There goes the neighborhood. [open]

[actuality]

As a thing, before someone PMs me/replies to this thread saying that I am not accepted, yes I am. So if you do so even after I put this message here for your benefit, I will reach through your internet connection and smack you be unhappy.

Testing the sun-warmed brick under his paws experimentally, Thorn gave it a vaguely derisive glance, turning away in favor of the rich, springy grass and tall weeds and heather that grew on either side. Pausing in half-stride, the rackets of an Oldsmobile that someone had lovingly restored to life - but, like a undead, refused to move smoothly - reaching his ears. Craning his neck onto the road again, he'd frown, careful to avoid the hot brick that had warmed quickly under the gaze of the sun. The car backfired once, twice, and then puttered to a slower pace, and then stopped slightly ahead of Thorn Dappleshade's veiwing spot. Sprinting across the veritable hot coals of the road, he'd relocate to the other side before a human came out, straining for a better view - curiousity killed the cat, after all, but satisfaction brought it back.

Unfortunately, the car chose the exact moment that he deemed worthy for his race across the brick road to backfire one more time, sending gusts of gray and white smoke out of it's piping and revving before it started moving again, forward, forward, and then out of sight. Coughing exhaust fumes, he'd make it across and then proceed to half-stumble towards one of his favored rocks, blinking reflexive tears away from the smoke and hauling himself up onto said favored rock with the ease of long practice. "Well, that was an experience I could have gone my entire life never doing." He'd snap quietly to himself, stretching briefly before checking for snakes.

Thorn Dappleshade sighed, stretching himself over the small plataeu-esq rock and resolved to enjoy the rest of the day in peace, quiet, and... spotting a mouse scurrying near the base of the rock, he'd swipe it up in a smoothly practiced motion, depositing it in his mouth with a nasty crunch and wincing at the grinding sound, before relaxing again with a well-placed swallow. Picking up the train of thought he'd had before this, he'd add as an afterthought, solitude would be nice.

Unfortunately, the Universe had a nasty habit of not conforming to his every demand, wish, or hope. It would stand to reason that this habit would continue even on this day - pleasantly warm and dry, to his surprise, and perfect for sunning oneself on one's favorite rock.

[thorfriend]

Even on a nice day, Thor managed to find something to be angry at. This time, it was the squirrel.

That rotten rodent was blazing an impossible trail through the rolling field; oblivious to Thor's careful stalking, but annoying the Abyssinian all the same. Her gold eyes squinted, trying to make out the grey fur among the blindingly green and yellow grasses. She wasn't a short cat, but she was literally up to her eyes in them.

Tail twitching, she crouched, ready to make a break for it and make her cramping through the field worthwhile. However, the squirrel darted across the bricks on the road, right as a rickety old car came crashing down the road.

Rat crap! You stupid, stupid rodent! she wanted to hiss, and instead thought it as loud as she could, and darted out to the road as the car came by. It let out so much smoke, almost equal to the bil-lows in her old home, or what could be called such a thing. She reached out with all her senses, but still didn't notice a cat darting across the road towards her until said cat was upon her. She struggled backwards, leaping out of the way as she watched the squirrel up a towering oak on the other side.

So much for her hours of cramping her muscles in order to let the thing get away, at the cost of humans. These humans! she reminded herself, angrily pacing around much like a cougar, tail lashing back and forth. They use those stupid machines and ruin everything! Mark my words, I will get them someday. They didn't ever use those contraptions. They knew how to work with the rest of the world, not against it.

But the ticked cat-- no pun intended-- put that subject off for the time being. It seems that the other cat, who nearly crashed into her. had found a mouse and was downing it quickly. Too easily. It angered her even further.

However, Thor was not a stupid cat, and knew what 'manners' were. The only chance of making sure he didn't get another meal so quickly was to hunt with him and best him at that. Naturally, she stopped lashing her tail and put on her perfected act of a quiet, respectful cat and went up to him.

"Sorry about earlier," she meowed the apology, trotting up closer so she didn't have to shout. "Those human contraptions make so much smoke and noise I didn't even see you coming."

"But if you're hunting, do you mind if I join you? I just lost three of my last prey--" Thor exaggerated. Why not? She was dang good at lying, and it helped her cause. "And the way you swept up that last mouse was marvelous, if you don't mind me saying so."

[actuality]

Thorn Dappleshade gave her a dubious look, mouth compressing into a thin, black slash against gray and white tones. "It was hardly a novel experience," He'd say slowly, tones softly cultured with an edging of street-smart lack of naivety beginning to emerge with the prolonged time away from his home. "So, ah," Clearing his throat discreetly, he'd unfold from the rock, sliding down to see eye-to-eye with her, head tilting up and to the left and eying her from the corner of his eye. Ahem-ing politely again, he'd remember his manners, offering a genial if not awkward smile.

"You want to hunt with m-shur? I mean, sure, you can if you want." Social blunders became more apparent with the subtle wince, reviewing the conversation mentally and then giving up on being socially adept altogether. A pause, then; "I'm afraid you'd be disappointed, though," He'd continue as an afterthought, brushing aside leaves and seating himself, back to the sun and the road. "I'm a very patient kind of cat, more stealth than the actual running after the mouse. Nothing quite as impressive as your idea of hunting, I believe."

Giving her a sideways glance, he'd roll his shoulders back, lethargic blue eyes trailing away into the heather again. He wasn't intentionally rude - just quiet, more introspective. "I suppose we should get going, then," Thorn would summarize, standing again and padding forward on surprisingly silent feet, slow and deliberate. "If we catch anything, you can have it - I'm alright," Quietly noting her apparent hunger and the claim of having lost three prey before that, he'd call the verdict that she needed the food more than he did.

Thorn hadn't quite gotten the hang of what the stray cats considered 'hunting'; he preferred, rather, to wait patiently on a rock or near water or food a human dropped for a few days, staking the place out, and then catch whatever mice went there - hardly as glamorous as stalking the prey and lunging and chasing. "My name's Thorn Dappleshade," He'd offer in lieu of introducing, checking to see if she was still there and lowering himself to the ground, shouldering aside heather and weeds. Ye - there! There was a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye, twisting his neck and turning to confirm it.

[thorfriend]

[ahaha their names are really similar and I didn't even notice XD]

"It was hardly a novel experience, So, ah. You want to hunt with m-shur? I mean, sure, you can if you want."

Thor waved her tail amiably above her head as they walked. She was disgusting, how frienly she was being. But certainly this was easier than flushing out her own prey, which seemed to hate her oh-so-very-much. It's a good thing this tom grew up saying his please-and-thankyou's. Thor sure didn't, and hadn't the thought to learn.

"Oh, you are too modest! You'd think a tom could accept a compliment when he recieves one. You wouldn't believe how they eluded me today." She said, her voice higher than her normal, boyish voice. Ugh, I sound like a soft little kitten. Well, I'll collect my reward and leave.

"I'm a very patient kind of cat, more stealth than the actual running after the mouse. Nothing quite as impressive as your idea of hunting, I believe."

"Oh, really? I sorta taught myself how to hunt. Nobody could be bothered to teach me up proper. But I only caught you rushing foreward." she finished, hinting on the last part. Was he really crouching? Because for some reason, Thor herself didn't see it.

"I suppose we should get going, then, If we catch anything, you can have it - I'm alright, My name's Thorn Dappleshade," The tom replied, spaced out. He was nervous, how cute.

Peeerfect. "How kind of you to offer. It's much appreciated." She purred back, eyes blinking. She could be so peachy at times.

"And Thorn? Wow, your name sounds like mine! I'm Thor Hawkeye. Thor like the thunder god." Thor just barely managed to finish, before she froze, eyes searching the bush as the warm scent of vole wafted over to where they were.

Darting out at a mad, cheetah-like dash, she managed to outrun the little rodent, and she pounced on it, listening to it's rapid heart flutter until she cracked it's neck and it was silent. Carrying it back, she plopped the plump thing down near this 'Thorn' cat, and made a wordless offer to share.

It was almost against her ideals, but he was being nice and gullible. He deserved a reward for complacency.

[actuality]

He seemed to be the poster child for complacency today; the easygoing nature coupled with the lethargic afternoon tended to do that to him. Giving her a slightly disbelieving look when she mentioned compliments, he'd opt for making noncommital sound. Scenting vole around the same time she did, he'd fall back stragetically, letting her swarm forward; the outcome was obvious when she returned with the vole corpse. When she offered him a share of the prey, Thorn would further his role as 'poor gullible kid' by peering at the vole.

"I'll just have a leg - you can have the rest," He'd decide, tone genial, head lowering quickly to rip off the haunch of the vole without much hesitation before giving her a questioning look for confirmation before he moved over politely to allow her, her privacy in her meal. "I suppose that you would be aptly named, then," He'd murmur before ripping off a generous sliver of fur to get to the meatier, less furry inside of the haunch.

"Soh," He'd start around a mouthful of meat, swallowing hard and almost choking. "I mean, so, may I ask, is there.. competition for food between strays? I like to be," A pause, then, "You know, modest and tell people that I'm not the most aggressive cat, but you know how it is - it helps to know how many cats I'm going to have to throw ten yards away." Good humor and gentle sarcasm was injected into the genuinely curious question, tongue loosening with the warmth of the sun at his back and juicy vole between his teeth.

[thorfriend]

"I'll just have a leg - you can have the rest."

Thor blinked graciously, and then hungrily devoured the rest of the meal.

"I suppose that you would be aptly named, then,"

This caught the ruddy she-cat off guard a bit, but she forced herself not to choke on her food. As soon as she'd finished, she sat up, and cleaned herself briefly. "Oh, well, I don't know about that. Humans gave me that name, and I didn't have one before so it stuck. Depends on if you consider humans--" She glanced back angrily at the road, gold eyes flashing with annoyance. Äre capable of giving a fitting name."

Oh but deary me, I'm supposed to be a demure cat here. She thought, and then blinked her eyes again. She was thankful he was taking it so far, and didn't try to jump her when her eyes were closed.

"I mean, so, may I ask, is there.. competition for food between strays? I like to be. You know, modest and tell people that I'm not the most aggressive cat, but you know how it is - it helps to know how many cats I'm going to have to throw ten yards away."

Thor thought for a moment, remembering her legacy. Me, you ratcrapping fool, it's ME you gotta throw ten meters away. Like you could lift your prissy paws high enough to do it anyhow.

"I'm pretty new here too, so I'm not sure who to watch out for. But food isn't really a problem.. if you can stand the cities. They're noisy, crammed full of humans and their messy, rude kits.. but the sewers are so full of rats and mice, like you wouldn't believe. I prefer the outdoors, and it's usually not this hard to find a meal." she blabbered on. Normal she-cats, she justified herself, were known for gossipping.

OOC: I'm gonna be away (I have a thread in the absences board) so if this doesn't get any replies in the near future that's why xD)