[Jynx]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Toren? It sounded like a masculine version of her own name, or maybe hers was a feminine version of that - either way, their names were similar and it surprised Tori. She honestly hadn't been expecting that. "I - I like... your, um, your name..." She mewed with a self-concious note entering her voice. Toren didn't act like the type of cat who got a lot of compliments. And besides, maybe he would stop looking so hostile and act more friendly, and at least give Tori some peace of mind. Comfort didn't seem to be his type of thing either, but a girl could always hope, couldn't she? She was still pressed against the tree, like she thought it might be her saving grace - perhaps one of her friends from the Dusk Syndicate would magically appear if she wished them here hard enough, and protect her from any hostile attacks.
And then they would leave, and Tori would be alone again - in blissful silence and solitude. That sounded amazing, however, her fantasy was impossible. Her friend would probably stay there even if one of them did come, to make sure she was alright and all, and even if they did leave, she was in a spot where more travelers were likely to pass through. Probably not the mess territory Tori could have picked, to be honest. A glint of appreciation passed through her own features as Toren moved away, the hostility disappearing, but he did continue to watch her.
Smile or no smile, the silver Bengal did her best to keep from feeling like she was being judged by the tom and focus on the conversation at hand. Perhaps she desperately needed a conversation, it had been so long since she had talked - like really gotten to talk - to another feline. She thought about the tom's question for a minute, trying to piece the words together in her mind so they'd be easier to say. Except she knew they wouldn't come out perfectly, in the neat way they were set together. They would come out jumbled and messy and rough, and the illusion of the cat now having it more together would fade away. It always did. Perhaps when she was comfortable with the other tom, she would be able to keep that illusion up.
Doubtful; it would take a while before she was comfortable enough, anyways. "I, um... I was from the - the Dusk Syndicate, and I - uh - it kind of, well, fell apart... so - so I, I left and, and went as far as I could... far away as I could... ended up here." She shifted her weight again, but she had come off of the tree, and her own fur had flattened down in a more friendly manner as well. Tori even attempted a smile, mirroring the one that Toren had on his own face, but found it to be harder then she thought and ended up stopping after a minute. "What, uh... what about - about you?" She asked, stumbling over the words blindly, but managing to do okay in the end.

Toren flicked one of his brown and white ear as she replied to his inquiries. "Thank you," he meowed, his voice genuinely pleased. "I like your as well." He gave a sudden purr, long whiskers twitching with amusement. "Funny, isn't it?" He blinked, fixing his sea green gaze on her, a smile tipping the corners of his slender maw. "We take credit for another's decision." His mother had told him once that she should be the one congratulated for such a name as his own. How so? He had asked her. She had replied with a simple answer. For I chose it for you done. As thoughts about what he had left behind slipped through his memories like water in a fast flowing river, Toren gave himself a hurried mental shake. One mustn't think of the past while the present was at work. Refocusing his distant gaze on Tori, he gave a courteous dip of his head.

"Sorry," he meowed, the smile replaced with a serious, earnest expression. "I mean not to confuse. The words through which I speak done an unfamiliar pattern unlike most." Toren's gave rested on her tense form, wondering what had shaped her to be frightened as so. His question was no longer left without answer, for her reply told him almost he needed to know. I, um... I was from the- the Dusk Syndicate, and I - uh - it kind of, well, fell apart He resisted the subtle urge to give a snort. He himself didn't have a bone to pick with those cats, but he sure heard rumors of their keen sense for ruthlessness. Toren' she tail twitched, and he swept it over the ground behind him. "Ah," he murmured half to himself, his attention straying to a falling leaf as he remembers suddenly where he had heard the name. The tom cat had listened to many a rumor that was going about how the Syndicate had attempted a mass attack and then were defeated and scattered. "I didn't assume the rumors to be true. Not in the full, for the matter."

As she asked her question, Toren pondered for a moment, stalling, if one would dare to say aloud. He drew one sharp claw through a patch of smooth dirt infront of him, attempting to find the words to say. He didn't wish to tell this Tori all of his troubles, but was hesitant to hide too much. "I left my family from our home in The Barn many days ago." The tom cat flinched; that sentence flowed horrible. Hopefully she won't mind. He hurried on with hardly a breath. "I've traveled through pines, storms, and many a human city. staying not among felines as yourself, but seeking solitude in chase of thoughts. Then by chance I happened to find you here. For better or worse, I do not yet know." Toren suddenly realized this could seem doubtful of her goodness, and he certainly didn't wish to come off as so. "For better, as of now." He added reassuringly with a quick, fleeting smile.

Relaying his story, though not in the full, seemed to take a mental weight off his shoulders. It actually felt nice talking to a normal cat in a normal convesation. She seemed nothing like the shifty and could-be vile city cats, who had time for none but a fleeting, curt, and not to mention short-tempered word or two. Toren was pretty sure that Tori had never encountered one such as himself before, though. Not many travelers took up speech as his, and not many appreciated the ancient appeal to such an old way of words. Even his family back at The Barn attempted to sway him from his mentally-challenging speech. He was not to be swayed. It came natural to Toren, just as common speech, as he called it, came naturally to others. He would not discern his calling to the past treasures.