Moontouched

Between participating in the festivities, Cal found himself curious about the boroughs of the grove. Willow Valley was of particular interest to him, the buildings under the open sky feeling somehow more.. welcoming? familiar? than the tree itself, even though he had heard some vague warnings against being so exposed. He slithered along the paths between fields of crops, looking out across them as they were bathed under the glow of the setting sun. The growing shade brought a cooler breeze, but his costume, however silly, did act as a surprisingly good shield against it. Still, once the only source of light was that ominous red moon, he started making his way back towards Great Tree.

As he moved he looked over the massive pumpkins scattered across the fields, nestled in their respective bushels, and he was still fascinated by their sheer size. They explained why the smell of pumpkin-based goods were so very pervasive in the Den. There were other kinds of goods of course, but always an undercurrent of pumpkin that he couldn't get away from-

A sound pulled his attention away from his train of thought. In the quiet of the early night, in a field with no trees to rustle, there was nothing to really hear beyond the gentle whistling of the breeze through his ears. So when footfalls manifested behind him, he threw a glance over his shoulder to see what it was. To his relief, it was just a kit. He gave them a polite smile, then looked forward again. He did idly wonder why another kit was out in the farmland this late, but perhaps they were just getting some fresh air, or seeking a break from the festivities. He hardly had a good reason for his own presence here, so who was he to judge?

The strap over his chest tightened as he jolted to a stop, the left side of his costume being suddenly held back. Startled, he looked at it and saw huge, flat, clawed fingers digging into the plush material. He followed the fingers up their arm and was met with the kit, standing just behind him and still not letting go even after he clearly had Cal's attention. "What?" He asked. But the kit wasn't even looking at him, instead some random point of his.. back? or his neck? with wide, hungry eyes. Just as he had enough time to become uneasy, the kit suddenly lurched forward and sank their teeth into the back of his neck.

Cal yelped in surprise as a stinging pain burst from the bite. His tail reflexively swung around to curl in closer to himself, in the process barreling through the kit's feet. They returned a startled gasp as they let go of him and fell to the ground. Cal's claws immediately went to clutch the bite mark, and he felt unusual warmth against his palm.

He didn't look at the kit, didn't wonder if they were okay or why they had done that, he just hastily slithered off towards Great Tree.