[Rose_Paradise]

Originally Posted by Rowan

The clearing was busy, but SandyOrchid didn’t really notice the movement the same way others did. She sat off to the side, her tail curled tightly around her paws, staring at a patch of moss that had been stepped on unevenly. It wasn’t important, not to most cats, but something about how it was crushed in a pattern caught her eye. She blinked slowly, then turned her head the other way like it might look different from a new angle.

It didn’t. But she kept looking.

A breeze rustled the ferns behind her, and her ears twitched fast, like she was bracing for something. Nothing came. Still, her shoulders tensed up like they always did when she wasn’t sure if she was being watched. Her gaze flicked up to the sky. Gray clouds. Probably rain later. She liked rain. It made the world quieter. SandyOrchid didn’t speak. Not because she was shy, exactly—she just never knew what to say first. Or second. Or third. Emotions were weird, like... blurry things everyone else saw clearly, and she didn’t. When other cats laughed, she just watched and nodded, like she knew what was going on. Even if she didn’t.

She shifted her paw now, pressing it into the soft ground. There was a smear of something—mud, maybe, or a leaf’s leftover color. She stared at it like it’d do something on its own…move or something. It didn’t. But she stayed anyway.

If someone came up to her, she’d probably just blink at them, unsure of what to say. But maybe she’d try. Maybe today was one of those days she tried a little more.



[OPEN]

"Hi." Shallowpool walked up to the she shyly. Barely mewing the words. "How are you today." She asked quietly, knowing that SandyOrchid was shyer than her.

Shallowpool knew that SandyOrchid doesn't talk a lot but neither does Shallowpool. Shallowpool decided that she was going to be brave and talk to another cat today instead of keeping to herself quietly like she often does.

{ @Rowan }