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Slinking through shadowed alleys and backyards, a large tom carefully made his way across the neighborhood. His golden fur looked like it was shining as it was hit by the occasional shred of moonlight.
A freshly-caught mouse dangled from his mouth, the smell tempting him to eat it before he even arrived at his destination. The tom slowly approached the back end of a house, making his way towards one of the windows.
“mrrr?” Stanley inquisitively chirped as he jumped up onto the planter hanging in front of the window, the already flattened flowers getting squished even further under his weight. He squinted through the glass, looking for any sign of his friend.
Through the window, he could see a large twoleg bed. Stanley couldn’t lie to himself, it did look way more comfy than the scraps they slept on in camp.
He sneered after a second, reevaluating his previous opinion. I could never get over the twoleg scent though, I don’t know how Xeno does it.
He put down the still-warm mouse next to him in the planter and then sat down, his tail slightly twitching as it hung off.
Guess the princess is taking his sweet time, Stanley thought to himself. Oh well, it’s not the worst night to be stuck waiting.
The golden tom shifted his eyes to the far corner of the room, seeing the weird metal object sticking out of the wall rattling and moving. After a brief moment, a small gap opened up and a lanky cat pushed his way into the room.
The cat’s tail was held high as he delicately stepped across the room towards the window. Two collars adorned the tom’s neck, his neck fluff sticking out in chunks from the small gap between them. Stanley’s ear twitched, a slight amusement in his eyes as he watched how his friend approached.
The siamese tom jumped up onto the windowsill, taking a moment to steady himself. He glanced at Stanley for a second, and then started to work at getting the window open.
“Didya get held up by your twoleg or something, Xeno?” Stanley meowed in an amused tone, earning him an annoyed tail twitch from Xeno.
“I simply lost track of what time it was.” Xeno spoke as he continued to paw at the broken window latch, “I was trying to catch a bug, I hadn’t seen one like it before and I wanted to study it.”
Towards the end of Xeno’s explanation, Stanley could hear a faint tone of bitterness. The golden tom chuckled, I assume it got away from him. If he had actually caught it, he would’ve brought it with him to show it off.
With a click, the window loosened and Xeno looked up at Stanley expectingly.
Stanley stood up in the planter and used his claws to push up at the window, leaving further scratches in the already covered glass. He used all his effort to pull up at it, leaving Xeno just enough room to shove his head through and squirm out onto the planter next to Stanley.
As soon as he was out, Xeno looked down at the mouse laying between them, a mixture of disgust and curiosity in his eyes. It was nearly cold at this point, the night air sapping away at the remnants of its warmth.
“Is there a reason you brought that here? I don’t believe I have any use for it.” He questioned as he reached out one paw to softly bat at the body, almost looking like he was testing to make sure it was actually dead.
“I brought it to eat. I didn’t have the chance to eat something before heading over here cause I was on watch.” Stanley watched as the other tom kept batting at the mouse. For a second, he considered making a sudden movement to scare Xeno but he resisted the temptation.
Stanley stiffened as his ear twitched, now on high alert as he heard movement from inside the house. He reached over and grabbed the mouse in his mouth and then swiftly jumped off of the planter. Now in the grass below, Stanley turned his head to look back up at Xeno briefly and then took off running in the direction he came from.
“Hey— wait!” Xeno yelped as he watched his friend disappear around a wall. He jumped off the planter, very nearly not making the landing, and rushed to follow after Stanley.
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By the time Xeno caught up to Stanley, the golden tom was already sat down and waiting for him. The remnants of the mouse laid at his paws, nearly completely gone at this point.
Stanley was sat in front of the border to the forest, his tail softly swishing as he turned his head to look at the approaching Xeno.
“Need a moment before we continue?” Stanley meowed as he observed how sluggish the other’s movements looked.
The siamese tom barely managed to make it over to his friend before slumping down onto the grass, his ears flattened to his head.
“I would appreciate it if you could take a slower pace,” He hissed, pulling his paws under him as he shifted into a more comfortable position, “there’s really no logical reason for us to always have to run here so quickly.”
“I know, I just prefer to not linger in the populated areas for that long. Rather not risk encountering your twolegs.” Stanley shook his head at even the idea, I don’t want to think about what they would do to me if I got caught.
“Really, they aren’t that bad.” Xeno grumbled, “They’ve been leaving food out for others and trying to help the noticeably sick ones. I’m sure they wouldn’t be terrible towards you.”
The golden tom snorted and looked away from Xeno, Probably helping them by bringing them to the cutter to put them down.
The silence between the two lingered in the air for a few moments, only being broken by a sigh from Xeno. He got up to his paws, and then stretched.
“Alright, we should get going. I would like to get back before my twolegs notice I am gone.” Xeno meowed as he began walking towards the trees. Stanley quickly followed after, pacing himself to walk beside the other tom.
The two carefully traversed the wooded area, making sure to not make too much noise as they walked. It was quiet, only the occasional leaf rustle disrupting the silence when a breeze came through. The full moon hung above them as it shined down through the trees, dimly lighting the area.
Occasionally, Xeno would stop briefly to sniff at a patch of leaves, turning his nose up when it wasn’t what he was looking for. The trek continued on for a bit until Xeno perked up after seeing a patch of closed flowers with ridged oval shaped leaves.
“Aha, here they are.” Xeno whispered, a hint of excitement in his meow, “Daisies, specifically the leaves in this case, they should help with aches.”
“I heard from my neighbor that there was another cat in my neighborhood who was complaining about leg pain after a bad fall.” As he continued to explain, Xeno started analyzing the best leaves to take from the plants, “This would be a perfect opportunity to test the effectiveness of using daisy leaves.”
Stanley watched Xeno for a bit as he meticulously gathered the leaves, and then glanced around at the area. They were deep in the forest at this point, the brush covered the area around them and he couldn’t see any clearings in the trees nearby.
He sniffed the air, able to smell a faintly sweet and minty aroma nearby. A smile tugged at his mouth as he turned back to look at Xeno.
“I’ll be right back, there’s something I need to check on. Shouldn’t be too far away, I’ll come running back if I hear or see anything.” Stanley said as he looked at Xeno, turning away a moment later to walk in search of the source of the smell. He could hear a faint chirp of acknowledgement from his friend as he was walking away.
As he assumed, the source wasn’t that far from where Xeno had found the daisies. A patch of fuzzy leaves adorned with small purple flowers laid partially hidden under a bush. It wasn’t too large, most likely the only patch in the area.
Not often you see this out here… Wonder if some other cat tried to get it to grow out here. As he bent down to sniff the plant, he began to feel excited. Hope they don’t mind if I snag a few leaves, not like they’re here to stop me anyway.
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Xeno continued to carefully pluck the daisy leaves off, carefully choosing the ones that were both the biggest and looked the healthiest. The two of us can only carry so many, I have to make sure I choose the best ones to bring back.
He picked off a couple more of the leaves, and set them into one of the two piles he had created. Each pile had an even amount of leaves, about as many as he knew they could carry based on their previous gathering trips.
Xeno looked around the area, seeing that Stanley was not yet back from his investigation. His tail twitched in annoyance as he let out a sigh. It was already the middle of the night at this point, they didn’t have much time left before they would need to start heading back.
He sat down next to his piles of leaves, waiting for the golden tom to return. There was a faint rustling of brush in the distance, most likely a small animal of some kind. It was rare to see any other cats out at night, especially out here in the woods.
Xeno closed his eyes briefly as he began to think to himself about the best method to use the daisy leaves, The method I’ve heard used is a paste that is applied to the afflicted area. I don’t believe that would be efficient in this situation due to the twolegs, they most likely would wash it off far before it had any chance to take effect. Would ingesting the leaves provide a similar effect? Most likely not, it wouldn’t be as locali–
His thoughts were abruptly cut off as he felt himself get slammed by a force at his side, sending him rolling with whatever had been the source in a flurry of fur and paws.
After a short scuffle, Xeno and his attacker ended up in a tangled position on the ground. His eyes focused onto the golden fur that surrounded him, seeing out of the corner of his eye a firmly placed paw next to his head.
The siamese tom could feel the other’s heavy breathing as it tickled his nose, there was a faint scent of catmint oil within the breaths. Xeno turned his eyes to look at the source, already knowing who it was.
Stanley’s eyes were dilated as he looked down at Xeno, a mixture of glee and triumph sparkling in them. Xeno couldn’t help but stare into the golden eyes as he laid frozen under the tom.
“You really ought to be more aware of your surroundings, anything could just creep up on ya.” He giggled, still on top of Xeno.
“Really, I thought that was your job.” Xeno sneered, “What did I tell you about eating catmint? It truly doesn’t do anything useful aside from make you incapacitated. It’s a terrible habit.”
“We don’t see it out here often, I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity…” Stanley meowed, his words trailing off towards the end as his body stiffened. He looked away from Xeno into the distance, his fur starting to bristle.
The golden tom crouched down on top of Xeno, nearly smothering the other tom with his fur. Due to their previous tumble, they had ended up in a thicker patch of brush, providing them with the slightest amount of cover.
“Quiet, I can smell another cat nearby.” He whispered, barely loud enough to be heard at all.
Xeno unconsciously held his breath as he laid under Stanley, trying his best not to move as he felt discomfort creep in from the position he was stuck in. Another cat? That’s abnormal. Other cats don’t venture out this far normally, there’s no reason to. Especially not at night.
He could hear the sounds of rustling and twigs snapping in the distance, Whoever it is, it doesn’t sound like they’re trying to be quiet. Xeno could feel Stanley adjusting his position, most likely preparing to fight if necessary.
As the sounds began to get closer, they abruptly stopped. Stanley let out a faint hiss as a new voice sounded out.
“Show yourself, I know you’re over there.” the voice called out, it sounded like a she-cat but Xeno didn’t recognize it as any cat he knew.
Stanley remained quiet, his breathing coming to a near stop as he seemed to be analyzing the situation. He shifted his position again, leaning his head closer to Xeno.
“Once I move, run as fast as you can in the direction we came. I’ll come find you after I’ve dealt with her.” He whispered, holding still as he gave Xeno a moment to understand the plan. After a moment, he jumped off of him in the direction the voice had come from, eliciting a hiss from the she-cat.
Xeno promptly scrambled up onto his paws, taking off in the opposite direction from the other two cats. Adrenaline surged in him as he forced himself to run as quickly as he could, only stopping to hide in a bush once he had felt he was far enough away that he wouldn’t be easily found.
In the distance, he could faintly hear the sounds of talking. It sounded tense, the sounds of hissing and growling from both of the cats sporadically interrupted the conversation. Xeno strained his ears as he tried to listen for words, the curiosity overtaking the fear he felt previously.
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“Who are you? What are you doing here?” The golden she-cat growled, her tail lashing. Her bright blue eyes stared with intensity at Stanley, watching for any movement from the tom that could be considered hostility.
“You first. I’ve never seen you out here before, where are you from?” Stanley spat back, his voice laced with thinly-veiled aggression.
His eyes flicked down to assess the strength of his opponent, she looked strong. Most likely a fighter. Based on her body language, this is most likely her territory. Most likely alone, or at the very least separated from her allies.
“My name is Lionflight. This is our land you're trespassing on.” She flexed her claws, lowering her head as she continued to glare at the tom, “Now, answer my questions. Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“My name is Stanley. I was not aware that this was your territory, I was simply out here on a stroll.” He answered, his tail twitching, “I’ll be leaving now, I’ll make a point to avoid this area in the future.”
No point trying to fight here, can’t know if she would be able to alert her allies if they are nearby. Based on how confident she’s acting, I’m guessing we’re close to their camp. Stanley watched Lionflight as he waited for her acknowledgement, I’ll have to let Xeno know about this, he’ll probably want to come back to investigate.
“Go then, I won’t let you off as easily next time. Tell your friend to not come back around either.” She meowed as she kept her watch on him, still looking like she was prepared to pounce on him at any moment.
“Alright.” He began to back away slowly, and then turned around to run off in the same direction Xeno had. He could feel her glare continue to burn into him as he got further away.
As Stanley ran, he looked for any signs of where his friend had gone, eventually picking up his scent. He slowed his pace, now following the trail carefully until Xeno popped out of a bush as Stanley was nearing it.
“Who was she? What did you learn?” The questions immedietely flooded from Xeno’s mouth as he trotted over to his friend, taking time to check him over for any potential injuries, “Is she from the town? Or does she live out here? Is she with others?”
Stanley sighed, standing still as he allowed the other tom to look him over.
“She said her name was Lionflight. I can’t say I’ve heard a name like that before, I’m guessing that means they aren’t around twolegs normally.” Stanley explained, “I assume she lives with a group based on how she referred to this as our territory when she told me I was trespassing.”
Xeno nodded in response, finishing up on his checkup. He backed away to stand in front of Stanley, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
“We really need to be headed back, it’s going to be dawn soon.” Xeno meowed as he turned to start walking away, “We should come back to investigate those cats further another night. It’s a marvel they can survive out here, I need to know how they have managed it.”
“I guess,” Stanley scoffed as he followed after the siamese tom, “I can’t say they’re very good at marking where their territory is though. I didn’t smell anything until that she-cat got near us.”
“Yes… I suppose. Maybe they’ve had no reason to designate it as their area, cats most likely do not wander by often…” Xeno yawned towards the end of his theorizing, “It’s a pity we did not get to take those daisy leaves back with us. We’ll have to come back for those also.”
“Yeah, we can.” Stanley meowed as the two toms continued rushing through the woods to go back home, trying to beat the sun that was now threatening to rise.