A home in the forest

[Anonymous]

Drake Adtmentis' breath heaved with exhaustion, with every step he took he grew even more tired.  Geez, I wish there were a tavern nearby!  I need a drink more than anything, he thought bluntly.  All of a sudden he head a twig snap, as he rested against a tree.  Quickly, he turned in that direction in surprise...

[Anonymous]

Rizz, as he was currently known, was not feeling very well. Part of it was due to the fact that he’d eaten fish for lunch; for some reason, fish didn’t seem to agree with his digestive system. The other part of it, of course, was the fact that he was still a clumsy feline cursed with the name ‘Drizzle’, instead of the majestic, powerful spirit he had been before he had offended…well, whomever he had offended.
It had been at least a month since his transformation, and he was still having motor problems. For centuries, he had been a bodiless individual, composed solely of spirit. Adapting to a body, especially one with such a perplexing number of muscles, was hard.
Dec was elsewhere, so that meant that he had the freedom to practice moving without anyone laughing at him. Bunching himself up into a ball of muscle, he leapt at a sitting rock-and missed, bumping his nose on a tree. He shook his head, pained and embarrassed. At least no one was here to witness his antics. He thought for a moment, and decided to give up, walking very carefully away from the crime scene.
To his dismay, he found a biped. He froze for a moment, thinking. Now, how did cats express their displeasure? Once he'd figured that out, he arched his back and flattened his ears, hissing.

[Anonymous]

The sudden appearance of a feline had surprisingly startled Drake.  Such a small creature wouldn't normally have that kind of affect on him, much less a cat.  It hissed at him and all he could think of was, Lunch!  But he forced himself to resist, he was more thirsty than hungry anyways.

He took a few steps toward the cat in as friendly a manner he could muster.  He didn't wish to disturb it if he was in it's territory.  It just wasn't in his nature to harm another life without motive or reason.  Except if he was starving of course, he wouldn't harm any living thing without a good reason.

Drake wrapped his bare torso in his fur coat and approached the creature with much caution.  Getting scratched was not something he planned on happening.

[Anonymous]

Rizz was indignant. This was not supposed to be happening? From what he’d gathered during his short reign as arch-cat of the witch’s cottage (of course, he was the only cat within the cottage, but that wasn’t the point), people tended to shy away when they were hissed at. Maybe it just didn’t work without a background of dried herbs or something.

He raised a paw, intending to smite the other for trespassing and impoliteness. Rizz waited for a moment, confused. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to work. The creature was supposed to have been struck by lightning, but the lightning seemed a bit tardy. Then, he remembered what he was. Cats did not have control over lightning. He was a cat, and as a result, his powers had all gone.

How depressing. Rizz drooped, embarrassed by the incident. He licked his raised paw, pretending that it was what he had intended all along. Somehow, he managed to trip over his own feet, hitting the floor with a slightly muffled thud. That hurt. Whoever it was that had waxed about the glories of material flesh had obviously never felt pain. Hoping that the creature before him was an animal-lover with the memory of a goldfish, he tried his best to look pitiful and said, “Mrow?� He didn’t sound very catlike. Any magical creatures within the range of his telepathic voice would have heard what sounded like muffled expletives. Rizz had no idea he was projecting; he thought that all his powers had gone.

[Anonymous]

The noise that came from this strange cat certainly would have sounded like an ordinary cat cry, to those of untrained senses at least.  But Drake was a Garou (well half to be more exact, but a Garou nonetheless.  His heightened senses could detect psionic and magical essences no matter how faint.  And this cat seemed to reek of it.  But is seemed so helpless, as if it suffered and immeasurable change and still trying to adjust.

Then, quite suddenly really, a feeling made it's way into the center of Drake's heart.  A feeling of pity, a emotion he had not felt in a long time.  Abruptly as it came, he attempted to push the feeling out.  But it surged through him like never before.  Out of some kind of maternal instinct he picked up the pathetic looking animal and attempted to call out to the aura within.  He stared deep into it's eyes searching for it's spirit, or whatever was inside that had endured this change.  Nothing.  Well at least nothing that he noticed.  He spoke, aloud this time, "Who are you?"  Still nothing.

Drake put it down and began to search his pockets.  Where is it?, He thought anxiously. Then he pulled out a piece of cooked jerky from his coat pocket and set it before the cat.  He smiled, that at least if he couldn't call out the spirit within, at least the cat wouldn't go hungry.  He watched the cat for a few more minutes before attempting to leave.

[Anonymous]

It was all a trap, Rizz realized. Quite possibly, it was an attempt to get him to claw the beastie, which would lead to…well, something unpleasant. All he had to do was restrain the bestial urges that came with this primitive body. Still, it was possible that this was all meant to prevent him from clawing the person, and that the cunning mind that had concocted this vile scheme knew that he would know that it was a trap…All this thinking was making his head hurt. He decided to assume that this was an attempt to make him claw the man. He would not surrender, of course, even though he didn’t like this person at all.

He blinked, trying to look as relaxed and as placid as he could. After all, showing weakness would be disastrous. This plotter against him would surely pounce on any weakness. Seeing what the creature was setting before him, he whimpered. This was cruelty. It just couldn’t be allowed. Bad enough to try and bring about his downfall, but to also tempt him with food?

Still, he would not succumb to the foul tricks of the enemy! He was clever enough to perceive their plans! They wanted to poison him, to use his liking for food to bring about his doom! Rizz was wise, and he would not be conquered, especially not by such paltry tactics.

He nibbled at the jerky. Poison or not, it did taste very good.

[Anonymous]

"I see that you take a liking to turkey jerky," he said chuckling to himself.  He may not have been much of a people person, but one thing he did love was an animal.  Maybe not just to eat but to also be in the company of.  This particular animal was quiet.  Silence was something that Drake revered.  It brought a relaxing feeling to a room, but also, sometimes, a wordless bore.  

Drake, instead of deciding to be on his way, took a seat under the shade of a tree beside the cat simply watching as it ate.  He didn't have to say much to show how he felt.  It wasn't often he came across someone he liked, much less an animal.  Of course not everyone wanted to be alone for the rest of their existence, and Drake was surely not one of them.  He sometimes enjoyed the company of a friend (usually one he has not offended) or a woman (by some slight chance attracted.)  He liked to be with someone as often as not (quite often).  But of course he didn't want to disturb the cat without it's permission of course.

Drake had been on his way to Ketra.  Usually in search of the nearest tavern but this time it was to settle down.  He had been wandering the world and separate kingdoms for as long as he can remember.  His whole life had been abused and his only comfort was when he was in his kennel, undisturbed.  Certainly wandering the lands would bring unwanted attention to someone like him; people asking who he was, where he was going, and why.  But he didn't need that anymore.  So he decided it was time for him to find a more permanent home and maybe Ketra had something to offer this wanderer of a man.

He saw that the cat was just about finishing his jerky and he reached in his coat pocket for more.

[Anonymous]

For convenience, Rizz decided that the jerky was not poisonous. However, that didn't mean that the man wasn't plotting against him; it just meant that the man had a different plan in mind. Perhaps he would be ruined financially(not that he had any money) or killed with one of those awfully sharp pointy things that men were so fond of.

He purred gratefully when the man offered him another piece. This one was certainly poisoned, and the last one had been a lure so that he would eat this one. Or perhaps it was all a plot to make him overweight. He'd heard somewhere that overweight kitties died young. Despite his certainty that the jerky was poisonous, he still decided to taste it. After all, eating only a little of it wouldn't poison him, and he would be able to tell the taste of poison later on. Besides, he'd survived Dec's cooking; this stuff couldn't be more toxic. A few minutes later, he was still telling himself that he'd eaten only a little, even though he'd already finished all of the jerky.

He tried not to look too guilty. It wasn't his fault; the jerky had forced him to eat it! Now he was going to die a horrible death, and it was all the jerky's fault. It was such an ignoble way to die; even suicide would have been perferable. On the bright side, though, it meant that he could eat as much poisonous jerky as he wanted, since he was going to die anyways. And maybe if he was clever enough, then the man would reveal who had masterminded this awful plot. He would be avenged, or at least get Decah to try and destroy his foe. He didn't expect Decah to succeed, but at least she would annoy his enemy for a while until his ghost figured out how to move things around.

He looked at the man expectantly, meowing questioningly. Where was his next piece?

[Anonymous]

"I'm sorry little friend but that was the last of it,"Drake said.  "You have quite an appetite for something so small." He reached out and stroked the cat in delight.  He stood up and wished to wave goodbye but instead he picked it up and carried it in it's arms.

"Don't be mad young fellow.  But I hope you can forgive me from taking you away from this dreadful forest.  I don't know exactly where in Ketra I'll end up.  But I figure I came all this way and it's worth a try.  I would hope that you are willing to accompany me on my journey there." Drake added without further ado.  He held the cat safely in his arms in hopes that it would have no rejections.

[OCC: Sorry for the short post. I was lacking inspiration. >_<]

[Anonymous]

Rizz mewed piteously, staring up into the man's eyes. From past experience, he'd learned that appearance was a very important part of getting people to do what he wanted. When he learned that there would be no more food, he was disappointed, even though he was only eating the jerky to put the man at ease. Honestly.

He purred smugly when the man decided to pick him up. He had successfully fooled the conspirator. Now, he was going to be taken to wherever the headquarters of those who plotted against him. Though he realized that his logic was flawed, he decided that it was because the man was far dimmer than him. Obviously, Rizz was very good at believing what he wished.

He didn't really mind leaving Decah. She couldn't cook, after all. The only thing good about her was that she was too stupid to be part of a plot against him. This man obviously knew where to find the best food and knew all the right places to scratch. Of course, he amended, that wasn't the real reason he had decided to go with the man. It was because traveling with the man would eventually allow him to take his revenge.

(OOC: No worries.)

[Anonymous]

The rest of the day seemed to drift away unnoticeably.  He trekked along, the cat still in his embrace, becoming more and more weary with the journey.  He had no intention of harming anything, especially in this state, and only needed rest.  He had no friends and no family and certainly no lovers, at least not at the moment. And even a lonely man, at least a man with no one who knew him, may do some strange and crazy things.  But Drake remained as sane as he ever could be, even with a painful past filled with abuse and mistreatment.  He trained his mind to stay steady.  That no matter what happened to him, what he saw or experienced, his mind wouldn't falter.

The grass and trees began to glow with the setting sun, like candles before him.  Then a faint smell caught his attention.  Was it magic? He sniffed the air to reassure himself. No. Something or someone was near, creeping closer to him than he could care for.  An adrenaline rush began it's course in his blood.  He felt his heart beat with aniticipation as he quickened his pace.  It was getting closer. Whatever it was was stalking him, in the fullest momentum, for Drake's step hastened into a sprint.  He held the cat close to him as to not be tossing him up and down by the movement of his run.  Everything and everywhere looked the same.  He felt as if he was going in circles. Dammit. I don't even know where the hell I'm going!

Drake stopped and held the cat inside the warmth of his coat.  A dark figure zipped past from one tree to the next.  Night had fallen now, and he shifted into his night sight.  Now everything seemed more visible.  An ordinary man may have been blind in the night, but not to one who was also a Garou.  Nighttime was his time.

The figure seemed to be closing in on him.  Drake gazed around him after setting the cat down by his boots, it's hair erect with anxiety as if it too seemed to sense what he did, getting the feel of his surroundings before him.  He noticed a tree shadow large enough for a very large beast to pounce off no matter the weight.  Then he turned in the direction of the shadowed beast before him.  Suddenly, in a flash of lightening it pounced on him, knocking him over and trying to bite his throat.  The sabrewolf, as this was the beast, was a large 189lb. animal that stalked down his prey like a tiger.

Struggling against it, Drake's face flushed with anger.  He threw it against the giant oak he saw before  and prepared once again for an assault.  Just as he figured the sabrewolf charged at him at full speed.  As it ran toward him he flung it with incredible strength straight into the earth, rendering unconscious.  With the hate that surged through him he plunged his fist into the creatures skull, bringing their short battle to an utter end.

[Anonymous]

During the ride, Rizz mostly dozed. He woke several times during the trip, blinking sleepily at the changing surroundings. Didn’t the man know what the word rest meant? They hadn’t stopped once during the journey, or, at least, he hadn’t noticed it. The giant meal that he’d eaten kept him from going hungry, but several times he found himself dreaming about juicy fillets of fish and bowls of cream.

In his dream, he had just begun lapping up the cream when he woke again, this time because the man was running. Fortunately, the man had enough sense to prevent him from bouncing up and down, but that didn’t keep him from awaking. The man ran loudly. For a moment, Rizz considered meowing a protest, but then decided against it. The hair on his back was raised, and he thought that he could hear something other than the man’s run. Something that sounded suspiciously like the loping of a giant animal towards them…

Unfortunately, the man seemed to have no sense of direction at all He obviously didn’t have a feline’s internal compass(or Rizz’s intellect), and Rizz thought several times that the man had no idea where they were going. They weren’t exactly going in circles, but they were certainly getting nowhere.

He meowed a complaint when the man put him inside his coat. This was completely unnecessary. His fur was more than adequate to keep him warm, and besides, it wasn’t that cold. Fortunately, the man put him down soon, and he gave himself a little shake. Staying in one position for hours had stiffened his muscles, and it was a bit hard to move. He hissed suddenly, flattening his ears when he saw the beast. Being a feline, his night vision was more than adequate, and he could see the giant beast.

Well, the man could deal with it by himself. He wasn’t a dog, and he wasn’t going to sacrifice himself for the sake of someone he barely knew, even if that someone did give him food. Of course, he’d grieve for a while, but it would be easy to move on. He padded away towards a tree, knowing that if the sabrewolf triumphed, then it would hardly bother about some little kitty. From behind his spot, he peeked towards the scene, waiting for the horrible death that would occur.

The death did occur, although it was the sabrewolf that died, not the man. That was certainly unexpected, although interesting. He didn’t really care; after all, the man had just been defending himself. Rizz moved towards the beastie, watching it curiously. All he cared about was whether or not it was edible.