Not Another Pretty Face (Stormeh)

[♦ stormeh ♦]

While Fang cast suspicious glances from side to side every so often, a long silence filled the air between him and Muse. Not the he minded, though. He didn't need to start a lenghty conversation with a stranger. But in the back of his mind, he knew that he would at least need to know a few things about her for him to partially trust her when they were traveling together, even when they were bound to find their destination soon.

When she broke the silence, and padded up to his side, he didn't bother to look at her, keeping his serious gaze trained ahead of him, keeping his ears pricked for danger. "I'm going to find a place to stay for a while," he meowed briskly, his tone expressionless. After a few moments, he looked down at her without turning his head, his yellow eyes burning into her. Though within a heartbeat, Fang was staring straight ahead again, tail-tip twitching and an ear flicking every now and then.

Though in truth, Fang didn't even know what to do with Muse. She told him that she had nowhere to go, bu what was he supposed to do about that? Would he find somewhere for her to stay and then leave? Surely it wasn't that simple. Maybe I could find her some twoleg to take her in. He dismissed the thought after a few moments of debating. He didn't know whether or not she would want to be a kittypet. Fang muttered something inaudible under his breath, raking his brain for any solutions.

['a v i <3]

Muse flicked her ear towards Fang, and looked straight ahead. She kept pace with the taller tom, walking quickly to keep up. She watched Fang out of the corner of her, noticing how tense he seemed.

In her own mind, her thoughts raged. She thought about her life, and mostly about Fang. Funny, she thought. Why do I even care about him? Why do I feel like I need to get to know him more? Why? Why am I even traveling with this stranger? But ultimately, why do I feel as if I can trust him?

Cautiously she meowed, "Where do you come from?

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Fang was surprised at Muse's question and frowned inwardly. Why was she even trying to learn more about him? It wasn't as if they'd be traveling together for a moon. Though, in the back of his mind, he actually wasn't that surprised. Even if they wouldn't be together for that long, she still would've had to break the ice somehow. That didn't mean breaking his ice.

A long silence filled the air before he answered. "I... I don't know," he admit, his face darkening in a solemn expression. "I didn't know my father, and my mother..." he trailed off, his lonely memories flooding into his mind, and his voice became softer, "I didn't know her either." Fang blinked, and in that heartbeat, the flash of darkness left his face and he returned to his solitary state.

Part of him felt like he was telling her too much, even though he wasn't. At least, he thought he wasn't. The information he just gave her was barely even information at all; it was merely answering her question. Besides, it wasn't like Muse was going to solve some big puzzle using it. Fang only told her that he never knew his parents; so what? Still, he knew that he had to be careful about how much he told her, just to make sure.

['a v i <3]

The grey tabby listened to him, noticing how his expression darkened as he spoke. She fought the urge to ask more, and decided to let it go and ask something that he maybe more willing to discuss.

She flicked her ears, and mewed aloud, I was never chosen by a two-leg. My mother was a kittypet, and after no one chose me the male two-leg dumped me across two-leg place. But, I don't want to talk more about that so may I ask how old you are?"

The tom looked about her age, and she was honestly just trying to make polite conversation.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

If Fang was interested in Muse's story, he didn't show it. He simlpy listened quietly without interrupting. He had no questions when she changed the subject, since she obviously didn't want to talk about it. Besides, there was no point in pressing her for information she didn't want to share. Her next question made him twitch his whiskers in confusion, but other than that, he was expressionless.

"20 moons..." he murmured, not bothering to try to find out why she had asked that. It wasn't any of his business. But even still, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes in curiosity, briefly glancing at her from the corner of his eye. The way she talked to him; it sounded so confident. Why was she so relaxed with a complete stranger? Her fur wasn't bristling; her ears weren't twitching; her tail wasn't lashing in anxiety. It surprised Fang at the least.

But on the inside, Fang was completely baffled. Why was she even talking to him? Why was she even trying? It surely wouldn't be long before they found some place to stay. He even expected no words to pass between each other through the entire journey - if he could even call it a journey. A journey away from Jake. Though it wasn't all that bad. In fact, Fang felt like he almost liked to talk with Muse, after being alone for so long. It felt nice to be aknowledged by someone of his own kind for once, especially one who was actually pleasant to be around.

['a v i <3]

Muse tilted her ears towards Fang as he spoke, inwardly wondering why he seemed so hesistant to speak to her or answer her questions. Maybe I'm getting annoying? she wondered to herself. She found herself nodding at his response and mummering, "I'm twenty-four moons." She allowed her voice to trail off and began taking in their passing surroundings.

To her left she noticed that they were passing, Mira's two-leg nest. Mira was one of the few nice kitypets that Muse would speak to on the rare occasions that they ran into each other. A noisy barking came from inside, and Muse assumed that Mira was locked in with the annoying two-leg dog.

Glancing to her right, she saw that a few two-legs kept looking at them and pointing thier large forepaws at them, hissing at Fang she said, "Fang! Can we move faster?" She cast a worried glance to the two-legs and started trotting ahead. The last thing she wanted was a two-leg kit to harrass her.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Fang said nothing in reply. What was he supposed to say back, anyway? He inwardly thought of it as a coincidence, but it didn't really matter unless his life depended on it - which it didn't. As they passed more twoleg nests, he saw Muse glancing at a few twolegs a couple ways away from them. He ignored them and walked on, not bothered by them since he always saw them every now and then.

When Muse hissed and brushed ahead of him, his neck fur bristled in fear for a brief moment and he glanced over his shoulder, relieved that no one was behind them except for the twolegs. Rolling his eyes, he muttered something under his breath as he waited for his heart to slow to its original pace. "You're worrying about nothing," he called after her, twitching his tail-tip in slight amusement.

Suddenly, bare paws grasped his sides and he let otu a yelp of surprise as he was lifted into the air. He unsheathed his claws and flailed them around aimlessly, trying to force the attacker into letting go. The "attackers" were the twolegs, who both seemed to be young-adults. The first one was holding him, while the second one watched. Fang tried to twist around, heart pounding against his chest, and bit down on the twoleg's paw. It shrieked in pain and immediately dropped Fang, sending him tumbling to the ground. He recovered his paws quickly and pelted off toward Muse, glancing back to see if they were following them. "Let's go!" he hissed, disappearing behind a corner.

['a v i <3]

Muse bounded alongside Fang, her pelt brushing his slightly. Racing along the two-leg alleys, gave her a taste of danger that she hadn't experienced in moons.

Reaching the edge of the two-leg place, she slowed to a halt, gasping she turned to look at Fang. "Are you okay?!

Her mind raced with concern for the tom, a feeling that she wasn't accustomed too. She couldn't figure out why she cared about this stranger so much, be she did.... She looked up at him, her green eyes shining with concern and awaited his response.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Fang's flanks were heaving by the time they reached a place where they could stop and rest. They had ran so far that, to his surprise, they had arrived at the outskirts of the twolegplace. Trying to catch his breath, he felt dizzy and exhausted. Looking up, half of him expected that Muse had escaped in the opposite direction out of fear. Her words confirmed that he was wrong. He glanced at her, looking her up and down to see if she was fine, which she appeared so.

"I'm fine," he told her. That was a lie, well, a small lie. The twoleg had picked him up rather roughly, but his sides only throbbed a bit, which was probably more from the running he had done. He was perfectly fine other than that. But why does she care? Fang slightly narrowed his eyes at Muse, as if staring at her would give him the answer. Why was she looking at him like that?

Sighing, he walked up to her until he was standing a tail-length away from her. "Trust me," he added seriously, face expressionless. He hesitated for a heartbeat before brushing his tail-tip on her shoulder, as if reassuring her. He was only trying to calm her down, after all. Afterwards, he quickly retrieved his tail and gave his chest a few licks to calm his bristling fur.

['a v i <3]

Tilting her head towards Fang in a dignified manner, Muse stared into his eyes as his tail brushed her shoulder ever so gently. When he began licking his chest fur, she looked around cautiously. Leading from the two-leg place there was a long two-leg path that had fields around it, and in the fields Muse guessed they might fing prey and possibly shelter. "Fang, we could rest there for the night. It'll be dark soon." She spoke while gestering towards the field with her tail. Her fur fluffed up slightly, even though it was Green-leaf some of the nights were still a little chilly, and as Muse drew a deep breathe she could smell water and water didn't help the temperature.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Fang narrowed his eyes slightly more in a suspicious expression as Muse suddenly stared straight into his eyes, causing his whiskers to twitch uncomfortably. Quickly, he turned away to avoid her gaze and took a moment to consider her suggestion. He parted his own jaws to detect any trace of danger, but all he could pick up were faint scents of prey and water; which served as a perfect place to rest.

"Good idea. Let's go - but be careful." Cautiously crossing a small twoleg thunderpath, Fang kept his ears pricked and his senses alert as he made his way toward the fields of long grass. The sky was already darkening, and by the time they settled down somewhere it would be night-time. After crossing the thunderpath, he glanced over his shoulder to see if Muse was following.

The long stalks of grass brushed against his sides as he entered the fields, the scent of prey overwhelming. Muse had a good nose, he reflected inwardly, beginning to think that letting her tag along was a good idea after all. After a few moments of exploring, the grass thinned out into a small clearing, where a small puddle of water lay. It was more dark now, the fading blues in the sky now darkened in a deep orange-purple in a beautiful sunset.

"We'll camp out here for the night," he told her. Feeling his belly rumble, he added, "I'll go hunt for us; stay here." Without waiting for Muse to agree with him, he turned and disappeared into the fields again, jaws parted as he began to search for prey. It was only polite to hunt for a she-cat, but that didn't mean he thought Muse wasn't capable of providing for himself. After the experience with the twolegs, Fang felt like he had to try harder to keep her safe.

['a v i <3]

_Muse

Muse padded slowly after Fang as he crossed the Thunderpath, cautiously looking side to side for approaching monsters. Without speaking she followed him into the field, and stepped up beside him as they found the clearing.

She watched him as he told her to stay here as he went to hunt. With a gentle hurmph, she padded towards the edge of the clearing and poked some of the plants with a paw. Feeling for the softest parts of the stem, she gently nipped them from the plant and after the sun had sunk into the sky she had a small pile.

Slowly she drug the plants over closer to the water puddle, and began making a nest, unfortunately she realized that she didn't break enough plants, so the nest was just a single large one. With a deep sigh, she padded back to the puddle and took a deep long drink, her tongue lapping at the cool water.

Sitting up, she looked around the clearing and inhaled slowly. The field was rich in prey scent, and Muse's mouth watered. She fought the urge to hunt as well, just to show Fang that she was capable of caring for themselves... but there was tomorrow. Tomorrow she would wake up earlier and go hunt.

[♦ stormeh ♦]

A quiet rustling sounded from the opposite direction of where Muse was sitting, followed by the fresh scent of mouse and squirrel. A black figure emerged from the grass, his outline barely visible against the sky as the sun completely sunk below the horizen. Unusually bright, glowing yellow eyes beamed from the darkness, and as the shape neared Muse, three mice and one squirrel was dropped at her paws. "Here. Eat as much as you like, and I'll have left overs."

Fang rolled his aching shoulders for a moment, stretching his legs and his neck before glancing around, senses remaining alert even after the hunt, to make sure no danger would confront them. His gaze met Muse's for a moment, but then moved onto the make-shift nest she had built. His face was expressionless, but he was growing to be somewhat uncomfortable and unsure on the inside. One nest? For the both of them? How would that necassarily work out?

Fang was only beginning to get used to having company, let alone a she-cat, for that. He had always felt hesitant around other cats after losing his family. The memory sent a shiver down his spine as he sheathed and unsheathed his claws into the soft ground. Shaking the thoughts away after a heartbeat, he took the squirrel he had caught and slunk off toward the other end of the clearing, figuring he'd leave Muse to eat in her own peace - which was fine by him.

Looking up at the night sky, the stars were beginning to appear. A few at first, then more, and more, until the entire sky was lit up by beautiful, bright lights. For a moment, Fang lost himself in the shimmering view, quietly biting bits of squirrel off and swallowing them in no hurry. This was nice. He often slept inside boxes, or in some abandoned twoleg nest, so it wasn't often that he got to observe something so wonderous.

['a v i <3]

Muse looked up as Fang stalked into the clearing.
In his mouth he carried a plump squirrel and one
of the biggest mice she had ever seen. She took the
mouse, and him the squirrel and she watched him curiously
as he padded to the other side of the clearing to eat.

Muse ate her mouse slowly, letting it's warm body's
energy flow into her. When she had finished, she licked her lips
and mewed aloud to Fang, "You can have the nest. I prefer the ground."
To further her point, she padded away from the nest, nest
near the strange two-leg plants and turned around three times,
before settling herself on the bare ground.

Slowly she closed her eyes, allowing her exhaustion to over-take
her. She could still hear Fang across the clearing and she found herself
wondering how he would take the nest she had worked so hard
to make. "Goodnight Fang."

[♦ stormeh ♦]

Fang almost didn't hear Muse from the other side of the clearing, and he swiveled his ears around in a puzzled expression. Though, before he could ask to repeat what she'd said, he turned to find her curling up on the ground beside a clump of grass and unusual plants. He watched her for a long time, wondering what to do. He wouldn't take her nest, especially when it appeared as though she worked hard on it, and he wouldn't just kick dirt over it like that.

By the time he quickly gulped his squirrel down and padded over to her, she seemed to be fast asleep. He sighed, and was about to attempt to nudge her over to her nest, when a solid, cold rain-drop splattered on his nose, making him wrinkle it at the icey feeling. Rain? In greenleaf? Well, greenleaf had only began barely a moon ago, so maybe it wasn't that unusual for it to rain. But with each heartbeat, the rain slowly began to thicken, but it wasn't heavy enough to wake Muse. I need to get us out of this before it gets too heavy.

Fang trotted back to the make-shift nest and carefully dragged it into the undergrowth, hopefully going to protect some of it from the rain. He made his way back to Muse, and watched her sleep for a moment, half of him knowing that he was wasting time. She looks so carefree... Gently, he grasped her scruff with his teeth and pulled her onto the nest, tucking her tail in so it wouldn't get wet from the ground. What would he do next? There wasn't any choice, really.

Sighing, Fang slowly climbed into the smaller nest beside Muse, shifting uncomfortably before lightly settling himself down into the soft moss and grass tightly woven together. Oh, god... he worried slightly, thinking that Muse would kick him out. But a part of him knew she wouldn't, not when he was the one who provided for her. His fur barely brushed against Muse's thicker, more long-furred pelt, and for once, the warmth of it made him feel like a kit again, by his mother's side. But this was different. Muse knew who she was, what her name was, and more importantly, who she was with. Fang never had any of that. Hesitantly, he shuffled closer to Muse's side, his flank lightly pressing against hers. He was only trying to keep her and himself warm, after all. But it doesn't feel like that.