Look at what the cat dragged in (Leon,closed)

[Tressa]

Tressa looked on wordlessly, his silent approval had made her feel good. For petching sakes, now I’m seeking praise. She shook her head in an attempt to regain her pride and lose the accomplished feeling. She was becoming a pet, it was obvious to her, though not so much to him. The word, even the thought of it left bitterness soaking her taste buds and she hissed in reaction to it. His task of strewing things from his pack did well to distract her from her self loathing. Each object creating it’s own unique noise against the earth, each pitch varying in length and depth. Finally he pulled his bedroll from the bag and begun replacing the littered items to their rightful place. She had become engrossed by his actions having never actually watched how humans made camp, only having seeing the aftermath. The way he carefully removed the debris of twigs and stone left by nature’s presence from his chosen dwelling place, or the way he brushed away the loose uneven ground. It was all new to her, she herself would have just lain in the earth not paying the contents of it any mind. Humans were strange in the way they created unneeded work for themselves. “Are you hungry? Because if you are I can cook you something, it won’t be hot but at least it will be a meal.” He had turned towards her and her eyes automatically shifted to meet his face. They were the first words he’d spoken since the presence of the bird at the gates. It was a nice offer, though she wasn’t sure if it had been manners or his own hunger that had brought him to ask. She was hungry their was no doubt about it. The part of her mind she was beginning to dislike told her to accept his offer and subject herself to more of the displeasing human food, but her desire for something freshly killed and untarnished by preparation won the battle and she declined. “Thank you, but I’d prefer something” She paused mid sentence, unsure of a fitting word. Surely bloody and freshly killed , or even mangled by her own claws weren’t the best options. “um, something else.” She couldn’t find a word in her vocabulary that fit her craving and wouldn’t leave him staring at her in shock, disturbed or even deterred from his want to sleep near her. He had settled down for the night, in his bedroll beneath the canopy of leaves and the now starlit sky. She herself hadn’t decided where she’d lay, or even what form she’d lay in. His bedroll offered more than enough space beside him for her in this form, but that was a situation she wasn’t sure she wanted to be in. She doubted the possibility of him trying anything, doubted it greatly, but the thought of giving him the power to even try didn’t sit well with her. The scent of a rabbit on the wind altered her thought process, her hunger taking control. Her nose turned to the wind, much like a predatory animal would do. Where are you? She thought. Cloaked by the night she made quick work of her clothing and footwear, letting it all fall to the ground forgotten. In the blink of an eye all thoughts of Leon or sleep had fled her mind and she stood proud in the shape of a tigress. The faint moonlight, aided by the stars illuminated her predominantly white coat making it appear almost luminescent against the night. It’d been awhile since she hunted and once more her nose caught the breeze separating the blended smells to target the one she sought. Her eyes searched the night for the slightest of movements and she listened, her ears turning and alerting her to the quietest of sounds. In one swift movement her intricate system of complex muscles working together she bound off silently into the night. She moved at a steady speed, not wanting to lose the meal she carried herself as down wind as she could. The slightest sign of her presence would send the rabbit into a panicked retreat and it would become more difficult to catch. The sound stirring of grass not far in the distance brought her to a stilling pace the pads of her feet acting as shock and sound absorbers on the twig and brush splayed ground. The scent of her prey was stronger hear and the mute thud of his rear limbs as he scoured for food met her ears. Alas I found you she cooed mockingly in her head. Stealth was the answer now, one wrong step would make or break her success. Crouching until her midsection almost brushed the earth, her eyes fixated on the patch of brush she stalked forward. Slowly, taking note of every step, of every obstacle, every whispered noise. This was her game, the game of survival, the game of life. A game she intended to win. With each move forward she readied herself for the strike, the kill shot. Needless suffering of her meal did nothing for her. Her surroundings faded from view, her eyes and mind only on the rabbit she could now see. It shuffled around in it’s search for dinner unhindered by her presence. Only yards from her, close enough to finish. Her muscles tensed as she lowered her front to the ground, resting the weight of her body on her paws. Her rear legs raised, back slightly arched, she was ready to spring and she did. Using her body weight and strengthened leg muscle to propel herself she leapt forward. Her jaws opened revealing deadly fangs and she struck. Front legs landing swiftly followed by her rear she hit her mark, closing her mouth down around the helpless animal. Her fangs sunk in making quick work of the soft flesh. The faint crack that echoed in her throat sealed it’s fate, leaving the creature hanging limp and lifeless from her maw as it’s bitterly sweet life force flowed from it. Painting the fur of her muzzle a crimson red as it ran from the mangled flesh and into her mouth, then slowly dripped from it. She had won. Carrying herself in a noticeably proud nature she returned to their camp. It was silent except for the steady breathing of Leon and her own exhausted breaths. She wasn’t sure if he slept or only lay there relaxed, but she’d leave him a share anyhow. Dropping her catch to the earth she systematically placed one large paw heavily onto its lower abdomen, resulting in cracking of several snapping bones. She then lowered her head, placing the uncovered portion of the corpse in her jaws and quickly pulled back, ripping the meal in half. It was messy at best, leaving a sight of innards and goo displayed upon the earth as she carried the half still locked in her jaw closer to him. Thinking nothing of it she dropped the less than appetizing chunk of bloodied rabbit only feet from him and turned to take interest in the messy devouring of her own half. It was only after she’d finished her meal, save for a few bones clearly chewed on and mad an ordeal of cleaning the blood from herself that sleep resumed it’s place in her mind. There was no need to bother scaling the tree, it was a fairly safe area and she didn’t want to bother with the task of morphing and redressing. It was warm out, the night air still reminiscing the heat of the day, there was no need for her to offer warmth, but she desired the closeness of something breathing and she slowly approached Leon. If he was sleeping being startled ton consciousness and seeing her could end badly. She hadn’t forgot the moment in the inn where he’d seemed terrified by her. Circling the earth several times she sniffed decisively before lowering her body to the ground and curling her form tightly. Her tail rested around her, morning would bring with it a need for energy and with out sleep she would not have it.

[Leon]

A twist of a tongue, that’s all words were to him. Words held little more meaning than the air they seemed to be wasted in the unwanted exchange. But with her it was different, he clung to her words feeding his hungry ears with the sound of her wonderful tune. The movement of her pink delicate lips, only furthered his longing to hear what angelic sounds would eventually escape there confines. His brown concrete eyes stared playfully at hers. Luring her to hopefully speak once more. "Thank you, but I'd prefer something" Her voice fumbling into thoughts, her faced told him the words she dared not speak. She was a predator, and what they ate was what they could get a hold of. Nature was all about survival of the fittest, and a tiger was more than fit enough to catch there own meals. He knew exscatly what she thinking when she told him that. She had little care of her ways or habits, all he wanted to know was that she wasn't going to be going to bed hungry, everything else didn't really seem to matter. “um something else.” She was something else. He was more than thankful that the task of preparing a meal was to be avoided. His body ached with activities of the day before him. The varying emotions left his stomach turning circles. Even if he did manged to work up the effort to eat he was nervous he couldn't keep it down. This girl was making him sick, sick in a way he never thought possible, or was it to be blamed on the left over effects of the poorly chosen meal earlier in the day. Which ever it was, the feeling was none to welcomed. It left him with the feeling to just close his eyes and let the pain dissipate into the realm of the dreamers The whisper of the wind told him that the source of his worries was no longer a delicate girl he had gotten fond of during the day. His body felt the rapid change , as chemicals reacted with nerves, transmitting the signals of the rapid air movement in the surrounding area. He wanted so desperately to look up and meet her in other form again , but his head and body tensed in disapproval. He found it much easier to imagine her in her form than to actually look to confirm. His last confrontation with her left him cowering back in safety. But he was sure that would be the case of most any living creature when waking up to a tiger only inches away from there face. Common sense told him to back away, and look scared. He had only done how nature had intended, somehow he knew she had done it on purpose to make him jump back in surprise. She was bound to try something again, that he was sure of it. The heaviness of his eyes came all to prevalent as his vision began to blur from sight. The soothing breeze mixed with the unmistakeable pine only lured him further into a relaxed state. His heartbeat began to slow to a steady pace, his body slowly shutting down. When his eyes came to a complete close, only then did his breathing slow, the subtle images of another place far beyond reach flowing into his head. “The Dream” The earth shot up the new heights never before seen, it was as If the sky and the land merged as one. Clouds found refuge in the cracks and peaks of this expansive display of mother nature. Trees shot up from the ground trying in vain to reach the sky like the mountains did. The world beneath there branches held a blanket of fallen leaves. The once green color replaced by the various reds and browns. His companion joined him from his spot of leisure looking over the to the mountains. She seemed to point in there direction hinting to something he could not make out. He found it a tad strange how he could see her lips move but no sound was heard. A blink left to stray to long sent Leon flashing forward in his realm. The world was covered in the unmistakeable wetness of rain. The sent of it carrying its weight in the air. Mud replaced the once hardened floor, making traveling only that much more harder on them. Stopping he looked around confused, were that had once been trees now was a never ending rain soaking everything to its core. He took notice that even his water droplets that had formed on his body had water forming on them. His attention flashed to Tressa, her eyes held a look he had never seen on her before. He couldn't place it, the only thought coming to mind was worried fear. Her hand outstretched for a branch, her other arm hinting to what had her so wound up. Turning slowly he came face to face with a wall of water. Crashing into him it pulled him with the force of a thousand horses, knocking the breath from him. He rose to the surface just to see Tressa clinging on to a tree calling in his direction. Blacking out Leon flashed forwarded once more. Leon's body contorted in his bedroll. His dreams were afflicting him in the physical world. He gave a small moan in pain, before turning on his side. His eyes began to focus, but for the life of him he couldn't understand it. His arms and legs felt bound to together. He looked around and noticed only one person. He thought about running but something told him that the person would just enjoy the chase. He took note that Tressa was not anywhere to be found. He demanded to from the person dragging him along, but that only ended with a nasty blow to the head, which sent him further in along his dream path. A waterfall roaring brought his attention to the scene at hand. The rich cool touch of the water playfully in his hand told him that he was some place very sacred. A rustle of the leaves behind him drew his attention. To his relief it was Tressa, she gave a half smile, she looked nervous, what was going on. Leon's feet moved without his will, stepping on the waters surface. Despite several red flags he softly placed he feet upon the water. Instead of merging with it like he expected his body seemed to be lifted. Finding a solid form where his foot was placed, he inched forward making sure not to make any sudden movements. Somehow he was standing in the middle of the lake, looking down upon at the dark never ending blue. He could not place what he was on, it was like some sort of glass slate, but it was so clear he didn't even know the difference between it and the water. He deducted that it was some sort of alter, or maybe something else. His body reacted differently than he thought. He looked back at Tressa giving her a good luck smile and dove into the fringed blue. The pressure of the water seemed to encase him, seeping into every pore. He found himself barely awake, losing all feeling from the cold water. With every moment he stayed submerged, he fought back a feeling to just swim for the surface. Time blurring his vision completely. Time raced forward, his vision once again returning. But this time he faced the sharp edge of a blade. His eyes focused on it far to fast for his likings, he didn't even take time to notice the wielder until moments later. Tressa, stood before him, his sword in her hand. Tears rolled down her face. Why was she doing this, what had happened to make her be this way. His words merged with that of the living as he once again tossed in his bed. “ Tressa?” Closing his eyes he surrendered all thoughts of her even thinking about raising a blade to him. Upon reopening them he found the image to be an even more shock, sand. Miles and miles of sand in all directions, he knew exscatly where he was. The desert, the road to home. Excited he turned to see Tressa fall face down into the sand. She looked drained, her energy depleted from the heat. Why didn't she warn him, did she fear slowing him down? Leon shook his head and rushed to her side picking her up, adding to the collection of things he had to carry. The sight of a raven flying toward him made him hault. It was holding the necklace in its sharp curved talons. It crashed into him, leaving him calling out her name one last time. “ Tressa!” He awoke, rising from his bed in a panicked manner. He looked to see Tressa sleeping fairly close to him, once again in her tiger form. He wondered how long that would keep going. She seemed to like the feeling of that a lot better, so he brushed it aside. Wiping the sweat off his brow he turned to see half a rabbit laying right beside him. It was the most disturbing thing he had seen and without much thought he gave a shouted disapproval at the ants that covered the corpse. Noticing he had a few on him as well he moved back bumping rather hard into Tressa's sleeping form. He gave a rather disturbed sound as they made contact.

[Tressa]

“Tressa?” The sound of her name cause her ears to twitch as it registered in her mind and she stirred. It came to her in a questioning way followed by silence. By instinct she searched the night and the air for anything that seemed odd, but found nothing of concern. The night was calm and no threats lurked on the breeze. Everything was as it should be and she resettled herself to the earth her semi consciousness slowly faded back to the realm of the sleeping. “Tressa!” The sound jarred her once more, the anxiety in the tone bringing her to stir only slightly. The pain in the voice brought her mind to a dark place, her thoughts groggily deciphering the face that belonged to that voice. Leon, the name crossed her mind before a sharp yell filled the night and she felt something knock into her. Her mind was still clinging to the distressed calls of her name, still lost in the confusion. She didn’t register the face before her as a friend, it was the source of the yelling, the distress. She reacted quickly on distrust and fear crouching back with her ears pinned and her muzzle wrinkled back into a deadly snarl. Before her he stood, her eyes fixated on him blind to the world around them, waiting, watching for any movement. She heard only his heartbeat, the blood pulsing through his veins. Her eyes dilated at his slightest movement and she leapt towards him, not to kill, but to immobilize. She struck not with her jaws like she had done the rabbit in the woods, but with her front legs. Her front paws impacting into his chest, making quick work of reducing him to the ground. His back against the earth she towered over him. Her paws positioned on his collar bone on each side of his throat, pinning him to the cool ground. . Her claws dug only slightly into him, not breaking the skin, but a reminder of her advantage. Her muzzle still wrinkled back revealing a deadly smile as she glared into his eyes,, as if to show him she controlled life or death. Those eyes, she knew them, she remembered them from sometime past. Her threatening gaze turned to one of confusion, leaving his stare to search his face. Leon? She thought as the realization sank in her claws retracted and her . Her strength threatened to betray her and a new look filled her eyes. Leon, she had attacked him, again? Surely he wouldn’t be quick to forgive. It was a shocking truth and she retreated from her hold of him. Cursing her nature she Backed away while a nauseating sensation filled her. She had made a mistake, a big one. Turning she ran, from his sight, back to the spot she had left her clothes the previous night. It was only now that she noticed the sun making its way up past the trees to take its rightful place in the sky. Illuminating the shaded ground, causing light to dance within the dark. A sullenness had washed over her sinking deeper into her soul as she morphed. It was a darkness she couldn’t chase away. The tormenting feeling of guilt. She dressed quickly, taking no care of the mess her hair was in, or the dirt that crossed her thighs when she seated herself against the base of a close tree. It wouldn’t be long before she had to face him. She had no excuse, no explanation, other than instinct. It was always her answer, it was what drove her on, deciding her thoughts, choices, actions. Only had she overcome it on a sparse number of occasions.

[Leon]

The air was thick with tension as leon's gaze turned to meet an enraged Tressa. It was apparent from the way she gazed upon him that the next moments were to be very careful. Rising slowly to his feet, he heard the snarl escape her fearsome form. The way her body was placed he knew he was in for an attack. Instead of tensing up he allowed his muscles to relax. It was only a matter of when, her eyes flashed, a blinking that signaled her moment. Heart racing he gazed upon her pleadingly trying to change the course of her thinking. He took a careless step backwards landing upon a twig snapping it with the weight of his body, and that was it. Her hind legs showing the power they held launched her in his direction. Her front paws extending meeting his body with ease. The weight of her was positioned in such a manner that force him falling backwards to the earth. With a hard crash he meet the world he stood on with a thud. Breath escaped him as all the air was forced out of his lungs, back into the nature around them.

Posed over him, she gazed into him showing her dominance in the situation. She could have had him dead at that moment. A quick movement of her gallant teeth would making short work of his soft skin. He had no say in this, no matter how much he dared to move she had the power and she knew it. Her paws moved up to his shoulders landing hard upon them, her claws hinting to the pain he could be feeling had she bared them further. Her face held something he feared, she didn't seem to no what was going on, was he to die here by her hands? Her eyes searched his, and then relief washed over him as he saw her eyes turn from that of a killers looking on a prey to one of confusion. Had he finally come to her senses? He felt the pressure loosen from his body, as she retracted her claws completely. Then all at once she stepped off him, leaving him to lay catching his breath. He looked up from the ground at her. Something about this moment felt familiar, something about the way his arms felt the way the moment felt so... The temple, that trap!, it was just like before, he had been pinned just like this those same eyes giving him the fear of god. Staring at her, she seemed upset.

With in a moment later she disappeared from his view. He saw where she had gone and took to picking himself off the cool earth, and taking chase. The events had jarred him but not left him to distrust her. He took notice of her tracks, the soft ground moistened by the morning dew. They had were made in a rush so she had no time to cover them up, not that they were easy to cover as it was. As he turned the corner leading to where they ended he found himself staring at Tressa's human form. Fully dressed she had placed herself against a tree and took to confiding herself in what looked to be sorrow, or was it guilt.

He took quiet steps to not rise her attention. He was good at stealth himself, and found that in her state of mind she was very easy to make some ground on her, at least from a distance. As the gap between them closed so grew the sound of his foot steps. He no longer tried to disguise them as he bent down to sit beside her by the base of the tree. He wanted to comfort her but knew with all certainty it would not help in this moment. She felt ashamed for what she had done, as for him for reacting that way about the rabbit.

“ Well I must say thank you for that, lovely rabbit, it was the highlight of my morning.” He was trying to change the topic of discussion. His hands were placed open on his knees, his eyes looking out over the clearing. Morning was taking the battle, and already the shadows of the night were losing the will to fight on and surrendered to there fate. He was unsure where they journeyed off to but he knew they would be back full storm come dusk, to seek revenge. He wished she would speak, he wished he could make her feel better. Pain was only temporary, but a wound to the heart could last a lifetime. He didn't want her heart wounded, or his...

[Tressa]

Why had she attacked him? He had shown no threat to her, no resistance, only fear. It had been her own mind, the sound of her voice being called anxiously, the jolt that had awakened her. No matter how she replayed the scenario in her mind, she was the guilty one. She wasn’t one to feel guilty, to regret much. Had it been another human, another face she would have slain them and left them for the scavengers. But, Leon, damn Leon?…Though silent as he was in his approach, Tressa caught his scent on the wind. His footsteps sounding lightly on the moist earth only moments later. He was nearing her but she paid no thought to his presence. She had, had her escape, her moment of solitude to compose herself. To sort her feelings and cease the illness that had come over her. The soft earth has begun to dampen her dress and skin, leaving a clammy feeling wherever the ground touched. She could feel the warm morning light breaking through the leaves above her and she shook her head silently. She knew he was there, even staring to the earth in front of her she could hear, smell, and feel the person beside her. She was unsure of what words would follow, but she heard the soft inhale of breath, the same breath she had almost permanently deprived him of before he spoke. As he seated himself beside her “ Well I must say thank you for that, lovely rabbit, it was the highlight of my morning.” “What?” She said not having intended to voice it, she had been expecting something totally different. She could hear the sarcasm no matter how faint in his voice it was, the strain at the word lovely gave him away. She had expected a lecture, an argument, a confrontation, something negative. Instead he was thanking her for a massacred rabbit. “Oh, you’re welcome.” A faint smiled played across her lips and she tilted her head, hiding it from view. He wasn’t mad at her? It was relieving, she was sure he’d be petching mad at her. Her eyes shifted to the now drying mud smeared across her legs, focusing on it. She didn’t want to look at him, to meet his gaze, to feel the warmth he left inside of her. No matter the relief brought by his forgiveness she wasn’t ready to forgive herself. She could feel him looking at her, the sensation of his eyes on her that she had become accustomed to was creeping over her. Not meeting his eyes with her own was becoming more of a challenge and she quickly found another escape. Bringing her hand to her thigh she rubbed at the dirt, watching as it slowly transferred to her hand smearing on her leg. It was a useless task meant only to detour her attention from where it wished to wander and the effect was short lived. The sun was crawling higher into the sky and she was aware of the journey ahead of them. If they didn’t get moving soon the day would be wasted on idleness. Mustering her willpower Tressa submitted to her desire to look his way. Glancing cautiously towards him her yellow eyes quickly almost of their own accord found his deep brown gaze. She stayed still and silent for awhile, searching for what to say. Finally she inhaled, holding her breath for a longer than usual period of time. “We should get going, or we could sit under this tree ‘til dusk” she said as she exhaled. Her gaze holding his for only a moment longer before she gazed up to the road and then to the sky. She knew that road all too well and the ghosts of her past that lingered along it. The sky looked promising of a typical scorching summer day, sparse clouds lingering about the brilliant blue, threatening to filter the sun but never being up to the task. Even so she couldn’t help feeling like it was a mask, the wind told a different story, the story of a cool breeze and the remnants of rain from some other place. She was smiling now, the morning had been awkward, potentially dangerous and somewhat humorous, but even so it had been a good warm up for the days journey. Slowly she pushed herself from the ground, bringing herself to stand and let the breeze toss her hair about. She had no idea where they were going, or what lay ahead. Only that she was trusting this man not to lead them to their doom. Something she surprisingly found easy to do. He had proven himself to her several times and maybe, just maybe he could handle who and what she truly was. But those were thoughts for another time, now was time to move on and thankfully put the noise and over crowdedness of Syliras behind them. She figured they would travel south, as the north held no purpose that she knew of and in only a few days time they would reach the wildlands. She missed them, and the surprises they held. The mystery, the danger, the adrenaline that filled her there.

[Leon]

“What?” Lips contorting in disbelief at his statement was something he was not entirely use to. In all his life thus far he had never been able to understand what a female was thinking behind that intoxicating face this one was no different. She had her anger issues that left him thanking the heavens he was still alive. Her moments of solitude where she wanted to be alone away from all contact, it was a great task to hold ones emotions in check and reclaim ones pride. There was the unmistakable act of independence and of course the joy he found by looking deeply into her soft eyes which held the final emotion he never could find himself to understand...Love Her skin though mud stained held a power of its own, radiating against the glow of a newly risen sun. Regardless of his near death experience he was sure that some where deep inside her emotions she was paying for it enough. Needless mention of the past only furthered the hurt he wished not upon her. Telling her she was in the wrong was not needed. She had more than shown her apology by the look she held him by whilst pined down. And now by her purpose misdirection of her eyes from him. She was ashamed of the events that had transpired. He had felt that way several times, unable to look at her embarrassed. He knew exactly what she was going through “Oh, you’re welcome.” The way she held her words, the way they rolled off her tongue vocalized how she really as feeling. A brief smile crossed her sullen face turning it to get him from noticing. He was glad to see her smile once more. Though she looked not ready to allow such events to take place. Her hand took refuge to her though, finding something to preoccupy her time with. The mud that had become encrusted by the heating sun, and the wind that thanklessly blew, seemed to be bothering her. Rubbing it from her seemed to hold little purpose, for it left the evidence of her act in the brownish smear of what ever contents lay in the soil. A single ray broke completely through the trees to his side, scattering the little traces of darkness that had found safe passage beneath the tree tops. The warmth filled the soil with life, as with him. The warm feeling of the proud sun left him looking out wards to an apparent to be a clear sky. It would be a fine day of traveling. But where to was beyond him. Movement struck him as he felt eyes lay upon him, she had finally broken to at least look at him. The look she possessed told him not to be worried. The sadness had fleeted for a moment as their eyes connected. Her facial expressions made him think of a child that was treading on the grounds of a lie. It seemed that the stillness between them was never ending. A deep breath marked the words he had hoped to hear. He wasn't banking on an apology, he didn't want to hear her mention something that could not be changed. He just wanted them to get back to being them, back to the day before where smiles and laughter filled there heads not the events of one stupid moment. However scary that moment was. “We should get going, or we could sit under this tree ‘til dusk” Little did she know that he probably would have chosen the lather of the options. Sitting all day with her was more than worth it to him. The could talk, listen to each others stories and get lost in times precious gift. It struck him to be a smart one and tell her that since he gave her the choice that they would be sitting there all day, but wasting the blessings of a good day for idle chit chat was not only a waste of energy, it was a waste of moments that he had hoped to partake with her. Lifting himself up off the now forgotten soil, he glanced to the south, the path they would possibly go, he had no reason to go north at least for now. West held new adventures for him, areas where that he would have loved to explore and get better acquainted with, and east held only the hell of a city that he was only to glad to have escaped from. So south it was, to the wildlands, to the place where nature showed its dominance over a once proud culture. The road before him was littered with the choices, it was wrapped around hollowed out causes and purposes. His life was ill defined, described to him in the workings of his dreams. And as time continued to show him how little he knew of it, he started to see how little he cared to see. The mystery of a tomorrow held the promise of today. Sunlight to his back he took the first steps back to his camp site. There was still preparation that needed to be completed before he could even hope to leave, going onwards with his quest. A bed roll awaited his care, probably now a nesting ground for ants to hide under. His glance turned to Tressa, hopeful that she was to follow. He didn't know why she trusted him, why she found him so interesting, pushing those useless questions to the side he made quick pace at returning to his stuff. Like he thought the begging now become a housing ground for the ants. They took to the shade of his bed roll to provide a perfect transition from the the carcass to there place of nesting. Somewhere in the masses that swarmed beneath where his bed laid, was a queen hungry to rule the world. But to small to ever accomplish such a task, at least not in her life time. A swift kick sent the ant covered carcass sailing into a nearby tree. The meat holding intact upon impact, but the unmistakable black cloud poofing from blow showed just how many ants had participated in the feast. Shaking his head he turned to Tressa, giving her his best “This is your fault” stare. Lifting his bedroll he glanced down at the sea of black creatures that were pouring in. It had been only one night but they had moved in like they had lived there for a century. Shaking his head, he pulled the bedding completely free of the mess. Ants scattered in various directions seeking out the attacker. They were programed to face any foe fearlessly to protect there way of life. Caught up in the sight of thousands of little ants he took little notice of the ones that were on the backside of his gear. Within moments his hand was now part of that way of life intrusion. Fine little bites on his hand told him to possibly let go of what he was holding. The shock of little creatures causing so much pain so quickly sent him launching the bedding in another direction free from the pile. Most would have dropped it back into the ants allowing them to claim it completely, but logic told him that even if it hurt, he could avoid possibly being robbed by the minute beings. Waving his hand the tried to shake free the creatures that bound to him. Those that did not have their pinchers latched on to his skin were scattered, sent falling back to the ground back to there home. Those that had found a liking to his flesh also found his palm applying pressure to the backsides of them. The smell of the pheromones they produced was sicking. Forgetting about the occurrence the best he could he proceeded to move on with his bed roll, striping it clean of all the ants he could find. It was a daunting task that took thankless minutes to complete. Upon completion he stored it looking to Tressa in hope that she did not do such a task again. “ Yeah, by the way... I hate ants.”

[Tressa]

Tressa found herself watching him as he made his way back to the camp, standing still for awhile before following behind. She smirked at the sight of his bedding halting in her tracks only a few feet from where he stood. The remaining portion of the carcass was covered in little black assailants and she couldn’t help but notice the fine trails of coming and going workers. What they hadn’t gorged themselves with was being systematically broken down and stored under Leon’s bedroll, in his bedding and who knew where else. It was quite a sight and it took all she had to restrain her laughter. Leon however seemed far less amused and had begun to retrieve his belongings from the crumb sized freeloaders. She watched in amusement as he sent the carcass sailing, dropping ants along it’s way, somewhere off into the trees, a loud thud announcing it’s landing. He swiftly turned to glare in her direction as if to point out her guilt in the situation. The way his eyes narrowed at her his facial expression became serious, she couldn’t help but giggle while trying in vain to look as a scolded child would. Was she sorry? No, would she do it again? Most likely. Turning from her his attention went to his bedding, lifting it from the ground. She could see the blanket of black that covered the soil break apart and scatter, it really was a lot of ants. It was almost too much to see him trying to ward off the little scavengers and she broke into laughter at the sight of him. Throwing his bedroll from the pile as they took aim at him, biting him where they could. He was flailing his hand now and it reminded her of the way one would shake off a bigger attack, such as a pet. She wasn’t sure who was wining, the ants or Leon, but they were both getting the worst that each had to offer. Leon with his bites and the ants having had endured the alternate of an earthquake. Finally Leon had won the battle and he moved on to endure the next. Attempting to clear his bedroll of those remaining. He turned once more to to face her. Tressa couldn’t control the need to laugh at him, barely stifling the giggles to contort her face to the sternest expression she could make, her cheeks reddening from the amount of strain needed to confine her giggles. “See what you get for sleeping when you should have been eating your dinner?” The last word barely escaped her lips before her laughter started again, Sure it was mean, and possibly rude to extort his mishap with the ants so brutally, but she didn’t care. Had he watched himself doing it surely he would be doing just as she was. It took several moments longer for her to fully compose herself and could actually hope to be serious about anything. It was then that Leon’s seriousness became apparent to her and she realized the consequence of her actions. “ Yeah, by the way... I hate ants.” She took on a more sorrowful expression as he walked towards her. Her eyes quickly shifting from the ant bites to his face. The words I’m sorry trailed through her mind but she didn’t voice them. It had truly been an eventful morning, it seemed things rarely got boring when he was around, never a dull moment so to say. It was the most fun she’d had in a long time, even if it was ill natured fun. “better ants than a bear” She giggled in a matter of fact way trying to lighten his mood. He had the right to be annoyed, but she didn’t want him to be. She knew it was time to go now, everything had been collected and packed back into Leon’s bag. Glancing back to the road excitement flooded her. “Come on lets go” she laughed grabbing him by the hand much like had done to her in the tavern. Running ahead she made a futile attempt to drag him along with her or at least speed up his pace.. Needless to say her body weight did little to nothing to move his and the force of forward momentum interrupted abruptly left her falling forward into the grass. The shock of the falling feeling caused her to pull her hand from his in instinct. Using her knees to break the fall and her hands to catch herself. “Oh” It came as more of a surprised noise than a word and was followed by an incoherent serious of mumbles. Her palms ached from the impact and her knees stung, reminding her that even grass padded ground was unforgiving. She needed to get up, but even as the thought urged her to stand she made no move. She wasn’t accustomed to falling down and it took her longer to recover. The pain was only an annoyance at best, only superficial. Her nervous systems natural reaction to the ordeal. Turning her body she shifted to her bottom, sitting to look up at Leon. She felt embarrassed, but his it a big smile coming across her face. “Oops” she said in the calmest way she could. She wouldn’t try that again.

[Leon]

The mind liked to over think a lot of the things in life. The pain though it was over, was left in little traces along his arm. The shake of his head was more than just a simple gesture, it was made in vain to erase the images from his mind. The steps of the women before him brought her back into his mind. Though his arm pulsed with pain from the little would be assassins, the way she looked at him hurt him more. Her sorrow filled face brought him to those creatures level, though he could not explain it. He felt bad that she felt bad. Did that even make sense? “Of course it does”, he thought steathfully to himself. The whisper of the wind brought in the fresh cool morning air. Though numb to the whole sensation his body greeted it with great joy. For a moment his hair dancing playfully, his skin gaining just a few more bumps to add to the collection. The passing left him ready to take on what the world had to offer. “better ants than a bear.” She had a funny way of saying things to make him feel better, or worse. He still was trying to completely ascertain her intentions at this point. The giggle that followed helped him stear his thought to the lather. Giving one of his best dumbfounded look, he could only nod at the comment. Though painful ants were, and how much he despised the little foulings, a bear would have topped this mornings adventure one hundred fold. It was time to go, the gear had been grabbed nothing stopped them short of there own momentum. Exhaustion was still lingering in his head, though he had had plenty of sleep his body seemed to resist the urge to get moving so soon. The new look that she held told him that he was in for it. Laughing she reached out and grabbed for his hand. The smiled that formed upon his lips could not be seen by her as she quickly decided she wanted to bolt off, possibly thinking his body would be as easy as a rag doll. “Come on lets go” Not again, those words had passed through the lips of this angel one to many times, part of him wanted to say no, but the part that had control let her hand pull his with her for only a brief moment. Snapping from his daze he refused to let this Tressa, who made him experience ants again, go unpunished for that act. Locking his body up he built a massive resistance to her forward motion. Seconds later he watched as she continued forward faster and most unexpected that she had probably intended to. The next moments could only be described as gravity at work. His joke turned out to do better than he thought. Watching with full intent he saw as he body came crashing into the unforgiving soil and grass. The way she caught herself told him that she had experience in this feat. Knees first cut the time in half and the position of her hands though possibly painful broke the speed and prevented her from swan diving into the earth. “Oh” The smile had fully broadened his face, nothing could top the sight he saw right then and there, at least not now. Her voice was barely above heard, she seemed to be rather upset with herself for falling as was predicted by her repetitive mumbling. Strength drove her to face him, deciding it was best to stay on the ground he watched as she shifted to sitting down. He noticed that he face seemed a little flush, the redness that filled her face was probably due to her embarrassment in the whole situation. The smile he had still shun with a fiery passion only fueled more by her little comments. “Oops” This was the final straw, he could no longer hide the laughter that was on the verge of breaking out of control. With one swift motion his hands went to cover the sound that dared to escape his lips. It was all for not though, for the sound found a means of escaping the enclosure of his fingertips. Letting his head drift to the ground he fought to conceal what he was doing. He knew he was already noticed so he quickly turned his gaze back to the pouty face Tressa, sending him in another fit of mad laughter. With hand extended he pointed at the once standing Tressa. His words mixing with the laughter that all to clearly filled his voice. “ What an Idiot!, you know if you wanted to stay in bed a while longer you could have just stayed there.!”

[Tressa]

Tressa frowned at his laughter, it wasn’t funny. His ant war had been funny, but her falling down certainly wasn’t. More than the skin on her knees left raw from the fall, her pride stung. The pink in her cheeks darkened from humiliation to anger.“ What an Idiot!, you know if you wanted to stay in bed a while longer you could have just stayed there!” Her eyes centered on him gazing heatedly at his words. The word idiot impacted on her pride harder than his laughter ever could. Her hands tightened into fists around the grass they’d been resting on. How dare he? She’d laughed at him plenty of times, but this was different. Her face remained calm and expressionless, save for the loathing look that still held him fixed in it’s gaze. His laughter and actions had proven he’d purposefully made her fall. Just add injury to insult, the thought crossed her mind followed by her plan of action. Putting on the best innocent expression she could and failing to mask the anger in her eyes she smiled. “Could you please help me up now?” Revenge tasted bittersweet in her mouth as she spoke the words, purposefully softer, more affectionate than needed. As she released the now tattered grass and reached her hand up towards him she waited patiently for the perfect moment. He would pay, pay for the laughter, the insult and for the staring at of her behind that she hadn’t needed to see to know he’d done. Waiting for him to bend slightly to take her hand she bent her leg, as if readying herself to stand. Just as she felt her hand be embraced by his she lifted her foot her innocent smile submitting to one far more devious. With careful precision and skilled aim her foot went to the side of his knee. “What an Idiot, you really shouldn’t walk into obvious traps” She laughed cruelly as her foot impacted against it’s target only hard enough to aide his fall and she pulled him down by the hand using all of her strength. Her plan worked as intended, and she watched as he too felt the power of gravity, with her help of course. Though, she hadn’t thought it out as well as she’d thought, as she‘d soon realize.

[Leon]

The laughter died to a mean smile as he gaze upon her. It felt so good to get his revenge on her from all the times she had laughed at him and made him feel so low. Though she had eventually come to his aid and cheered him up in the end. In the day that he had met her she had assisted a Thief in humiliating him, let him blushing at the sight of her, scared him in the morning, and now ants… The creatures that gave his dreams nightmares. Many nights had been spent checking every little mound around his bedding for those forsaken creatures. She hadn’t known that he was terrified of the little pests but she could have not left some half of a rabbit lying beside him in the middle of the night. He was lucky that it hadn’t been a bear just like she had said. Her gaze held him, unable to break away from the fire that seemed to swarm in her eyes. Her face was calm, and her body seemed relaxed, but those eyes, those eyes told him everything. She knew that he had done it on purpose that he had made her fall. “Could you please help me up now?” Looking questioningly to her he paused to think about what could happen if he tried to help. There was very little things, and he was probably just being paranoid or maybe it was just his guilty mind telling himself that she knew. The sweet tune that was her voice seemed to hold him in a more playful way. Her tongue taking great pleasure in playing with his emotions, he was fighting back the urge to just run and say “No get up your self.” Or some other tacky response that would end up with him probably getting eaten. Slowly but surely he watched her hand outstretch wantingly for his. It was a call that he had no power to resist. The mixture of her voice with the action sparked the need to help the damsel in distress, even though it was him that had caused the distress. Leaning over he lowered his body to get a better position on her, out reaching his hand to meet her soft velvety skin with the rough hardness of his. The eye exchange she gave him told him that he had made a foolish and quite predictable mistake. No longer did her smile hold its form, but instead it held a more sinister look to it. “What the?” “What an Idiot, you really shouldn’t walk into obvious traps” A carefully placed foot landed upon his knee, its force was not great but it had the desired effect for the foe. His weight buckled under the now unstable foundation which was his legs. The pulling sensation on his hand only aided to the demise that was soon to befall him. He was falling aided by the power of gravity. The smile and the laughter proved that she had played it out perfectly… well almost perfectly. The body’s reactions to falling are all about the same, knees give way letting the fall come sooner and the impact to be absorbed, hands outstretch to catch the distance and protect the head from impact. This normal reaction is exactly what happened with him. The moment he felt the decent he pulled free from her grasp. Hands extending outwards he landed upon the only thing there was to fall on, her. His knees drove needlessly into the ground, and his body unstopped by the action came landing upon Tressa’s. His hand placement had a lot to be desired for. The fall had left him reaching out for what ever there was to grab. And it just so happened that the closest things his hands could reach were a pair of breast belonging to Tressa. To his defense it had been out of complete accident that he happened to latch onto them, but never the less here he was on top of her, holding on to parts of her he was sure she wouldn’t like him touching. His body merging with hers as the fall was completed. Though his hands still held there original landing placement. Quickly reacting to the situation Leon pushed his body up off of her, his arms taking the task of lifting his entire weight. Arms extended he now noticed took in her eyes, giving her a, what the hell kind of look. It still eluded him that he was holding onto her in an inappropriate way until he found himself looking her down, noticing now the soft padded filling that filled his hands. It was like he had touched fire, his hand jerked back from there location. Taking the moment look at her, he could see that this wasn’t going to be good. Getting to his feet was a momentary action that followed the hands. Backing away from her he looked at her shaking his hands in a gesture to show he hadn’t meant to do it. His voice stuttering at the sight of her realizing what he had done. “Now … look, umm you did it… you made me fall…” The fear he held was unfathomable, he was sure right now he was going to die.