"Neese? Neese!" 'Ugh, where is that cat?' Flare was supposed meet Neese in the alley. She had started the idea of a rebellion yesterday, and so far, she only had Neese the cat, a leopard called Aron, and a bear named Kallik. The rebellion idea had only started yesterday and reached few ears, so the extremely small number was expected. Suddenly I saw Neese slip out of the shadows. "There you are. You really should be on time Neese. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about? Something about a horse belonging to the castle hearing about our rebellion?"

The cool, sweet juice of the little orb from heaven slid down his throat, as Maximus finished the wonderous treat that these humans called apples. The seeds were a bit gritty, and so was the stem, but he didn't care. They just added texture to his treat. Relaxing in the grounds outside the stable, Max had recently finished the core of the apple, and was now setting his priorities for the day. He knew the theives his rider had been talking about would easily be captured, and maybe even the agent from a rival Kingdom. But a more pressing issue had come at hand, something that needed to go at the top of his list. It was an interesting circumstance, actually, that being able to understand the tongue of animals, yet not humans, Max was able to by chance overhear about the 'rebellion', but not communicate to his rider of the urgency of the situation. He sighed a deep sigh, concluding that this would have to be something he stopped on his own. Standing up, he was about to take off in a trot for the gate, when he had an urge to turn back. Just one more apple for the road...

Flare P.O.V.

Flare walked out of the alley, where she had met Neese and discovered that a horse belonging to the castle was trying to stop their rebellion from reaching the ears of other animals. And he was trying to capture the animals that had already heard and joined! The nerve of that horse, doesn't he want freedom? Doesn't he want to be running across plains with his own kind again? To be free, to be able to make your own decisions, to not be slaves? These were the things Flare wondered. Then Flare sighed. 'I'm hungry, better get something to eat.' Flare walked to the nearest market and meowed loudly. The people gasped. "Is that Flare, the royal family's pet?" The salespeople grabbed their most special products and ran like the wind towards Flare. She smirked. The people knew that if they didn't make Flare happy, the princess wouldn't be either. And if the princess wasn't happy, the King was maaaaad. There were some people in the city that had st as much power, so Flare can't get everything she wants, you know? She's not that greedy anyway. Flare decided that a juicy looking fish a saleswoman was holding was the best. She grabbed it, gave the saleswoman a quick purr, and ran into the streets. She headed towards an abandoned street,which is where she always ate her meals, and sat down. Just before she ban eating, she noticed a red fox eying her meal. Guess what? The fox was right in front of her. With its claws out.

Astria opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything - something was on her face. She pawed it off and looked down to see that it was a leaf. She let out a soft grunt and slowly got off of the ground. She had just been sleeping under a large tree, and it was no surprise that a lone leaf fell on her, she loved to sleep by tree trunks, it provided shelter from the wind. Astria walked a few steps ahead of her and stretched her front legs out and gave a big yawn. Her long stretch was interruppted by a grumbling from her belly. She headed out of the forest and into the city in search for breakfast.
Astria didn't walk along the roads, she jumped on a wooden crate and walked along a ledge looking down at the humans - particularly shopkeepers. The city was too busy for her to get a snack without being caught, well, she probably would have been able to steal something, but it was too early in the morning for that. Being a bit lazy today, she decided to lurk in the more quieter streets, maybe she'd find something in the trash. Her nose twitched as a smell of fish hit her, she followed it contently, and after she turned a couple of corners she saw an orange-ish jaguar sitting down with a delicious looking fish. Astria jumped down from the ledge and approached the jaguar, it was much bigger than her but she figured it wouldn't be hard to take the fish away from it. She ran quickly to the jaguar and bared her teeth and claws, she also let out a low growl. She grabbed the fish with her claws and flung it to her mouth, then she tried to make a run for it, she hoped that the jaguar wouldn't get a chance to react.

Neese hissed in annoyance as she followed Flare, watching as Flares meal got stolen. Neese may have been recently homeless and rebellious cat, be she still had the sense to help her friend when she needed it. She unsheathed her claws and bunched her haunches, getting ready to spring on the meal stealer. She waited for Flare to give her word that she may attack. Besides, Neese as itching for a fight, she hadnt fought in a long time.

"Why you little.." Too bad the fox didn't know that Flare was one of the fastest animals around. She learned be one by helping the princess pull pranks and then quickly running away. Flare ran after the fox and tackled her, taking the fish as well. "Who are you?!" Flare asked rather forcefully. "Neese, you might as well come out, just in case." Flare said the last part darkly, and bunched up her muscles in case a fight broke out.

Neese pounced, landing very close to Flare, eyes half closd and tail flicking back and forth in utter annoyance. Tensing her leg muscles incase she needed to lunge or spring at the fox. She hissed, though probably not very menacingly, she may have been a cat-hybrid that was the size of a medium-small sized dog, but she still hd the advantage that she had razor sharp claws and teeth, and wasnt afraid to use either. "Come on lets just attack already!" Neese cried out frustradtly gritting her teeth. She thought she looked scary herself, waht with her owners having died purple stripes and green tints into her fur, she was a colorful ball of fury.

Before Astria ran a few steps she felt herself being pushed to the ground, and the fish was then taken out of her mouth. She was struggling to get off of her back but the jaguar was strong. "Woah, woah, WOAH!" she said as she saw a strangely coloured cat-like animal yelling to fight. She wouldn't be able to take on this huge jaguar, let alone this cat too. "Jeez... Things I have to go through for food...." she muttered as she finally got back on her feet. She faced the jaguar, "My name's Astria." her mind was still on the fish, she was so hungry. She quickly grabbed the fish and ate half of it, she would've eaten all, but Astria does have a heart. She stepped back and laughed. "Be thankful I didn't eat the whole thing."

Maximus loved the sound of his hooves on the cobbled stones in the market, the clipty clop. Made him sound powerful and important, and well, wasnt he? He was a palace horse, of the King's Guard, shouldn't he deserve at least a little prestige? He enjoyed watching the merchant's faces when he walked through the town square, most of them showed idle curiosity, while other's, obviously the foreign merchants, were shocked to see a horse with no rider walking freely through the streets. Most of the citizens had at least some knowlege of Maximus, the Captain's Mount, and his ways, but a major factor in no one approaching him was the royal crest on his saddle, a symbol that told anyone who tried to mess with him were as good as hanged.

In any case, he continued his search, when he realized something: he really wasn't sure what to do when he found these animals. He could try his usual trample technique, which he used to incapacitate human criminals so that he could bring him to the guards, though some of the rebellious animals were probably a bit more agile than a petty theif. For once he wished he had the dreadful horse armour that he wore only for ceremony, the barding would make him practically unstopable. He shrugged, giving a slight shake of his head. The rebelious creatures were probably just some house cats and stray dogs, nothing he couldn't stop. He was so absorbed in thought that he didn't realise he had happened upon a vacant street, hardly a human in sight.

Snapping back to reality, he peered down the narrow corrider between the buildings. Nothing unusual, just a fox trying to salvage a fish from two other attackers. Disgusting things, fish, all slimy and scaley and boney. Nothing like the sweet deliciousness of an apple. The crates in the alley obstructed his view of the foxes attackers, but it was proabably just a couple of dogs. He watched from the other end of the street, slightly amused. It was always fun to watch a fox outfox her enemies.

"Hey!" Flare yelled as the fox ate my meal. "Be thankful I didn't eat the whole thing." This fox was really arrogant in lare's view. It stole and ate half her fish! Flare was really heated up now. "Get her Neese." Flare said, all the while jumping at the fox. Not waiting for Neese to attack first, Flare lashed out at the fox with her claws.

Neese sprang, landing a bit clumsily on by the fox, having landed a blow to the foxs side with her sharp claws She sprang backwards then, calculating the Foxs next move, she may have been large for a housecat, but the fox was still the larger enemy in this equation. She bunched her muscles, taking another lea and landing on the foxs back. Hooking her claws in so that she didnt fall off and adding extra weight to the fox. This would make it easier for not only her to attack, but Flare could also attack asier as well. That is, unless the fox flung her off.

Neese sprang, landing a bit clumsily on by the fox, having landed a blow to the foxs side with her sharp claws She sprang backwards then, calculating the Foxs next move, she may have been large for a housecat, but the fox was still the larger enemy in this equation. She bunched her muscles, taking another lea and landing on the foxs back. Hooking her claws in so that she didnt fall off and adding extra weight to the fox. This would make it easier for not only her to attack, but Flare could also attack asier as well. That is, unless the fox flung her off.

Max was considering to get back to his pressing duties, when he noticed that the attackers were making their move. But instead of seeing a couple of dogs, he saw a strangely colored feline, and a larger form. Focusing in on this form, he almost choked when he saw that it was the princess's jaguar. "Hey!" he paused for a second to recall her name, "Flare! What are you doing out here? You know a thief could get a nice randsom for capturing you out of the castle." Maximus called out, trotting over. He disregarded the fact that they were having a scuffle, and had his attention turned on the jaguar. Protecting the royal families interests was one of his duties after all.

Flare suddenly got a devious little idea in her head. "Maximus! Thank goodness you're here! I was going to eat the fish a nice saleswoman gave me, but then this fox came out and stole it! My friend Neese got it back for me, but the fox ate half of it and was going to attack me!" Flare said this in the most sweet but real tone she could muster, and hid behind Max just for extra measure.

"How exactly did a small fox like that steal a fish from a big jaguar like you?" Max started out, but decided not to continue any further on that tangent. Maybe this fox was part of the little coup he had heard about yesterday, the so called animal rebellion. Maybe that is why she is so crafty, traitors to the crown always were. Trotting over to the fox, he looked down upon it, threatening "I believe you should be getting out of here before I bring you to the men with swords."

Neese hopped off the Foxs back, snickering as she went and stood besides Flare. She gave flare a look, a cattish grin on her face as she stretched her legs then sat back on her huanches. "nice, atleast we got a few blows in though" She purred happily. For a cat she had some major mood swings.

Astria looked at Neese, and stepped back two steps. She was in trouble now, she was caught off guard when the jaguar leapt at her. She rolled over and tried to get her distance, but the cat got her again. She whimpered as its claws dug into her skin, and instinctively she clawed at Neese's face. She remembered that she was up against two animals, so she bit the jaguar's leg, but as soon as the feline landed on her back, Astria's teeth were pulled away from the jaguar. She was having trouble standing up, she wasn't used to carrying this much weight, so Astria started to buck like a bronco but she had no success.

"Hey!" Astria turned to where she heard the voice, and saw a huge horse coming over to them. She had never seen a horse this close before, it was gigantic compared to her. She then looked at the jaguar, the horse looked like he knew her. Capturing her out of the castle? What..? Astria stepped back as the horse walked over to her, but she wasn't going to be scared off that easily. "Like you can tell me what to do. You should get the whole story before you start making assumptions."

Max shrugged slightly, before responding with a snort "Not my duty to make assumptions. Just to follow orders. And I have been tasked with protecting the interests of the royal family and crushing any rebels to the crown. Now scram unless you want to see my hooves up close." Maximus was slightly more dutiful than usual, on account of Flare. His ego was slightly boosted by the fact that she knew who he was, even his name. It wasn't like they often talked or anything, but oh well. He must be a better guard then he thought, he thought with grin in his mind.

Flare looked at the fox and sighed. Then she threw the fish, or what was left of it, at the fox. "Here. You can have it. I got things to do anyway. Max, let's leave. Do you think you could lead me back to the castle? Princess Azuya wants me to go with her to the gardens and look at the flowers." She looked at the fox and said "The name's Flare." Flare turned around again and waited for Max's answer.

It was obvious that Flare was dropping the charges, and Maximus began to wonder if her initial story was true about the fox being the bad guy. "Well then, fox. Be on your way." he warned, before turning around. It was actually kind of difficult to turn around, considering the narrowness of the alley, but he managed. When he had approached Flare again, he responded "Fine then. I think we should detour around the market. Might run into one of those thieves I mentioned out there."

Astria looked up at the horse, "Rebels? What are you talking ab....." her voice trailed off when the fish was thrown at her. She looked at the fish and then at the jaguar, "Uh.. Thanks." She looked at the Flare in confusion. Princess Azuya? Who exactly is this jaguar? Is she the princess' pet? Hm. She must be treated well. Astria grabbed the fish and ate it, she was still very hungry. She felt bad, but it was how she survived nowadays. "Thanks again Flare." Astria moved her gaze to the cat, "This was fun. Let's do it again. Next time you'll be the one bleeding." She laughed and ran down the alleyway in the blink of an eye, before she was out of earshot, she yelled to the horse, "See ya later Maxy!", laughing again. In a couple of minutes, she reached the edge of town again, and started to lick her wounds. After she finished, she walked along the edge of town, now very bored.

Flare walked alongside Max as they headed towards the town square. She felt kind of bad that she was keeping the rebellion a secret from him, and suddenly got an idea. She could talk to him about the rebellion without blowing her cover. If he didn't want to join, he'd probably try to tell the castle about the rebellion she was forming. "Hey Max, what do you think the rebellion is trying to do?"

Maximus almost felt his jaw drop as she spoke, but regained himself. If she knew about the rebellion it must be far spread, royalty seemed to be the last group to here about such things. "Well, I suppose it is like any coup, except this one is with animals against their masters. Reminds of the time a bunch of revolutionaries were trying to take over the castle, back when I first became the Captain's mount. Strange thing, it almost worked, but I happened upon the winch for the gate and locked them in, where the archers then took them out. Gotta say I was proud that day to serve the Crown." Max replied, remembering past days.

Flare smiled. "I bet you were proud. I love living with princess Azuya, and I probably shouldn't say this but... what do you think it would be like to be free? To be able to run around and do what you want without having to follow orders? Maybe the rebellion just wants to let animals be free. Maybe they want the animals to be able to choose their lives: be with humans or being free." Flare knew she was dangerously close to blowing her cover, but she wanted to know how Max felt. If he asked her about how she knew so much about the rebellion, she would say Neese heard an animal talking about them. Yeah, that should work. Or, maybe not.

"Hmm, to join the stampede again...I guess that is all life really is. But I still have duty, and I have my master. I think the animals in the rebellion need to respect that, these humans feed and care for us. Just look at me, I get everything that I want and enjoy serving the Crown. I don't think you need to be sympathetic towards them...after all, they probably would come after animals like you first considering your connections with the Princess." Max said warily, glancing at her before looking at the cobbled street they were walking down, his hoofbeats in sharp contrast to the soft clicks that her claws made.