PM to join Curiosity Killed the Squirrel, er, Cat (Archailist)

[Shiress]

5th Day
Summer 514
Early Morning

"Shadow. Will. You. Please. Stop!" groaned Shiress, shoving the black feline off the bed for the 100th time.

Shadow, undeterred, simply padded around the bed, and commenced to follow his laid out route of annoyance for the 101st time; up the side of the bed, around Shiress' head, down the opposite side, up between her legs, to finally perch and knead against her chest. All with the loudest purrrr known to ever radiate through a cat's body.

Shiress flung open her eyes, with a defeated sigh, and sat up. "Fine!" she snapped, rubbing what little sleep she had from her eyes, "you win!"

Shadow, sitting back on his haunches at the bottom of the bed, flipped his tail with the up most satisfaction of a job well done. Shiress yawned, slinging back the blanket, and slid herself from the bed, scooping the plump Shadow in her arms as she passed by.

Pulling open the apartment door, she gave her feline a scratch behind the ear, before dropping him to the corridor floor. "Go torment someone else for awhile" she mumbled, as the door snapped closed.

Shuffling back across the floor, she made her way to the hearth, and, with another wide yawn, placed a fresh log on the fire. After healthy flames sparked, and began licking the bottom of a water-filled cauldron, she made her way back to the bed and fell into the blankets again, hoping for just a little bit of uninterrupted sleep.

Rude awakening indeed.

~Shiress~

Some women are lost in the fire ~ Some are built from it

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

There were very few things that could catch a squirrel at full-sprint. Especially Archailist. He'd been running through the streets for most of his life, even if they weren't technically the same streets as the ones he currently slipped through.. it didn't matter. The rules were always the same: keep to the edges. The darkest corners were those least-tread by the humans, and therefore the safest for the Pycon to traverse. By sticking to the edges, he could bypass the majority of the heavy traffic with near-ease. The only times he needed to brave the crowds was where he needed to cross the street to slip down a particular alley. And even that came as a pretty easy feat. All he needed to do was keep his eyes open and his senses open; the particular whiff of feet, a glance at a boot, and he was away before the heel even touched the ground. Heck, if he could dodge punches, he could dodge feet. Not that there was ever a fighter that used anything except their feet. Unimaginative bunch, humans.

Given all of his time around them.. learning from them, fighting and talking.. he felt that he completely understood humans. Well, most of the time he did. Occasionally one in particular would rise with a whole different view on the world, a whole different set of customs that the change would make the squirrels head spin for a few moments. But he could still relate to the majority of them.. last several sentences without insulting most of them and befriend a few. He could certainly fight the best of them and understand their moves. He could easily survive a few bells of training or sparring with one of them. Now all he needed to do was repeat the same process with the other races around the world. Then he might be able to survive without being used as a fresh copse, or worse; a slave.

He passed a few glances here and there while sprinting through the streets but little else. He needed to make it to the Fighters Pits on time and if he didn't, most likely Fist would find a different way to entertain herself and the squirrel would be left waiting an extra few days before his next training session. He didn't want that. So he decided to take a short-cut, and once he rounded the next corner and slipped into a disused alley, he gripped tightly onto the stonework of the building with both paws. His claws didn't really sink into it.. but they certainly looked like it, as the clay spread slowly to increase the surface area and worm into the individual crevices between the stones, as well as in the stones themselves. After he'd found a suitable purchase, it was almost easy to climb up and grip firmly to the masonry as he adjusted himself, and rearranged the clay in his body so that all of it pressed into the wall as much as he was able.

Once he reached the roof, he sat and prepared to rearrange the clay a second time, and reshape it back into its usual configuration.. when he found himself suddenly faced with a peculiar beast. He was sure that he'd seen such things before, living alongside humans as pets, much like dogs but much different as well.

[Shiress]

As soon as Shadow's paws hit the floor, he galloped down the long corridor and out through the entrance door. A warm breeze gently stirred his raven black fur, as Shadow padded over to a spied patch of sunlight on the sidewalk, his blue eyes curiously searching his surroundings, as purr tumbled in his throat.

As his fluffy tail curled tightly around his plump figure, Shadow contently sat, licking a paw and swiping the back of an ear, when he froze in mid lick. A flicker of movement, stolen from the corner of an eye, made him leap to his paws, his head jerking around in the direction of the small creature. Dropping to a low crouch, he fixed his unblinking eyes in a hard glare at the bird.. no .. a squirrel!

Shadow's ears flattened against his head, as the creature shot across the road in front of him. Still crouched, his chest gliding closely to the ground, he followed, snaking across the stoned path, around the corner of a tall wall, and came to a stop, eyes still locked on the squirrel intently, the tip of his tail twitching eagerly. He slid into the alley as the squirrel scurried up the wall, and then bounded excitedly around the building where missing stones formed a perfect set of stairs for the cat to climb.

Crouching, he wiggled his hind-end, ever so cutely, and leapt up to the step, pausing a tick to lick a pricked paw, before leaping again to a windowsill. Stepping back slightly, he launched himself to the roof, his back legs scrabbling against the building, as he hauled himself up.

Shadow slinked across the edge of the roof, quiet as a, well, shadow, his steps precise and stealth. Lifting his head, he attempted to drink in the delicious scent of the squirrel, but something was off, something was odd. The scent he pulled in was not that of a squirrel, and his hunting instincts was instantly replaced by curiosity. The creature looked like a squirrel, walked like a squirrel, even climbed like one, but it smelled like nothing the cat ever had smelled before.

The feline crept closer, his blue eyes widening with anticipation, as he approached, but, hesitating to pounce, Shadow sat back on his haunches, tilted his head, and just glared at the thing, quite unsure what to make of it.

After a short time, the cat swatted an unarmed paw playfully at the creature, and then bounded around to the other side and swatted again. Finally growing bored, Shadow lowered himself down, looking distracted, and dared the squirrel to move.

If he couldn't eat the thing, he'd at least play with it awhile.

OOCCredit goes to my daughter for writing this post. She's a Warrior Cat's RP'er and wanted to write Shadow. Not bad for 12 years old, huh? *smiles proudly*

~Shiress~

Some women are lost in the fire ~ Some are built from it

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

oocThat's awesome! I loved it, she's really good. c:

There were a few moments of very awkward silence. He didn't know what to do, really - he'd never met a cat before, and he didn't know what they did. Dogs were a little easier to control because he had one as a companion, so he knew... how to ride them. Little else, but at least he knew something. As for cats, like the one that sat before him.. he didn't know what he was supposed to do. Were they dangerous to squirrels, clay or otherwise? Should he just play dead and hope for the best, that it'd leave him alone.. or should he try to show his authority or something, scare it off? Ignore it, and let it find something better to do.. or he could try to make friends. He wasn't sure how one could make friends with a squirrel but he could certainly try anyway - it'd be worth a shot. He was about to take a step closer, when the cat did that for him.. with large eyes staring down at him. It was intimidating!

Where had the thing come from, anyway.. he'd not seen many cats around the city, but perhaps that was because they acted like him - hiding away in the dark alleys and the shadows to avoid being stepped on by horses and people. It would have to be a good climber to follow him up the sides of a building..

He barely had much longer to think on the subject. Just as he'd wondered about making friends with the thing, it made a swipe at him! The squirrel hopped back a step as it swiped a second time, but the thing was pretty fast.. it circled around in long, elastic leaps to block off his chances of escape. His fists instinctively lifted to press against his chest, ready to hopefully block.. or run away, if he could find an opening. It looked like the thing was giving him an opening to make a move.. but he hesitated to take it. Was the thing stupid enough to let its 'prey' escape.. or was it smarter than it looked. Surely not - it was just a pet of humans, while the squirrel was an independent creature that got.. well, some respect. More than a pet did, anyway. He immediately turned and bolted around the cat, his stomach nearly brushing the edges of the roof with every step right up until he reached the nearby ledge.

It was a race. He just needed to get far away from the cat that he'd be able to slip, undetected, back into the crowds and escape it. The small gap between the houses was almost easy to cross, but immediately afterwards he turned back to see if the cat would follow. He needed to know just what this thing was capable of..

[Shiress]

Shadow sprung to his paws, his blue eyes glaring at the squirrel, as it darted across the roof.

He allowed the creature to gain a slight advantage, before pelting after it, his shoulder blades surfacing in turn, his tail held high, as he ran, crouched, in steady pursuit.

With muscles rippling beneath his sleek fur, the cunning feline snapped his jaws together a hair away from the squirrel's tail, and swatted, but missed, barely brushing the creatures hind leg. Seeing the chase pause, the cat skidded to a steady halt, crouching even lower, his tail now swiping across the stone floor of the roof, menacingly.

Bowing his head, Shadow stepped slowly forward into a patch of weak sunlight, his pupils narrowing into thin slits as the rays washed across his face, his fur bristling. When the strange creature began to turn, the cat, sensing the slightest movement, reacted instinctively. Upon turning fully, the squirrel would see Shadow airborne, in mid pounce, his thorn sharp claws unsheathed, and fangs bared.

~Shiress~

Some women are lost in the fire ~ Some are built from it

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

His plan had some weaknesses. The largest one being that he expected to be the more agile one of them both. It was always true for creatures larger than he was. They could run faster, cover more ground.. but when it came to their actual attacks, he could see them coming a mile away. He could roll underneath them, hop left and right.. all that stuff. He was a squirrel, after all. He was the best of them all. Except.. he wasn't. In his sprint, he couldn't get away fast enough, and Shadow had a longer stride - the cat had the advantage. Although he couldn't see the cat, he could feel the attempts on his life through the ghosts of air running over his clay tail and legs - they just made him even more nervous. If I don't find a way to either face this cat or get away, it's going to squish me or bite me to pieces.

When it al stopped.. when he heard the patter of paws on the rooftop come to a stop; he thought he was safe. The cat must have found something better to torture or it simply grew disinterested. He thought it'd be safe to stop and turn around, but he was dead-wrong. There'd be no chance to turn and run now.. no opportunity to leap off to the side and let the cat crash down. He could see it all happening but he couldn't do anything to stop it - his body would be too slow. The one option even available to him was to fight back. So, he raised a paw, curled into a fist, to slam right into the side of the cats face. He could scare it away if he got a hard, solid punch into its cheek.. maybe a handful of whiskers on the way out to make sure that it knew who its boss was.

The fist got around half-way through its arc before the full weight of the cat, focused into two outstretched paws, slammed into his chest and knocked all wind from his tiny body in the process. Thankfully they only slammed into his torso and not his head, where the nexus was located. The claws were left to sink deep into the clay with sharp pricks of pain spiking through the squirrels body. All of it was mostly surprising, rather than painful.. but when his back collided with the ground, and his head with the stone at the edge of the roof.. that was painful. He could have sworn he saw stars flashing in his vision, coloured in various hues, before a wave of black rolled over them and he passed into unconsciousness - his slightly-squished clay body falling limp under the paws of the feline. Although, he'd never know.

He'd been bested, by the cat. For now. Sooner or later, he'd have his revenge, though.

[Shiress]

Shadow glared down at the unconscious squirrel, his blue eyes wide with curiosity. Lowering his head, the cat sniffed at it's side a tick, then, lifting a paw, he dabbed at it playfully.

Sitting back on his haunches, and feeling a bit disappointed, Shadow shook his paw vigorously, before running his sandpaper-like tongue across it. The feel of the foreign material of the squirrel's body had caught the cat off guard, and instantly heightened his curiosity. Jumping to his paws, the feline circled his prey, swatting at it, his back arching, with a swift bound sideways, trying again to get it to move, to spring into another run, but yet again, his attempt was futile.

Figuring it was over, Shadow sniffed at it once more, and then, gently, he closed his jaws around the squirrels neck and pranced away.Proudly, he climbed down the building, galloped across the street. This was a kill for his master to see for sure! She'll be so proud!


Padding softly up to the apartment, the cat dropped the squirrel at his paws, and clawed at the door.

MRRROOOWWW

On the other side of the door, Shiress was sleeping soundly in her bed. That is, until the loud, obnoxious call rang out. With a groan she rolled over, attempting to ignore the feline.

MRRROOOWWW

Shiress' green eyes snapped open, as she flung back her blanket, and, with a jerk, she hauled herself from the bed. "I never knew a cat could be so petching demanding!" she growled, marching to the door and wrenching it open. "Would you make up your..." Shiress' reprimand trailed off with a squeal and a quick jump backwards. "No! No! No! Shadow, don't you dare!" she warned, moving forward again and waving her arms to shoo the feline back. Shadow, however, wasting no time with arguing, picked up his kill and padded into the apartment, slid quickly under the bed and lowered himself down, tucking his legs beneath him, his tail flipping contently, as the squirrel fell from his mouth.

Shiress covered her face with her hands and sighed "I will not be cleaning up squirrel guts today, Shadow!"

Kneeling down, the girl reached under the bed, grabbed the squirrel's tail between two fingers, and drug it away from the cat. Standing up again, she held the tiny, limp body out before her, studying it closely with a sour expression, but the more the girl looked at the squirrel, the more her expression grew curious. The creature was cool to the touch and...squishy.

Holding the clay now in both hands, she pressed into it with her fingertips and glanced to Shadow, who now was stretched out across the bed "Where did you find this?" she inquired, laughing "it's just a toy you silly kitty!" Shaking her head, Shiress tossed the clay toy on the bed near Shadow, who looked on the edge of a well deserved nap, and stepped away.

"and here I thought you had something alive.."

~Shiress~

Some women are lost in the fire ~ Some are built from it

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Strangely, he found himself floating. Or at least, it felt like he was. In a black space with nothing else in it. For some bizarre reason, the first thing that became seriously concerning was that he couldn't feel the air. A lot of the time, people talked about how they never really understood just how much they missed something until it was gone. And the same went for air. He didn't bother asking why he was in such a black space, unmoving and unfeeling, not even breathing but thinking such strange thoughts. Concerns flicked in and out of his mind in disconnected ribbons of light; the only things that really kept him together, despite the fact that they were not. I wonder where my parents are. That cat was a dream. No wait, no it wasn't. Am I still a squirrel? I can't see it, therefore I can't be one.

And then, inexplicably, everything clicked. "Wait. Why AM I here?" And just like that, he wasn't. The first thing that hit him was confusion - disorientation. Partly because of the sudden spinning of the world, and partly because of the sudden spinning of his mind. Everything seemed to fade and reappear again so fast that his body couldn't keep up and when it could, what little it had was snatched away again in a flurry of motion as he found himself dropped onto a solid substance. From the void that he'd left, it felt like he'd fallen off the edge of a mountain. His nexus reconnected itself to his eyes and he found himself.. under a bed, with someone shouting above. The cat was still there, and he knew that any movement would earn him another beating. So, he did.. what little he could, and remained perfectly still. The cat didn't seem to make another move, thank goodness.

However, a large hand did, which reached under the bed and looped around his tail to lift him. And suddenly, a person was there, examining him. Is she the owner of this cat? Was this cat trained to come and fetch me.. or something else entirely? By the noises that the girl kept making, she clearly wasn't very happy; he was terrible at reading human expressions but the best words to describe it would likely be a mixture of horrified and disgusted. Not that she looked to be so great herself. Apart from the hair and the eyes, which looked pretty well kept, there were still plenty of scars quite visible over her pale skin.

He had to avoid wrinkling his nose when she began unabashedly exploring his body with her fingertips, pressing here and there. He didn't want to frighten her, so he kept his comments to himself. Although, when he found himself carelessly tossed aside and branded as nothing more than a toy, he had to really resist the urge to get up again.. of course, under the eyes of that damnable cat, he couldn't move a muscle. Goodness knew how that would end. No no.. he needed to be discreet, and quiet. He'd wait for the cat to fall asleep or leave or something.. and for the woman to get out.. and he'd crawl back out of the house, never touch a thing, and be on his way. The last thing he wanted to do, right then, was cause a fuss. If anything, he'd be happy to just get home, to his dorm, and sleep the whole experience off.

[Katelyn Marks]

Due Rewards

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

― Philip Pullman

Shiress

Skill	EXP
Observation	+1

Lores

➢ Shadow: A Persistent Feline

Archailist

Skill	EXP
Observation	+3
Unarmed Combat: Pyken	+1
Running	+1
Climbing	+1
Acrobatics	+1
Acting	+1

Lores

➢ Climbing: Scaling a Vertical Wall
➢ Cats: Intimidating Creatures
➢ Acting: Playing Dead

Comments

Note :

Sorry that I couldn't do more. I awarded what I could.

If you have any concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message.