Outcast

[Linkk]

Linkk wandered about the wetlands, paws dripping wet from slum and damp ground. The air was full of moisture, and suffocated the lungs with damp, cold air. Linkk had to keep walking, with every step he grew tired. His paws moaned for a rest, but the small ocelot could not stop. As if some kind of power in his brain kept him going. A fear of some kind of pain or terror kept him going. The wetlands were a new territory to him, where he was going and who he would meet, he had no Idea.

[Midori]

"Just keep running, those blubbering hounds won't catch you if you just keep running." Midori told herself as she bounded through the canine lands. Behind her she could hear the labored breathing of three of the roundest of the King's guards as they did their best to catch up to the fastest messenger around. Though she was being pursued she was in a good and playful mood, the typical upbeat coyote, and she couldn't help but give a happy bark to the clouds as she traveled. Behind her their was a chorus of answer barks but their melody was anything but positive, it was down right threatening.

"Get the chip off your shoulders guys it was just a joke." She yelled to the group behind her with a chuckle that evolved into a laughing fit as she thought more of it. That was the problem with her kind she decided, too uptight and proper for their own good. They never stopped to smell the roses and because of this Midori had decided to awaken their nostrils to some of life's less pleasant scents. Namely she had dumped a large pile of horse dung wrapped leaves onto of the three followers to make an example of them. Too bad for the smaller beast these particular creatures were three of the king's newest guards and just as eager to make her into an example.

She continued to run as solid and dry ground gave way to moist squishy muck though her pace slowed slightly. Chancing a look behind her she saw the three male wolves come to a grinding halt a few yards back. Puzzled she stopped and spun herself around to face them. There the trio stood snarling and barking curses at her but not budging an inch. She didn't realize where she was or even care as she turned to wag her tail at them in an insulting fashion and continue on.

As their barks faded in the distance she began to really take a look at the area. Her breath was becoming more and more regulated as she slowed to a walk so scents were slowly beginning to drift up her nostrils. Then it all hit her, she wasn't in her home turf anymore. This was the territory of the felines.

[Linkk]

Linkk staggered through the swamps, for his curiosity was pushing him forward, the bushes in front of the young ocelot seemed to part and give way to an empty clearing. The clearing was sprinkled with swampy mud and rotting under brush. In the clearing stood a creature, one that seemed to be made of fairy tale.
A fowl beast, slick fur, dark patterns of waves Linkk had never seen before. It's facial features were sharper, strong, and painted with odd markings, it's ears much pointer than his. The creature was twice his side, and Linkk had made the mistake of walking into an opening and leaving himself wide open. Linkk froze in place, his little education told him it was not a feline, a canine? Was that what it was? A canine. What was it doing in the swampy lands of the felines, suddenly Linkk felt the power of the upper hand, this was his land, he was in control, for perhaps it would be afraid of the little ocelot, he hoped.
Linkk puffed his fur and from his small snout and muzzle came a small meek faint growl, that, coming from his immature vocal cords only produced a weak baby cry. As if a baby was calling for its mother, he tried to look as fierce as he could, but as small as he was, he wasn't very scary

[Midori]

Midori hadn't noticed the young ocelot at first as her eyes scanned the new area. Curiously she inched forward with her nose to the ground to inhale the mud, muck, and moss. Her ears were ever alert in case those dung covered morons decided to cross the borders, though they had seemed frozen in fear when she last saw them. She was unsure just how deep she had come into feline territory though she had run quite a distance even after she knew the others had stopped their chase. To her left the coyote thought she heard some rustling in the leave strewn area of a fallen log but it was simply a long red snake that had come out to sun itself. With a grin the she dog went over to it and jabbed a paw at it. It hadnt been a hard strike, just meant to startle, and the non-venomous reptile darted back at her in defense before trying to slither away. Midori gave it a minute's respite before pawing at it again with the same results. After a few more repeats of the game she allowed her toy to escape as a noise caught her ears.

She snapped her head up at the sound, it was soft and she wasn't even sure she had truly heard it, and saw the ocelot. Instinctively the coyote went into a defensive stance to begin walking away. She was no fighter, barely able to hold her own when it came to survival, and she wasn't sure what she was dealing with. Keeping her eyes on the creature she began backing away, knowing she was in the wrong and hoping the other creature would let her slink away.

"Oh Midori what have you got yourself into this time. She mentally scolded herself. In an attempt to sound stall the attack she growled back deeply in her throat and let loose with a pair of loud barks.

[Linkk]

Linkk sensed he had the upperhand. he wanted to look tough, he wanted to be on top for once. Linkk dug his small claws into the mud, pulling up roots and mud. The damp ground giving way to his paws. He dug his paw out and flicked the dirt off his claws. Linkk dug all four paws into the ground, strengthening his positon, and try to make himself look bigger. Linkk puffed his fur out, and made him appear twice the size than what he really was. He made another meek growl and bared his small, baby teeth. His tale curled around his backside swaying back and forth wanting to show aggression. His ears lowered back behind onto his head.
Suddenly, the need to speak and show his power became what he wanted to do, howerver, his ability in speech was not very well. Many slaves were not educated, and Linkk was no exception. Why you here? He hissed and growled, he was angry at himself. He sounded like an idiot, but he didnt want to give away his edge. Linkk took a step forward, he dared get closer to the odd creature. His tale went inbetween his legs, he was scared, but he was doing his best to hide it. Being a cub however; he was horrible at hiding it.

[Midori]

Midori wasn't sure what to make of this creature. She had heard that all felines were blood thirsty beasts that would rip your tail off, shove it down your throat, and then (if you were lucky) slit your throat before skinning you alive. But, as she stood there wondering if this particular kind of feline was the one she had heard stories of ( the one that could out run anything), she was able to get a better look at it. It looked, well for a lack of a better word, fluffy as if all it's fur was on end. Having never been in a fight with a feline before the coyote decided to imitate the body language, after all when in Rome right? Out of reflex her hackles along the back of her neck had already stood up and she thought she could feel her tail bristle. Growling deeply she wagged her tail furiously back and forth hoping that would make her look larger and maybe bring to mind the image of rattlesnakes to the opponet. Well there was really no hope of that but it was the first thing she thought of.

At this distance it was hard to pinpoint exactly just how large the fuzzy one was and maybe her mind was playing tricks on her making her think the feline was larger. So when he spoke Midori stopped what she was doing and simply stood up to get a better look while moving towards the speaker. Instead of the look of aggression that had previously been on her muzzle she had the expression of curiousity and her head was tilted slightly to the side. Her ears tilted like nervous mice in search of danger as she walked towards the other. Did felines hunt in packs? Were others close by? Did it really matter? Afterall she was in their territory anyways and any random furball could shoot out of the undergrowth and slice her open. She stopped and snatched a reed up from it's spot and began chewing on it before responding.

"Perhaps I've come to take over your land. Maybe I'm a powerful 'yote that will eat you up and spit out your bones before setting them alight with my eyes. No, instead maybe I'm really a ghostly apparition that wants to take over your body and reclaim my time on this land." Her voice, as best as she could do, was menacing and hopefully enough to at least confuse the puffy one enough so she could run back home. If her words at least hid how scared she was she figured she was ahead of the game.

[Linkk]

His confidence suddenly came to a hault, his tail sunk between his legs and his ears flashed down onto his forehead. The fur along his body slimmed out and sticked back to his body. Instantly his size deminised two times. His paws dug into the earth, but not in aggression, but in fear. The young feline lowered itself to the ground in submission, the young feline let out a howl, a cry, as if calling to its mother. The ocelot feared the canine, its words and teeth and overall strength was much greater then his own.
Confidence was something that Linkk possesed but wasn't the best at using to his advantage. Linkk slinked forward, keeping close to the ground it inched to the canine, not knowing the dangers that could happen from doing so. Linkk stuck his muzzle out, nearly touching the canine's damp nose. He sniffed, inhaling a smell, that wasnt fowl, but nor pelasent either. The smell was not feline, that was for sure.
In smelling the canine, the smell did not seem harsh, or dangerous to him. The smell was much nicer and calmer then a felines, more relaxed it seemed. the calming smell caused Link to relax his nerves to a certain extent. His tail remained curled, but his ears found their out up an pointed themselves towards the canine.
the obvious dangers of other pack members, or a bite were present in his mind, but he chose to ignore them, curiosity killed the cat.
"you no be dangerous." Linkk whistled through his teeth,yet the canine was dangerous, but his mind was telling the feline, "no"
Linkk's body position arose slightly, while standing on his four legs, he did not reach the height of the canines nose, he was small; defensless, and obviously no threat to the canine, but perhaps maybe some kind of, dare he say it; 'friend'.

[Midori]

Midori jumped back slightly with a slight yip when the feline sniffed his nose. Small or large she had heard that felines were notorious with their claws and fangs, sometimes snapping at their opponets as fast as any viper, and she wasn't taking any chances. How many hardened warriors had she seen coming back home after a fierce battle with these creatures? Too many to count on all four paws that's for sure. So many of them had come back dripping blood from, what seemed to be, every pore of their bodies. More times than not these brave beasts would have bones broken and poking through their fur as well. Such proof was hard to ignore and Midori was a canine who based everything on fact not hearsay or superstition. There had been rumors that had gone around the pack as well though she had never seen any proof. Some of the elders said some felines possessed venom filled fangs and tails, fire breath, wings, and any other combination of mutations or horrible cursed bodies that could send even the strongest wolf to it's death. Certainly a coyote like Midori would be no match against such tactics and abilities.

Yet like most 'yotes she was curious and this small feline didn't show signs of being dangerous. Then when he spoke, well she had to stifle a laugh and a motherly urge to cuddle the small creature. Instead she sat down nonchalantly and nibbled at a flea that had invaded her shoulder before speaking to the youngster.

"Sure I'm dangerous little one. I'm as dangerous as you are." Midori chuckled deep in her throat at the thought of this one being anything but adorable. Then a thought struck her that made her stop her laughing. Where was this one's mother? Shouldn't there be larger and meaner felines around? Best to find out quickly.

"So why are you out here all alone?" Sure technically it was none of her business, after all she was the trespasser here. But best to be prepared.

[Linkk]

"Yes. Linkk very dangerous. Feline I am, you dog." LInkk hissed at the canine, he wanted to sound as brave as he could. Linkk was suprised that the feline was capable of speech, he had grown up learning about the idiot canines, uncapable of the intelligence that the feline race possed. Linkk's words were uneducated, and he knew it, his powers of speech were weak, and didn't want to show it.
He growled at the canine as it lowered its body position. The canine relaxed, which made Linkk feel as if he had lost the upperhand. Linkk jumped back a step when the canine first moved, as it relaxed again the feline crept forward again to get a better look at the canine, it was curious just like himself.
Linkk suddenly felt alone as the canine mentioned the words of being alone. Linkk hated being alone, and did not like to be reminded of it. Linkk slunk back to the ground with his tail curling around his hind legs. He looked around, no other animal or creature seemed to be around, the young feline really was alone.
He whimpered, looking at the canine, it was the only company that Linkk that had in a long time, more then 3 moons.
"I alone, i am a traveler. No have a home." He shook his head. the young ocelot convinced himself he didnt need a home, but as a young kit, he needed the attention from a motherly figure, subconciously wanted to find one. Linkk had only been without its mother for a month before he ran away, and the need for a mother was still strong inside hiim; but he wasnt going to let that show, not to a canine.

[Linkk]

This thread has been moved to the 'territory outskirts'.
You may find this thread continued there~