by ienrir » Sat May 04, 2019 3:07 am
Missy tilted her muzzle to sniff at the crisp winter air, her stomach churning at the thought of human scraps. Instead, she caught the scent of a stranger on the wind. Her hackles rose swift as wildfire, claws leaving little divots in the dirt. It wasn't the first time someone had crossed onto her land, and none of those meetings had been particularly pleasant. Twice some arrogant cat had come to flash their claws, stealing prey from under her paws and chasing her from her own den. She'd since learned to make strangers think twice before messing with her.
With hardened resolve, she began to stalk the scent, her lithe frame weaving among the undergrowth. She was almost upon the stranger when her paw fell flat on a fallen leaf; the sound causing him to whip around to face her, fur on end. She noticed the gentle frown, the small step backwards he took before opening his mouth to speak. "I'm just passing through here." An answer she'd heard before, one that led her to place trust in a loner that soon turned his claws on her. "There's no need to fight." His eyes flashed down to her unsheathed claws before meeting her gaze evenly. He wasn't fit to fight, exhausted from travel; his paws aching and cracked. She didn't take in weary dip of his head, or the tangy scent of blood in the air. She'd marked her territory for any loner to smell. His innocent act wasn't going to fool her.
"Who else is with you, foxface?" She pressed on, ignoring his plea for peace. "Is it Flint? Did he send you?" She took another step forward as the stranger took one back, a menacing dance. She didn't give him time to answer, his mouth flapped open as she coiled to pounce. "You want to tell your friends I'm back? Well you can go tell them in pieces." In one swift strike she was on him and he fell back heavy, pinned by strong paws.
Without hesitation the tom kicked out his back legs in a frenzy fueled by the pain of her claws digging into his shoulders. His paw found its mark, kicking up sharply into her diaphragm and winding her. She recoiled with a loud wheezing huff, an opportunity for him to slip from her grasp. She braced herself for the strike of his paws, but instead of attacking, he drew back... watching as she steadied herself on her paws; teeth bared in frustration.
"Listen to me!" He called. "I'm don't know a Flint, I'm just trying to pass through the territory."
"Well, I don't believe you!" She retorted, indigent as a stubborn kit. Her muscles rippled under her thick pelt as she tensed to pounce again. But as her gaze met his once more, she found her will to fight fading. Honest eyes. That was the only way she could could describe it. He has honest eyes. She looked into the green gaze and saw nothing but patience... and exhaustion... and, as she studied his lean form, injury. He wash shifting strangely on his feet, one forepaw being held extended, barely grazing the ground. All at once she felt a fool for thinking him a threat. He carried the scent of a kittypet, he bore a collar around his neck. "I... don't know if I can trust you." His steely gaze softened at those words, eyes studying her for the first time, as hers had him. Noticing the sunken flanks barely covered by her matted fur.
"Take me prisoner." She nearly choked on her tongue when he said it, but his expression never wavered. "Keep an eye on me overnight. If no one comes looking for me by morning, then I must be telling the truth." He smiled as she hesitated; his amusement earning a glare. But she appreciated the suggestion, he could tell by the way her shoulders dropped. She was a fighter, but not unreasonable.
“I guess we can be civil about this.” She began, her gaze still weary but relieved; an expression she saw mirrored in the stranger's eyes. “But if anyone does turn up, then I won’t hold back, ok foxfa-” She cut her words short; there was no need to throw offhand insults at him now that he wasn’t an immediate threat. She cleared her throat, standing up a little straighter.
The silver tom felt hope flutter in his chest as addressed him, his whiskers twitching. As her ears pricked forward he could tell that she had finally given up on the fight. Good. "Aether, my name is aether." He offered, voice soft as feathers. "And yours?"
“You've got an odd name.” She mused, her tone laced with a guarded curiosity. He let out a huffed purr in reply. “I’m Missy.” She knew to keep caution around the stranger, but exchanging names made him feel less threatening. As the sky began to grow dark around them, she let out a defeated huff. “C’mon. You should probably follow me if you don’t want to freeze.”
"I'd say missy is a stranger name." There was a lightness to his tone, playful even. He fell into step with her as she began tracing a path through the tree's, allowing himself to take in the sight. "How long have you been here?"
“A few seasons.” Her tail tip twitched momentarily. Humans used to pass through a lot with their dogs, leaving their rubbish for her to eat; but the colder it got, the less they came. Now she felt forced to venture further out to scavenge, or face starvation. “I move closer to the two-leg place when it's cold, more food there."
"Like a bird." Aether offer carefully. His paw steps gentle and light as he walked with the she-cat. "You’ll move away from the cold and come back when it's convenient…Smart." For a moment the cold seemed to settle into his fur and he shivered against it. Thoughts of cat food and a warm two-legs nest danced in his head, but he forced it down. That life was not his own anymore. They stopped at a tall oak tree, and the she-cat slipped her claws into the bark; expertly housting herself onto a low, wide hanging branch.
"But why live of two legs scraps? I know prey is scarce in winter, but surely there must be something else to eat." He pressed his weight onto his back legs before springing up; clumsily clawing his way onto the branch beside her.
“I can’t hunt.” She replied, and he thought he could hear a note of embarrassment in her voice.
"It takes practice. There's a technique, you know."
"I'm sure there is. There are no scraps left in the forest, so it will do you good to hunt if you can" Her body hunched, before she sprungs up to the next branch, digging her claws in for a better grip on the bark. He springs up besides her, the branch quivering under his weight.
"I've never had human scraps. It's against the code." He follows her gaze to a hollow in the trunk.
"The Code?" She paused momentarily, regarding the him with a peculiar glance. Not bothering to hide the fact she found it a strange thing to say. Who would have a code against eating scraps? Some could taste pretty awful, but food was food. She shook her head absently, a small amused pur rising in her throat. She found it hard to decipher whether his oddness was suspicious or not. Though he seemed harmless enough, and quite noticeably tired. With a small flick of her tail, she gesture to the hollow. A sliver of a smile on her face. “You first, foxface. You look like you could use the rest.”
"Is this how you treat all your guests?"
He offered playfully before springing up onto the next branch and squeezing into the hollow. His shoulders brushed the entrance awkwardly but he managed to stuff himself into the far side. He spun in a single circle before plopping down and resting his head on his forepaws. "The code's a set of rules you have to follow in order to be a warrior…" He murmured with a yawn. The word crazy comes to Missy's mind. For a fleeting moment she considered the dangers of falling asleep next to what should a prisoner. The thoughts were pushed aside as she lay beside him.
“A warrior…so you’re a fighter? I wasn’t aware there were rules for that sort of thing. I consider myself a fighter.” She said, almost proudly.
"Of course there are rules…you cant just blindly fight. There are very important rules that keep the fighting humane."
“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” She flicked her ears dismissively, unfair fights were hardly fun. Though she wasn’t above teaching a runt a lesson if they got too mouthy with her. It was good to hear that the other cat had morals, regardless of how weird following a code sounded. A fighter with a conscience, now that had a nice ring to it.
She slowly lowered her head to her paws, gaze growing thoughtful. She stifled a yawn, seeming to debate asking another question; curiosity seeming to win out once again. "Before, when I jumped on you, you mentioned something about just passing through. Where were you going before I, uh- stopped you.” She almost sounded guilty, until she decided that she had every right to stop him. Better safe than sorry. It probably had something to do with his weird fighting code thing; which she still wasn’t quite sure was odd or admirable. Though she settled on admirable as the tom's gaze lits up with joy. He looked as though he may burst from it.
"I'm traveling to find a territory. Far from here, somewhere where cats may live alongside me, under the warrior code." His own tone turned apologetic, and he faced her with sincerity. "I never did apologize for crossing your territory openly."
“It wasn’t your fault.” She admitted begrudgingly, humbled by the honest apology. “I should have let you go, it's obvious that you’re not malicious.” He had an honest look to him, one she’d neglected to see earlier. “The cats in your clan, are they like you? I mean, can you trust them?”
"They haven't given me a reason not to trust them. I trust them with my life."
“With your life?” She echos. It was admirable that he had so much faith in his clan. Hopefully that faith wasn’t misguided. The thought of a group of cats all living by the same rules made her doubtful to say the least, but surely it couldn’t be much worse than the ‘look out for number one’ mentality she’d developed. The thought of trusting others with such a ferocity is what made her long to at least see those other cats. To know what it felt like to fight for something other than herself.
"You were only protecting your territory. When you attacked me, you were within your rights."
“My territory’s hardly worth protecting. I think I could be more useful to you and your clan.” She began hesitantly, though her tone grew more determined. “I’m no hunter, but I can learn. I could be another cat you trust, if you’d let me.”
Aether stared at the she-cat with a careful gaze. For a moment the air grows thick with silence, and the she-cat averts her eyes; embarrassed.
"I would be honored to have you in our clan." As he says it, he feels his chest swell with pride. He swears he can see a satisfied smile slipping onto her maw in the darkness.
