[ti]Private[/ti]away from home

[bird]

| falcon |

For the first time, Falcon had gone on what would be one of many adventures. Some would wonder how a few weeks old kit could get so far from their parents' watch, and they'd be right to wonder. Falcon wasn't exactly the most stealthy, being incredibly young and kind of clumsy, but given that he had four siblings that were still with his father, it wasn't too hard to slip away unnoticed. This was the first adventure of his entire life, and he'd decided that he would have the most fun with it as possible.

Despite his adventurous spirit, he had an awful directional compass, and sadly had no idea where he was right now. Having never left his father's watch before, any distance from where they lived was an incredible distance to him. He'd found himself outside a twoleg den, one with a high roof and an open door that he could simply wander into. It was colored strangely, like the color of ripe berries, much unlike his nest.

So, of course, he wandered inside, looking around for any sign of any other cats that might be around. He couldn't see any, but he could scent some other cat in the area. That didn't matter, though. It wasn't his father, so the cat wouldn't be able to take him back to his nest and end his amazing adventure. Maybe that cat would even be friendly!

He could also smell other creatures, although it didn't smell like they were inside currently. The scent of them lingered, though, and he wasn't quite sure what the creatures could possibly be. Maybe some of it was twoleg scent? He had never seen a real twoleg before, after all, so he wouldn't know what it would smell like.

Something inside him went alert when he smelled something that signified prey to his instincts. There were mice here, he was sure. His father had given him mice to eat in the past, and they smelled kind of like this, except a bit more bloody. He sneaked around the twoleg den very obviously. Despite his want to sneak around, he was just a kit, and he was loud for a kit, his tail wiggling in the air as he tracked down the mouse he'd smelled, and with a cry, jumped at it.

Of course, it ran away, and Falcon sat there, disappointed in himself for not being able to catch a mouse that was almost his size. That was until he heard footsteps. He spun around, looking for any cat that might be there. After all, he had smelled a cat earlier.

[M'Lady]

He smelled a kit.

It was unmistakable. Soft, gentle, and a hint of milk.

The large furry tom gazed down from the loft of hay with glowing yellow green eyes, glimmering with faint amusement as he watched the small scrap of fur jump at a mouse that was almost bigger than he was. He stifled a low chuckle, slowly rising to his paws as the kit sat down, dejected at his inability to get the kill. Tequila made his way down from the loft silently, and landed on the hard packed dirt with a quiet thump of his paws. He slowly moved forward, doing nothing to disguise his path, and loomed over the small kitten as soon as he spun around.

"You were too loud." He mused in his low, rumbling tone. It was rather akin to thunder, in the way that it rolled and crackled so naturally off his tongue. "If you're trying to catch a mouse, it can hear your paws from tail lengths away." The large cat mewed, studying the kits form. He was small, very small, what was he doing away from his mother? What kind of mother would let a small one such as this wander away?

"Step lighter, lighter than a feather hitting the ground. Keep your tail up, and don't ever say a word." He ordered, glancing in the direction the mouse had ran. This tiny bean wouldn't be able to take down a mouse, not by a longshot. Tequila would be surprised if he was even off milk yet, with his size.

"Here." He hummed, sweeping his tail back and forth along the ground, brushing stalks of hay with his movements. "Catch my tail."

[bird]

| falcon |

Falcon watched with wide eyes while the large tom spoke, trying to internalize everything he was being told. He was too loud. Well, that was okay. He'd have to just learn, wouldn't he? He'd have to get better. After all, his father was depending on him to be great, to be a great warrior and a great hunter and to take down those mangy clan cats. So he listened to the tom, nodding a bit, watching his tail snake across the floor. 

If he could catch this cat's tail, maybe that'd show that he was closer to being a good fighter than anyone thought, especially at this age. He could show that he wasn't just a stupid kit who got caught wandering! His eyes followed the tom's tail, and he wondered just how proud of him his father would be if he could catch anything, even just another cat's tail. Of course, he knew his father would be angry when he got back, but maybe if he told him about this he'd be less angry! It was a perfect plan. He'd get away with his adventure, and he'd get to practice hunting earlier than anyone would teach him.

Slowly, without answering, he went down to slink close to the ground, and stalked closer to the older tom's tail, maintaining a bit of distance, not enough that a real piece of prey wouldn't run away, but distance nonetheless. His tail stayed up, not moving as much this time, as he was trying his best to make sure that he followed the tom's instructions. After a few seconds, he sprang up, pouncing down onto the older tom's tail.

[M'Lady]

The little thing looked determined. Tequila's whiskers twitched slightly in amusement as he watched the tiny kit sink down to the ground, though he didn't have far to go. He continued to swish his tail slowly back and forth, grass colored eyes studying the small scrap of fur getting ready to pounce. And then he leaped, landing squarely on the older tom's tail tip. His claws weren't even remotely grown in yet, so the rogue felt nothing but the kit's light weight through the thickness of his fur.

A rumbling purr that wasn't unlike thunder rolled in his chest, and he soon drew his tail away from the kit's deadly paws to wrap around his own once more.
"Not bad," He mused, peering down at the small creature in order to judge exactly how he felt about his success. He should be proud, he was hardly more than a mouse at his age.

"My name is Tequila," He spoke, his voice having a sort of twang to it, that was now audible as he had raised his voice to it's normal level instead of the quiet hum he used earlier. "This is Whiskey's barn, but guests like me are sometimes allowed here." The tom explained, moving to lie down in order to be at eye level with the kit.

"Now, why don'cha tell me what you're doing here?" His voice was relaxed, as obviously the tiny tom posed no threat to the larger one. "You must've wandered far."

[bird]

| falcon |

Falcon at least looked proud, a grin on his tiny face. He was no larger than a mouse, and yet he managed to catch something! Even though it was another cat's tail, Falcon was incredibly proud of his success. His father would be so proud of him for being a good hunter. The kit sat down, pleased at his catch, and watched as the larger tom came down to eye level with him.



"I'm Falcon!" He exclaimed, obvious pride in his name. After being told about Whiskey, he glanced around. "Is Whiskey gonna be okay with me being here? I don't wanna go home yet, but I don't know anywhere else I could go." He hoped that this cat that he'd been told about would be okay with him coming here. Home was too boring to stay there for long, so he hoped that maybe he could come back here sometimes? Of course, he didn't actually remember very well how to get here, having been wandering for a while. In fact, he didn't know his way home, either.



"I..." Falcon trailed off, not sure what to say, before speaking again. "I wanted to go on an adventure, and dad wasn't watching, so I snuck out, and then I got lost, and now I'm here! I dunno where home is, though, so I don't know how I'm gonna get back. Well, I do know, but I don't know how to get there. It's the place with the big twoleg dens!" He didn't really have a filter, being a kit that was that young, so he didn't know when to stop talking about his adventure. In fact, he wanted to tell Tequila all about his adventure.

He hadn't met anyone else on his big adventure, so this was the first cat he'd ever talked to that wasn't part of the rogue group, although he didn't really have much of an idea of the fact that the rogue group was, well, a rogue group, and not just a bunch of his father's friends. Falcon knew they all hated clan cats, but he thought that was just normal, seeing as the clan cats were deluded by this "Star Clan" or whatever it was. 

[M'Lady]

"Falcon," He hummed, whiskers twitching slightly. "A mighty name for a tiny scrap of fur." His tone had taken a teasing lilt, as he studied the interesting kit with yellow green eyes. All the way from the town, huh? The small one had come a long way. He wondered who his parents were, Tequila knew just about everyone, or at the very least knew them by name. He didn't ask yet, though, he didn't particularly care that much. Besides, he was sure that the chatty kit would tell him anyway.

"What, ol' Whiskey? Nah, he likes little kits. Probably would ask you ta stay forever." He laughed, reaching forward to playfully bop the kit on the head with his wide paw, careful to be gentle with the action. He'd probably crush the tiny thing. The large tom hauled himself to his paws, leaning forward and back to stretch his cramped muscles. He'd been lazy today, Whiskey would be disappointed. The tom figured he might as well walk the kit home. He'd been lucky, insanely lucky, that he'd gotten to the barn in one piece. Now Tequila was a gentleman, as Whiskey taught him to be, so he was honor bound to bring him home safely.

"Come on then, lil' trouble maker. I'll walk ya back and maybe you can tell me all abou' this lil' family of yers." He mused, using his tail to curl around Falcon and sweep him along as he walked, at least until the tiny thing managed to start walking along himself.

[bird]

| falcon |

Falcon laughed a bit at Tequila's teasing quietly, his little voice incapable of being raised very loud. Really, he wasn't offended by the teasing. Why would he be? This cat seemed cool, and he couldn't really get mad at someone who seemed so cool and tolerated him so much. It was far easier to talk to this cat than to talk to his littermates. They were all loud, and sometimes they were kind of mean, and he was almost happy that he'd managed to get away from his family for a while. Of course, he missed them, and some part of him wanted to go back, but they weren't the best of company.

"Whiskey sounds cool," Falcon mewed. He almost wanted to meet him, but it was pretty obvious that Tequila wanted to walk him home, and he was okay with that. It would be a long walk, but he needed to get back anyway, and he wasn't sure how to get home. If he were to try to walk home himself, he'd get lost constantly and probably get hurt, so maybe this was for the best? He'd rise to his feet, but he was already standing, to try to be at least close to the same level as Tequila. 

He scurried along, following Tequila as he walked, his little legs not the most capable of keeping up easily, but he was definitely trying. "You wanna hear about my family?" His voice seemed excited, as if he wanted to have something, anything, to talk about. Falcon truly was a little chatterbox, despite his small voice. Thinking for a bit on how to phrase his rant about his family, he took in a deep breath, preparing to ramble on about them. 

"Well, my dad's Eaglewing. His name sounds like a weird clan cat name, but I like him. And there's my siblings, who are..." trailing off for a bit, he obviously had to think about their names, "Vulture, Owl, Buzzard, and Hawk. And I don't know my mom very well. I think her name's Mocha? I don't know what Mocha means. She left when I was a kit. I don't know where she went, but she comes back sometimes, but I don't talk to her very much, because she's not around much. But that's okay, because I don't need a mom." He shrugged a bit, obviously not caring or realizing that he was rambling.

"I like my family, but they're kinda annoying sometimes, and my dad is always busy with things, so that's why I left. But I do kinda miss them, I guess." Inhaling a bit, he continued, speaking his final thought for the time. "What's your family like?" 

[M'Lady]

"Whiskey is cool," He confirmed, tail swishing slightly as they padded along, barely brushing the ground. "He would like ta meet you sometime, he has a rather soft spot fer kits, the old fleabag." He mused, green eyes shining gently as he noticed quickly how excited the small scrap of fur got when he started chattering along like a starling. Tequila listened quietly and intently. He knew that kits loved the attention, needed the attention, and remembered exactly how frustrated he used to get when older cats only pretended to hear what he was saying. When Falcon was done, Tequila parted his maw to share his own insights.

"Clan names aren't weird, they're jus' different," He hummed, swatting the kit lightly with his tail in faint admonishment. "No need ta go hatin' other cats because they're different, right? Look at you an' me. You've got a family, I've got a Whiskey," The tom spoke, eyes glittering with some sort of unreadable emotions. "You have a home, I like to roam." He continued, before pawing slightly at the leather band around his neck. "I work for others, you have yer whole life ahead of ya." He shrugged, broad shoulders rolling with muscles underneath his glossy fur. "Can' blame 'em fer how they live. Just leave 'em alone and they'll leave you alone." He was rather calm and nonchalant about the whole thing. Tequila didn't really care about much, if it didn't directly involve him, or if Whiskey didn't order him to do something. He was really a go with the flow kinda guy.

"My family is just Whiskey. Took me in when I was a kit, stayed with him ever since." He spoke simply, with another brief shrug. "I do little errands ta help him out now, it's the least I can do." Tequila explained, as they continued to walk on the long journey back to the twoleg place. "My other family... My blood related family. I don't know 'em, not at all. Family is somethin' ya earn."

[bird]

| falcon |

At the fact that Whiskey might want to meet him sometime, Falcon grinned. While he didn't know Whiskey, he sounded cool, and to the kit, an opportunity to meet someone new that wasn't a stinky clan cat was always a good time. After all, it wasn't like he got to meet many new cats that weren't his dad's friends very much, and all of them were kinda weird, if not interesting. One day, he'd want to be as strong as his dad's friends, but for now, he just saw them as strange cats that loomed over him and his brothers. 

The fact that Tequila was obviously listening excited Falcon, as he wasn't exactly that used to being completely listened to. It was hard to get any attention over the roar of the other kits and with his dad being so busy, but in this small situation, Falcon seemed to have an opportunity for some attention, and he gobbled it up, relishing in the fact that for once, he'd be the star of the show, even if he was being marched back to his nest by a cat who he barely knew. Still, it was enough to make the kit burst that he was actually getting some mind from an older cat, one who didn't even know him. It almost made him think that what he said was important, so obviously, he kept talking right after he'd processed just what Tequila said. 

When Tequila talked about the clan cats being fine, Falcon almost stopped to think, but kept walking nonetheless. It'd never occurred to him that maybe the clan cats were just... different. Not bad, but different. While he wasn't entirely convinced, it was definitely something to consider seriously, since it was a new viewpoint he'd never really heard of. "I guess you're right," the kit mewed. "They are weird, and my dad doesn't really like them, but I don't wanna be mean. They might not all be bad." He gave a little shrug of his tiny shoulders, thinking hard about this concept of accepting the clan cats for who they were. It was enough to make the little kit really think.

"Whiskey's your family?" That was a concept the kit struggled with, too. All his short life up to this point, he'd only really thought that family was a blood thing, but he could kind of get that Tequila might see a cat that raised him as a family member. "What kinda errands?" was the kit's next question, inquisitive as always. He wasn't really thinking that maybe all the questions could be just a bit intrusive.