Moon is bored (cont.)

[littlexaiko]

Moon padded across the tall twoleg walls made of hard rock. He flicked his tail aimlessly, trying to find a perfect target. He saw a young twoleg kit on the path and leaped down. He padded up and rubbed his side against her leg. He heard her squeal in delight, then she picked him up. When she put him down he waited while she ran into her nest. The next second she came out with some two-leg food and a bowl of cream. He ate the food first. It was sweet, but was some sort of prey. He then lapped at the delicious cream and purred while the kit petted him. When he finished he touched his nose to the kit's soft pelt then padded away. Might as well explore, i'm already here.

[{ tessa }]

Tiki slips easily through the cat flap of the door, and into the fresh afternoon air. She looks around and sniffs the air, her eyes sparkling with mischief. There aren't any other kittypets that she can see. They aren't in the neighboring gardens, anyway. *Well, that's no fun...* She thinks with a smirk. She has barely been outside a moment, and she is already looking for trouble. Tiki decides to walk along the fence and explore awhile. It's her best bet of running into someone she can mess with, for that's what Tiki does best.

She jumps up, and pads a few houses down before she finds what she is looking for. Tiki's eyes scan the yard, and she soon spots another cat. He is a white tom, but she can tell he is not a kittypet. Not only is he not wearing a collar, but she can scent that he does not live in a housefolk nest. Her golden ears prick forward. "That's interesting..." Tiki whispers to herself. She knows that normally, feral cats think too much of themselves to associate with housefolk, but this tom had let that kit feed him. She has never seen anything like this.

*Well, I can't miss this opportunity to have some fun, can I?* She thinks with a dark little smirk. Of course, until she analyzes the situation, Tiki will play it sweet and innocent, no different than any kittypet. But, as any cat who has run into her before knows, the she-cat is anything but an ordinary kittypet. Changing her smirk to a cheerful smile, she jumps down from the fence to land in front of the tom.

"Hello!" Tiki meows with practiced innocence. "Haven't seen you around here before. Where do you come from?"

[littlexaiko]

Moon took in the shecat's appearance. She was definitely a kittypet. Pampered and free of scars or muscles. He nodded to her but didn't say anything. He wasn't so soft as to trust anyone, he had learned from experience to keep a close eye on everyone. He flicked his tail tip irritably. What did this golden shecat want?

[{ tessa }]

Tiki's golden eyes narrow as she watches the tom. He doesn't bother replying to her question, and only greets her with a small nod. She studies him, and can tell that he doesn't trust her at all. *Smarter than he looks.* Tiki thinks, twitching her whiskers calculatingly. *Oh well. I like a challenge.* The kittypet allows her smile to falter slightly, trying to appear as confused as any ignorant normal kittypet would. She tilts her head to one side, then shrugs.

"Don't like to talk?" She says, though it's not really a question. "That's alright." Undaunted, Tiki sits down and begins cleaning one of her paws, then running it over her face in a common bathing ritual. She occasionally eyes the stranger warily, but doesn't say anything else for a moment. She can't tell what the white tom is thinking, for his expression gives away nothing. This both intrigues and annoys her at the same time.

"I'm Tiki, by the way." She adds, smiling again. Tiki knows she could have lied about her name; she sometimes does that to mess with other cats' heads. But right now, she's trying to keep up her innocent kittypet act.

[littlexaiko]

Moon yawned and arched his spine in an arch. He was so tired and bored. Nothing to play with. His clan was all out hunting. No one would see him associate with this kittypet. And she seemed very fun. Not boring or laid back like most kittypets. He flicked his tail across her nose to get her attention. "i'm going hunting. You can follow if you want."

[{ tessa }]

Tiki looks at him in surprise. This is the first time that the white tom has spoken to her since she's approached him. He seems very abrupt with his statement, and for a moment she is puzzled. She stands still, and doesn't say anything. Hunting? Tiki actually does know how to hunt. There have been plenty of times when she's grown sick of the dry food her housefolk feed her, and goes out to catch a mouse by herself. Sometimes, when bored, she hunts the birds in her garden for fun. Over the moons of her life, she has taught herself how. But Tiki knows that this is not the normal standard for a kittypet. She's seen the neighboring cats, and how lazy they are and clueless about hunting. In fact, those cats aren't good for anything except teasing or confusing.

But still, Tiki doesn't think she should make it known to this cat that she already knows how to hunt. It's harmless enough information, but it might make him ask questions. Tiki doesn't like revealing personal information. So instead, she stands up to follow him, and smiles with polite confusion. "Hunting? Well, alright. Will you show me how?" She shrugs and flicks her ears. "I've only caught a bird once before, and that was by luck."

Tiki's eyes leave the other cat's for a moment, following a robin as it flies over the house nearby. It probably has a nest on the roof. Hunting shouldn't be too hard, for it's greenleaf and prey is abundant.

[littlexaiko]

Moon narrowed his eyes and stopped abruptly. He flicked his tailtip in annoyance. "Don't lie to me, Kittypet. I saw the way you followed that Robing. You've hunted before." He rasped his tongue over his chest before padding off. "You don't have to join. You probably can't catch a vole if it was asleep, between your paws."

[{ tessa }]

Tiki's eyes widen in surprise when Moon calls her out. She guesses she expected him to be a little too stupid. Most cats she meets from the forest are. She frowns when he insults her, her hackles rising. She is speechless for a moment. *I'm a mouse if I let anyone speak to me like that.* Tiki thinks furiously. She is torn between wanting revenge, and wanting to prove herself trustworthy to the tom. So, she does the first thing that pops into her mind: she runs after him.

"Wait!" She calls after Moon, trying to keep her temper cool. "Look. Even if I have hunted before, I don't do it to survive. I'm a kittypet." She points out the obvious. "So, you probably know a lot more about it than I do. Can't you teach me just a little?" Tiki tries one last time to win the other cat over, too stubborn to give up.

[littlexaiko]

Moon stopped and glanced back at her over his white pelt. "Why waste my time. I have a clan, I don't need a kittypet." But as he said these words he flicked his tail over her nose. "But if you can catch five mice for me i will teach you something valuable."

[{ tessa }]

*So he IS a Clan cat? But what Clan could he be from?* Tiki wonders. Oh well, she can never manage to remember the names of all those Clans anyway. She doesn't see why they have to compete for territory. It just makes everything harder for them. But Tiki doesn't have time to puzzle the strange ways of Clan cats. All she cares about now is this cat's offer. She narrows his eyes as the tom speaks his terms. Tiki has never been able to resist a challenge.

The kittypet is curious to know what this strange white cat has in mind when he says he can teach her something valuable. But most of all, she wants to prove that she never backs down from anything, like most kittypets would. Tiki reviews everything she knows about hunting, and after a minute she nods to him.

"Okay. How long do I have?" She asks, unsheathing her claws. Tiki intends to waste no time, and to get the job done quickly. Maybe then this stranger will stop treating her like she's some kind of worthless kit. Not that she isn't used to that attitude coming from Clan cats.

[littlexaiko]

The white tom flicked the tip of his tail. He glanced up at the sky. It was noonhigh. "You have until I decide you've had enough. Actually, lets make this interesting. You catch as many prey as you can and then i will see if you really a soft, pampered kit." He leaped easily onto a rock and groomed himself. When she didn't move he sighed."You don't have long until my patience gives up."

[{ tessa }]

Tiki holds back a growl. She doesn't like being talked to like this one bit. This tom is so sure of himself, and obviously has the typical clan-cat attitude of looking down on kittypets. As much as she would have liked to rebuke him, or even seek worse revenge, Tiki wants to prove that she's not as helpless as she thinks she is. And the only way to do that is do complete this challenge. She glares scornfully at him before turning and setting off to her task.

She creeps along the garden walls to a place she knows mice use to get into the two-leg homes. Tiki looks around carefully and scents the air. Yes, there is definately a mouse nearby. Maybe more than one. If she's lucky, she'll find a nest.

*Wait!*

Tiki hears a scuttling, and turns to her left. There, among the roots of the flowers, is a little brown mouse. She'll be killing two birds with one stone. She knows that the housefolk like it when she rids their living places of vermin. Tiki tries to remember everything about the last time she caught a mouse. She knows that stealth is the best option. The golden she-cat drops into a crouch, trying not to be heard. It hasn't seen her yet. She creeps forward as quietly as she can. But then, her spotted pelt brushes against one of the garden plants. It's the faintest noise, but it's enough. The mouse scuttles for the wall, where Tiki presumes its hole is.

She dives for it at the same moment. When she lands, she sends soil flying into the air, as she claws madly in attempt to catch the mouse. It's a very frantic and ungraceful process, but somehow Tiki ends up with the mouse between her paws. Tiki pants, and blinks. She slowly raises her head with a proud smile. She has done it!

...

Tiki gradually learns from her mistakes, getting better with each scrambling catch she makes. Soon, she has caught three mice, two garden birds, and even a garter snake who had seemed to be half asleep. Tiki looks around nervously. She wonders if Moon is anywhere nearby.