In order to gain a better grip, Mirri turned and walked away from the fridge, claws gripping the floor. She wasn't watching Ciaran and couldn't see the fridge door. What she did notice, was that after several determined steps, the tie went rather suddenly slack...

With a yowl of surprise, Ciaran flew backwards, bowling into the unfortunate Sekhmet and nearly sprawling his entire body across a bewildered Jinx. The ice box had split open with a short of squelch, and then a pop. Slightly dazed, the Abyssinian turnied his head to Mirri.

Pulling away from the ice box with her claws digging into the floor Mirri found herself moving speedily towards said floor and was soon pancake sprawled beneath one of the kitchen chairs. She grunted with a voice somewhat lower than her usual tone.

"There had better be fish in there."

Unable to scramble aside in time to dogde Sekhmet gave an irritated growl as she found herself knocked aside. She'd planned to help but they'd been in such a rush. Regaining her feet she groomed at her 'fur' in an irritated manner before moving to look inside their newly opened treasure. Tail swishing in indignation she examined their prizes. A tall white and red carton sat in the door, two small dessecated 'fruits' were in the bottom drawer, the upper shelves seemed filled with small plastic boxes, but just what was in them she had no idea.

Quintus looked for a few minutes and then, finding nothing of use, stared blankly in thought of Jinx's words, as the cats below the sill he was on before desperately tried to do whatever they could to survive Which is perceived by the rest of the world, as cute cats messing around. XD. The thought of a new "Eccentric" never occurred to him after the night he had been rescued.
-Flashback-
For every scrap of food Quintus got back then, he got three scratches from other cats in return: it was a dangerous place, especially for a kitten like he was in the past. Quintus grew up to be a strong and nameless cat...but one day the luck ran out: a bunch of drunk "Eccentric"s were using Bang Knives in the alley, but they weren't "Eccentric". Their blades rang so loudly that by the time Quintus realized that the boys were aiming for him, he jumped into their arms in fear. They tied Quintus to a post and carved him with their knives. "Eccentric", the true Eccentric, arrived just in time. The drunks ran out of bullets, and in the shininess came "Eccentric", who cared enough to cover the scars before finally introducing me to the other four cats, and Quintus fit in as Quintus, the fifth cat.
-end flashback-
Quintus looked on as Sekhmet began to go inside the white box "They work fast," he thought, and then hopped to the windowsill to finally answer Sekhmet's question. "Nothing. I just like the old one."

Mirri stood up from her throw-rug position on the floor, leaving behind a noticibly dust free patch beneath the table. Getting her feet beneath her she finally shook her body, the coat of dust she had been wearing now dispursing in a cloud around her, making her look a little more like a cat and less like an abandoned throw pillow. When the dust settled, she paced over to where Sekhmet was examining the fridge. She turned up her nose just a little bit at what she saw, or what she didn't see. One ear flicked in the direction where Quintus was talking.

"Eccentric was good. We might find another one, but I don't know of any more here." She sniffed in the direction of a small glass picher with the remains of the cream that had been set on the table in the morning. "The other mans seemed to think he was a different breed."

"Knowing 'other man', Eccentric probably was...but that was a good thing," Quintus said, spotting a glint from below the cabinet of trinkets. Jumping down, again, from the sill, Quintus ran over to the glint of light. Pawing at the light, Quintus found something that he didn't expect to find. It was like a long metal stick with a piece pointing out on each side. (basically, it's a window crank) Quintus toyed with it for a second, taking interest, and then brought it back up to his sill in order to try using it on the gap in the window.

(( Hay Guys I don't have a computer so I don't know how often I will be able to get on. I am giving you permission to god mod Jinx as you please, I will just catch up later. ))

Giving up on identifying the random boxes Sekhmet looked around. "Well, really, all of this is purely academic in nature.... We're quite capable of doing what needs to be done to survive. And now that we've a way out, and the ice-box open two of main concers are taken care of. I think, while I let my dinner digest, I'm going to tackle the tome I pulled out yesterday."

Leaving the kitchen she sauntered back to the room full of books. The one she's started previously was sitting open on a raised mat and had excellent light. She would never admit it, but this one was taxing even her excellent vocabulary. Silly writer this Chaucer, whomever speaks like this?

Mirri nosed around in the fridge, decidely less than satisfied with what she saw. Giving up the inspection she padded over to where Quintus was toying with the window latch and, sitting on a nearby shelf, continued her staring out the window, eyes watching the people as they strode around, the bags they carried, the hats on their heads, the other people they spoke to, every once and a while her eyes spotting someone who would look towards the shop for just a little bit longer than passing glance.

She didn't say as much, but she in part hoped and in part feared that the other men might know about what happened to their Eccentric. She had seen more than enough dead or crippled animals and scratched her share of children's hands that reached roughly for her kits to know that some men were careless and others nasty as angry racoons.

She ignored Quintus, preferring to wait until he asked for help if he needed any.

Tiny ears flickered back and forth as small sounds reached them. Sounds of other cats moving around caused tiny blue eyes to open slowly.

On the top shelf of one of the book shelves, a white, brown, and black head peeked over some dusty books. Blue eyes peered out and a little pink nose twitched. Standing up slowly the kitten, known as Rin, wobbled her way over to a small opening she made. Glancing down at the long drop, she shuffled back and let out a small mew. It was a very long way down, and it was a scary sight.

Her ear twitched at a small sound. Normally, has she been fully engrossed in her tome Sekhmet wouldn't have heard it...but this one was taking too much work. Peering up she grumbled as her eyeglasses made the distance blurry. Pawing them off she looked up into the shelves and spotted the tiny bit of fluff all the way up on the shelf that housed The Bard and a few selected contemporaries.

Thankfully, the bookcase was her playground, she knew how to best get up there without any undo effort. A few jumps and a scrabble or two and she was nearly nose to nose with the tiny kit. "Hello there, doing a bit of research on the tragedies?"

Jinx wiggled his way from underneath the other cat. By the time he was free he realized that the others had already investigated the ice box. He stood in front of its chill no longer interested in it as it stopped posing a challenge. He then took his route back to the window ledge. With an eager wag he continued to watch the Eccentrics below. Most of them had disappeared with the onslaught of aerial water. He then leap from his perch and bounced into the other room where Sekment and Rin where. Sneaking past them Jinx decided to go and investigate the rest of the shop for other things. He didn’t know what he would find but another Eccentric would have been nice. Quietly, jinx made his way up the stairs into the upper parts of the shop where the Eccentric used to call home.

Rin stared at the sphinx in front of her before replying. "Rin is stuck!" Her small stump of a tail twitched and her fur puffed up for a second. "How does Rin get down?" she questioned the other feline.

Ciaran was padding softly after Jinx, planning on resuming his stacking of the brown boxes, when he remembered he'd need help. The kit wouldn't help much, he assumed...

He bounded down the stairs to find Rin and Sekhmet on the upper levels of the bookshelf, and clambered up.

Hearing the noises in the other room and with Quintus apparently having the contraption in hand, Mirri went to investigate. From the floor she looked up to see Sekhment clinging to the bookcase - nothing at all unusual there - and Rin tucked away in a shelf in the very top. That might be something of a feat for the litte kitten.

Sitting on the floor and curling her tail around her toes, Mirri looked up at the pair. "You missed breakfast Rin," she said simply, though there was still the remnants of the cream in the icebox.

Fiddling with the sill and the crank, Quintus worked hard, trying to focus on his task as much as possible until the crank finally stopped falling out of the gap left by the slightly ajar window. He looked back at the busy cats and grinned as much as a cat could saying, "I finally got it. If you guys really want to go outside, we now can do so."
Looking at the cats, Quintus saw that they were also hard at work, as he was a few minutes ago...except they were trying to get Rin down from the ledge, again. "Sigh. Rin, if you don't know how to get down once you get up, why go up in the first place?"
Quintus sighed again as he felt his stomach grumble. "Speaking of breakfast, I didn't have mine either." Quintus jumped from the ledge onto the floor and walked, at a fast pace, towards the icebox to see if he could get anything besides cream, which he had the day before.

"It's cool and comfy up here!" Rin chirped at Quintus. Rin once again looked down the shelf and wiggled backed up to where she couldn't see. She gave Jinx and Ciaran a small smile. "We go down now, yes?" her small tail stub wiggling.

"Yes, we go down now." Grabbing the kit's scruff Sekhmet made her way down, careful of the small bundle in her mouth. Setting Rin down she eyed her critically, "I know it's hard to get down, but don't let them yell at you over it. If you get stuck again just call and I'll get you down." Giving Quintus The Look she snorted, "As if you never treed yourself, give the kit a break."

Rin purred at Sekhmet and gave her a small nuzzle. "Thank you!" she said as she bounded off to find something to do, and to get away from the tempting tall bookshelf.

A somewhat young Ragamuffin cat flicked her bushy tail in slight annoyance and sadness as she pawed her way down the nearly-empty street; her paws dusty and weary from traveling far. She sat back on her haunches and licked the front of her chest swiftly before raising her head and watching a couple of birds flip through the air far above. Her stomach rumbled, but she ignored it; as she had done the past couple of days. Her ears suddenly twitched to a new sound, and her head followed. A young child was eagerly stepping up to pet her, and she stood up and let out a small welcoming purr. Her head reached up to greet his hand, and the feeling of him gently stroking her silky fur caused her back to arch up to him. Her tail swished happily and she mewed softly. "Please take me home?" She whimpered softly in her mind.

She longed for the company of a human, a warm lap to lay on, fresh food every night...She'd heard stories about the life from other cats, and it fueled her need. How could a human resist her? She was healthy, young; not quite a kitten but close enough to be able to live a full cat's life with a human...

The little human boy heard a call from somewhere down the street, and he quickly jumped up, scampering away from the sad, disheartened Ragamuffin. The cat let out a sad meow, and continued making her way down the street.

It didn't take Rin long to find something to do. After she wondered away from the bookshelf, she looked everywhere for something to play with. It took her all but ten minutes to find it. A bell. One that used to hang on the shop door, it would jingle to let others know someone has entered or left. The bell was under some stand and it took her a great effort to squeeze under it. Finally being able to reach the round object she batted it out from under the stand then climbed out after it. The chase was on.

Across the dusty floor, gliding over carpets, the bell tinkled and rang as it was pawed, pushed, and batted everywhere. Rin happily chased the silver orb every where it went. Even under counters and chairs.

At one point she nearly got stuck. She lost the bell under a low counter and went after it. She squeezed her head under and found it was far too tight for her. Using her hind legs she pulled her self free before pondering on how to get her bell back.

Looking around the room she saw a thin stick like object with a flat spatula like end. A fly swatter. It was perfect and thin, yet study enough to push the bell out. Dragging the swatter over to the counter, she laid down on her side, grabbing hold of the spatula part, and whacked at the bell. It was hard work considering how small she was but she managed. The handle of the swatter hit the bell dead on, sending it flying out from under the counter and over to a door. The moment the bell was free, Rin was off after it. She didn't realize just how close to the door her bell was, and ran right into it, causing more bells to jingle and one more to fall loose and hit her on the head.

OOC: ooo. that's got to hurt
Quintus grinned at Sekhmet's words. The he did tree himself one time but instead of being taken down by Eccentric, who was with the other cats, he had to retrace his steps which took him over an hour. Quintus only got halfway down the tree before Eccentric realized that the fifth cat was even in the tree, and he took him down from the tree after. Quintus made sure that it didn't happen again.
"Huh," Quintus grunted before turning back to the crank. He looked out the window and saw something that he didn't think he would ever see again in his lifetime. His heart began to beat at a dangerous pace as his paws moved on their own, wedging the crank down to move the window up. Fitting his head through the gap, he pulled the window up and followed his heart to what his eyes had seen traveling down the street: a calico cat.

Mirri's eyes followed Quintus as heh squeezed through the window and ran across the street. She perched on the sill, leaning her head down and watching out the bottom of the window. She didn't persue the other cat, however, and instead kept an eye focused on Quintus and an ear focused on the sound of Rin's bell.

Periodically, she made glaces towards the gaps between the houses on either side of the shop, and pondered the forest just beyond them.


(yeah. Mirri is one of those sit and stare cats. Does that a lot.)

This mysterious Calico cat, flicked her tail as she walked; a tiny hint of the scent of another cat caught her attention. It wasn't enough to be alarmed, however, so she didn't think anything of it. The smell was fresh, but far.

As she neared a slightly opened window, however, the scent thickened, and she raised her nose to the smell. Just before she saw the two cats spying on her, she heard a loud crash of some metallic objects from inside the door she was standing next to. She leapt a foot into the air and skidded off the sidewalk and into the road. Staring at the door with her back arched in terror, she didn't notice the delivery courier headed in her direction.

((Not quite positive about time zone here, I figured "Delivery Courier" was pretty time-zone independent.))

Rin slowly stood up and wobbled around trying to get her barrings. "Ow.." She haunched down then shook herself out to get rid of the dizziness that plagued her.

After the world stopped spinning she looked up at the spot in the window where felines were jumping out. Leaving her bell, and attacker where they were she slowly climbed up to see what they were doing.

Outside was a calico in the street, back arched and ready for an attack. Not far from the cat was a vehicle headed towards the feline. "Is she gonna fight the metal monster? It's gonna squish her!" Her eyes had a small look of terror in them as she watched.

((I thought he opened the window and was looking out @-@ ))

((No, I jumped out the window already XD ))
The sound of the bell, inside, scarred of the Calico cat into the street before Quintus could even touch the ground.
"Blasted cats!" Quintus thought, in anger. That anger, however, quickly turned into fear when a Delivery Courier Truck was heading directly towards the Calico cat.
Images flashed before Quintus' eyes ending with the death of one who he found to be truly beautiful, a cat among cats. There was no Eccentric to save her and without so much as a thought, he rushed towards the sidewalk, and in turn the street. Knowing that he couldn't possibly make it in time, he did the one thing a cat could do.
"MOVE!!!" he screeched, hoping that the words, if not the tone, would get her out of the way of what would be certain doom.

Ciaran was out the window before Quintus even heard anything; with a snarl, he made a mad dash towards the strange cat, shouldering her and sending her tumbling towards the other side of the street. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the the metal monster a mere few taillengths away, pushed off the sour-smelling black ground with one leg, and careened straight into a streetlight.

He could've sworn he saw stars. And the monster had passed so closely that he had felt the breeze on his tail.

On the same side of the street as the strange cat now, Ciaran would later be embarrassed to find that he had passed straight out.

((Yeah, go ahead and do whatever you want with him while he's out cold; I might be gone for a bit.))

Frightened by the site in front of her she had curled up into a ball, eyes closed tight and her paws over her ears. Rin's nub of a tail vibrated with the rest of her body as it shook. She whimpered, to scared to look to see what happened.

"The calico is fine." Mirri said above the bundled kitten (Rin), having moved in from the window to watch out the door. She didn't look at Rin but kept her eyes on the still form of Ciaran, who was on the walk but she could not tell if he was hit or not.

With a strange cat, a limp one, and Quintus currently the only one outside in the possession of his senses, Mirri hopped back over to the window and slid through the opening, squeezing just a little bit to fit through the space Quintus had left.

She kept her carefull eyes on the road, crossing at a brisk trot when no vehicles were coming and no humans were looking this way.

(writing this now but Rin can still interrupt Mirri if she wants to before she leaves through the window)

Rin slowly un-balled herself and peeked out the window. The calico was in deed fine but it looked like someone else was hurt. Slowly and shakily she stood up and followed Mirri out the window and across the street. Her short kitten legs doing the best they could to keep up.

"Did he die?" she asked the older cat.

Having returned to her book Sekhmet had done her best to tune out the various noises her flat-mates were making. Rin was going to find that bell missing if she had much to say.... But when nearly three quarters of the shop went out the window she let out a long suffering sigh.

Feeling a bit of a breeze waft in she nosed into her pile of fur-bits and slid on a ratted grey rabbit cuff. It was a snug fit, but was warmer as it covered most of her upper chest. Leaping quietly to the sill she looked out at the tableau going on in the street. If they needed her they could call, but for now she was going to stay to the high ground.

As the truck seemed to pass straight through the Calico cat, Quintus' heart skipped a beat. As the truck passed in the other direction, half of Quintus wanted to breath a sigh of relief while the other half wanted to roll on the floor laughing.
The Ciaran was busy seeing stars and continuing towards a state of unconsciousness, and the Calico cat seemed to be safe. "However, she hasn't gotten up yet, so I should check on her first," Quintus thought before looking back at Ciaran. "Ciaran has a hard head. He should be fine."
Looking both ways to check for cars, Quintus crossed the street to examine the Calico cat.

Mirri immediately frowned upon seeing the little bobtail follow her out the window. Without answering she picked up the little kit by the scruff of the neck and carried her the rest of the way across the street, movign at a slightly faster pace then before. On the other side of the street she met up with Quintus and put Rin down between her front feet, moving forward slightly to sniff at Ciaran's prone form.

"He's not dead," she announced for the kitten's benefit. "We'll bring him back to the shop."

Remaining close to Ciaran, Mirri watched as Quintus approached the calico cat.

The events passed by so quickly, it was hard to tell what happened next. The Ragamuffin's ears tilted to the sudden call of another cat, then to the sound of a large truck barreling towards her. Not a second later, a ball of fur pressed hard into her shoulder, throwing her onto the sidewalk on the other side of the street. She let out a surprised gasp and quickly flipped onto her feet, her tail poofed from the adrenaline. She looked at the cat who saved her, an Abbyssinian. Her ear flicked as she stared. Why wasn't he waking? Her heart was pounding; not from the events that occured moments before, but because another cat had risked it's life for her, and if he was dead, how could she repay him? She cautiously leaned down and licked the cat's ear, hoping to wake him. With no response, she raised her head and trembled... He had to be okay...

Her thoughts were broken as she smelled another cat approaching, possibly more. She couldn't tell with the dust in her nose. Looking up, she saw a Russian Blue followed by a Norwegian Forest Cat with a kitten in her jaws. She took a step back, fearing the other cats would think this was her fault. It was, somewhat, but how could she have wanted this?

"I'm sorry," she whimpered, flicking her tail and trying to calm down, so she wouldn't appear as a threat to these possibly aggressive cats. "I don't know what happened; I think he saved me." She mewed quietly. "I didn't mean for this to happen..."

She flicked her ears as she heard the Norwegian say to the kitten that the other cat was alive, and let out a sigh of relief.


((So sorry. :C))

Quintus stared quaintly at the calico cat, tilting his head as he did. Everything around him seemed silent as the cat he stared at went on to her apologies. "You heard Mirri already, and Ciaran is a tough cat. He'll be fine. Anyhow, what about you? Are you okay?"
"The sigh of relief seems to indicate that our stray cat, here, is fine." Looking to Ciaran and Mirri, Quintus decided to help carry the unconscious cat to prevent anymore cats from the dangers of Delivery Vans.