[lone]

Originally Posted by Deranged Llama

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.

The she cat shrugged, thinking about what he had said. Her Mother might have named her, but in her opinion the name had been given to her - it belonged to her, which meant everything that came along with it. That was probably why cats complimented each other on their names, not each other's parents. However, she wouldn't comment on that... instead she gave a small smile and nodded. Toren did sound right, too, even if Tori didn't completely agree, though that may have had something to do with the way that he spoke. It was elegant, refined, and she loved the sound of it. It flowed almost perfectly, and coming from his mouth, it sounded right. He was a stranger, perhaps one from far away, one who didn't have the same experiences and customs of the Dusk Syndicate, so no wonder he spoke strangely. Tori had rarely spoken there, and was still getting used to this freedom she had to speak.

She still wasn't comfortable speaking her mind, though she never had been. Being born and raised in the Dusk Syndicate, Tori had soon learned that if she wanted to survive, she was going to have to keep her head down and her mouth shut. She didn't have it as rough as some... meaning the poor cats she had seen bullied simply because they weren't members of the Syndicate, or at least they hadn't been born there. Tori didn't agree with treating other cats like that, not that she was allowed to have that opinion... all she was allowed to do was sit still and watch and hope that she wouldn't be next. She never had been, she was always bullied off to the side when she was on her own, by one or two cats... mercilessly, yes, but at least it wasn't as public. Though that might have had something to do with her parents, scarier cats who took good care of her... or at least, they had. Tori had no idea where her parents or siblings were now, and she was hoping that they were okay.

Even the siblings who had been cruel to her were still family, and Tori was determined to treat them as such. Perhaps she would run into them later on, there was no way of knowing who all was out here, after all. "I... I like the way you, uh, the way you talk..." Tori's mew came through shyly, still unsure whether or not it was okay to say something like that. She hadn't been socially apt back in the Syndicate, and it seemed even out here, where there was only herself and Toren for... miles, most likely, she still wasn't able to pull herself together. Then again, Tori hadn't been very good with change, either. As horrible as that place was, she had almost been tempted to stay in the broken-down territory, where there would be a few other loyal members skulking around, probably... but hopefully she would be fine.

"Oh - oh no, they're... they're true." She mewed with a stammer, a shiver going down her spine and making it almost buzz with all the anxiety she was holding in her small body. Tori was still sitting near the tree, though when he began speaking again, telling her of his backstory - or at least part of it - she listened, intrigued. Her ears pricked up as she leaned partly forward, listening to the almost musical flow of his voice. If only she could speak like that, she was sure she wouldn't have been so shy and nervous. Who would ever make fun of words like those? She felt bland, boring next to him and his words and the tale that he spun - what made it even better was that it was a true tale. Tori had heard many stories over her young lifetime, but this one was more impressive to her.

"Well, uh, I hope it... it continues to be for the - for the better here, and... and I hope you find whatever it is you're - you're looking for, uh, if - if you are looking for... for something." That last part was added on more quickly, as Tori realized he had never specifically said that he was looking for something. But unless this home he spoke of was like the Syndicate, or the Clans, and had fallen apart, what other reason could he possibly have to leave? Perhaps he had been mistreated, or something? Tori wasn't going to go into all of that, though... she thought it would be rude.