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Post by Solo on Jun 15, 2010 19:14:26 GMT -5
T H O R N “Hey, lousy dung-sniffer! I’m up here!”
The dog snarled as it threw itself against the wooden fence again, making the planks rattle. Its ugly muzzle wrinkled in rage as the canine stared at the cat poised on the fence post. The brown tabby smiled, gripping the wood with her paws, and braced herself as the fence shook again from another blind tackle. The hound had started up a ruckus, barking and baying, with two-leg curses thrown in amidst the uproar of other dogs in the area.
“Good job, bozo! You almost knocked me off. I’m sure you’ll get it next time, after you gain a few pounds. Something’s got to make up for the lack of weight in that hollow head of yours.”
Regardless of whether it could understand her taunts, the dog threw itself forward with new fury, slamming its forepaws against the fence and stretching its neck up. This time, the cat toppled forward but barely caught herself with her hind paws and stomach against the fence. Her forelegs dangled a few inches from the viciously snapping, slime-coated fangs. Peering into the hateful round brown eyes of her assailant, Thorn grinned and uttered a nervous laugh.
“You didn’t think I meant that, did you? I’m sure you’re very, very smart. Sit like a good boy!”
The dog backed off, tense and ready for another go at the fence. During this time, the tabby cat had balanced herself on the fence post again. This time, when the dog lunged forward, she launched herself off the fence and landed square on the broad head of the hound. Its jaws clicked together painfully, and it threw its head back in rage. Thorn screeched as she flew through midair, tail puffed out like a bottlebrush, paws outstretched, and landed on all fours. With a sloppy pivot, she curiously looked to see where her foe was.
“Oh great…”
Thorn frantically backpedaled as the dog charged at her then spun, whipping her tail just out of reach of its jaws. With a mighty leap, she struck the opposite fence and clawed her way up it. The dog snapped and managed this time to bite her tail; with a snarl of pain, she lashed out with a hind leg to claw its nose. Yelping, the hound backed up and licked its muzzle, shoulders hunched as it stared at its now out of reach prey. Eventually, deciding that the cat wouldn’t be worth the trouble, it turned and slunk into the shade of a tree.
“That’s what I thought, leg-humper!”
With this last triumphant catcall, Thorn heaved a sigh and slumped down on the broad fencepost, panting to regain her breath.
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Willow
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Post by Willow on Jun 15, 2010 19:34:25 GMT -5
It was a good day. Relatively, at least. Mouse had forgotten what a truly good day felt like. But, today the door had been opened for her and out the tiny she-cat had slunk into her unkempt garden. She loved to be outside, away from the squalor and noise of the house. Outside was peaceful. Here she could listen to the twittering birds and smell the dandelions that dotted the tall grass. If only she could escape. But small, weak legs could never carry her up such a high fence. At least, not when coupled with a timid heart.
Mouse shook herself and began grooming her long cream fur, matted from so long indoors. If only it were nighttime, then this would be an amazing day. Maybe her twolegs would forget about her though and she could remain in the garden even as the moon rose. That what make a good day.
The kittypet turned her bi-colored eyes around the garden, searching for a soft place to lie. Such a place was found in a patch of clover near the fence. With a little smile, the she-cat trotted to the patch, circled, and lowered her small body onto the softness. She began to purr, only a little.
Some strange noise was coming from nearby. Mouse’s eyes flew open in alarm as she identified it as the raucous barking of a dog. She jumped to her paws and backed away from the wooden fence, wondering if dogs could jump. She’d never seen it happen… but that didn’t mean it was impossible. A cat’s voice called above the noise of the dog. Taunting it. Mouse stared at where she assumed the sound was coming from, amazed. What cat would taunt a dog? They had to be insane.
Curiosity finally got the better of her and Mouse padded slowly to the far end of the fence to look for the cat and dog. The dog was hidden behind another fence but the cat was perched on a fencepost, completely visible. She wasn’t quite what Mouse had expected. First of all, she expected a tom. They usually did stupid things like that. Second, she looked so… wild. She must be one of the wild cats that lived in the forest.
Oh, what a wonderful life she must have, Mouse thought wistfully. If only her short legs could carry her over her fence. She sighed softly and watched as the cat apparently won the altercation and slumped onto the post. Mouse blinked her two-toned eyes and sat in the long grass of her yard. The other she-cat did not notice her. Perhaps that was best.
Or perhaps… perhaps she could help Mouse out.
“Hello,” Mouse called softly.
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Post by Solo on Jun 15, 2010 19:53:02 GMT -5
T H O R N The tabby she-cat stretched slightly and closed her eyes, sighing contentedly. She’d had her exercise for the day, and as long as the dog didn’t come back and knock her down, she could nap here. One hind leg slid off the post and dangled above the other yard. With a yawn, she flicked her tail and winced at the resulting pain. The bite hadn’t felt too bad, hadn’t severed anything at least. Just a nip wouldn’t do much more than bleed. She twisted her head to lick the wound experimentally and decided not to be bothered by it, instead slumping forward again…
Had she just heard a voice?
Intrigued, Thorn turned her head to see who had greeted her in that quiet meow. She finally looked down into the yard beside her and blinked at the sight of the little creamy-colored she-cat. However, she transformed in an instant, waking up and putting on her most charismatic of smiles.
“Hello there,” she responded, her tone made up of nothing but friendly. Generally she had a ton of fun roughing up kittypets, but only the cocky ones. She’d strut across fences and leap onto unsuspecting toms attempting to make advances on her, or bowl a prissy she-cat over when they yowled at the sight of a ragged loner. This little cat was obviously neither.
“Did I wake you up from a catnap?” Thorn asked, gathering her legs under her and balancing on the post before springing down into the yard. She landed awkwardly, stumbling forward and almost hitting her nose on the house cat’s. Leaping backward, she lowered her ears apologetically and attempted another cheesy smile. “You’ve got gorgeous eyes.”
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Willow
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Post by Willow on Jun 15, 2010 20:03:21 GMT -5
The brown she-cat noticed her a moment after her soft call and Mouse blinked up at her. She sounded extremely friendly. So much for those stories about the evil wildcats that wanted to eat house cats for breakfast. This cat obviously was not like that. Mouse had always doubted those rumors anyway.
“Did I wake you up from a catnap?”
“Oh… no, not really. I was just – ” Mouse cut off her quiet words with a startled yowl and a backwards leap as the cat nearly hit her nose as she leapt down. Mouse shook herself and took a tentative step forward, ears back. The cat looked apologetic, which calmed the small cat a bit but her heart was still racing from such a close encounter.
“You’ve got gorgeous eyes.”
That statement caused another blink of her bi-colored eyes. Mouse was used to comments about her eyes, but usually they were derogatory. She felt her cheeks redden a little beneath her long fur. “Thanks. Most cats just think they’re weird…” She mustered a little courage and circled the wild cat, taking in the scarred and wild appearance.
“You don’t have housefolk, do you? Do you live in the forest?” her questions were curious and quite a bit more excited than her voice usually was.
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Post by Solo on Jun 15, 2010 20:24:28 GMT -5
T H O R N The loner felt terrible for nearly landing on the poor thing. She seemed timid, which would either get worse or better from Thorn’s own outgoing and boisterous attitude. She could practically feel the other heart thumping against her ribcage with fright. Way to feel like a soggy rat, Thorn, she reprimanded herself, shuffling her paws slightly before her distraction worked. While she was sincere, her compliment had been wildly tossed to take the heat off her crazy great landing.
“Why would they think your eyes are weird? I mean, yeah, they’re weird, but in a pretty way. Reminds me of the blue sky and the rich green grass.”
Her own blue eyes followed the kittypet as she circled around the brown tabby, checking her out and asking if she lived in the forest. With a haughty snort, Thorn puffed her chest up slightly. “Housefolk? You mean the two-legs? Of course not. I couldn’t stand a life like that, fenced in and pet and whatnot, with a collar of slavery.” She nodded toward the green thing around the small she-cat’s neck.
“Nope, I was born and raised in the forest,” she mewed proudly, gesturing vaguely with her still bloody tail in a wide sweep.
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Post by Willow on Jun 15, 2010 20:38:21 GMT -5
Mouse smiled a bit at the compliments about her eyes but her face fell rapidly as the brown she-cat continued speaking. She grew even smaller, if that was possible
“Housefolk? You mean the two-legs? Of course not. I couldn’t stand a life like that, fenced in and pet and whatnot, with a collar of slavery.”
A little nerve was hit inside Mouse and when she spoke again, her voice was just as quiet but tinged with a tone of anger. “You act as if this is my choice. Look at me. Does it look like I live a good life here? I can’t stand it either but I’m too small and too weak to get away.”
She turned away from the wild cat as she proclaimed she had been born and raised in the forest. “Well then, count your blessings because life isn’t as good to some of us.” Mouse began padding away, sensing that this proud cat was going to be of no help to her after all. Maybe she should just go back inside and beg for some food. It seemed a better use of her time.
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Post by Solo on Jun 15, 2010 20:54:07 GMT -5
T H O R N The kittypet’s mood changed for the worse, rapidly, as soon as Thorn made her remark about the life of a house cat. She stared in shock when the small sandy-colored cat spoke, softly but headedly, and turned off to leave. There was likely pain underneath those statements, pain and things that the carefree wild cat didn’t want to think about. She had effectively been shut up, and she watched the kittypet walk away with a growing sense of guilt and dread.
“Don’t leave,” the brown tabby called weakly; her scarred face was troubled. “Stay here with me for a minute, okay?”
She hated resorting to begging, but in her young life Thorn had recognized the need to put away her ready tongue and pride in certain situations. This was one of them. She didn’t bother to actually follow the kittypet and stop her, as she would have in most cases, but instead looked on anxiously. With wariness in her eyes, she glanced toward the door and wondered at what existed beyond the walls that would stir a house cat so much.
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Willow
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Post by Willow on Jun 15, 2010 21:02:46 GMT -5
“Stay here with me for a minute, okay?”
Mouse blinked in surprise and stopped mid-step. That was unexpected. She hadn't thought that the rugged wild cat would care one bit about her leaving. She turned slowly and looked at the tabby with calculating eyes but didn't bother to close the space between them again.
She waited expectantly but when the other cat said nothing else Mouse gave a soft sigh and took a few steps forward, to sit beside a large grove of dandelions. "Why do you want me to stay?" she asked, genuinely curious. Cats were never friendly to her, not that she'd ever seen many others.
"I'm Mouse, by the way."
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Post by Solo on Jun 15, 2010 21:13:36 GMT -5
T H O R N To Thorn’s relief—she didn’t know why the rush of relief was so strong—the cream-colored she-cat paused and looked at her. Apparently she hadn’t expected her request, but Thorn couldn’t blame her; she’d hardly expected it herself. She tried to smile reassuringly but failed and could only sit in tense silence until the kittypet stepped slightly closer.
The tabby snorted as if the answer was obvious. “Why? Because… uh…” She blinked uncertainly and looked down and away awkwardly. Did she know? “I didn’t mean to say anything to hurt you,” she managed with some strain; the words ended up tumbling clumsily out. She was obviously not used to admitting her own mistakes, but this situation turned everything that she had stubbornly lived by upside down. Quiet cats always made her uncomfortable, for she felt the need to fill in the silence and constantly wondered at the other’s thoughts.
“Mouse?” A flicker of a smile came to her scratched muzzle. It suited her, both her size and timid nature, though she didn’t bother to point this out. “My name is Thorn. It’s… It’s nice to meet you.”
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Willow
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Post by Willow on Jun 15, 2010 21:18:27 GMT -5
“I didn’t mean to say anything to hurt you.”
Mouse shrugged a little. The cat's words were a fairly obvious answer to her question. There was no tactful and honest way to reply. Mouse couldn't hardly say Well, you did. So, she chose silence and looked around her garden, feeling quite awkward around the other she-cat.
"Nice to meet you, too," she replied dutifully to the greeting issued by Thorn. What to say now? "Do you live alone?" she invented on the spot, trying to think of anything to ask the strange wild cat.
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Post by Solo on Jun 15, 2010 21:29:48 GMT -5
T H O R N Thorn was stung a little by the shrug and forced response, though she had to admit that she deserved it after singlehandedly ruining the situation with her big mouth. She swallowed and shuffled her paws again before the kittypet asked her if she lived alone. “Yeah, I have for a while,” she mewed, remembering how thrilled she had been to leave her family and dung-headed brother. “While I love being able to do what I want and everything, I have to admit that it gets lonely. I can say all I want about wild cat life, but you can’t deny that most other loners would rather attack you on sight than risk you stealing their prey.”
She didn’t know what else to say, so she turned the question back on Mouse. “Do you live with anyone? Besides your… housefolk, I mean.” She was visibly hesitant, not wanting to strike another nerve, while in the back of her mind a plan was formulating. It was a plan she believed would be shot down the second she opened her stupid mouth, but it remained like a clinging tick.
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Willow
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Post by Willow on Jun 16, 2010 21:27:34 GMT -5
“While I love being able to do what I want and everything, I have to admit that it gets lonely. I can say all I want about wild cat life, but you can’t deny that most other loners would rather attack you on sight than risk you stealing their prey.”
Mouse stared in rapt attention as the other she-cat spoke. She tried to imagine life outside the four walls of her house and garden. It was just so... fantastic and nigh impossible. "Well, I could understand how it could be lonely but I'm used to that as well. Are the other loners... not like you?" She blushed slightly, realized how that question sounded.
"Well, what I mean is... are other loners actually the bloodthirsty savages house cat rumor makes them out to be? Because you don't exactly seem like that." Oh what was wrong with her. This was more than she ever talked in a whole year. She just couldn't stop herself from asking more questions.
"I've always lived alone. Well, ever since I was taken from my mother and sister. I don't see many other cats around here and they usually just taunt me anyway, if they're loners or try to help but end up being obnoxious and unhelpful if they're house cats," Mouse responded to Thorn's question, again amazed at the amount she was speaking.
"Sorry... I'm not usually this... talkative," she apologized and shut her mouth, waiting for the brown cat to fill the silence so she would have to.
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Post by Solo on Jun 17, 2010 3:20:37 GMT -5
T H O R N Luckily, Mouse didn't seem to have a bad reaction to her explanation, and Thorn relaxed. She could feel the beautiful green and blue eyes on her, rapt, as the kittypet drank in everything she said. This was what it felt like to have an audience who actually gave a whisker what you thought. She liked the attention and was glad to explain, so when the cream she-cat asked her question, the tabby smiled and was prepared to speak. She then chuckled before Mouse clarified and shrugged.
"Most of them aren't this nice nor this nice-looking," Thorn mewed with a slight flourish of her tail and tilt of her head. "I don't know... I guess that some of them could be considered bloodthirsty savages. Others are open-minded and social, while most don't care about anything but themselves. Wouldn't you expect every cat to a have a different personality?" She knew this question might sound rude or make her feel stupid, so she smiled to show she didn't intend either. "Those kittypets are probably only scared of what they don't understand. One of them gets roughed up by a wildcat defending its territory or its kits and we're all suddenly bloodthirsty. Not that I don't mind the rumors; it helps me if a kittypet's fur rubs me the wrong way. I know they aren't all a quiet sort." She rolled her eyes and thought of the tomcats, so confident though they wore collars.
The sandy-colored cat explained her past briefly, and Thorn marveled at why anyone would be like that to her. "Why would any kitty -- house cat have a right to taunt you?" she asked, brows drawing together in a frown. She guessed a wildcat would categorize her as a kittypet, but what about her neighbors? Did Mouse not have any, or did she simply not have friends?
Mouse apologized suddenly for speaking so much, and Thorn jumped to soothe the timid creature. "No, no, it's okay," she said quickly. "I like you. I like talking. Talking's good."
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Willow
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Post by Willow on Jun 17, 2010 21:50:56 GMT -5
Thorn seemed to be backing up the claim that most loners were unlike her while also defending the other forest cats. What she said made sense though. Cats feared that which they did not understand. And it was in fact true that all cats had different personalities but the words affronted Mouse before they were coupled with a grin. Thorn was terribly nice but she just kept having her words come out wrong. Mouse blinked as the brown loner asked a question about her explanation about cats.
"Why would any kitty -- house cat have a right to taunt you?"
She stared at her blankly. "What?" Obviously the she-cat had misunderstood. "I said that was what the loners did. Not the house cats. They try to help but most of them are too dumb to do any real good."
As Thorn ever so eloquently stated that talking was good and Mouse was good, the small cat giggled. "You sure have a way with words."
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Post by Solo on Jun 17, 2010 21:58:35 GMT -5
T H O R N It wasn't often that Thorn got embarrassed, and even less often that she allowed it to show. She managed to sit down when Mouse corrected her, saying that the kittypets were nice, and in a pretense of composure swiped her paw across her whiskers after licking it. Thorn didn't bother grooming too often -- only if she was very, very dirty or smelly, or if she was trying to distract people from her flaws. Her paw actually trembled a little while combing when the cream she-cat giggled, but she got over her embarrassment quickly after that. A laugh was a laugh, and it was, well, good too.
"I get that a lot," she meowed, her voice humorously flat, before smirking again and looking up at the fence. Quickly her blue eyes flicked back to Mouse; she cut to the chase. "You want to get out of here?"
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