Quote:
Originally Posted by Raindancer
Silence smiled softly at Hoot, seeing his words from the corner of her eye. Seems the young tom was a little more plucky than she'd thought. The smile faded quickly, though when Spark sneered down at her. "So, you're going for younger toms, now?" He swiped at her again, but the small she-cat ducked. "How pathetic. I told you when you left, no one else could ever love you." Silence lunged for his ankles, causing Spark to retreat a few steps. Though he looked more amused than threatened.
Her pelt burned with embarrassment at his crass insinuation. She bared her teeth at him. Get out! But he ignored her, taking a few steps towards Hoot. "You know that she's broken, don't you? Why on earth do you want her?" He snickered "You've smelled all the other cats that've been here, I'm sure. You're just another wanderer she shelters to feel good about herself. She doesn't really care about you, you know." His cold eyes raked over Silence accusingly before returning to Hoot "This isn't your business, so I suggest you leave."
Silence's eyes flashed with anger, and she lunged at him again, jumping to snap at his neck and swiping at his legs. Spark was forced to retreat again. It was all Silence could do to keep him moving. But he was toying with her, as he always was. If the tom decided to actually fight she was no match for him. But, if she could get him as far away from Hoot as possible, her friend would have more time to escape once the flighting started.
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"Well that's quite rude of you to say, don't you think?" Hoot countered. He took half a step forward, but not daring to move any closer. "It's also very impolite to talk about other cats as if they aren't standing right in front of you." This felt good. This trash talk. It felt good to try and be intimidating too. The more he spoke, the more confident the tom became. As the stranger turned to speak to Hoot, he stiffened, but held his ground. His claws dug into the ground beneath him as if his rapidly beating heart would blow him away. "Broken?" He mewed incredulously. "You mean her deafness? She like she's functioning well enough." Hoot motioned his tail around the clearing. He struggled to continue his menacing act while heat burned under his pelt. The stranger's accusations were unwarranted, but appeared as if they were fueled by jealousy.
"It's not like that at all." The younger tom assured him. "We're not- we aren't together. We're acquaintances. Friends at best. And what does all of that matter? Perhaps she's using me, but maybe I'm using her too. This clearing isn't a bad place to stay and I've been fed so far." The tom's words had almost shaken him. It was possible Silence was just a selfish she-cat that was using him. But weren't all cats selfish deep down? But the plants. . . That entire scene between the two of them seemed to genuine. "Yeah," Hoot said firmly, looking into the tom's cold eyes. "It may not be my business, but I'm actually finding it pretty hard to stand by and say nothing." The Abyssinian tom's voice burned with the truth.
The tom's green eyes widened as Silence suddenly jumped towards the tom. He watched her with confusion. She probably wasn't much of a match for the stranger. Why would she go pick a fight with him? Perhaps she thought that Hoot would jump in to help her. It's possible that he would and could, but he wasn't much of a fighter. He imagined trying to talk the other tom out of the clearing would be the safest bet. But maybe Silence knew something that Hoot didn't.