Finding A Pretty Sight (Mid)

[kiba]

Zoki stalked through the grass that was right next to his garden, which happened to border the forest. It was clear he wasn't too good at it. His tail was high in the air, his paws stepping on the grass to heavily. He wasn't a hunter. He was a kittypet, after all. He was fed dry food. Even so, he could dream about catching something, right?

He was close to the forest edge now. He stopped, though as he leaped into the forest, right over some undergrowth. His pelt fluffed up as he nearly landed on a she-cat. He let out a shocked yowl, making several birds flutter back to the sky, sounding their alarms. He landed heavily on his paws and fell onto his side. "Ow," she mewed to himself.

He opened his eyes and looked at the she-cat with embarrassment. His fur began to grow hot as he realized that he just embarrassed himself in front of a newcomer.

[Midnight]

Sakura's ear twitched. The brown tabby she-cat was finally getting over being completely skinny and underfed because of leafbare. Her and her littermates, Haruko and Ayame, had decided to go their separate ways, and if they met up at some point, then they did, and they'd chat and hang out, most likely.

Padding forward, Sakura's green eyes focused intensely on a mouse that looked pretty plump. Must be from the twolegplace. Sakura decided.


Suddenly, the she-cat let out a shriek of pain, unsheathing her claws and batting wildly... at the air. Her back arched, Sakura's now-dilated eyes searched her attacker, who, well, didn't seem much like an attacker at all once she got a clear look at him. The loner watched as her desired prey scuttled off, and her tail tip twitched back and forth in annoyance.

Letting out a sigh, Sakura snapped at the tom, "Just who are you, attacking me while I'm hunting? I'm hungry enough as it is without needing a mousebrain like you to interrupt getting my food!"

[kiba]

Zoki got to his paws quickly as she snapped at him. Even so, he wasn't scared or angry. "Calm down. I didn't mean to scare you and I surely wouldn't attack you," he replied, flicking his tail back and forth in a friendly manner. He gave her a smile, which was kind of crooked. It fit his personality, though, and was actually kind of cute on him.

"My name is Zoki. You're a forest cat, aren't you? I'm a twoleg's cat. I guess you can tell, though," he stated, motioning towards his blue collar, which made his blue eyes pop even more. He then looked around, wondering if there were any others around.

[Midnight]

Sakura flicked her ear again, but this time it wasn't to listen to anything. This tom was pretty cute, but he still annoyed her just now. "Well, that's good to hear, and thanks for the apology, but apologizing doesn't make up for the fact that you made me lose prey. You can see my ribs, can't you? Yeah, not a good thing, and it's a result of being a 'forest cat', as you called me, in leafbare."

Deciding that he truly wasn't hostile, the brown tabby sat down and licked a paw. "My name is Sakura. Maybe you've met one of my sisters? Haruko or Ayame? They look just like me." She purred contentedly, the thought of her littermates comforted Sakura. "You are a kittypet, aren't ya?" She gave the tom a closer inspection, even slowly approaching him and smelling his collar, nose twitching. "I'm not interested in living with twolegs, but if that life works for you, then so be it." Those eyes. Blue. Beautiful to Sakura.

[kiba]

Zoki felt bad now. He should offer her some of his food. Wait.... forest cats didn't like his kind of food, though. He remembered that much at least from the few he had met. He blinked as she came over and sniffed his collar. He breathed in, her scent coming with his breath. He purred loudly suddenly.

"Sakura. That's a pretty name. It certainly fits you too, as you smell just like flowers. My twolegs have some Sakura trees in my garden. They smell good too," he replied, perking his ears up. He hoped he hadn't said too much as to scare her off.

[Midnight]

Sakura took a step back and nodded slowly, just now remembering her mother telling her that she'd been named because the three kits had been born under a cherry blossom tree in the summer, as little pink petals fell to the ground. The twolegs that had owned that home were yelling "sakura!" and pointing to Sakura's mother as she was delivering her kits, and she guessed that the twolegs were pointing to the tree.

"Thanks." The loner mewed quietly. "Are you at all good at hunting?"

[kiba]

Zoki shook his head. "I've never caught anything in my life. Unless you count a beetle that was already half dead," he replied, looking at her. He examined her closely. "Hmmm..... I can certainly try and catch you something, though," he replied, realizing that he did want to impress this she-cat as much as he could.

[Midnight]

Sakura almost couldn't help but smirk and purr in amusement. Luckily, she was able to keep herself together in that regard. "No, you don't need to catch me anything. I was just wondering. I've caught enough to survive on, and always will, I hope." The brown tabby she-cat stared at the tom. She flattened her ears for a moment before perking them again, curiosity taking over, "So, what's it like, living with the twolegs?"

[kiba]

Zoki purred at her question. "It's great. You never get hungry and you're warm during the cold season. What do you forest cats call it.... leaf-bare? Yes, I'm positive that's what its called. And the twolegs always are so loving and playful. And they let you out every day so you can play outside with the other cats," he mewed, smiling widely. He nudged her a bit. "but I don't suppose you'd become a twoleg pet," he joked.

[Midnight]

Nodding slowly, Sakura decided that being a kittypet must've been a very subjective thing. She'd heard of many twolegs who definitely were no 'loving and playful', as Zoki described them. Sakura had also seen many kittypets locked up, scratching at the invisible wall and meowing desperately to be let out. That didn't sound so great to this tabby she-cat.

"No, I'm not interested." Sakura mewed. "Being out in the forest is much better than being trapped in a twoleg home, in my opinion. After all, we don't have to be let anywhere- you know, we go wherever we want whenever we want. We get the feeling of success because we catch our own food and don't have to depend on twolegs to fill our bellies, and we fight off any danger that comes to us because we have to." Purring at this, the she-cat added, "but your life is your life, so run it however you want."