Welcome to Gaia! ::

Missing Jellices eh? How interesting.

Missy sat quietly on the top of a wooden fence, watching the neighbour's dog run back and forth along it. The little yappy creature was barely bigger than her, not to mention with legs that short and stumpy it would never reach her. Clearly an example of why felines were so much better than dogs. Regardless, her favourite past time was only mildly amusing, what with the news of the missing cats. What if she was the one who brought back a missing cat? She, the infamous dog tormentor, troublemaker, and the cat the belonged to the phrase "Now look here Missy!" Oh yes, it would be glorious.

The only problem with her little scheme was that Vaertun had insisted that they work in teams. Where in London was she going to find a cat to be her partner? No doubt the search parties had already started, leaving her with little time to find someone unattended. Still, there had to be someone about. Getting to her feet, the striped Jellicle stretched, and then trotted down the fence line towards another human's backyard. Someone must be out here tonight.

Missy's eyes darted around at the voice, finally settling upwards on the cat in the tree. Another Jellicle? And it looked like she was on the hunt too. What luck! Her face broke out into a grin as she trotted over to sit below the branch the other cat was occupying. "They left you behind? Che. Don't worry, you can team up with me. They'll regret leaving you behind er... you have a name, right? I'm Xatakwa." As she spoke she studied the other cat. A nice face, she decided, with pretty eyes and stripes not unlike her own. Yes, they would make a perfect team. The Striped Crusaders! She liked the sound of that.

"We can look around here first and then branch out. Unless you got any leads?" She tilted her head to peer at Purrattica.

"Purrattica then. Glad to be working with you!" She flashed the other Jellicle a lopsided grin. The lack of leads was a little disappointing; however Missy didn't seem too bothered by it. Not everything in life could simply be handed to you. Besides, there was nothing wrong with a little adventure. If they didn't find anything they could come back and taunt the dogs. Now that would be entertaining.

Missy tilted her head at the thank you, and responded with a friendly nudge. "Don't worry about it Purr. Ain't no problem, you coming with me. I needed a partner, you needed a partner. Think of it as a mutual favour, you know? But let's get going! We got some missing Jellicles to find!" She paused for a moment to survey the area, before trotting back down the fence and leaping neatly onto another one. Best to start in the neighbourhood.

"So you live around here? With your family?"

"Do you think it'll be as easy as just strolling on in here?"

"We'll see!"

"Where did she say the house was?"

"Just--" suddenly a tan and spotted cat jumped up onto the fence Missy was on, nearer to the yard with the dog than to the tree with the striped cat, "Around here somewhere."

Suddenly the white and spotted cat jumped up, struggling a bit more to climb up onto the fence, "Don't you think-" He cut himself off, pulling himself up onto the fence now, his brown eyes directly on the other cat on the fence. That was why the stupid dog had been barking, they should have known. His direct gaze was enough to draw the attention of his partner, who turned and realized they were not alone. He quickly turned back to the other, muttering something inaudible. Both turned and started to stalk off in the opposite direction, but the pale cat couldn't help but look back. It earned him a sharp hiss from the cat behind him but none of it helped them seem less suspicious.

Now this looked hopeful. Purrattica watched cautiously from behind Xatakwa, taking in the appearance of the two retreating strangers. They were quite the little matched pair - siblings, perhaps? Cousins? Very Mungojerrie-and-Rumpelteazer, she thought to herself with an internal chuckle. Just the sort of cats who might get mixed up in a kidnapping plot.

But how to approach this? Just asking straight off the bat would be too suspicious, surely. A pair like this might lock up and refuse to give anything away. ...Or perhaps they were stupid enough to boast, to gloat about a perceived victory. Maybe they'd let something slip. But they'd said something about a house in the area, hadn't they? Now that they knew they were being watched, they might not go there. Blast! She'd missed her chance to follow them and find out what they were up to.

For now she left the talking to Xatakwa, remaining a hopefully unobtrusive presence in the background. If things got sticky, she might be able to slip away for help without being noticed. Two against two were all right odds, she supposed, but she'd rather two against the Jellicles.

They weren't going to reply? Yeesh! Didn't these Jellices have any manners?

Missy grouched quietly for a moment until she saw the cat jump down into the yard. Her expression changed to confusion, and then slowly realization dawned on her. They were out here looking for something. It may not have been missing Jellices but this was the biggest lead they'd seen since they began their search! Whatever it was these two cats were looking for, she wanted to be in on it.

Turning her head slightly so she could talk to Purrattica, she said softly, "Let's have a look at what these two have got their paws in eh? It's our neighbourhood, so we can be nosy if we want to." She turned her attention back to the one cat that she could still see. "Alright, follow my lead. I'll keep my eyes on the one on the fence, and you figure out what to do with the one in the yard. Got it?" She barely waited for a response, already slinking along the fence line towards where the tan cat remained.

Focused on watching the pale cat, the tan cat stood still on the fence, oblivious to the approaching Jellicle behind him. The white cat moved along the fence, moving around the edge of the yard, keeping an eye on the house he was approaching. He stopped after a moment, lifting his head up and sniffing at the air curiously, his eyes still not moving far from the house whose yard they had invaded. With a final sniff and a sigh, he shrugged and turned around to look at his partner, "This isn't ri--" Then he saw the approaching striped cat and lost his train of thought.

The tan cat was quick to notice, and he looked over his shoulder. He grinned but said nothing, jumping down off the fence and walking, not jogging or running, across the yard to his partner.

"Let's see," he muttered, nudging the white cat to check again, glancing nonchalantly over his shoulder once before turning back.

Still hidden, for the moment at least, Purrattica peeped out from under a poorly-kept bush and watched the two speckled cats intently. She couldn't yet see what they were doing, but - ah, Xatakwa was trying to distract them. Good. She could risk creeping a little closer. But only a little! She stayed well within the shade of the bushes, pressed low enough to the ground that the taller grass would help to conceal her. Was she downwind? She thought she must be - a breeze was blowing into her eyes and making her squint. Even better. That would make it hard for them to catch her scent.

But what were they doing?