#Whilly & Bunber

[bobgongo]

Whilly & Bunber (part 1: Weird Tree)

hi!!!!!!! welcome to my silly story about a cat and a pigeon who go on adventures, idk where it will lead but i plan on contributing to it consistently. im 100% open to critiques feel free to be as genuine and harsh as possible. or just turn ur brain of and enjoy the silly adventures idc :)

Orange is an unnatural color to see on a pine tree. Yet here it was, a bold shimmering patch of bright orange splattered on a trunk. Was it juice? The way it glistened as Whilly shifted his head made it appear as if it was a wet splotch of paint; yet, when he reached out to feel it, the texture was nothing like you'd expect... or maybe everything you'd expect, if you're the type that's used to trees with strange patterns.

"...It's dry?" Whilly's bulbous, yellow eyes seemed to somehow grow even larger with this question-- glistening as if in mimicry of the patch's unnatural sparkle. "This isn't a splatter, this is some kind of mark! Look at that sparkle! When have you ever seen anything like this, Bunber?"

Bunber stood on Whilly's head, anxiously shuffling in place. "Wow! Dry, I wouldn't have guessed." The irritable bird barely bothered to get a glimpse of the orange mark. His eyes-- sunset red and jutting out the sides of his head-- were saving their focus for the darkening woods that surrounded them.  His head was jolting to and fro, maximizing for a full 360 degree view of the menacing trees and shadowy shrubs.

Whilly's focus didn't budge, instead he hesitantly sniffed the tree: sap, dirt, nuts... nothing unusual. Often a lack of clues might lessen curiosity, however in Whilly's case this only fuels his questions. "Bunber, It's apart of the bark! None of the other trees are like this." To say Whilly was in awe would be accurate; however, when you get to know him (as is the unfortunate case for Bunber) you'd soon learn his face is just always like that. A curious cat with yellow fur that glows like sunshine, Whilly craves excitement like its candy; and when you're Whilly, excitement can come from the most peculiar of places.

"Must be a weird tree." Bunber finally gave it a glance, his low expectations met.

"A weird tree," Whilly agreed, "or a normal tree hit with a weird substance." He finally ripped his eyes away from the tree and started looking around, searching for a similar mark. Sunset had turned to dusk, and with it Bunber's tolerance to impatience-- and Bunber considers himself a patient pigeon for what he has to deal with. It's not easy being all fluffed feathers and calm coos when you have to ride the shoulder of a hyperactive feline. A predator, by the way, who bares his teeth far too often than what should be comfortable for a ground-dwelling bird such as Bunber. The life of a pigeon is a fearful one; Bunber is lucky to have been blessed with his dark blue plumage, which camouflages himself well with the night and is likely the only reason he's somehow still alive at the ripe age of 5. Ripe for being swallowed up by an Owl, that is.

With a grunt, Bunber left Whilly's shoulder and flew in front of him onto a near branch, putting Bunber the closest he'd get to an eye-to-eye conversation with the erratic cat. "Whilly!" Whilly's ears flattened as he made eye contact, frozen mid-step. Bunber straightened his posture as he continued. "We are not out here to learn about the local plant-life. And the more time we waste looking for a shelter, the closer we'll get to learning about the local wildlife too." Bunber notched his head clockwise for a quick glance behind him, the volume of his lecture then tastefully lowered to an angry whisper. "Maybe you're excited to learn about this place, but I personally don't care for a lesson on the digestive tract of a hawk."

Whilly's frozen position melted with giggles. "Aw, come on, Bunber." He stuck out his arm for Bunber land on. Bunber stiffly accepted this offer, climbing back onto Whilly's shoulder. "You're not gonna get snatched up by any dumb bird on my watch. Have you seen me pounce? I eat hawks for breakfast!" Whilly's claws glistened in the moonlight as he pounced forward, slashing an imaginary foe and sending up a flurry of leaves.

Bunber batted away a stray leaf with his wing. "You eat sparrows," Bunber corrected, his voice growing weak, "and, yes... I've seen you pounce." He gulped. 

Whilly laughed loudly at this as he continued deeper into the dark woods. "You know I wouldn't hurt you, Bunber!" Whilly ruffled the feathers on Bunber's head until the pigeon's tiny face almost doubled in size. Whilly laughed even harder at the sight of the spiky tuft he'd created. Bunber did not.

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[bobgongo]

Whilly & Bunber (part 2: Handy Weapon)

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What is more vicious? The the sharp hook which becomes of a falcon's beak, or the razor teeth of a lion's jaw?

There's likely an objective answer hidden in this question that the more informed of us can see, but surely anyone can come to the reasonable conclusion that both at once would be the most vicious, most sinister, most horrific choice of them all? Serrated teeth to line a curved beak surely is capable of at least twice the damage than one or the other would have been capable of on their own? Don't worry, combining the two wasn't made clear to be an option-- don't beat yourself up over it. After all, who could imagine such a creature to exist? What foul monster would need a ripping set of canines to go with their already puncturing beak?

Unfortunately, there is an answer, and that answer was burrowed deep into the branches of a tall, dark pine tree. During the day they would be well concealed-- however it was currently night, and that meant they were practically invisible. A large creature most resembling a bird, they were gifted with greasy black feathers which sunk into night's darkness. Running one talon at a time through this monstrous curse of a mouth (likely to maintain its point) the bird's eyes stalked the woods below them; scanning branches, beetles, leaves, frogs, rocks, caterpillars; the eyes passed over the prey reluctantly. They were hungry for something more... filling. The creature closed their eyes and keened their ears, waiting for the subtlest rustle, snap, flap, breath...

~

"SHH! Why you-- would you put that down?!" Bunber hissed at the non compliant cat, who had just picked up a stick and was haphazardly waving it around. Bunber pecked and slapped Whilly's hand, a meaningless effort which only multiplied his giggles.

"It's to protect us!"

"Not if you keep knocking it against trees!"

Another wave of giggles stole Whilly's breath. "It's my weapon!!"

"You have claws and teeth. You don't need a weapon!" Bunber whispered. "What are you, a monkey?!"

Tears streaming from his eyes, Whilly fell to the ground in a paralyzed wheeze. Okay, Bunber thought, appreciating the sudden silence, this is an upgrade.

A rustle in the trees. Nails scraping against bark.

Bunber's feathers flattened. He twisted and craned his neck, rapidly flicking his head from one place to another, desperately searching for the source of the noise. Whilly's stagnant wheeze finally gave in to booming laughter. "SH!!" Bunber squealed. He desperately hopped onto Whilly's muzzle and clamped it shut. Bunber leaned into a shaky whisper. "There's something here." Whilly went silent, laying dumbfounded on the forest floor.

There was silence; it knew. Bunber spoke directly into Whilly's ear this time. "We can't just lay here, we have to go." Whilly nodded-- a faint smirk still lingering on his face-- and got onto all four feet, beginning to slowly crawl through the forest. The pair came to a root and Whilly gently hopped over it. His paws landed with a loud CRACK onto a twig. Bunber's heart sunk.

A glittering set of jaws came swooping in front of them and snapped. Whilly ducked, Bunber burst into flight, and the beak flew up with nothing in its teeth but a stray feather. The creature swung above the canopy and turned around, spotting Bunber's silhouette frantically flapping away. With a grin and a powerful swish of their wings the creature entered a high-speed chase after their prey.

Down on the forest floor was Whilly, head craned up, peering past the treetops. Whilly spotted the monstrous silhouette soaring in the moonlight. Whilly grabbed his stick and followed behind. The creature was faster than Bunber-- already it was slowly catching up with the little pigeon-- but it wasn't faster than Whilly. The stick now in his mouth, Whilly was sprinting on all fours. Hop, tuck, dodge; he slid past every obstacle, a master of the forest.

The creature was nearly at Bunber's tail, but Whilly was ahead of both of them. He hopped onto a tree and dug his claws into its bark, wriggling up the branches. His frazzled little head popped out the top of the canopy. Bunber was flying in Whilly's direction, the two locked eyes. Whilly held up the stick, Bunber's eyes lit up. With a mutual nod, Bunber swerved downwards and tucked in his wings to form a beautiful backwards roll mid-air. The creature skid to a stop, their prey suddenly out of sight. Faltered, disoriented, at halt... the creature was vulnerable. Whilly took his chance.

BONK!

Bullseye! The stick was flung and knocked the monstrous bird right in the head. With a great fwoosh the creature crashed into the trees. Bunber flew into view and landed on Whilly's head. "Go, go!" he screamed. Whilly's throw was a good shot, but the two could already see the creature begin to stir.

Whilly jumped out of the tree and burst into an agile sprint. "Bet you're glad to have a monkey for a friend!" A giggly grin was smeared across his face.

"Just keep your eyes on the forest." Bunber muttered.

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[bobgongo]

Whilly & Bunber (part 3: Dark Shelter)

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Rarely might you see a pigeon's head bob as fast as Bunber's was during this moment. Clinging to Whilly's fur as the agile cat sprinted through the forest, Bunber's head was practically vibrating to keep up with his passing surroundings. After being slapped by a passing branch for the third or fourth time, Bunber was tempted to contradict his previous "Go, go!" with a defeated "Slow, slow..." However, just as this temptation crossed his mind did he see a shadow soar across the forest floor behind them, suddenly igniting a wish that Whilly would speed up.

Whilly wouldn't have been able to, though; his paws were beginning to ache and-- while Bunber insisted the creature was right on their tail-- Whilly was starting to doubt they were still in danger. Adrenaline dwindling, his sprint through the forest started to feel less like a thrilling flight and more like an exhausted gallop. Then, up ahead, Whilly spotted something. His eyes lit up. "Bunber, look!"

The struggling bird spat out a leaf. "What?"

Whilly started to veer to the right, changing course. "A cave! You said we were looking for shelter, right?"

Bunber's eyes widened. "A what?!" He adjusted his talons, pulling himself up the cat's coat against the wind and peering ahead. Pigeons don't have the greatest night vision, the best he could make out was a vague absence of light up ahead. However, a subtle shadow in the dark was all Bunber needed to be certain Whilly wasn't joking. "No! No, no, no! We are not entering a cave!" Those last few words started to echo.

"What do you mean?" The stars disappeared. "This is the most shelter-y shelter! This is as shelter as shelter gets! Its perfect, what else would we have been looking for?"

"A fallen tree! A hollowed log! You know, somewhere where we can see, escape if we need to, breathe?!"

Whilly's pace slowed to a walk, his claws clinking against the cold rocky floor. "We're not plunging into caverns, if we stay near the entrance we can do all three of those things! Bunber, have you never slept in a cave?"

Bunber spoke after a long, puzzled pause. "I'm a bird."

Whilly found a depression in the ground and sniffed it. "So what? My kind doesn't go in caves, but they're still cool and I go in them anyway." He stepped into the depression, concealing the two of them from the entrance. "This is a good spot! See? Near the exit, but concealed." Whilly started circling in place, searching for a good spot to lay down.

Bunber seemed to have calmed down, but still refused to let go of Whilly's fur. "...What did your kind do, exactly? Sleep in trees?" Whilly didn't respond. He continued to circle in place until he finally curled up against the wall, his tail tucked under his chin. Bunber couldn't see Whilly's face, but the silence told him enough. Regret swirled inside Bunber, his stomach chastising him for asking.

Eventually the pause lasted long enough for Bunber to realize it was settled, they were sleeping in this cave. He looked around uselessly. He then tried closing his eyes uselessly. It was all the same, all black. He started to drift into unihemispheric sleep, a type of rest where one eye was open and alert. This was, once again, useless... but he was too anxious to have it any other way.

The scraping of nails against stone.

Bunber's eye snapped open. He couldn't see, but he heard it. He recognized it, but he couldn't move. It found them. It was here.

The nails continued, dragging along the stone. It was coming from the entrance. Feathers brushed against the wall. Whilly stirred and lifted his head. The nails stopped. "Whilly..." Bunber managed to squeak out. "...run."

SNAP!

A familiar beak revealed it's presence and bit the air. Fortunately, the darkness redirected the creature's aim just a little over Whilly's head, giving time for the cat to make his escape. He leapt out of the hole and skid across the stone, the monstrous bird roaring. It was a horrific noise, and the excellent acoustics weren't helping. Whilly fled deeper into the cave, slamming into a few walls as he tried to navigate the twisting tunnel. The creature steadily shuffled after him, barely fitting the cave's narrow shape.

Bunber felt the air get thinner. "What are you doing?!" He cried out. "You're going deeper, head for the exit!"

"It's blocking the exit!"

"You're going to get us cornered!"

"I don't-" The cat was cut off by another meeting with a wall. He groaned and quickly scurried back to a sprint, only slamming into another wall.

"Don't you stop! Why did you stop?!"

Whilly didn't respond. He stood on his two hind feet and clawed at the wall. Another squawk sounded, a noise so close and so loud it made Bunber's beak chatter and Whilly's paws shake just from the vibration. Then, at the center of the wall, off to the right, Whilly's claws dipped into a hole. His whole arm had found itself deep into a passage. Hope!

SNAP!

Swish...

The creature's beak came up with nothing yet again. They roared and snapped again, and again, and again, but the two were gone.

Whilly's head popped out the other end of the narrow passage, Bunber clamped in his mouth. Bunber would have been flapping and screeching in protest, however he conveniently happened to pass out the moment he felt Whilly's teeth, which made carrying him through the hole much easier. Whilly squeezed out of the passage and took a few steps forward into the new area and gently placed Bunber on the ground. He could hear the creature clawing and pecking at the wall, broken up with frustrated squawks and the sound of crumbling rocks. Whilly walked up to the hole nervously, peering through. The creature was frantic, practically breaking the wall down, rocks were dropping. Whilly needed to do something, this passage was their only escape.

Dust trickled on his head. Eyes wide, Whilly looked up and saw a great crack strike into the ceiling like lightning. Whilly's fur spiked. A boulder fell and Whilly leapt away, rushing towards Bunber and snatching the limp bird as he bolted into blackness. A boom like thunder fell behind Whilly as the ceiling collapsed, rocks tumbling into one another to form a great cobble wall. He winced, regret stirring in his stomach. As Whilly plunged deeper into the cave, all he could think of was what he was going to say to Bunber when he woke up.

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