Originally Posted by AbsurdJinx (Post 182946) Augustus hadn't realized Jinx's height before as he had been all caught up in his oh-all-so-mighty confidence. It didn't exactly shock him, but he looked down at her with a gaping mouth. ``You're tall?`` He exclaimed, stepping back as if he's been betrayed. His thin tail hooked behind him, falling towards the ground behind him until the upper half curled upwards. He figured he may as well make a show of discovering her true height. His narrowed eyes began to water with fake tears, and his shoulders heaved with every forced, shaky breath. ``Why-why didn't you tell me?`` With a loud, distraught wail, Augustus spun on his heel and trotted forward a few steps. His head hung low, and his tail still didn't move. His torso continued to move shakily, and his voice was raspy with a fake sadness. ``My life's been a lie!`` He raised his head as he cried this, his gaze locked on the dark treetops above them. After a few more heavy breaths, Augustus looked over his shoulder at Jinx with a bright smile. His green eyes gleamed happily, and his yellowing teeth peeked past his dark lips. His tail began to move quickly, cheerfully, and his breathing was no longer labored. ``What are you waiting for? Lets go,`` He chirped. His head swiveled back around, and he lead the way into the dark forest. Though the area was shadowy and the air of the forest resembled death, Augustus trotted along like a rambunctious kit just out of the nursery. His long legs offered him the advantage of long strides. His head was raised high, and his mouth was opened slightly to inhale the fresh scent of outdoors. His ears and whiskers twitched in the cold breeze, and his short, thin pelt tingled in the soft winds. His dark paw pads touched the ground lightly, not offering much of a sound, and his rat-like tail lashed with excitement behind him. His green eyes were bright with joy, and a gentle smile could be found on his face. Though the Dusk Syndicate territory was dark and uncomfortable to most, Augustus found it to be the most soothing place in the world. His home was within the thin, dark trees, and the lack of undergrowth. It was where he felt safe and needed despite the harshness in Dusk Syndicate life. He came to a halt where he decided to point a few things out. ``Y'know, there really isn't anything special to Dusk Syndicate territory. You got your thin trees, your bushy treetops that block out most sunlight, your lack of bushes... A majority of our fresh-kill is scrawny - I mean, what type of food can our prey find in this dark place? Um, that way,`` His tail straightened to point in a certain direction, ``is where we share our border with SkyClan. Personally, I think we'd best chase them out. Their arrival to this area was a great loss for the Dusk Syndicate. I can't wait to get into a fight with one of them, though! Anyway, I may not be a hunter, but I know the places our hunters like to search for food. Mainly, they hunt in the area furthest away from camp. Wait - are you a hunter? Or a fighter? Because what I'm telling you could be utterly useless. Know what, don't answer that. I'm going to figure it out myself! Hey, can you tell me what the Clans were like? They were much too soft, right? Before the `night leaders, I mean. You don't miss your Clan, do you? You won't leave, will you? I honestly think you fit in well within the ranks of the Dusk Syndicate! You're rude, cruel, slightly heartless - perfect for this group here. Hey - I may be a bundle of awesomeness, but I do have my dark side, y'know. I can be mean when I want to be! But you don't think I'm mean, do ya? Personally, I think you can be rather mean, but don't worry - you can't hurt me. And I'll try not to hurt you either, okay? Remember, two negatives make a positive! I'm a negative, and you're a negative, and together, we will be the best of friends! Being best friends is the positive part, okay? I really needed a friend. It gets lonely here, and this place can really mess with you. I was going insane until you came along. My brother's disappearance really messed me up,`` He chuckled uneasily, realizing he went too far with his kit-like rambling. ``I won't let you go insane, though, and you'll keep me grounded. Because I said all of this, and didn't allow you a chance to back out, you are stuck being my best friend. So that means you have to be nice to me, okay? Okay. Did you know I recently found a blackbird's feather around here? I buried it somewhere, before the cold season, but I don't remember exactly where, and the ground is much too hard this leaf-bare to dig. It's the only feather I've seen! That hasn't been attached to it's owner's body, of course. I like to think there's a story behind it. Maybe the bird was trying to get away from something, but that something managed to tug a single feather from it's body? Maybe the feather is as old as the Clans? Maybe the winds carried the feather from a place far away? The bird population often goes down in leaf-bare because they leave for warmer places, and I like to believe that this feather came from one of those warm places. My obsession with this feather might be silly to you, but it's important to me, and I just don't care what you think - unless, you agree with me?`` He smiled softly at Jinx, a childish gleam in his dull green eyes.

At his over dramatic reaction to her height, Jinx simply waited for him to quit, her hues were neutral. It really did amuse her, she didn't like kits much and this feline was basically a big kit. Once he was finished and asked what she was waiting for, she let out a huff of annoyance before casually following after him. Her pelt was a bit thicker than his, however unlike his soft steps, she didn't care if anyone heard they were around and simply let her paws fall with a soft thud. Jinx's tail tip twitched in thought before Augustus suddenly stopped to point in a certain direction and there began his rambling.

Her hues followed in the directions he gestured and she simply sat there and listened with a blank face. However her mind was running rampaged with thoughts as he spoke. She had a list mentally tallying what she would and wouldn't say when he gave her the chance to speak. The best friends thing and the being nice thing were the biggest concerns on her list. However she'd let him do whatever he wanted on figuring out her rank. Jinx crouched down, her ears pricked towards him and her hues glancing around. The scenery he described was correct, there wasn't much to this place. She didn't enjoy that part too much because she felt left out in the open and the ground was hard. Jinx was used to the marshy grounds, the softness of the ground even in leaf-bare, here it was just hard and cold and it made her paws ache after a while. Of course she wasn't one to let that show without a good reason.

Once his rambling was done, Jinx let out a small sigh and muttered something under her breath. Inhaling, she sat upwards, her tail wrapping around her paws impatiently. "Shadowclan was easier to run compared to this place, the cats would listen to anything and everything and wouldn't question it directly to their leader. If I could go back, I would because mouse-brains are easily to manipulate compared to those here who clash with each other because no one but Halite and Boreas matter. Even that little Onyx feline I've heard about, doesn't matter because he's got no power over the two. Similar to how Shadowclan worked, but everyone got respected at least. Here no one seems to know what that is and Hannibal is the only feline here that seems to know how to take to disrespect," she paused, that was one point down. "Secondly, we're not best friends. Perhaps in your fantasy locked away in your head we are, but I'm not your friend. You're very cocky and it almost seems fake, but I have nothing to back that up so you're untrustworthy. I'm not nice to anyone so you can get over yourself if you think I'll change for you," he replied, her words were bitter, but she never lied. "This two negatives thing you keep repeating, if you wanna be real, two negatives drive each other apart from what I've learned so I don't really understand how you can think we can get along. This thing you said about not letting me get driven insane, well I don't need you to keep me grounded. I have logical reasons to stay grounded, if anything this cockiness of yours will drive me insane. Don't rely on anyone, Augustus, because you'll get hurt in the end whether you want to or not, I certainly won't be relying on you and your attachment issues." Jinx paused again, the entire time she spoke, her voice was flat and no emotions other than hints of anger here and there showed. Her hues were simply searching his, wondering how he'd react. Lastly, I don't care about your bird feather. I've seen plenty, I've eaten plenty, I simply don't care. You can keep that obsession to yourself. Random, unnecessary information such as that doesn't concern me and I simply don't need to know it. It's as useless as the feather attached to no bird,"