Neverwinter Forest Did you say something 'catty'?

For @Carrots

Itsy darted to the cover of the leaves of a branch. The rain from above was light, only dampening her. Not as bad as the day she met that raven, of course. But nonetheless, she was not one to get wet and like it. In fact, she'd rather burn then be in the water. Even though she took baths here and there, but it was normally for the better, and against her inner will.

She perched herself onto a branch with over-hanging green leaves, high above from the ground. If anything were to cross the ground, she wouldn't notice it until it were right beneath her beak. Or if it spoke.

Ever since Carrots left the prairie, he feels a little more adventurous.  It’s a surprise he’s survived this long, staying out of sight for the most part.  If he traveled at night, he went unseen most of the time, and when he could he stayed in trees to rest rather than hide somewhere on the ground.  The new forest the black feline comes across suits his needs pretty well, dark enough in most spots that he’d go unnoticed.

That is, until he’s hungry and on the search for something to scavenge or kill.  A bird catches his attention and for a while he attempts to follow, losing it every so often, and when it finally lands on a branch, he stops and stares upward.  The cat groans in frustration, yowling.

“Can you just… fly right into my mouth?  Thanks.”

Itsy shaked her feathers dry from all the wet rain, fanning her tail feathers out and about and spreading her wings apart. Night slowly arrived, so she needed to find a place to stay for the night. But before she left her perch, she heard a voice from below, and leaned forward to see a..cat? And what a small cat it was.

She shook her head, puffing her chest out. "I'd rather spend the night in somewhere more dry..and somewhere that doesn't smell like dead birds and whatever else you eat." She flew across to another perch, not knowing that unlike most big cats, this one can possibly climb much, much higher.

While he waits for the bird to respond, if it were going to at all, he circles the trunk of the tree.  He lifts his paws and digs his nails into the bark but before he can think about trying to climb, the bird has moved on to the next tree.  As if he doesn’t have a care in the world, Carrots moseys over to the next tree and follows the trunk up to the first branch.  They were mostly fairly low to the ground but their pine wouldn’t be too comfortable.

“Aww, come on.  Help a guy out.”

Carrots circles the ground below the branch, keeping his gaze upward and his ears cupped forward.  Birds were trickier than prey that lives on the ground.  The only success had been an unsuspecting bird pecking at the ground or picking up mess for a nest.  Ones in the air were a little more complicated.  He just needed to get her closer to the ground.

Itsy rolled her eyes. The typical predator. Always trying to taunt her towards the ground, then they would strike. And all she would be after would be a pile of feathers. Well, she would not end up like that. So she came up with a witty reply, which was true in it's own way.

"I've helped enough guys out." She shook her feathered rump at the cat below, only to annoy the cat. In some cases, it drove them away. Was it not a sight to behold? Obviously not to creatures such as wolves, or cats. After her display, she turned back with no fear in her eyes or posture.

She narrowed her eyes down at the feline. "Why don't you go and annoy something else? Go disturb a river of fish, or maybe even some poor, flightless bird that would rather die then stick to the ground! I've had it up to here with something trying to eat me!" she shouted, her chest puffing out more.

The bird isn’t willing to help him out.  He didn’t expect her to fly down right into his grasp but if he annoys her enough, maybe he could draw her down and take her unexpectedly.  Or perhaps he could scale one of the trees before she flies off, swiping her away into his grasp.  It all falls short as he puts his front paws on the trunk of the tree the bird resides while she fusses at him.

Carrots plots down, tail idly waving back and forth against the ground.  Dust flies up behind him in consideration, looking up as the bird continues to look down.

“What if… I promise not to eat you.  Or!” he pauses, looking around, listening.  “I promise not to eat you.  I promise not to let any of my friends eat you.  If you help me out.”  Carrots lets a pause sink in before he continues, thinking about what exactly it is he wants.  “You can cover far more ground than I can.  Maybe you can help me find something to eat so I don’t have to eat you?”

Itsy watched the cat warily. Waiting for it to make a move. And it did just that. Only, not what she expected. The feline lay there, as if expecting her to come down willingly. Was it that lazy about catching prey...or was there something else it had in mind.

She scoffed at the cat after it began speaking. "You think I'd fall for that?! Also, what friends?" she asked. It may seem like a witty comeback, but it was only a cautious question. "And no. I've had a fair share or helping others like that." Although, it was a tempting offer. And with more convincing, she may turn her head to the idea.

The bird doesn’t seem to want to help and Carrots frowns, unsure of how to continue.  He could persist, continue to pester her until she gives in.  Or flies away.  She’s still nearby, enough to hear him and he’s able to understand.  Most of the time he doesn’t give his food the time of day to barter their life but—and only because he can’t reach her fast enough—he’s feeling social.  

“All you gotta do is fly around a little until you see something.  A rabbit, rat.  Something I can take down.  Or hell, if you find some kinda doggy bag the wolves left over, I’d be willing to branch out my tastes,” he tries again, circling around and offering a gentle purr in hopes the bird will help.  “And I’ll tell my friends, I’ll tell them:  ‘hey, don’t eat that bird…’ um, what’s your name, so I can tell them?”

Fail so hard. I posted as Chaska. Not the first time.

The wren sighed. Obviously, the cat was not going away anytime soon. She could only guess three ways out of this. One, fly away. Two, help the feline. Or three, and the most unwanted of all, end up in his tummy. Of course, at the worst of times, her adventurous side came out.

She grinned down at the cat. "You know what? I think I remember seeing this grumpy squirrel a couple of trees over." Personally, she wanted to be rid of it. Always throwing it's nuts around, hitting passers by. Including her. Her head still hurt from the last time she came by.

"Itsy. The name's Itsy" she responded. "And you better remember it...for whatever friends you have" she added, whispering the last part. More rain drops hit her from between the leaves. She shook it off, drying her feathers.

Feel free to reply once more or just archive! <3

The bird offers him the knowledge of a squirrel and he looks in the direction, tilting his head as he considers it.  He hadn’t noticed it before but she could see better than he could from up there and all he had to do was lure the squirrel down. If it was a grumpy creature, it would be easy enough to taunt away.  A smile forms on his features and his whiskers twitch.  His mouth waters at the thought and he begins to stalk off.  

“Thanks, Itsy.  I’ll tell them.  And if you happen to run into them before I do, tell them Carrots said to leave you alone.  They’ll listen.”

Of course, there aren’t any of his friends—at least from what he found—but that didn’t mean they weren’t to follow.  He couldn’t be the only one to wake up in a weird place without any memory… right?

Short one. i'll archive

Itsy rolled her eyes, then averted her eyes from the cat as if it had become a boring sight. "Whatever. Just get going already." With that, she spread her wings and fluttered away with her little wings. She wanted to get as far from the cat as possible. And with the rain clearing up, she could finally get back home.