[maomao]

MaoMao ~ 161 ~ Loner ~ She-cat

MaoMao had spent more and more time with the old tom since they'd met. If you'd told the grumpy and sassy she-cat two moons ago that she would have met someone elder then her who used to be a kittypet but now lived on the streets that she would grow close to,s he would have laughed in your face and swayed her little hips away.

And yet, here the grey tabby was bringing home a pair of mice and a plump sparrow from her expedition to the Twolegplace park for a night of fun and story sharing.  She tried not to think about what her old friends would have said if they could see her now.  She had once been queen of the world with no need for a man in her life other then the human she bossed around.  And now look at her.  Doing his hunting.  She snarled her nose back in disgust and yet...couldn't bring herself to call off their night.

She returned to her little home int he Junkyard.  She had found a pair of chipped and cracked cups in a corner of the yard under some other trash and managed to pry them free.  They had been left out in the rain the past few nights to fill so the pair could drink tonight without having to get up.  She set the mice out, one in front of each little pillow that she'd dragged out to the center of her space.  They were torn a little with stuffing popping out but they were still more comfortable then the ground for the aching joints that would utilize them.

The sparrow was set aside as something of a desert for them to share later.  Her gold eyes glanced to the sky to check where the sun was and angry grey clouds were clearly visible.  It seemed the rain that had ruled the previous night might not be done with them after all.

MaoMao waited for his familiar scent to announce his arrival.

Tags: lear
Comments: omfg I can't >.<

[lear]

Lear was leading an interesting life. He was in a situation unexpected, that was certain. He had never expected new beginnings when he left his home, he didn't expect more questions. He set out to answer the last questions he had--not experience things anew. It made him feel like he still had some life left in him. That in itself was good, since the day was wet and foggy and cool, which wasn't too nice on his joints. He didn't feel all that bad--Lear wasn't arthritic, but he knew age would catch him in time, since he no longer lived the softer life he did before. 

The tabby tom had lost weight, but still navigated the junkyard well. MaoMao's home was like a home to Lear. Not quite--but it was the closest thing to, since he spent time wandering. He found the best places he could and slept there, circling the Clans and then returning to the junkyard, sometimes with a shiny in tow, or something the she-cat might like. In his head, he could hear Duncan encouraging him on, even if he reminded this imagined friend that MaoMao would have detested him. His own kind could be so narrow minded, it shamed him sometimes. The cats did have the Clans going for them, though. Dogs would sometimes form packs, but it wasn't the same structure at all. 

He glanced up at the sky. It looked like there was more rain on the horizon, and he quickened his step. He wasn't eager to get wet, if he could avoid it, and keeping the she-cat waiting was not a good idea, not when she promised food. He was hungry, but it was more than that: it was the act of kindness, and he shouldn't be tardy or ungrateful. MaoMao was old, but not so old she couldn't hunt. Lear had a far harder time chasing down prey. He occasionally got an ailing mouse, or an elderly, wounded bird. Once he chanced on some nestlings fallen to he ground. He felt bad about that: an elder preying on old animals was all right, but on babies? He had been sad, but he ate them. It was that or starve, and so the grey tabby's gifts were a true lifeline. 

He caught wind of her scent and emerged around a piece of garbage. "MaoMao," he said by way of greeting, barking out the vowels in an staccato way, his staccato way. She knew his secret, and so he didn't attempt to change his accent. He didn't want to: it was a part of him as sure as his ears or tail were. He could lose it and survive, but he wouldn't be the same. "How do you fare in the weather?" he paused, realizing that anything he said was going to be misinterpreted, and his whiskers twitched, "No doubt without any trouble at all, I'm sure." The she-cat was not one for admitting weakness, that Lear knew. 

_______________
maomao | 495

[maomao]

MaoMao ~ 161 ~ Loner ~ She-cat

She did not have to wait long.  Lear rounded the corner and she heard his voice clearly, even through the growing humidity and the tension the oncoming downpour was causing.  "MaoMao."  She dipped her head in a silent response.  "How do you fare in the weather?  No doubt without any trouble at all, I'm sure."  Sometimes she found his dog-like bark a tad difficult to understand but the more time she spent with the easier it was becoming.  

A sly smile sparked into her gaze when he paused and spoke again to clarify that he didn't think she was having trouble.  He was learning to impress her.  "Better then you've been faring, I am quite sure.  Come."  She twitched her tail tip inside, inviting him into the warmth of her home.  Although he had been over enough times to no longer need an invitation, it was still her way of telling him she wanted him around.  

She walked silently over to the pillows she had sat aside and picked the one before the smaller of the two mice.  She settled onto the cushion on and nodded tot he other for him to do the same.  Both had been kittypets most of their life and while a Clancat would have refused the soft ground to sit on, neither of them had any negative emotions toward their lives with the two-legs.  Just because she no longer lived in a human home didn't mean she couldn't afford the luxuries it had once given her.

It had been a few days since they had last seen each other.  Lear had gone on one of his trips around the forest to observe the Clans and she hadn't seen him since she left.  She figured asking would open the conversation.  "How was your trip, Lear?  Discover anything interesting?"

Tags: lear
Comments: 

[lear]

Was...was MaoMao concerned for him and his old bones? Or was it a jab, that she was doing better than he? He wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was both. He liked to hope it was both--he didn't want to think himself so fragile that she was concerned and not a little bit of her usual self about it. He let the conversation drop for the moment and entered her home only when she invited it. It was called manners. Cat manners. Dog manners was to just come in, as it seemed standoffish and rude to wait for another invitation: were you so distrustful that you expected hospitality yanked away? It was quite another thing for cats, and he found that confusing. Not that there were two norms, but the cat norm was so...cold. Lear didn't bring that up, though. He didn't think he should. He still wasn't sure how MaoMao felt about his language and culture preferences. 

He settled onto the one cushion for him and saw the mouse. She gave him the larger. Was she really all right? He wasn't going to complain, though. The food she gave him was life-saving, life extending, and he was in no position to complain. He'd repay her somehow, though. If he changed upon a nest, or a shinie, or something to improve her home. He didn't have a base, but she did. Maybe he could find something to make her home better for her in return. 

"The group that was righting RiverClan appears to have been killed. I noticed a lot of graves--they are the Moor-er, WindClan, seemed like they went right for murder." He didn't know why. He wasn't sure he wanted to know why--just so long as he wasn't next. "The river looks like it's got twoleg garbage in it, you know the stuff that's noxious. The stuff they kept in cabinets we'd be given what for about if we tried to get into? Something like that, I think. The Clan cats...I don't think they realize." It was a short summary, but he hadn't made contact with any Clan cat recently. They were too busy reeling in the water and the battle's aftermath, he supposed too pay heed to a loner like him. 

_______________
maomao | 376