HEARTFELT PROMISES { .:*・°☆ } ——— [size=10pt]TAGS

Run. Run. That's all he had known, the fur breezing against him, his body brushing up against a few trees as he finally made his way into the marshlands, Marcel's paws becoming drenched as he entered the damp environment with his quickly beating heart that pulsed with fear and anger. The only two emotions he knew to be quite exact. He had been on the run from the humans, ones who took him into a lab to try and extract his DNA to create more animals with piebald coats. They ran tests on him, treated him like a lab rat and finally after a few months of being trapped in that hellhole, he was able to escape with his fur and body intact. Those lab walls had been next to the only thing he knew, causing the marshlands to be unfamiliar and unwelcoming.

Marcellus knew he couldn't stop running with the humans being so close only moments ago, though he was hoping that they had decided to quit the chase considering how dense the woods were. Barely any sunlight shone through the trees up above, his pelt beginning to grow drenched and the white spots beginning to become covered in mud as he ran in deeper and deeper, crossing the border. The king cheetah yelped as he tripped over a root of a tree, his body taking a large tumble into the ground, his pelt becoming covered in mud. "Fuck." He growled under his breath, giving deep breaths as he moved up a paw to rub his now throbbing head, looking from side to side before he forced himself to his feet. The sounds of human made machines were no longer in the distance, or not to be heard at all which had caused a wave of relief to wash over the abnormally pelted male.

The king cheetah sighed and departed his jaws to take a scent of the air, his eyes widening as he realized that the forest hadn't exactly smelled of forest scent, but the scent of animals. A lot of animals, and he had crossed the border, just now realizing that he had. Huffing, the cheetah began to lug his body through the forest and back to the border, limping as he tried to make it so hopefully no one would catch him over the border.

HEARTFELT PROMISES { .:*・°☆ } ——— [size=10pt]TAGS

With his paws already beginning to move halfway out the door, he was ready to leave more than anything, him wanting to get out of this place as quick as he could manage which wasn't really that quick. Through the thick scent of marshlands and the groups scent he could barely smell anything past and through it, smelling nothing more than the stink of mushrooms and the entire forest really. His paws trudged hastily through the muddy grounds, his limping leg slowing him down tremendously. What he hadn't been expecting to hear was another voice, but frankly he had and it threw him on edge. The muddy king cheetah looked around hastily to try and find cover, his head turning from side to side in frantic and other panic. He couldn't take down one person if they had been the smallest mouse, let alone an entire group of animals. Hell, he would rather go back to the humans instead of trying to face an entire group. At least with the humans they would keep him alive and he would have a chance to escape again.

Unsheathing his claws, the male got ready for an attack, closing his eyes and flinching once the girl had revealed herself. A few moments of waiting and no attack came, no claws went through his abnormal pelt and no teeth tried to sink into his flesh. What was this? Some kind of prank? He opened his eyes to look at the girl standing before him, looking down to meet her gaze. Good, just a domestic feline. If anything went wrong he would be able to take her on easily. At first he expected her to get off the territory, which was exactly what he had been trying to do this whole time; leave. But it seemed as if it was actually quite the opposite. "What?" At first his disbelief was carried largely in his voice, the only tone and emotion he could muster. A wave of confusion washed over him as he looked at her. So they weren't going to kill him? He cleared his throat and stood up to speak normally. "Yeah, uh, I'm alright. I believe." Not very convincing but he wasn't sure if she had been the only one. If something larger than him decided to come along, he'd probably be dead meat. Frankly, he didn't want to stick around for that.

Marcellus had to admit, his head was definitely hurting pretty bad and his paws ached, longing for him to sit down and relax a couple of minutes. No. He could do that outside the territory. "This is your territory, yeah? I best be going. I don't need trouble and don't need to cause trouble." He was ready to leave before someone else had decided to come out. He wasn't exactly down to tango with two.

HEARTFELT PROMISES { .:*・°☆ } ——— [size=10pt]TAGS

Shit. Here came another. He was ready to run, already placing his paws into the position. The girl had distracted him and he couldn't help but wonder if this all had been a trap. Being not exactly a person who easily trusted, his head would flow right to the possibly worst scenario and it only made him panic, though he tried his best not to show it on the outside. If this was a trap, he wouldn't get far in running with his bad leg, hence it looked as though he would have to stay and fight if he wanted the chance to live. The cheetah narrowed his eyes before the next stranger had seemed to reveal himself, a small Savannah cat it seemed. At long as he didn't see one of those big bus-sized dragons, he would probably be alright. Probably. Just in case it had been a trap, the male would stay on edge and watch the pair closely. The next words that came from Vigenere shocked him a little. Should he accept their request to stay and rest, he would remain on close edge, watching his back at every turn and making sure he didn't leave an opportunity for someone to pull the trap on him.

At first Marcel narrowed his eyes in suspicion, however slowly nodded. "Alright." The cheetah gave up in defeat. He wondered what would of happened if he said no, though he frankly wasn't going to try it. That was for sure. His eyes bounced between the two of them, allowing himself to relax slightly. He wouldn't put himself fully at ease just in case something did come up. This wasn't exactly his ideal way to die, that was for sure. "I guess I can stay for a little while. Thank you for offering me the help." His voice thankful, though it still carried traces of his suspicion, not wanting to put it to rest. Despite that, he was truly thankful but opening up to these strangers would take him a while, and he wasn't exactly sure how long he would stay. He would need a place to stay, permanently even. "Marcellus." He spoke rather abruptly, curling his tail to his paws. "My name is Marcellus." He spoke again to give clarification, nodding to the two evenly. He winced as he forced himself to sit down, his aching paws appreciating the rest.

HEARTFELT PROMISES { .:*・°☆ } ——— [size=10pt]TAGS

His name, though it carried meaning, never exactly meant much to him. To him a name was a name and there was nothing more about it that mattered. "Thank you." Even though the name didn't mean much to him, the compliment definitely fueled his ego. The male watched as the demon walked off, tail flicking. So far he was grateful that they were only domestic cats and not something bigger than him. Marcel wasn't exactly sure what the domestic meant with her comment but he dismissed it, adjusting his limp back leg to a more comfortable position as he began to run his tongue through his dirty fur, trying to get off some of the dirt that clung to him. At least with the humans he wasn't this dirty, but then again being away from the humans was way better than being with them.

At her name, he gave a simple nod. "A pleasure, Arrow." He spoke calmly, ignoring the pulsing of his headache. His heartbeat was slowly beginning to slow down from being exhilarated from the little chase, the king cheetah finally beginning to catch his breath and slowly come back to a stable mind. At the question if where he was from, he stiffened. Where exactly was he from? He didn't know what to say. "I was born a loner, a few miles outside this.. place." His eyes wondered from the domestic to his surroundings. There was no sunlight and it was so dark, his eyes would travel to the forest ceiling.