[Beam]

Originally Posted by Constellation

{Awwww thank you I LOVE your writing style c; There's a lot of great writers on here, and as you get used to writing, it just develops even more <3 }

Timid felt her ears lay flat against her head. She avoided staring at the tom for the simple fact; she knew he was right, but she also know the battles when it came to living in such an inferno place. The disgrace the cats lived in, and the way they were treated. Everyone was an inferior. Her, especially. Though the commander and the guards were given the highest respect. In all honesty, she felt that he was showing genuine care. That he knew this place was bad, and he was urging her to get away. Timid almost smiled. The key word being; almost. Instead she perked her ears and listened to his words. She found comfort at first, but her nose scrunched up. Why did it sound like he was begging her to not go back? His voice held a desperate edge to it, one that Timid failed to understand for a second. Why did he care if she wanted to go back or...upon his next words, she did understand. He thought she was a nice cat. Too nice to be in a place like that. Though Timid didn't choose that place. It was where she was left to die, but luck brought her to be raised there. Luck...bad luck.

“Well...it's a very strict place...I don't think you would understand.” She shook her head once more, getting to her paws as she continued to observe her surroundings. One thing she was good at? Scenting prey. Predicting what type of animals lingered around in this lush gorgeous piece of land. At first she held her muzzle in the air, getting a whiff of the wind just to make sure the wind wouldn't blow her scent towards any other prey. She had high hopes before she returned back to the Syndicate. She was scared that they might run her off, scare her more than she already was, or even nip at her incessantly with their sharp teeth. That would hurt her, make her even more obedient than she already was. Timid was a helper. When she was given a break from hunting, she often found herself in the healer’s den to help her friend Ryker. He always had been kind to her. Shown her that she had nothing to be afraid of whenever she was with him. She wished the other cats of the Syndicate was more like him. ‘’It’s more about law and order. We follow a strict code so no one has to suffer...but we do everyday. And, I’m scared to leave!’’ Her large eyes appeared widen, her pupils dilating. That was the truth. She was a coward to leave the Syndicate--because what if there was a place much worse than the Syndicate that she stumbled upon? With her ears flattened to her head, the she cat looked down, holding a miserable gaze as her soft paw pads stood upon the delicate dirt. ‘’Until you lived in the Syndicate, you would understand what I mean…’’ her voice was hollow, trailing off as she thought about past events. Living in a life of constant trauma brought her into a rough state of depression, but she knew how to hide it well. Fennec didn’t live in the Syndicate, and she hoped he never would. Even though he seemed to have a rough edge to him, she wouldn’t want him to live in a place that is constant darkness, and having superiors think for you because you are simple puppet following instructions.

At his next words, the she cat seemed to brighten up for a second. She engaged in her surroundings, the fresh scents filling her nostrils. She loved every bit of this place, and it was her first time stumbling across it. She was quite distracted chasing that bird. Birds were a treat within the Syndicate. They hardly come into that dark place. Timid had been determined to catch it. Only...she lost it, and perhaps found something better. A friend...is that what she wanted to call him? ‘’You sure do live in a mighty gorgeous place!’’ She turned back to look at him, giving off a genuine smile. ‘’I wish I could live in a place like this...but, not every cat gets lucky.’’ That was the truth, and this was what Timid knew. She seen cats die, many like herself because they were weak. Timid chose the path to be a hunter, where she would be valued because she caught prey, but those weaklings who wanted to be a fighter? Who had the much courage, the confidence that they would be strong. She even saw a queen kill her own kit because it was a runt. The Syndicate was a...rough place, but it was all that she had known, and she was scared to leave it because she knew that there might be a place much worse than where she was now.

The tom had given her permission to hunt in his territory, and she was grateful for that. She purred at this, and almost instantly began trying to follow a trail. Or, locate anything in the area. She was hoping to find a bird. Perhaps, a starling? Or, did she want a finch? Maybe even a lapwing. A bird sounded tasty, even if she wouldn’t be allowed to eat it, but once she held it in her mouth, she would feel satisfied of the juices coming onto her maw. Timid was ready to take off, get her catch and go back before they noticed she was gone too long, but his next words had caught her--completely off guard. ‘’Stay?’’ She tilted her head, staring up at him with her dark irises. ‘’...With you?’’ Would she really want to stay in a place...such as this? It was beautiful here, but she was still frightened. The Syndicate were hounds, they’ll locate anyone that gone astray. ‘’I don’t know.’’ She felt her whiskers twitching. It was a huge proposal, and one that she felt her heart stopping for a moment. She always had problems with deciding something. She always felt that she would make the wrong decision, but wouldn’t she be much safer with Fennec? Or, what if it was the complete opposite. What if she were a complete burden to him? The she cat staggered backwards for a second upon the thought. ‘’I don’t want to be a regret. It’s so beautiful here--you probably want it to yourself.’’ Her gaze lingered on him as she caught sight of his eyes. ‘’Though I would love it if you showed me around,’’ She tilted he head once more at him. Getting to know the place seemed like a lot of fun to her. Such a beautiful place that she would love to remember. Perhaps...maybe, I’ll change my mind.

Fennec frowned, knowing that Timid was right. He didn't understand the Syndicate, why should he be asking? All he imagine din his head were dark, showing trees and a red and black misty gloom cast over a tumble of brambles bordering a clearing. The cats, well, he imagined torn ears and scars and missing eyes. One person ordering everyone around and forcing Timid to hunt for them. He shivered at the thought, if Fennec were to ever step foot in that place, he felt like he wouldn't last a day without getting punished or whatnot, more of his temper than his strength. He was just one of the lucky ones living in the forest.

Well, not entirely lucky. His childhood was rough. Watching his mother grow into something evil after what she did. Fennec would've forgiven his mom for her sudden outburst that started it all, but she was like a pebble and a mountainside, one little fleck of a rock ca cascade down and knock bigger ricks down until the whole mountain was a thundering avalanche. Where was Fennec in the middle of that avalanche, though? he was buried underneath, very shallow though, and the rocks shifted of him to move out. That was lucky: he had a clear escape. But still, the scars were still there and the memories were still fresh.

When Timid spoke again, he felt a sense of empathy. Anyone was scared to leave a place they called home. Including him. He was speechless for this matter, he couldn't say 'you shouldn't be scared', because he was getting fear of the Syndicate just by verbally hearing about it, Timid should be scared. But that didn't hep. He couldn't say 'then don't leave', because timid deserved mor ethen to be bosses around by an evil leader. Instead, he just nodded, "I understand."

Fennec's ears perked up when Timid's voice hung in the air again. His tail curled when she complimented him. He beamed at the smile she gave him, and returned it back to her, trying to look genuinely happy and friendly. His smile came more naturally when Timid wished she lived here: that gave her a perfect reason to accept his hospitality. Fennec didn't know why, but because Timid needed a home, he practically handed her his whole shelter. His tail Then suddenly fell flat again when she commented on how lucky he was.

Like he had thought of before: he wasn't really lucky. He had stumbled upon this place. It seemed heavenly, and he usually took the views for granted. Yes, it was a place to live, but why he was there: he had left his past behind him. Though every night he saw the faces of his family happy and smiling, until he got to the point in his train of thought that they were grimacing, or shouting in pain, or scared, or frightening. Luck was a delicate thing, sometimes karma counted as luck, sometime people were just lucky, others were just not. He had a bad past, he got to live here without anything but his mind to remind him of his family. Some cats got everything. They were perfect. Others, for some reason, they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time and became miserable. With all these counters in his head, Fennec just declared himself normal. His younger ages were unlucky, yet his older were looking towards a silver lining. Neutrally Facing All The Bad Luck.

Fennec felt his blushing feeling return when Timid responded to his prompt. Fennec kept calm, nodding when he needed to. His hopes started to slowly build up every time Timid paused and spoke. The more timid stared at him with her green irises the more nervous he got; as well as eager for the answer. His hoped dropped a few levels when Timid answered, "Oh. Okay.." He trailed off awkwardly. He had no idea of how to continue the conversation without looking like a total fool, so he stayed silent after that. He placed a regular, welcoming, and ambiguous expression on his face, even though he felt a little disappointed, Timid still could say yes to him.

He bit his lip. Why was he so desperate for Timid to stay with him? Evidently, he was doing a deed for a cat in need. Yet he felt desperate, why did he want Timid to stay with him so badly? He inhaled, he had no idea why. He would just leave it at that.

"It such a big area, Timid."He replied. Did he want this place all to himself? He twitch this whiskers and peered at Timid welcomingly, his eyes relaxed and his tail tip curling, "I don't want it all to myself, all the other cats around should have a piece too."he paused for a moment, taking in the sunlit pine trees and the almost glowing flora around him. Timid was right, this place was beautiful. Fennec had a jolt of surprise as Timid's eyes found his for a second; his ears perked up and he felt his tail wave.

"Of course ill show you around." he purred, maybe if she saw the territory, she'd want to stay and accept his hospitality offer, "You'll love it." He stood on his four paws, his tail sweeping behind him as he started to slowly walk in the direction of the aspen trees that were commonly littered around the territory. He watched Timid for her next response. It could be just this tour of the territory that could convince her to leave the syndicate. This small thing could make her life better, like the flap of a butterfly's wings could cause or cease a hurricane. It was possibly the small things that could affect Timid's life, and Fennec wanted it to be a positive event.