduced Medic that you learned was Kix stood next to you. You hands shook slightly as you waited to exit onto the planets surface.

With almost unnoticed steps the Captain stood next to you now. You turned to him for a moment, giving a small smile that you hope was not a window into your sole.

Clearly you did a bad job at hiding that.

“Don’t worry kid.” Rex said almost softly? His voice was less gruff as you heard when he was giving orders. You just nodded looking back to the door. “If my men, my brothers, even my own life are in your hands then we have nothing to worry about.”

You held your breath for a moment before returning your gaze to him. A stern look was on his face- trying to portray the message that he was genuine.

Another breath escaped your lips. “Thank you Rex. For you and the safety of the others I will do everything that I can.”

“That’s all I can ask.” Was all he said before returning to the side of Anakin who stood waiting near by.

Little did Rex know that in that moment those words were what were going to carry you to save countless of his brothers lives in that battle, but in many others to come.

He was proud. And to serve next to people like Him and the 501st made everything seem better.

_____________________________________

Taglist: @arctrooper69 @thereforepizza

[rinusuarez]

I really enjoyed working on this one¡ It came up smoothly and accurately. I spent more hours than average thought but I feel it paid off. Malayan Tiger This is the last population of this subspecies (The mainland Asian one). It's a medium size tiger that is critically endangered. They used to be abundant in Singapore in 1830 when the country was basically a dense jungle. However, the expansion of plantations along the island made attacks on humans by tigers quite common, so tiger hunting became a sport. Tiger attacks were reported almost daily in the late 1840s, and local authorities organized bounties decreasing the tiger population significantly. The last tiger was shot in 1932. Today, some books estimate their numbers as less than 400 while others are less optimistic and estimate less than 150. __________________________________________ Credits: Felids and Hyenas of the World: Wildcats, Panthers, Lynx, Pumas, Ocelots, Caracals, and Relatives.  Dr. José R. Castelló Malayan Tiger ___________________________________________ Store Instagram Thank you guys for your support. If you like the content please like and follow. Reblogged is also very welcome. One new animal every week. The digital sticker album is almost finished and the setup of my Patreon is in the process too. I'll keep you updated on those ones. Cheers! y Adiós!

[writefinch]

In Hot Pursuit (Part 3)

(more Catradora She-Ra slashfic, see previous parts here: https://www.tumblr.com/writefinch/728642200176574464/in-hot-pursuit-part-1

https://www.tumblr.com/writefinch/728754104388796416/in-hot-pursuit-part-2)

It got worse when she slept.

An hour before sunrise she stopped trying to sleep. Everything felt tender and she could feel roots and rocks digging into her under the bedroll, so she got up. She couldn't go further than a hundred meters in any direction for another hour, so she stood up and stretched, which felt good, really good, almost good enough to make up for how badly she'd slept. She had time to eat a whole meal-sized ration pouch of tuna pasta, and she actually heated up her instant tea to go with it. She wished she hadn't heated the tea; her cheeks flushed the second she sipped it. She cleaned up her camp, packed everything away, checked her maps and checked her pack and double-checked both of them again out of boredom.

The sun rose with a few minutes to go. The dirt under the tree had smeared into clay where she'd spent hours tossing and turning on top of it. It irked her, she was supposed to be able to curl up and sleep anywhere, Adora was the one who shadowboxed in her sleep. She scattered dead pine needles to conceal the depression, but even Adora would be able to spot it.

Her transponder buzzed and flashed green. She beelined for a creek nearby to refil her canteens. It was small and muddy but it'd be fine after a pass through a water filter, and a walk upstream through the shallow water would completely wash away her scent, at least for a while.

The cold water around her ankles shocked her awake. The next transmission point was five kilometers east from here, an hour's hike in this terrain. Scorpia said this estrus thing lasts three days, it's been one day, so all she needed to do was stay ahead of Adora, even just one kilometer ahead of her, for the next forty-eight hours. That was assuming that this thing broke like a fever and got worse until it stopped, maybe she'd get lucky and it'd peak today, and even assuming Adora caught up tomorrow - and why assume that, it's not like she doesn't run circles around Adora all the time - it'd probably be so mild by then that she could play it off as getting over a cold, and then Adora would have to accept that even sick Catra was a better scout than she was.

Spite hardened into determination as she pushed forward, channelling the nervous, gnawing energy into her step. She crossed the creek and set off up a hill, staying within the treeline wherever she could. If she moved fast enough, she could trick herself into thinking that the flushed cheeks and hard breathing were just from exertion.

X623, Y031, Z108. A clearing with a jagged lump of shale sticking up out from the dirt. At the top of that rock was a small antennae. Catra scaled the rock, connected her transponder to the antennae, and patched into the hailing frequency. A progress bar filled in the bottom of the tranponder screen as it relayed the last day's tracking data back to base.

'Scorpia, this is Catra, I'm at the second point, confirm when you've received the transmission.'

'Catra, this is Scorpia, all data successfully received, you're cleared to move on to the next point.' Instead of giving the next set of coordinates, she paused. Then, she said. 'So, how are you holding up?'

'Ugh.' She'd meant to think that, not say it. 'I'm fine. This estrus thing is driving me crazy but I'm halfway through it, right? It'll be over before Adora even sees me.'

'Right. About that, Catra, yesterday I felt lost after I couldn't give you any good advice, so I looked through my personal files and found a copy of the orientation document, with appendices.'

'Yeah?' Something gnawed at her stomach. She'd heard this tone in Scorpia's voice before.

There was a deep intake of breath through the transponder, and then '"First estrus in felid phenotypes occurs sixty Etherian days after the last suppressant dose and lasts between seven and twenty-one days with an average length of fourteen days. During this period, observed symptoms are flushed skin, tail deflection, spinal flexion, rubbing or rolling, treading of the hind legs, body and tail tremors, emotional instability and vaginal discharge." Catra, that's the appendix for your body type.'

'No. That can't be right. Read it again.'

Scorpia carefully repeated the paragraph. Catra shook her head, and had to stifle a sob when she heard the words 'between seven and twenty-one days' again.

'Fourteen days? I can't draw this out for fourteen days.' She winced as she felt her voice crack.

'It could be as low as seven days!'

'I can't draw this out for seven days!'

'I am so sorry.'

She glanced down at her hand. It was shaking, and her claws extended and retracted involuntarily. She lowered her voice. 'Scorpia, change the frequency to our personal encrypted line, and if there's anyone else in the room with you, get them out.'

A click, a crackle, a beep. Scorpia's voice sounded tinnier. 'Done, and I've been alone the whole time.'

'Okay, first question: estrus makes me feel really, really needy. Every time I slow down, my brain yells at me to curl up somewhere quiet and lick myself until I can't see straight. If I do that, what will happen?'

'You'll feel great! The appendix says "genital arousal is magnified significantly during the estrus period."'

'That'll cure me? Really!?'

'Oh! No, I'm sorry, it won't help that at all, it just feels good.'

'Gah!' Catra felt her teeth clench and her forehead pulse, and then a thought struck her. 'Wait, estrus is about mating, right? What if I trick my body into thinking that's happened?'

'Let me look, just one moment, ah, "during the estrus period, stimulation via vaginal penetration combined with firm pressure to the lower back and the application of viscous fluid to the cervical opening will trigger ovulation--"'

'Yes! Yes! Here's what I need you to do, first you need to find Entrapta and swear her to secrecy and tell her that this is for your own personal use, you need to make her build a cylindrical device with a rounded end sixteen centimeters long with a slight and I mean slight upwards curve, it needs a pump device filled with that goop in aloe vera leaves and it'd be good if it vibrates but that's not like critical, she's got to build it in the next five hours and that'll give you time to use an old Horde drone to airdrop it at the next--'

'"--however, this will not end the estrus period, and multiple ovulations can be triggered within a single felid estrus."'

'No!' Her voice cracked the 'no' into three syllables.

'I'm sorry. I wish I could help you more.'

'No, this can't happen! Scorpia, everyone is gonna--' her voice cracked again, '--gonna see me like this. I can't let this happen to me again!'

'What can't you let happen again?' Scorpia spoke with the softness of caution.

Catra stifled a sob, sighed, and sobbed anyway. 'Two months ago, I saved Adora, by extension saving She-Ra, the Heart of Etheria and the entire universe at the same time,' she said, hoarsely. 'It was really impressive.'

'You did a great job. I was so proud for you.'

'Do you know how they've all treated me since then? They're treating me like a hero! This is the first time in my life where I've done something great and nobody is trying to undermine ten minutes later! Nobody says it doesn't count because I didn't train hard enough, nobody is 'rewarding' me with a bunch of paperwork they think I'll fail at and nobody is telling me Adora did it better!'

'Yeah, people out here are a lot nicer than--'

Catra sighed. 'It's not cause they're nice, it's cause they're still deciding. They know I was the one who was always one step ahead of Adora, and they know I saved everyone. If people see Adora catching up to me, if they see me like this - needy? feverish? meowing? - then I'll go back to being treated like Adora's sidekick. I can't take that again.'

'Catra, I want you to listen to me,' said Scorpia, her voice unusually firm. 'The only person in the Horde who thought you were less capable than Adora was Shadow Weaver, and she thought that because she was a bad guardian, a bad commander, and a bad person. You were never a sidekick.'

'But don't you see? Right now, everyone loves Adora, and they're scared of me. If they think I'm a dumb little housecat who just wants to curl up in Adora's lap and purr and lift her tail, then I'm not so scary any more am I? They won't have to flinch when I look at them, they won't have to stay on my good side, they won't have to ask what I think about anything, they can just ask nice, loveable Adora what she thinks her sidekick thinks.'

'Catra! It's not going to be like that.'

Catra thought she sounded just like her, and for a moment wondered if Adora had given her lessons. Her voice hardened. 'I know it's not going to be like that. Scorpia, I've changed my mind, I'm not dragging this out. I'm going to beat her so fast and so hard that she'll have to re-think the entire exercise and prove to everyone that she's not my sidekick.'

'It's only a training exercise--'

'It's more than that and you know it!'

'I was going to say, it's only a training exercise, so, as your friend, why don't I modify your transponder and cut an hour off your daily rest period, just to give you a little edge?'

'You'd do that for me?'

'If you're not cheating, you're not trying. I had to forge paperwork all the time back in the Horde, with pincers, so our unit wouldn't fail half its inspections. I honestly kind of miss it.'

Catra felt tears on her cheeks again. 'You're the best. Thank you.'

'I know. The next coordinates are X829, Y042, Z055.'

'I'll see you there.'

* * *

She saw the outdoors for the first time when she was seven or maybe eight, all young kids, too young to be issued rifles as they marched around a small hill in the arable land south of the Fright Zone. It wasn't real wilderness, walking by the hedgerows of mechanically-tilled fields, across runoff-filled ditches that were more algae than water, through the copses of grid-planted timber trees on the hillside, but when you're three feet tall it might as well be the Whispering Woods. It took three hours to get to the far side of the hill and four hours to get back and by the halfway point they were bug-bitten, sunburned, chafed, thirsty, briar-scratched and exhausted.

It was wonderful.

She remembered the mint bush at the side of the trail, one weed among many, how she'd taken a single leaf between her thumb and forefinger and gently plucked it off, slick and waxy on the dark upwards-facing side, soft and almost fuzzy on the underside, and how it smelled like nothing else in the Fright Zone, like you'd given coldness itself a flavor. She remembered trying the same thing with a stinging nettle, and how hard she'd worked not to cry, and how Catra distracted her from the pain by challenging her to a cranefly-eating contest, which worked because she hadn't yet learned that Catra always won those contests.

It made the Fright Zone feel… delicate. The Fright Zone was a garden of pipes and right-angles that required constant tending to fix the cracks, the leaks, the mould and the pests. The outdoors was the opposite, it had to be hacked back and controlled to stop it turning into more of the outdoors. The wilderness grew its own possibilities, and the wonder she'd felt at that had never really gone away.

In the present, her quads burned as she hauled her way up the slope. She found herself missing Bow and Glimmer. She'd see a weird plant or a shortcut or an animal track and she'd get that tiny impulse to turn her head and halfway-think to say 'Hey guys, look at this!' before remembering she was alone. Also, a teleport or even a good rope arrow would come in clutch right now.

Still, there were silver linings to solitude. There was a kind of freedom to it. Hard to make a lot of noise when you're the only one there, less shapes to silhoutte against the skyline, less scent to leave on the trail. It stripped away distractions, it gave her space to listen, it gave her time to think.

It also gave her time to not think. Without the thoughts and voices of others to crowd it out, she could let her mind empty out until nothing but the shape of her training remained, and her instincts would fill in the gaps. You couldn't follow a trail this quickly thinking hard about it, she'd been moving at a light jog for hours like a truck barreling down a highway on autopilot, the track marks and hints of scent like tail lights seen through heavy rain, nudging her steering one way or another to keep her on the road.

With all that had changed since the Heart incident, all the Horde territories that had gone dark overnight, the nootectonic shifts which had turned lethally-dangerous First Ones waste zones into traversible territory, the enticingly dangerous ancient ruins springing forth from the soil, the Princess Alliance needed a strong cadre of pathfinders just to map the new Etheria. It was Catra's mission to recruit a promising team, train them, send them out into the field, and use them to train a whole corps of scouts. It had been Catra's idea, lock, stock and barrel.

Catra hadn't asked Adora to join her. She'd left the files where Adora could see them, and she'd talked about it where she knew Adora would overhear her, and then she'd spent all day being hard to find so Adora had to run around looking for her. When she finally caught up with her, Adora very casually and very cooly asked her, with no hint of neediness or fear-of missing out, if she could be part of the operation.

'Adora, I could get used to hearing you beg…'

That little smirk of hers was criminal.

She was glad Catra had talked her into doing this dry run, no trainee scouts, just the two of them. There was clearly some rust to shake off. When they'd both been cadets, they'd been allowed to do the Raider Assessment and Selection Course, a miserable six week ordeal of long marches, reduced rations and constant discipline. The only personal items they were allowed were a toothbrush, a uniform, and the Raider's Handbook, a comprehensive guide to Horde light infantry doctrine and procedure. She'd brought along her old copy of the handbook, and she read a few pages at the start of each nightly rest period, wincing as she recognized her mistakes. It was nice to be able to spot these things before a trainee could point them out.

It was mid-afternoon when she reached Catra's last campsite. At first it was a guess, based on the 'slow' look of the tracks around the clearing and the timing of when their last rest period took place. She saw leaves and pine needles lying in piles like leaves and pine needles don't, and when she nudged the pile with a stick, she saw a depression in the dirt as if someone had laid down a rucksack or a bedroll. She got low to the ground, and sniffed. Catra.

She crouched down next to the tree, drank from her canteen and ate - raisins, an oatmeal bar, a block of spicy chili cheese. She opened her map. She'd checked off the last transmission point, and followed with her finger to Catra's last campsite. There were five potential transmission points Catra could be headed to from the last one. This campsite ruled out one, assuming she wanted to reach the next one before tomorrow.

Something felt strange. She looked down at the impression in the dirt. Catra was a quick sleeper, and she's light. She wasn't the type to wear a hole through the mattress tossing and turning all night. Had she been trying to level out the ground? Or trying to rig together some piece of equipment? When she got bored and didn't care who knew it she liked to scratch stuff up, but there was no sign of that, no claw marks and no wood shavings. It was suspicious.

Which was normal for Catra, in all honesty.

She stood up and continued walking. There was a creek nearby on the map. She needed to go there for water. She knew Catra would have gone there to mask her scent, which she clearly needed because Adora could practically see her smell today. It would be difficult with the water washing away prints and scent, but if she could work out if Catra had gone upstream or downstream she could rule out another transmission spot either way.

When she reached the riverbank, she saw the entry pawprints in the soft mud. That meant Catra hadn't just crossed the creek, she'd waded in and continued on through the water. That would make her scent impossible to track.

But it didn't?

It was faint, sure. It faded and shifted as the breeze changed, but its traces still lingered on the banks of the creek. Almost right away, she knew that Catra had gone upstream. There were a dozen points where Catra could have crossed but one just… it just smelled like Catra! Not long after, once she waded across the creek, the trail picked up just as strong as before.

Adora stopped, crouched, and thought.

Catra never smelled this strong before. The smell was strong and strong in a weird way too, more concentrated and more Catra-ish, like a fighter cutting weight before a match, condensing her bodily essence as she sweated out all her excess water. She didn't know how, but Catra was clearly marking her scent deliberately. She wanted to be found.

For a moment, Adora thought Catra was patronizing her. Catra considered herself the better scout by far, and she wasn't completely wrong. This was just her way of ruffling Adora's hair, calling her 'squirt' and reminding her who was learning from who out here.

She then remembered Catra would never do that. That was what she would do to if she felt cocky. When Catra wanted to prove her skill, that meant complete domination of her opponents. And if she wanted to demonstrate total superiority, to beat Adora and force her to her knees, why would she make her trail easy to follow unless--

Catra was preparing an ambush.

That would technically be a victory condition, she thought. The hunter team can't exactly accomplish its objectives if its lone member is gagged and hogtied at the runner team's feet. She grinned wide, and blushed a little.

Things had been wonderful since the Heart of Etheria, and the nights and days she'd spent in Catra's arms had been the sweetest of their lives, but it had been so sweet and so pure it had almost scared them, as if they had found themselves back in a dream that they might wake up from at any moment. As much as she'd never admit it to Catra, she craved a little spite, some rivalry, some… claws, and some teeth.

And right now, she wanted to see exactly how Catra was gonna scratch and bite once Adora pinned her to the ground and rubbed her face in the dirt.