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Post by icyreflections on Oct 27, 2012 20:26:15 GMT -5
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Misto smiled warmly as Jet brightly began to talk about the sand beneath their feet. He had never really considered it to be much more than a nuisance- once in a while he would realize that it was a tolerable pleasure during the summer afternoons, after the sun baked it to a comfortable temperature and he could nestle himself in the warm embrace of the shore. As a kit, he noticed that his deep meditations would often result in him dozing off and waking up to the sea kissing his whiskers and the sunny sand comforting him like a heated blanket. It was times like those that Misto actually enjoy his home on the beach and temporarily forgot how annoying it was plucking the grains embedded into his skin and despite his disapproval for the occasional aggravation the environment threatened his comfort-level with, he truly loved his life and home.
That wasn’t to say that he disliked other areas of Gweillan- that notion couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, Misto always imagined himself residing in a cottage near a running stream. He loved the smells of the forest and the sound of water in motion- this admiration must have been the result of growing up by the ocean and being taught to respect music at a young age. Misto considered the sounds he experienced daily by the sea and compared them to the songs of the forest- songbirds of all varieties slipping in and out of the branches to offer their tune along with the creek’s tranquil gurgles and the wind’s whispers through the trees; creatures native to the forest stepping in and out of the song, providing their own sounds and steps to the forest’s rhythm while a black and white cat sat in the midst of all these glorious contributions and played his blessed violin, producing a symphony that would put even the greatest and most well-known composers to shame. Misto didn’t need lyrics or sheet music to create a song that would make others weep, nature did it all naturally, he was just lucky enough to have a trained ear to take satisfaction in it.
Blinking back into the conversation with Jet, Misto chuckled at her dislike for swimming. It was at that moment, he was determined to jump into the ocean and swim the rest of the way to the tree line but he decided that the nighttime autumn air would blow right through him- and he certainly didn’t want to be dripping wet, freezing, and develop a cold… and he definitely didn’t want to appear feeble in front of Jet. How would jumping into the ocean prove anything? No, it was best that he continued to walk at her side and carry on their conversation politely. He could save showing off his aquatic talents for another, warmer night.
“I always enjoyed swimming,” Misto purred, trying his best not to sound patronizing- he certainly knew he wasn’t the greatest swimmer and realized that not everyone had the opportunity to learn like he did. “Isn’t that funny?” He scrunched up his nose and snorted a little as he continued, “you like sand but dislike swimming- and the opposite hold for me? I don’t know~ I just think it was some little thing that deserved some thought… Anyway, I used to go swimming all the time when I was little. My sisters’ disliked it, too, they were afraid that the seaweed was a living creature- an animal- that could wrap its tentacles around their legs and pull them under. My brothers told them that… They also threw it at them for fun. They wanted to frighten me with that story too- me being the youngest and all- but I would swim around, poking the seaweed and trying to get it to do something and it never did. I wanted to keep some as a pet!” Misto started to laugh at the memory, “mother certainly disapproved! She said it was bad enough we had to live on the beach, we didn’t need the inside of the caravan stinking of seaweed and demanded that I put it back in the water.”
He paused at this thought to look over his shoulder, as if he were anxious that someone might overhear him. When he realized that he and Jet were alone, a mischievous glint shone in his amber gaze and he lowered his voice, “I kept it under a rock by the woods near our campsite though. I was very disappointed that it never once budged.” He sighed and shook it head, “and THEN I felt awful after it dried out. I was certain that I killed it and its spirit would haunt me for the rest of my life.” He cast a sideways glance to Jet before bursting out in another stream of laughter, “pretty silly, huh? Oh boy~ I was always gullible as a kit. Always trying new things and looking for something amazing.”
As Jet regailed in her misadventures with learning to climb Misto couldn’t help but smile and although the precious moments that Jet chose to share meant the world to him, he couldn’t help but ask in a concerned tone, “oh dear! I certainly hope that you didn’t get too hurt~” Then he winked at her, “but you seem tough- you always got up and tried again, huh? I admire that, Jet. Good for you! I don’t remember the last time I climbed a tree.” This thought startled the young musician because the more he thought of it, he realized that he really COULDN’T recall the last time he climbed a tree. He knew that he must’ve learned how before- was it during the festival he waited in the branches of a tree for the night to fall and the lanterns to glow? Yes, that seemed right… Boy, that WAS a long time ago. So much had happened since then- he must have never gotten the chance to sneak into the woods like he used to.
“I’ve performed some of my best music from atop a tree branch,” Misto said, smiling. “Of course, it seems eons ago since I’ve had the pleasure of looking down at the world like I used to. I used to imagine myself as the conductor or the composer of nature’s symphony- rather than part of the orchestra, like I usually am below the branches, on the ground.” He sighed and thought for a moment and then, considering what Jet said he bowed once more and chided, “Jet, my dear, you are correct! A tavern simply isn’t suited for an impressionable tomcat like me. If I keep to the path I’m currently on, the keepers will certainly put a bounty on my head for recklessness and my family will be forever poor.” He winked cheekily and purred, “and we certainly can’t have this handsome face duplicated on a wanted poster, can we? Therefore!” He straightened up and offered Jet the crook of his right arm, “would you like to go tree climbing with me, my lady? While there is still some light in the sky? It will be the perfect view to count those stars I promised you~”
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Kitsani
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Post by Kitsani on Oct 30, 2012 16:38:56 GMT -5
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Thinking of where she enjoyed being the most, Jet realised it would probably have to be in a tree somewhere. It would need to be late summer, so there was a tinge of fall colour in the air, but so that there wouldn’t be that awful chill that comes with the autumn season. She’d rest her shoulder blades against the trunk of the tree, close her eyes but be listening attentively as the birds around her chirped. She’d be still as a stone, and maybe the animals would even grow near, not noticing her presence so the dancer could watch them calmly. Yes, the fantasy of a perfect day appealed to her, but something seemed…missing. Almost a tad lonely. Would she be happiest being wherever her friends? She wasn’t sure about anywhere – trust was hard – but she was certainly ecstatic now, chatting with Misto on the shore side.
Jet decided it was officially sunset. Sure, she wasn’t some kind of deity and really had no say in the matter, but the shades of golds and purples streaked across the painted sky were too beautiful to be mixed up with the dark, in-between state of twilight. Glancing over at the tom, she smiled. It certainly was a nice night for a walk, and listening to Misto’s story of seaweed and swimming she laughed. “There’s amazing things everywhere, why look in the water?” she grinned playfully and elbowed him lightly, “then again, that could just be my dislike of swimming talking. I’ll look in the sand, you can look in the ocean, I’m sure we’ll find something a tad more special than seaweed soon enough,” she meowed with a purr, her bells tinkling quietly as she moved. She hoped they wouldn’t be of a nuisance; when she wasn’t dancing, their music seemed to turn to mere noise. If it wasn’t for the sentimental value of the gear, she would only wear it when she went out to work, like her Ankle Jangles. Gosh, those definatly caused a ruckus when she danced, but she adored them, and they were certainly something else.
When the topic seemed to flicker back to climbing, she gave a small, cheery bounce; she was in a childish, happy mood today it seemed. “Oh, I’m fine now” she said with a smile, “Thanks.” It was true that the marbled she-cat wasn’t a quitter; sometimes to a fault. She was stubborn, and when her mind was set on something it took time and a notable amount of force to make her change her viewpoint. Telling her something would never happen seemed to be her drive, too. For years she told her mom she couldn’t dance, but look at her now? She proved herself wrong, so she was determined to do it again and again, to see how far she could go. But her confidence usually faltered when it got that far, and even if she had fight in her, there’s only so much you can pull against chains holding you down before they start to cut your wrists, metaphorically speaking. Of course, she wanted to get over that. But her absentminded thought process was redirected when she heard Misto state that he couldn’t remember when he had last climbed a tree.
Her jaw dropped. “Whaaaaat?” she exclaimed. She went up into trees every other day, weather permitting – she was very picky about the weather; if it was wet, she was a no-show. She tilted her head to the side as he then went on to talking about performing from above the trees. “Amazing,” she murmured under her breath, simply at the idea. How hadn’t she thought of that before?! Of course, dancing in the treetops didn’t seem as safe an idea, but she couldn’t deny the devious twitch of her whiskers. Maybe she’d try it later, while there were still autumn leaf piles along the forest floor to soften the falls she’d surely take slipping on the bark.
Grinning, she nodded at Misto. Of course he couldn’t wind up on a wanted poster, if he was locked away in jail, and Zahara was out being mysterious, what would the marbled sokoke do? She enjoyed hanging out with Snow and Mikhail, but both had this protective side, that occasionally made her nervous. After the incidents with the whisps, Snow’s raw power both amazed and irked her. Perhaps Jet was merely being paranoid, but even so, she hasn’t spoken to him in a while. Same with Mikhail, who saved her from the drunktards back at the festival. Both, very interesting events. Both, events that made her realize how painfully dependent she was. She had no physical strengths, and she couldn’t use her powers unless she sung. But when she sang, she grew shy, and unable to focus unless positive she was alone.
Taking Misto’s arm with a playful smirk, she nodded. “It would be my pleasure, kind sir” she purred, “Now, to the trees!” Giving the tom’s arm a slight tug, she beamed, nodding towards the forest over away from the sands of the beach, where the trees reached into the sky and beckoned to be scaled for the perfect view. Maybe if they moved swiftly enough, they’d get a good view of not only the stars but the sunset, something Jet hadn’t gotten a chance to enjoy in a long while. She’d been so busy…and truth be told, the sunset was hard to admire from inside the walls of a tavern. A tavern of course, which was not the same as the one Misto and her had annoyed. She intended on merely buying a few drinks there before pulling any fancy dance moves out again; no need to be recognised as a trouble maker. Flicking her tail happily, the thought of climbing made her smile, as it always did. The way the smile only came when she was either dancing, close to the sky, or close to her few, loved friends. It was hard to imagine looking back at it now, that only a short while ago she had been raking her brain for a way to get Misto to smile again, and put the broken bow to the back of his mind, reassuring that it would get fixed, and that it would all be fine. But there were stars to be counted now, and plans like those were the kinds you couldn’t help but always enjoy.
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Post by icyreflections on Nov 2, 2012 11:48:16 GMT -5
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Misto smiled as he felt Jet’s paw slip into the crook of his arm and copied her quickened pace as she tugged him along the shore towards the vast expanse of trees. He was relieved that his paw had stopped throbbing from his little encounter with the guards; it must have been bruised rather than sprained like he originally predicted… or maybe Jet’s company really had a healing affect and made him numb to the rest of his woes. It was so strange, thinking about the dark forest and his sorrow now as he ran beside his dearest friend. Who would have thought that an hour or so ago, the tuxedo tom felt stripped of everything that could rejuvenate him and assumed that nothing could enlighten him? How stupid he was to have fallen to such a dreary place without clearly assessing the situation and considering how to fix it himself. He had never been one to give up- why did it seem impossible to move on before? Luckily, there was a light in the abyss.
Misto glanced sideways at Jet as they ran together, side by side, on the beach. The spray of the sea hissed miles away and he was vaguely aware of the foam throwing kisses at his heels. He could hear his own heart beating in his chest and felt his breath billowing from his lungs and escaping in short bursts of clouds from his mouth and twirled loosely upwards towards the darkening sky to dance amongst the stars, only to be swallowed up by the darkening atmosphere and recycled. Life was a dance that would never quit; a ballad with no end. Every performer had their part to play- they lived, worked, played, loved and only until they passed on their greatest secrets and served their purpose, they died- but they were not completely gone. Misto blinked thoughtfully as he imagined his grandfather sitting at the edge of a dance floor- he just stepped away for some time; he needed some air, some rest from all the excitement. He needed to give his grandson more room to dance his own dance. Misto wanted to laugh at the irony of this thought- who could possibly be a better dance partner than Jet? It certainly was a strange coincidence…
He looked down at his feet for a moment and smiled fondly. Paw steps. That’s what the big secret was. Paw steps left on the beach. An echo bouncing off the empty walls in a darkened room. That was the beginning and the end of the dance. No one really died- they left their contributions to humanity with they were living and now their paw steps and echoes and lived were eternal. That was the dance- the ballad- of life. Their bodies could wither and die and feed the earth to help other plants and animals live- but the soul never died either, it also sustained others. It left its mark and would be remembered.
This thought jubilated the tuxedo tomcat and he longed to shout his joy to the stars above and create a song- his grandfather’s song, his paw steps- for the world to hear. He looked excitably at Jet to regale her in his latest meditation but the voice in his head told him that he was completely off topic and that she wouldn’t understand his theory. He hadn’t realized it as he dreamily looked off into the grand space of nothingness but thoughts and ideas that constantly hung around his head, but he and Jet were nearly at the tree line and at some point he (or she) must have decided that it was easier to run together holding paws than it was with their arms linked.
Misto casually slipped his paw out of Jet’s hold as they slowed to catch their breath and bask in the towering trunks that spanned the forest before them. The gypsy placed his paws on his legs and arched his back for a moment as his heart stopped beating as rapidly as it was and his breathing calmed. As he felt the cool, rich soil of the earth squish between his toes, he started to feel more relaxed and his distaste for the sand began to nag at him once more. Cutting into the quiet span of their conversation together, Misto chuckled and glanced at Jet with his familiar twinkle sparkling cheerfully in his brown eyes, “you see, that wouldn’t have been nearly as difficult a run if it wasn’t on sand.” He shook his back leg dramatically and screw up his features for comedic effect, “it won’t come off!” Then, considering this and the way his words could be misconstrued, he laughed. “The sand between my toes, I mean. Of course, my leg certainly COULD fall off after having to wrestle with it sinking into the ground so much.” He knelt down and picked up a pawful of dirt and moss from the forest and lifted it for Jet to see. “Now THIS is proper ground.” He smelled it and nodded, “yup. Just as I thought! Nice and fresh and moist- perfect conditions for a healthy, beautiful forest- and it certainly will NOT gobble up your feet if you stand around on it for too long.” He offered the clump of earth to Jet with a cheeky wriggle of his brow. “How about it, love? Care to get your paws dirty? Oh well, it’s no matter,” he patted it back down into the ground carefully. “It’s not going anywhere. Now then- let us find ourselves a nice tree. The leaves are changing color so that must mean that we will be able to see the Hare, Ram, and Bull tonight. I think the Fish may also be swimming about in that big blue sky somewhere.” He grinned widely at Jet, “brilliant isn’t it? I may even be able to read them- of course, my mother is much more experienced in interpreting the stars’ omens. Oh well. Enough babbling, hm? Let us find a nice tall tree.”
It was Misto’s turn to gently tug Jet after him, though he let his paw drop after the two of them padded beyond the first row of trees so Jet could freely walk around in her environment without feeling she had to stick by him. Misto looked around carefully as he slowly walked through the forest for the perfect perch. There was a strange sense of déjà vu icily creeping up his spine and made the hairs on his neck stand on end as he realized this would be the second time today he and Jet were in a forest together- except this time, they could see the sky and feel the wind and earth. It was strange to see his vision twisted into reality and Misto had to blink and shake his head a few times during his trek to force himself into the present and realize he wasn’t dreaming.
During one of these moments of confusion, Misto nearly knocked himself against mighty oak; luckily, he opened his eyes with enough time to reach his paws out in front of him to brace the impact. As he calmed himself from his encounter, he felt the bark beneath his paws and smiled gently. How was it possible that he denied himself the company of the forest for so long? He felt so at ease beneath the trees- so at one with nature. He longed to sit amongst the tree’s branches and play his violin and look about the world like a hawk and embellish himself in the beauty of the world. As his automatically claws sunk into the tree trunk, he yowled aloud to call for Jet and began to scale the tree.
He was home now...
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Kitsani
Full Member
♥ Jet Marrow and Kite Tanomis ♥
Posts: 237
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Post by Kitsani on Nov 2, 2012 21:33:43 GMT -5
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Making their way rather swiftly along the beach, Misto wasn’t the only one who found him lost in thought. Jet was prone to spacing out a lot, slipping into a hazy reverie where she’d ponder the meaning of things. Mostly, she’d think long and hard about the cats around her. Oh, what she’d give to know what they were thinking; what they felt. She envied mind-readers for that, since it seemed like it was like both a gift and curse. They could know in an instant if somebody was enjoying your company, but if they weren’t…well, you’d know. And if you told them you knew, they’d get mad at you for being in their head… such complications that power must come with. The marbled Sokoke actually had quite a few abilities: Ice, Sleep Casting, Soothing Spells, and now she was even becoming capable of forming small barriers. No way of finding out what others thought of her. But her powers weren’t to help her, they were to help others. Surely she wouldn’t trade that out of selfishness and need for knowledge. With her abilities, she could lull a restless kitten to sleep in a heartbeat, she could create beautiful little icicles, she could soothe others around her and she could try to protect cats she cared for. Maybe mind reading wasn’t that great after all.
It was odd to her, that even though Misto had been so upset earlier, she hadn’t actually used any soothing spells, and he seemed happy now. This left her feeling curious; is being a friend being able to sooth eachother without magic? Of course, the dancer wasn’t a child and knew there was more to friendship than just that, but trust remained a hard concept for her to grasp, and slowly, she wanted to understand. To understand what it was about cats that made them click and stick to one another, or spark and pull away. Why did everything always seem so complicated? She could muse over it as much as she wanted, but comprehending Psychology was like running underwater; she wasn’t going to get anywhere with it any time soon. Realizing as they moved they still seemed to have slipped down to holding paws rather than linking arms, she felt a pang of self-consciousness. Her paw pads were scarred and rugged; what if her paws were uncomfortable to hold? Her ears lowered ever so slightly, but she did her best to shake off the momentary flash of unease. She threw a sidelong glance at Misto and she wondered if he noticed her rather rough paw pads or not. As a dancer, most would probably expect her hands and hinds to be soft and sturdy, with a delicate feminine edge to them. Jet didn’t have that, and usually didn’t like when others touched her, or when she touched others. It was really quite a surprise that it took her this long to remember about the old, long-healed cuts.
When they stopped to catch their breath, her past thoughts and troubled forgotten, Jet flopped onto the ground dramatically, spreading her arms out in the cold grass and smiling up at the sky from the floor. “Haha alright,” she laughed at Misto’s words, “you win, solid ground is fantastic.” She sat up with a bemused purr. “I admit, sand can be a pain sometimes,” she meowed, wriggling her toes, but still unable to deny that sand was nice most of the times. But she could see his point, and hopped back up to her paws at the idea of finding a new tree to scale. “Right,” she nodded curtly. Venturing into the woods, she had to admit it was more eerie at night on the ground. The dancer was sure that she’d be right at home once she was up in a tree, but until then, the underbrush felt alien to her.
Veering away from Misto a bit, but holding onto his paw a bit longer before venturing away, she gazed around curiously. Finding a tree, she easily and naturally swung up onto one of it’s lower branches, deciding she might find it easier to look around from above-ground. Of course, there was always the chance that she was just afraid of dark forest floors at night, but Jet would never admit that as the last of the twilight glow seemed to be fading to the white glow of the moon. She had disappeared, melted into the shadows. Jet was in the branches quietly when she heard Misto’s call. He had found a tree! Peering through the gaps in the branches, she noticed that the large, amazing tree the black and white tom was climbing was actually neighbours with her own. Looking up, she noticed the branches of the two trees came pretty close to each other… close enough maybe to hope to the other tree from up here. Challenge accepted, with a devilish grin she climbed upwards “Meet you there,” she meowed curtly to her friend, nearing the branches and starting to climb out onto one of them. This shouldn’t be too hard, she just needed to be careful where she put her paws! Besides, Jet was usually pretty good at that. At least, she certainly hoped she was, especially with her tendency to get herself into situations like these.
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Post by icyreflections on Nov 15, 2012 17:55:02 GMT -5
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Misto scaled the tree with relative ease and hoisted himself up onto a high but sturdy branch. As he balanced his weight equally between his four paws and paced himself carefully outwards on the tree’s limb, he looked around the quiet forest scene and curiously wondered where Jet had wandered off to and if he should call for her again. From his spot high above the ground, the black and white tomcat could feel the change in the wind and noted the temperature drop. He blinked to the sky, which was now quickly growing darker while the air became colder in the depleting sunlight’s wake. ‘The stars should be coming out at any moment,’ Misto noted to himself as he looked around impatiently for his companion. ‘She’s going to miss the first stars. Where is she?’
It was then that the musician saw his friend climbing the tree next to his. A purr caught in his throat. ‘Thank goodness, she made it.’ He looked back to the sky for a brief moment before a thought struck him: ‘if Jet is climbing the tree over there, how is she going to make it over here in time? She’ll have to climb down and them come up with tree… or she could jump…’ Misto’s attention had drifted from the sky to Jet once more and he couldn’t help but flick his ears in astonishment at how easily she was able to hop from one branch to the other.
“Welcome aboard, my lady!” Misto called from his branch and motioned for Jet to sit beside him. “Might I say, that was mighty impressive.” I’m thankful that she didn’t trip and break her nose or a leg or something!' Misto added silently to himself, ’I wouldn’t have been able to reach her fast enough to break her fall or catch her.' Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Misto decided it was best that he focus on the night sky once more and try to pinpoint the constellations his mother taught him when he was a young kit sitting around the family’s fire on the starry beach.
He looked up at the sky, his consciousness seeping deeper and deeper into the darkening abyss that spanned the universe above him. As the stars began to blink into existence for yet another night, Misto busily scanned the heavens for the familiar clusters of stars. Upon his searching, he discovered The Bull lighting up the sky. He grinned excitedly at his finding and pointed to it while tapping Jet’s shoulder eagerly. “Look! See there?” He asked as the stars’ sparkling light glimmered in his gaze and he traced the imaginary lines that structured the constellation, “that there is The Bull. It is one of the brightest and most recognizable constellations in the sky. Mother says that The Bull wasn’t always a bull, but was in fact a beautiful queen that a god once fell in love with. When the god’s wife discovered his infatuation with the queen, she became extremely jealous and wanted to smote the queen with her wrath!” Misto lifted both paws in front of his face and wriggled his fingers in a threatening manner. He then chuckled and awkward tugged on his ear as he continued, “of course, the god was well known for his affairs and was quite skilled at dodging his wife’s wiles. He turned his queen into a cow so that his wife wouldn’t recognize her and she then took it upon herself to jump over the moon and hide amongst the stars for eternity. Mother says that she shines so brightly because the god would visit her often and decorate her horns with flowers and she was quite vain. I’m honestly surprised the goddess never noticed her hiding up there… Of course,” Misto said with a chuckle and a little wink, “maybe she was satisfied by the fact that such a beautiful she-cat was turned into a cow. Either way, The Bull is one of the first constellations that one can see in the nighttime sky during the changing of the leaves.”
Misto went quiet for a moment as he reflected upon the stories he had been told as a kit. A warm, nostalgic feeling overcame him and for a moment he could have sworn that he was a young tom sitting on the beach beside his mother. When did everything change? When did the comfort of his mother’s pelt become so suffocating? He knew he still loved her and the rest of his family with all his heart… But he realized that things had really changed between them. There was a different sort of relationship between him and the rest of the cats on the beach and he wasn’t sure how he felt about this new revelation. He wanted to always be there to support the cats he loved but he also wanted to have the opportunity to sit and watch the stars or play his violin or dance. He was so thankful to wake up everyday with the promise of a new adventure- and he certainly didn’t want to waste his opportunity. As long as he had air in his lungs, Misto longed to go places and try new things. Could he do that if he was still saddled on the beach? Would his family think of him differently if he decided to follow a new path? ….Would they still love him and realize that he loved them back?
The tuxedo tomcat shook his head to clear his thoughts. What sort of family would exclude another family member so easily? If he did want to try something new- wasn’t that his choice and shouldn’t they support him? Why did it always have to be the other way around? Sitting in a tree with Jet, his best friend, was one of the best nights of his life. Despite all the times he spent the night alone, thinking about his grandfather amongst other topics, Misto never really could say that he felt as free as he did right now. Well, that wasn’t completely true… When he played his violin he felt like he could go anywhere and was everywhere. He could travel as far as the barriers of sound could carry him on his musical notes. As long as Misto had his music and the ability to spend time with his dearest friends, he was happy.
He glanced at Jet for a moment, just to make the moment- his moment of peace- last a little longer. When he decided that it was too quiet, he pointed to another constellation with a soft grin. “Do you see that swirl over there? It may be a little difficult to notice… But if you look over there, you will see a white vortex in the sky. It is actually a cluster of stars that all spiral together- that there is The Fish.” He laughed as he explained, “as a kit, I always felt a personal connection to it- living on the beach and all. Mother says that The Fish is two fishes swimming round and round in a circle right on the other’s tail- that is why the constellation looks like it is a spinning whirlpool like that. The Fish constellation is actually connected to another chain- a school if you will- of more stars… or fish. That is how you can find it if you ever need to-” He lifted his paw and squinted slightly as he traced a long line of stars that trailed The Fish constellation. “Just find the school of fish and swim up stream.” He smiled and leaned back on the branch with his paws stabling him at his sides. He sighed as he dreamily spoke aloud, “yeah, it must be nice to be a fish in the sky. There might not be any water, mind you, but the stars and the sky are infinite. They go on forever and ever! Imagine being able to swim in something so big? I wonder what sort of things you’d find.” He rolled his head towards Jet with a smile upon his face and butted her with his shoulder, “how about it, Jet? Would you swim in the sky if it meant that you didn’t actually have to swim and get wet and could go anywhere- and STILL have more to discover? It certainly would be an awfully grand adventure!” His eyes twinkled at the prospect.
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Kitsani
Full Member
♥ Jet Marrow and Kite Tanomis ♥
Posts: 237
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Post by Kitsani on Nov 17, 2012 14:10:53 GMT -5
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Time for the jump. Bunching up her muscles, she dug her hind claws into the bark to make sure her paws wouldn’t slip when she parted from the branch. But Jet knew if she hesitated, even for a heartbeat, her 10 seconds of confidence would waver and her jump could fall short. Leaping before she had time to think, she gracefully made it the length she needed, gripping tightly the branch of the neighbouring tree. One of her hinds slipped slightly, but her front claws were already secured, and her heart didn’t even flutter with worry, and she hoisted herself up with ease. Shaking out her fur, she grinned down at Misto who was a few branches away. “Why thank you kind sir!” she called back, and began the tedious chore of climbing down to make it to where the black and white tom sat, motioning for her to join him down there.
Sitting down with a huff, she whipped off her paws quickly, careful not to get any thorns in her pads; she had enough scrapes and scratches in there already, and she’s had enough run-ins with splinters to last her a lifetime. ’Look, see there? Hearing Misto, she brought her gaze swiftly from her scarred paws to follow Misto’s pointing paw. The stars had faded into existence as quickly as the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon, the forest engulfed in the very shadows that made the stars seem to twinkle with bright vigour. “The bull?” she echoed. It was like playing a game of connect the dots, but instead of numbers to guide your drawings, it was the tales Misto began to tell about the shining specs. Her icy eyes fell upon the constellation he was talking about, and caught herself with her mouth gaping in wonder. Snapping it shut with an embarrassed twitch of an ear, she nodded. “Wow, I feel kinda bad for her though,” the sokoke remarked, “I wouldn’t want to be a cow either.”
But despite her grin, she still found herself touched by the story. They must’ve really loved eachother if they would go through so much trouble to be able to see eachother, however Jet still thought of this god Misto spoke of as quite two-faced, and disliked his role in the tale. If he really loved his first wife, surely he wouldn’t have fallen in love with the cow-cat? Then again, nowadays it seemed like a cat’s heart belonging to a single cat was fading into more and more of a mere fairytale. Of course, maybe the dancer was just being a bit childish again, overlooking how complicated the feelings must’ve really been to the cats in the story.
“Did your mother always talk to you about the stars?” She asked wistfully; her mother never had the time to tell her any stories that didn’t end up turning into lectures. Jet caught herself; that question could be considered rude. But she didn’t bother scrambling to correct her thinking-out-loud like she did with others. Jet felt confident enough that Misto wouldn’t judge her at this point, and she simply hoped questions of his family wouldn’t stir any uneasy feelings, especially on such a nice night. She hoped the darkened night shielded her expressions of momentary worry that she was being too outspoken, since she was already so used to keeping to the sidelines. But if in the dim light her eyes glowed faintly like Misto’s brown ones did, she knew they would betray her and turned them to stare at the sky again.
Locating the swirl he had mentioned – which had taken her longer to find than the bull – she cocked her head to the side. The fish, hm? She smirked crookedly and licked her lips. “I doubt stars taste any good, but I do love fish,” she admitted innocently with a slight laugh, shaking off her past unease. “Me, swim in the stars?” she raised an eyebrow with a smile. “I’m not sure I could handle it. All that open space; there’s still so much down here I don’t understand yet, I’d worry I’d get lost up there!” Even so however, the thought of an adventure that big was exciting in itself, all the things that could be seen and done and thought of. Maybe while up there, who knows? There could be a pair of cats telling stories about the Jet and Misto constellation from the ground, the story of the cats who got lost in the stars. The thought made her laugh under her breath; quite a tail that would be indeed.
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Post by icyreflections on Nov 21, 2012 17:16:11 GMT -5
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Misto grinned lightly at the far-away gaze his friend wore. He was thankful that she didn’t scoff at the stories he had to tell and actually listened to the legends he heard so long ago. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t help but pick up on her feelings towards the characters in the Bull’s story. He didn’t want to be invasive of her privacy but he had yet to learn how to fully control his physic abilities and as he blinked in and out of her consciousness, struggling all the while to leave her alone, he learned of her disapproval for the god in the story and her sorrow for the jealous goddess. Was it possible for him to love two she-cats totally and completely? Misto didn’t know much about gods and their divine attributes. Maybe love was different when you weren’t mortal. In his mind, there were various degrees of love and it could be shared to many different cats. However, he also did not approve of the God’s numerous affairs with other she-cats. With this thought, he recalled the legend of the Ram, which he knew could be seen on the same nights that the Bull was visible.
He looked up at the bright constellation he shared with his friend and he slowly looked beside it for the next constellation. When he found it, he smiled and flicked his tail with interest.
“That constellation over there,” he said brushing a finger across the cosmos to a nearby array of twinkling dots, “is The Ram. If you look closely, you will notice that his head is turned towards the Bull. Legend says that he was infatuated with her beauty and now sits amongst the heavens in that very spot,” Misto cast a sideways glance at Jet, “to admire her beauty from afar.” He cleared his throat and awkwardly broke away for a moment as he retold the legend of the Ram.
“After the incident with the Bull, the goddess and her son created the Ram. Its purpose in life was to shepard lost souls to a land of endless bounty and wonder- and who could ignore its call? It’s golden horns curled around its ears majestically and its wool was tinged with sunshine. Every step it took created sprouts that promised to become massive trees and delicious crops that could feed one hundred cats. Although the goddess’s actions seemed innocent and heroic, she secretly hoped to catch more she-cats that her husband slept with behind her back. When her husband realized what his wife was up to, he possessed the husband of one of his she-cat companions who were being enticed by the Ram and made him slaughter it. He then had the hunter present it to him as a sacrifice so his sins would be forgiven. Upon receiving the slain body of the radiant creature, the god lifted its body into the heavens and hid it amongst the endless stars. Though the poor creature was trapped for eternity, and its prospects seemed bleak, it turned its head and a glimmer of hope ignited within its damaged soul- there next to him, sat the beautiful Bull.” Misto smiled up at the constellation, “despite the fact that the goddess used him and the god imprisoned him, the Ram found true love up there in the sky, and devoted himself to protecting his beautiful neighbor for the rest of his days- from afar, of course. He was quite shy, you see.” Misto chuckled.
“So you see, Jet,” he said with a large sigh as he leaned backwards on his elbows and looked from the two starry belts to the profile of the sokoke beside him. “There is such a thing as ‘love’…. But it’s expressed differently depending on the cat- or Ram or Bull.” He added with a funny smirk and a short laugh.
His analysis of the two tales and good-natured fun was cut short by Jet’s next question. ’Did your mother always talk to you about the stars?’ He could have said ‘yes’ dismissively and been done with it. But Jet meant so much to him and he remembered the way she confided her past to him in the tavern. He couldn’t just blow her off now. Not after that and not after what happened on the beach a few hours ago. Jet was a friend- a trusted confidant- and it was time that he treated her like one.
“My mother,” Misto began, his voice falling and his eyes upon the bark of the branch they shared. A complex array of emotion washed over him- he had so much love and respect for his mother but at the same time, he resented her overbearing protectiveness and dependence towards him. He was wiser than he was as a kit- he was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and realize why he had the powers he was born with. He knew his mother’s secrets, or at least, he was familiar with the majority of them. There were so many factors to his mother’s tales that Misto was overwhelmed with uncertainties- where should he begin to explain? How much should he tell her?
He ran his fingers along the tree’s rough surface, letting his paws bump against the grooves embedded into the tree. As he sat there for a moment, trying to think of a polite way to respond to his friend’s curiosity without impeding the privacy of his mother’s past, he thought of the tree that supported them and stood strong in the middle of the forest. Slowly his eyes flicked to the next tree and then, more quickly, he began to focus his attention upon all the trees that held their own against the elements and together, one tree became a forest of trees. He squinted at the army of thick armored soldiers and realized that each tree- though similar upon first glance- wore different coats. The imprints he currently felt beneath his paw pads belonged solely to the tree he and Jet were sitting upon and told a legend- a past- that was unique compared to the vast majority surrounding them. And with that realization in mind, Misto felt a little lighter and took a breath. As he composed his enlightened explanation in his head, his amber gaze swept confidently from the gnarled bark- the scars that identified each tree- to Jet.
“Jet, my dear,” Misto began again, calmly, fixing his gaze upon hers with quiet intensity. “Do you recall that night in the tavern? When you showed me your paws?” He gave her a soft, encouraging grin, just to let her know that he still respected her privacy and honored her decision to show him her deeper secrets. “Well, my mother is scarred too.” He said, looking out at the forest and sweeping a paw amongst the horizon of trees. “Like you, like all of these mighty soldiers made of contorted wood- my mother has suffered a great deal in her life.” He shrugged slightly as he continued with the same stern demeanor, “I suppose anyone could argue that each cat has been scarred at certain points in their lives… that is what makes us stronger. It is just a part of life. Well, my mother has been running for a long time. She still is, sort of… She is running and hiding from the things that scarred her- but little does she know, the longer she sits about on that beach with the rest of those gypsies, the more she gets inflicted.”
Misto winced slightly as he called the rest of his family ‘gypsies’ for he considered it a discriminatory label that implied that he and his family were incapable to creating or surmounting to anything of value. Normally, in his mind, Misto realized that gypsies were travelers who were wiser than most due to their experiences and they were capable of many talents. When a wealthy cat said ‘gypsy’ they usually meant ‘beggar’ and that wasn’t true- gypsies worked hard for the money they earned and used the skills that they learned over the courses of their lives to benefit themselves and their families, like any other cat would. Over the course of his life however, Misto realized something about his extended family- they treated him, his mother, and his sisters differently… They treated them like the rich would normally treat the cats they deemed ‘gypsies’ and although Misto loved his family and knew that they were capable of many talents- he could help but resent them for sitting on the beach, letting him support them, all while they continued to treat him like an outsider. The feelings he had towards his outer family was complex because he was born to love the cats he was related to by blood and each and every one of them lived together in the caravan- bellies empty and minds full. Misto always assumed that they disliked him because he was the runt and enjoyed mingling with the ‘enemies’ that lived within the city, but as he matured he began to notice how coolly they acted towards his mother and her offspring. Why was that? Misto began to lose respect for them after making this discovery and longed to find the root reason behind their disapproval of his mother and her children.
He had an inclination behind their wariness and he opened his mouth to continue with his tale, “while I was growing up, I sometimes wondered about my father. My mother never wanted to talk about him and my aunts and uncles would always give me a disgusted look when I inquired to his whereabouts. ‘Ask the witch,’ they would say…” Misto scoffed and rolled his eyes at the memory. “I should have realized the hostility in their tone at the time… But I was just a kit and didn’t understand such ugliness at that time. Family was family- why would my loved ones hate each other and express anything besides fondness for each other?
“I didn’t really know what they meant… That is, I didn’t know until I began to hear their thoughts… There was…” Misto struggled to find the right words. He didn’t want to make the story more dramatic than was necessary but he trusted Jet and wanted to prove his loyalty by answering her question as accurately as possible. “an assortment of ill wishes directed towards my mother. A few of them even thought about evicting her- and me and my sisters. My grandfather’s love is what protected her- what protected all of us.” He grinned softly at the thought of his grandfather. “He believed families should stick together- no matter what. He knew how much his son loved my mom and he loved her and her kits infinitely. His devotion to his values kept us all together. He was in charge with my father gone… Everyone respected and obeyed him.”
He sighed as he continued with his tale, “I asked my mom several times about the voices I heard in my head and she’d always pretend she didn’t hear me or she’d change the subject or tell me I was crazy. I never knew why she did those things… But then I realized that the only possibility was that she could do them too- and that is what my aunts and uncles meant when they said ‘witch’. My mother was capable of using magic and she passed her skills on to me… and she wanted to protect me by ignoring my abilities and keeping me quiet. The only time she seemed to acknowledge this theory to be true was one night, when the air was crisp and clear- like tonight- I was sitting on the beach, with the sea foam sucking my toes…. She approached me from behind and asked me to come up to the fire because the air was chilly and the ocean breeze could be freezing. I told her I was fine where I was, but instead of leaving me, she looked up at the sky and she pointed at the heavens…”
Misto gently put a paw to Jet’s shoulder and he changed his voice to mimic his mother’s:
“’Peesha,’ she said, ‘do you see that there?’ I told her I didn’t. ‘The stars, they are aligned so precisely tonight. They tell me of a bird without a flock.’ ‘Is that so?’ I said casually and looked up at the sky to see the birds she spoke of but I was unable to. ‘Peesha, the lone bird hovers above your head. Perhaps you cannot see it amongst the stars. Perhaps you have to look inside yourself.’ I looked at her curiously. What was she talking about? And suddenly, I caught her eye and I knew what she meant… I closed my eyes and I listened to the voices inside my head… And suddenly I heard her- my mother speaking to me without moving her lips or uttering a vocal sound. And within the depths of my mind, she told me to soar…”
His paw fell from Jet’s shoulder and he smiled at her, his voice picking up and tinged with a more joyous emotion. “My mother always told me stories about the stars as a kit. She always knew the names of the constellations and their legends and she shared them with us- but she always did it late at night, after everyone fell asleep. She would wake me and my sisters up and hold us close to her pelt as we all gazed up at the stars and shared her heritage.” He looked to her, “my mom can read the stars, Jet. She always could- it was something her mother taught her and it was a talent she tried to hide but simply couldn’t. Like my music, the stars were part of her- she looked to them for guidance and security. Whatever happened in the past- the stars reminded her of a time when her life was steady and it was a skill that she loved to share. She had to hide it for so long- she still does… But I am glad that she was brave enough to come out of hiding long enough to tell me those stories and take me to those far away places so I could share them with you tonight.”
Indeed, the awestruck expression Jet currently wore was worth all the schillings in each fat cat’s pocket, the length of the horizon spanning the sea, and all the stars that dotted the sky. The fact that he was able to share such an influential subject- a subject that gnawed at him since the death of his grandfather- felt invigorating. Sitting there, besides Jet and realizing that they had each other to talk to and share their experiences with was a truly precious gift and he couldn’t help but laugh at her last remark- her response to soaring amongst the stars at his side and he purred. “Jet,” he began with his familiar twinkle lighting up his gaze. “Sometimes you say the darnest things. Do you honestly think that I would allow my best friend to explore the stars alone?” He winked at her and poked out his tongue cheekily, “you certainly can’t go around getting lost and having all the fun without me! That certainly wouldn’t do.”
He sat up a little taller and raised his chin proudly as he declared, “I honestly believe you are much wiser than you seem to think. You certainly have more sense than many of the cats I encounter day in and day out in Gweillan.” He thought about the muggers he had to evade late at night and the guards who snapped his bow earlier that morning and shook his head. It was in the past- he was with Jet now, he just had to keep moving and they would think of a way to solve his problem together. He had to persevere and so he did. He put on a smile and chimed, “Besides, looking down at the world would certainly give you a different perspective on life and maybe could help you answer whatever questions you have- that I can’t answer now, of course.” He flipped his dangling legs onto the branch and laid down against its surface. He blinked up at the heavens and looked towards all the constellations hovering over his head. He watched them twinkle and shine and was warmed by their gaze. Unlike most, he saw these stars as family. They were part of him- part of his past. They looked down at him with their stories that few bothered to listen to and Misto gladly acknowledged their generosity by sharing their tales and also by allowing them to witness his own stories from their seats in the cosmos.
He felt warmed by their presence- warmed by the feeling that he wasn’t so alone. He looked up from his spot on the tree branch, his ear tips lightly brushing against Jet’s pelt next to him. He considered joking about the strange perspective but he instead softly purred, “thank you for meeting me at that hot spring and all our encounters since. You always seem to be there when I am feeling loneliest. You are a true friend.”
Then, just to break the reflective moment, Misto squirmed uncomfortably and said in a loud voice, “I think I’m lying on a pinecone or an acorn or something.” He dug his paw behind his back and pulled out a twig that was poking him in the back and flicked it over the edge of the tree branch. “Honestly,” he sighed, “how do some cats sleep up here? Have you ever fallen asleep up a tree, Jet? My goodness.” He situated himself again and folded his arms behind his head. “That’s a little better,” he purred and looked up at her with a silly grin.
Words couldn’t express how happy he truly was that she met him by the ocean today. Digging around in seaweed? What was he thinking?
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