[lone]

Originally Posted by Doodle

Marblestrike had a slight frown on her face when she gazed up at Palmettoleaf. He certainly didn't seem as cheery as he had been earlier during their chat in the clearing and later during their walk. She watched his expression change to amusement however, and whatever curiosity she had she allowed to slip away. "You didn't know me until earlier this morning," she pointed out dryly, swimming over to the shore and getting out to shake the water from her pelt. At least that had cooled her down; sitting on that rock had started to make her hot.

She sighed when the tom asked the obvious question, one that dealt even more with her past. Maybe this was why she disliked making friends even so much- then she had to share more about herself than she liked to discuss. Marble sat down, avoiding Palmettoleaf's eyes when she spoke. "I learned to swim back home. Or, er, in my old territory," she quickly corrected herself. "Me and... my brother would swim in this pond all the time, just the two of us." Her voice held a tint of sadness as she spoke of her littermate and she quickly cleared her throat to change this. "So, can you swim?" The molly changed the topic quickly, turning back around to look up at the top of the rock where the other cat was laying.

She seriously doubted it; not many in this clan knew how to swim. It wasn't as if they had a need to, or any spare time on their paws to learn it for fun. Marblestrike and her brother hadn't needed the skill, per say, but they certainly wanted a way to get out of the den. The pond became their spot to hang out, just the two of them, and as such the close cats began to venture into the water until they both were fairly skilled swimmers. In her young days, Marble would guess that she spend just as much time in the water as she did on land. They had even caught a fish or two, but both of them preferred land prey- swimming wasn't a job for them, rather an enjoyment. Sometimes she missed having a partner to enjoy the water with, as there wasn't anyone here that would and it wasn't as if she wanted to grow closer with any cat. She would be without a partner for a long, long time.

Her dry expression made the tom want to roll his eyes. How come, any time he thought he might be making even the smallest bit of progress, things changed? How come any time he felt as though things were going to change, they went back to the way they had been? Maybe it was just part of Marblestrike's personality. She was defensive by nature and, once a defensive cat... always a defensive cat. Was that the truth or what? Probably, if Palmettoleaf knew anything about the cats of SkyClan. Why wasn't everyone like Grousestar, friendly and able to get along... although then he wouldn't feel comfortable. "True. Still, a simple 'hey I'm not going to drown, don't freak out' would have been in order, I think." Palmettoleaf mewed, a smirk on his maw. Sometimes he felt like trying to make Marblestrike snap at him. It was interesting to see how far he could go before she did. So far, it had been a little while! Good. That was very good. The multicolored tom gave an inwards smile of victory, a purr slipping from his throat as he stared at her with a half-sparkle in his eyes.

"Your brother, hm?" Palmettoleaf mewed, all amusement and that sparkle quickly becoming removed from his eyes and he watched her with nothing but a partly thoughtful expression now. Who was Marblestrike's brother? And, even more important... what had happened to him? He guessed that he wasn't going to get an answer from the attractive, but sharp tongued, feline before him. She didn't seem like the type to graciously answer his questions. Especially since he had already annoyed her half to death, or at least he was pretty sure he had. Her subject change surprised him and he wasn't quite sure he wanted to answer the question. It wasn't even like it was that embarassing, not being able to swim... SkyClan wasn't a clan of fish, after all. Though RiverClan cats could swim, so maybe it was a useful skill to have. In running away, that was. Friendly leaf-green eyes turned themselves back on Marblestrike and the kindness in them resurfaced.

"No, I would make a lousy RiverClanner. I can't swim at all - so if you hadn't been able to swim, I'm pretty sure I would have felt like your blood was on my paws." He would have. Even if it wasn't his fault, Palmettoleaf would have felt that way, and why? Because he would constantly be asking himself what he could have done in order to save Marblestrike. Even though there might have been nothing that he could do.