Camp Guard

[Takumi]

The siamese tom slinked across the branch, his blue gaze watching carefully in the undergrowth below. Duty was the reason for his post, duty to his adopted clan. Amberstar set his position as Camp Guard, along with Lucky, Wrenwing, Rani, Westwind, and Leopardnose. These such Treeclanners were in various places, scouting and keeping an eye out for any 'loose' Boneclanners or Duskclanners during the war. For now, Takumi was weaving his way from tree to tree, squirrel style, in the thick woods of the Treeclan camp.

Eventually, he finished his patrol around the camp. He leaped down from the tree, landing with a soft thud on the soft, leaf strewn floor. A sweet scent wafted into his nose. His pelt tingled. It was Lucky's scent. Flattening his fur, the slim tom called out, his orange headband tails lieing across his shoulder.

"Lucky? I know you're there."

Finished

[Onyxdart]

Wrenwing was cat-napping the safest place she knew of- up a tree, stretched out on a branch. She flicked her ears at sounds that she didn't actually hear.

But she did hear Takumi when he called for Lucky, and she sprang up to her feet, claws dug into the bark as she looked down to see who'd been making noise. She didn't know his name, but she had see him around, so she saw no reason to be unduly startled.

She stretched and worked her way out as far as she could to the edge of her limb, balancing on the end while it bounced under her weight like a springboard. There was nothing but ground below her, but it didn't worry her. She was good in the trees.

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[Takumi]

To Takumi, no more then a heartbeat had passed when his large siamese ears picked up the minute creaking of a branch. If it wasn't for the fact that the breeze was still, he would have thought the wind did it. Jerking his head up and back, he peered into the trees. The faint shadowy outline of a feline caught his attention, but for his position, he could not make out the color nor scent of the cat.

Spinning, the orange tails of his headband wrapping around his neck like a scarf, the tan and brown tom bristled his fur, making no noise, just in case the cat hadn't spotted him near the entrance to the TreeClan camp.

[Onyxdart]

Wrenwing crept back along her branch to the trunk, and sat with her tail hanging over the edge, looking over like a vulture down at Sunpelt. She then crept down the tree backwards and let go of the tree, dropping the last few feet to land in the leaf litter just at the base.

She stood like she was rooted to the ground and looked at Sunpelt, her tail waving slowly as she watched the tom, just a little bit suspiciously, though suspicious was more a state of being for her than anything.

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[Takumi]

The siamese tom, watched the cat's descent. She's familiar with the trees, he noted, but that doesn't mean anything. He opened up his mouth, allowing the scent glands at the top to identify more then sight would allow.

It was a she-cat, and a Treeclan cat, as well. Waiving his tail, Takumi relaxed, then did the formal bow of his tribe, bending his upper half, while the lower remained upright.

"Takumi, Trheeclan, She. You ahre?"

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With Lucky's help, his english is getting better, but the accent of his tribe was hard to override.

[Onyxdart]

Wrenwing nodded respectfully to the tom, tilting her head at his strange accent. Still, he was understandable enough.

"Wrenwing," she answered solemly. From up above came the raucous calls of a wren, out of place in the forest. Wrenwing looked up and waited for Rani to show herself. The little bird did so, fluttering down to the ground to sit right in front of Wrenwing, almost between her two front legs.

"That's Rani," Wren said hurriedly, putting a paw out and batting the little bird closer to her, should the tom think to mistake her friend for good eating.

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[Duskwingflight]

Leopardnose walked over toward the other cats. She was nervous, but she would never tell. She listened, and when Wrenwing pointed out Rani, it felt odd. A cat and a bird? "huh." She said quietly, "So how did you make friends with a bird?" She said this loudly and sharp but her voice was always like that.

[Takumi]

Takumi's ears pricked, listening to the confident pads of a cat through worn earth. He looked behind him, another Treeclanner, one he has yet to meet, padded up to the group, voicing the curiosities that Takumi hadn't yet voiced... nor could he think of how to ask it in their language.

He cocked his head, eyeing the cat who protected her feathered friend with a paw. The orange head band tails shifted, toiling to the ground as he bent, like before, rump in the air, forequarters against the ground.

"Takumi."

The tom greeted again, to both bird and feline.

[Onyxdart]

It appeared the little bird was safe for the moment, which was good, because at the loud sharp voice of the other she-cat, Wrenwing crouched instinctively behind her much smaller friend.

"I found her! She was little,"

[/b] the bird answered, stretching out her wings as if she were stretching, indicating just how big Wrenwing had been. She'd actually been bigger, but she could never convince the little bird of this.[/color][/center][/size]

[Duskwingflight]

Leopardnose nodded her head. "The bird can understand cat?" Leopardnose always thought of birds as freshkill,never did she think that a bird could understand cat. "So do we just wait." This time indicating about the war. Just thinking about it kept her thinking. What was happening? Who was winning? What if Treeclan lost? All these questions where swarming in her head.

[Takumi]

Recieving no reply of this other cat's name, Takumi returned to sitting, his blue eyes sweeping between the gathered company. Until, of course, the bird spoke... in cat, no doubt... And you know... there's something odd about hearing cat come from a bird's mouth...

Takumi's gaze watched as the bird indicated the size of Wrenwing when they met. Lifelong companion... It makes sense I suppose, the tom thought, while voicing,

"Noh wanderh youh're attahched. Fhamly is fhamly... noh mhattehr shap ahnd sihze."

[Onyxdart]

Wrenwing crept forward a half a step and planted her nose in the little wren's back as a thank you for stepping in.

"She taught me cat. I tried to teach her bird, but you cats can't get it as easy," Rani added, flipping her wings out for balance. In response, Wrenwing meowed, a high pitch, and chattered off the end like a chirp- a high pitched purr.

With a wide grin as if she was terribly proud of herself, Wrenwing settled down like a meatloaf cat, still behind the plucky Rani, but less so like she was trying her best to hide.

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[Duskwingflight]

Leopardnose laughed when the cat tried to speak bird."That sounded like a sick dog cringing to the twoleg! Oh and I forgot to tell you my name, I'm Leopardnose. Takumi, why do you talk like that?" Leopardnose remembered the first cat she met, she asked so many questions, was she turning out to be like that?

[Onyxdart]

Wrenwing frowned at the other cat poking fun at her attempt at speaking bird. While it seemed the Leopardnose was distracted, Wren backed up a quiet step, and another, until her tail touched the tree.

Then she whipped around and was up it like a shot, surprising even Rani, who hadn't noticed her slipping ever so quietly away.

Up in the top of the tree, Wrenwing perched herself on a branch and managed to wipe a paw over her face a few times for composure, without overbalancing and tipping off. She then stretched out along the branch with an irritated hrumph, feeling homesick, not for the first time. Well, maybe not homesick, but she did miss the others she'd lived with for a time. They'd been an interesting group. But they'd all sounded odd speaking each other's languages. It had never occurred to Wren that someone might laugh when she spoke to Rani.

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[Takumi]

Takumi listened to Wrenwing converse with her avian friend. The sounds were funny to hear, not at all musical like the bird's own voice, yet not much different as the bird speaking cat either. It was certianly an odd pairing just the same... yet... Takumi could see the merits in having such a companion... The bird's flight perspective for one... Especially in the fruit of battle... Yet that was just Takumi, who's training had solley rooted on the knowledge of war.

Takumi tacked on the name, Leopardnose, as a name to remember.He turned to her now, aware that she had asked him a question. For a minute, he thought upon her verbage, not completely fluent in their tongue... but he was learning.

"Home. Home ihs ahcrohss te grheat whatehr. I cohme frohm ah trihbe thereh. Muhch diffehrehnt hehar, yes. Weh speahk, ahnd lihve diffehrehnt thereh. Mahny, Mahny mohre cahts, yes. Twihce ahs bihg ahs ahll Clahns."

Takumi's head band tails trailed to the ground, his dark pointed face looking up, up, up. Wrenwing had climbed all the way up there... And she looked dejected at the tease from Leopardnose. Takumi sighed, lightly jumped over the bird with apparent ease, then climbed right after her. His lighter frame making this much more efficient.

For Takumi, Artisan, he was truely the artisan of his craft... War.

"Bahck home. Bihrd tahlk high praihse. Noh wohrriehs nohw, yehs?"

Just for 411. His accent would sound japanese trying to speak english.

Finished

[Duskwingflight]

Leopardnose looked and saw that Wrenwing and Takumi was in the tree. SHe didn't mean to hurt Wrenwing's feelings, she was just anxious and nervous. Her way of calming down was to laugh. "Must be hard doing that. It probably took a lot of practice just to get that far." She hoped this would cheer her up.She then thought about what Takumi said. There where other, larger groups of cats somewhere.

[Onyxdart]

Wrenwing looked up at Takumi without raising her head and muttered something noncommital. Then she sighed and raised her head, knowing full well that if she continued on in this manner not only would she annoy or push away the only other cats she'd really met, but Rani would probably come up and peck her half to death.

"Yeah, no worries," she said with a quick grin. She looked over the edge of the limb down at Leopardnose. It hadn't taken her that long to learn to climb trees. They were a way to get away from things on the ground, and when you worried about things on the ground, you liked going straight up trees.

"Easier than trying to climb into small bushes," she answered down, refering to a past that of course no one here knew about. She had to be mysterious about something, after all.

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[Takumi]

At first, Takumi frowned at the mutter the she gave him, only later for his lips to level off as she accepted this as acceptable. With a smile that should appease to any words he could have said in reply, in turned back, and started to get back down from the tree. And it was rather interesting to watch.

He went facedown, practically walking down the trunk in a sense. He let gravity propel him forward, keeping enough speed ahead of it to control his movements. His claws kept him attached to the trunk, as he half jogged, half walked down the trunk. The orange head band remained secure around his forehead, leaving the tails dancing in the wind he left in his wake. He leaped down a foot from the floor, making the action light and jaunty. Yes... Takumi was showing off... If however slightly... There was no need to let good skills get rusty, afterall.

[Duskwingflight]

Leopardnose watched in amazement how Takumi climbed down the tree. But she didn't show that she was amazed. It annoyed her when cats showed off like that. But she had to admit that Takumi was good.

[Onyxdart]

Wrenwing watched Takumi run down the tree, restraining herself from rolling her eyes at his showing off. Not that she minded, she just thought it was silly.

"Stop pouting and go make friends,"

[/b] Rani chirped from a branch above Wrenwing. The cat twisted to look at the little bird and then down again at the other two.

She hopped down by branches, working her way down in a spiral around the tree until she was at the last branch. Then she jumped down- it wasn't too far- and landed on her feet, bending slightly to absorb the shock. Rani flapped down after her and landed on her head.[/color][/center][/size]