Hey, play with me! [open]

[~Tobi~]

The little one stops to climb a tree

Tobi ran as hard as he could to save his furry butt, and as he has guessed, a few seconds and Hatter was right behind him. He still felt just a little more secure with a panther between him and the mean man. Tobi's legs were really starting to ache, he doubted he had ever run this much at one time in his life. And he didn't want to again until he was a bit bigger. But it probably would not be here. No, the cons outweighed the pros for this place. Oh, how he detested being so small. Why couldn't he shift in to a big cat right away? It wasn't fair. Being small was dangerous. It makes you so helpless. Then he felt something on the back of his neck, and his feet weren't on the ground anymore. For a second, he thought he had been caught. But it didn't feel like hands, and he wasn't listed up as high as the man probably would have lifted him.

He realized, blinking, that he was in Hatter's mouth. Again. Gosh, this was kind of humiliating, but funny at the same time. He almost pouted, but that would be an odd movement in the situation. Tobi almost panicked as he was thrown back, it seemed to him like Hatter was about to leave him for the guy to get, just to be out of the way. He was a bit of a paranoid kid. And then breathed a sigh of relief when he hit the black fur. He adjusted himself carefully so he wouldn't fall off, and wasn't completely uncomortable. Not the easiest thing in the world when what you're riding is a speeding panther. He glanced back to see how far ahead they were, and was pleased to see that the distance between them made the man look pretty small. Almost home free, they just had to get off the ranch.

They veered from their fence path, and went in to one of the tiny establishments scattered about the land. He wondered what anyone who might be sitting out would think of the sight that would greet them. Certainly an odd one. Especially if they were normal people. Then that would probably cause trouble. His parents had warned him repeatedly to steer clear of them. He didn't understand why though. But he wanted to avoid as much trouble as possible, of course. The reaction they got however, was not high on the list of what he would have thought. "Hatter! I thought I told you to stay out!" Tobi looked at the person and cocked his head in confusion. No doubt some long story he wouldn't find out. He was again surprised when Hatter appeared to panic a little, and ran a little faster.

Why was he still running? They had gotten away from the guy, or so it seemed. The child didn't like being confused, and decided to speak up. "We're away from the mean person now, I think you can stop. Why did that person yell at you?" He batted lightly at the panthers shoulder to get his attention, in case he didn't hear the tiny voice.

[{ Hatter]

With his ears flattened against his head in fear, Hatter kept on running. He fled from the small buildings that were scattered all around. But he felt a little tapping on his back. We're away from the mean person now, I think you can stop. Why did that person yell at you? The innocence in the small snow leopard's voice made Hatter realize that the tiny kititran was still there. He had almost forgotten. But how to explain why the person yelled at him? The panther did not stop. Instead, he made a hard right, heading to weave through some of the buildings and go toward the very edge of one of the fields of crops. Nearly out of breath, but in condition to run the way he was, Hatter said, "Let's just say I have a history."

As they rounded nearer to the edge of the field of what Hatter could now see was tall stalks of corn, the panther took up the path along the fence once again. But as the huge cat attempted to slow down, he lost his footing, and was forced to jump the short fence into the cornfield. There, Hatter toppled to the ground, and spilled off the cub that had been on his back. And there the panther lay, on his side, head resting on the hard ground, looking at the many stalks of corn that he had just destroyed. The path of downed stalks led directly to him.

You should've when you could've.

[~Tobi~]

The little one stops to climb a tree

Despite the little snow leopards words, Hatter did not stop. What was going on there? They were far enough from both of the people now. Let's just say I have a history." A. . .History? What did he mean by that? Judging by the fact that the woman didn't seem to like him, he guessed Hatter had done something unfavorable, involved with the person. Tobi wondered how many other people didn't like him because of something he had done. Did people not like Tobi? He did seem to cause a lot of trouble. But no one ever yelled at him unless he had done something particularly problematic.

Tobi stopped pondering when they came to the fence. He expected to stay along it, although he didn't understand why Hatter was still running. He was definitely not expecting to jump the fence though. He tumbled off the panther's back, rolling a little ways through the corn. "Oof." Tobi groaned, getting up and shaking loose bits of grass and dirt from his fur. He padded over quietly and sat next to the black head. He figured he was probably becoming somewhat of a pest to the man, but he was a curious child. What are you gonna do? And this guy had just saved Tobi from plummeting to a messy death, and from getting caught by a guy with a pitchfork. He was gonna stick around.

[{ Hatter]

Hatter continued to lay on the ground in the position that he had fallen, on his side with his legs heading any which way. His body rose and fell with his every, labored breath. From his position of laying on the ground, one could really see how thin he was, and how deprived of food he looked. But he only looked that way. He wasn't fed well, but he was fed nonetheless. He hunted his own food. He did not get up, but merely lifted his head when the small snow leopard padded over toward him. "Sorry about that." the panther said quietly. He struggled to his oversized feet, looming over the cub in the process. Why was he such a klutz? He didn't get it. He was perfectly fine most of the time. It was only the important times when he seemed to have his left hand curse.

The huge black cat looked down at Tobi. "We should probably be getting out of here now. Out of the ranch. Off of their land." Hatter was worried that he might be reported for causing trouble yet again. He'd gotten in trouble before here, and he didn't want to get actual consequences this time. He took a step toward the fence which he had hurtled over. "And preferably you away from me." His tone was honest. He wasn't saying that the little leopard kitten was bothering him, he was just concerned that he might be a very bad influence on the young one. "For your own good, of course." he added, just to make it clear that he wasn't insulting Tobi. "Where do you even live?" Hatter began walking toward the fence, and in the process, he shifted and stood to his full height in his human form. He reached the fence, and with a fluid motion, put one hand on it and vaulted himself over it. He looked back to see if the other was following, and straightened his brown top hat.

You should've when you could've.