Tiptoe Higher

Raven soft toed through the harsh environment of the Twolegplace.  It had been moons since he had left the twolegs and he still wasn't quite sure why he had come back.  Just tasting the bitter and harsh scents in the air brought back the painful flashes of his past life.  No one had protected him then, so why would anyone now?  Was that really why he was here?  Sure things in the woods weren't going completely as he had planned.  He truly hadn't expected there to be as many cats in there as there were.  He had gone looking for a place where he could live apart, where no one would ever bother him again, and yet everywhere he turned there had been eyes lurking in the bushes.

The sun beat down harshly, heating the rough pavement under Raven's paws to an uncomfortable degree.  As he peered up and down the rows of houses, looking for a place where he could rest his paws for a moment, he caught sight of a wandering dog.  His hair fluffed involuntarily, the moons he spent in the woods making him doubly cautious of any creature bigger than him, but especially those of a canine heritage.  There had been strange things happening in the woods of late, strange scents and prey devoured to nothing but bone.

Raven glanced around for an escape route as he shrunk nearer to the ground, trying to escape detection.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark alley, the perfect hiding place.  It was sure to have some nook or cranny that he could squeeze into and go undetected by the dog. 

His find came none too soon as the dog noticed him cowering on the edge of the street, its hackles went up and a growl emitted from its throat as it trotted purposefully over.  Raven let out a hiss and was off like a shot, careening around the corner of the alley and straight into another cat.  Raven cursed his luck, a dog and another cat in the same day.  Why had he come to the twolegplace?

"Dog!"  he spat at the cat as he hurtled himself past her.  An agonizingly sharp pain blossomed between his toes as he leapt for the metal can and then scrabbled for a pawhold before hurtling himself at a window ledge out of harms way.  Only when he was safely balanced did he peek below to see what the fate of the other cat had been.

"Dog!" Yowled a cat as it barreled past Wren. She ran, pushing herself through a narrow gap, where part of a fence slat was missing. The dog whined, pawing at the hole into which she has disappeared. 

Wren crouched, waiting for what seemed a lifetime. Eventually, though the dog meandered off again, leaving her alone. "Hello?" Came the cat's mew. She tensed. Should I come out? Or stay here, bottled up?


Her mind quickly flitted from situation to situation, judging how the other cat would react to each. She could only assume, as she didn't know any of his habits, or thoughts, or ... anything. "Hello?" He called again. Wren considered for a moment, then slipped out, her ribs scraping against the wood. 

Wren eyed the cat carefully. He was perched on a ledge below a window, in turn watching her. He was a little on the skinny side, but then again, so was she. They were about equally matched, she guessed. Though, you couldn't tell how much muscle actually lurked under a pelt; it was hard to tell with herself.

Silence reigned for a few minutes as they both studied each other. "Thanks," Wren said begrudgingly. That was all that needed to be said, and all that wanted to be. "I didn't need to be rescued, though." She added, as an afterthought.

Wren immediately cursed herself, knowing that she had in fact, needed it. But if she added something now, she would lose face in front of this stranger. So she challenged him with her eyes. She didn't know it herself, but anyone looking at her then would have known it.

Raven watched as the slight she-cat slid through a gap in the fence, leaving the dog to nose around, whimpering and whining, until it eventually lost interest in the chase.  It trotted off, leaving the coast clear and Raven sighing in relief.  The encounter had left him more than a bit shaken, his sleepless nights in the woods had left him on edge, and this had made him more resolute that something had to be done about the ominous presence in the woods.

"Hello?"  Came a meow from below, jolting Raven out of his thoughts, he had thought the cat had long since gone and was quite surprised when she appeared below the ledge he balanced on.  He blinked at her, did she expect him to reply?  He studied her with cool eyes, she was small and thin, a little on the ragged side, not a kittypet then.  Raven shifted his paws, she was probably an alley cat and one that he hadn't encountered before he turned to the woods.

He looked at her and she looked at him, with what others might have called an awkward silence stretching thin.  It was the she-cat who broke it.  "Thanks," she snipped, "I didn't need to be rescued, though."  Raven snorted, thanks were not needed, and he certainly didn't rescue her, though he did wonder why he had paused to hiss 'dog' at her.  He nodded his head down at her, then thought that perhaps some vocal acknowledgment was needed.  He sighed to himself before hopping down from his vantage point, quite aware of her insolent gaze.

"A rescue it wasn't, I assure you."  He mewed as he leaped down from the silver can in front of where she stood.  He paused to lick his chest, "Although I dare say that curiosity has gripped me, I've never seen you around.  Though it has been some moons since I last visited this dreary place."

He wove his way over to her, slightly disturbed that in his observation he had found her smaller than she actually was.  In reality, she was bigger than him.  A fact which made him wish he had kept his vantage point and not joined her on the ground.

He coughed, then pulled back from her, "My apologies, I fear my manners are in disarray after that rather unpleasant encounter.  Let's start over, shall we?" he dipped his head, "Raven, at your service.  Might I be bold enough to ask your name in return?"