Neighbors

May parts the tall grass in front of her with an arm, a long bow in her paw. She peeks out to see if any beasts are about along the trail. The little mouse is little more than smudges of brown and white mostly covered by the grasses, green habit blends into the grasslands well

Being darkly coloured, Nightfall is much less seen when she moves at night. Being the afternoon, she's not terribly difficult to spot. Then again, she's not expecting to see anyone of any threat this close to home and thus, she's not even trying for stealth, although, by nature, she's rather quiet and lightfooted.

May slowly steps out of the grass, moving her bow from her paw to hang over her shoulder as she does so. "... Hello?" she asks experimentally eying the stranger.

Nightfall halts. And takes one step back. She slides her eyes mouse-wards, tilting her unhooded head, curiously. "Hello there." The voice is not much above a whisper, but carries well enough to be heard.

The mouse continues to watch the rat unsure if she'd allow her to pass by her.

Nightfall just sort of stares at the mouse. She's not moving either way at the moment, watching the mouse back. "Don't see many a beast very often..." The near-whisper is a little flat.

May is growing a little bolder as the rat hasn't done anything to her. "It's hard to see through the grass," she states in an effort to be helpful.

"Not so hard to hear, though, unless a beast is meaning to be so hidden. Hiding here, in the grass, can put the residents upon edge." The rat remains quiet still. She may be unable to raise her voice above such a level.

May hmms, "I don't think stomping around would be much better."

Nightfall shakes her head. "Well, no." And an actual smile "That could get noisy. Anyway, you said 'hello'. A sneaking beast wouldn't say 'hello'."

"... Maybe I'm a polite sneaking beast?" the little mouse suggests. She looks the rat over again and asks, "... um ... what's your name?"

Nightfall snorts a little, still smiling. "Maybe. I've never met one before. Nightfall." The rat tilts her head as she surrenders her name. "And yours..?"

May says, "May ... or mouse. Either's fine. Do you live around here? I've never seen you before?"

"Well, that makes you May Mouse?" The rat nods, and sweeps an arm out in the vague direction of what might be a small hill for those who are able to see it, and for the rest, herself included, just the hint of a path, if one were to look carefully. "Yonder. I live inside a hill."

May tries to look the way the rat is guesturing, she can just make out something that might be a path and not much else. The mouse takes a makeshift arrow from her quiver and plays with it fliping it end over end slowly in her paws. "Are you there all by yourself?" she asks as she's often been asked this by others.

Nightfall nods. "I had relatives staying early last year. They've long gone now though." She tries to look in the direction the mouse was coming from. "And what about yourself?"

May shrugs a little, "Over that way a ways," she waves toward a zigzagging trail that winds around between the grasses off into the distance. She doesn't say that she only lives a short ways down the trail, she doesn't think it's that important. "Do you have a lot of relatives?" the mouse asks tossing her arrow up into the air and trying to catch it when it comes down.

Nightfall shakes her head. "Not any more. Only two left, last I knew. But they could well be gone now too." She folds her arms, tilting her head curiously again. "I'd guess you've got your parents though, at least?"

May falls quiet for a while. ".... I belong to somebeast," she says slowly, "That close enough?"

"It might be." Nightfall considers it. "Depends who you belong too, I suppose..."

May smiles and explains, "I belong to a very important beast." She nods liking the sound of this. She retrieves her arrow that had landed on the ground and jabs at imaginary foebeasts since the rat doesn't seem to be a threat after all.

Nightfall watches the mouse with a tiny frown. "A very important beast?" She repeats, still with her voice barely above a whisper. "So what do you do for this beast?"

"What he tells me to," May answers not sure what else the rat expects her to say.

"I see. What sort of beast is he? Sounds very interesting to be important like you say." The rat asks and comments, the soft tone taking a genuinely interested sound.

"He's a fox," May says causally becoming bored with just standing around when she had intended to go exploring today.

"I see. A fox? Does he live with you, then?" Nightfall continues to watch the mouse, unaware yet, of how bored she might have become

May starts to move past the rat, "Sometimes I live with him. He lives in a very big place with lots of food not too far from here," she says returning her arrow to her quiver as she walks.

"You tell the champion I say hello, if you're speaking of who I think y'are..." The rat makes no move to stop the mouse. "We've never quite met properly, but he's had good press from some around here."

"I will," May calls back walking off until she's swallowed up again by more tall grass.