in solitude [Rain&Ginger] where we are least alone

[glowlynose]

"By now I've just about given up on evah findin' 'em. I think if they were to be found I woulda already, y'know? Jes figgered I'd give it a try.

"I ain't never goin' back though. There's no point in me goin' back without 'em, and I'd hardly be welcome. Though I don't suppose I'd be particularly welcome 'round these parts, would I, considerin' how yeh tackled me the first time yeh saw me?" It was so difficult for Rain to pull himself away from his grooming. He'd become very immersed in the task of restoring his coat to its non-muddy, gleaming splendor of before. Not even half the mud was gone yet, and some of it was starting to dry onto his back! He grimaced at the thought of having an artificial coat of dry brown covering his illustrious one of prismatic grey. All he had left, really, was his looks, his memories, and the stories he'd memorized.

Fleetingly, he wondered if Gingerstar would like to hear a story. Which one should he tell? Should he tell her about Cinderella and her glass slipper, Snow White and the evil witch, or maybe the story of Simba and how he found his true place? As the ruler of a clan, she might be able to relate to that one best. But one look at the standoffish she-cat told him that he'd better not waste his time. She looked, in her current state, like she'd much rather go eat a mouse's liver than keep talking to him.

"Well, miss, you probably have better things to do than sit around and entertain me," he drawled with a self-deprecating smile. "Your clan is waitin' for you, and I'm sure they're much more important than lil' ol' me. You can run along any time you see fit, if yeh like." Rain picked up a paw, licked it, and calmly swiped it over his ear. He didn't really expect this Gingerstar to go, but it didn't matter to him one way or another if she stayed. They'd be seeing each other soon enough. Actually, with any luck, they wouldn't be seeing one another.

[/center]

[Whiskers]

Gingerstar was torn. She did not know what to do, because she could not trust this cat. Half of her was telling her to book it. He gave her a out, she should take it. She, after all, did not want to sit around here and watch him lick his fur until it shined again. She did not want to continue in conversation because she would either be bored, become increasingly annoyed, or maybe even start to let her guard down. So. She should leave.

But she hesitated. She knew nothing about this cat, nothing about his personality, how determined he was to actually "finish" his job. He could plan to do something... the second she turned her back, he could pounce on

[/i]her[/i]. But what could she accomplish by staying and watching him some more anyway? If he was a liar, then any answers he gave her would be lies, so interrogation would get her nowhere.

The more she thought about it, the more Gingerstar saw how pointless it was to stay here, glued to the border line. She would go back to her clan and immediately order extra patrols to scout this specific area. She's keep a patrol on this border for at the least the next two days and she would attend one of those patrols herself.

She might be paranoid, but wasn't there an expression... what was it? Better safe than sorry, yes? Gingerstar had learned the hard way how letting ones guard down could end in devestation, and she would not make the same mistake twice.

"Then I'll leave now. Just...remember, there are other clans in this area," Gingerstar warned him, for some reason that she didn't care to explore. She just felt the impulse to give him an extra heads up, though he hardly deserved it. "Good luck on all your future travels."

She turned around quickly and then scampered into the forest, giving one last paranoid glance over the shoulder, to make sure he wasn't sneaking up on her, ready to pounce. [/center][/size]