How to Tame a Cat (ManxMan)

Chapter Five: Night Patrol

~Chapter Five: Night Patrol~

The night would be silent if not for the crickets and their insistent chirping, filling the frosty night air with noise. My black tail flicks in mild annoyance. Not at the noise, though, but at the fact that I am currently stuck in a tree. It is not that I am unable to get down, as I am not some house cat that requires rescue from some heroic firefighter, but if I do leave my branch, I will most likely be discovered by the huntsmen who have been stomping around my forest. The crickets had been silent then, waiting for the danger to pass, and, hearing the sudden quiet, I had climbed up this tree.

And now I'm stuck.

At first, I had thought it would be safe to climb back down when the crickets had started up their noise, but that ended up not being the case. I had been halfway down the tree when a man stumbled out of the bushes, apparently far lagging behind the hunting party. I was confused that the crickets did not warn me, but they went silent as well, almost as surprised as me. Perhaps he had been drunk and passed out or something, and the crickets thought him dead or gone because he stopped moving.

However, as he went stumbling off in the direction of his group, most likely following the sound of them crashing through the forest almost as loudly as he was, I had thought it was over, especially when he failed to notice me clinging to the tree. So, once he had disappeared from sight, I had proceeded to climb down the rest of the way. Not even twenty seconds later, I found myself bounding up another tree to hide, as the group apparently decided to walk in a giant circle, doubling back around.

Either they're lost or realized they were nearing the road, and I'm betting on the former.

Much to my chagrin, they then decided to take a break. Right. Under. My. Tree. So, in other words, it is their fault I am stuck up here as they check their ammunition and guns for flaws. Sadly, none of them seem to have found anything that would warrant a walk back to their cabin or wherever it is they are staying. It is obvious, though, that they are not real hunters. At least, not good ones. They make more noise than an elephant, they shoot at anything that moves, even the mouse that made a noise at the wrong moment, and none of them have even thought to look up, despite the threat of mountain lions. If I was an actual wild cat, I would have attacked them by now. 

This is so boring...

Yesterday - Sunday - had been a very bad day, and I had done everything I could think of to keep myself entertained, but it was not enough. By this afternoon, I had been bored out of my mind. I still have a great deal of food left, so calling Dylan to pick me up something from the store isn't necessary, and making him come to me just for the sake of having company is a horrible idea, as he does not need to know that I can get lonely. If he finds out, he will leave me alone again and might even make me move into the pack house to make sure I am no longer isolated. Wolves always take everything to the next level, and I do not feel like dealing with their drama.

So, after a great deal of internal debate, I had come to the conclusion that it would be in my best interests to go on patrol as soon as night rolled around. I mean, while I could probably trust Ryland to protect this area in my stead since he is apparently dead set on claiming this potential mate of his and would probably not take kindly to anyone new entering this territory that might pose a threat to his chances, it is be his place to patrol for me. That does not seem to be stopping him, but I will not become complacent either. 

Besides, it is stated in the pack contract I signed when moving in that, as a sort of freeloader on their land, I must patrol my assigned area at least once a week. Dylan would not care if I went one week - especially this week - without patrolling, which he made very clear over the phone this morning, as he apparently remembered that today is my normal patrol day and felt the need to call because of it, but I don't care; I wanted to, so I did.