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 Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 10:44 am
 Meoquanee woke with a startled start. It was many hard lessons, but she came awake all at once. The microraptor held absolutely still ready to run as she tried to figure out what woke her up. As she took stock of her surroundings she realized she had a very large furry presence on her left and a smaller familiar furry presence on her right. The smaller one clearly had to be Tahnee.
She heard a snort, or was it a purr?, from the larger one. As her mind caught up Meo realized it was Caesar. So it hadn't been a dream! They'd feasted, then napped, and then ate some more. As night had fallen she'd curled up comfortably between her two feline companions.The tiny mare lifted her head and looked around. It was dark and she could easily see the stars. Other than their odd quartet, they appeared to be alone. As was her habit though she listened for signs on danger.Tahnee, sensitive to her friend, also woke when the mare startled out of sleep. She lay there for a time, but as Meo didn't sound an alarm she slowly relaxed. The lion could still sense the mare's watchfulness. "Is everything ok?" She whispered, hoping not to wake their new companions. They'd gone to sleep with very full bellies and a sense of security they'd never felt before.Meo smiled knowing she couldn't slip anything by the watchful cat. She kept her voice low as well. "No Tahnee. Old habits die hard I guess. Or I heard that giant lump over there." She wanted to laugh, but kept it bottled in. How lightly did Caesar and Cleo sleep? She intended to stick around to find out.
"The stars are very bright tonight Tahnee." Sometimes, when they woke in the middle of the night they would spend hours talking.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 11:21 am
 Caesar opened an eye as he heard the voice of their two new friends. Stretching out his fore legs the big striped tom let out a yawn. His golden eyes glowed in the moonlight. "Are you both okay?" He whispers rolling over slightly in to a more upright position. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I often make noises in my sleep." He chuckles looking up at the sky, the stars were so bright tonight he couldn't help think that someone had sent all of the diamonds in the ground in to the sky.
He moves sleepily and pulls Meoquanee towards his chest, holding her tightly he starts to groom the little bird gently. "You can sleep soundly you know? I won't let anything hurt you in the dark." He yawns again stretching out his massive jaw and flashing rows of pale teeth.Cleo clicks her jaw from above "Don't you all know what night time is?" She yawns looking down from her lofty branches. "Also stop grabbing the poor little mare you're going to squash her." she ruffles her feathers noisily.Caesar looks down at Meoquanee his tongue once again stuck between his teeth from his massive yawn. "Sorry I used to do that to Cleo all the time that's why she sleeps up there." He slowly releases the little red bird though he was resisting carrying on grooming her.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 12:06 pm
Meoquanee glanced guiltily up as a deep voice joined in on the conversation. "Yes we're ok. Just habit to keep an ear out. I heard you and woke up. Don't be sorry, it's just how I am. I'm sorry I woke you." She meekly submitted as he picked her up like a little toy and started grooming her. It was like Tahnee's grooming...... Only much much bigger! Now that she wasn't afraid of him, she didn't mind it. "I know," she got out between his licks. It would probably take some time before she wasn't so jumpy at night.
She winced as a fourth voice spoke up and sounded irritated. "I'm sorry Cleo. I didn't mean to wake anyone." Now she'd done it! The tiny mare meekly laid her head down on the nearest giant forepaw. "I don't mind it," she reassured him. Unfortunately she was a little too big to go sleep in a tree. How many times could she have avoided danger if only she'd been able to get up higher?! Tahnee was lucky she could climb. Sometimes she wished her pseudo-wings would work and she could fly like the birds she watched.
Tahnee lost her back rest as Caesar stole her little mare. She got up and stretched, flexing her claws into the ground before moving to jump up on him. "At least he'll get her grooming done much faster than I could." The lion kneeded her spot carefully then circled around before settling down. She glanced up at the bird. "I'll have you know, her waking up at night saved our skins more times than I'd like to admit. You've had it soft with Caesar to protect you."
Meo blinked as her feline took a bit of a sharper tone with the bird. "It's nothing really. I'll be quieter from now on if I wake up at night." She didn't want anyone mad already.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 12:28 pm
Caesar chuckles and goes back to grooming the little bird for another few moments before piping in. "Don't mind her, she knows I'm mostly nocturnal. She just finds it hard to adjust when I don't sleep through the night." He looks at Tahnee and nods "I understand, its hard out here when you can't defend yourself very well. He licks Tahnee on the head for a few moments letting her get comfortable before returning his attention to Meo.
"You don't have to be sorry little bird, I won't get mad at you for obeying your instincts. Cleo is just a grumpy guess when she wakes up. Actually she's a perminant grump so don't feel too offended."The blues bird hisses an audible sound of shifting feathers as she tucked her head back beneath her wings. "Well excuse me for being diurnal." She huffs settling herself back down to listen to the conversation. The big striped cat chuckles. "So, while we are awake, why don't you tell me where you came from? The stars can light the conversation and lead the way to enlightenment." he rumbles his voice a gentle murr with a soft purr mixed in.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 3:16 pm
Meoquanee found the gentle grooming soothing and started to lean into it. "You are?" She asked mostly surprised. It had been lucky for them he'd been awake yesterday when he was! She felt sympathy for Cleo though. Meo would have been happier to have been diurnal herself, but her circumstance prevented that. The tiny mare tended to catch catnaps when she could. It meant a very irregular schedule.
She pondered his question a moment. "I-I think Tahnee might be able to answer that a bit better than I could." The memories from way back when were fuzzy.
Tahnee huffed a bit, "well cats are suppose to be nocturnal. How did you two get together anyhow?" It was a strange coincidence that two felines had adopted two birds. Not totally unheard of, but rare enough. "Your excused Cleo. I know most birds are active during the day." She was comfortable and purred when he included her in the grooming.
"Mmmmm." She settled herself to think a bit. "I found her wandering in the woods all alone one night. She couldn't have been out of her basket more than 3 or 4 days I would guess. How she managed to survive that long I'll never know." She wasn't sure about enlightenment, but starlight was nice. "There was a human village nearby if I recall correctly. I never found any trace of her parents."
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 4:18 am
Caesar paused in his grooming and stretched out his paws for a moment before tucking Meoquanee in to his chest with is paws. "You must have been tiny." He whispers, he was still sort of in awe about how little she was, certainly he had run in to smaller ponies before, if anything most ponies were short to him he'd met very few that actually stood shoulder to shoulder with him but she was exceptionally small. She did seem like a little fragile bird and he desperately wanted her to sleep a peaceful sleep.
"Yes I am a cat after all, we like to hunt at night, I just, felt restless yesterday so I got up." He smiles looking up at the tree where his bird companion was resting. "Cleo come down, I promise not to groom you."The blue bird lifted her head from under her wing and looked down at the three below her. "Well if you must have my company." She huffs and opens her wings alighting on his back by the other feline. "He rescued me like he did to you pair. He doesn't eat anything small and defenceless its his idiotic code."Caesar chuckles and licks Cleo quickly "It's not idiotic to want o protect those weaker than you." He smiles and Tahnee and shakes his head "I was born live to a small pack in the mountains but humans didn't like us so close to their encampments. We moved further in to the colder climes and I slowly lost them one by one. Once they were gone there was no need to keep on climbing so I decided I'd decend in to the forests instead. That's when I started tracking this thing that was killing for the sake of it, decided to use my strength and track it down, that's when i found Cleo she'd a busted wing so I saw her back to health and she decided to stay with me. She's kind of like my nanny she makes sure I don't get in too much trouble." He grins."Ugh Caesar, it'll take forever to preen my feathers back in to shape." He huffs ruffling her feathers and slowly starting to preen her feathers back in to shape again. "He shrugs it off but he really hates to see anything little being bullied." She smiled at the big cat. "He's a protector, he just needs protecting too sometimes. He needs a pack again, being a lone moggy doesn't do him any favours." She whispers returning to her preening.
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 8:29 pm
Meoquanee was the happiest and contentedness she'd ever been in her whole life. When Caesar paused the grooming she shifted around, tucking her legs comfortably under her and settling herself right under the warm chest of the huge tomcat. Few times when she'd felt safe enough to be this relaxed. Her eyes closed and she gave soft cheeps. His whisper was just enough to prevent her from falling asleep again. "Very," she replied. Even Tahnee had seemed big at the time! Although she'd grown slightly larger than the cat.
"I don't mind being nocturnal with you Caesar." It worked out in the end for her. She'd just have to remember to keep quieter so as not to bother Cleo. The tiny mare smiled as Cleo came down to join them. "Thank you, it feels complete now." Lucky for them there was enough of the tom to go around for everyone! "I like that code." She listened to his story, saddened. It was tragic that he'd lost his family, but at least he'd known them. She wasn't even sure about hers.
"I'm sorry you lost your family Caesar. It's very hard to be alone. I don't know what I would have done without Tahnee. Despite caring for me for so long, she's been a true friend." The top of her head feathers tickled the underside of his throat as she peeked around to look up at Cleo. "I'll be his pack! I mean if one can be a pack?" She was now wide awake. To feel this way always? No way she'd turn it down!
Tahnee lifted her head to watch the bird join her on the cat's back. She laughed as the male got a swift lick in anyhow. The lion threw a leg over the raptor and drew her close. "Here I'm smaller and have a bit more finesse with my tongue. Let me help you. Plus I never promised not to groom you, and I have plenty of practice with feathers." She set to work gently working the feathers into place as she cleaned the bird. Tahnee wanted to show that she held no hard feelings to the blue bird.
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Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2016 10:49 am
Caesar watched for a long quiet moment as the smaller cat groomed his friend. She may have been a grump but she was a good friend. "I thought that was already decided." He nods an affirmative, his golden eyes looked down at the little red bird between his forepaws. "You're my pack, I protect my pack." He smiles "You don't have to be nocturnal for me, I have no real preference, day night, with family I'm easy." He yawns a toothy yawn. "If you need to sleep I'll stay up and keep watch if that makes you feel safe."Cleo settled herself down and let the smaller cat straighten her feathers. She smiled, a contended burble echoing from her throat. It was actually quite nice to be groomed. "Strange pack." She chuckles pulling her wings in close."All packs are different Cleo, a pack is a family it doesn't matter what it looks like." He purrs.
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Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2017 3:24 pm
Meoquanee wanted to giggle as Tahnee got to groom the blue bird, but stifled it in the orange fur of Caesar so as not to upset her again. It pleased her very much that they all got along so well. Once under control of herself again, she lifted her face out of the fluffy fur. Meo gave a contented sigh as the tomcat confirmed that they were officially a pack. Never again would she or Tahnee have to fear for their lives. Caesar would always stand before her and protect her from anything.
She glanced up at the bright night sky, thinking and reflecting on the moment. Life was perfect in her little world. "I feel safe with you. Maybe just a quick nap. The sun will probably be coming up soon." Her little internal clock told her it'd be so. Contented she tucked her head into the feathers of a front leg and quickly dropped to sleep.
Tahnee purred as the group slowly settled back into slumber. Somehow now much closer than it had before. She cracked an eye to glance at them all curled up into a large ball of fur and feathers. It amused her to think what another soq might think they were if they were happened upon like this. She tucked Cleo in beside her and wrapped her tail around the other side. Yes they were a pack.
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