[ti]Private[/ti]Entirely Friendly

[Fireflake]

A ginger-and-white tabby prowled through the park, clearly unhappy. His tail lashed sharply behind him and his ears flicked wildly, as if there were flies trying to dive into them. To top it all off, his fur prickled all over, though with how that stayed so consistently it seemed that that was just the way his fur was. Pacing around like that, Scorpio was practically the definition of a cat you didn't want to mess with. If the body language alone wasn't enough to warn off unwanted contact, the prominent scars that dappled his pelt likely would be. Most notable among these was an oddly straight "V" shape on his face and two equally deliberate slashes on either side of the tom. These, and the combination of scents that clung to him, were the signs of one of the Anti-Clan Alliance's council members, to any cat familiar with them.

The tom, Scorpio, took a deep breath to even himself out. The mood changed drastically within a few moments. Instead of a walking danger, he now looked much like an ordinary cat that had thrown himself into a few too many rough fights. He couldn't help but notice as he inhaled that there was a cat's scent on the breeze, so he turned his head upwind and spotted the figure moving nearby. She didn't look incredibly busy. A new recruit, maybe? He knew that meeting strangers was how his mother had expanded the Alliance in the first place, so maybe it would work for him too. Scorpio took another deep breath to make sure he wouldn't appear hostile, then slowly padded toward her. "Good evening," he greeted with a slight head dip. His tone still had an edge to it, he noticed, that didn't sound entirely friendly.

[Ringtail]

With the evening cooling to night, the trees and twoleg dens star-lit caves danced to a close, it brought out many night creatures. Magnolia being one of them. She had come out of her usual path to relax under the night sky in the park, the brown and white she-cat's eyes closed in relaxation.

The scent of a strange mixture of differents caught her attention, causing the she cat to look in Scorpio's direction, her ears directing themselves towards the tabby's voice. The greeting rose her eyes to life, bright green orbs staring in his direction before she spoke.

"Hello.", came a soft voice from the small cat, her eyes glancing over the odd scars and marks on the tom. She slowly drifted to get up, sensing the oddness to his voice. She couldn't make out if he was being friendly or not, but it drew her on edge. A sense to run ran through her, but she remained.

[Fireflake]

Scorpio's ears twitched up at the stranger's soft voice. He noticed her eyes dart quickly across his various scars, but his own stare held steady. He'd had enough time to consider her as he approached, and there was no subtlety needed to read into her actions. She seemed wary, but not unfriendly herself. Scorpio's tumultuous feelings settled down a little as his focus shifted to observing the new cat. She wasn't new to the park, he guessed, given the way it blended with her scent, but she was new to him.

"It's a nice night out," the rogue commented, nodding up to the star-filled sky, this time without the harshness previously woven into his voice. His light green eyes lingered there for a few moments afterward, then returned to the she-cat. "I hope I'm not intruding into anything?"
He shifted into a more casual position. He didn't plan on going anywhere, but sitting down seemed rude before he could check if he was welcome or not. "You didn't seem busy and I wondered if you might mind a new acquaintance."

[Ringtail]

“Yes, it is.” Her whisper of a tone mentioned with an interested tone. Her body slowly started to relax, figuring he meant no harm despite him looking like a very business type cat. Maybe she shouldn’t be too quick to go on an alert mode. “There is nothing to intrude on her. It seems this area is neutral territory for most cats here...Except the rogues and the more assertive kittypets that sometimes visit.”, She commented, lifting up her right paw to give a quick lick and rubbing it across her cheek. The loner decided to lay down, showing the rogue in a non-verbal agreement that it was alright to join her. What use were words when none were needed?

“Are you new to this area? I haven't seen you here before.” The she-cat turned her full attention to him, tilting her head curiously to the side. Maybe he was just out for a stroll like she was? She usually ran into many types of cats on her walks around the park, day or night. It didn’t matter, she met new faces along her time being here.

[Fireflake]

Scorpio's tail-tip flicked once at the mention of rogues and the more assertive kittypets trying to mark territory. The action looked much like a lashing motion had traveled right to the end and sparked off, but he didn't think the she-cat had seen it. Whether she had or not, she soon laid down, and Scorpio was content to sit. He swished his tail down from where it had been, hanging in a tense curve over his back, to curl it around his paws.

Her question prompted a light head shake. "No. I don't mill around the park too often, but I'm very familiar with the area."
The tom looked around, brushing his gaze against the soft grass and the hard paving that interrupted it. He didn't let his eyes leave the other cat for long, though, and quickly moved his stare back to her. "As are you, it sounds like. Have you been here long?"

[Ringtail]

"I use to come here often to watch the sky. Nowadays, I continue to stay among here and the forest." She glanced towards the forest, before returning her gaze to Scorpio. She didn't seem to notice his reactions, her tail tip lightly tapping against the off-white pavement. She seemed to go into thought, wondering what else to say to him. He was a complete stranger to her.

"Do you too, feel the tension the forest gives? Like this. . .Like a terrible odor that never goes away?" Her question seemed to slip from her maw, her mind had wandered back to the Clans for a moment. Once a Mistclan cat herself, but that was many moons ago. Perhaps this tom could tell her whats going on between the Clans. "Nevermind that. . .Is there any new word of the forest cats? It has been moons since someone last spoke of them over this way. Many do not seem to think kindly on the subject when prompted by questions of them. Mostly it's kibble this, kibble that, my Twoleg did this and this."

Clearly she was bored of the chatter that drifted from the kittypets that sometimes visited the park in the later hours.

[Fireflake]

Scorpio's ears pricked at the she-cat's first question and an intrigued look splashed across his face, but both settled down as she quickly moved on. He considered her carefully for a few moments, on guard at the mention of the forest cats, and decided after that short pause that her explanation was satisfactory. "MothClan had a fire not long ago," he shared. "You may have seen the smoke? The land they mark was badly charred and they lost some of their cats. They seemed to stop living there for a while. In any case, they've marked the borders again now, so I don't expect any trouble from them any time soon."

The ginger tabby had tensed while speaking of MothClan, but relaxed his muscles again as he moved on to news of the other clans. "The new one-- though I suppose they're not too new anymore-- had a disaster at their camp and they had to leave for a while too. I'd guess it was rat-related, since the diseased ones that have been hanging around here came from that area originally. There are rumors that IvyClan's been having some issues, but I've had no luck getting any solid information on them or MistClan."

Scorpio flicked an ear. "Maybe you've had more luck with those two, if you roam the forest?"
The question seemed more like an afterthought than anything else, or simply a way to shift the conversation back to her. "I'm Scorpio, by the way," he added, to the same effect, however counterproductive it seemed at first. He glanced back up to the sky. "And there's always tension in the forest when I'm there."

[Ringtail]

Magnolia's face only lit up with much more of a worried and concerned look at the mention of Mothclan. She had not even noticed the smoke that had arose from the forest, having been wandering the park more and more. But her concern only grew at the Mistclan. Clearly he didn't have an answer about her home Clan but that didn't shake the feeling of dread from her. Was Mistclan okay? Was everyone alright? Would they remember her?
The clans were having trouble and yet..A new clan was formed? She must have had heard something about this new clan, but she may have had brushed it off as gossip. Lots of the cats that came to the park were usually the dramatic gossiper kittypet types that told horrid stories of the forest cats anyway.


"I'm Magnoliapine. It's a pleasure to meet you, Scorpio.", she answered with a more relaxed tone to her voice, slowly sitting up to appear more intrigued by his information. She generally was interested to know more. Maybe this was her chance to return to Mistclan?

"You said there's a new clan? What are they like? Do they have a clan name? Have you been there?" She didn't want press further about Ivyclan, another clan that had clearly suffered from some serious business. Her business didn't really care much for Moth or Ivy. Only Mistclan. But the new clan. The new clan sparked some interest within her.

"Have you met them? The new clan? I do apologize..But I've only heard rumors from the many cats that cross my path. As I often only hang around here by the park."

[Fireflake]

Scorpio narrowed his eyes ever so slightly at the look of worry the she-cat seemed to have for MothClan. As she relaxed and introduced herself, he tensed. His nod to return her manners was stiff. The tom maintained a guarded expression through her questions and, when she was done, it was clear in his voice. "I haven't met them, though I met one of their young cats briefly. She wasn't a talkative one," he replied curtly.

Cats generally weren't, when they were taken by the rogue group. Besides that, though, Scorpio got the feeling that the RootClan cat they caught hadn't been very loud in the first place. He flicked an ear, his former frustrations rushing back. He didn't know what information Vulpes and Stargazer had gotten, but they hadn't reported anything useful, and Scorpio had never found out so much as a name. The rogue shifted, and his stare didn't wander from the she-cat now as it had before, even as his thoughts and emotions wavered. "Forgive me for saying so... but your name sounds like a clanner's."

[Ringtail]

"Yes it is...I was formerly of Mistclan. However...I wasn't always a clan cat." She stopped herself there. She didn't really want him to know she had been first a kittypet, but what use was there to hide? She was sure many cats could have spread some of that information. A lot of cats did like to gossip, both clanners and kittypets. "I don't recognize you. Are you from any of the clans? I don't recognize your scent from anywhere." His scent made her curious, yet she trod wearily, not getting too close to scare him off or worse cause him to attack her, despite their calm interaction so far.

"I'm sorry if I'm asking too many questions. Many of us do like to keep secrets, I'm sure. It's fine if you do not wish to speak of where you came from." Like many cats, curiosity could and would kill if needed to be. Even if it were just a phrase used for bad luck. "I've..Haven't been to Mistclan in moons..As I've been..I don't know..I really don't know. Honestly I don't even know why I am even here..Out here. In this border between worlds.."