Cub? Kitten? Panther...(open)

[Whisper]

Whisper tromped through the tangle, her Blue dress catching on the vines and undergrowth. Whisper cursed herself for even THINKING that she could walk without stumbling in a dress through the dangerous tangle. Fed up, Whisper bent down, pulled out her dagger, and sawed off the dress until it was up to her mid calf. "There, much better." Whisper said aloud, satisfied. In her opinion, dresses were the second most inconvenient form of cloth in history, only second to corsets.

Suddenly, Whisper whipped around, hearing a yowl, and then a whimper. With the remnants of her dress still in hand and her dagger in the other, Whisper sprinted towards the noise, wondering what was wrong.

When she reached the clearing where the noise came from, she found....nothing. There was no animal in the clearing. But there was whimpering. Where the heck was it coming from? Suddenly, A bush was shaking, and there was more yowling, then whimpering.

Whisper rushed over and peeked in the bush, seeing a small brown black, furry lump, thrashing wildly. Whisper crouched down and starting cutting the branches, trying to get to the creature. When she finally reached the little thing, it wasn't yowling anymore just mewing and whimpering pitifully. So it was a cat of some sort.....Whisper looked around, trying to locate the things mother, for it couldn't have been fully grown. There was none. She turned back to the feline, looking for why it was stuck. And she found it; A metal string-like thing was wrapped around the feline's tail, and it was caught on the bush, so The creature couldn't get out. The tail was matted with blood from the creatures attemp to get out.

Whisper swiftly reached out and cut off the branch the metal was caught on and scooped out the weak creature. It was a good thing Whisper's dress had long sleeves, cause boy, did this kitty have claws. But finally, she got the feline out, and it flopped down onto the ground, panting.

"oh no." Whisper groaned. here was an injured feline, and Whisper had no medical experience, at all. All she had was a piece of cloth.... but wrapping it around the tail wouldn't help, the metal was still wrapped around it......"I'm in trouble....."

[Little Sparrow]

Damn, she really needed to get a steed. The next time she was in the Spirit, she'd get one for herself and Jaime too. If the boy was coming with her; he'd better have a horse of his own. Though the avian shaman tended to travel light, it was definite that the weight of both her and Jaime would be a disadvantage. Also, they'd be less agile; something that she was accustomed to thinking of as one of her strengths, though she had never been caught in forages or chases. Now with her new ability to converse with sparrows, her chances of escaping was far greater than being caught.

Anyways, back to the present. There was a disturbed sound, like some animal in fury or pain. Hm, strange. Cloti was about to break into a run before the sound suddenly died. Someone must have come to the animal's aid before she had. Nevertheless, she decided that it was worth to be checking it out. The avian shaman had her cloak around her, cowl pulled over her head and hiding her dark complexion and smooth attire. She slipped gracefully around the roots, just in time to hear a female voice.

"I'm in trouble....."

She raised an eyebrow, but made no move to hurry up; the girl did not seem to have too much panic within her voice, but the word trouble made her want to help. She could see the girl as she held come creature; the cat's tail looked mangled and rather badly out of shape. The metal wire wracked with blood and fur explained it all, though the girl was definitely not human to be sane enough to be walking around here. She seemed to carry no other equipment other than herself and the creature was losing blood.
Cloti did not like seeing creatures in pain. She needed to help.

"Let me have a look." She ordered sharply, black leather boots making a soft noise as she shrugged off her pack, dumping it near the girl and rummaging around the sachet to find what she was looking for; basic medical supplies.

[Whisper]

Whisper stroked the feline, gasping as she figured out what it was. It was her special animal; a panther. Whisper smiled. Maybe there was someway she could help the kitten with her panther affinity. But the panther kitten with still bleeding, and all Whisper could do was dab at the heaviest bleeding areas with the ripped cloth.

Suddenly, Whispers head whipped around, hearing footsteps. A cloaked woman stranger walked into the clearing, taking off her pack with a sharp "Let me have a look." Whisper held the kitten tighter, not trusting The stranger. But slowly, Whisper walked over to the cloaked stranger, She did have medical supplies. "She, she was trapped in a bush, but i couldn't get the wire off her..." Whisper continued to stroke the panther kit soothingly, hoping desperately that the stranger would help.

[Little Sparrow]

The girl didn't seem trusting at first, hugging the kitten close to her somewhat protectively. Cloti remembered the cliched saying "never trust strangers" which might very well have fit in this context. Not that she was saying that she was dangerous, of course. Not directly anyways. Not now," Lluvia sang. Mentally, Cloti rolled her head. Her mind fighting with itself, how fun.

Taking the kit from the shifter, she peered at the tail, only half listening to the girl's flustered talk. "I see." She stated in a somewhat aloof, almost musing voice. Turning the kit, over, it looked unharmed--except for the tip of its tail. It was mangled pretty badly. Showing how deep the wire cut, she knew that the thing was unsettled and didn't know how to deal with traps like this. It had bitten so deeply that it was at the bone.
Its tail couldn't be saved. All the tendons and muscles had been cut through and the avian shaman was glad that she had gloves on; that kit had claws. Gently, she touched a spot on the kit's body, instantly stopping it's yowling. Like that she couldn't work. She had to have it shut up. The kit was only passed out; it was better for the thing anyways, she had no painkillers with her.

Feeling the shifter's eyes on her, she realized that she might have to make a comment. "It's better this way. Do not disturb me." She informed the girl. After a moment's hesitation, she added, "Please." Realizing that she might have been a little too harsh. "I won't be able to save that part of the tail. Remember that it feels no pain." Taking out the lighter, more precise blade, she gently slipped it under the wire, pulling it a little tauter, but breaking the string. Tossing it away, she frowned; it was held together by a little piece of cartilage. With the blade, she chopped that part off, leaving only part of the tail. Washing the wound with water, she bandaged it up, using up the last of her bandages. The woman grimaced. Well, there went the last of her supplies. Time to get more.

[Whisper]

Whisper cringed as the woman cut off the panthers tail, but she knew that there was no way it would've fully healed. After the shaman patched up the tail, Whisper gently scooped up the panther, stroking her lovingly and wondering where her mother could be. Surely it would've noticed that the kit was gone? Were animals really that cruel in the Tangle?

Whisper smiled as the panther kit woke up groggily, batting a sheathed claw lazily at Whisper's black hair surrounding the kit like a veil. She liked the creature a lot more when it wasn't scared. In her mind, Whisper decided that, if the panther liked her after the affects of the shamans....whatever she did, wore off, that Whisper would keep her, seeing as the mother was gone and she was just a kit. But for now, the kit was still groggy and fell back asleep in Whispers arms.

Whisper turned back to the Shaman and expressed her thanks. "Thank you very much, Ive no idea what I would've done without you."Whisper bowed slightly, trying to to mmove the sleeping kit too much. "Is there anything i should do for the tail later, like replace the bandages and such?" Whisper asked, still stroking the panthers soft fur.

[Little Sparrow]

The avian shaman hummed a little tune as she wiped the blade off on the grass that permanently surrounded them here in the Tangle. In a moment, Feather was back in its sheath, hidden under Cloti's cloak. She never allowed anyone to see the two blades hidden within her cloak; same with the boyish attire. Though she highly doubted that anyone could take her prisoner here in the Tangle and present her to Quirinoh, she wasn't taking any chances. As she tucked a strand of black waves behind her ear, she noticed that she still had her hood up. No matter, she would deal with it in due time.

Casting a glance to the shifter, she watched as the kit seemed to have calmed down considerably--even batting at the shifter's hair. Perhaps the creature was still delirious and couldn't see or smell straight, thinking that the shifter was its mother. Come to think of it, where was the creature's mother? Surely a panther as she knew them would not let her young alone and leave them when they were mewling pitifully in a trap.
A trap... that was right, the thing was caught in a trap. And if there was one trap, there was bound to be others, meaning that the creature's mother would have been caught in one of those traps. It made perfect sense.

"Thank you very much, Ive no idea what I would've done without you."

Cloti merely raised an eyebrow, though she was sure that the shifter wouldn't be able to see it. She admired the shifter in the sense that she still hadn't asked about the appearance under the cloak. Too shy or too controlled? Could be either, really.

"Is there anything i should do for the tail later, like replace the bandages and such?"

The shaman thought for a while; she'd help with the panther if it weren't for the fact that she had used up the last of her bandages, but the wound wasn't that serious--it was even a clean cut. With any luck, the wound would stop bleeding if the salve worked for animals. It should, but anyways, she decided that she would stay. If that didn't work, she had another alternative. "Not as of yet. I think I'll stay, just in case that kit needs some care. Do you mind if I do so?" She asked the shifter.

[Whisper]

Whisper watched as The cloaked stranger tucked a strand of black hair back into her cloak, maybe behind her ear...?

"Not as of yet. I think I'll stay, just in case that kit needs some care. Do you mind if i do?"

The stranger asked. Whisper narrowed her eyes slightly, but tried to relax. She hadn't even seen the strangers face, but The person seemed seemed to portray no harm.

"I don't mind if you stay, but would you mind taking your hood off? I would prefer to know the face of my companion, for safety reasons, you see. You don't have to take your cloak off or anything, of course. Is that okay?"

Whisper didn't want to offend the stranger, but since she had a photographic memory, Whiser would want to know the sttrangers face if...something, happened. Whispers constant paranoia was kicking in as usual, but Whisper pushed it slightly back into the back of her head, but still fresh in her mind. You could never be too cautious in the Tangle, it didn't have a reputation for no reason.

[Little Sparrow]

"I don't mind if you stay, but would you mind taking your hood off? I would prefer to know the face of my companion, for safety reasons, you see. You don't have to take your cloak off or anything, of course. Is that okay?"

Cloti's eyes narrowed and she stiffened a little. Safety reasons... the shifter did not know about the Song, or at least she didn't know that she was part of the Song. Normally, she'd ask the same of a hooded person, just in case they could be of further reference or help--or harm. You could always kill her later... Lluvia sang to her. The idea was a very standard one, if you couldn't trust them, kill them, but she was still human and she wasn't comfortable with taking lives so easily.

As if the forest wanted to make her mind up for her, she turned at a bird's call, recognizing it easily. It was a dove, a sign of security; she could trust the shifter. It didn't mean that she wasn't going to take precautions, however. If worst came to worst, she could trust the sparrows, always trust the sparrows, especially if you could converse with them.

"On one condition," The avian shaman held up a long finger, "You tell me what your name is." That way, it would go both ways. The shifter gets to see her face and she gets the shifter's name--just in case she needed to fish her out of the sea for something like, oh, perhaps an information leak? Heck, she was only one avian shaman in a whole sea of them, her name didn't even fit the one that Quirinoh had put up.

[Whisper]

"On one condition. You tell me what your name is."

Whisper sighed, it seemed she wasn't the only paranoid one. Maybe she should give her her middle and standard fake name; Laurel. It's not like this was th first time she'd given it out, and Whisper wouldn't really be lying about her name... Whisper sighed once more, she hated lying, though she was very good at it. "My name is Laurel, if you must know, Laurel Dagen." Whisper looked up to the rapidly setting sun. "I should probably start a small fire, it's getting late, and I'm hungry...." As if in agreement, Whisper's stomach growled pitifully. Pulling out her dagger, Whisper continued, "I need to hunt, but what will I do with the kit?"

[Little Sparrow]

The avian shaman's keen ears picked up the sigh; the shifter seemed none too happy about her conditions. It was fine if she refused, but if she wanted to see her face, she would have to agree to the conditions. Perhaps she had been anticipating this question or hoping that it wouldn't come, being embarrassed of her own name. She knew that it wasn't a big chance that anyone would ignore the question--whether for etiquette or mere caution. This was after all, the Tangle.

"My name is Laurel, if you must know, Laurel Dagen."

Cloti's lips tugged in a smile, well, that wasn't so hard. Laurel was hardly a name to be ashamed of and now that she knew the shifter's name, she took off her hood, wrapping each finger around the rim and taking it off slowly, exposing the strands of wavy black hair shoved to either side of her head. Now only a bare hint of a smile touched her lips as gray eyes scrutinized the shifter without the shadow of the hood. The sun was setting, but its dying amber rays did not penetrate the avian shaman's olive complexion; she was glad for that too.

"I should probably start a small fire, it's getting late, and I'm hungry...."

Cloti raised an eyebrow in agreement to Laurel's growling stomach. She herself wasn't too hungry, but didn't have any food on her; she had planned this to be a day-trip. Under the cloak, her body tensed as the shifter drew the dagger. She couldn't help it, it was a natural reflex. "I can deal with the kit; you go ahead." She told the shifter, giving her a quick nod and making a mental note to make sure that Laurel didn't feel like stabbing her back when she wasn't looking. Couldn't have that happening, could she?

[Whisper]

"I'll deal with the kit, you go ahead."

Whisper nodded with a small smile, and set the kit gently in the shaman's arms, glancing at her deep complexion. As Whisper walked away, her senes stayed on hyper alert, the shaman was nice, but trustable? Nobody knows.
Whisp gripped her wicked dagger tighter as she flitted into the thick of the tangle, glancing this way and that, and occasionally sniffing for any scent of an animal. Abrubtly, she stopped, sniffing again, then smiling brightly. There was a deer herd nearby, probably near the creek, she guessed, hearing the quiet gurgle of a distant water source. Smiling darkly, Whisper stalked into the clearing, balancing on the tips of her toes, leaning into a hunter's crouch. Soon enough, the herd came into view, and Whisp licked her lips in hunger. Slowly, Whisper brought her arm back, and, with a movement so quick it was a blur, Whisper flung her dagger at the largest buck, cutting it deeply in the neck. The buck gasped quietly and fell with a thud, causing the rest of the herd to panic and flee. Whisper ran over to the buck and knelt next to him, whispering a small prayer of thanks as the buck's kicks became less frequent and more feeble. Whisper laid a hand gently on his warm neck as his eyes glazed over. Sighing, Whisper pulled out her dagger, wiped it on her hem, and stood up, heaving the buck onto her back. Slowly, Whisper made her way back to the campground, thinking of ways to cook the buck.