Resting For A Bit...

[ôSnowô]

Willow padded into the barn. She had just been out hunting and came back with three, plump mice dangling from her jaws. "Wow, I'm really hungry. Glad I decided to go hunting for a bit. It's a beautiful day." she said happily to herself. When she settled down in her little nest of hay, she started to gulp down the first mouse, then the second, and half of the third. She wasn't as hungry as she thought she was. She put the rest of her third mouse under her nest of hay, then padded out of the barn, into the clear, sunny day, to bask in the warmth of the bright sun.

[.Taslin.•*"*•.]

A pale ginger shape hurtled past the bushes near the old horse barn. The sparrow it was chasing fluttered up to the sky, its wings opening to the hope of freedom...when suddenly a clawed paw flashed underneath it and batted its body into a somersault. As it rolled, the paw appeared again and slapped it to the ground. It was too dazed to notice the glowing green-gold eyes and by the time it felt the teeth in its neck, it was too late.
Nicolae lifted his head proudly, the sparrow in his mouth. He turned to walk back toward his other buried kills, when something caught his eye. He turned his head to look near the opening of the barn, and saw a cat he hadn't seen before come out of the barn. A she-cat.. With a pretty tabby coat. Nicolae peered closer in interest. Was she a kittypet? He didn't think so the way she looked so comfortable sitting out in the open.
Silently dropping his bird, Nicolae padded forward a few steps to gaze between some ferns. The she-cat seemed to be about to take a nap, or maybe just to enjoy the day. In any event, it was a cat Nicolae didn't know, so he was going to make it a point to get to know that cat. Shaking his head, and licking sparrow remains from his lips, the light orange tom sauntered out into the open area before the barn. His tail flipped behind him, and he c*o*c*k*e*d his head as he approached the she-cat.
"How's your day going?" He meowed circling the other loner before laying down a couple mouse-lengths away with his paws stretched out in front of him. His tone was light, with a hidden purr behind the words.

[ôSnowô]

"Hello..." Willow hesitated a bit. She did not know this cat and had never seen him before, but by the tone of his meow, she thought he looked friendly. "I'm sorry...I mean...my name's Willow. And would you by any chance have a name?" she said with a purr in her voice to indicate she meant it in a non-challenging way. As the words tumbled out of her mouth, she found herself studdering. There was something about this cat that made her baffled. Was it his eyes? His handsome coat? No! She was just thinking crazy! She didn't even know this cat! How could she be attracted to him in any way?

[.Taslin.•*"*•.]

"Nicolae's my name, and Willow suits you. A pretty name for a pretty cat." Nicolae purred with a grin. He rolled in the grass and clawed at the grass above his head before flipping over to look back at Willow.
"How'd a she-cat like you get to be around here? I've not seen your face before." Despite his words, the tom spoke to Willow as if they were already best friends. He felt no shyness and enjoyed talking with any cat he came to. Willow, though, seemed a bit different when he thought on it. Certainly, he'd never noticed such a lovely coat on a cat. And when she spoke he felt his mind not wandering as it did sometimes; rather, it quite held his attention. More than any she-cat he'd yet spoken to in his life.

[ôSnowô]

"What an interesting name!" she replied as friendly as ever, "I haven't been around these parts for a while. You see....when I was just a young kit, a Twoleg pair found me and...took me in for quite a while. I felt that after a while...the kittypet life just wasn't suiting me, so, as sad as I was...I left my housefolk to begin, yet again, my life as a loner. I have been on my own for about...3 or 4 moons now. I've never seen you around my old housefolks' garden, though..." She felt she was studdering again. What was it about this cat that made her mind all jumbled up? She just couldn't figure it out! But, she knew that she had a certain attraction to Nicolae, and she couldn't deny it any longer. There was something about Nicolae that Willow loved. She knew he was the cat she longed to be with, but, how could she tell him? What if he did not feel the same about her? What if she sounded stupid for even bringing it up? We've just met! How could I possibly tell him what I feel for him? He'd think I was crazy! she thought to herself, trying not to look too deep in thought.

[.Taslin.•*"*•.]

"Ah, so you used to be a kittypet. Well, perhaps you could say the same about me. I used to live with the tall creatures, although as soon as I made it outside for a time, I knew it was where my heart really belonged. I escaped. They're weird beings, right enough." Nicolae meowed, thinking back to his earlier days. He'd known all along he couldn't stay in that nest. The walls, and the constant closeness. There was no privacy, and so much rules.
He was brought back by the remembrance of another of Willow's comments.
"No, I don't usually make it a point to hang around the twoleg's gardens. Unpredictable, you know? And some of the kittypets are the snappish type." Nicolae looked at Willow with a sparkle in his eyes. "Although, if I'd known you lived in one of them, I wouldn't have minded visiting that garden any day I had time, and believe me, I have lots of time," The loner arched his back in a stretch, reaching his forelegs in front of him before he stood again.
"Speaking of which, do you have time to spare? The sun is sinking and my fur's not the warmest type in the freezing cold. If you don't have somewhere better to go I could show you my home. You could sleep there tonight."
The offer wasn't rare, Nicolae liked having company, but this time it seemed different. He realized he would feel a little put down if Willow said no. And he almost never felt put down by any cat!
This is just a crazy day, he told himself. Maybe it's those beetles I ate this morning..Tomorrow will make more sense.
He waited with a silent eagerness for Willow's reply, his tawny tail flipping behind him.

[ôSnowô]

Willow took in every word that came out of Nicolae's mouth and quickly replied, "Yes! I'd love that. This is where I've been sleeping for a while, and it gets quite cold some nights. And lonely. That would be wonderful, thank you, Nicolae." She couldn't say no to him. Normally, if a strange cat just came up and asked her to follow them to somewhere she wasn't familiar with, she would've said no right away and ran away. But this time, she felt very close to Nicolae and felt that he was very trustworthy. She couldn't wait to spend more time with him, considering her feelings for him. Does he know how I feel about him? Does he feel the same way? What if he doesn't? The questions raced through her mind like a bright spark of lightning. She stood up on all four paws, showing she was ready to go.

[.Taslin.•*"*•.]

"Great," Nicolae meowed with his whiskers twitching pleasantly. She seemed comfortable around him already, and that was good. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable.
That was strange.. Nicolae paused for a moment and thought back. Usually he thought it was quite funny to watch a nervous visitor.. He shook his head and padded on.
"Follow me, then. And I have some prey to pick up, but it won't take long, it's pretty much on the way." By the smell of the she-cat, Nicolae could tell she'd already eaten. But who knew, it's possible she'd be hungry by the time they arrived at his home.
"It's not terribly far away either. Anyway, tell me, Willow, you miss your twolegs?"
He'd arrived at his dropped sparrow, and he picked it up in his mouth, glancing back at his companion before moving on.

OOC: After you reply, should I start another thread in Nicolae's territory?

[ôSnowô]

OOC: Yeah, I'll reply to this then we can move this thread to Nicolae's territory if that would be easiest!

The she-cat padded after the tom. She couldn't wait to see what his living style was like. After a while, she noticed that he had asked her a question. "Sometimes I do. They always took such good care of me. But I feel that nature is my calling, and that's where I belong. I will always miss them, but this is definitely worth it. Plus, I get to eat whenever I want, which is definitely an up-side to living in the wild!" she replied with a flicker of amusement in her eyes.