He froze when he felt the creature touch him. He was not sure how to act. At first he growled in warning, but soon he was relaxed and purring, enjoying the creature's touch. He rammed his head against the creature's hands, wanting it to pet him more. Soon he curled up on it's lap and nuzzled its hand, purring all the while. Maybe if he acted like this the creature would give him more food. Then he wouldn't have to bother with hunting again. He mewed softly and kneaded on the creature's lap, trying not to claw it too much. He wouldn't want to hurt it and cause it to attack.

Damon almost couldn't wipe the grin off his face---it was so adorable, in the strangest of ways. He petted the creature's head, behind the ears, and couldn't consider what, specifically, this little thing was... To be honest it wasn't exactly tiny, but as most human-based lifeforms tended to be smaller than him at least in height, the point was there and steady in Damon's head. Shaking the hair out of his own face, Damon bit his lip a bit to keep from growling at the way this cat-like creature dug its claws into him. It was as cats did, even big cats---they kneaded, and wild ones didn't exactly control the way their claws moved most of the time. Regarding a human, even somewhat human, anyway, this one couldn't retract its claws.

He rubbed the creature's ears, laughing a bit at how it acted, reacted. "You're actually a sweet little thing, aren't you?" He asked quietly, understanding he couldn't reply. But he had, in a way, befriended him, and Damon wanted him to get used to the sound of his voice.

He had drifted off to sleep, but his ears were still alert to the smallest sound of threat. The creature's lap was warm and comfortable, much more so than the cold cave he usually slept in. He kept his head lifted, dozing but symbolising that he wasn't fully asleep. He still didn't know if he could trust this tail-less creature.

He heard something moving nearby and woke, tensing up and staring at one of the many huts that stood around them. One of the other creatures were rustling about, crawling out of the tent and yawning. He stood and ran quickly back into the bushes, leaving both creatures behind. He moved through the trees, knowing his path off by heart. Soon he found his cave, a small hole carved into a boulder. He crawled inside and curled up on his nest of leaves, watching the entrance as if thinking something would have followed him here.

Damon was in a rather blissful state at one point, running one hand along the creature's head and a bit down his shoulders. It seemed content for a while, until one of the nearby tents opened and one of his botanists emerged wearing not much of anything considering the heat the humidity trapped in the air. The creature ran off, leaving Damon and one of his oldest friends staring after. Damon stood, approaching Carver and crossing his arms, half-glaring at the slightly-dressed man. Carver Alexander---just over thirty four---widened his eyes and stepped back. "What...?"

"You scared it off."

"Scared... what off? What was that thing?"

"That was what I was talking about this afternoon. I found something in the jungle, don't you remember that?"

"Well..." Carver absently stroked his hair. "Well, I wasn't... listening..."

"Drinking yourself stupid again."

"Not again! You make it sound like I have a problem! I figured I had good reason to do a little singular celebration..." He stepped back. "W-well, what was it then?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "It was a... It looked human. But the ears... And it had a tail... It looked like a cat. It can't speak, and can't stand upright I don't think." As he spoke Carver's eyes only widened. "It can purr and meow, and begs for food in a way a house cat would. It ate most of my jerky..." He added the last bit rather dejectedly.

"What... the hell... do you think it is?"

Damon shrugged. "I can't figure it out. I've only seen this one, and can't consider anything yet. I just don't want something to happen to it, or any others like it."

"Well you're well known, Damon, don't forget that. You'll have the last word if something needs to be done to protect these creatures. I'll... er, be right back..."

Damon nodded as Carver hurried into some nearby bushes, muttering to himself. Damon turned, walking slowly to the cliffside. It was a sheer and perfect drop into whitish mist, and he sat on the edge to stare into it. The breeze from the rushing water blew his hair back.

He slept through most of the morning, as he was usually nocturnal and only the growling in his stomach had made him stay up during the day yesterday. He stretched and yawned, thinking about those creatures and wondering if he could find them again. He wanted more of their delicious food and to sit on the creature's comfortable lap again, listening to the strange noises it made to soothe him.

He crawled back out of his cave and wandered through the trees, pausing to relieve himself near a tree and to lap up some cool water from a stream. He found the clearing and watched as the creatures seemed to be packing up most of their stuff and heading off into the jungle. Just a few stayed behind, including the one that had fed him. Crawling closer to the clearing, he lay in the bushes and waited for the creature to approach. When it was close enough, he mewed at it softly.

The morning came with most of the group heading off to another point that would allow them to mark out more of the map and find more undiscovered plants or animals. Carver and Damon, among an anthropologist, a disease researcher, surgeon and doctor, and a photographer that gathered as much as he possibly could. Just a couple tents were left now: One that housed the remaining party, and one that acted as a temporary lab and medic. Damon was to oversee everything and accompany the party as a whole if it were to explore the surroundings. He listened to Carver detail the creature he had described again, then his desire to climb the face of the cliff nearby that would lead up to the waterfall.

Damon broke free of the others, another bag of dried meat in hand. It seemed to make his teeth a bit sharper, a bit more able to cut through natural vines or roots when he didn't have his knife on him. A soft noise startled him, sending him back a few steps until he recalled the origin. That creature again! Containing his excitement, Damon looked down, kneeling on the ground and peering under the bushes between several trees. "There you are..." He released some of the meat in his hand, setting it down to lure the little thing out again. the others were so busy nearby he hoped they wouldn't see him, or the returning thing. At least, not yet. Perhaps it'd be too much for him to deal with... Damon hoped not, as he sat on the ground to lower himself a little.

He was grateful that the creature had heard him, and was even more pleased that it presented to him more meat. He crawled out from his hiding spot, grabbing the strips and eating them quickly. He wasn't entirely hungry, having eaten much last night, but the flavours of the meat made him want more. His ears flicked about, listening to the other creatures talking and moving about the camp. He retreated back, so he was closer to the bushes, in case one of the other creatures would attack him.

He looked up at the kind creature and mewed again, purring and trying to look as cute as possible. It seemed to work when it came to getting food off it.

Damon laughed and shook his head. It had the soulful look down pretty well, obviously. He pulled one more piece of meat out of its pack and pocketed it, coaxing the creature back out. He needed to know what it might be---or if it had a name at all. He had to let the others see it too, in some way. From his neck Damon pulled an earpiece out, hooking it around his ear and pulling down a mic that curled around to his mouth, then pressed a notch down so static filled his ear until he turned the knob at the base so it cleared. "Carver, you hear me?" He moved to appear to be speaking to the creature, low and calmly, as he had yesterday.

"I hear you, why?" Carver glanced around as he spoke into a tiny radio on his wrist. It hung like a bracelet would.

"Look over here, and see what I see. It's under the bushes. Don't you dare come over here, you hear me? Don't come over here until I say it's okay, and don't tell anyone else."

From the corner of his eye Damon could see Carver looking around, and the expression on his face going from confusion to awe. He didn't move forward, however---he turned a bit and took a step, but did no more.

He tilted his head, moving closer to sniff for the piece of meat it had hidden in its skin. His ears picked up a strange buzzing noise coming from the creature's head. He looked at it, confused. He couldn't see any bees around it and it seemed completely calm. When it started to make those strange, soothing noses again, he decided that perhaps the creature just buzzed from time to time. He shrugged and sniffed over the creature, sitting on its lap again in search of the meat.

Damon smiled in an almost blissful manner. He couldn't get over this creature's innocence, and hoped that if it stayed with him, it could learn a language both of them could understand. He let the creature have the last bit of meat, and spoke again to Carver: "Okay, you listening?"

"Listening. What's up?" Carver tried not to move too quickly---it would startle and scare away the creature that had settled on Damon as if he were a favorite seat. He made a wide circle around the two, slowly, without looking at either of them directly.

"I want you to sit down low. Sit on the ground and make a noise, a very light noise to get his attention, okay?" He kept his voice low, and a hand moving along the creature's head and ears. "He'll see you, but I don't want you to make a move toward him or even act like you know he's here. He seems like a cat in most sense, and they respond to respect---respect is not staring at it or trying to get it to come to you."

Carver nodded, but quickly spoke. "Got it. I'm moving, okay?" He did so slowly, lowering himself down and sitting, not quite facing either of them.

He heard a strange noise coming from behind the creature he sat on. Looking past it towards the living area, he noticed another one of the creatures, sitting low and making weird noises, as if trying to attract his attention. Chirping like a bird, the creature paused when it saw that he was looking at it. He slithered out of the kind creature's arms and lowered himself, judging the distance between them. He wouldn't be able to leap that far, but if he ran first... Perhaps these creatures could be killed and eaten, especially if they make bird noises.

He crept forward, low to the ground, ears plastered back on his head as he watched the other creature with intense focus. He moved his back paws, flicking his tail softly. He prepared to jump on the creature.

Damon's eyes widened, and he got up on his knees as the creature focused hard on Carver. "Ah, Al, I think he's about to attack."

Carver sat low. "What!" It came out as a hiss. "I thought you said he wouldn't... or, would, might...?"

"Look, Al, just roll over. Roll over on your back, show your stomach. Cats consider that a form of submission to their peers, roll over on your back and look at him, but don't meet his eyes. You're chirping, he thinks you're food."

"I'm too damn big to be food!" Carver did as was told, lying on his back but keeping one arm up so he could communicate quietly. "I look like you!"

"Not hardly." Damon's words were steely. But it was true---Carver was thicker than he was, with spiked blonde hair and light green eyes. He was a little lighter in skin tone as well.

He paused, watching the creature roll over. Was it accepting its fate? He walked over to it carefully, smelling its face and climbing up onto its belly. Now that he was close to it, he saw that it was far too big to try to eat, and that it smelt of the other creature, not of food. He sniffed it some more, pawing it lightly in the face, wondering if it had died.

He looked back at the kind creature, and noticed how it seemed to be happy, laughing at the two as if it was funny. He tilted his head and glanced back down at the larger one he now sat on. He mewed at it, pawing its face again.

Damon couldn't help it. The whole situation was so adorable, he couldn't help but laugh at the reaction Carver portrayed---huffing a little at the weight of the creature and its claws that dug into him. "Damon..." He had his arm up to his mouth so he could keep speaking evenly to the other man. "Damon... Damn... He's heavy... What's this supposed to do again?" He closed his eyes when the creature pawed at him.

"Don't do anything. He's trying to understand what you're doing because he's accepted your communication." Damon snickered as he spoke. "Reach up to him, don't do it fast---but let him sniff you and pet him a little. Cats like their ears scratched. Since you smell similar to me, he'll understand the action."

Carver lowered his hand, then brought it up a little, pausing before moving his fingers up to the creature's right ear, scratching a little as he might do to his dog at home.

He flinched and froze as the creature suddenly touched him, scratching his ear as the other one did. He didn't purr for this one, however, and dug his claws in deep, moving his head away from the touch. He growled slightly at it, trying to tell it off for touching him when he didn't want to be touched. He dug his claws in deeper, piercing the creature's skin slightly and hearing it gasp in pain. It panicked and spoke into its hand, staring up at him in fear. This made him feel content that the creature wasn't a threat.

He jumped off its chest and sniffed it again, sneezing slightly and sitting next to it, purring and watching it with half-open eyes.

"Ow, Damon." Carver muttered into his wrist.

He didn't respond. It didn't have to be the same each time. Perhaps Carver gave off the wrong senses to the creature. Considering his disposition---nervous, jumpy, a little standoffish. Definitely a whiner, he didn't exactly love to do any heavy lifting or strenuous work. When the creature sat beside him, Carver rolled over and half-crawled, half-slinked to Damon and situated himself behind the other man. "Little... bastard."

"He isn't." Damon elbowed Carver in the stomach, earning a satisfied oof! from the other man.

He watched the other creature hobble away to hide behind the one that he had come to like. He tilted his head in wonder. Mewing again, he moved towards them, his tail held high in friendliness. Perhaps the other one didn't like him as much as the one that fed him. He sat in front of the two creatures, purring some more and giving the one that fed him big eyes. He wanted some more of the meat and he could smell that it had plenty more hidden somewhere.

Damon smiled when he approached, sensing a calm state had set in around the creature. Carver turned his back on him, though, as Damon rolled his eyes and pulled one more small piece of the jerky from his pocket. "Last piece." Damon told him, though he knew the creature couldn't understand. He held up a finger dictating one, pointing to the food and back to the creature. "One." He said again. "One." And he held it out. "Carver, relax. Go study your plants or something, you need to classify them."

Muttering, Carver stood carefully, moving around the creature in a slow state to not startle him. It was calming work, true, and didn't involve a terrible amount of hard work. Thus his lack of muscle in general.

He followed the out stretched finger, his head moving side to side with it, before reaching out and grabbing the strip of meat from the creature. He ate it quickly, licking his lips and moving towards the creature. He purred and swayed his tail slightly, sitting on its lap again and kneading once more. He could get used to this. He sniffed the creature's body, searching for more meat. Standing slightly on its legs and resting his front paws on its chest, he sniffed its face, searching for more of the meat.

Damon shook his head. "No more. You'll get sick." He almost lost his balance and fell backward, but caught himself halfway. "Come on... Ah, I wish you could understand me." He managed to stand, keeping himself as eased as possible---perhaps the creature wouldn't like this new height. But he had to, if he wanted to stay around. He'd have to get used to all the people that made up the party. Damon vaguely knew if he befriended this creature he'd have to run it through an evaluation to pinpoint illnesses, then clear things with transportation so the creature---which he'd have to name, at least---would be able to travel freely. He sighed, moving away and to the bunk tent.

He almost felt sad when the creature stood up and walked away from him. Mewing sadly, he sat where he was for awhile before following. He found the strange cave the creature slept in and slowly came in, sniffing around for more food. It smelt like the creature, but also other things, like leaves, animals and plants. All these new and exciting scents caused him to sneeze violently. He sat at the opening and watched the creature, meowing for more food.

Damon was occupied with locking everything up that was left in the tent. A large metal container held all their food and medical supplies and with a creature like this around, he couldn't afford to let anything lie about that might be interesting to him. Turning quickly at the creature's noise, he shook his head and locked the container. "You just don't give up, do you?" He asked easily, taking the communication device off his ear and setting it on his bunk---the top one above Carver's at the back of the tent. He sat on Carver's, turning to the creature. "Well, you're not getting anymore. I don't have any." He'd put the pouch into the container with everything else. Perhaps the creature would wander off now that no food was present, losing interest as easily as any animal might and not return. Damon desperately hoped otherwise.

He sniffed about the tent, until he concluded that the food had been placed in a strange shiny rock. He pawed it, trying to open it and then licked it, making a disgusted face at the taste of it. He sat and looked over at the creature, mewing at him again. He decided that the creature wasn't going to feed him any more, so he wandered off, back into the trees in search for something to eat. He decided to thank the creature for feeding him by catching something for it to eat.

He sniffed for scents and followed one of a rat back to its nest in a tree. He found it asleep and killed it instantly by biting its neck. He carried it back to the clearing, placing it in front of the tent that the kind creature stayed in. He mewed to get its attention and stretched happily.

Carver and the doctor, a man called Roland, had come to the tent when the creature left. Damon had watched it dejectedly and the look on his face had tipped off Roland, so Damon and Carver had explained what they had found. The man looked skeptical at first, until Carver gasped. "Hey, looks like he brought you a present Damon." He pointed to the front of the tent and Damon and Roland looked around.

"Oh my..." Damon stood, stepping forward. "A... rat."

Carver was already snickering. "I think it's for you! Maybe he's repaying you for how much you've fed him."

"No way am I... I'm not eating a dead rat." Damon crouched before the creature and bit his lip, wondering how to dispose of the tiny corpse without insulting him. There had to be a way... He couldn't eat something from a place full of mystery, especially something raw and well known for carrying disease. But he'd eaten things before like this... Only when necessary, when he'd been separated from the party and things were too damp to make a fire. And raw red meat did have a strong flavor, if a little offputting. The mere thought of it made Carver gag. Damon grinned for an instant, glancing back.

"Don't you dare!" Roland hissed. "You don't know where it's been!"

Disregarding the doctor, Damon gathered up the little body and dug his teeth into it. Almost immediately he heard Carver heave, then bury his head in the bedclothes beneath him. But he had to stay on the same level as this creature---if he refused the gift it would be an insult. Besides, he could always get rid of the 'snack' later if need be.

He watched the creature enjoy his gift and smiled, purring loudly and settling in front of it. He was happy that the creature liked it and made a note to catch more rats for it. Perhaps they couldn't catch rats themselves and were really pleased to be able to eat one? He looked inside the hut and saw the other creature from before, the large scared one. There was another he hadn't met before. It was tall, thin and had hardly any fur on the top of his head. He sniffed towards its direction, smelling strange cleanliness and potent fumes of some thing he had never smelt before. He watched the others, wondering if the Kind One would share his gift.