xx.i'mNOTaSHOULDER_toCrY on...but i d i g r e s s

[!TiGER_]

A cold wind blew through the barn, stirring up stray stems of hay and straw and ruffling the short pelt of Roxanne. She was nestled in a pile of hay bales, high up so that she would be sheltered from the chilly drafts. Her sable pelt was fluffed up to retain as much body heat as she could as she lied in a liminal state with her tail tucked over her nose. Winter was nothing new to her--she had suffered through her fair share of nor'easters during her life in the poorly insulated twoleg apartment--but then she had always been able to curl up in a blanket or sit on her twoleg's lap. Now she was alone and in the cold, with nothing and nobody to curl up with for warmth. Roxanne wished someone would come along. She despised isolation and was sick of having to stay alone in her barn and hunt mice while the horses snorted below her in their stalls under the loft.

[ღFunkMastaFlynnღ]

In the distance he could see a barn "...Ahhh Shelter for tonight" Alfie thought. His paws padded softly on top of the iced over snow. His favorite time of year...WINTER! This was the only time raccoons were sparse and Alfie was not in constant fights with them. His legs felt heavy and were dragging from walking. The only thing that blended in was his white paws against the white winter landscape. His brown & black stripes suck out like a sore thumb...which made him giggle to himself.

As he came closer to the entrance a sent wafted by his nose. "Is there another cat in here? This cat does not belong to any clans, that's for sure!" his thoughts made Alfie grin with excitement! "A new friend perhaps!"

"Hello? may I come in for some warmth for the night?" Alfie carefully asked the non-clan cat.

"My name is Alfie!...I am ...well.....a loner. May I ask who you are non-clan cat?" Alfie curiously called out!

"I promise I wont be a nuance!!!" Alfie offered.

[!TiGER_]

Interested, Roxanne perked up her head and ears. She spread one of her paws apart and licked a few stems of hay out from between her toes before looking the strange cat in the eye. "I don't cahre. The barn's nawt all mine...I'm Roxanne, by da way. You ah?" Her voice was confident and cool. She wanted to be the master of her territory as she had been back home without appearing to be overly domineering. A quick sniff let her know that the new cat was a tom. Great. Just the company I'd have wanted. It did not occur to her that her strong accent might make him simply stare at her before running back to where he had come from. Back in Roxanne's world, not everybody had sounded the same as her...but most still had. This'll be interesting.

[ღFunkMastaFlynnღ]

"hmmmmm.....that was an interesting sounding voice you have ....Where are you from?" asked Alfie.

He walked into the barn. He could feel the ice melting instantly as he wandering in further from the barn doorway "AHHH....... this feels great!!!!" Alfie sighed. He could finally flex and curl his paws. Alfie sat and licked the remaining ice off his paw pads. After a quick cat bath he found himself wandering up to where Roxanne was and sat far enough to give her space.

"I use to be a kitty pet....then I escaped...and now here I am...A loner!" explained Alfie.

[!TiGER_]

"A place," she replied coolly. "Real far ahway. Dere were rats da size of small cats an' more twolegs den ya could ahmagine. We had a lotta fightin' goin' on...all da time. But I don't mind dis settled down life." Roxanne jumped down from the hayloft and landed fluidly to face Alfie. "My name's Roxanne. Ya's?" She wrapped her tail around her paws and fluffed her pelt. The wind would not stop blowing and the drafts were starting to drive her crazy. It was simply too cold. How did the horses stand it? Sure, they wore rugs, but most of them had thinner coats than she did...and they had to go outside all the time to boot. Also, they never ate meat. Roxanne knew she wouldn't last long without her steady diet of mice, so why did the horses all eat hay and grass?

[ღFunkMastaFlynnღ]

"I'm Alfie!" he repeated. Alfie looked around to see where was a good spot to rest for the night. The blustery wind did not affect Alfie. He gained a lot of weight and that extra fat insulated him.

"Sounds like an interesting yet scary place you came from..." Alfie responded. He wondered about this place Roxanne spoke of and was glad he did not experience it.


"So have you ate lately???......I just got hit with a hunger pain..." Alfie asked. He could feel his tummy grumble. All the walking he did today made Alfie forget to hunt. "I need to pay more attention to my eating habits!" Alfie reminded himself.

[!TiGER_]

Roxanne smiled in a semi-unpleasant way. "It was an' it still is." She yawned widely, surveyed Alfie regally, and responded to his question. "Oh, yeah. Dere's plentya mice 'round here. If ya can hunt, ya can take whatevah ya want. Da twolegs who come 'round da bahn every so often usually leave somea dat dry food out for me which I nevah take." She flicked her tail in the direction of a white ceramic bowl patterned with blue paw prints. It was filled to the brim with kittypet food that was a little stale but still edible. "I highly recommend da mice, though."

[ღFunkMastaFlynnღ]

Within minutes Alfie caught three mice. His skills as a hunter have always be extravagant. He climbed up to where Roxanne was and began to chow down on his fresh kill. The mice he caught were plump from the harvesting they did for the winter. "These must be the skilled mice avoiding the cats...that must explain their PLUMPNESS!" Alfie grinned.

"Are you sure you don't want any Roxanne?" [/b] Alfie teased by dangling the mouse from his mouth.

"They're very warm and juicy!" he added.