Early morning was slowing fading into day. Birds began chirping as they roused themselves from their nests and fluffed their feathers. The wind whistled through tall, dry grass and rustled it's was into the trees. The tents that were set up all throughout the clearing began showing signs of life as the light from the sun shone through the tan canvas, silhouetting figures beginning to rise from their hard and lumpy cots.
Amidst the quiet of the morning, a figure, quieter than even the mice, stalked silently through the maze of tents. He was crouched low, in a very balanced position. He looked like he was about ready to pounce on something, except for that his hands hung down at his sides, swinging slightly.
The man slowed as he reached a tent. His feet landed softly on the ground, not making a sound. He readied himself to spring. A blue tail twitched for only the briefest of moments.
The figure leapt out from around the corner of the tent, intent on scaring his target. "Gotcha!" Ranulf shouted as loudly as he could, while still keeping his voice down to a whisper. He grinned, fully expecting a little girl to jump into the air, and maybe scream a little.
Ranulf straightened his posture, utterly disappointed. He even hung his head a little. The only thing he had scared was the field mice.
Damn, that kid's a good hider. Ranulf scowled as he contemplated the next place to look for the brown haired child. He had already checked the nearby woods, the other half of the camp and in all throughout the tall grass. He had not expected, that when Amy had come bounding into his tent before it was even light out, that the jubilant eight year old could have ever been so good at hide-and-go-seek. And the worst part was, he couldn't even smell her because of all the other beorc and laguz scents that wafted through the air and clung to every fiber of the camp.
Ranulf let out a loud huff of air and walked aimlessly in the direction of his tent. He wasn't even really looking anymore. He had been searching for nearly two hours and had not caught sight of the little girl even once. He was about through looking. All he wanted to do was get some more sleep before the horn sounded and woke the camp up.
He always slept in as late as he could. He liked sleep. He did not like little children waking him up in the goddess-awful early morning by jumping on him. However, he did like Amy, so he indulged the girl. He agreed to play her game, but only after making her beg a bit. He had not ever expected, two hours later, that he still would not found her.
However, he wasn't bothered in the slightest about the girl's safety. He trusted that she wouldn't go far and that if he couldn't find her—he hated to even think this—someone else would. There was no reason to worry. The only thing that would be hurt by him not finding her soon would be his pride, but no one would no about that, so long as he kept the incident to himself.
Ranulf sighed again and pulled back the flap to his tent. He had submitted to not being able to find Amy, so he decided that the only logical thing left for him to do was to get some more sleep before the horn. Ranulf yawned loudly and stretched, preparing to lie back down. As he inspected the cot, a suspicious lump of covers caught his interest. Curious, he crouched down and pulled the covers back by the corner, only to reveal a small child, curled in a ball, lying on her side, fast asleep. Ranulf smiled to himself and let out a small airy chuckle. Amy had gone back to his tent, probably as soon as she thought he would no longer notice her movement and hid under his covers. Then she had fallen asleep after he didn't find her quickly enough.
Still smiling, Ranulf lay down next to the little branded girl and put his hands behind his head, getting comfortable. He closed his eyes and prepared to go back to sleep when he felt a small tugging on the side of his shirt. He peered down at Amy, who had rolled over and curled her small hand into a fist, grasping his shirt securely.
A gentle look crossed the laguz commander's face as he looked down at the girl. He removed one hand from behind his head and brushed some hair out of her eyes then let it fall softly on her shoulder. He pulled her a little closer to him in a protective manner when she shivered. Her body fit perfectly against his, and his arm acted like a cradle, holding her tightly. She was small enough so that it was not an uncomfortable position at all for either of them.
As he closed his eyes once again he could feel her snuggling up to him, her grip tightening on his shirt. He heard her give a content sigh and mumble the words, still half asleep, "Kitty Cat Man."