[Brilliance]

Originally Posted by Beam

Fennec perked his ears for a second at the sound of a flap of wings, hoping it was maybe close enough to catch. It stopped very quickly, and he turned his wandering gaze that was scanning the trees back to the beryl-colored eyes of the cat next to him. She seemed to be thinking, and he caught himself staring for a second. In a sheepish manner, he turned his head away. Was that what he was like when he was thinking? He hid back a flinch because he must look deep into thought most of the time. To waste the silence between them away, he just looked to the woods. Clean, fresh, green, and turning orange. He spotted some leaves on nearby aspens starting to change to warm, fire colors. Fall was here, which means the prey would start to disappear. He had always had a love-hate relationship with winter. Everything was so frosty and pretty, but it was always difficult. But now he had a benefit-he had an excellent, trained hunter on his side in a more plentiful place. Either way, he’d been ok trough the other Winters, but now he’d have two times more the prey. Well, Timid would eat too. So they’d both be okay. He suddenly blinked in surprise, he had just imagined himself and Timid living together, and Winter was like one or two moons away.

They already seemed extremely compatible

He smiled at her comment, his eyes traveling to the blue sky above him, again, which was getting pale in the nearing cold weather. He listened to Timid’s sophisticated words carefully, finding a wanderlust inside of him as he studied the infinite expanse of cool blue sky, shrouded with the outlines of leaves and vegetation rooted in the ground. At the elevation he was perched at, the clouds moved so fast, that it was nearly impossible to capture and remember a perfect scene since it would be gone so quickly. If Fennec could, he would just study the sky all day and feel the cool breeze tickle the fur on his ears and listen to the birds sing. That would be heavenly, just to forget everything and watch. Everything in this world moves so fast, and everyone needed to slow down and take a moment to appreciate the atmosphere around them, or else they would miss true beauty. “You’re right.” He agreed, drawing his eyes back to Timid. “Maybe sometimes simplicity is better.”

Timid and Fennec were from two opposite worlds. A sweet cat in a hostile place and a messed up tom from the regular world would meet should sound awfully like a bad idea, but nothing had gone wrong. It was also odd how the conversation led to the subject of birds, funny little creatures who lived in bowls of sticks. It was such a little, underrated thing that it seemed almost silly to talk about it. A scared molly and a guarded tom talking about birds, it seemed pretty interesting to him, or was it that he was just thinking about the smallest things? Whatever it was, it was confusing him. His head tilted to the side in curiosity as Timid cut herself off. Didn't she want to keep talking about how good birds were? She wasn't annoying him, so maybe it was just personal. He had plenty of experience with that. “I bet the Syndicate was lucky for any prey.” He added thoughtfully, imagining a place where the prey-rich Summer never came “But sometimes birds are a nuisance. I remember I once climbed up a tree for one, and it was all feathers-no meat whatsoever. I thought it was this plump little sparrow and it turned out to be the skinniest thing ever. I had good bedding though. That’s a plus for feathers.” He studied her facial expressions for a moment, wondering what she was thinking again. Maybe she was thinking of the Syndicate, or this place, or why she was talking to him in the first place. He didn’t know. She seemed somewhat troubled in the way, and maybe he could try to attempt to lighten the mood just slightly, after all, everyone could use a laugh once in awhile. The keyword there was ‘try’, he wasn't very good at this whole cheering up thing. “I have a question,” he stated calmly, a twinkle of humor catching in his eyes, Fennec really hoped it would be somewhat funny or at least distracting to get their minds off other things, plus, it was a genuine question. “Do Syndicate cats even use feathers as bedding? Or bedding at all? Or do they sleep on thorns and stuff?”

Excellent? An excellent bluejay? Fennec didn’t know how to qualify for that title of excellent, but he took the compliment anyways and gave a small, sheepish smile. He couldn't see himself shrinking into a little blue bird. He’d start shrieking with that weird bird call at everything and panic his life away. The little blue mohawked bird was just in a whole new level, or just different from everything else. No songbird, no prey bird. Just kind of itself. Fennec could relate, he was different from the status quo, weird, maybe even intimidating, but never the same.

He felt as if he could trust Timid. She had a lot in her life, she could understand. If not, she was just sweet enough to know. Oh, wow, how would he start this off if she asked the right question? So, my mother killed my sister and so my other sister ran away and I followed her and witnessed her being crushed by a rockslide. So then in panic and numb shock, ran away. There I saw my cowardly father, screamed at him, continued to fight him, I won, by the way, and came here. The End. That would be quite the shocker, and a lot of information to take in. He wouldn't want to put all of that direct, compressed truth right on her. He took a few tentative seconds to reply, being careful. “Dramatic? Yes, I am very dramatic. I’m not going to deny it.” in her next phrases though, it left him in relief. She understood something happened, she actually understood. She must’ve had so many questions for the times he closed himself off just to sit and ponder, Fennec didn’t blame her, he would too. He watched her blink a few times and accept. He was expecting a flood of questions, but he underestimated her. She was caring and smart, and definitely compassionate to him. “Alright, Whenever you’re ready.”

He never knew how much Timid liked chipmunks, she seemed very excited to hear about them. He was eager to go out and chase, and it seemed as if she was too. “Very fast indeed. Good luck catching one of those little lightning bolts.” He too stretched as Timid wandered off to sniff something. He pivoted and began to search for a hint of prey, his tail flicking with interest at every sound and he turned his ears, eyes, nose, and paws on. He liked how he could just switch from a regular demeanor to a hunting expert. It was like he was two different felines. He stopped and lifted his head, his ears swiveling to catch a sound when he heard Timid's voice. Was she in trouble? Was something there? He became relieved when she caught up but then realized that he forgot she had a skittish behavior. “Sorry.” he apologized quietly. Happy to hear that she would take up his offer on a little game, he watched her hop around in joy, giving him a blissful vibe as well. Neatly, he sat down to explain to her, keeping his ears alert for prey that was nearby.

“Okay.” He mewed confidently, his paws itching to get active again. “If you’re comfortable with splitting up, I say we have ourselves a little competition.” He watched her for any change in expression. He hoped she’d be okay with it, or else he would have to dream up another little wager very quickly. “Let's see who catches the most prey by the time…” He looked up at the sky, the sun was starting to drop but there was really no time to tell with. “By the time we can’t carry anymore. Sound fair?” His eyes searched for an accepting acknowledgment, knowing very well that if she did accept he and Timid would not be hungry for the next day, assuming they both catch prey.

(sorry this is really short)

Simplicity was life. At least it could be for many of they chose not to complicate it. Since Timid found herself to be...a rather complicated cat, she didn't believe her life was simple at all. It was more than just being a wild cat, and growing up in a place that should had longed been destroyed; never started. There was nothing simple about being forced to hunt - not for yourself, but for others. For the fighters who need their nutrients and the hunters or healers didn't matter. There was nothing simple about growing up in a place, scared for your life! Believing everyday that it may be the last moment you'll breathe. That you'll live. There was nothing simple about survival at its best. Everything else around her, Timid found it was very simple. The sky was blue. Leaves grew on trees, cats couldn't fly. Those were all simple, delicate, and the truth. Albeit, Fennec was right; Simplicity was better. It was beautiful. Out here. Where she felt, well, semi-safe. As safe as a cat could he when she was frightened by the entire earth's surroundings. Timid may have been a very intelligent cat, but she wasn't the most bravest. She wasn't afraid to show that she was scared of one thing, of many things. It was tough growing up in the syndicate where kits were murdered by their parents if they weren't deemed enough to help the syndicate grow in numbers. It was all about power, and she was...spared. Why had she been spared? Timid shook her head, frowning for a moment as she thought about the friends she never said goodbye to. Her decision was a bit rushed, but this Tom offered her a home here after she voiced the trouble she gone through. Was it a smart decision to stay with him? He didn't seem like he could do no harm... he seemed...as lost as she was. Maybe, even in a deeper type of trouble that he didn't feel much comfortable with voicing.

Neverminding that, Timid gave a dutiful nod, her irises glowing brilliantly as she embraced the sky. "Simplicity is better." She muttered. When they started talking about the creatures with feathers, Timid made the decision that she wished to be a dove. They were a calming white. A color, to her, was bland. There was nothing special about the color white, but the birds of peace made it seem like the beauty of white was under appreciated. Whereas, Fennec chose a bluebird, now those birds were a gorgeous color. Should she have chosen another bird? Like a peacock? Or a hummingbird? Maybe a starling? No, no - she had been overthinking, another fear of hers. Timid wanted to stay far from being worried. She wasn't in the syndicate where she had to worry everyday of it would be her last sunrise. She was in this...humble, plentiful place that made life seem so simple for all the animals. This was the place where she didn't have to worry about her last sunset...hopefully. Even a place such as this had its predators, and she wasn't a molly fit enough to fight in a battle. She was prettier being seen than being heard. "Yeah...we were." She gave a lighthearted shrug, her eyes downcasted at the ground, and her claws aimlessly making shapes into the dirt. Fennec wouldn't know how much trouble the syndicate was. Numerous times she almost failed and lost her life. She didn't even bother to look up at him as she reminisced. "Everything was considered a luxury in the syndicate. We'd go days without eating. The fighters always had to eat first before any of us. We always had to feed them, and some of them were so big that we...never got to eat. Everything was so scarce there. To be honest, a piece of a feather was the most lavish thing." She sulked. However, a small smile reached the Molly's face as the tom recollected his tale about a bird being scrawny. Timid tilted her head up to look at her companion, her smile widening. "Sparrows aren't my favorite treat, anyway." She purred. Those birds were rather scrawny, and she only had one herself. Never again would she hunt those birds. There was only few pieces of prey that Timid preferred to kill. As she continued to listen, her eyes lit up in a humorous fit. "Feathers do sound very soft," she replied, dreamily. She could imagine sleeping on stacks of bird feathers. That would be the most luxurious object she ever had. "I wish!" She crowed, almost falling over laughing. The syndicate...ever having something soft to lay upon? That was a large NO. Timid couldn't speak for the commander, who kept everyone in check. He most likely had all the riches in the world. She didn't doubt that one bit. "I always slept on the cold ground," she squeaked. That was embarrassing to admit. She didn't sleep on moss nests or feathers or any other dead animal's fur that was considered bedding. "It wasn't so bad, though!" She quickly added, "You'll get used to it after a while." Still, there was no justice with being treated like a second citizen. As a hunter, she wasn't treated with respect from anybody. Allure always had came to her rescue because Allure regarded the scaredy-cat as her own kit; her own daughter. Timid inwardly felt like a disappointed. She was glad she left that place, but what if she started becoming a disappointment in Fennec's eyes as well? Then, where would she go?

No. She couldn't think like that. What she forced herself to believe that she could be useful to this Tom. She wasn't just going to live off of him freely, munching away as he is doing all the work. Timid wasn't the best huntress, but she was a huntress. She knew the smell of prey, she knew how to endure her stamina, despite her legs being heavily short, so she had to take multiple breaks after running for a burst of a period.

Just as she had been, the Tom looked deep in thought. It made her ears flicked because she noticed a somewhat look of apprehension crossing his face, like he was shocked, surprised. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but he suddenly said something that made her genuinely laugh. Dramatic, eh? She didn't take him as such, and maybe he had been joking, but whatever the reason was, she didn't mind. "I'll keep that noted." She winked. Nothing funny than a dramatic tom. Possibly, this new friend of hers wasn't at all dramatic, but his life had been. Which couldn't be a surprise since every life held such a suspenseful thriller like on a movie. Timid was grateful that she bumped into him. Literally. He offered her protection. He just didn't know how easily frightened she would become. Back in the syndicate, they pushed her away. They watched her cry; they made her cry. She was worthless there...but, here? She hoped it would be different. She hoped she wasn't falling in the same misery that she unintentionally escaped from. "Maybe, we can talk tonight." As they're laying down, in a nest, about to sleep. Maybe, that was the perfect time to talk. To get to know each other tonight.

"Is that a challenge?" She questioned, giving a knowing glance towards the Tom. Chipmunks were cute. They were...cuddly. Like a teddy bear for a small child. They were one of the preys that Timid refused to catch and gobble down. In fact, she rather liked to frolic with the little critters. Sometimes she would blow her cheeks up to copy their fat ones and hop after them. But, this had been a secret that she was embarrassed to tell anyone about. "Fast or not - the only thing you need is determination. But, they say the mind is a lot faster than any movements." Yes, chipmunks were fast, but if a predator could outsmart the little speedmasters? Then, there was no competition. That's the entire tutorial that Timid learned from her hunting coach. Any prey faster than her, she had to come up with a sneaker plan to catch them. It was the way she hunted. When Fennec suggested the two play a game, it made her day a whole lot brighter. Timid adored playing. It was her favorite activity ever. Back in the syndicate, they ignored those motives. She was deemed as immature - but what was wrong with a little game? She bounced after the Tom, a gleam in her eyes. She continued to bounce around even after he began explaining the intentions of the game. When he mentioned they would be splitting up, Timid stopped her prancing, and she felt her ears flatten against her head instantly....split up? "But, I, I, uh - I think that's fine." She corrected herself. She was a stuttering mess, but it had to come a time where she accepted being independent. She wasn't supposed to be relying on him on her every little step. Yet, she was still scared. She didn't want to run into any trouble, but she gulped this down, feigning determination. "I bet I'll win." She purred. All she had to do was catch as much prey as she could. How hard could that be? She was, after all, a hunter. Not an expert one, but she had enough skill to trick her target and catch them swiftly.

"And, if I win?" She emphasized. Confidence...was an awkward apparel on her. Timid was not a confident feline, so her voice may have sounded force than anything else, but she felt herself semi (not at all) prepared. She circled around her companion, throwing him a quick sweet smile before she looked in the distance. She had to get a good whiff of the most dominated area of potential prey. When she found it, her nose locked in the distance, and her eyes slitting to show she was ready to run. "...deal." She said, softly, and scurried off one way to began the competition. Gosh! How fast was her heart beating? It was off the charts! She felt wary of her surroundings. As long as she breathed nature in, then she would be fine...right? Right.