Lloyd slowed and crouched down, hoping the animal would calm down soon. “Hey, shh, it’s all right, I’m here to—Ah-CHIEE!” He rubbed his nose and muttered. “Darn ib. Dumb allerdies.” Now that he was closer, he realized that the calico was quite young; virtually a kitten. One of its little ears were black, and there was a black smudge on the tip of its pink nose. Black and orange patches colored the soft white pelt, from across the shoulders to the base of the tail, and the tail tip was ginger with a couple of dark stripes. The wide, bright blue eyes stared up unblinkingly at him in terror, whiskers quivering and back arched up. Bristling, the cat tried once again to get away from the ninja drawing nearer, but no amount of painful struggle—with each jerk making the wire cut deeper into its leg—availed the little cat. “Hey, hey, calmb downb, Kiddy.” Lloyd sniffed and wiped his running eyes before reaching tentatively for the kitten. The cat’s ears flattened and it hissed feebly. It was visibly trembling. “Shh. . .” Grimacing at the gore, he fingered the wire around the kitten’s paw. It flinched and mewled plaintively, still struggling to get away from him. As he inspected this odd trap, Lloyd figured that if he were to cut the wire or yank the post out of the ground, the trap would loosen and free the cat. It looked like the kind of contraption a hunter would set for foxes or weasels, and it looked crudely-built. Lloyd hesitated, then placed his hands around the post and tightened his grasp. He gritted his teeth and began to wrench at the wood, yanking and tugging as hard as he could. At the violent jerks the young cat wailed pitifully, for the wire was now wrenching at its injured paw mercilessly. Lloyd hated hurting it, but he forced himself to ignore the cat’s cries and yank harder. The post began to shift after several tries, encouraging him to tug harder and even dig at the ground around it with one hand. Dirt and pebbles were disturbed beneath the surface, and occasionally he scraped his fingers on the rocks, but he kept going.
Lloyd slowed and crouched down, hoping the animal would calm down soon. “Hey, shh, it’s all right, I’m here to—Ah-CHIEE!” He rubbed his nose and muttered. “Darn ib. Dumb allerdies.” Now that he was closer, he realized that the calico was quite young; virtually a kitten. One of its little ears were black, and there was a black smudge on the tip of its pink nose. Black and orange patches colored the soft white pelt, from across the shoulders to the base of the tail, and the tail tip was ginger with a couple of dark stripes. The wide, bright blue eyes stared up unblinkingly at him in terror, whiskers quivering and back arched up. Bristling, the cat tried once again to get away from the ninja drawing nearer, but no amount of painful struggle—with each jerk making the wire cut deeper into its leg—availed the little cat. “Hey, hey, calmb downb, Kiddy.” Lloyd sniffed and wiped his running eyes before reaching tentatively for the kitten. The cat’s ears flattened and it hissed feebly. It was visibly trembling. “Shh. . .” Grimacing at the gore, he fingered the wire around the kitten’s paw. It flinched and mewled plaintively, still struggling to get away from him. As he inspected this odd trap, Lloyd figured that if he were to cut the wire or yank the post out of the ground, the trap would loosen and free the cat. It looked like the kind of contraption a hunter would set for foxes or weasels, and it looked crudely-built. Lloyd hesitated, then placed his hands around the post and tightened his grasp. He gritted his teeth and began to wrench at the wood, yanking and tugging as hard as he could. At the violent jerks the young cat wailed pitifully, for the wire was now wrenching at its injured paw mercilessly. Lloyd hated hurting it, but he forced himself to ignore the cat’s cries and yank harder. The post began to shift after several tries, encouraging him to tug harder and even dig at the ground around it with one hand. Dirt and pebbles were disturbed beneath the surface, and occasionally he scraped his fingers on the rocks, but he kept going.
Lloyd, and his love for animals. . . .
If it was me, I'd do the same if I didn't have that experience with those fighting cats, but in this case, I don't know. . . .
Hopefully it's Matilda, or maybe it'll be grateful to him for freeing it, so then the cats'll not capture him?
This went on for several minutes, with Lloyd yanking and pulling and the cat mewling and yowling desperately. Finally, he felt something give away beneath the earth, and he grunted through gritted teeth. “Almodt. . .Got ib!” With a final, tremendous jerk he yanked the post out, causing the cat to fairly scream in agony. The wire fell limp around its injured paw, and Lloyd quickly swiped it away. “I did ib!” The cat stared at the fallen wire in shock, then began rapidly limping away. “Hey, wait!” Lloyd called. The kitten hopped on three legs to the bank of the hollow and attempted to jump out, but it strained its red-stained leg and tumbled into a shivering, mewling heap in the sand. “It’s OK, little guy, I’m not going to hurt you. . . Ah-CHIEE!” Lloyd crouched down and took the little cat in his arms, even though doing so would make him sneeze harder. The kitten trembled violently in his gentle grasp, staring up at him with bristled fur and huge blue eyes. It made a feeble attempt to escape his arms, but he held fast. “Sh, id’s gonna be OK. . . Ah-CHIEE!” He sniffed as he gently took the mangled paw and inspected it. He figured the best thing he could do was clean the wound with cold water and find a way to stop the bleeding. “Let’s get you to the river—Ah-CHIEE! Darn ib!” It was but a minute later Lloyd had carried the cat out of the woods and to the bank of the wildly gurgling river. He crouched down on a flat boulder protruding out to the water, grasping the cat with one hand, and used his teeth to pull off his glove. He dipped it in the river, squeezed it to rid of extra water, then proceeded to dab the soaked material at the wound so he might be able to see it better. The poor cat quivered and shied away, but he managed to gently press on the paw amid its protesting squeaks and mewing. It clawed him several times on his bare hand, creating stinging, angry-looking scratches that made him wince, but he kept to the task. After a few minutes of struggle the cat finally fell still, knowing that there was little chance of escape.
Lloyd felt rather glad to be doing something useful instead of just wandering hopelessly through the forest, even if the cat didn’t really appreciate it and that it was making him sniffle and sneeze like crazy. As he cleaned the wound and sniffed through his stuffed-up nose, he began muttering idly to himself, if not to the kitten. “How’d you ged caught in dat thing, huh? Looks pretty bainful. No, shh, don’d try to run away. I’b just trying to help, little guy. “Do you hab a name? You look like a Jake do me. Can Ib call you Jake? Ah-CHIEE!” He sniffed. “Man, now is a beally bad time to be allerdic to cats. You wouldn’t believe what’d happened to be and by friends last night. Crazy cat-things hab been attacking us. We hab doe idea why—Ah-CHIEE!” He rubbed his stuffy nose and stood up. “Ah, let’d just find a sheltered spot. I want do look at dat baw, Jake.” Lloyd carried Jake away from the thunder of the river and brought him to a sheltered area between several aged oak trees towering high above them. He ducked into the shelter of a leafy bough sticking out from a large bush and gently set Jake down in his lap. As soon as he settled Jake attempted to make a break for it, but Lloyd grabbed him and chastened gently. “Hey, hey, none of dat. Let be see your baw.” Lloyd took Jake’s hind paw and inspected it, noting with approval that the gore was now washed away and no longer bleeding. It still looked rather painful, though, and there was no question about the little calico being able to walk—at least not for now. He sneezed, then sighed. “I don’t think you’re going do be able do walk for a while, Jake. Why don’t you day here with be for a little bit; keep be company? Ah-CHIEE!” Jake kept jumping at the sound of his sneezes, which actually looked rather funny and made Lloyd grin. He glanced up beyond the canopy of leaves to see the sky beginning to darken overhead. Dark clouds were starting to form, casting dark shade across the vast woodland. Lloyd sighed and decided to stay put under the bush for the night, though with acquiescence.
{JAMMERS! -LordTigress- ONLY!} Oh yes! You should definitely do that! Then the people who haven't read it yet can! ( and if anyone feels like rereading it) I suppose it would almost seem like a prequel to the people that have only read this one here. But yes, I think that's a great idea. Also I saw what you're doing on " Burn For Me" I think Brickgril would appreciate it.
{JAMMERS! -NFM- ONLY!} You think so? Yeah, it will seem like Roots of Earth is supposed to be part of a series once they discover the connections between the two stories, but I'm honestly trying to write RoE as a stand-alone novel -- "Runaway" just happens to offer helpful side-stories and details along the way.
Aw, really? Thank you -- that's good to know. I hope she would.
{JAMMERS! -Jon now cuz it doesnt really involve NFM anymore - ONLY!} Haven't you noticed? There seems to be a pattern in movies and books. . . Whenever a significant character is introduced around the beginning of the story, and they wear a mask, there's obviously an interesting or important reason as to why they wear it. Later on in the movie/book, that character usually ends up taking it off, and nine times out of ten it's a huge shock to the audience, because it either reveals something stunning about their face or their true identity. I've just noticed it seems to be a pattern many writers and filmmakers like to follow.
Lloyd slowed and crouched down, hoping the animal would calm down soon. “Hey, shh, it’s all right, I’m here to—Ah-CHIEE!” He rubbed his nose and muttered. “Darn ib. Dumb allerdies.” Now that he was closer, he realized that the calico was quite young; virtually a kitten. One of its little ears were black, and there was a black smudge on the tip of its pink nose. Black and orange patches colored the soft white pelt, from across the shoulders to the base of the tail, and the tail tip was ginger with a couple of dark stripes. The wide, bright blue eyes stared up unblinkingly at him in terror, whiskers quivering and back arched up. Bristling, the cat tried once again to get away from the ninja drawing nearer, but no amount of painful struggle—with each jerk making the wire cut deeper into its leg—availed the little cat. “Hey, hey, calmb downb, Kiddy.” Lloyd sniffed and wiped his running eyes before reaching tentatively for the kitten. The cat’s ears flattened and it hissed feebly. It was visibly trembling. “Shh. . .” Grimacing at the gore, he fingered the wire around the kitten’s paw. It flinched and mewled plaintively, still struggling to get away from him. As he inspected this odd trap, Lloyd figured that if he were to cut the wire or yank the post out of the ground, the trap would loosen and free the cat. It looked like the kind of contraption a hunter would set for foxes or weasels, and it looked crudely-built. Lloyd hesitated, then placed his hands around the post and tightened his grasp. He gritted his teeth and began to wrench at the wood, yanking and tugging as hard as he could. At the violent jerks the young cat wailed pitifully, for the wire was now wrenching at its injured paw mercilessly. Lloyd hated hurting it, but he forced himself to ignore the cat’s cries and yank harder. The post began to shift after several tries, encouraging him to tug harder and even dig at the ground around it with one hand. Dirt and pebbles were disturbed beneath the surface, and occasionally he scraped his fingers on the rocks, but he kept going.
When did you last read it? 
When did you last read it? 
That's awesome -- I'll have to remember that.
![[derp]](http://storage.proboards.com/6672327/images/YqNTPqyQUocVMYXZgUAI.png)