I'm Calling the Rain

Set the morning after Valmua leaves this thread: https://canismajor-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=2611 

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What happened last night was so far out of the expected for the cat.  Normally, the feline didn't like surprises, but this surprise was more than ok with him. His kind would spend most of their lives in solitude, but he had to admit now that sometimes it was lonely. 

Her scent still clung to him, and he wondered why she left his domain in such a hurry, she seemed shaken. These creatures where such a mystery to him, especially her.  Though it wasn't out of the ordinary for a feline to go their own way after a night of company. 

The cat sat atop his throne of stones, resigning himself to grooming.  He could still taste her on his hide.  If an onlooker where to happen by, they might assume that the striped beast had made a meal of the copper woman, but there was no blood or bones to be seen.
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Tiberius found that life held all the stress and very little pleasure. Since awakening in this land that held no importance to him prior to stumbling upon Shiroshiko, he had found that he had very little peace. Perhaps a part of it was his own fault, given his tiring, never ending regime to keep the land safe, his body fit and his mind from straying. The other parts, though, he blamed thoroughly on the wolves known as his Packmates -- and those that weren't. Those cretins that barely spoke the common tongue, or more so one in particular. The two men were of little consequence to Tiberius, finding them to be the lesser of the three evils. No, it was the creamy-necked gremlin that spiked Tiberius' blood pressure.

That fucking cat, too.

Something in him told him that the bitch had more knowledge of the cat than she was letting on but he was keen to wait, watch, and let the truth run it's course. That was until he smelt the cat in question as he stunk up the snow with his feline stench. What called to the beast was the other scent that clung to the cat. The cream-necked gremlin. Tiberius wished he could grab Reiko and tell her I told you so! I knew it! The creature was up to no good, liking liasing with the cat to cause more havoc to wolves that had done fuck all to them. He supposed he mustn't go in there with all his fury, carrying his hulking frame towards the cat with Reiko's voice nagging him to use diplomacy first. 

Fucking ridiculous method, really, but he supposed he may as well try it.

He sat, lounging like he was a King and Tiberius truly wondered how his skin would look on the floor of his den. Swallowing the taste of diplomacy, he drew nearer to the cat with a sour taste on his tongue. "Ya primpin' fer any reason?" he rumbled, standing a distance from the grooming cat. ^^

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Kuhn wasn't taken unaware of the hulking lupine's presence.  After all, it seemed that this pack was always lurking around the cat's hunting grounds, and the beast was gracious enough to let it remain that way, for now.  Though, they may have been in the near vicinity often it wasn't often that he would be approached so boldly.  Kuhn's ears locked to the company, continuing to groom as the stranger approached.  

Once close enough, the cat ceased his grooming, side eying the hulking lupine.  "No..." , he answered earnestly.  The cat wasn't lying, but he didn't pick up on the intent of the question either.  Looking from his perch, the cat flicked his tail in unease.  Not many would approach a beast like him and make that their first question. What an odd question to ask.  

Not making full eye contact, his ears remained fixed to the stranger, waiting for more.
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Despite his fury, Tiberius knew that to kill the cat, he would need likely more than just himself. To harm him, maim him -- perhaps he could do that with his own ambition but to rid the world of the pest, that would need more. It was an annoying part of his reality that for the moment, he could put on the back burner. Should the cat decide to make himself a constant pest, Tiberius would need to look into the extermination of Stripes. For now, he supposed, he would feel out the situation and swallow down his murderous desires.

The eyes of the feline were upon him, the beast pausing in his grooming to cast his attention upon the wolf and Tiberius tilted his head ever so slightly. Did the cream-necked gremlin sit in his belly? Perhaps not, if they were friends, but one could hope, couldn't they? Annoyingly, he didn't seem to be making any effort to purposefully annoy the wolf. Tiberius wanted to hate him for the trouble he had been causing, the encouragement he had had yet the cat had yet to say or do anything in this meeting to warrant it. That in itself annoyed the wolf. His tongue slid out from behind his teeth and rolled over his lips lazily, "am jus' gonn' cut ta tha chase," he didn't hold himself in an aggressive manner, just a blunt one. "I ain't lookin' ta 'ave more stress on me shoulders, so can we jus' agree tha' if ya got a taste for caribou, ya nab it from some one elses neck of tha woods?"

Despite what Reiko may want, Tiberius couldn't give a fuck if the cat was giving anyone else any troubles. So long as the trouble wasn't crossing into Shiroshika, the cat could cause as much trouble as he wanted. ^^

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Still lounging on his pseudo throne, the striped beast chuckled at the strange man's request, showing a slightly malicious smile. This must have been the pack that @Valmúa had told him about, here with there stupid demands. Two and two began to drift together. It was the same pack as that sickly white woman, and @Izumi.

Raising himself to his feet, Kuhn revealed more of his true size, reinforced by his high ground on the rocks. "No, I don't think I will, it would hardly be fair..." He responded with an irritated tone.

Who did this guy think he is walking in here like this, demanding he stop hunting the north, especially when the cat had been so lax in enforcing his own boundaries. After all, their pack had been crawling around in his woods without any problems for some time now.

The tiger's frustration was evident by the wrinkles in his nose and the discordant motions of his tail. He only continued to stand atop his perch, looking at the hulking man, hoping he would just go away.
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So it wasn't just a creamy-necked gremlin thing to act so high and mighty, so entitled and annoying. It was an over all thing that spanned across completely different species. Tiberius thought that the cat almost wanted to be difficult, to be dense and not bother to make friends, only enemies. Tiberius stared at him, unphased by the mass as he stood and loomed from his rocks. If he were to die by the cat, then so be it, but when he had been but a little boy he had stopped being scared of bullies and the monsters that lurked in the darkness. Tiberius had been bullied by his own kin, his own blood and forever they would be worse than the teeth and claws of the striped fool. Sure, he'd not actively seek to fight the cat tooth and claw by himself but neither would he cower at his paws.

"Ain't fair?" he echoed as he tilted his head. "I'm askin' ya ta fuck off ya eatin' 'abits if they bring ya into Shiroshika. I don't give no fucks if you 'unt the North, so long as ya paws don't step ova territory ya ain't asked ta be in." What part of that was hard to understand? Was there a barrier between logical and stupid? He thought so. "I don't fuckin' know 'ow ya kind works and ta be 'onest, I don't care so long as ya just give some basic respect, yeah?" he shrugged his shoulders and stood there with ease, lazily staring up at the cat as he stood, obviously annoyed.

Was he asking the world? No, he wasn't, but apparently child, closed mind critters were in abundance. He was almost annoyed that Reiko wanted the Tundra as their home, thinking that it drew stupid to it like a moth to a flame. Honestly, Tiberius would be finished with the drama if the cat just agreed to stay out of the land that Shiroshika clearly marked as theirs. He could take someone elses food for all he cared, so long as the feline just decided to be a good neighbour instead. "Tha way I see it, bein' friends wit' all tha wolves would work in ya favour. Ya ever need 'elp? Ya got more wolves than ya could count ta come ta ya aid, yeah?" Instead of finding one apple tree and keeping with it, when there was a whole fucking orchard to make peace with.

"Same if tha wolves ever need those sharp claws of yours. Ya really wanna be bothered for tha rest of ya life, mate?" Tiberius decided then that if the cat decided to press on with his decision to be a menace instead of working with them, then he would go to Reiko and throw options down on the table. He wasn't going to live with a cat and a neighbouring Pack being bastards for the hell of it when together, they could control the Tundra and decide who stepped onto their snow and who didn't. ^^

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Perhaps the strange man's course way of speaking was taken the wrong way, or perhaps he was just that demanding and demeaning. One way or another, the cat didn't like what he was hearing, it was obvious, as the winkles on his nose deepened and his fangs began to show. The hulking lupine simply dismissed the notion of fairness, not budging on his demand. Kuhn did not see himself as a bully, but he could be a monster if need be.
 

 

He let the man finish his line of thought. The tiger's temper was beginning to faulter, his musculature tensed up ready at any moment to leap from his rock. "Respect! Im starting to think you don't give a shit! Maybe I'll stay away from your mountain after I decide to actually care about my territory. Though I might have to add more wolf to my diet to make that happen!" He growled, frustration and anger dripping from every word.

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Whatever shred of hope that Tiberius held for the cat deciding to look at a viewpoint that wasn't his own was immediately thrown away when the feline decided to act on anger instead of mind. "I ain't threatened ya once, ya realise?" Tiberius drawled as he watched the cat throw a hissy fit, standing to attention with a desire to make Tiberius cower. "I asked ya ta jus' not eat from 'erds tha' were in Shiroshika," he pointed out, reminding himself that he would try until he reached his limit on doing it Reiko's way. "An' in turn, ya would get sum more wolves as ya friends instead of lookin' ta continue wha'ever beef been started." Was he surprised, though, that the cat held little sense?

To willingly be around the cream-necked gremlin automatically meant that you had to have a screw lose and very little intelligence to begin with. "Ya really wanna jus' be angry instead of makin' use of tha opportunity tha' at ya paws?" And if he did, well, then Tiberius was through with him. He could continue to threaten him all he wanted but it would completely close any doors that Tiberius had opened for them all to have easier lives.

It was only with respect to Reiko that Tiberius had even put the offer in the air for the cat to take. He would act more... diplomatic for a time but soon enough, Tiberius would grow tired of appearing to show their bellies to wolves and creatures alike who thought themselves Gods. "Ya can decide ta make nice wit' me and mine, as well as others or ya can limit yaself, it's ya choice, mate," he shrugged, not drawing on the temper that flared in his veins -- unlike the cat, of course. He put it there one more time but that would be the last. Tiberius had offered enough to the cat that had never shown a shred of respect to anyone but himself.

 ^^

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Perhaps, it was just this dog's voice or his way of speaking. Though his tone and excessive coarseness frustrated the cat, there wasn't anything excessively unreasonable about what he was saying. The cat's ear flicked in irritation, though now it was more with himself. He had broken himself again, resorting to an attempt to shut down the conversation.

This man was offering him a sort of peace deal with his other northern neighbors, trying to sweeten the deal with the offer of friends. Any more friends would be irritating, at least thats what the cat told himself

Releasing the tension in his back, the cat dropped from his perch, giving up his high ground, a small token of cooperation. He didn't move from the base of his throne but sat coiled in case the man would try something.

"My apologies, maybe you aren't hearing my point... your kind have been allowed to hunt in my home, but you wouldn't allow me the same privilege." He responded with a hint of irritation left over.
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He eyed the cat with an air of surprise lingering in his fiery depths; was he actually looking to... talk? He sat himself down with less aggression and bullying tactics, instead supplying words that Tiberius could only tilt his head to. "When 'ave we eaten ya meat, mate? We stick ta our borders," he frowned, his brows furrowing as he appraised the cat. In truth, he wasn't entirely sure how the feline would mark his territory. Did he do the same as wolves? Perhaps not, he supposed, because otherwise it would be more obvious to Tiberius the lands in which the cat seemed to claim. To the cat, though, did he think any territory was his territory without a stake to claim?

Tiberius suffered a sigh of greatness as he dropped his rump to the snow and pierced the cat with a look that sung of his tiredness. "I reckon we got sum miscommunication 'appenin' 'ere, lad," he mused, though truly, he felt tired with it all. "'ow bout ya tell me 'ow ya kind even claims territory, yeah? Start somewhere," he grunted, feeling like he was a 100 years old instead of his quite literal fucking youth.^^

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"Its the same way your kind claims  territory. Did you miss the scent on your way in?" He answered with a bit of snark, half grimacing and grinning. It was a bit malicious, but a crack of humor came through.  Maybe he did miss it or was he at some other game? 

"But, No... your pack roams free here, I have seen your pack here on little vacations, I'd assume they don't come down here to fast.  But look, I could really care less...  I usually give them their space."

Kuhn still wasn't sure about this man, he had rubbed him the wrong way from the start, and was still not getting the point.  But, he seemed reasonable enough now, that the feline felt he could state his case, though he had no plans on making any promises on restricting his range. Taking the tension of his hind legs the cat began to pace, almost starting to circle the brute, as he continued laying out his thoughts. 

"In fact one of your own, actually never seems to leave.  Oh and that little white one, she comes around every so often..."

Maybe this bulky diplomat was unaware of the affairs of his pack, or perhaps it was an ill attempted lie.  The thought of this dog coming here to lie to him made his claws kneed at the earth, but... it was better to let it go, for now.
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He suffered a huff and a laugh all at once at the cat's snarky words that borderlined humour. "Ya gotta realise as wolves, if it ain't properly claimed, it ain't a claimed land," he supplied, almost tired in his response. "Ta us, it jus' smells like ya been wanderin' around, yano?" Tiberius eyed him, thankful that the cat had seemingly lost his desire to be purposefully difficult and instead, seemed open to supplying his side of the story.

Tiberius didn't know how cats scented their lands, because he was a lone cat and could one cat claim a territory when there was only his own scent and not that of a group? He spoke of Shiroshika taking their leisurely walks in his supposed land and he tilted his head as he appraised the walking cat. He was clearly letting off his own steam and for that, Tiberius could not be mad. "Reiko," he supplied, "our Empress. Ya met 'er?" He asked, wondering if Reiko had left that bit out when she had come to him about the trail left by the cat. "From wha' I 'ear, we go' sum major confusion on 'ow each of our types work, yeah?" Tiberius started, "we go' sum shit we needa sor' out and I ain't in no position o'power ta give ya a proper peach offerin. 'ow 'bout ya come ta meet Reiko, propah, an' talk about it?"

He could suggest it and the cat could decline and they would be in no better position than they were now, or he could accept and they could see where they could go from there. "'Cause mate, I'm tired of tha back'n' forth, yeah? I jus' wanna protect tha wolves tha' need me protection an' I wanna, when possible, offa tha same shit ta non-wolves," though he doubted the cat would even need his assistance, surely it was nice to know that one would have multiple creatures at their back should they need it? Or even to just be able to exist without anger seeping through ones bones. "I ain't ever been friends wit' a feline 'fore but I ain't opposed to startin' sumwhere," he shrugged, laying it all out on the table for the cat to ponder.

Plus, if other felines smelt this one and knew he was on friendly terms with wolves, Tiberius may end up with his army of cats that he so desired. ^^

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The cat's pacing slowed as his ears perked. Though something about him really rubbed the tiger the wrong way at first, he was failing more and more to find anything wrong with what he was actually saying.  Perhaps it would be better to make friends here, instead of enemies.  Yet, what the lupine proposed to him was a dangerous prospect.  The cat would have to follow him into the heart of their territory, which could be a trap.  Though, more than a match for a wolf or two, he would have no idea what he would be walking into, to make things worse, for a feline, there was no way to out run a wolf pack.  Running down a canine was one thing, a quick display of top speed, but to escape from creatures with such endurance was hardly possible.  

Kuhn was pretty sure he had met their empress before, a sickly woman who took refuge in his territory ironically. A crack of nervousness hit the tigers face, as he licked the side of his muzzle, thinking it all through. "Ok... I will talk to your leader"  He said decisively, but not without a hint of apprehension.
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