|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2018 17:04:50 GMT -5
The young calico wondered about in the strange new mountains and forests, crawling up and down various rocks as she tried tracking down each new scent she came across. She was clueless about where she actually was, opting to use the time to explore further out of the little area she had once been confined to. Her ears perked up as she heard a bird's twitter, curious of where it was exactly.
She immediately began heading towards the sound, racing through the fallen dead leaves and causing some to fly up into the air behind her. Hopping from side to side as she ran, Patches only stopped when she lost track of where the source was once more, looking up to the tall tree and moving around in a circle in hopes of seeing it.
Eventually, she got dizzy of her circling, sitting down as she continued to tilt her head up to the trees.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2018 17:37:18 GMT -5
S n a i l Snail, meanwhile, kept his compact body sluggishly perched atop a bundle of branches. Far above the ground, where the great birch nearly touched the sky, was where the tom kept his stake. For the past moon anyway. The narrow limbs that supported the canopy of this particular tree were well-suited in fostering his nest of moss. What was most important, however, was that these twig-like branches wouldn't support a cat bigger than an apprentice. Felines crossing a certain weight threshold would be dutifully dumped back toward the hard earth. This was how the ticked tabby kept out of trouble in his more lax hours.
During such a time was when the pattering of paws drew Snail from his half-nap. Large olive eyes picked through weary lids in time to see some calico she-cat circling around his birch. It was a welcome sight not seeing the face of Demon, but company really wasn't appreciated in any case. Mentally, the tom grumbled about having to move again that night. Verbally, however, came a tone of friendly curiosity.
"What are you doing down there? Did you take a crack on the head?"
### words || notes
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2018 20:07:19 GMT -5
Large ears were angled back as wide, dilated eyes peeked over the root. This was the hunter, with crouched form and ridged muscles ready to strike in a moments notice. The prey? A poor, innocent mantis who thought it blended in with the brown hues of the tree bark. It sat there, staring at the world with large round orbs, mandibles twitching to the beat of Opossum's heart.
This wasn't an epic quest, or an exciting journey. Ultimately it was little more than a young cat playing with the adjacent flora and fauna, but to the cat himself this was a heroic battle between monster and the conqueror.
Suddenly, the insect twitched, its head jerking towards the hiding cat. The movement was startlingly fast and brought a small gasp of excited fright from the tom as he ducked his head back behind the root. Did it see him? Would it try to find him? Was there going to be an epic battle between good and evil!? Large disk peeked back over the root to find...nothing. The mantis was gone.
Dramatic panic kicked in his belly as Opossum shot up from his crouch and looked widely around him for the now invisible bug. Loud thumps boomed in his overly large ears as his heart beet a thousand time in one second. No..wait... Where those pawsteps? Just as with the mantis, the sudden appearance of a frolicking cat caused the tom to jump and dash about the tree. Unlike with the mantis, the male's eyes followed her through the woods.
A friend? An enemy? Slinking behind the tri-colored other the tom would soon find out. But it seemed it was not just one cat that would be added to either of those lists as a voice sounded from the trees. The tom would wait and hide in the bushes as he listened to a tree talk to a cat.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 11:37:50 GMT -5
Patches tilted her head with perked ears, trying to see the voice's origin. Blinking as she caught a glimpse of an older cat, she gave a wide smile as she proceeded to answer.
"I heard a bird somewhere and followed it up to here! I wanted to see what bird hadn't flown to warmer areas yet!"
She curled her tail as she continued to try and focus on the other cat, making out the details of something similar to a nest. Flicking her ears, the calico wiggled a bit as she continued with the conversation.
"What about you? Why are you up in a tree and in that nest? You look sort of funny up there!"
He really did, the most of his features she could see being of a small frame, a round head, and big eyes that made her think of an owl's. The latter of those features making it all the more humorous to her of his location.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 14:52:28 GMT -5
S n a i l Now that the calico was more stationary it became clear that she was quite young. Impressionable even. Snail rolled around the idea of implanting information within the she-cat, but dismissed it. Simply gaining an ally out here would be enough for now. Until he found out her uses, anyway. A good-humored chuckled spilled from the pits of the tom's belly soon followed by a crooked smile. "Yeah I suppose I might look a bit odd. Truth is I'm a tiny guy, gotta take sanctuary where I can." Skilled paws pushed upward so that the pint-sized male could stand atop his perch. Slowly, in almost a painfully casual motion, the rogue began to pick his way down. All the while he kept keenly aware of any new scents in the breeze or rustling brush. He hadn't kept his hide this long from being reckless. There were more than a few cats out there that would love to ambush him. His steps halted suddenly, about halfway down the birch, as a new presence was detected. In a bush, just a few fox-lengths from the she-cat, was the stench of another newcomer. Snail teetered on the options of either calling the calico out or simply getting back to the safety of the canopy. Before a choice could be made, however, olive eyes caught the silhouette of their tiny eavesdropper. It was merely a kit. Still, Snail decide he was far enough down for now. He could clearly see his visitor as she could now clearly see him. Again, his warm voice slid forth, "My name is Snail. What about you and your friend there?" A flick of the ear pointed toward where a young Opossum was taking refuge.
285 words || notes
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 15:36:26 GMT -5
It wasn't the tree talking but a cat perched high in a nest! The tree cat must have been really, really high up there for he was so small that it was hard for Opossum to make out his looks. This caused him to raise his head a little higher to see above the leaves of his bush and inevitably expose his face to the she-cat if she turned around in his direction.
As it was, it seemed the tree cat had spotted him. How? He was sure he had picked the best hiding stop this close to the spotted female. Large eyes widened even more at the announcement and the bald face ducked back into the greenery. If the she-cat had turned to look she might catch his ears disappearing into the bush.
Opossum's logic was sound. The tree cat may not have spotted him hiding in the shrubs and might have called out a third cat that had escaped the young tom's superior tracking abilities. If he sat really still, like a rock, then maybe they would forget he was there. It worked for mantises, why not cats?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 16:19:23 GMT -5
Now seeing the rest of the cat's features, she began to try to control her laughter at how silly she thought he looked. Upon his question, however, she gained a confused look, tilting her head. Looking over to where she noticed the ear flick had been directed but failed to see the large ears of the other cat ducking down.
"I'm Patches and it's nice to meet you Snail!" She looked over to the direction again. "And... if there is another cat here, I have no idea who you are, but nice to meet you too!" Looking back up at Snail, she put on a mile again. "I got lost and thought it'd be fun to explore around," she said honestly, standing up and moving towards the direction. Pushing through the shrubs, she stared at the new cat, taking in his bald appearance.
"Hey, no need to be shy! We're all friendly here!" she mewed.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 17:02:29 GMT -5
S n a i l Snail liked to think he was a good judge of character. And it seemed to him that, although a bit flighty, the calico was genuine in her cluelessness of the kit. His tail gave a thoughtful weave from side-to-side for a motion or two before the tom departed a nod. The laughter didn't bother him - not like it used to. Being underestimated was the cornerstone of his entire life, thus it was easy to even let a chuckle of his own slip through.
Large eyes followed Patches movements in her curiosity to see who exactly was within the bush. The rogue himself was also curious; after all, he had only glimpsed the general shape of the young feline. When the shrubbery was pushed aside, Snail had to use all his will not to let the look of surprise wash over his facial features.
That was one ugly kid.
He couldn't decide if the brat had some sort of mange or was simply eaten by fleas. Either way, Snail was glad to be a safe distances away. Still grasping onto the smile from earlier, the tom gave a polite dip in the direction of the duo, "Patches is right. No need to skulk around; we are all proper cats here."
209 words || notes
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 18:00:26 GMT -5
Welp, they found him. Not only that but the splotched female even shoved aside the protective shield of leaves. Might as well make the most of it. Besides, these cats seemed nice even if one was a tree cat.
Thin, wiry tail uncurled from his side as the male sat up and looked at the two more fully. Huh, the tree cat wasn't that high, actually, but rather he was a mite small. The notion was quickly shoved aside as gold eyes smiled back, "That's good to know. You never know if there are any mean cats around so its always good to be cautious. At least, that's what my mother always said."
In a not-so-graceful leap the tom cleared the bushes to sit in the open next to the larger female, "My name's Opossum. Do you guys live here?" He asked both cats as his bald faced head swiveled between them in pleasent delight at meeting to very nice cats.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2018 18:15:38 GMT -5
Patches hopped to the side to let the other through and sat down, still giving a big smile. "Nope!" she said, continuing to restate her point. "I'm completely and utterly lost!"
She took the moment to really get a look at Opossum. He... was a mess in her opinion. His named fitted him though, with his lanky frame and mangy-looking black fur. His ears though looked more rabbit-like though... at least to her.
"Hey, if your name is Opossum, does that mean you can play dead?" she asked, tilting her head with curious intrigue. Looking back up at Snail, she asked the question that immediately followed the first in her head. "Oh, then does that mean you're slow since your name's Snail?"
She switched her attention to each of them, her tail flicking in playfulness as she leaned in to hear each answer. She hadn't meant any harm in her questions, just overwhelming curiosity.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 13:48:24 GMT -5
S n a i l Another forced chuckle bubbled from the minute tom's throat, bouncing his chest in a strained staging. Beneath his amused facade, Snail was growing increasingly annoyed. He saw little promise in allying with a mange-ridden runt and a ditzy she-cat, but kept up appearances. After all, they could prove valuable some day. Two nobodies that could tilt the scale in his favor perhaps. Thus, he would continue this friendly endeavor.
"I like to think I'm rather fast, but who knows? Maybe I'm just full of myself." A bemused breath echoed after the response in good fun. "But excuse me, you said you're lost? I know the area around here pretty well. Just tell me where you're headed."
It was afterward that, with a casual shift, Snail gave the tiny tot his overgrown gaze. Surprising that such a young and sickly thing had survived at all with no guardians around. Was he abandoned? Probably. Who would keep a scrap of fur that looked like that anyway? Masking his inner pondering was a face of concern. His voice, thick with empathy, inquired, "And you are all alone out here Opossum? What about your family?"
Better to know if a whole family of mange cats was coming any heartbeat now. Snail would gladly save his efforts for another day and be out of here.
220 words || notes
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 15:19:55 GMT -5
"Yeah, and I'm pretty good at it, too", the chipper voice was not uncommon for him. Such jibes were normal, everyday happenings and thus were shrugged of with almost subconscious ease. The only thing he would answer with a more logical reasoning to would be the "Can you hang by you tail" kind of questions.
The tree cat's, or Snail's, inquiry was given a slightly more reserved answer. "I, uhm, left. My sister said that I wouldn't be able to survive on my own because of my fur so I left to prove her wrong. And now I'm lost, too. But I'm doing just fine out here. There's plenty of prey, so even if I miss one I can quickly hunt another." And that was the truth; there was a good number of prey scurrying about to stock up on food for the coming winter. If the young male missed one target another would soon cross his path.
"I may not look like it, but I'm a pretty good hunter." That statement was followed up my a smug grin and haughty air as Opossum turned his attention to the she-cat. What was her name? Patchy?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 28, 2018 20:53:16 GMT -5
"Oh, I'm not heading anywhere," Patches answered, looking to the side with a shrug. "I mean, there's no harm in using being lost as a way to learn more about an area after all. "It's more fun to take one situation and turn it into another! It doesn't erase the fact of it though."
She looked at the two of them with a more embarrassed look. "I'd like to think I'm doing pretty good, even if I feel like I'm going in the completely wrong direction." It was an honest truth. After spending so many days wandering about, the calico felt like she was only getting herself more lost as she went onwards. Putting on a look of determination, she sat up.
"But hey, that only means I'm learning about more places!"
Truly, she needed to really start thinking about finding a way home before her thirst of knowledge seeking got her into trouble.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2018 11:04:19 GMT -5
S n a i l Snail remained relaxed and casually interested in whatever excuses were spit out before him. His miniature head gave an understanding nod toward the both of them, meanwhile his inner monologue spat toward the uselessness of their predicaments. Perhaps he could gain favor from the kit's family if he aided in returning him, but there was no way the tom's pristine pelt was getting anywhere near the mangy kid. So that was out. And the flighty female was so enthralled with her idea of exploration that she refused any direction. Fine.
If that's how they wanted it then he'd simply have to make-do with investments. One day he could use them as a meat shield for Demon or something.
"I believe you. You look like a cat with some proper hunting skills." Snail stated with an emphasizing flick of the tail. "But you should both be careful. Adventure and exploration is good, of course, but when the cold weather sets in it gets dangerous." Which was true; there wouldn't be much prey to go around. Cats wouldn't be so keen on sharing what they thought was theirs. Speaking of which...
"The clans down the mountain get a bit more testy in Leaf-Fall. Some would rather tear your pelt off than ask questions; there are some good ones though. I suppose it's up to luck." The male gave an air of disinterest toward the information he shared. Continuing on without much of a fuss, "The tribe further up the mountain is more welcoming. If you get in a hard spot, you should look for them if I'm not around."
Usually such information came at a cost. A quid pro quo. Yet, Snail had other plans today. A long-term calculation of trust and debt that could come in handy for the future. If either of these felines were some day rooted within the tribe or clans, then it could be his ticket inside.
320 words || notes
|
|