It's a {B.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l} xo.[Day].ox

[Fallentear ||]

Chester stood up, kicking dirt over the fish bones. Then he followed Cloud along the river. Glancing up at the top of the rise across the river, he saw those rocks from earlier. He slipped into the river, this time not being taken by surprise at it's cold feeling, and paddled across slowly. The current dragged him downstream a little as he closed the gap between him and the opposite shore. Finally, he dragged himself out of the other side and shook his fur, feeling it spike up from the clinging water.

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[Flamey]

Cloud followed Chester to the other side of the river. The water felt like needles prickling his body. He swan to the other side with swift, graceful strokes. He immediately jumped out of the water and shook the water off his fur. Teeth chattering, he stood in a part where the sun shed some warm light. The warmth immediately soaked into his fur, spreading out towards hi body. Feeling a bit better, he p[added over to Chester. "So, what do you think?" he asked.

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[Fallentear ||]

Chester had bounded easily to the top of the rise and was looking among the rocks. With curiosity, he noticed a little dip in the earth beside a rock and bent down to get a closer look. Placing a paw there, the ground shifted beneath it. With both forepaws he pushed, and the ground fell away and gave way to a tunnel. It had been carefully covered with loam by foxes! It must've been abandoned though, for the scent was very stale. The ginger tom sniffed the entrance carefully before slipping in, his waving tail following like a snake as it twitched to and fro with intrigue. At the bottom of the tunnel the path forked and there were two passageways that led away on level ground. He followed the larger one to find a somewhat large den that smelled of prey scent. must've been a storage room he thought.

"Hey Cloud!" He hollered towards the tunnel, "Check this place out! It's amazing!" He walked back into the tunnel and went down the other passageway to find a smaller den at the end. But this one smelled faintly of milk, and was lined with the furs of prey like rabbits, and other soft creatures. A nursery? He thought, glancing around.

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[Flamey]

Cloud turned to the concealed tunnel where Chester had disappeared into. His fur bristled when he scented fox, but he relaxed when he realized that it was already stale. His paws carried him through the tunnel until he reached the part where the tunnel forked. He turned to one of the tunnels where Chester's scent was strongest. "Nice place."he complemented. "You planning to live here?" he asked, turning around to check the other tunnel. It seemed like the perfect place to live. There was even a river outside so he wouldn't have to travel far for some prey.

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[Fallentear ||]

Chester looked up, sniffing curiously at a pelt as he contemplated what to do. Heck, who was he kidding? Obviously this place would be the perfect place to live. Looking over at his friend with a grin, he meowed, "Yeah. I think I just might. It's great." He padded around in a circle on the fine fur rugs beneath his paws and flopped down. He rolled contentedly onto his side, paws raised in the air. "I'm gonna get fatter here." He laughed. His smile froze on his lips with a pang of sorrow as he remembered his other home. How would this be that much different? Well he could go out whenever he wanted. Eat whenever he wanted. But he had to catch that food. And life just wasn't the same without a housefolk there to scratch behind his ears and rub his belly. He sighed rolling back onto his stomach again, his eyes flashing distantly.

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[Flamey]

"Be careful. If you get any fatter, you might not be able to move anymore." Cloud chuckled, before noticing Chester's look. "Whats wrong?" he asked. A sudden realization hit him. Of course he would miss his home. He silently scolded himself for being so selfish, getting Chester out of his home just so that he could have a friend. "You know, I could take you back if you want." he said, shifting his gaze back towards the tunnel that led back to the opening.

[Fallentear ||]

Chester snapped out of his thoughts, realization of what his friend had just said finally sinking in. "Hu-?" He began to meow, but then the words processed. "Oh...well it's really great here and everything. It's just..I kinda miss my housefolk. While my freedom was limited, they were kind to me. And they took care of me. I like this new feeling of freedom and the power of being able to look after myself..but maybe too much freedom for a cat such as me is a bad thing?" He looked at the ground, so soft and comfortable, although so foriegn. He realized it was only so appealing because it reminded him of his nest back in his house. Glancing up at Cloud, he mewed, "Hey, I think I'll just go back to visit them. You know, to say goodbye. And if I do decide to stay there, I can always come back out for more adventures." He grinned, thinking of all of the things the two toms had done in only a few days.

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[Flamey]

"Okay. Lets get going then. If we hurry, we can get there before it gets dark." Cloud said, before dashing out of the tunnel. He felt much better now. Even though if Chester decided to go back to the twolegs, they could still be friends. He turned back, waiting for Chester to follow, while he imagined what kind of things they would be able to do together. They could go explore that large clearing that he had found the other day before he med Chester. Or they could go to that place with lots of twolegs and very tall twoleg dwellings that seemed to stretch until the sky, where he heard that there were a group of cats ready to fight the clans.

[Fallentear ||]

Chester's legs scrambled against the ground for a split second, and then he shot off after his friend like a bullet; it was quite comical, and he looked like a cat from a cartoon. He was loping quickly across the ground, and it wasn't long until his breath came heavily. After all, he was a very...large...cat. His sturdy legs kept pushing him onwards though, and finally he caught up with Cloud and fell into stride with him. Cloud didn't seem put down in the least, because he seemed to know that Chester was still up for adventures, even if he still lived with his twolegs. "How. much. further?" He said each word after every stride, each gasped as if emerging from water. The tom, even after a few days in the wild, was still finding it hard to run at such a pace for so long. He didn't have much endurance.

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[Flamey]

"Almost there." Cloud said, slowing his pace so that Chester could keep up. He could already see the top of the twoleg dwelling, curved to a point on the top. It looked like almost every other twoleg dwelling on the path. As they got closer, he saw the tree where he had first met Chester a few days ago, though it seemed like they were together for a few weeks already. "Here we are." he said, stopping in front of the nest. He padded towards the tree and lay down, the cold ground cooling his belly.

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[Fallentear ||]

Chester recognized everything now. His old house, with the deck in the back, and the fence and the trees. He couldn't help but bound forward eagerly and scramble over the fence and into the yard. He walked slowly up the steps of the back porch, looking into the glass windows into the dwelling. He could see shoes coming towards him, quickening their step. He glanced over his shoulder at Cloud as his twoleg opened the door. He mewled a soft goodbye, knowing he'd see him again soon. The twoleg bent and scooped him up, crooning loudly and stroking his head. Chester purred as the glass door shut again, and he was gone.

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