Two Down. One To Go. Zero Luck. |Sable|

[yoyo]

And everything you thought
You can forget
Cause ya’ll know nothing ‘bout my name.

The two cats fled from the market in blind fear. It had not be a very pleasant experience… Oh heck, that was an understatement. Juniper had been scared out of her wits; Hmm… She seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Being scared out of her wits, that is. First at the road when she had almost starved to death, then at the dump when she had fallen into an underground cavern and couldn’t find a way out, then when she had almost drowned in a human pool of water, and then, most recently, when she had been caught by the human worker. Only the bravery and quick thinker of No-Name had saved her.

All of her previous thoughts about this tom were foreign to her, as if they had been flown into eternal oblivion. This cat wasn’t what Juniper thought he was. She had thought that he was a stubborn, obnoxious, rude, and poorly mannered cat, extremely proud, who only cared about himself. She was wrong. He had saved him, even when it had meant putting himself at risk. Would Juniper had done the same for him? Yes, she would’ve, or she would have had to live with a horrible guilt for the rest of her life.

The female feline slowed her pace, and then abruptly stopped to rest. She was panting heavily after running all that way. She had no idea where she was. She could smell a vaguely familiar smell coming towards them, but she just couldn’t put her claw on what it was. It danced around on the edge of her memory, tantalizingly close, yet somehow out of reach. It taunted her as it spun around, like a bird trapped in a cage tried to escape from her outstretched, unsheathed paws. What was the name of this smell?

Speaking of names, what was her savior’s name? She still hadn’t learn it. Still panting, she breathlessly turned to him and said, “Let’s start over.” They hadn’t exactly started on the right foot. Now that she thought about it, it was probably all just a misunderstanding. Perhaps she shouldn’t have yelled at him. Though, he did make fun of her ears… Oh well. It was all in the past now. And he had proven all of her ideas about him wrong. ”I’m Juniper, by the way. Stormfeather,” She said. Smiling kindly. He had just saved her life, after all. And gotten her respect.

And then, she realized what that smell was. It was food. But not just any food. Chicken. And that also meant humans. She shivered a bit from fear at the thought of facing humans for the second time today. But now, she was starting to get hungry too. And she realized how weak and hungry Sable must be. She looked at him with sympathy in her hazel eyes. She had put him through a lot today.

Lyrics: Kiss My Sass by Cobra Starship

[pandakat]

Where were they going now? He wasn't really sure if he cared at this point, the only thing he was focusing on was keeping in pace with the feline beside him. It was difficult, to say the least, with every joint and every muscle screaming at him in silent tones that almost overwhelmed what Screecher had thrown at him earlier. Earlier? Ha, it felt like ages ago. And he should've eaten ages ago, his stomach reminded him, though it delivered the reminder with a punch that he was almost used to by now.

He spared a glance from his resolute stare ahead to look at Screecher, wondering what her real name was even more as he forged on. Maybe Screecher wasn't such a fitting name, after all, her yowling must only be a fraction of her personality. He hoped, anyway. But whatever she was really like, at least she didn't seem to be physically harmed from their encounter with the human. The slightly optimistic thought was then coupled with another relieving thing; they were slowing down. His pace dropped like a stone until he stumbled and flopped onto his belly, eyes closed as he coughed up his lungs. After a few moments of wheezing, he cracked a blue eyes open to peer at Screecher and then around the place. Where were they? Nothing was familiar in this place; he might as well have been dropped into a foreign country. Sable didn't even bother to try and test the scents around them lest he trigger another hack-your-lungs-out fest.

At the sound of Screecher's voice he glanced back to her, blue eyes wide with his silent inquiry.

"I'm Juniper, by the way. Stormfeather."

He nodded before shifting his dry tongue and swallowing, "I'm Sa--" He broke off, a bit surprised at the hoarse rasp that had come out of his mouth instead of words. He swallowed again and cleared his throat before frowning. "Saa--" Coughs interrupted this time, and frustration began to build. Why couldn't spit out his friggin name? Sable stared at Juniper hard, hoping his hidden telepathic skills would suddenly come into existance.

[yoyo]

Juniper realized that Sable was in worse than bad shape when he flopped down and started hacking his lungs up. Her ears went back and flattened to her head at the horrible sound. ’This is my fault,’ She thought sadly, watching as the tom’s coughing fit started to subside. He really needed food and water, she decided. Like… Now. She looked over towards where the chicken smell was coming from. Live chicken. She worried that if she failed at killing a chicken, then the tom would collapse and die.

She turned her head back to look at him just in time to see him nod when she introduced herself. Was he going to introduce himself, or were her previous assumptions about him were correct? Rude, annoying, too proud? She waited. He seemed to try to be saying something but then coughed each time. Was he trying to be funny? Well, Juniper wasn’t amused. ”Ok, fine, Hackahckcoughcough. Watch as I repay you for what you did earlier by getting you food,” She said, and jumped up to her feet, going at a brisk pace in the direction of the chicken.

Once she saw it, fear flowed through her again. She saw a barn not too far away from where the chickens were clucking around. Moon had warned her about this place when she had first met her. That there were dogs running around her, chasing cats and killing them. She swallowed hard, and looked back at Sable. Could he travel further to the dump? Would he make it? No, he probably couldn’t. She would have to be brave and rely on her instincts, like he had for her.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, and then exhaling. She inhaled one more time, and exhaled. This calmed her down a bit. Determination in her eyes, she carefully made her way quickly across the open expanse of ground. It was nearing sunset… Perhaps she should wait until dark when her eye sight was better and the chickens’ eye sight worse? Wait for when she had the advantage? ’No, No-Name needs the food now,’ She thought, and with that, nodded to herself, closing the space between her and the chicken coop quickly.

Using her strong hind legs, she had a little difficulty getting over the fence, but she managed it. She blinked in confusion as panic ensued in the enclosed area. The chickens were clucking wildly, flapping their wings and screeching. Juniper realized that this would attract a lot of attention, and she needed to kill one of these creatures before the human, or worse, a dog, noticed she was there and decided to exterminate her.

The silver tabby closed her eyes as she imagined crouching, pouncing, killing, and dragging her prey back to No-Name. She opened her hazel eyes, and that same sort of shimmer was back in them from before; A kind of feral-ness. Yet it was beautiful. She dropped to the ground, her silver and sable fur brushing the ground as she picked a target. It was facing away from her, trying to frantically run away… However, it had trouble walking. It was one of the chickens that the humans had produced from selective breeding. The one with some much meat that it’s feeble legs couldn’t support it’s enormous body.

The feline swiftly caught up with it, her body still low to the ground. When she was only a few paces behind, she pounced, and clawed the chicken to the ground. It clucked and thrashed at her, but it was over. Juniper sunk her teeth into its neck, and pulled, resulting in the chicken’s neck being broken. She took her jaws away from it, blood dripping from her teeth, and panted. The experience had taken a toll on her, draining her both mentally and physically. She looked down at the dead chicken in delight. No-Name wasn’t going to starve.

She dragged the chicken over to the fence, and was faced with another problem. How was she supposed to get this over-muscled chicken over the fence? She pondered this for a few moments before shrugging. She would just have to find a way. Sinking her teeth into the chicken’s wing almost on top of the joint that connected it to its body, she swung it over the fence with all of her strength. It just barely cleared the fence, and Juniper stood there, panting, before following the chicken over the fence.

Once safely on the other side, she hastily pulled the dead chicken towards No-Name, conscious of the fact that it would probably only be a few more moments before the human realized what was happening and came out of his house to try and catch her and kill her. Quickening her pace, she tugged harder, more fiercely on the chicken. And then, finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she was under the cover of woods again, and let go of the chicken in front of No-Name. Only then, when the adrenaline stop pumping through her, did she collapse with exhaustion. She gasped and panted as a spasm went down her body from over exertion. She closed her eyes and curled up into a tiny ball as pain thumped through her. When the worst was over, she opened her eyes, and, still panting, smiled at No-Name.

[pandakat]

Hmm...so apparently he wasn't telepathic. Or perhaps this situation just wasn't dire enough to call upon them--that's the way it always was in stories. He snorted, this wasn't a dire enough situation? He felt like he was going to shrivel up into nothingness any moment now. That wasn't going to be a pleasant sight; if Juniper left now then he wouldn't blame her. Shriveled up cat. Ugh.

"Ok, fine, Hackahckcoughcough. Watch as I repay you for what you did earlier by getting you food,"

His name wasn't 'hackahckcoughcough' either, as he intended to remind her once he got over this stupid dry throat. Or, if he died, he would haunt her until she figured out that the black and white cat she had met once was named 'Sable Frozenleaf.' The tom watched her as she walked off, wondering if she was going to actually get food. Sable sighed, closing his eyes and laying his head down beside his paws. His breathing slowed into steady rasps, thoughts flicking through his mind with abandon until finally he began dozing. However, one last thought managed to slip in before his dreamworld took over.

'Where'd that loudmouthed Juniper go?'

- - -

His stomach roared to life, sending his whole body twitching in surprise. Sable cracked a blue eye open, wondering what had set his hunger prowling about again when the scent of something utterly delicious drifted into his thoughtstream. 'FOOD!' The mere word sparked more life into him as he took in the sight of a mouth-wateringly plump chicken coming towards him. He lifted his head off the grass, tail twitching as the feast was dragged even closer. 'Please let this not be a hallucination,' Sable begged, nearly hyperventilating in anticipation, 'It would be the end of me if it was. Oh please, please, please.'

And then, the chicken was right in front of him. Reaching a paw out, he poked it cautiously. It was real! The torture was over! Sable crawled closer to the chicken, jaws parting as he dove at his beautiful meal. And then he caught sight of hazel eyes, stopping him midbite. Mouth full of feathers, he glanced over at the cat that had saved him from a shriveled death. The feathers fell from his jaws.

Juniper was smiling, even though she was tucked up into a furry ball. She looked utterly exhausted, fur ruffled and eyes no longer shining with that fierce look he had seen earlier. Sable wondered again where she had gone to get him this perfectly plump chicken as he lay here, napping. He frowned, quickly taking a bite of the chicken and sucking on the succulent bit of meat until there was moisture in his throat once more.

"Juniper...?"

[yoyo]

I could stand here for hours
Just to ask God the question
“Is everyone here make-believe?”

Juniper didn’t mind that he was already trying to devour the meal that she had got them while she was in a bit of pain. After all, she had probably put Hackhackcoughcough into a bit of pain herself after dragging him along after her all day. After all of their failed attempts at getting some nourishment… They were all her fault. And then, after her failures, what did this stupid cat in front of her do? He saved her from the life she used to have. That she never wanted to go back to.

A flash of determination sparked in her eyes as the tom gulped down a bite of the chicken that she had worked so hard to kill. There was no way she would let him see her like this! She may be exhausted, but Hackhackcoughcough was never going to see how weak she actually felt. Preparing herself mentally for a moment, she then struggled to get onto her four paws into a sitting position, her muscles screaming in protest and agony as she did so. She held her breath, ignoring the tom’s inquiry for now, and rested for a few seconds in that sitting position before getting up, and clumsily walking over to the chicken.

”Yes?” She asked him when she was crouched next to the chicken, hazel eyes looking at him curiously, without a bit of the pain she felt in them. She resisted the urge to start tearing the chicken apart, instead waiting for the black and white tom’s answer. He wanted to tell her something, or else he wouldn’t have said her name in such a tone. Unless it was rhetorical… Hmm… She hadn’t thought of that.

But whatever the reason was that he had said her name like that, she still didn’t know his name, and he wasn’t very fond of calling him Hackhackcoughcough anymore, since he obviously got over his coughing fit and attained the ability of speech once more. So, assuming that his ‘question’ was rhetorical, she decided to ask him this question for… Hmm… The fifth time? The silver tabby had already lost count. ”What. Is. Your. Name,” She said, emphasizing every word so that there can be no room for misunderstanding of what she wanted from him.

As she waited for his answer, she actually dozed off a bit. She didn’t mean to, but she did, probably from exhaustion. That, and combined with her hunger, probably made her body force her to take a break. It felt weird, because she was dreaming, but she was still aware of her surroundings. Well, as much of the surroundings as she could with her eyes closed. Which was quite a lot, considering that felines had very good senses other than their eyesight.

She was sitting inside her old humans’ house on a rainy day. She had just finished her morning meal and decided to see if she could catch any raindrops that might seep into the house through a window left partly opened. She jumped up on the window still, and tried to shove her paw through the screen, but as always, it didn’t let her paw go through. So, instead, she pressed the underside of her paw against the screen to try and catch some cool, wet raindrops on the soft pads.

However, today the raindrops weren’t coming in her direction. They were flying down from the sky horizontally, as always, but the wind wasn’t going the right way to bring them horizontally to her. She frowned and brought her paw down next to her. Instead, she watched the water drip from the roof over the porch. She followed one down to the puddle on the ground it was dripping into. She fell off the window still and onto the soft, beige carpet of the human nest. What in the world? Why was Moon’s reflection in that puddle?

She jumped back onto the window still to see if she could find her friend, but she was nowhere to be found, and her reflection was gone from the puddle. So, instead, she blamed it on a trick of the eyes, and adjusted her focus to across the street where the humans that lived in that house always cooked outside and made lots of smoke come from the food on some machine. On the porch, she saw Hackhackcoughcough before he disappeared. What the heck?

This time she jumped off of the window still which was a bit more graceful than falling off, and ran upstairs to see what her humans were doing. First, she ran into the kit’s room, but she wasn’t in there. Why wasn’t she? She would still be sleeping now. So, Juniper ran into the other rooms, but couldn’t find anyone. Panicking now, she practically flew downstairs, and to the glass door that led outside. Only, it was open. She looked at it curiously as the rain flew into the house, soaking the carpeting. Why had her humans left it open?

At this point, she woke up from her ‘nap.’ She twitched her ears. What had that been about? She wrapped her silver and black-striped tail around her front paws as she continued to crouch by the chicken, remembering slowly what she was doing here. It all came flooding back to her as her dream slowly crept into oblivion. She looked over at No-Name again, urging him to answer her question with her hazel eyes. ”So?” She prompted him, eager to eat the chicken.

ooc:
Lawl, sorry, had the urge to do that. XD
And OMIGOSH, Juniper now reminds me of Hikari from SA. DX

Lyrics: You be the Anchor That Keeps My Feet On the Ground, I’ll Be the Wings That Keep Your Heart In the Clouds by Mayday Parade

[pandakat]

Sable shifted his jaw ever so slightly, shredding through the delectable scrap with a tooth as he sucked the bit of chicken dry of its remaining moisture. It was delicious and just so tender; he didn't understand why the humans never tried chicken without messing with it first. They sure were missing a lot.

Despite the wonderful taste of the poultry, the cat resisted the temptation of burying his face in the bird and instead watched Juniper intently. His short question earlier had come almost on its own when the thought crossed his mind that she might be hurting. She certainly looked it. He swallowed the chicken, starting to speak when the tabby sat up. He tilted his head, watching as she walked over to prey she had dropped in front of him.

"Yes?

He blinked, feeling more than a bit confused as she replied in a level voice. Juniper seemed quite calm now and, well, not at all ruffled. Maybe he had imagined it...? After a bit he decided that must be it. There was no way Juniper would go through anything too troubling for a cat like Sable. He mentally nodded in agreement, despite the prickle of doubt at the back of his mind. However, now that she seemed all right, what was he going to say? He flicked an ear, uncertain as to if he should make up something or actually say what he originally intended to ask her.

"What. Is. Your. Name."

The corner of his mouth twitched downwards as irritation rubbed against his thoughts at her words; it wasn't so much the question but the way she said it. He exhaled, letting the irritation slip away. At least now he had something to say and for that he was grateful.

"Sable Frozenleaf," He offered after a pause. When she didn't say anything he tilted his head, looking at her. However, his focus shifted quite soon as the scent of the chicken tickled his nose. After casting another glance at the still Juniper, he leaned over and bit deep into the chicken. The warm meat parted from the bird with little resistance and soon he was enjoying more of the chicken. When the bite was swallowed down, he licked his lips, savoring the taste. To be eating again...ah...what a glorious, no, delicious feeling.

He was into his fourth bite now, still chewing when he took another look at the quiet Juniper. Sable frowned, taking a closer glance when he realized that she wasn't just being quiet--she was sleeping! The cat tilted his head, shifting a bit closer and waving his paw in front of her face. No reaction. He snorted, holding back a laugh as he swallowed his chicken. Juniper, Juniper--was she so exhausted as to fall asleep right there and then? The merry look in his eyes faded as he watched her sleeping form. How old was she? Not older than he was, most definitely. He settled his chin on his paws as he continued to watch her, idly wondering about this tabby who was practically a complete stranger to him.

The twitch of an ear. Was she waking? Sable lifted his head off his paws and took another small bite of the chicken, still watching her. Maybe not...oh wait, yes she was!

"So?

He narrowed blue eyes, did she not realize that she had been sleeping? Sable shook his head before swallowing the morsel, replying, "So, Miss Sleepy, my name is Sable. Sable Frozenleaf."

{{Rofl nice.}}

[yoyo]

The silver she-cat just couldn’t take the scent of the delicious meal that she had caught with her own paws just sitting there and not being eaten by her. To not taste it and devour it right now was torturing her. She unsheathed her claws so that they sunk into the ground. What was she waiting for? No-Name had already begun to enjoy the meal she had caught for him. No, them. She sheathed her claws as she came to her decision. Actually, it didn’t deserve to be called a decision… The choice was easy to make.

So, making her choice, she ripped a piece of meat off of the chicken like it was the last of it in the world. She ate it quickly, tearing at it with a ferocity. She hadn’t eaten in a while. She wasn’t starving like No-Name was, of course, but she was still pretty hungry. When she was finished with that piece, she ripped off another piece and started the process over again. The flavor exploded on her tongue like human fires do in the sky. It was the best thing she had ever tasted. And she had caught it. Not Moon. Not anybody else. She had.

Juniper lifted her head up to look at No-Name when he started speaking again. Her ears went back. How long had she been conked out? Surely not that long…? Then she realized that time moved faster in dreams then the real world. She could’ve been sleeping for three hours for all she knew! Her tail flickered over the ground in her annoyance at herself. How could she have fallen asleep! Well… It was pretty understandable, really. She had been exhausted. But was she going to let No-Name know that? No way!

But before she could tell him that no, she hadn’t been sleeping, she had just closed her eyes, he told her his name. And then, before she could help herself, she blurted, ”Finally! Now I can stop calling you No-Name! Why didn’t you tell me your name earlier?” Well, it had been annoying that she hadn’t known his name. she didn’t know why he had just refused to tell her his name earlier when they first met. It bugged her. Maybe he didn’t like her? Or maybe he didn’t want anybody to know his name because he was going to do something bad! No, no, he had saved her life. Why would he do that?

And then she remembered that she needed to make sure that Sable thought that she hadn’t been sleeping. Hmm… Sable Frozenleaf. Interesting name. Kind of catchy. But she liked her own name much better; Juniper Stormfeather. She never wanted it to be changed. Even if she, one day, found a mate. There wasn’t any rule that said that you had to take your mate’s last name if you were a female… Right? …Right? ”And for the record, I was not sleeping,” She said in a voice that made it seem unwise for anyone to disagree with her.

[pandakat]

He licked a paw, picking up a bit of chicken that had fallen when he was eating. However, the wonderful taste mixed with the dreaded realization that he really needed a bath. It wasn't so much that he stank, at least, he hoped he didn't, but just the feeling of all that grit beneath his paws....ugh. Maybe it was a natural feline tendency to want to be clean (especially in front of other cats), but right now he was burning to be. So, after taking another chomp of chicken down, Sable got right to washing.

Once he finished with his paws, he found that he was quite pleased with the effort. Albeit, they were still torn up, but now they looked fairly decent. Next, he ran his tongue over his shoulder and then to his --ouch-- back. Maybe he shouldn't have craned his neck so far...

"Finally! Now I can stop calling you No-Name! Why didn’t you tell me your name earlier?"

He almost rolled his eyes and probably would have, if not for the fact that he was rubbing a licked paw near them. Sable flicked an ear as he settled back onto all-fours, "I dunno. But it might have to do with the fact that...hmm...I wasn't granted any chances?" 'Since you seem to enjoy talking over me.' He didn't add that last part, as much as he would have liked to. After all, wasn't voicing his opinion what got him that earlier ear-busting speech? And now that he thought about it...maybe what he just said wasn't that polite either.

He sighed before taking another bit of chicken, careful to avoid the area that Juniper was digging into. It wasn't that he thought that where she bit was bad or caused yellobnoxiouslylouditis, but just that she was still kind of an acquaintance. And Sable was one that didn't share his food with others often; he even disliked sharing with his sisters when they used to live together. However, for one, Juniper had gotten the food for them. And secondly, when you're practically starving to death you don't complain.

"And for the record, I was not sleeping."

Sable felt the urge to roll his eyes again, though he instead muttered, "Pfft, yeah right." He might be skittish but he was not blind, thank you very much. Or perhaps it was just an unknown custom to him for live cats to be laying down all silent with their eyes closed and breathing sooo steadily. The tom watched Juniper with a near sarcastic expression, wondering if it was her tradition to make statements that were so obviously false. Yup, she was one strange kitty.

Deciding to ignore her tone, he added in a raised voice, "Juniper, if you weren't sleeping...exactly what were you doing?" However, his question wasn't asked sarcastically, as that would probably be pushing his luck. Instead, he adopted what was hopefully a sincerely curious expression. Hey, he had been pretty good at deceiving his mother when he wanted to skip having her bathe him and instead run around with Will.

[yoyo]

And I believe
This may call for a proper introduction.

Juniper took another bite of chicken before deciding that she was too exhausted to eat anymore. Plus, the chicken would be there tomorrow when she woke up, hopefully. What if the dogs that Moon talk about smelled the chicken and decided to come over and take it from them…? No, that wasn’t going to happen-- They would’ve already taken it from them. Satisfied with her logic, she moved on to the next problem: Where to sleep? She was way too tired to go back to the Dump and drag the chicken after her. She was sure this was true for Sable too. So perhaps they should just find a comfortable spot around here.

Looking around, she was so tired and exhausted that she forgot that she was looking for, and where she had looked already. She blinked in confusion and then remembered after a few moments that she was looking for a place to rest. Well, where she was sitting right now was as good as any other places, she thought. It was well away from the human house and barn and chicken coop, so they probably wouldn’t find them. And she remembered her previous reasoning about the dogs. All that was left to do now is stay awake through her and Sable’s conversation.

”I asked you like five times what your name was,” Juniper said in disbelief and rolled her eyes at him. Well ,she had. Maybe not five times but it was around there. When she first met him… At the market… And other times. What did he mean by ‘he wasn’t granted any chances’? That made absolutely no sense to the small silver tabby. ”And you’re supposed to introduce yourself to someone when they introduce themselves, not tell them how big their ears are,” She said, feeling as though his previous comment had something to do with her actions, and feeling the need to make sure that he knew he had been in the wrong.

Her ears went back. She was in a bad mood because she was so exhausted and just wanted to go to sleep, but she didn’t exactly realize this. She was about to respond to him that she had indeed not been sleeping when he continued what he was saying a few seconds later. Hmmm… What could he tell him? Something believable… ”I was simply resting my eyes,” She said, and yawned. She felt like she was going to collapse any second. ”However… I think I’m going to get some sleep right now,” She informed him, her eyes already drooping.

She sniffed the ground before laying down next to the chicken. If anything wanted to take it from them, she would wake up and show them who it belonged to. She curled up in a traditional feline matter, and closed her eyes, preparing for sleep. Welcoming it. Did she mention she was exhausted? ”Goodnight,” She said to Sable. And a few moments later, she was truly asleep. Not that conscious sleep like earlier, but a true, deep sleep.

Lyrics: The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage by Panic! At the Disco

[pandakat]

His will to retain his facade of being sincerely curious started to fade after a bit, as did his matching expression. Instead he took a few quick glances about the place. It was all so different yet...he got the feeling that he might be able to get used to it. Already his curiosity was being piqued as to what exactly his new home held. So far he had seen that old road, the market, and now this area. Judging from the fact that Juniper got such a fat chicken, they must be at some type of chicken farm or whatever you called those. A deep whiff of air confirmed the scent of more chicken, a thing that he had missed when they first stumbled here, weary and exhausted.

Well, for one, the idea of being so close to a chicken farm was exciting. Sable had always enjoyed pursuing mice and other rodents back at his old neighborhood, but never had he the chance to sink his claws into prey so real and rewarding. His tail flicked as an almost giddy feeling bubbled through his exhaustion and into his chest. A good expedition was in order though, he yawned, perhaps only after a good rest.

”I asked you like five times what your name was,”

He glanced back over at Juniper, feeling a tad irate. "Riight." He responded sarcastically, "Sorry, I wasn't exactly sure if you were introducing yourself or entertaining yourself with odd puns." Sable shook his head, wondering if Juniper had memory problems. Catching a glance of the chicken, he tilted his head, debating on whether or not he should take another bite. Well, he was pretty content and he was not in the mood to stuff himself so...no more chicken for him as of now.

'Resting your eyes is...believable. But I doubt that you'd also willingly rest your mouth.' Sable muttered silently, remembering that he had spoken to her during that time and had received no response. The tom watched as the tabby settled for sleep, a neutral expression upon his features. A few minutes passed and it was soon apparent that she was already out. He twitched a whisker before looking around again. What should he do? Should he take this chance and leave this quite chatty acquaintance?

However, despite her irritating points, Juniper had helped him out quite a bit. She had lead him about the place and brought a quite delicious meal that he had needed. Sable frowned before laying his head on his paws, lids drooping halfway over his azure eyes. Moments flew by, accompanied with the colors of the ground before him as he fell into a much needed slumber.

[yoyo]

Juniper slept soundly throughout the night. She didn’t so much as breath. Well, she did breath, of course, but she didn’t move a bit. She was so entirely exhausted. Felines didn’t usually sleep for extended periods of time like humans did; They usually only slept for a few hours at most, but they slept frequently all day. Well, Juniper hadn’t had the chance to rest her head all day. She had barely closed her eyes, in fact. The only time she had was for an infrequent, necessary blink. Basically, she was sleeping like the dead. The expression on her face was entirely peaceful as she dreamed the night away.

She dreamed that she and Moon and Sable found a refrigerator in their secret house under the dump. The refrigerator was exactly like the one at Chocolate’s house, stainless steel. And it was the same inside too. With lots and lots of everything in it. It had an entire Vegetable Drawer full of mashed potatoes. To the cat, it wasn’t a dream; It was heaven. The scents were just as intoxicating as they had been before, only this time, she had her eye on the prize. The mashed potatoes, of course.

The feline woke up an hour before dawn. She opened her hazel eyes and looked around at her surroundings, disoriented for a bit. Her dream had been so real that she was confused as to why she was suddenly in a place so different from the refrigerator. She yawned sleepily before realizing that her heaven had been just a dream. Disappointed, she stood up and stretched. Her muscles were stiff and she winced as she stretched them to their limits. Once this was done, she sat down and looked over at her companion, Sable. Still sleeping. Then her hazel eyes drifted over to the chicken she had caught. Tiny insects were gathered around it, but it would still be eatable.

As she washed herself, she suddenly remembered something that she shouldn’t have forgotten. ”My birthday was a few days ago!” She yelled in excitement. She had missed it, but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t still celebrate it! She was a year old. A year old. She couldn’t wrap her head around it. A year and a few days ago she had just been born. A tiny, pink little kitten snuggling against it’s mother. The sides of her mouth twitched upwards into a smile as she remembered how small she had been, well, she couldn’t remember back to when she had been born, but she could go back about nine months. And here she was, an adult!

Ooc:
Bleh. Shortness lol.

[pandakat]

{{I love mashed potatoes! And...er...pardon any nonsense that comes about. I’m in a funny mood. PX;}}

In the midst of the darkness, the feline slumbered on. Odd dreams flitted through his sleeping mind, filled with familiar faces and places but cast about in an unfamiliar way. For example, he had once glimpsed a scene of little people in that box people watched dancing about in pink frilly things. However, he had never before seen Juniper twirling and fluttering about in the same pink outfit. And it didn’t help when halfway through her fur-raising performance she pulled out a bazooka and started chasing Sable with it. That was one of the more frightening dreams.

But soon enough, just as the tutu-wearing Juniper was closing in on the terrified Sable, the scene melted away. The image of the creepy Juniper drifted away in a misty fashion as the ground beneath the tom warped into darkness. Then, out of the nothingness rose shapes and shadows, encircling him in a jigsaw puzzle of buildings. The feline gave a curious look about, wondering what on earth this place held in store for him. But nothing happened. Well, this was certainly the most boring dream he’d ever had. So he continued to watch the little patch of sky that barely peeked through the masses of skyscrapers and oddly formed buildings until his eyelids almost closed despite the fact that he was already asleep.

Then, out of the unsettling silence came the caw of crows. His ears twitched at the growing cacophony and he stood up, ready to bolt from whatever the cause of trouble was. His little patch of sky was dark from the writhing masses of crows that poured over the wayward buildings and it was only when their numbers started to lessen did he see a color other than pure black once more. However, it was not the familiar dark blue of the night sky but instead a burning red that continued to seep through the sky like a growing wound. The crimson hue burned against his eyes, searing his sight into an endless horizon of white.

And then the pure nothingness faded, clearing from his sight like smoke. In its place was the darkness before dawn, a somehow clear and fresh sort of dark in comparison to the claustrophobic dark of his dream. Sable took in a dewy draught of air, closing his cold blue eyes. However, the reassuring silence was suddenly shattered at the sound of Juniper’s exclamations. So she had woken before he had? The tom sighed, wondering if the she-cat was going to be even louder now that she was revitalized.

“What are you yelling about?” Sable inquired, rubbing a paw against his ear.

[yoyo]

How could she have forgotten?! She had been mentally counting down the days until her birthday, or what she thought was her birthday, for a while now. Well… Actually, it was completely understandable that she had forgotten, what with all of the new exciting things that had been happening. Becoming a stray, meeting new people, catching chickens, ect ect. The list goes on. But, even with this in mind(actually, near the back of her mind, since she was focused on what she was going to do to celebrate), she still couldn’t stop beating herself up about her. She missed her first birthday! ’What an idiot,’ She thought to herself.

Speaking of idiots… Looks like she had woken up Sable. Oh well. How would she announce her news? She remembered that he didn’t like her yelling… Maybe she could telepathically tell him about her birthday. Maybe if she concentrated really hard… He could maybe hear her thoughts! Could she scream her thoughts at him? It wouldn’t technically be screaming, since she was doing it with her telepathic mind powers, would it? And that way the sick-in-the-mud couldn’t get mad at her for screaming! Perfect!

Juniper narrowed her hazel eyes at him while she concentrated hard on trying to convey her thoughts. ’It’s my birthday!’ She screamed in her head over and over, looking for any indication on the--well, sable--tom’s face, or in his body expression… Maybe an eyebrow raise, an ear twitch, anything at all that could tell her of her success! ….Anything? She started pleading with Sable to hear her thoughts, to let her know that she was an amazing gifted cat with mind powers! To take over the world!

She stopped as she realized how crazy she was being. Mental much? It was probably because she had just woken up… Right? Anyways, now Sable probably thought she was a crazy too… If he had heard her mental shouting or not. ”Umm... Well, it’s my birthday!” She exclaimed, smiling, barely able to contain her excitement. ”What should we do?” She asked him, hoping for an answer… Because, frankly, she had nothing.

You're the party
We're the people
Let's make this night a classic.

[/b][/i]

Lyrics: This is How We Do by All Time Low

[pandakat]

Seriously, couldn’t he get a nice quiet time for his first morning here in Nenbrook? Apparently not, if this place was filled with the likes of Juniper. He sighed before washing his paw and wondering whether he had a clean-his-forepaw fetish. Once he was finished with this task he glanced over at the chicken, which still looked pretty good to go despite the dew and little bugs that had collected on it overnight. However, he wasn’t particularly hungry.

Sable looked back over at Juniper and blinked. What the heck was she doing? She was giving him this narrow-eyed glare and was somehow giving off an ‘I am mental’ vibe. He flicked his ears back, wondering what was up with her now. Did he have something on his face? But it could be that she was in desperate need of a litterbox. He mentally shrugged, not in the mood to try and figure out how her little mind worked. Or if she even had a mind.

”Umm...Well, it’s my birthday!”

He tilted his head, ’It’s her birthday? So maybe that explains why she was--okay, no, it doesn’t. Or...maybe it’s her custom to make weird faces on her birthday. It wouldn’t be surprising if she had an odd custom like that.’ He gave another mental shrug before asking, ”Really? Wow...So how old are you?”

”What should we do?”

So apparently he was being included in her celebrations. Not that he had a problem with it; after all, it might be sort of fun. If they could think of something fun to do, that is. Browsing his still sleepy mind for ideas, he soon found that he couldn’t think of much. Deciding that there wasn’t much to lose, he offered the few things he managed to rustle up, ”Er...sneak into some place and raid their pantry? They might have some sweet treats. Or...uhm...go exploring? There might be some cool places around here. Or both. If you have some other friends then you could see if you could get them all together and do something. I don’t know...”

[yoyo]

Forever Young.

”One year!” Juniper exclaimed energetically. How old did she look? Did she really look like it could be her second or third birthday to him? Could you possibly look older than she was even though she was a bit on the small side? This put a smile on the tabby’s face. She didn’t want to be looked at as a kitten by anyone, because she wasn’t! She was a year old. She was official done with kitten hood.

Did that mean she had to act all serious and be all responsible and settle down and have kittens? That scared her. She didn’t want to change her lifestyle just because she was a year old… Could she still act like she always did even though she reached her first birthday? Worry clouded her eyes. She didn’t want to act all serious and boring and formal and… All that stuff. She just wanted to have fun and make some friends and explore. But she was an adult now, so… She had to act like one, right?

She wondered how old Sable was. Maybe if he was an adult too like her then you didn’t have to act all serious? Well, Sable acted more serious than she did, and more boring… So maybe you really did have to act like all that just because twelve months ticked by from the time you were born into this little world. Was that the case, then? She would soon find out. ”Hey, Sable,” She said to get his attention as calmly as she could manage. ”How old are you?”

She was distracted from her worries when Sable started speaking. She smiled, her hazel eyes lighting up. Brilliant! Perfect! Not only could she celebrate her birthday with Sable and have a fun time making messes and exploring and stealing food but she could also do all that with Moon there as well! She could tackle Sable and kiss him right now, but he would probably run away. She laughed out loud at the image, not caring if her companion thought she was mental. He probably already thought she was mental anyways, so it didn’t matter.

”Sounds great! We can get some food then wander around and get lost!” She exclaimed happily, excited. Where was Moon, though? How would she find her? ’I’ll check at the dump. And we can wait there until she arrives,’ she thought, and then nodded at her plan. Then she could introduce Moon to Sable and vise versa! But then, for some reason, she got that same stab of jealousy as before when she thought of introducing them. She scowled. Why? Why didn’t she want to introduce them? They were her friends and if they were friends then they could all be friends together and go and do stuff that friends do together! So why did she feel jealous?

Lyrics: Summer Hair = Forever Young by The Academy Is…