World Tree MUSH

Not expecting to run into anone for a bit, Gonta had done something a bit rare for himself. Most of his clothing is currently folded up neatly and stored within his bug cage so it doesn't get damaged. He's racing around in the woods on all fours at a rather quick pace. There's no problem. There's no enemy motivating it, he's just rushing and skiding about, sometimes doing some jumps and rolls in there as needed to avoid running into something or tripping.

Swish!

A shadow out of the corner of Gonta's eye. It's a humanoid form. Gonta's vision is probably good enough to see another feature. It's humanoid... but with a tail?! The humanoid figure that had swooped past his peripheral vision keeps pace with him, but in the trees. Gonta may see it as it zips through the foliage, leaping with the agility of a cat.

...These worlds outside his own could be treacherous, and many kinds of monsters existed. Could this be one? Could one of those monsters be stalking him right now, intending to make a meal of him?!

As it turns out, no. That leaping figure is a lost catboy named Asato. Recently ejected from his world, he's established a territory in these woods... and Gonta's managed to stumble into it. So of course he's going to be curious about new people in 'his' territory. Cats and their needing to 'own' everything around them, after all.

That is, however, why Asato's following Gonta -- because a new being has entered his territory, and he's curious why. With the way he's tearing around, he might mean to cause damage to Asato's tiny little base camp in one of the trees. Or he might be looking to hurt Asato himself! So Asato has to ascertain his motives.

But still... it's weird seeing one of those un-nature people with weird ears on the sides of their head run around like this. It's with equal parts caution and curiosity that he follows, trying to keep out of sight of the weird wild person.

Gonta pauses ah he realises the figure's actually following him. He's skid to a complete stop and peer around, trying to pin point the figure's current presence. Can he see it anymore? Listen fore it? Smell it?

Seeing the figure's probably easiest, since it's crouched upon a branch, still as death. It's hiding in the branches of a tree nearby. But not too nearby, as if it doesn't want to risk getting too close. The foilage moves around the figure, but said figure itself remains still, all but for the twitching of its tail, dangling from the branch. Also there's the shine from the figure's eyes too, very much like a cat's. And if he gets close enough, it'll smell like a cat, too.

Of course, if he gets closer, he might notice the shape starting to get bigger. Or, well... to puff up, the tail bristling and ears laying back. It does seem to have very feline mannerisms, doesn't it?

Gonta pauses as he notices the figure trying to get bigger. It acts like a cat. Huh? It doesn't have a lot of things that remind him a cat, and yet... "Hello...um...kitty," he tries speaking to it curiously. He's being very calm, trying not to startle the figure any worse. Then again, given his appearance, that might be a near impossiblilty.

The figure doesn't move for a moment, swishing that fluffed-up tail, the appendage lashing nervously at first, but slowly starting to slow its movement. The figure pauses, hops to a closer branch... and then peeks out of the foliage.

It's definitely a human male. Mostly. Human face, human body. Short, shaggy black hair and blue eyes. Wearing mostly blue. But his hands look like human hands with cat claws in place of fingernails. And as he nears, he's clearly sniffing the air in Gonta's direction. He's approaching slowly, and not getting too terribly near.

"Nice to meet you," Gonta tries curiously. He'd continue to try not to be threatening as he lets the other approach him rather than coming any closer. "Gonta was just playing, he's not here to bother anything."

The man-cat's ears swivel forward again, and he stops sniffing in Gonta's direction. He seems to be satisfied that Gonta means no harm, since he hops down from the tree he was in. It's a pretty far drop, but he makes it without much issue, landing in a crouch on the ground. Though he stands up a moment later, so he's at least proving to be bipedal.

"...Gonta." It's hard to tell if he's asking, or just confirming. Though he soon clarifies it by asking a moment later, "What is 'Gonta'?"

Gonta blinks at that, frowning slightly as he realises there might be a SLIGHT communication issue here, for once. "Gonta is a Gonta," Gonta replies as he points to himself, "Gonta Gokuhara is called the ultimate entomologist." He pauses again, trying not to do much at all as the cat like guys' approaching.

Fortunately the man-cat seems to understand that. Well, most of it. "En... to... molo... jist," he sounds out slowly. It's not perfect, and he probably doesn't actually know what the word means, but at least he's understood enough to know that an introduction is being made. "Asato," he offers in return.

Then he raises his hands and pokes as the sides of his own head, where he would have ears if he were human. "Gonta is one of those strange people... with ears here instead?" Pause. "...Gonta is not a Devil, is he?" For asking such an alarming question, he doesn't seem to really be all that scared.

Now that he's closer, there's another scent that can be smelled from him. A sweet, honey-like fragrance... like flowers?

The large man nods in turn. "Gonta studies bugs a lot," Gonta answers before blinking at Asato's other question. "No, at least, Gonta doesn't THINK Gonta's a demon, Gonta's been called an animal and a monster, but never a demon. Gonta's human, he was just raised by wolves." That said, he tilts his head a little. "You smell kind of like honey, Asato, are you around bees a lot?"

"...I've only ever seen Devils with ears on the sides," Asato replies. He takes a few steps closer, sniffing at Gonta again. Not surprisingly, the cautious sniffing approach is very feline in nature. The flowery sweet scent grows stronger, too. The question gets a blink. "No. If I get close to bees they sting me." Pause. "Gonta studies bugs? Why do they sting me when I get close?"

Gonta frowns a little. "Poor bees, they sting because they think you're a threat. You accidently scared them...and when they sting you they die..." She frowns deeply and rubs at his eyes a little. "Sorry lady bees!"

To his credit, Asato seems surprised to learn the bees died, blinking as if he hadn't expected to hear that. "So they don't grow the stinger back. They have to give their lives to protect their nest..."

Suddenly Asato just looks sad for some reason. His ears and tail droop, and he pouts. The ground suddenly seems fascinating. Whoops! Is he that upset over the bees dying? Probably not, his eyes have a faraway look to them.

Gonta regains his composure. "But this is a common problem, the life of bugs is always so short and dangerous," he insists, "Asato should just be careful in the future." "Did Asato want to learn more about bugs," Gonta wonders curiously, his glasses starting to take on something of an ominous looking glint, obstructing the view of his eyes for a moment.

Hearing his name seems to break Asato out of the trance. Blink. "No." Aah! Is that a shattering sound that can (not) be heard in the distance?! "But thank you for telling me why. I'll try to avoid their nests now, so they don't have to die against me."

Headtilt. Asato seems to return to an earlier topic, something that he initially missed. Something that Gonta might have thought he'd understood. "Hyuu... maan? What is this?" He doesn't seem to have ever heard the word before.

Asato manages to avoid the negativity that comes with making Gonta think one doesn't like bugs. He seemed sad earlier, so Gonta just assumes that he's just not really up for lessons right now. He probably REALLY likes bugs, but has something else to do. Yeah. Gonta readjusts his glasses, appearing normal again. "Hyuu maan? Ooooh yes, Gonta is human..." How to explain humans? "Humans...walk on two legs....and make lots of things....and study a lot....and act very different from animals..."

Asato tilts his head at Gonta's explanation. Then his eyes go wide, and he gasps. "...That... sounds like a Two-Canes...!" It's hard to describe the air his expression takes on. It's a look of sheer wonder and awe, but mixed with a healthy dose of fear. As if one were beholding the most terrible and yet wonderful works of a great god pushed to the limits of his power by something that threatened to destroy him.

His ears droop again, this time in fear, and he begins to hunker down, beginning to step back. His voice is barely above a whisper here, as he asks the question that seems to have suddenly occurred to him. "...Gonta is... a Two-Canes...?"

Gonta tilts his head some. "Gonta never heard about anything called two-canes...not toucans?" He shakes his head some. "Gonta is just a human raised by wolves. Do you know about wolves, Asato?"

Asato doesn't really seem to know what to do, truth be told. He looks scared, his tail puffed up but pointing towards the ground, his ears pinned down, whole body hunkered down, and his hands on his middle. What if Gonta IS a Two-Canes and just doesn't know it? The Two-Canes were supposed to be really big, and well... Gonta's not exactly taller than the trees, like everyone thinks, but... he's pretty big.

But he's listening. "...Wolves. No. I can't find Kira again... or Sisa..." People? Places? It's hard to tell. He seems confused, too.

Gonta blinks and tilts his head at Asato's reaction. "Umm...Gonta not sure how to explain, but Gonta means no harm to Asato, Gonta's not even HEARD of a two-cane," he insists, "...is there something Asato needs help with?"

Asato looks incredibly lost right now. But it does occur to him that maybe some explanation would help. "...Two-Canes... came before cats. Were their masters. But they made the gods angry. The gods destroyed them. The Goddess gave herself to the last Two-Canes. As a wife. They made the first cats." Pause. "'Us' cats. Not the cats before us." He doesn't answer Gonta's question just yet.

Gonta just looks more confused. "So two-canes mated with the cat goddess, and then the 'new' cats came?" That doesn't work from a scientific stand point. Then again there's that whole goddess thing. Gonta doesn't know ANYTHING about any goddesses. "But there aren't just two humans, so Gonta doesn't see how they could be the Two-Canes..."

Asato emits a quiet growl under his breath. It's not aimed at Gonta, though -- it's aimed at himself, not able to explain it properly. Asato's tail flicks. "Sorry..." He takes a breath, and then speaks more slowly. "If I could find Sisa... I could show you. The books in the library, they show Two-Canes cities. They show the flying machines that the Two-Canes made, that could cross the whole world in hours. The machines that could go deep underwater, but protect them and let them breathe. Rai even said that they filled big glass beads with something that glowed when attached to the ceiling."

He's clearly describing planes, submarines, and light bulbs, even if he's never seen any of them before. But he had to have heard about them, in stories at least, if he knew enough about them to be able to describe them. It's also possible that he's nuts, but that doesn't seem likely. On the bright side, he's starting to calm down a little, so there's that.

Gonta goes wide eyed. "Whaaaa----," he replies, "Wait, that sounds like...air planes, and um...what is it they call those deep sea things?" Now Gonta looks a little frustraited. "...umm...the other...Gonta thinks...light bulbs?"

Asato blinks. "Is that what they're called?" he wonders. "The library -- if I could find Sisa again. I would bring Gonta one of the books." He cups his hand to indicate a round something about... well, yeah, about the size of a standard light bulb. "The bead." He raises that hand up. "But the library has something else." He puts his hands in front of him, as if gripping something like a rod in front of him, and then moves his hands apart. The distance is about the length of a standard flourescent light tube. "Like this. White. But brittle. Breaks easily."

Gonta looks thoughtful. "Gonta...maybe knows what you're talking about...." he murmurs. He'd dig into his bug cage, pulling out a notebook before he starts drawing what he thinks Asato's speaking about.

Asato notices the drawing, and tilts his head, starting to step a little closer again. His tail's not fluffed up anymore, and his ears swivel forward, attention focused on the notebook.

Gonta would try to draw a flouressent light bulb, and a normal light bulb. His attempt at a plane and submarine aren't quite as good since he's drawing them off some old memory. "Any of these?"

"All of them," Asato confirms, with a nod. He touches the drawing of the submarine. "The underwater machine." The airplane, "The flying machine." The regular light bulb? "Never seen these before. But Rai said 'bead'. That's what I thought of." As for the flourescent blub? "The library. These are there, in the ceiling."

Gonta raises a brow then. "So wierd..." he murmurs, "So Two-Canes are humans, but there are LOTS of humans. You said there were only two Two-Canes left...that doesn't make sense at all to Gonta." He'd then draw a wolf as well. "That's what raised Gonta though..."

"In Sisa," Asato replies. "Two-Canes have been gone for thousands of years. There are legends. They made the gods angry somehow. And the gods destroyed them. All but one." Which would be the one that Asato spoke of, that the goddess married.

Gonta says, "Gonta doesn't know a place called Sisa, but then, Gonta is stupid...Gonta probably doesn't know LOTS of places... Gonta still doesn't know a lot of human things, even though Gonta is human..."

"Sisa is... where I'm from," Asato replies. The place with all the cats, and no humans. Here, though, he tilts his head. "Gonta probably isn't stupid. Two-Canes know lots of things. Two-Canes..." He trails off. "THAT ONE called them 'hyuuman' too." Someone he doesn't want to talk about, given the way he frowns.

Gonta looks at Asato thoughtfully. "OH! That's right! There are lots of other worlds here. Gonta forgets sometimes...it's still too new. You're the first person Gonta met that didn't also seem human. That's probably why Two-canes and Humans sound alike but don't match!"

This seems to confuse Asato. "Other worlds?" He's heard that being thrown around. "I stay in the forests. Too many people in those places." He looks in the direction of the nearest 'civilization' -- so apparently he knows where it is, he just stays away from it. "...Maybe not Gonta's Two-Canes? Or maybe not Sisa's.... humans." He says it right this time!

Gonta nods in reply. "Maybe it's same type of thing but different places? Like how different places have different kinds of the same bug. ...seems strange that both kinds would build the exact same thing...but maybe it's like-...err Gonta shouldn't talk much about that..."

Asato gives an inquisitive, "Nnrr?" It's a rumbling, upward-lilting feline sound, which... probably isn't too surprising given the feline features. "Maybe," he agrees, with a small nod. He doesn't really know, since this is the first time he's been out of Sisa.

Gonta looks thoughtful and shakes his head a little. "Well...there's probably too much going on for someone like Gonta to process and Asato seems lost too... Maybe Gonta should just be doing what Gonta came to do and Gonta can find some way to look for information later?"

Asato tilts his head. "Gonta came to hunt?" Why else would somebody be running full speed through the woods? "I can help. I know where there's game near here," he offers. Depending on what kind is being looked for, that is.

Gonta shakes his head a little. "Gonta didn't come to hunt...Gonta doesn't need the food. Gonta just wanted to run around again, play. Hunting does sound fun but, it wouldn't be a nice thing to do since Gonta isn't hungry...Gonta could help Asato, maybe?"

Asato seems to understand that -- killing food animals when you're not hungry is wasteful. But on the other hand, Asato's not able to get food as readily. He knows how to dry meat, though, so he can preserve it for later.

He does look Gonta over, though. He walks a curious circle around the larger fellow -- Asato is by no means 'puny', but his muscle is compact and wiry. Gonta's is very much not! But there's no claws. He has normal teeth. "Can Gonta?" He doesn't mean it as 'would you?', but as a 'are you able to?'. He doesn't mean it to be rude, though. He's merely curious.

Gonta nods in reply. "Gonta was raised in the wild," he states, "Gonta knows how to take care of himself...Gonta just has to find the right things to put together..."

Asato nods. He has no reason to doubt what he's being told. "Help would be nice. I bet Gonta could pin a really big animal." And then a firm nod, as if he'd made a decision about something. "Thank you." He'll climb up the tree, with the claws on his hands, using he feet steadying him. Asato waits then, either for Gonta to join him in the tree or for him to get ready to run.

Gonta would find some items to use for making what he needs to to make up for his lack of claws and such. As soon as he's taken care of getting all that together, then he'd be ready to run after Asato.

Once he's sure Gonta's ready, Asato nods once more, and then takes off through the trees, to where there's some game. It'll be a relatively uneventful hunting trip, if one can call a hunting trip 'uneventful'. But a GOOD hunting trip! Also Asato seems to know a fair bit about field-dressing and stuff like that too, so the animal won't go to waste!