[ti]Private[/ti]An Angry Mate

[silverfang218]

Benny breathes a sigh of relief as he climbs the stairs to his home, careful to keep himself steady so that kitten Storm doesn’t fall off his shoulders. Storm is crouched down on Benny’s back, a big grin on her small face. She got to see so much of the world today! To her, it would seem that Benny really does know everything as he took her out beyond the town. She didn’t even know that there was a world outside of the town! Benny told her so much, about the plants and explaining about wild cats; Storm still doesn’t understand why cats would choose to live without housefolk (and *she would never* want to live that way), but they are interesting at least.

Benny, on the other paw, is very happy to see home again. He had gotten lost outside of town (big surprise) and it had taken him way longer than he wanted to find his way back. He was late, Swift was probably mad, and he was tired. While he enjoyed showing Storm things and teaching her about the big, wide world, he was more than happy to return his little princess back to their little safe home, in their small but safe corner of the world. He leans down and Storm slides off; daddy Benny holds the cat door open so that little Storm can derp her way through it before Benny follows. He turns towards the room with little cat beds so he can just pass out, hopefully before Swift kills him. Storm follows behind him, figuring that she’ll either curl up with him or climb around on the climbing posts in that room.

[Meow]

Swift sighed as she rested her head on her paws, the small living room dark except for a dim lamp next to the couch, left on by one of her forgetful housefolk. It had been a few hours since she'd lulled most of her herd of kittens to sleep with bedtime stories about the forest and the creatures that lived in it, and about an hour since she'd stopped pacing by the front door. Unlike Benny, Swift was a homebody- she wanted to hole up in their home and keep her kittens by her side, safe and sound, and she rarely wandered farther than their neighborhood when she finally went outside.

Benny... Benny liked to wander, to explore, even when he could barely navigate the town's streets. He was always getting himself lost, wandering aimlessly. Needless to say, Swift always worried when he went out with her daughter. Right now, she felt like her fur would fall out from the stress of not knowing where they were. Was Benny okay? Was Storm okay? Did... did they get hit by a monster, eaten by dogs? Swift closed her eyes with a quiet huff, trying to get those thoughts out of her head. No, no! So what if they wanted to stay out late and make her worry? So what if... if they didn't care about how lonely she felt without them around?

The she-cat's eyes snapped open at the sound of the cat door opening, and the scents of Benny and Storm washed over her. Swift quickly wiped away a few tears from her eyes as her gaze fell upon her tired mate with her daughter nestled on his back. Immediate relief washed over her to see that they weren't injured.

And anger.

"Welcome home, Benny," Swift greeted coldly, remaining in her spot on the couch as she looked down at him. "Did you have a fun day on the town? I bet you two had a lot of fun... so much fun that you couldn't even show up on time for dinner, right?"

[silverfang218]

Benny knew he would be caught, but he had still been hoping for a miracle. He cringes at the sound of his beloved Swift’s cold voice. “Go on to bed, Storm.” He tells his daughter, giving her a little push towards the cat bedroom with his nose. Storm huffs; she wanted to curl up with dad Benny. She supposes that she can wait for him in a bed. The silver kitten gives a reluctant nod and starts to trot off towards their beds… but she gets a better idea and decides to hide around the corner to listen in to mommy and daddy’s conversation.

Benny trots over to Swift (he doesn’t realize that Storm isn’t doing what he asked yet), plopping down on his tired butt on the floor in front of the couch. His amber gaze travels up to meet Swift’s cool gaze. He’s not smiling; he doesn’t like making his mate angry, though it seems to happen quite often. “I’m sorry. I got a little lost again. Took us a little bit longer to get home than I thought.” He mews quietly in an apologetic voice. It’s not like he would ever allow harm to come to Storm or any of Swift’s kits though.

This is when Storm, dear sweet child that she is, speaks up from her hiding place from behind the corner. “Momma don’t get mad at dad. He took me outside of town and everything today and it was great! He knew everyyyyyything. He even said he knows how to hunt! I don’t know why cats would ever wanna eat animals, but still. Benny knows everything!” The kit speaks up in defense of her daddy; this one is quickly becoming a daddy’s girl. Little does she know, Benny probably wasn’t supposed to take her outside of the town’s limits. Benny just kinda sighs.

[Meow]

Swift's gaze softened slightly as she watched Storm seemingly leave the room, though that softness didn't stay for long. When her eyes found Benny as he sat down in front of the couch, they were practically frozen over with cold anger. She heard his apology, though she wasn't about to accept it that easily. He was always wandering around, leaving her to wonder if he'd gotten hurt or something. "Do you know how it makes me feel when you're gone late into the night, Benny? How it feels when I don't see you for a whole day, not knowing when or if you'll come back?" Swift practically spat her words. "I hardly see you at all these days! You're... you're always out there, exploring stuff and getting lost. You even keep bringing these strange cats in here without any explanation! You don't ever tell me anything- not what you're doing, where you're going, anything!" Swift's anger mixed with hurt at that thought, and her voice shook slightly with her accusations.

The she-cat sniffled as her eyes became watery once more. She was about to continue, but Storm's voice cut her off. As Storm defended Benny, Swift's anger only intensified. She didn't care at all that Storm was listening to them- her anger was too great. "You took Storm outside the town?!" Swift's voice was a furious hiss as she jumped to her paws, her tail lashing, looking as if she was ready to tear her mate apart. "Do you even know how dangerous it is out in the wild?! Not only did you put yourself in danger, but you also put one of my kits in danger- what's wrong with you?! Were you dropped on your head as a kit?! I can't- I can't do this. Have fun sleeping alone tonight, you careless jerk," Swift sniffled, almost hysterical as she jumped off the couch, storming towards the cat door and leaving Benny sitting by the couch. Swift'd had enough of Benny's excuses. It was almost too much for her that he was putting himself in danger, but... putting one of her kits in danger, too? That was unacceptable. The she-cat pushed out into the cold night with a huff, and continued on as she stormed down the apartment steps.

[silverfang218]

Benny just sits there and takes the scolding. He thinks he’ll try to stay a little closer to home from now on… perhaps he’ll try to improve his ability to find his way home. That’s what he’ll do; he’ll try to pay careful attention to landmarks next time he goes out, which likely won’t be for a few days. He does feel bad, but he’s not sure what else to do; Benny would be hopelessly bored if he stayed home every day, though he’ll do that to keep his mate happy, especially since Swift sounds hurt because of his outings.

Benny winces as Storm speaks up on his behalf, unintentionally making her mother’s wrath worse. He isn’t surprised at all when Swift’s anger intensifies; Benny wouldn’t ever taken Storm outside of the town unless he believed that he would be able to defend her, but he certainly understands Swift’s worry. After all, Swift knows the wild very well, while she believes he lived his entire life in the care of housefolk with nothing to worry about.

The declaration that he would be sleeping alone isn’t a surprise either, but he is a bit surprised that she storms out. If he was being kicked out, then shouldn’t Swift be in there sleeping with her kittens? Plus there’s the fact that Swift doesn’t get out very often, which means she is likely significantly less able to deal with the dangers of the town, particularly after dark. As Swift exits the house, Benny turns to follow her. “Go on to bed, Storm.” Benny gives his little girl a smile as she quickly nods and scampers off, a worried expression on her face.

Benny leaves the home and follows his mate down the stairs, staying a little ways back. He doesn’t try to close the gap between them, merely wanting to keep her in his sight. He’ll approach her and apologize if she calls him out or when she seems to cool down a bit.

[Meow]

Swift huffed as she quickened her pace upon hearing Benny's pawsteps behind her, her tail lashing with absolute fury. Her strides took her down to one of the long, stone-colored paths next to the thunderpath, the strange light trees above illuminating her way as she tried to hint to Benny that she really didn't want him around right now. She'd always been a bit explosive when she was angry- Clearstream had received quite a few bruises, scratches, and screeching fits when they were in their youth. While Swift had always been very dramatic, even she had grown to dislike how she treated those she loved when she was angry... and even she would admit that Benny was one of the best things to ever happen in her life. Swift didn't want to be mad at Benny.

But she was very, very mad.

The she-cat whirled around on the tom after a few minutes of walking, the breeze from a monster ruffling her fur as it zoomed past. Her orange gaze was alight with the fire of her anger. "Stop following me, Benny! I don't even want to see your face right now!" The she-cat's voice was a furious hiss as she rushed forward, nose-to-nose with her mate- her usual method of intimidation. "You. Lied. To. Me! Forgot to mention the fact that you took my precious child out into the wilderness, did you? How convenient! It's like you knew I wouldn't be happy about it, darling," Swift growled sarcastically. "I've lost too many cats I care about already! If you're going to keep putting yourself and my children in danger, then... then I don't think I can be with you, Benny." Swift choked on her words at the last part, though she wasn't going to back down. "So... so get your priorities straight." Swift spat out the last part before she turned away once more, continuing to hurry down the path.

[silverfang218]

Benny barely even flinches from his mate’s anger as Swift puts herself nose to with the much smaller tom. His ears droop as she says that perhaps she can’t be with him, and for a moment he looks ashamed. His ears perk back up as Swift turns and storms off once again. Benny is torn; ordinarily he would obey, but he’s concerned that she might be half blinded by her rage to not watch where she is going or be alert.

He lets her get ahead of him, enough so that the lack of light wouldn’t let her see his face, but close enough that if she put herself in danger he could run up and help. Even if she were to turn on him and beat him up, it’s unlikely that he will back down; Benny is somewhat like Clearstream in that he is stubborn when it comes to those he loves. If Clearstream felt that he should continue to follow after his sister, then no amount of yowling or angry claws would dissuade him. Benny is the same.