
Amongst the small crowd at the market that hot day was a korat. This korat would have been less conspicuous had he not insisted on wearing a scarf to cover his neck and mouth. This korat was carrying a small basket of apples, his favorite fruit. This korat was an ANBU operative with an extended period of less than stellar activity within the organization, mostly due to pregnancies or members suddenly missing in action with no explicable reason. This korat was preoccupied with such thoughts (as he usually was), and was not quite as careful as he should have been.
This korat, trained to track, sneak undetected, and all but fly from tree limb to tre limb, tripped.
It was just a slight lift between two slabs of sidewalk, but that was all that was needed. While this korat, Takashi, was quick to react and catch himself, his apples were overflowing the basket almost, and more than a handful fell out. The tom winced slightly as he saw several of them become bruised with the impact.
This, and the heat was bearing down on him. What an excellent day. He sighed to himself and began to pluck his fallen snacks up.