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Rikkes regarded the horse with disgust. He admired most of the equine species, but it should have had the intelligence to recognize the fact that he wasn't really a cat, but instead, more of a mysterious friend. A creature that could be anything it chose. He looked at the piece of snake, unblinking. He knew it wasn't tampered with, so he daintily slipped from his rock, knowing the horse would try and strike him and sauntered up to her hand, taking up and eating it, before returning to his small perch.

Racheal ate more and more of the snake, holding some parts out in her hand for the cat. She placed them down on a smooth rock and stood up, she dusted her hands and reached into Zorro's pounch that he carried in his saddle. Out she pulled a brush. She untacked him fully and brushed his beautiful fur and mane out. She thought of the money she now carried, she could for sure buy real food for once. An apple or an orange or two. She knew that she needed some type of Vitamin in her system before she developed some type of sickness. She had already gotten salmenella before and she also had a bad sickess before that she some how lived through. Not to mention starvation, dehydration, malnurishment, and abuse when she had been imprisoned years back.

Zorro:

Rikkes ate what she gave him, almost grateful- almost. The fact that she had gotten the best of him, not to mention, chained him, made him mentally block any real thanks to her. He blinked as she started to care for her horse. His mind went back to years ago, when the man had forced him to be his mount. He almost wished he could be like that, just a simple horse, with a caring owner, love, affection, and a job to carry the master till death doth part. He sighed mentally and slipped off the rock, walking towards the trees, tail swishing.

Racheal took one glance over her shoulder and slipped on her wrist gloves, they were made of fine leather and cloth. She walked up and grabbed the cat by the back of it's neck. "Hey shape shifter, you need a better disquise if you want to fool someone like me." She said with a smirk, tossing him down and tacking Zorro up again. She knew that her boss would send her back out to try and catch him again, wanting to not be present when he called for her. As she mounted Zorro a small and fraile man rushed up, "Miss! Miss! The shape shifter escaped! Your boss requires you go after him!" The man exclaimed. Racheal slumped, "Okay." She said simply, looking the man over as he noticed the cat. "That cat-" He began. Racheal jumped in, "Is my cat." She said, looking over at Rikkes.

Rikkes cursed himself as she caught him. He knew he should have moved on, but his curiosity had been his downfall. But, he made no attempt to struggle, he knew that if he could buy his time, he'd be fine. But, as a man ran up, his heart sank. His chances of getting out of it again were slim, at least as a simple animal that wouldn't gather much attention. She surprised him further as she defended him. Her cat? The thought of being someone's pet disgusted him, but he was grateful. For one who was supposed to kill him, she had saved his skin twice now. He decided to go with it, meowing and walking up to them, weaving through her legs like he'd seen affectionate cats do to their owners.

Racheal looked down at Rikkes as he passed between her legs, Zorro still resenting the cat. The man looked at her suspiciously, "Your cat aye? So what's his name?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips. Racheal looked down and then looked back up, "His name is Jasper." She thought up quickly, mentally kicking herself for using that name. The man looked her over, "You named your cat after your dead son? Well doesn't it hurt to call him Jasper?" The man asked. Racheal looked down now, avoiding his eyes. She couldn't bear to think of her son. The one she had lost at such a young age. The one she had lost at birth. The man pressed further questions but Racheal didn't answer. She pulled out her sword, "If you ask one more question, I'm going to help you loose 40 ugly pounds really quick." She growled, pointing at his head as she said it. The man nodded fearfully and scampered off, leaving Racheal and Rikkes alone. Racheal mounted Zorro, trying to get comfortable on the hard sadle.

Rikkes blinked, happy she'd scared him off, before gazing up at her. He hated the idea of shifting into anything directly in front of anyone, he meowed his thanks and started towards the trees, hoping she'd let him go. He would reveal himself later, as an animal he was more comfortable with.

Racheal turned Zorro's reigns and kicked his sides, sending the big stallion off in a gallop. Racheal looked over her shoulder at the cat as he slipped out of view. She shook her head. Man she was glad that he didn't ask about Jasper. The wounds were still fresh in her eyes, although it happened a few years back. Racheal rode off in silence, only listening to Zorro's breathing and the sound of his hooves pounding against the hard ground. Jasper was lost at birth, everyone knew and everyone felt sorrowful for the first time mother. Some say they can recall it like it was yesterday. Seeing Racheal screaming and falling to her knees after she found out, the sound of her begging for her son to come back to her, the constant eptiness in her voice and eyes...

Rikkes climbed the nearest tree, to watch her retreating form fade. When she was out of sight, he leapt from the branch, shifting in mid flight into a small red bird. His heart sank as the wind caught his wings and he soared upwards. His left wing hurt considerably, but the fact that he was a shifter made him heal quicker than humans and he had cleaned it as a cat. He followed her swiftly, keeping high in the air.

Racheal could feel another presence, ignoring it though before slipping deep into a forest and out into another huge field. Wildflowers and grass grew tall and thick but it wasn't strong enough to stop Zorro from marching through it. Racheal stopped, jumping off of Zorro and walking over to a small grave that had a head-stone sticking out of the ground. She knelt, kissing her fingers before touching the head-stone. She sighed, trying to force a smile on her face. "I love you sweetheart." She whispered, fighting back tears as she ran her hand over the low cut grass. She took a deep breath, trying to maintain herself so she wouldn't break down in front of Zorro. Feeling her energy though Zorro walked over anyway, nudging her gently as she looked at the ground below her. Racheal put her hand up slowly, touching Zorro's soft nose.

Rikkes glided down, landing on the ground and hopping towards her in the tall grass, unseen. He tilted his head, getting there just in time to see her stroke Zorro's nose. He fluttered up, looking for a suitable perch of some sort.

Everything around her was neutral as she had a silent moment with her son. Even Zorro remained quiet, given that bugs kept flying in his nose and buzzing around his ears. Racheal rubbed her eyes as she got to her feet and dusted her clothes off before mounting Zorro again. She couldn't stay there too long. Grey clouds were steadily rolling in and she knew that it would be raining sooner or later. She sighed, smoothing her hair down before chocking back tears. She only sat there on Zorro as she watched her son's grave. As if waiting for him to get up, as if he were only taking a nap. She blinked away some tears, feeling stronger and stronger with each passing moment she didn't break down into tears. Noticing the small red bird she nodded, glad it wasn't a crow.

Rikkes settled on an old fence post, chirping softly and glancing around, curious why she was here. He could see the grave, but wasn't sure of its significance. Than man had mentioned a son that he died, maybe it was his gave.

Racheal sat straighter on Zorro, going into a fit of denial. She kicked his sides, sending the beautiful horse into a steady gallop. She wasn't aiming to go fast and she wasn't aiming to go to slow. After she got a few feet away she came across a hut, smoke climbing into the air from the chimney. She hopped off Zorro and led him to a small barn, leading him inside before untacking him and setting him off into the pasture. She walked in the house and began washing her hands, a cool breeze drifting in from under the door and from the partially opened window on the side of the shack.

Shack surroundings: http://ak.picdn.net/shutterstock/videos ... -woods.jpg

Shack: http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 4fz3g0.jpg

Rikkes quickly took off, flying after her, seeing the shack, he fluttered down, landing on the room and hopping down to the side, gliding down, he settled on the windowsill, gazing in. He hovered there, ready to take off if he needed to.