i have no conscience at all [c]

How had he ended up here again…? Fish let out a frustrated sigh and stamped a paw against the ground. This little valley with the oak trees sprouting up around it had become passingly familiar to him. He’d circled back to it several times today while searching for a landmark to guide him home. No such luck had come. He was at least lucky that he didn’t encounter any Clan patrols. He didn’t want to take the risk of having his ears flayed or being gutted today; he wanted to go home.

But, while he hadn’t run into any Clan cats… he was running into someone. Pawsteps on the other side of the valley made his ears twitch to attention. Fish barely had time to move toward the edge of the bushes before he was being slammed into, tackled and pricked at with claws. A yelp of alarm left him as they rolled, punctuated by another little sound pressing out of his chest when he was pressed flat. Fish twisted beneath his attacker’s paws to get a good look at him. They were about the same size, though this cat was lankier, skinnier, than Fish was. At least it was no brute that attacked him like that Shadow Clan apprentice. Though size mattered little--the paws pressing him down felt increasingly heavy, and if it weren’t for the weight, the claws digging into his flank would keep him securely in place.

”Stalking you?” Fish echoed with a note of incredulity. ”No, I’m not stalking you. I didn’t know you were here. ...until I heard you moving, at least.” His tail thumped against the ground. Fish didn’t want to wriggle too much at risk of the claws piercing him even deeper, but he wanted out of this hold. What had he seen Grub do before…? Fish’s neck craned in search of a rock to bat toward the cat’s head, but no such pebble was in reach. He huffed. ”I’m just lost, okay? I’m not after you!” Fish’s tail swished again. ”So… would you mind getting off me? I’m not a threat! I’m just trying to make it home.”

Rashoumon continued to hold Fish down beneath his claws and his orange eyes seemed to glow as he glared down at him. It was true that this cat was no bigger than he was, and he did a lot more whining and pleading as he froze underneath Rashoumon’s body than actually trying to fight him. And after the briefest glance, it was clear that he was not eating any better than Rashoumon was, so he did not have any natural advantage due to being well-fed.

Still. An enemy is an enemy, and one should never lower their guard.

“If you are lost then where are you trying to get to?” he hissed. “And are there others with you?” He took his eyes off of the stranger for the first time to glance around with paranoia. He heard and scented no other cats around, but his senses had dulled as he grew hungrier. His eyes returned to the tom he held captive. “It is not often that I see cats alone out in the forest. Surely you have someone just at your side? And what group are you with?” He sucked in a deep breath, but this cat did not smell particularly like any of the five groups he had had the displeasure of coming across.

“Food?” Rashoumon repeated. He silently cursed himself for revealing his weakness so swiftly and easily. He is hungry, plain and simple, and regardless of what sort of threat this little rat could pose, the idea of food makes him forget his caution. “You had better not be lying in any manner. Should you lead me to any type of trap, you will be dead before you can see it come to fruition.” His eyes narrowed and slowly, carefully, he stepped off of the stranger.

He stood as tall as he could manage, which was only a nose taller than the cat before him, so it did not do much to impress. Still, he murmured, “If you need a name, you may call me Ra.” There is no point in giving his full name. That may only cause more problems for him. “What is yours, then?”

Fish changed his tune with such ease that Rashoumon figured it had to be a trap. He had just been yelling at Rashoumon to not attack him, insisting he was no threat, and now he was going to just lead Rashoumon to his home? It surely had to be a trick. Rashoumon was just determining the best way to slip away and escape, because no cat could possibly be this naive and welcoming, when he said that.

Rashoumon blinked a few times and stared at the cat that was his temporary companion. His fur bristled. “You don’t know?” he repeated. “You don’t know where your own home is? You surely must be joking. How can you travel about in search of food and not know how to return?”

Rashoumon’s eyes narrowed at Fish and his fur bristled, but he made no violent move towards him. He looked around, sniffing the air to reorient himself, and then started off in the direction that he was sure the road was in. He glanced over his shoulder at the clueless kit and said, “It is a surprise that you have not yet been eaten down to your bones. If you cannot so much as find your way back home without assistance, you are surely not long for this world.” He looked forward again. As awful as it was to ha ve to travel with someone so clueless, the prospect of food was too much to pass up. “You would do well to learn how to navigate.”

Rashoumon scowled as Fish continued pestering him with his inane words. He looked at him and glared. “No, I am not concerned about a food source. You are feeding me one time—I am not expecting to rely on you or your kin in any capacity. I simply find it infuriating that you would deign yourself to be a proper cat of the outdoors and yet you cannot even track around you, nor follow a scent trail. I would have mistaken you as one of those prisoners held by the Uprights in their large stone nests.” He bared his teeth briefly before he looked back forward and continued leading the way towards the road. “If your siblings know you are this helpless, why doesn’t one of them accompany you?”