Life is Like Climbing a Tree (Open)

by **Ageru** on February 13th, 2011, 7:53 am

39 of Winter, 510 AV

Being lost wasn’t all too bad, everyone gets lost sometimes… The cat was just trying to reassure himself of that fact. Yeah, especially when you don’t know the land to begin with, and so are left to just wander, aimlessly, here and there and most likely everywhere. Though he longed to run into some kind of settlement, contact, and someone to talk to was something he yearned for. Being away from people wasn’t the best idea for any kelvic, and defiantly not him. He needed someone to talk to, to keep company, to touch, and not having the needed amount of attention was killing him inside.

He smiled, laughing inwardly at himself, he didn’t know how much of an attention whore he was until everything was taken from him. It was kind of ironic really. All this time, all his life, he has dreamed of being free and now that he is he finds himself miserable. It was like being a slave was good for him or something. Although even he wasn’t fool enough to say slavery was good, he just needed something to do twenty for seven, something to keep him occupied and not bored. Being bored, like this, was the state of mind he hated the most. At least when he was being beat he wasn’t bored. The feline couldn’t believe the thoughts that crossed his mind as he trudged along the forest with no set goal in mind. It was horrible and kind of scared him sometimes.

The day was about to end, he noticed that darkness was slowly starting to creep in, creep around him and enter the woods. He wasn’t afraid of the dark, no, just what was in it. He was just a cat after all, no special skills in slaying the things that go bump in the night, and so he found a nice tree. Yes, a tree. It was the perfect defense to the predators that stalked the ground at night and if he climbed high enough nothing, or so he thought, would be able to get at him.

Grinning at the tree he found a branch that was just at grabbing height if he jumped, and doing do he latched onto the branch and put his bare feet to the bark of the tree. Using his feet and arms as leverage he slowly, and kind of awkwardly, eventually pulled himself up. Not very graceful that was for sure, but it got the job done. Once up he hugged the tree as he stood up on the branch, he had to get higher, and so looked for the next branch to grab onto.

by **Mekotsu Hellborn** on February 13th, 2011, 8:05 am

Feeling a bit hungry, she wandered through the woods riding a top her horse as her hood covered her face. Looking around through the tree tops trying to find any scrap of food, but it seemed that all the animals were asleep. She reached over into the satchel that hung around her and pulled out her water container and took a sip of it then wiped her lips and put it away.

After a while she saw an owl sitting atop a tree branch. Grabbed an arrow quietly from the quiver on her back, she pulled it back against the string on the bow aiming at the owl. The arrow shot into the owls neck as it fell to the ground then jumped off her horse and picked up the owl and pulled the arrow out.

She then heard breathing of someone nearby and pulled out another arrow just incase. "Who's there?" Her soft voice echo'd slightly through the night air.

by **Ageru** on February 13th, 2011, 8:36 am

Quickly finding another branch to grab onto he took it and found another branch to use as a foot hold as he pulled himself up onto the second branch. Finding it not high enough he looked for another branch only to spot one just out of reach. Annoying, but could be solved easily by jumping! Was he that crazy, of course he was. His survival depended on this… The only problem that he could find was getting down, but that wasn’t important right now and so he made his leap. He jumped and grabbed onto the branch. A hand slipping off the branch, he let out a surprised and frightened yell as he hung onto the branch with one hand. He just dangled there for a second glad that he hadn’t quite fallen.

Grunting a little he reached up with his the failed hand and grasped onto the branch once more. Now holding it with both hands he smiled, he was good, he was great, and he mentally patted himself on the back. Now doing what looked like a pull up as soon as his chin went above the branch he tried to slid his arms further over the branch to come around and hug its bottom, but being startled by the voice asking who was there he was distracted and stopped breathing. Had he been spotted by some hunter? By some slaver? Whatever was in the dark he didn’t want to know, and really didn’t care. Lowing his breath to a shallow breathing he hung there, suspended, as he waited for the person to pass.

He hoped the person would just move on. It would be easier for him. Though most of the time when a person hears something or suspects foul play they investigate and are rather rash about it. If he was really quiet he could possibly be passed over, be overlooked. So he quietly as possible tried again to lift himself up on the branch. There was more of a chance of him being spotted if he just hung there. If he could just get up there and stick, hug, the trunk of the tree he would be fine. Or that was his plan at least.

So finally getting up on that danged branch he smiled in relief that this part is working out so far. He pushed his back against the tree and tried to look like the tree hoping the shadows would help him in his endeavors. His breath still shallow he listened, straining his hearing, for the person to pass and leave. It was getting late and he didn’t know what this person was or their intentions. Its best, at this time of day, that they are left unknown.

by **Mekotsu Hellborn** on February 13th, 2011, 8:52 am

Her breathing almost stopped as she tried to listen to the forest around her. Then hearing as if someone was walking on wood her eyes shifted over to the noise. She took in a large breath as the wind blew by picking up his scent, it seemed close to hers, could it be one of her own kind?, she was banished when she was young so she didn't know to many of her kind. Placing the arrow back in the quiver and took it off placing it around the horses neck and put her bow next to the tree then patted the horses nose.

Jumping up into the tree, some of the leaves fell off and drifted to the ground. Her blue eyes scanned the shadows in the tree tops, she was well adjusted to the night. She was skilled in tree climbing so this wasn't an issue for her. Leaping from one branch to another she soon landed on the branch he was and stood up right looking opposite of him. Her hood still covered her so he was unable to see her face. Hearing his breath her head quickly looked to him, as a low growl rumbled from her chest. She slowly walked toward him till she was almost in his face.

She looked up slightly so he could see her eyes under the hood as the blue in her irises seemed to almost glow in the dark. Her eyes looked over him then she smiled a little. "You are no threat to me..or my mission." Then turned away from him and jumped down from the branch then picking up a thick branch and reached into her satchel and put something on the branch then struck it against a tree creating a torch.

by **Ageru** on February 13th, 2011, 9:24 am

Ageru smiled as he leaned against the tree. It felt warm in the cooler night air. He felt safe up here, but how wrong can his feeling be? He even felt safe enough to start breathing normally again. It was nice, oh so nice, to be high up in a tree where nothing can get you. That is not taking into account things that can climb and fly, which now-a-days seem to be anything with any sort of intelligence. Not a very comforting thought but he quickly ushered that out of his mind. No need to worry about that now. No, it was a worry that could be worried about later. Later as in when it’s too late. The warm fuzzy safe feeling was overpowering his logic, and soon that will be downfall.

He closed his eyes and leaned more of his weight against the tree just relaxing. Though that didn’t last very long before he felt and heard the tree and branches shake. It was unreal how easily he was found. He didn’t think he was that bad at hiding his presence from others. Was it aided by magic? That was one of the first thoughts that came to his mind. Magic. He knew of it, but didn’t know how to use even the simplest of spells. He was no wizard, no mage, no magic user, period. It was just beyond him and so the suggestion of someone using it amazed him, and if they did, he wondered for what cause. Do they use it for good or for ill? For the betterment of others and themselves or are they controlled by greed and self gain?... So many more questions but he didn’t have time to think before the thing was on the same branch as he was.

He looked at it and its cloaked, hooded self, and tried not to be intimidated by its growl. A hard thing to do and as it approached him he stiffened up and tried not to move, barely breathed. He wasn’t much of a fighter and to avoid a fight he would do just about anything. He let out a sigh of relief when it deemed him not a threat, but he couldn’t help but wonder what mission. If it was on a mission why would it even mention it? Was it that strong that it had to brag? Or was it just a sly mind game to get him to inquire about it? Both seemed a possibility. That and more unthought-of.

Now interested in what the thing meant, falling into the trap, he watched it carefully jump down from the tree and when it lit the torch in such a flashy way he jumped. It was unexpected and in his jumpy state he fell from his perch in the tree and hit the ground. Let me tell you the ground isn’t soft when falling from a tree and the kelvic quickly reacted in a small yell of pain. Wincing he stood up slowly and held himself. He had to be the least graceful cat on the face of Mizahar.

by **Mekotsu Hellborn** on February 13th, 2011, 9:35 am

Hearing him drop down she turned and looked at him, her head tilted slightly. The glow of the torch allowed him to see her entire face. Noticing the fall seemed to hurt him she shook her head slightly. He's weak, she thought, not someone she really cared to get to know. So she turned away and headed back for her horse. She didn't much like riding it as she had no saddle so she just rode bareback the entire time and made the horse respond by pulling his mane.

Suddenly she stopped and looked back at the man. She couldn't help but feel sorry, it was dangerous out her and that kind of fall being something that could hurt him? He wouldn't last to long. She walked over to him and then smiled again reaching into her satchel and pulling out a bundled up piece of cloth and unwrapped it showing small pieces of cooked meat, then holding out the cloth in her path showing him the food offering it to him. "Go on, i don't bite..." She grinned. "Much.."

by **Ageru** on February 13th, 2011, 9:55 am

The cat just stared at the person in front of him. The light giving him a faint idea of her features, well, he could tell that it was a girl, and that whoever she was she meant business. Maybe she really was on a mission after all? Maybe it was something important? Although he doubted that it is anything too far important. That is, unless… He thought about it more… She could be some type of mercenary. A dangerous life people like that had, but not that his was any less dangerous just wandering the wilds like this. He was bound sometime to run into a strange, who he assumed, battle crazed individual. The mercenary’s that his former masters had hired seemed to be the exact same type of person described above.

He smiled as she was making her way to leave, but it quickly vanished as she turned around. He watched her carefully to see if she was going to try something. He monitored her every movement with his cat-like eyes and saw her reach into her satchel and grab for something. He tensed up thinking it a weapon of some sort. A knife or some other small killing device, if one of her assumptions about him was right it was that he was weak and it was a blessing that he made it this long. Though when she pulled out something wrapped in a cloth he was caught off guard. It didn’t look like any kind of weapon and he watched her unwrap it to reveal that it was food. That caught his attention.

He looked at her suspiciously as she offered it to him and only gave her a half smile at her attempt of humor. Reaching out for the food he only took one little bit off the cloth held out to him and sniffed it. It smelled alright. Well, more than alright, delicious. Who was he to deny free food and so he took a bite off of it and chewed it slowly savoring the taste in his mouth before he took the whole cloth out of her hand, food and all. “It’s the much part that Im worried about” He answered her, and that couldn’t be more true than when he spoke it. ”What exactly is your mission?” He just had to ask her. The curiosity was killing him. Curiosity killed the cat, as the saying goes, but hopefully not this time. Hopefully… He gave her an unsure smile as he took another bit of meat and shoved it in his mouth, munching on it as he awaited his answer.

by **Mekotsu Hellborn** on February 13th, 2011, 10:08 am

She put the now empty cloth into her satchel and sighed. Never being one to share in any which way, yet she felt compelled like she needed to tell him everything, but she knew better than that. Placing her hand on top of his head, she stroked it gently and smiled. "Nothing anyone needs to concern themselves with, but you may come with me if you like. I could use the company"

Turning back she walked over to her horse and put her quiver back on to her and got on top of her horse holding the torch up and held her bow with the other hand. She looked back at him and smiled. "Are you coming?" She kicked the horse lightly as it started to walk off with her on it.

by **Ageru** on February 13th, 2011, 10:27 am

Ageru wasn’t sure what to say or do as he watched her put the empty cloth away and stroke his head, petting him. He half closed his eyes in the joy and pleasure that the physical contact brought him, but withheld a purr of any kind. She wouldn’t get that, no, not yet. ”So secretive,” he said in response to her, but the offer to come with her wasn’t heard on deaf ears, no, it was heard. He was just unsure which way to go is all. On his own or with her, the truth was he needed company as much she needed his.

Still thinking the decision over he was brought back from his private world of thoughts by the sound of the girls voice asking if he was coming or not. That made him make a snappy decision as the light of the torch was going with her. He nodded, almost foolishly, and started to follow her. He didn’t exactly know why he was following her, but then again his trust is easily earned. Earned rightfully or not is up to the individual judging him. There was some trust, but it wasn’t a blind trust. It could be broken and it could change. How it changes is all up to how she acts and how he, of course, reacts, if he likes it or not, etc., etc. ”Have any idea where you are going?” He asked being sure not to say ‘we’ in case he wanted to change his mind, but, for now, he would follow her.

He did his best to try to keep right at her side, or just slightly behind her, and was very careful not to straggle too far behind. He yawned, it being late already, thought that he would already be sleeping by now. How wrong he was. How wrong he was. He tugged his fur cloak tighter around him to surround him with more soft warmness that he so enjoyed. It reminded him much of being a cat again except he was a human. He liked it well enough though nothing quite beat his soft catness. It was much easier to take care of and wash too. There was just so many good things about it, but the same could be said about being human as well: such as thumbs. That was one thing he didn’t have when he was a cat.

by **Mekotsu Hellborn** on February 13th, 2011, 10:49 am

Searching around for a place to lay their heads for the night, she wanted to find something that would put them out of site so nothing could come to harm them. She looked back at him and watched him grow tired. Thinking quickly she looked toward the mountain and looked back at him. "I know a place where we can sleep." The horse turned toward the mountain and started to walk towards it, it wasn't big but she figured there had to be a cave around it somewhere, even if i was tiny.

As they neared they walked against the wall and soon found a cave. She got off her horse and slowly entered the cave holding the torch up. "It's not to big but it'll do." She looked at the horse as he walked in behind her and laid down in the back. Sitting next to the horse, she pulled out a fur pelt from a satchel that was strapped to the horse and laid back again her horse and used the fur pelt as a blanket.