Hunter's Woods Writing Prompts

   Look, I could be nice. I could say that, if you were to encounter the Wayfarers, they would seem friendly and welcoming. I mean, just look at all the different cats and even foxes they have traveling together as a group! A housecat kitten, a big old man, two... green... ones...? One of them has two heads and a tree growing out of them, one of them has a dragon? Another of them is straight up nuclear, and there's a fox playing chase with the cats' tails...
   But, let's be honest. Something along the lines of inviting isn't quite the word I, or anyone, really, would use to describe the first impression you'd get upon seeing this gang of misfits roll up into your territory. More likely, your first reaction would be to point at the group and yell, "Good lord, what is happening in there?!" To put it in a single word: Strange.
   And that impression doesn't really improve as they spend more time around you. Because you start to realize that the sheer absurdity of what this group is extends beyond the fact that half of their members are very clearly weird physically, but the dynamics within the group are nearly nonsensical. The little girl, second youngest of the bunch, is leading the group, for one thing. The two green ones are either at each other's throats or acting like they're family (oh god, are they family?). The younger brown one seems to want nothing to do with any of this and is spending more time with the foxes than the other cats. The one with the dragon is going on and on about powers and gods with the little tree one, who seems to be the physical embodiment of anxiety, and the radioactive one is trailing them, not talking to either of them, but very clearly keeping somewhat close to them, and you're a little worried they're going to need to see a veterinarian for acute radiation syndrome, if there are even vets that can treat that. One of the green ones, the fluffier one, seems to be at odds with all three of them as much as she is the other green one, too. The tan and white one seems to be trying to dissuade the little leader from whatever it is she's doing while her right-hand (right-paw?) man is busy being bitten on the tail by the black and white fox. And you're half-certain you saw the calico swipe some food from your stash while you were busy processing this whole affair.
   And hey, you know what? Maybe that sort of chaos is your thing. Maybe you're looking for a group like that. Maybe you'll blend in there, with all the other weirdos. Hey, maybe you even know someone there! It seems to happy fairly often, that grey one with the blue eyes who passes through a few days later seems to know the one with the dragon, with the way he talks about the cat he's looking for. Or maybe you're just alone or outcast or otherwise desperate and will take what you can get. They don't seem too judgemental, at least, if such a bunch can manage to travel together in spite of everything.
   But that still doesn't change the fact that the first impression anyone gets from the Wayfarers is very much going to be, "What a weird bunch."