duchess' home {closed}

[patroclus]

exterior / interior / yard

[patroclus]

{ for fire }

After a few moments of struggling with the correct pronunciation of the tom’s name—she really wasn’t very good with names—Duchess finally settled on a short, cut off alternative name. “Light,” She let out a small sigh at saying the name. It was much easier for her garbled speech to intertwine with the simple syllables and if he had an issue with the short name, she would simply call him ‘hey, you!’ if it came down to it. With that settled, Duchess lifted her head confidently and flicked the tip of her tail back and forth. “I don’t swim—” It wasn’t that she didn’t want to or that she wasn’t made to, it was the simple fact of not knowing how. Before she could voice that fact, however, Lightning was already on his paws and padding away. His distant phrase of ‘let’s go’ echoed in her head. Go? Go where? Duchess’s brow furrowed ever so slightly. Perhaps he wished to see Butterscotch’s yard, or maybe the inside of her own home. Duchess’s thoughts were interrupted when Lightning took it upon himself to leap on to the rather tall fence and look back at her. Certainly he didn’t expect her to actually join him up there. The woods lay beyond her home, was that where they were going? Duchess puff her frail chest and let out a small, exasperated breath. “You can’t be serious.” Duchess called lightly up to the small tom, her brow raised elegantly over her flickering blue gaze. The she cat was relatively stocky and hardly athletic. There was simply no way for her to get up a fence of that height. Duchess shook her head lightly and turned on her paws, giving the impression that she was retreating back into her home. However, the fluffy kittypet turned at the last moment and hopped up a low chair and onto the smaller fence at the side of her house before dropping to her neighbor’s yard. Unlike Duchess’s twolegs, the neighbors didn’t feel the need for a fence in their yard and simply kept it open to the woods. Duchess made her way around her fence and reached the other side, appearing behind Lightning on the ground with a happy smirk. “Why do you work so hard, monsieur?” She chuckled, settling down to wait for him.

[meraki]

Lightning raised a brow slightly at the nickname "Light," but said nothing of it. He grinned slightly when she said she couldn't swim. "Ah, well that's a shame. Is it because you haven't a clue of how to swim? Or is it simply because your scared? Either way, I wouldn't hold it against you, and I myself don't like swimming much." He meowed thoughtflully. Lightning, or Light, as he had been called, watched in surprised as the kitty pet jumped into a chair and over the lower part of the fence.Perhaps she isn't as dull as I thought, Light thought to himself, before shaking his head and hopping off the wooden fence and into the fenceless yard. "Difficult for you, maybe, but I find no struggle in doing so." Light said in amusement, his nose twitching. "And come on, the forest is plenty fun. I promise you that no harm will come to you in that forest, so long as you do as I say and not wander off. The forest may be beautiful and fun, but it can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing," Light meowed to Duchess, his voice suddenly serious. But the look faded and his cheerful demeanor came back.

[patroclus]

“Alright…” She trailed off at his warning, her voice slightly soft and careful. Duchess was suddenly surprised with her actions and how quickly she had rushed to prove herself to this stranger. She was perfectly content with living her life out behind her fence, as she always had. Yet, recently, the kittypet had begun to feel restless. As if the world around her was rushing past her and all she could do was watch her life unfold before her. Duchess wanted to take action and actually be a part of her own life and make her own decisions, even if they would be mistakes. And Duchess was certain this would be a mistake. Running off into the forest with some tom she had only just met was hardly one of her best decisions. However, she didn’t let any of her doubts surface on her face and simply kept her expression perfectly disinterested. Duchess would make Lightning work for her attention. The kittypet had seen plenty of the forest from the safety of her yard and so far it looked about the same, just closer. A slight tremble of fear rocked through her, but she simply twitched her tail and padded forwards. Duchess had taken a few steps into the forest, the fallen leaves making odd crunching sounds beneath her paws. The ground wasn’t as soft and even as it was in her yard and Duchess found herself wrinkling her nose in confusion. “I’m not afraid, you know.” She remarked over her shoulder, glancing the tom up and down. He had yet to move from his position and Duchess raised an elegant brow at him. She turned slightly towards him, the shadows of the trees above hiding bits of her petite form. “What are you waiting for?”

[meraki]

Lightning raised a brow in slight confusion, but smirked a slight bit. "I'm coming, don't you worry. I'll be your tour guide, ey? Follow me." He meowed, running over and walking a bit more in front than her. He said nothing about her comment on not being scared, though he knew she was a little nervous. "You know I'm not leading you into the forest to kill you or something like that, right?" Light meowed, glancing over at her. "And I'm not going to just ditch you in there and make you wander until a fox gets you." He said. Light looked down at his paws as they walked. "This may sound weird, but it's been a really long time since I've had a-a friend." The black tomcat looked slightly embarrassed as he kept his gold gaze down.

[patroclus]

Duchess smiled faintly as Lightning rushed up beside her and began to lead her through the forest. A soft chuckle escaped her at how eager he appeared, though she quickened her pace slightly to be beside him again. The kittypet wasn’t one for being lead, or following. She quite liked being the leader, yet she wasn’t entirely sure if she would be able to lead through such a confusing area. Duchess reminded herself to lead the tom around her home when they returned. The finely groomed kittypet found herself drifting closer to the other feline as they journeyed deeper into the woods. Duchess could still see her fence when she glanced over her shoulder, but a small flicker of worry filled her chest with each step she took away from it. Quickly, the forest swallowed her up and she couldn’t see much behind her besides thick trees. Duchess nearly pumped into Lightning, but she quickly rightened herself and flicked an ear indifferently. She flicked her icy blue eyes towards the tom as he spoke and immediately widened her eyes in surprise. Duchess hadn’t even thought of the possibility of Lightning doing anything to harm her; it simply hadn’t crossed her mind. The kittypet stopped suddenly, her tail twitching at her side nervously. Who was to say that Lightning didn’t have those intentions in mind, that he was now only trying to gain her favor with his kind words. Duchess puffed out her chest and stood her ground, her delicate paws sinking slightly in the soft, uneven ground. She did her best to look intimidating, but her petite frame and glossy pelt made it difficult for her to look anything but adorable. “That makes me feel nervous.” She retorted, as the kittypet wasn’t very good at being sarcastic. Duchess narrowed her eyes, the only thing that could be slightly intimidating in her compact body, and padded back up to Lightning. She regarded him carefully and brought a paw up to shove his shoulder, though it didn’t have much of an effect on the tom. “Don’t try anything, monsieur. I can take you, you know.” She twitched her whiskers slightly and started leading the way again, flicking her tail towards his shoulder. “And me either. I think I quite like you; as long as you don’t end up murdering me.”

[meraki]

Lightning snorted at her comment about being nervous, and saying that he'd better not try anything. He noticed her change of pace and expression as they headed deeper into he forest, darkness covering them like a heavy blanket. The dark green trees stood up far taller than them, and little bits of the blue-grey sky could be seen, casting down speckles of light down onto the ground, scattering all over their pelts. "Don't worry, I don't bite. Usually." Lightning said humorously, flashing her a quick grin. Dry leaves crunched under his black paws as he walked, his head held high, as well as his tail. Eventually, they came across a small brook, it's crystal-clear water rushing down, over grey, brown, and blue, smooth stones and pebbles. Small sliver fish swam through, and birds chirped from above.

[patroclus]

The forests was actually quite…nice, Duchess admitted to herself, not minding the leaves crunching under her delicate paws. The air was crisp in the late afternoon, but not uncomfortable with her thick pelt. The scents were so intertwined with one another the kittypet wasn’t entirely sure where one scent started and another began. Usually, in the safety of her yard, everything was easy to distinguish between. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Duchess twitched her whiskers and glanced at Lightning to ground herself. If he could live in this forest full of scents with little difficulty, she could too. Well, she wasn’t exactly going to live in the woods with him, but traveling through would entail the same things, she supposed. Lightning may think the same things about her own home, though he hadn’t set foot inside of the house. Duchess curled the tip of her bushy tail and padded forwards with her chin tilted up slightly as if she strolled through these woods every day of her life. Duchess let out a small, twinkling laugh at the tom’s words, though she decided against a response. They traveled together in compatible silence and Duchess began to relax more and more in the presence of the other feline as well as the uncertain woods. They eventually came across some sort of water and Duchess flicked an ear in confusion. “What is this?” It was smaller than she expected and louder than she anticipated. The water fell across the stones and created a symphony of babbling. Duchess sat at the edge, peering down into the depths to intently for any movement, though she wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for.

[meraki]

Lightning walked with Duchess in silence, enjoying the peaceful sounds. When they reached the stream, he noticed her slight confusion. "It's called a stream. Fish live in it. They're pretty tasty, but fishy and scaly too." He meowed, turning husband gaze to the flowing brook. "But if you want to catch one, you have to be very patient and wait for the fish to swim to you. Then, you strike. But make sure you sit so you do not cast a shadow upon the water, for the fish will see and swim away" Lightning meowed. "There are birds in nests in the trees, too. The nests are made of sticks and hay and leaves and mud and anything they can find. They lay their eggs there. If you are hungry, you can climb up a tree and snatch an egg to eat. Or a whole bird. There are also plenty of rabbits and voles and mice to eat too, if you don't fancy swimming or climbing. They live in little burrows in the ground. But so do foxes. Your better watch out for foxes. But they're not too hard to smell. They smell awful. Badgers are mean too. Leave them alone. Same with snakes." He meowed, grinning. Lightning quite liked to tell others about everything, and could seem quiet and shy at first. But he was one to warm up quick.

[patroclus]

“Stream.” Duchess responded, testing the word on her tongue again and again like she had done with his name. This word was much easier to pronounce and she felt confident in her pronunciation as she finished, the words only slightly broken from one another. Feeling quite pleased with herself, Duchess puffed her chest and smiled warmly down at the running water, enjoying the soft bubbling against the small stones. Duchess waited patiently as Lightning spoke. He seemed particularly excited about the things in the forest and the kittypet didn’t have the heart to interrupt him. The small tom couldn’t seem to stop talking, making Duchess a bit antsy. She began to circle around Lightning before growing bored once again. Finally, she wandered towards the stream to get a closer look. An excited purr rumbled in her chest as she realized she could nearly see herself in the water. Perhaps this wasn’t a wasted trip after all. Duchess peered closely at her reflection, not entirely listening to the list of dangers the loner was giving her. “All you do is catch animals?” She wondered, ducking her head to fix a tuft of fur on her chest that had strayed from its designated positon. With a happy puff, Duchess sat back on her hunches, careful not to touch the water. She was relatively close to the water, but she didn’t bother moving away. She rather liked the calming noise.