Lessons (Finch & Home) Chapter 3
Moon awoke groggily with a loud yawn. The sun was making its daily climb to its peak, and a cold wind blew steadily from the moors outside the forest. Climbing out from between the roots of the old juniper that had been her nest, she caught a glimpse of the loner she followed to the old tree last night. He was still asleep, his rusty brown flank rising and falling in steady rhythm. Moon wasn't surprised, the loner looked like he could barely stand by the time the two of them reached the tree.
Moon couldn't help but notice how the loner made a point of sleeping on the opposite side of the tree from her. Hmpf, he's certainly a cautious one, she thought with a snort. I guess I can't blame him for it though. Catching sight of the scar on his muzzle, Moon felt a twinge of sympathy for the cat. I defiantly cut him pretty deep. She gingerly picked her way over to him and gave the now scarred flesh a closer inspection. It's healing well though, at least, there's no sign of infection that is.
I suppose some hunting's in order now. Moon flexed her claws.
Outside the bramble wall that surrounded the juniper tree, Moon probed the air optimistically for the scent of prey. There must be something around here. The leaffall had been fairly light so far, the prey wasn't nearly as scarce as it had been in ones before. There! The scent of a squirrel wafted over her from a few trees away. Senses alert, Moon moved swiftly towards the scent. Coming to a stop below a birch tree, she looked up. There it is! The squirrel sat in a fork of the tree a couple of tail lengths above chewing on a nut. Hmm, how to do this? Moon took note of the wind direction. I wish this thing would have been on the ground, I'd have had it by now, she thought as she sank her claws into a tree downwind of her quarry. As quietly as she could, she slipped from branch to branch until she was only a tail length away. The squirrel, still occupied by its own meal remained unaware of Moon. Judging the distance, Moon let go of her perch above the unsuspecting creature. Falling like a stone through the sky, Moon landed right on her mark. The squirrel let out the faintest squeak of alarm as Moon's claws grasped its flank. The grace of Moon's kill ended here. Not factoring in the squirrel's weight, Moon tumbled awkwardly off the branch with the squirrel still griped in her claws. Acting with lightning speed, Moon let the animal go and twisted her body around in the air. Falling more like a leaf caught in the wind than a stone now, Moon landed heavily on her paws. The squirrel landed with a crack and sickening thud a heartbeat later, its neck broken.
Moon slowly steadied herself and gave each paw a tentative shake. "Good, nothing's broken," she sighed with relief while looking over at the body of the squirrel. "Well I guess that's one way to do it," she shrugged, picking up the body and heading back to the juniper.
"Hmpf, I guess it was a little hopeful of me to think you'd left me alone now." The loner snorted when Moon pushed her way through the brambles around the juniper. He sat grooming himself on one of the tree's roots.
Moon dropped her squirrel. "And I guess it was a little mouse brained of me to think you'd have picked some of the ants out of your fur by now. Look Finch, I'm not that easy to get rid of. Now, if you want to act a little more kind, there's enough food here to share. I'll be here waiting if you can't."
Moon could see the hurt pride in Finch's eyes as the loner weighed her words.
At least he's not as dumb as he is irritating, she thought as Finch finally let out a sigh of defeat and padded over to where Moon sat with her prey.
"You're lucky that I haven't eaten since sunhigh yesterday," meowed the loner begrudgingly.
Moon couldn't help but feel a stab of sympathy for the proud cat. I guess I'd be just as hurt if I had to rely on a cat I just met to catch my food.
Without exchanging more than a few awkward and uneasy glances at each other, the two cats ate in their prey with hungry zeal. By now the sun was shining brightly in the clear skies and the forest was beginning to fall into a midday, windswept silence.
"So, I'd say we have some tunnels that need exploring," meowed Moon, sitting up from her meal and throwing her eyes to the old juniper behind Finch.
"Yes, I suppose we do. Can I ask you something first though?
Moon shrugged, "sure."
"If you knew about the tunnels and this tree being an entrance, and you wanted to explore them before, why did you have to wait for me to come along to explore them? After all, you seem more than capable of protecting yourself."
Moon gave Finch a long stare as she thought of a response. "Sometimes Finch," she replied after a moment, "a cat has to admit to certain fears of things. I for one, don't like sticking my paws where my eyes can't guide them. You however, seem to have no issues with that. So, here we are," she finished with a dismissive flick of her tail.
"Right," was all the loner replied with a huff. "Well come on then."
Following in silence, Moon took a place beside Finch below the ancient trunk and sat looking up searching for anything that could be an entrance.
"We know it's hollow…" Meowed Finch trailing off as he curled his tail around his paws.
The pair continued searching the tree for any sign of an entrance.
"There!" Moon called out excitedly, shattering the silence that had fallen between the trees. "Right there! Look, it's just about halfway up. There's an old owl hole. That must be it."
"It's worth a shot." Replied Finch as his gaze shifted to follow Moon's.
Without waiting for a reply the loner bunched his mussels and launched himself at the tree. The climb wasn't an easy one. With the exception of a single stub of a branch that clung relentlessly to the decaying trunk just below the owl hole, the tree had no other spots where a cat could sit and catch its breath. Nevertheless, Moon spotted Finch waiting for her on the branch moments later. Even from the distance she sat away from him, Moon could practically see the determination radiating off the loner. Okay, here we go.
Grunting with the effort, Moon finally hauled herself onto the branch beside Finch sometime soon after she began her climb. "Lead the way pathfinder." She nodded toward the tunnel with a slight smirk.
Rolling his eyes, finch turned and padded into the hollow. Moon watched as the tip of his tail disappeared into the darkness.
A/N : Nothing to note. But on that note, Does a note of no note, note anything? Leave your answer in a review.