Of Fishing Trips and New People || Closed to Nepeta

[olli_lolli]

It was a beautiful day out. So beautiful, in fact, that Jake found it the perfect day to get some sunshine and maybe fish for a bit. It had been a few days since he'd been out, and he was itching to get out of the office for a day to just enjoy nature again. Sure he had class, but he could afford to skip a day. Especially since he wouldn't be out until much later in the day, missing the prime time for fishing. He had talked to Jane about it the night before, and she begrudgingly gave her ok for him to go out as long as he promised not to do his normal 'no cellphone/technology in the wilderness' stint. She wanted regular updates to make sure he didn't drown or anything while attempting to fish in the lake rather than the ocean.

So that morning, before the sun even began rising, Jake packed up his fishing gear and a satchel of food for the day, quietly bidding his girlfriend a goodbye with the promise of an update as soon as he reached the lake and grabbing his bike. The dark-skinned man peddled his way to Lake Sburb across town from his apartment, taking joy in the feel of the cool morning air around him as he made his journey. When he arrived, Jake dismounted his transport and stood it off to the side by the lake. He then took off his satchel and got his pole and line ready, attaching the hook and bait afterward. He sat himself up on the travel stool he brought with and finally cast his line into the water just as the sun was beginning to rise. It sure was beautiful in all its yellows and oranges and pinks. He breathed in deep and got himself settled into the pattern of fishing and enjoying nature as he awaited a bite. 

Comments

cat fishing

[cattobekittenmerightmeow]

Nepeta had been in the woods going on two days now. Summer was officially upon the city, and the call of the wild beckoned her to spend more and more time outside, away from the city and the hustle and bustle that accompanied it.

It was so much quieter in the woods! Or at least that’s how it seemed to people who weren’t listening and watching their surroundings like their life depended on it- because it did depend on it. Nepeta had pitched a tent not far from the lake, and had brought with only the barest of essentials.

She was in the middle of cleaning a fish of her own when she heard the tell tale sound of a human in the woods, and instantly her curiosity was piqued. It wasn’t often that someone made the trip this deep into the woods, all the way out to the far side of the lake. She put down the fish, and crept towards the noise, being very careful to keep herself obscured by branches and long grass.

Whistle While You Work

[olli_lolli]

As the morning grew, Jake enjoyed the rays of the sun on his skin, keeping him pleasantly warm in its embrace. He felt the tug of his line and moved to reel in his first catch. He was patient and diligent, managing to grab the fish with ease and place it in his cooler. It was a good sized one that would make for a delicious dinner that night.

It was so quiet and tranquil out there. Jake breathed in a nice, deep breath of the fresh air, feeling calm and serene, and began whistling as he cast his line once more into the waters, hoping to catch another fish and basking in the solitary feeling surrounding him.

While he was out there, he started losing himself in thought, hardly paying attention to his surroundings, as he wondered about the new friend he'd made as well as his cousin. He also wondered if he would make any more friends. The man had been going out a little more often and even had a date planned out on the town with his girlfriend the next day, but would that help the man make more friends? Or would he stay relatively confined to Jane, Dirk, and Jade? The thought made him a little sad, as Jake simply wanted to befriend more people, preferably those he could engage in a nice bout of fisticuffs with on the occasion.

[cattobekittenmerightmeow]

It took a bit of doing, but Nepeta did eventually find the strangers trail, and once she did she was set to track him down.


When she got sight of him he was sitting down at the edge of Lake Sburb to do some fishing, just as she had been doing earlier that morning.


She watched him for a couple minutes as he got a bite, successfully reeled it in, and walked his catch over to the cooler. When he went back to fishing she shimmied her way up a nearby tree, and out onto a sturdy branch that would assure her the very best view and the utmost detection prevention.... that was unless this stranger were to look up at any point.


Nepeta settled in for some casual person watching, wondering if he would notice her soon, or if she would be given the chance to mess with him a bit before being discovered.

[olli_lolli]

Throughout the time spent fishing, Jake could not shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He got up and looked around multiple times, but couldn't find a single thing, animal, or person that would be causing that feeling within him. So he'd sit back down and continue fishing, catching a few smaller fish here and there and finally nabbing a large one after about an hour.

The young man tried to relax through the sensation, telling himself he was by a lake in the forest. Of course there was probably something watching him. It was filled with animals, and he was probably just being paranoid. No need to share with Jane; she'd just worry. He did his hourly check-in to let her know things were going well and continued looking out into the water, taking in a deep breath and releasing it slowly to relieve himself of his tension.

Hark, what is that noise? Purrhaps a talented bird?

[cattobekittenmerightmeow]

Nep waited until he was good and focused on his fishing before setting a plan into action.

She whistled very quietly for a minute, and waited to see if he would react before doing it just a little bit louder. Her goal was to find just the right volume to make him hear it, but not make it loud enough that he would expect it to be someone else, as opposed to his own imagination. It was a very tight rope to walk, but not something she was thinking about. All of her focus was on the back of his head as she tried to judge any signs of reaction or recognition of her whistling so that she could immediately stop, leaving him confused and unsure if he had even heard anything to begin with.

Did you hear something?

[olli_lolli]

He allowed himself to calm down for several minutes, simply staring out at the water and letting the tension roll through and out of his body, hardly paying any attention to his surroundings. So when he came back to himself, he found that all his relaxing was for naught as he heard a soft whistling noise only for it to stop and start again. He looked around everywhere, trying to find the source, his paranoia of being watched reaching new heights. He'd PROMISED Jane he wouldn't go looking for danger, but danger seemed to find him regardless.

But was it even danger? The logical part of his brain told him to stop for a moment and reevaluate the situation. Maybe someone else was there and whistling to get his attention. The logical response was to whistle back. So whistle back he did, same tone, same volume as he left his line and walked closer to the woods, eyes searching for where the noise was originating.

Re: Did you hear something?

[cattobekittenmerightmeow]

Ah ha! He had heard her whistle! The response he gave was much louder than her own had been, and it was pretty obvious that he was responding and not just subconsciously picking up on it, judging by the way his head was now on a swivel. Nepeta cupped a hand around her mouth as she responded again, in an effort to cast the noise in a different direction and further throw the stranger from her location.

She shifted around on the branch so that she would be in a position to spring out from hiding, should she be discovered, or if she would want to leap out to surprise her would be prey if he was becoming too aware of where she was laying hidden in wait.

Jake the Tracker

[olli_lolli]

Once he'd finished whistling back, he quietly and calmly awaited a response. He was rewarded when he heard one coming from his right, so he turned and begam walking in that direction. He still kept an eye and an ear out for anywhere else and could have sworn he heard rustling coming from his LEFT rather than his right. But he continued in the direction he heard the noise and gave a secondary whistle. When he heard more rustling, Jake stopped in his tracks, staying absolutely still, muscles tensed and ready for attack if need be.

His tracking senses had been honed over the years in the wilderness with his grandma, hunting for food and tracking injured animals to help them. The feeling he was getting now was akin to whenever he was being stalked either by his grandma or by a predator, so he prepared his body for a fight without moving from where he'd stopped.

:33 < *nepeta is a scary ogfur*

[cattobekittenmerightmeow]

"RAAHR!" Nepeta jumped down from the branch in the tree where she had been perched, her fingers extended outwards like claws, in a typical 'watch out, I'm a scary monster,' fashion. She had to hold back the urge to say 'Get out of my swamp,' considering that the land was public owned, and it was a forested lake shore and not a swamp at all.

She didn't say anything else, just waited for response, still in a crouched position, ready to take off if the stranger got mad and tried to rush at her, even if he did seem pretty placid despite her watching him and then fucking with him for the last 20 minutes.

Never Let Your Guard Down

[olli_lolli]

Hearing a loud exclamation, Jake whirled around to come face to face with a girl. Had his grandma not trained him to keep his face impassive when faced with a challenge, his jaw would have dropped open in surprise. As it was, he maintained a defensive position, eyes locked on the young woman in front of him for several moments before deciding to speak.

"Who are you? Are you the one who's been watching me? The one who was whistling?" Remember Jake, what Grandma always said. Don't rush into a fight. Ask questions first to ensure you have reason enough to engage in combat. He retained position, awaiting an answer.

hunt and be hunted

[cattobekittenmerightmeow]

“The name’s Nepeta. Last name Leijon.” She grinned at him as she continued, amused at how startled he seemed to be by her sudden appearance. “I wouldn’t so much as call it watching,” she lifted her fingers to place quotes around the word as she spoke, “so much as I would call it hunting… or purrhaps even stalking you like purrey!”
She laughed to show him she wasn’t serious about that remark and to hopefully ease his guard a bit, “I’ve been camping not to fur away furom here and then aftpurr I tracked you down, I thought it might be fun to mess with you a bit, hence the whistling. It’s not often someone tracks this far into the woods, you know.”