The Cricket Whisperer

[squid]

Bigstep had a secret. Deep, hearty laughter came from the part of the sand where crickets thrived.

The massive black tom was crouched over a tribe of crickets, listening to them and their stories. He tried to quiet his laughter, but his efforts only made it sound strangled. He couldn't help it; the crickets were just too funny. However, he had to keep quiet if he didn't want somebody figuring out this superpower of his--cricket-whispering wasn't smiled upon by many cats.

He would switch from one cricket to the next, following a few strays that went under his belly. Straining his short neck, he only managed to look at the beginnings of his white belly fur before he somersaulted.

Bigstep's acrobatics probably seemed like an earthquake to the crickets. The cat landed on his side heavily, but shot up to his paws, scattering sand in the process. He looked desperately for any crickets that had possibly been mushed into his fur, and he searched for his friends. For a few seconds, he grew fearful that he might be all alone.

Soon, relief flooded him as they came back, and he listened to their advice and observations. "Really? I never saw mark on the tree before!"

Bigstep had a secret: the poor tom thought he was the Cricket Whisperer.

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe's stomach growled in protest. She hadn't eaten in a while and was searching for something easy to catch. Something she could catch on her. She walked slowly, making sure to purposefully sink each paw slowly into the sand so she made no sound. Suddenly she smelled a scent of cricket- a very strong scent of cricket. Her eyes brightened and she dropped into a hunter's crouch. She poised to leap- and fell over backward. A huge black tom was crouched down next to the crickets. /What is he /doing/? She thought, confused. /Is he trying to hunt?/ It didn't matter. She was smaller than him and could possibly chase the crickets out from under the large tom and leap on top of them. Her stomach growled again, and Rainstripe decided to take the chance. She crouched, creeping closer and closer, until finally she dashed out, her paws stirring up clouds of sand. The cricket leaped away from now, and she followed it away from the cat. Finally, she leaped on top of it, grabbing her prize between her claws. She sighed, crunching the unlucky insect in her mouth. It tasted so good! Of course, that was just the taste of her triumph, and the cricket did little to stop the monster in her belly from growling. Maybe Rainstripe could steal another cricket from the tom.

[Ten]

"until finally she dashed out,"
--x

ooc| You can't run at crickets. They're crickets. They jump.
You have to leap on top of them.

[squid]

Bigstep was currently laying down, and his guard was down. "How you jump so high?" the tom asked the bugs, his ears twitching. "I want to learn to jump high," Bigstep announced, and a determined look appeared on his face. "I WILL learn."

Suddenly, he smelled a cat nearby - very near. Bigstep, though fearful that his secret had been discovered, began to turn his head in the direction of where Rainstripe sat. Just as his slowly moving head turned to face the cat, there was a flash of fur that couldn't be identified, and Bigstep whirled around.

There was no cat to be seen, but one of his favorite crickets whom he'd named Sand was gone. Bigstep, instantly angered from the loss of one of his friends, stood up. A low, deep growl rumbled in his big chest as he looked around. "Where are you?" His powerful voice yowled. "No steal my friends!" the cat snarled, his neckfur spiked up and tail puffed out.

[duckyaisha]

Ooc: Sorry. Let me change that.

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe backed away, her yellow-green eyes shining with fear. "I-I didn't hurt any other cats, I promise!" Then she added, just for good measure, "If you're mad because I stole your food, I'm sorry. I'll catch you another cricket." She didn't want to do anything to get on the wrong side of this powerful cat, and he looked even more powerful fluffed up to twice his size. She backed away farther, lowering her tail and curling it between her legs. /See, this is why you /avoid/ other cats/ she mentally chided herself. /You just get into trouble./

[squid]

"Cats? Not cats. Crickets. Crickets Bigstep's friends," the large tom explained, tilting his head. The absurd question had made him forget his anger. His neckfur relaxed, his tail slimmed down, and he sheathed his claws. Not only was it the question that had helped him forget to be angry, but also the desperation in this cat.

As Rainstripe mentioned food, Bigstep gave a hearty laugh. "Food?" the tom said, his words barely understandable with his chuckling. "Crickets not food. You no have to find new cricket."
The tom understood that at times he could look intimidating from his size, but he never dreamed one cat could get so nervous. The poor she-cat looked like she was about to tuck tail and run. "Do not be afraid, she-cat. I have big fur and claws, but also big heart."

[duckyaisha]

A skeptical look replaced the fear in Rainstripe's eyes. "Riiiiiight....." she meowed doubtfully, stretching out the word. "The crickets are your....friends?" Being a rather antisocial cat, Rainstripe's main food source was crickets, locusts, and other insects. This was easy to see- her ribs were showing through her scraggly striped pelt. She couldn't imagine not eating them. "So what do you eat?" she asked curiously, her paws poised to step backwards in case Bigstep was crazier than she thought. She wasn't scared of him anymore- his simple speech had been enough to convince her that he wouldn't hurt her. She didn't know, though, whether he would go crazy and attack her or suddenly go insane. After all, a cat that talked to crickets couldn't be right in the head.

[squid]

Bigstep enthusiastically nodded his head. "Crickets my friends. I eat lizards. Bigstep protect friends from pre..." Bigstep's speech faltered as he ran the long word through his mind. "...predators!"

Nodding his head again, he repeated, "Bigstep protect crickets from lizards. Lizards tasty, though. Crickets no tasty. They crunchy and nasty." To show his disgust, he made a strange face and stuck his tongue out.

[duckyaisha]

Rainstripe's eyes widened. "I've never eaten a lizard." In her mind, crickets were dry and tasteless, but they didn't taste bad and they were relatively easy to catch. Lizards wouldn't require leaping, and would probably be tastier than crickets. Then the she-cat became skeptical again. "So these crickets are your...friends?" she repeated, still stunned. /Why on Earth would a cat be a cricket's friend? Then again/ she added to herself, /why would a cat stay so close to the enclosure wall?/ Deciding that they were both equally strange, Rainstripe nodded. "So where do you find lizards?" the she-cat asked curiously, her claws digging into the sand in eagerness to catch one. Maybe it would fill her more than crickets.