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Kestral had been following the cat for days. The first time she had realized she was now bigger than a cat, she was thrilled. She didn't understand now why she had once been so afraid of them. How had such a puny, almost pathetic, beast managed to slay her? Being reborn as a kage certainly had its advantages. Granted, she couldn't fly. That was kind of a bummer. Especially when her kage father, brother, and sister all had them. She was more like her mother in that respect. Being bound to the ground had been torture those first months. It still was on some days, but for the most part she had gotten over it.

She was out on her own now. She cared for her family, but they had gone their separate ways shortly after the kids had grown enough to take care of themselves. At times she missed them, but mostly she just missed the company. In her past life she was rarely alone, so this was another new obstacle that came with her new life. This loneliness is was brought her to stop at the apple tree. She tilted her head in curiosity. "What are you doing?"

"Goodness no. They just interest me. They seem so small now." Kestral's eyes followed the cat as it disappeared. Her gaze returned to Raven in the tree. "You know, those apples aren't likely to ripen for a few days at least. You may want to come back another time."

Kestral wasn't sure how she felt about the kage in the tree. "They are pretty I suppose..." She couldn't wrap her mind around waiting for an apple for so long. Surely it would be better to get out of sight until they were fully ripe. "You know... the human that planted these apples will be rather sore if they find you intending to eat one." There were more interesting things to do in the world, especially now that she was so much larger, than wait around for an apple. Though, come to think of it, she had never really had the opportunity to eat one herself. She'd had bits of them after the cores were discarded, but had never been large enough to eat one properly.

Kestral bristled at the insinuation that she was ill equipped to deal with her new life. "You haven't met many humans, have you? They aren't all afraid. Many aren't afraid at all. Those that are don't always run. Fear can be a pretty powerful boost." Kestral had had her own troubles with humans. She didn't necessarily fear them as she had before, but she certainly did not trust them. Humans were difficult to predict.

"Yes... They are paranoid and they don't typically take kindly to us." Kestral's parents had told them all to avoid humans at all costs. She'd heard stories and didn't care to see one acted out.

It wasn't long before Kestral heard a couple dogs in the distance. That almost certainly meant the human who tended the apple tree would be along to chase them off any moment. "It really might be a good idea to get out of here." Kestral took several steps back, but didn't feel it would be right to abandon the more colorful kage.

"Oh yes!" Kestral took off running. The human wasn't far behind them. He was a big guy. It was difficult to tell if his girth came from muscle or fat. He was covered in dirt, presumably from the work he did, and carried a pitchfork that, to Kestral, looked particularly sharp. Around him were three dogs of differing levels of ferocity. "Any place to run to?"

Kestral didn't stop to talk. She had feared humans all her life. Both lives actually. Some humans were fine, but there didn't seem to be any distinctive difference in the look or smell of them. In her experience it was best just to avoid them all. It was certainly a bad idea to anger them. After running for a while, and being unable to shake the dogs following them and the human further behind, Kestral swooped around.

"This way!" She called to the other. Kestral crouched low and sprang toward a tree. She dug her claws into the bark and started to climb. She felt safer in trees and she knew that dogs could not climb. Perhaps the human would decide it wasn't worth the effort.