[FIN] Over the Garden Wall [Briar x Willow]

[Blinded By Silence]

They say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. A saying that, when comparing herself to her father, Briar would have to agree with. They were very similar in many ways. Her thick pelt and large presence were both inherited from Hunter. Despite her size, she had always been the quiet watcher.

She wondered how long it took them to realize she had left. She hadn't said anything, of course. She rarely did. To be fair, she hadn't meant to leave, per se. Unlike her father, Briar was prone to follow her whims when she felt their pull. Usually, it ended up with her stealing one of the two-leg's chickens. This time, she'd found herself much further from the Farm than she had ever been.

The Garden had been another whim, sweet smelling and enticing. In her wanderings, Briar realized quite quickly that, despite not being the most social animal, she did not care for a solitary life. She missed her job, her family. There wasn't anything interesting to watch without them.

And so, here she was, following a rumor she'd overheard about a group of cats living in the area. How long had she been atop the garden wall, watching these strange cats tend to their crops just like the farmers had? She'd been watching for a while now.

As the pretty blue tom walked by a third time, she lazily kicked down a loose stone, exposing her location among the shadows.

 

[PeterPan_da144]

He had been alerted quite some time ago to the fact that there was an outsider perched on their wall. Willow had asked the cat to see if there were tracks of any one else, and when they returned to say it was just the large she-cat, Willow flicked his tail and said to let her be for now. She showed no open hostility towards them, as far as the other cat had noticed. Perhaps she was just looking for a new place to call home. The Garden was looking for new cats, to strengthen their blood and numbers. Perhaps this was how the flowers reached out to help. Enticing new, young cats towards the garden so that they could be ushered into the ranks.

Willow himself meandered about the garden, as he usually would, making sure that the Farmers were handling their herbs well. The Caretakers had already been checked up on, but he would pass by again towards the far end where the flowers grew the thickest, and found himself a couple young cats to send hunting for the elders that tended to the flowers. They took off with ease, bounding across the garden and out the main entrance, pushing past an older pair of cats who entered.

Willow's whiskers twitched in amusement as he watched them go, before he made a third pass below where the she-cat had been reported.

The tumbling stone did startle a cat or two nearby Willow, making them hiss and snarl, turning towards the sound as a precaution, ready to attack whoever or whatever was on the wall.

"Be still," Willow would murmur, flicking his tail to elicit calm. They would look at him warily, before returning to their duties, leaving Willow to pad towards the wall. The tom cat took his sweet time finding paw holds up the side of the wall, pulling himself up gently until he was able to stand atop the wall next to the she-cat.

An amused look was on his face, whiskers twitching, a small petal falling from the crown he wore around his ears. "You will have to excuse my colony mates. We don't get many visitors here. Especially any that so brazenly climb our walls and sit to watch us."

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Briar's let her claws slide out as the cats below turned and snarled at her. She wasn't afraid of a bunch of chickens who flinched at a single stone. She was her father's daughter. She ran with dogs. But then, as the blue tom hissed a word of command, she watched the rest fall away, tamed and controlled. Ah. So he was the leader then.

Her large blue eyes followed him up the wall, bright with interest. She waited until he settled and spoke and then a moment longer before sheathing her claws, "Must I? Hm... They startle so easily. But not you. You are worth watching, I think." Her words were a low pur as she stretched out along the top of the wall, "This is your territory then? And those are your cats."

Her gaze drifts from the tom back to the garden below, watching as the cats tend to their earth, "I have never seen a cat farm before."

@PeterPan_da144

 

[PeterPan_da144]

"Considering it is you who is encroaching on our territory, and more importantly, our main nesting area, you are right. You shouldn't be excusing them, you should be thanking them for not clawing your fur off the second they realized you were here." His whiskers twitched as he watched the larger she-cat grow comfortable. She seemed to be very aware of her size, but when pitted against a large group of cats, size would mean very little. Still, her unwavering confidence made her an even finer specimen of cat than she already was.

Gently, he sat, curling his long tail around the front of him, the long fur at the end obscuring his paws entirely. "Yes, these are my followers. Our founders were abandoned here long ago, when the Twolegs abandoned the area, and the cats left behind continued on. They learned a lot from the Twolegs on how to handle herbs, which became incredibly beneficial to us. We are able to farm our own catmint and other healing herbs that we might need, especially in the colder moons."

Willow would raise a paw, lick it, and gently start to groom himself. "I myself haven't met many cats outside of our colony who understand farming and what it is. I can count on one paw, actually, how many I have met." He unsheathed a claw at a time as he counted up to four, then purred and returned to his grooming.

"You are new, indeed, to this area. Pray tell, where do you come from? And what has brought you all the way here?"

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

Her eyes slid back to him and an amused purr rumbled in her chest, "Those are some awfully scary words from someone as pretty as you. Are you trying to frighten me, Flowers?" She'd lie down, picking up one of his fallen flower petals with a claw and blowing it away, watching it drift down to the garden below. Briar gave him a side glance, openly admiring his long tail, "If you want me to leave, you just have to ask."

Briar continued her watch over the grounds, canting her head to the side curiously as she watched the cats below work. She let him finish his lengthy explanation. Did the pretty ones always talk this much? She found she didn't quite mind.

"I was raised on a two-leg farm. Big one, lots of sheep and crops. The scent brought me," She said giving him another side glance, "But I stayed for the view."

@PeterPan_da144

 

[PeterPan_da144]

Eyes glittered dangerously as he looked her over.

"Even the prettiest of flowers can be incredibly deadly," he would chuckle quietly, whiskers twitching in amusement. His eyes would calm once more, and he would roll his shoulders.

"There is no real reason to ask you to leave. You do not seem to mean any harm to my followers or our home, your presence was merely new and startling." Though he would purr when she mentioned staying for the view.

"Aahh, now here we have a cat who can appreciate a view." His tone was a bit smug now, and he would swish his long elegant tail a few times, letting the long furs cascade over the wall beside him. "Though I dare say I pale in comparison to your beauty, madam." Willow bowed his head respectfully, sweeping a paw in front of him as he did so. Much like he'd seen Twolegs do in their fancy get ups years ago.

"In fact, if such a beautiful flower as yourself is so inclined, I'd be more than happy to welcome you into our nest. At the very least for a tour and some understanding of our lives, and at the most, perhaps as a permanent residence. Of course, that is all for you to decide in the end."

His tone would sound wistful now. "We are not as strong of a group as we once were, so we are more than happy to induct a cat searching for a home into our walls. We are not like these clan cats who have cropped up recently, imposing strict rules and codes on the followers. We do have routines, yes, but the only hard rule to follow would be to not harm the flowers that help bring us prey." Willow's gaze would fall back on the she-cat, smiling softly.

"My name is Willow."

@Blinded By Silence

 

[Blinded By Silence]

"Only if you are a fool enough to touch them," The tip of her tail twitched, the shifting colors of her brindling a dance in the dappled sunlight. She was watching him fully now, her eyes bright with interest. This little game they were playing, of cat and mouse, it was very entertaining.

Briar watched the blue tom put on his performance, her whiskers twitching in amusement. She listened to him talk, sweet words. Bait, to draw in the mouse he thought he was hunting. She allowed him his moment of a proposition of bolstering their numbers, adding to their strength.

She could say no, walk away from this hunter's claws. But instead, she purred with a grin. This mouse had fangs, too.

"Well, Willow," She said, standing to her full size. With her voice a low rumble and her nose close enough to feel his breath, she asked, "Their nest or yours?"

@PeterPan_da144