The Actress

Said baboon couldn't help but give a little chuckle. The new arrivals always fit into three categories. Shy, serious, or just really crazy. The mouse seemed to be in the first. He squatted down on his haunches to look at her more closely. She didn't seem to be in the working class of people, her nails were too trimmed for that. And his fine eye could tell when someone meant to make themselves more beautiful with the use of strange products. So, where she came from, probably some place like the infamous Robin Hood he heard so much about, the animals were human-like.

He let out another small chuckle. "I'm afraid that you've got the wrong tent. The one that you're looking for is over near the mess hall."

He leaned in closer to her for a whisper. "And don't worry. Generals don't usually handle new recruits. THey just show up and we take them in."

He opened up his hand for her to shake. "I am Rafiki, one of the medics around this place. And you are?"

"My name is Catharine," Miss Kitty says. "But most people call me Miss Kitty Mouse," she adds.

Rafiki bowed very low to the ground. "Very nice ta meet you Catherine."

He jumped up and waved his hand. "C'mon, Rafiki very thirsty. D'ere dis hall, where dey make lots of good food. Come, Rafiki show you."

Miss Kitty follows Raiki into the hall. "You don't want to know if I have any skills that could help the Heroes?" she asks in a confused manner.

"Come back here!"

Patches, as usual, had resigned himself to goof around camp for most of the day. With the sun finally out and plenty of sloshy mud puddles around camp to play in, Patches was like a kid in a candy store. He was bounding around camp in a sort of frenzy and attempting to get his paws covered in as much mud as he possibly could. At least, that was what he had originally been doing. Having caught sight of a beetle scuttling around on the ground, he'd abandoned his task of getting muddy and shot off after the little bug.

By that point, Patches had no idea he was heading toward Miss Kitty and Rafiki. All Patches knew was that he was chasing a bug and fully intended on catching it. Unfortunately for him, though, he ended up tripping and falling flat on his face near where the little mouse and baboon stood. The beetle scuttled away and Patches lay dazed on the ground for a few moments. At length, though, he shook his head and got to his paws. That was when he spotted the smaller of the two he was near.

"Oh, hi mousey. Sorry about that. I didn't see you there!" Patches laughed.

Miss Kitty saw the puppy bounding towards her and Rafiki. She was confused as to what this puppy is so excited about. Miss Kitty was frightened as the puppy got closer thinking he will run into her but suddenly he tripped.

Miss Kitty heard the puppy apologize and she responds, "It's okay, you didn't do any harm. My name is Catherine by the way but most people call me Miss Kitty Mouse. So what is your name?"

"Miss Kitty?" Patches repeated. He blinked a couple of times, brown eyes filling with confusion, and took in that name. It was a weird name for a mouse, but he didn't think it seemed like a terribly strange one. Kitty could be short for Catherine. So could Cat. Either way, it was nice to see a new face around. His tail wagged quickly and a typical grin of pleasure appeared on his face. "Good to meet you! I'm Patches. You should probably get used to seeing us dogs with black and white fur, because there's a lot of us." he said. It was true enough that there were more than enough dalmatians to go around. It was a wonder people didn't get lost in the sea of spots!

"So, where are you from? I don't think I've seen you around here before today." he said. Maybe she was from London like him and his family. Or maybe she was from somewhere else entirely.

(Like how you fitted you signature in, Patches)

Miss Kitty has seen a few dalmatians before but from what Patches said there were more than a handful here. "I have seen a few dalmatians before but are there really that many here?" Miss Kitty asks. She finds it hard to believe that there are that many dalmatians here.

"I'm from London," Miss Kitty answers. "Where are you from Patches?" Miss Kitty asks.

Patches nodded quickly in response to her question. "Oh, yeah! There's a good bunch of us running around here. Let's see... mom, me, my brother Partner, Crescent, Tripod, Dipstick, Cadpig, Rolly... uh..." Patches had been counting on his toes trying to make an exact estimate on how many dalmatians there were left, but he was coming up with nothing fast based on that or the listing off of names. Better just guess with how many of us died. he thought. "There used to be a total of one hundred and one of us, but it's dwindled since things have happened. I'd guess there's still more than ninety of us." he said with a decisive nod. Of course, not all ninety-some odd dalmatians were there. A good chunk of them were still on the farm, and he at least knew Wizzer was among the animal villains. Two-Tone probably still was, too.

"Don't worry, though. Not all ninety something of us are here. It's only a handful of us running around here at this point." he stated. Finally, her answer about where she had come from sunk in. He had been right about her being from London after all! Score one for double patched wonder! he thought with a satisfied grin. Now the question of where he was from came up, and that was fairly easy to answer. "As for where I'm from, our family lives in the countryside. I think we all originally were born in London, but my brother Partner and I originally come from a petshop." Patches explained.

"Since you're new and all, maybe I could show you around sometime. There's a lot to see still, and I bet it would take a while to see all of it since you're kind of on the small side." he observed. Not that that was a bad thing, of course. After all, there were smaller members of the hero army running around like Ray. It didn't seem too out of the ordinary for smaller animals and such to join them. "We can definitely find you something to do to help, though. What kind of stuff have you done before?" he asked. It was more of curiosity than anything else that was making him ask. He did want to know what sort of things Miss Kitty had done before.

"I didn't think I would met anyone else from London," Miss Kitty said. "Let me guess, you thought I was from London, right?" Miss Kitty asks. "How come only two members of your family are from a pet shop? Also I'm sorry for any family members you have lost," Miss Kitty say, wondering what she would do if either of her sisters died.

"True it would take awhile to see the entire camp due to my size," Miss Kitty says. "Well I have a little skill as a medic, not much and really haven't practiced much, and I am somewhat of a good actress so I can act as a spy for the Heroes," she says and quickly adds, "Do the Heroes have the need for a spy?"

A sheepish look formed on the little pup's face before he nodded. "I was just guessing, really. You kind of sound like the animals I knew before our family moved out into the country, so I just kind of... thought that was the case." Patches explained. Her question was a good one, actually. It wasn't the first time Patches had encountered someone asking about his family and how strange it was.

"Most of us come from different families, actually. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of us came from petshops. My brother and I are two I definitely know did. There were at least fifteen that came from the same parents. It's... complicated." Patches said. Well, it wasn't terribly complicated but he felt like it was right then. "We all got taken from where we originally came from, and after a bunch of craziness we were adopted and made into one big family. That's the gist of it, anyway." Patches told her. He could at least say that without going into a lot of detail.

"So, what kind of family do you come from? Have you done some kind of work before joining up for the war?" he asked. Curious pup was curious about this little mouse. What sort of things had she done before wanting to be in the war?

"Well my family is nowhere near is large as yours," Miss Kitty says. "I have two younger sisters who are twins. My mother died when I was just a kid and I never knew my father," Miss Kitty says the last part in a melancholy tone.

"When I was young my sisters and I had to beg for food and money," Miss Kitty says. "When I was old enough I got a job in a tavern as a waitress and one day when the main singer was sick I replaced her. I was so popular that the owner of the tavern decided to have me permanently replace the last singer."

Rafiki watched as the mouse and the dog started talking. The way that they got along, it was so refreshing as an old baboon to see the youth just talking with the grown. "Dat's a sad tale."

He sat down on his haunches and relaxed himself, right there in front of the mess hall. His stick propped up against the wall, he leaned in closer to hear the details. "But, you be a strong one, Rafiki can see that even wid dese old eyes!"

Miss Kitty blushes when she hears that. "You think I'm strong?" she asks Rafiki. No one has ever told her she was strong. Everyone, including Ratigan, thought she was just a pretty face even doubting her intelligence.

Elastico who had gone silent for a little while nodded in agreement with the old baboon. "Uh-Huh, Miss Kitty very strong." he said with a grin. If this primate thought that Miss Kitty was strong, he probably was.