[doghouse]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Timberpaw listened to Apurva speak. He felt odd, listening to her...mainly because he had never spoken to a loner before, and mainly because it was strange to hear a cat say that being alone wasn't a bad thing. Having been alone for the majority of his lifetime- well, not actually alone, but alone in the sense that he didn't have any friends, he couldn't imagine why any cat would think being alone was a good thing. Because it could only either be bad or good, right? It wasn't like there was some third option that only she cats or loners knew about, right? Timberpaw felt a shudder go down his spine and he flicked his tail as though trying to get rid of it- however, he knew it couldn't work. "Being alone isn't...a bad thing?" He repeated slowly, his voice confused and strangely echo like. "B-but you don't have anyone to talk to...or laugh with...or when the time comes, and you feel ready- I mean- y'know, you won't have anyone that you like!" Timberpaw exclaimed, sounding shocked at Apurva's speech. "Yeah...it's pretty great alright, I think you'd fit right in!" Timberpaw mewed, his voice excited. He sounded much more cheerful than before, and he looked as he sounded- happy. His ears flicked backwards for a moment as she reconciled her story of adventure and then began to laugh. He was soon laughing so hard that he could hardly stand up. Once he had pulled himself together and the story had ended, he looked straight at her.


"That's great...it sounds like you had a lot of fun times with this "Blade,"" Timberpaw mewed thoughtfully, with a smile. But if the two of them had been so close, what had happened? He knew it wasn't his position to ask. He knew that if wasn't the right thing to ask. But he couldn't help it- he had to know. He jumped slightly, not anticipating Apurva's question. "Oh! No, not really...there was one time when my sister and I went out hunting and ran into a badger...but nothing much ever happens to me," Timberpaw mewed with an embarrassed expression. He could feel his ears heating, his tail twitching in nervousness, and his expression fading from a friendly smile go an embarrassed half one. "If...if you don't mind my- asking, what happened to you and Blade?" Timberpaw asked, a curious note entering his embarrassed and anxious tone.

She shifted her position slightly and looked around the unfamiliar forest. “Well, no.... But I never get the chance when I'm not alone. When I'm not alone, I'm being chased away or attacked by someone.” She missed not being alone, but it didn't really feel like an option anymore, though right now seemed to be okay. It'd been a few moons since she'd gotten to just sit down and talk with someone. “I suppose that for loners, being alone is more... It's what keeps most loners alive....” her voice trailed away, and she lowered her gaze a small bit. She looked up again, the gentle sounds of the forest feeling very comforting to her. His voice was very confused and echo like, which seemed rather odd to Apurva, though familiar in the sense that Blade had often sounded like that when she'd talked about how great the woods were. “Really?” she asked, excitement lacing her mew. She flicked her tail in excitement. She realized that he sounded excited and happier than before, and she blinked in surprise, wondering what she'd done to do that. She looked even more surprised when she started laughing so hard he could barely stand up. After a moment of hesitation, she broke into laughter. It wasn't forced, but it was genuine laughing. She stopped before he did, and sat, trying to catch her breath. She straightened up, and her head tilted back. The branches that wove thickly above her head, and offered a dappled sunlight. Creating a mix of both sunlight and shade.

“I did....” she trailed off uncertainly. Some of it had been good, other times, not so much. “A badger?” she looked rather shocked. “I've never seen a badger before!” she breathed, then she smiled, realizing that maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it was better that she hadn't seen a badger. She felt a shiver run down from the back of her neck and down her spine. She'd heard stories of badgers, but those had all been from before she'd been taken from her mother. Her fur began to feel warm, and she gave her chest fur a couple of rapid, embarrassed licks. She had not at all been expecting his next question, and she gave him an embarrassed and slightly confused lopsided smile. “Um.... I told him I didn't want to be a kittypet, and he got mad and chased my away. I hadn't wanted to be a kittypet from the very start, but I wanted to be with him.... But then I told him. So now, I'm a loner....” she trailed off and turned her head away for a moment, then turned back to look at Timberpaw.