[ti]Private[/ti]Far From Home

[ladyspectral]

The two leg dens towered above her, and the monsters the two legs themselves drove in lazily wandered past every now and then. Luckily enough, they were all far too busy to take note of the small black and white she cat wandering among them, green eyes wide in wonder as she continued. Burrs and scents from the forest covered her lithe body, denoting exactly where she was from and her status as an outsider. Her hips jutted out somewhat, signs of the toll the winter took on her body.

Larchflight didn't seem to notice or care about the odd looks the occasional kitty pet gave her as she passed their fences, unused to seeing a forest cat within their territory. She was out of the forest, and while she was sure her clan would be furious she couldn't find herself caring too much. She had always dreamed of a grand adventure, and she was surely just on the cusp of finding one. She could feel the world at the tips of her paws, all she had to do was reach out and grab it before it escaped like a frightened bird. It made her head spin with excitement, and her pawsteps unsteady with her glee. Enough to make her forget where she was, and where she was going.

As the lost black and white she cat wandered down the strangely smooth and solid stone path, she paused, head swiveling around. The curling roads had been confusing, but as she looked up at the two leg dens it dawned upon her they all looked the same as the one down the street. The scents were unfamiliar at best, and she could hear a dog barking from within one of the dens as it welcomed it's two leg with enthusiastic vocalizations. The sound sent chills up her spine, fur along her spine fluffing up.

Anxiety crept into her as she picked up her pace, recalling the kithood warnings about a wandering monster that hunted cats without collars with the aid of it's two leg companions. It was unknown where they were taken off to, just that the unfortunate warriors were often never seen again.

As she heard the faint rumble of a distant monster she began to search the fences, sniffing frantically at them to find one she could scramble atop of or crawl under, free of any trace of dog scent. A startled hiss erupted from the young Larchflight as she came muzzle to muzzle with one, staggering back and nearly falling onto the sidewalk as it snarled and barked at her from between the thin wooden boards.

silverfang218

[silverfang218]

Benny had been strolling along, minding his own business; he liked to walk along the tops of some of the fences. The nice ones were relatively easy to walk across, and they offered a better view and less chance of being stepped on by housefolk than if he was on the ground. Some fences were less nice, being difficult to walk on, painful to the pads of one’s paws, or both. Either way, Benny kept walking along, his amber gaze surveying the world around him.

It had been a good day so far; he had spent his early morning with Swift and her kits, though they are not truly kits any longer he supposes. It seemed only yesterday that Swift had stumbled across him, desperate, hungry, and heavy with kits. Even then, she had been beautiful. Snippy, but beautiful. Her kits had come just afterwards, and they had just lit up his life ever since.

Yes, this had been a good day.

His ears barely even registered the sound of an approaching monster. He wasn’t on the road and the housefolk wouldn’t pester him so long as he had a collar on and was up here, and even if they did, his owners would come get him. It wouldn’t be the first time that happened. The scent of dog was relatively strong in this area, as was the smell of other cats, yet that wasn’t uncommon. The dogs wouldn’t both him up on the fence either, and there were always plenty of housecats around this area.

Wait.

The scent of forest cat caught his attention, and his eyes turned towards the sound of a dog barking and a cat’s hiss. He catches sight of the black and white cat who clearly did not have a collar and wouldn’t be safe if the monster that he was hearing was indeed the one that liked to catch stray cats. If the outsider waited to find out, they’d lose their chance to get away, and Benny had no idea what happened to captured cats that didn’t have owners. The lithe Bengal hops down off his perch, landing lightly on his feet.

He calls out to this forest cat, “Hey, it’s not very safe here if you don’t have a collar. Follow me; I’ll take you somewhere that the uh.. Twolegs won’t take you away.” He gestures with his tail and turns, as if going to run off, before glancing back at them to make sure they will follow. He also wants to make sure they don’t pounce on him. Wouldn’t be the first time that happened. Swift sure did tear into him that day. He didn’t fear the forest cat, but he had every reason to be a bit cautious. Didn’t stop him from wanting to help them, though.

[ladyspectral]

Larchflight's head snapped toward Benny, the petrified cat snapping back to reality as she staggered up. "H-hey, wait-!" She called after him, finally getting to her feet and chasing after the kittypet tom cat. "Where are we going?" She asked as she followed along, voice shaking as she glanced back toward the dog that still barked at the two. The monster made it to the corner behind them, the blue beast continuing on as if it hadn't even noticed the two cats.

Briefly she wondered what her mother would say, her brother even. She knew they were in Starclan, though she feared what they would think if they were watching. That didn't begin to cover Olivenose...

The thought faded just as quickly as it came, and she snapped back to reality. "Thank you!" She quickly meowed, seeming to somewhat relax as the monster's rumbling faded into the distance once again.

[silverfang218]

Benny breathed a silent sigh of relief that the wild she-cat followed him. The kindhearted kittypet would feel just awful if he witnessed another cat get caught or hurt. He leads his new companion down the street just a little ways and around a corner where the housefolk in the monster wouldn’t be able to see them. Benny never even acknowledged the dog; the beast was on the other side of the fence, and therefore wasn’t a threat to the cats.

The kittypet passively watches the monster go by; it didn’t look like the one that takes cats away, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s seen other housefolk pick up random cats off the street. Better safe than sorry. “I just wanted to get us out of sight from that monster. Sometimes there are twolegs that pick up cats without collars, and you don’t have one.” Benny really prefered the name ‘housefolk,’ but most wild cats he’s known use ‘twolegs’. It’s… well it’s an accurate name.

Benny waves her thanks off with his tail. “No problem. You can call me Benny; what’s your name?.” Now that all danger has passed, Benny takes a moment to look over this stranger. His eyes note the fact that the she-cat’s hips jut out. It makes sense; hunting is much harder in the winter. “I can take you to a place that has food- and before you say anything about ‘kittypet slop,’ no. I’m talking about better food than that.” He chuckles, recalling that most wild cats turn up their noses at kittypet food. Benny too prefers the taste of fresh meat, though he usually gets meat from certain kind housefolk that he knows in town. “And what brings you to town, may I ask?” The Bengal tom smiles, seeming relaxed and full of easy confidence. The stranger has proven that she’s not hostile simply by following after Benny, so he’s not at all concerned about being in the presence of a wild cat.

[ladyspectral]

Larchflight sat down on her haunches, hunched over and head lowered as she caught her breath and frantically gathered her scattered thoughts. For the first time in her life she longed for familiarity, hating the artificial looking trees the two legs had bent to their will. Her thoughts drifted to the warning her elders always told her, time after time when she continued to leave camp as a kit. It was a true wonder she wasn't carried off by a hawk or a fox.

"Collars...? The tings kittypets wear around their necks, the thing that sometimes jingles?" She asked, imagining the sound of jingling, never ending and forever following her around. A fate worse than death. She finally caught her breath again, head raising as she looked up at the tom. Benny, a strange name. But kittypets always had strange names that described nothing about them. Unless of course the twolegs called them something like 'Cloud', a more sensible name by far in her opinion at least. But she decided not to question it further, summing it up to some strange twoleg habit. "I'm Larchflight, of Ivyclan. We live over in the forest, with Mothclan and Mistclan." She meowed in explanation.

Her heart stopped at the offer of food, and she could almost hear her ancestors yowling at her to refuse. But, it was something she had never tried before... What was the harm, as long as nobody found out? "Is it the hard pellets the twolegs like to put out sometimes?" She asked skeptically, eying the bengal tom suscpiciously. "Well, it's something I haven't tried before. As long as my clan doesn't find out, even if it is the pellets... And I came down to see new things. Usually my clanmates bury them, though I've been curious about the obvious appeal. I guess I'm a bit more open minded." She paused at his second question, meowing, "I like wandering, and eventually you see enough trees and rocks to last a lifetime. It gets boring after a few moons of the same thing day in and day out, I suppose."

[silverfang218]

“Yes, the things around our necks that sometimes jingle.” Benny confirms, a slight smile spreading across his face as he can easily guess the horror in his companion’s mind at the thought of wearing a collar. He blinks in surprise at Larch’s name, realizing that she has a clan cat’s name even before she confirms it. His surprise deepens at the name of ‘MothClan’. He was familiar with MistClan and IvyClan, his mate being formerly from Mist and having met a lost warrior from Ivy a long time ago. MothClan, however, must be new. “It’s nice to meet you, Larchflight. Rather unusual to see a clan cat here; I know a bit about IvyClan and MistClan. Is MothClan the one that lives near the border of town? A rather unfriendly group.” He recalls an unfortunate run in with a warrior just outside town.

He laughs at the thought that he would bring his companion the pellet food that wild cats so often turn up their noses at. Nah, he had something better in mind. “I figured you would prefer meat, though if you’d rather have the hard pellets, I’m sure I could find some of that too. Actually, I know several friendly twolegs that would be more than happy to give us something a bit closer to freshkill.” He thinks that’s the word that clan cats use for their food, anyways. Admittedly, he likes this young cat; he easily relates to her need to experience everything. While he rarely adventures too far outside of town (mostly because he’s afraid he will get lost and because his mate would surely kill him), his constant wanderings in and around town have gotten him into more trouble than he’s willing to admit.

The slender tom turns slightly, motioning for Larch to follow with his tail. He continues speaking as he walks, attempting to explain. “I think the obvious appeal is that many of us kittypets have never had anything else, and just the fact that the pellets are free food. Most kittypets can’t hunt, and those of us who can usually aren’t all that good at it, so the easiest and most secure source of food for us are the twolegs. We are just stuck with whatever they decide to give us, though I admit I do like the taste of freshkill much better.” He chuckles.

[ladyspectral]

Larchflight visibly shuddered at the thought of the bell. "It sounds awful, constantly making noise where ever you decide to go. Maddening at best." The black and white she cat meowed. She gave her paw a quick lick, going to swipe it over her head to help smooth the fur along the back of her neck."Yes, they're one of the clans. They only really formed after we got here, it was... weird. A few Ivyclan cats joined, I think. They're focused on fighting more than anything, and they have the territory closest to town. Passing through was terrifying at best... I don't look forward to going back."

"Whatever would easiest. I came here to experience different things, even if my clan mates would be furious with me. I'm sure Emberfoot is hissing at me from Starclan. She was my mother." She explained, pausing as she listened. "Wait, the kitty pets here can't hunt? At least, not with the noise maker attached to their necks. That thing would scare off any prey they even tried to catch. What if the two legs decide not to feed them one day? Not that yours would, but how do you understand their intentions?" She asked, the young cat's voice growing with horror at the thought.

"The two legs won't attack us, right? I don't like anything I can't understand, and I never have any idea what they're saying." She explained, rising up from her haunches.

[silverfang218]

Benny’s collar has a metal tag, but not a bell; it makes a soft ting sound whenever he moves in certain ways, but it isn’t a constant sound and it is nowhere as loud as a bell. “I would have to agree with you on the bells. They would get awfully annoying after a while. I suppose cats get used to it.”

“There are a lot of kittypets who don’t know how to hunt at all, with or without the bell. They simply have never needed to learn, as they have never had to feed themselves.” Benny explains, “If a twoleg decides to stop feeding their kittypet, or if the kittypet runs away or gets lost, then that could be a big problem for said kittypet. Hopefully they can find a new twoleg to take them in. Some of us can hunt, but I for one don’t hunt often enough anymore to stay in practice. I’m sure I could still catch something if I was desperate, but it would be difficult.” The kittypet gives Larch a slight smile.

“It is really hard to read twolegs; I know my twolegs pretty well, as I’ve lived with them for a long time and they helped me from a difficult situation. Because of the way they treated me after they rescued me and how they’ve treated me ever since, I’m pretty sure they have good intentions. I’ve also seen them help other cats. Not all twolegs are that way; you just kinda gotta guess based on their behavior.” He explains. Benny has seen the best and the worst of housefolk, and he has to agree that housefolk are a mystery. It’s simply impossible to know whether they are good or bad until you interact with them for an extended period of time.

At Larchflight’s concern at whether or not the housefolk may attack them, Benny gives her a bright, reassuring smile. “I've lived with them long enough that I can somewhat understand their gestures and some simple words; don’t worry though, I highly doubt any twoleg would attack us. Some might want to pet us, but as long as you stay behind me, they shouldn’t mess with you. I would also recommend staying away from the uh twoleg kits. They won’t do you any real harm, but if you stray too close, they might choose to grab at your fur or tail.”

Benny leads her around a corner, down an alley, and towards the back door of a building. The building smells of all kinds of different meats and housefolk, and there is the sound of a large person moving around just inside the door. Benny trots right up to the door, though he turns and looks over his shoulder at his companion. “I would stay a little ways back, unless you are okay with a twoleg wanting to touch your fur.” Benny warns with an apologetic smile. He’s never known a clan cat to willingly allow housefolk to pet them, with the exception of Swift; even so, it had taken Swift a very, very long time to warm up to people.

He waits for Larch to either back a safe distance away or say that she’s cool with housefolk before he rears up with his front paws on the back door of this awesome smelling building and lets out a loud meow. The commotion inside pauses, before a large male opens the door which causes Benny to hop away from the swinging door. The housefolk lets out a loud exclamation towards the tom. Benny purrs in response, allowing the large twoleg to lean down and roughly pet him. With a pat on the head, the housefolk disappears back inside the building.

Benny’s tail flicks back and forth as he turns back to his companion. “He’s going to get us food.” The kittypet explains, “He’ll be right back.”

[ladyspectral]

Larchflight sniffed at the air at the scent of meat, blinking. She jerked back in shock as the massive two leg swung the door open, flattening herself against the wall behind her with a low hiss. Her ears pressed back against her skull, an unhappy sound coming from her as it pet at her companion rather roughly, but the feral cat relaxed as the giant creature left. "Did that hurt?" She asked, hurrying over to Benny to give him a concerned sniff. "He was so close to your neck, his... paw things could have really hurt you. Why do they touch you like that?" The curious clan cat meowed out a barrage of questions, flinching at the new and unfamiliar scent on the bengal tom.

"I guess it can't hurt, if it wants to. If it tries anything I'm going to claw it's arms to scraps, though." She concluded as she found no signs of injuries on her newfound friend and guide. "I'll just have to find something smelly to hide the scent, I guess. I'll tell my clan I slipped in it or something. Does that sound reasonable?" The she cat shook somewhat with what could only be assumed to be adrenaline at the mere thought of allowing a two leg to even come near her. But the adrenaline addicted she cat couldn't find any reason not to, after all Benny said it was safe. He knew the two legs better than she did.

"It just... Leans down and touches your fur? Why do they do that? Is it like grooming or something? Do they do it to each other?" The black and white she cat inhaled sharply, pausing,"Wait, do they know we aren't two legs?" The question lingered in her mind, considering if the creatures mistook cats for their own kits.

[silverfang218]

Benny gives his companion a reassuring smile as his companion rushes to his side to see if he’s hurt. “No worries, I’m fine. This particular twoleg is big and strong, so he’s sometimes a little rough, but he doesn’t want to hurt me. They call it ‘petting,’ and I think twolegs do that because they like the feel of our fur. It doesn’t hurt; it actually feels rather good.” He explains. At the thought that Larch would have to hide her scent, Benny chuckles, “I think you should hide the scent either way; I imagine it’s not too difficult to pick out the scent of kittypet.” At Larch’s question about whether or not the excuse of falling in something would explain the scent, Benny shrugs. “Whenever I try to make an excuse, I get caught and my mate gets mad at me, so I’m the worst cat to ask for advice there.” He chuckles.

“Yup, they just lean down and run their paw down your fur.” Benny snorts at the idea that housefolk don’t know the difference between cats and their own kits. “I think they know the difference. They should anyways; I feel like we would make rather odd looking twoleg kits, but maybe that’s just me.”

The door swings open again, and the large man steps out. He leans down and roughly pats Benny on the head as he puts a piece of raw pork on ground in front of the cats. The man then extends a hand towards Larchflight as he makes a comment to Benny, though the man doesn’t just start petting this strange cat. That’s just asking to get bit.

“He’s letting you smell his hand or rub on it.” Benny explains. The Bengal tom gently rubs his head against the man’s hand with a loud purr. As he takes a step back, he mews, “It’s alright if you don’t want him to touch you. We can go if you want.” The tom smiles reassuringly to Larch.