There Must Be Some Way Out of Here (open)

[Babylonranger]

A shadowy form ran over quiet Thunderpaths, avoiding the darkened Twoleg nests she passed. Panting frantically, the black she-cat paused for breath and leaned against a brick wall, her limbs trembling with exhaustion and her heart numb with grief and panic. Frida tried to take another step but collapsed in a sobbing mess.

Her Twoleg was gone, killed in the monster crash that had damaged Frida's hind-legs. The family that had taken the she-cat in and helped heal her injuries were intolerable to her, for reasons she couldn't even place. She couldn't stay in this area full of monsters and Twolegs that would try to grab her or throw things.

The black cat slowly staggered to her paws. No, she could not stay here. but there was a place she'd heard of, full of grass, trees, and cats. Perhaps she'd be welcomed by some. If she could ever find her way out of this maze. Her yellow-green eyes blinked, and she took a deep breath. She could make out the faint scent of nature, growing stronger but still over-powered by the stench of Twolegs and monsters.

Frida started walking again, slower than her earlier run, but still steadily towards the forest.

[Lionhearted]

Babylonranger (for late post)

The Tuxedo tom slid from the forest, his pawsteps confident and echoing. Raphael sniffed around, looking for herbs. Perhaps this would be his lucky day, too...

Another cat's scent wafted over his nostrils, and he recoiled into the shadows, hiding, his eyes gleaming in the darkness. Who was this other cat passing by? It smelled fresh, and he or she could be nearby.

He narrowed his eyes as he crept past a cat. Twoleg stench made him wrinkle his nose- this cat had to be what the Clanners called a "kittypet." Raphael's eyes widened as he realized she was injured.

He stepped out of the trees, blocking her path. For a moment, he opened his mouth, frozen, unsure of what to do. Then, he silently beckoned with his tail. He would heal her. Nodding, he looked back to see if she was following, then began to tromp deeper into the forest.

[Babylonranger]

The black she-cat paused, staring uncertainly at the tom in front of her. He didn't seem hostile, Frida realized, seeing the tuxedo male's hesitance. Her yellow-green gaze drifted over the loner's form, taking in his concern and determination before he turned around and motioned for her to follow him.

With a twitch of her long whiskers, Frida slowly limped after the tom into the forest. She doubted he would lead her into a trap. For one thing, she would hardly have been a challenge even back in the Twolegplace. It made little sense to lure her into the woods to kill her there. The former kittypet had little choice but to trust this stranger.

[Lionhearted]

Raphael lead her into his den, a large hollow in a dead tree's trunk. He sat to the side, in the darkness, allowing her to enter. Unable to speak, he nodded a polite greeting at the she-cat.

"I am Raphael," he mouthed silently, pointing a paw to himself. Then, he jabbed his paw at the she-cat, and tilted his head in a question. "Who are you?" Then, he gestured her whole body, and pointed, with his paw, to her legs.

[Babylonranger]

Frida padded into the dead hollow tree, tentative about entering what was clearly the tom's den. Catching the black-and-white cat's nod, the she-cat relaxed and let her eyes adjust to the darkness. Once her vision had settled, she noticed the loner was mouthing his name. Is he mute then? Frida wondered.

"I'm Frida," she said, seeing him ask for her name. Momentarily confused by his gestures, Frida realized Raphael was asking about her injuries. "My twoleg and I were in her monster, when another monster collided with us. She was killed. My legs . . . ." She paused and stared at her hind legs. "They were broken I think. A cutter or some twoleg like one took me into his nest. He wrapped up my legs and helped me walk again, but I just couldn't stay there any longer."

[Lionhearted]

Raphael nodded curtly in an understanding way, and bowed his head in an apologizing, "I'm sorry for your injuries" gesture. He padded to the entrance, waved a paw to signal she was to stay in the hollow, and stepped out for a moment, returning a while later with two mice.

Setting it down, he pushed one of them towards Frida, and began to eat the other himself. Does it hurt? he mouthed, crouching down, dragging his legs, and wincing.

[Babylonranger]

Frida ducked her head slightly in acknowledgement before awkwardly easing herself down to lay supine in Raphael's tree hollow. She missed her former strength and flexibility fiercely, but without a way to ensure that she would survive leaf-bare, the long-limbed black cat did not see much reason in focusing all her attention on her injuries. but the she-cat did not want to travel any further that day, not unless the tuxedo tom asked her to leave. Her search for a place where she could stay in certainty would have to wait.

The former kittypet was dragged from her thoughts by Raphael's reappearance. Glancing up, she noticed the pair of mice the black-and-white loner had brought and was pleasantly surprised when he nudged one towards her. "Thank you," she said, taking the proffered prey. Seeing his question and accompanying gesture, Frida thought for a moment. "Not as much as it did," she said truthfully. "It mostly just aches when I've been standing, walking, or running - as close as I can get to running these days, anyway - for long periods of time, and when it gets colder or before rain." She paused to eat, giving Raphael time to think over what she'd said.

[Lionhearted]

Nodding again, Raphael sniffed around his hollow. Painkillers- dandelion, that was right. He picked up the herb and worked it around in his mouth, chewing silently and quickly. Spitting it out, he gestured for her to hold out her leg, prepared to apply it on.

Where are you from? he mouthed, gesturing once more: he pointed to himself, then to the green collar round his neck, and pointed to Frida, tilting his head.

[Babylonranger]

Finishing the mouse Raphael had given her - delicious! - Frida watched in silence as the black-and-white tom picked up a plant and began chewing it. Intrigued by his actions, she followed his movements closely, her yellow-green eyes blinking only occasionally. While the black she-cat did not quite understand why Raphael was doing what he was doing, something inside her trusted him, so when he motioned her to hold out her leg, she did.

While she did so, Frida considered the question she had seen Raphael ask. "From what I saw," she said, thinking, "My twoleg and I came from further towards where the sun goes down, from a different twoleg place than that one." She nodded in the direction of the place where the two cats had met. Frida stared down morosely at her paws and continued quietly, "I've been with her since my mother weaned my litter. I barely went a day without seeing her, and now she's gone." Something lurched painfully in her chest. Was it her heart? She had cried before, when the male twoleg first took her in and earlier this very day before Raphael had found her, but she hadn't grieved for the twoleg who had practically been her family for the better part of her life. The long-limbed cat had been too preoccupied with recovering from her injuries and looking for ways to leave her new home.

Now, she found herself desperately trying to hold back tears and swallow around a lump in her throat that was definitely not her mouse. but she didn't want to cry in front of Raphael, wasn't sure what he would do or how he would respond. Embarrassed by her loss of control, she turned her face away from the tuxedo tom and hoped he would not be too upset with her show of emotion.

((Ooc: Tagging Lionhearted just in case))