traveling circus (c)

Felix stretched lazily, letting out a quiet yawn that showed his sharp fangs. Sleeping as long as he liked was one of his favorite pastimes, and it always made him more awake and ready for the day ahead. While he was okay with waking up early, he felt that waiting for the sun to rise didn't make him miss much. It wasn't as if he had a schedule. There was no one to take care of but himself. He wandered across the various town areas, lingering longest in front of the River's area, and occasionally meeting others. There were familiar faces he was beginning to recognize. First Valley, that intriguing rogue who hadn't seemed to appreciate his company much when they sparred. And while he'd never yet seen her, the thick scent of a grizzled old she-cat was left on many places nearest to the tree territory's borders. This place certainly was interesting. He knew why he was here... but why were they all here? So many places left unexplored, so many other places to go and see. Why stay in this area where hostile wild cats might threaten one's entire livelihood?

He shrugged, beginning his morning stint down the alleyways, hoping to run into another cat to break up his wanderings with something interesting. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long.

Grub was a barn cat through and through. He loved the open fields and the abundance of mice and all the ither fat little critters the barn held. However, the occasional dip in a dumpster - mainly to satiate his curiosity of what could possibly be in it - tickled his fancy today. Legs kicking the air above him as he dug into a bag that smelled like wet socks, he pulled out a half eaten and moldy sandwich with at least one slice of turkey in it. Score!

Scrambling backwards out of the large metal can, the grimy tom came to a halt as an unfamiliar cat approached him. "Only enough for me." He meowed around his mouthful of moldy bread.

Felix was momentarily surprised to stumble upon another cat in this part of the area. His size would make him fit for the role of housecat, but judging by his thick street-scent touched with the moors, it was likely a rogue who wandered around the forest territories similar to him. But a hostile or friendly one? Only time would tell. For the time being, he simply shook his head, blinking at the familiarly guarded conversation starter. One meant to ward away thieves. "I'm not interested in your sandwich," he demurred, stepping back a little further to demonstrate his honesty. "Simply conversation. I've never seen you before. Who might you be?"

The scraggly tom visibly relaxed at hearing his best find of the day would be all his. Gently placing the sandwich beside him, his eyes gave a once-over of the stranger. He did seem like he wanted a fight, but Grub was confident he could sprint much faster than this guy. "Grub." He meowed simply. "Conversation, huh? You're a funny guy! That's a new one around here. What's your name?" It was true that there were many cats he had met that would have fought and killed for a petty sandwich. He hoped this truly was just a conversation.

Grub. Certainly a rogue, then. No wild cat had a name like that. Felix offered a nod in his general direction. Certainly not the most hostile, but definitely used to living on the streets. Thankfully for Grub, Felix didn't believe in fighting to earn food. Sparring was for getting to know worthy opponents, for conversation, not for defending himself. He hunted for his own food, or occasionally tricked others out of it if they were foolish enough. When faced with an opponent who genuinely wanted to harm, he would rather turn tail than fight. Grub seemed like he might be a friendly sparring partner--but he was busy eating, so Felix decided now wouldn't be the best time. "I'm Felix," the loner said instead, settling down into a sitting position. "Never seen you around this area before, but I haven't been here for very long myself. Where are you from? I like learning about new places."

Yellow eyes squinted in acknowledgement as Felix shared his name, though is attention was now focused on two things: 1) Felix was new to the area and 2) hadn't even been here for that long. Would he be able to risk selling a lie, or would the brown tom see right through it? Only one way to find out.

"First time seeing you, too." Both front claws began to slowly knead the pavement beneath him. "That's probably because I'm not from 'round here, either. Ever heard of clans? Like the ones in the forest? I'm from one of those." On the off chance that Felix had already met the clan cats in the forest, Grub needed to think of a place he couldn't have possibly have been before... "MountainClan. From the mountains. Pretty cold up there." He had to keep himself from cringing. He was usually more creative than this, but that was all he had in him it seemed. A cat from the mountains? He should have chosen something more believable.

Awkwardly clearing his throat, he tossed the question back at Felix. "Where'd you come from? And what brings you here?"

Felix would have rolled his eyes if the attempt to fool him was not so amusing. Why did all the cats he met around here instantly assume they could pull one over on him? What was he, a target for fibbing practice? Either way, the rogue's halting speech--still muffled until he swallowed the mouthful of dumpster food--was an obvious indication of falsehood. He might have believed the tom if he hadn't met so many wild cats these past couple of months. But probably not. Still, he let his eyes go wide with mock interest. "Oh wow, Mountain Clan? I could totally tell that you were one of the forest cats, with your strong and dangerous physique." He eyed Grub's paunchy belly and mangy fur. "No doubt you learned how to hunt such skill-requiring prey while taught by wolves and bears." No wild cat would be caught dead eating a moldy sandwich. "And you look fluffy enough to deal with the coldest, harshest winters." No flea-bitten rogue would do anything other than scrounge for cover when the wind got chilly.

Well, that was that. No need to call Grub out any further. Felix sighed and stretched out his paws lazily, opening his mouth wide into a sharp-fanged yawn. "Where am I from, you ask? Oh, from all over, really. I'm a wanderer. I don't stay in one place for long." Which is why I've been haunting the edges of this forest for a couple of months now. Well, the rogue didn't need to know that, certainly. "As for why I'm here... well, that's a different question. It certainly wasn't to have some back-alley rogue assume I was born yesterday." He winked, one golden eye closing and opening, glittering with deep amusement. "I don't quite feel like sharing that information with you. Sensitive, you know. Deep, important secrets. Not things that I should share with any mountain cats."

Ears flicked back in annoyance as Felix passively tore into him in a tone that suggested he was being mocked. Jeez. Tough crowd. "Alright. Alright! I'll be the first to admit it wasn't my best work. Lay off, would 'ya?" Yellow eyes rolled back into his skull dramatically, before a hind leg reached up to aggressively scratch at his chin. The more this guy talked, the less he wanted to continue this; all interest had already flown out the window the second he didn't immediately fall for the half-hearted lies. Back-alley rogue... Grub knew he was far more interesting than that.

Back paw froze mid scratch as at Felix's next words: "I don't quite feel like sharing that information with you. Sensitive, you know. Deep, important secrets. Not things that I should share with any mountain cats." Whiskers trembled slightly, all fours back on the uneven and cracked pavement. A moment of silence swept over the scraggly tom as his tail flickered. Secrets. Oh, he hated secrets! "Oh, you're a dirty player, my friend!" He stood on grubby paws, leaving his moldy meal behind as he crept forward. He held an ugly grin - one that Mr. Worm had told him to stop doing. It was weird. It was creepy. It was gross. Not born from any nefarious thoughts, only a thirst for the knowledge of anything and everything he could obtain... Even if it turned out to be nothing. He had to strip every piece of information to it's core. "You got me, Felix! I'm no mountain cat. Born in a farmhouse, raised to be a barn cat." He stopped in front of the chocolate tom. He did not, in fact, like Felix solely because he hadn't been foolish enough to be tricked even a little. But what if they could become buddies? Buddies that shared secrets. "I know a place that isn't forest territory. A place you'll be welcome to if you were to swing by whenever thoughts of me cross your mind. Interested?"

Felix suppressed a chuckle of amusement at how ruffled Grub's fur was with his light teasing. Well, as long as the other rogue knew that he wasn't so gullible. He was far more fun to speak with than Valley, anyway. Maybe he would be up for a spar, if he asked...? But to his surprise, some of his pleasant mockery had actually gotten underneath the rogue's skin. He actually believed that Felix had deep, important secrets. Well--he certainly did have some secrets, he supposed. Some things that he never told anyone. But that had not truly been an offer to share. In all reality, he had just been prodding at the rogue for a reaction. It seemed to have worked. How interesting.

The loner blinked slowly, large golden eyes taking in the odd smile that Grub was wearing. At least he no longer feigned nonchalance. And the information offered in return... well. He would be lying if he said that it wasn't intriguing. "A place that isn't in the forest territory," he mused thoughtfully. "Well now, that certainly is a nice offer. You're too kind, Grub." Behind him, his long-furred tail waved once. "I suppose if we're sharing secrets, then you don't leave me much of a choice, now do you? But I can't give everything away just like that. A piece of information for a piece of information. A secret for a secret." Felix stalked a little bit closer, whiskers almost touching the other tom, muzzle lingering momentarily near his ear as he spoke one word. A whisper that would tickle Grub's ear-fur. "Kittens." He walked further then, ending up about a foot from the tom. Then he sat and began grooming a paw casually. "Kittens with non-wild blood," he murmured, "in the forest." Mist Paw, Tiny Paw, and the others. Of course he would never give Grub their names or locations--and the rogue likely couldn't do anything even if he did. But the exchange of information was too scintillating to deny. He hadn't even said they were his kits.

The tip of the rogues wiry tail twitched rapidly as he eagerly awaited Felix's response. To any normal cat, offering up information like he just had could bring disaster. What if Felix was more conniving than he let on? Grub was unbothered by this, the idea of secrets far more important. If he lost his newly obtained second home because someone couldn't share, he would simply find a new one. Paws tapped the ground anxiously as the opposing tom took his sweet time in with his answer.

It was at the offer of a secret for a secret that got Grub grinning again, unmoving as Felix closed the distance between them, hazel muzzle grazing his mottled ears: Kittens with non-wild blood. His body language still suggested excitment, but his masked face was twisted in confusion. "Wait- I don't understand... Whose kittens?" Grub twirled around to face the nonchalant tom. In the forest... Non-wild blood... Did a forest cat have kittens with a non-forest cat, then? Was that such a big deal...?

And then it hit him: it was a big deal. Grub himself had already been met with hostility whenever he stepped foot on clan territory, so it shouldn't be that surprising that outsider blood be frowned upon. Yes. This was a huge and tantalizing secret. The gnarly grin was back, yellow eyes gleaming at obtaining even the smallest little piece of new knowledge. "Whose kittens? Where? With who?!"

Goodness. This tom certainly was a wild one. Felix shook his head, continuing to languidly groom his fur. One paw passed over his ears. "Not so fast, my dear fellow," he said. "A piece for a piece. You still have not shown me to this secret dwelling of yours, have you? I would be remiss if I gave up every last secret only to be fooled without anything to show in return." He had no intention of telling the entire tale. Not one name would pass his lips... especially not that of Perch. Crazed barn cats were not worthy to even know of her name. That one would pass with him to his grave. However, there was still much to be told without divulging anything of real value. This tom had been strung along so easily that he could even lie, and likely Grub would swallow it up without a second thought. The realization was intriguing. But for now, he simply gave his chest fur a few licks, smoothing it down while he awaited the rogue's response. "Perhaps we can speak a little bit more on the way there. Unless you have more business in this area?"