ALL a l o n e WITH m e m o r i e s

[taro]

'

Waiting silently while Harbor finished her pep talk, she looked around, trying to imagine what Stellar would do with the mud. Hopefully what ever he was planning wouldn't get them dirty, Taro couldn't stand being dirty. She pinned her opticals on the slushy mud, hissing in iritation of the dirty liquid.

Once the tortie had finished, Taro turned her bi-colored mask to the brute's direction. There wasn't much Taro could do but sit and wait, so that's exactly what she did. You’ve got something left to live for! Harbor had concluded with those words, which didn't make much sence to Taro. Everyone had something to live for; whether it was having a family, having an ememy to find, or playing to do with friends. Anyone can do anything in Taro's point of view.

Shaking her head in a 'no' formation, she sighed, her eyes narrowing. Stellar hadn't answered yet, and Taro wondered what he was thinking right now. She turned to his direction, She means you shouldn't give up, that you shouldn't go to the last decision or go on a killing spree. A smile spread across her face, and her eyes narrowed in sweetness. Blinking preciously, she stepped forward, looking pretty for the pair of cats. Now it was Stellar's time to talk, and no one could doubt that. If he didn't answer now, their plan would be done for. She wondered what he felt like right now, wondered how much her would tell them, and how much he trusted Harbor and her.

I see you lying next to ^{m e}
With words I thought I'd never ^{s p e a k}
Awake and ^{u n a f r a i d}
Asleep or ^{d e a d}

;;Speedy xoxo

[Stellar Snowpaw]

"You’ve got something left to live for!"

The words rang in Stellar's ears. Was this she-cat right? Was she telling him the truth, or at least, what she thought was truth? He held onto those words for a few short moments, letting thewm turn in his mind, him inspecting them. He shook his head. There was no truth.

No truth at all. Indigo was gone, and he was alone. No one left... Indigo was gone. And how could he steal the kits from her? From Ash... Ash would probably tear his guts out. He had to go one with his plan. It wouldn't kill anyone. It would only hurt himself. Only have Indigo touch him one last time, it would have him be able to tell the kits he loved them... before telling Indigo he loved her, no matter what she told him. No matter what she said about her and Ash and how much they loved each other.

It didn't matter. He would always love her. Nothing could change that. She could fight, run... Anything, but nothing could take that love away. It was just the way it was. And if she wished to fight, let her fight! If she wished to run, Stellar would always find her. He knew... He knew just where she was. It was something a lover knew.

Stellar ran the words that Harbor had said through his mind again. They irked him. They made him cringe with pity for himself. He knew. No truth. There was no truth in those words. They meant to be reassuring, but... All they did was tear Stellar up. He needed someone there for him, to help him on. And Idnigo had been that someone. And now... And now she was Ash's. Ash's somebody.

"No," Stellar said, a tear coming down his face. So many tears had been shed in the past few months. Tears with Indigo, here, and now. And it had gotten him nowhere. Crying would not help, Stellar had to get that through his mind. But he couldn't. He just kept on crying again, the thought of not crying made him cry. "No. I have nothing left to live for if Indigo is gone. She was my life, don't you see? She told me she loved me. She told me everything. And then she betrayed me. She ripped me up, threw me to the wind, and I'm scattered. I have no where to go, no one to live for anymore." He sighed. "I have no one to put me together again." He sat donw, which fell to him laying on his stomach, his head drooped.

"My plans don't help any, just make everything worse. I love her... But she hates me. She loves that... That beast that stole her away from me. He brainwashed her. She isn't the same Indigo that I met in the forest... That young, innocent Indigo that I loved. No. Now she is this... This... This thing... A brainwashed robot that 'loves' this... Monster! This monster that tells her that he loves her, but is actually killing her by keeping her away from me." His hate burned up inside of him. It was true. He had something to live for, but Ash had taken it away... All that work that he had done was useless.

[sorcha]

Harbor listened to the silence of the junk yard, anticipating Stellar’s reply, every muscle tense. The smallest of the three cats couldn’t admit to herself that her own failure in love seemed to resurrect in Stellar’s broken-souled eyes, which held the same expression fixated in emerald as her own had… not so very long ago. Her desperate need for his overcome burned Harbor’s patch covered throat as she waited. Maybe if Stellar succeeded she… she would be able to forgive herself for letting Bayham run. For loving him in the first place.

However, her squeezed heart collapsed as the tabby tom’s eyes filled with tears again—and rejected her claim. Indigo was all he had, all he wanted, all he needed and that life was meaningless without this other she-cat’s tail entwined with his own. Harbor didn’t know why, for she could not admit her reasons of atonement and empathy to herself as that would imply she’d lost something—no, her pride wouldn’t let her, but a tear or two spilled from her own yellow opts, and the scar of her own betrayal which she’d spent so long trying to hide bled anew, if not as hard. She swallowed and screwed both eyes shut, her figure seeming to suck in all light but for a few caramel spots on her ears and chest, pushing the tears back. But quickly—Harbor was sure neither had seen her spill—the lids snapped back open to reveal irises dry, if nonetheless full of… emotion. Which for the tortoiseshell was very, very rare, like diamonds lying undug on the ground for all the world to pick up. He had to make it. She had to make it.

“There, there, Stellar,” she murmured, managing to keep most of the tremble from her mew, and though she didn’t exactly cuddle up with the tom Harbor moved a little closer though she couldn’t bring herself to make their coats touch. Her inhibitions and distrustful instinct hadn’t disappeared, after all, just because she felt for this guy.If Stellar wanted comfort he could cry into her shoulders, but Harbor didn’t want to offend his dignity—or hers for that matter—so she stayed where she was. Snowpaw could still be a crazy for all Harbor knew about him—an axe murderer. You could never tell from first glance--She shook her head a little of these inbred suspicious, her slight form twitching it good riddance. Now was not a good time.

“A little bit of Indigo is left over in them, though, right?” she murmured from her spot half of an inch away, but dropped it. Harbor understood. Poor fellow just wanted to say good-bye, nothing more. I suppose I could help, she thought to herself—a little bit begrudgingly, but still compliant.

[taro]

The sorrow in Taro's opticals couldn't look any worse. Her heart felt as if it had recently ripped into two pairs, and yet it was still bleeding. She looked around, anywhere except the two cats beside her, all of this was too much for her to take in. Swallowing hard, she turned around slowly, her eyes meeting Stellar's gaze. We're going to figure this out ok? Her voice was soft and motherly, like it gets when she feels sorry for someone, or is in deep thought. You wont have to go through this alone. We'll get Indigo back, or at least the kits. There's no way will will give up on this just yet. Her speech ended much too earlier than she'd expected, and she hadn't had enough time to actually think of what to do next.

She looked around at the leaves blowing in the wind. They were so beautiful, swirling in circles and landing once again on the ground they had begun on. A maple leaf from a tree just outside the boundaries of the carrion filled place blew smack into her face, and before she knew it, Taro was on the floor squealing like her usual self. She smiled and let out a small burst of giggles, and it felt as if the sun had just risen and it hadn't for a whole month. The bright sunlight heating their lives and freshening their days. Taro's small mishap seemed to be placed in this second for a reason. And the reason was to brighten these depressed cats' days.

The mauling Taro had received from the browning leaf came to an end as the wind started up again and took the crsip leaf with it. Taro's bright smile faded as she saw what dull faces were placed on the cats. Sighing and placing her thinking cap on, she started to speak. Without any plan, they wouldn't get very far, so Taro had to speak up, even if she didn't quite know what to start with. So, what I'm planning to do is to look for either Indigo, Ash, or any of the kits. Is there something we were suposed to do with the mud?

Cocking her head to the side, she stared at the silver brute, confusion showing everywhere on her mask. Her banner quivered unevenly back and forth, afraid of what was going to happen between the three fighting cats. Would Indigo stay with Ash? Or would she trust her true love and return to the depressed and torn Stellar. Taro turned her gaze to the unneeded fae that had yet not left. Taro didn't know why she still stayed, and didn't know why she showed up in the first place, but Taro wished she wuold leave. She had no reason to stay here, and Stellar really needed some space. After Taro finds Indigo, or whoever they will be searching for, she will most likely leave, leave so she could let Stellar have some space to himself.

I wanna be there for ^{y o u}
Someone you can come ^{t o}

;;Speedy xoxo

[/right][/blockquote]

[Stellar Snowpaw]

[]

Stellar looked at Harbor. Was this femme feeling sorry for him? She didn't have to. Nobody did. He did this to himself. He... Okay, he needed comfort. He needed someone to cry with. Indigo had been that somebody, and though he sounded cheesey when he said it, he knew Indigo understood... Until he saw Ash walking away.

Indigo was Stellar's. She was Ash's.

The thought made Stellar want to scream, vomit... Tear his ears to shreds. All this, this... This mangled mess he had become was nothing. He could do nothing. Indigo was Ash's. No way to have her back. She was gone.

The very thought made Stellar cry. He would never see her again. Never hear her voice. Oh, how he wished she was still here. Still here with him. He looked at Harbor, and for a moment, he saw Indigo. His beautiful, orange tabby who had looked at him the same way. The same exact way. Stellar burst into tears. It was all for nothing. Everything he had ever done to win Indigo's heart was for nothing. She was meant for Ash. Nothing could change that. Nothing he could do. Nothing.

The word went through his mind so many times. "Nothing," he mumbled to himself. He looked at Harbor. Perhaps... Perhaps she was the true one. The one he was meant for. Perhaps everything he had done for and with Indigo was useless. Perhaps Harbor. Or Taro. Maybe these two - one of them, perhaps was his perfect match. But who?

He couldn't go through this again. No. He... Stellar sighed. He couldn't last anything else having to do with love if it would end up with him seeing Indigo again.

His thoughts were interupted when he heard Taro speak. The plan. The mud. He thought. He ran the plan through his mind as fast as he could without seeming he couldn't hear her.

"Oh, yeah, the mud. I was thinking I could get all muddy and mangie and then I could lay myself somewhere where Indigo would see. Then maybe she'd take care of me a while." He looked at the ground. "Not like anyone can take better care of me than you two already have. Never had better nurses before." He smiled.

Was that supposed to be a hint? Stellar had no idea, but perhaps. Perhaps one of them, maybe two, would realize that he had... Slight feeling for them. Perhps the feeling would grow. Perhaps Harbor (or Taro, for that matter) was the right one for him. Maybe Indigo was just a waste of time. Ugh, there was that thought again. It ripped Stellar's stomach open. He hated that thought.

[taro]

Aaaawww... Thanks! She purred as the tabby brute complimented the two femmes. Rubbing her head down Stellar's body, she glanced up at his sad orbs, and soon parted their ways. Taro wondered if Stellar had any feelings for either of them, she bet not, for his strong desire for Indigo, but wasn't sure. Glancing down at her too-close stance, her cheeks flushed red as she stumbled backwards.

She felt a flutter in her heart, and fear grew in her opts as she realized what was happening. She was falling in love with this cute tom, but there would be no way for them to be together. Or was there? If Ash loved Indigo, and Idigo loved Ash and didn't realize Stellar still had feelings for her, would Stellar throw her out of his mind? Would he really come with Taro and live a whole different life with a much different fae?

A small spasm flickered on in her stumach, but it concluded as swiftly as it had begun. Cocking her head, weirdly to herself, she thought abuot what that feeling could have meant. Does she really love Stellar? What would he say if he knew about her need for him?

Glancing sideways at the otherwise quiet femme beside her, she wondered what was spinning through her mind at the perilous moment. What were her feeling for this all-too-perfect-yet-messed-up brute? Taro stiffled a giggle at her long explantion of the poor Stellar.

After swallowing and clearing her mind from the love tactics, she begun the beginning of the plan. Ok, that's good. As she spoke, it began to get awkward, for she realized at this moment how much Stellar would really go for this so-called "perfect" she-cat. Taro silently held her breath, but carried on. Do you have any idea where either Indigo, Ash, or the kits would be? I mean, I guess they would all be together sence they are... a... f-family... She stuttered on the ending, not able to predict Stellar's reaction to the few last words.

I just can't breathe with out ^{y o u}
My heart bleeds out ^{s o r r o w}

[sorcha]

Again Stellar burst into tears—spoiled tuna, this cat cried a bunch (Shuttup, Harbor berated herself immediately after thinking this, Give him a break, he’s had a rough day. To dish out the understatement of her lifetime.)—but Harbor didn’t feel out of place standing so close to the tom’s sobs. Though he didn’t exactly use her as a pillow (not that she would have preferred that) the tortoiseshell felt her stance appreciated somehow, as if in unspoken tones. Harbor didn’t get that much… somewhat understandably, she decided with a mental shrug. Her thoughts spiraled around and around inside her head in this such way as the tortie tried to distract herself through free association from the damn... whatever she was feeling. Feeling was bad.

So, what I'm planning to do is to look for either Indigo, Ash, or any of the kits. Is there something we were supposed to do with the mud? interjected the brown cat through Harbor’s flailing imagination, and grateful for the interruption the tortoiseshell let her eyes fall upon the brown femme. And then… she did a double-take. What? she thought to herself, Is Taro… agreeing with me? But then she got yet another eyeful from the brown female, and the… “hope” she’d found was dashed. Harbor rolled her own yellow opts and returned the glare, but somehow managed to keep it subtle, she guessed, as Stellar moved on without comment of his kits. Although, as she considered his actions and situation Harbor realized he probably wasn’t noticing much of anything right now.

"Oh, yeah, the mud. I was thinking I could get all muddy and mangie and then I could lay myself somewhere where Indigo would see. Then maybe she'd take care of me a while." He looked at the ground, leveling his green opts with the trash and dirt beneath their paws. "Not like anyone can take better care of me than you two already have. Never had better nurses before.[/i]" Harbor sighed, a little embarrassed by the compliment, but Taro lapped it up like fresh fish on a platter.

Aaaawww... Thanks![/b] And then she kind of rubbed up against the tom’s stripes, almost… flirtatiously? Promptly, Harbor sputtered out a laugh. He’s flirting with us! In my litter box. This was ridiculous… but not in such a laughable way. Even Harbor had a hard time admitting that she didn’t think Stellar was cute. But she didn’t know him. Taro didn’t know him. And he certainly didn’t know them. Still, though. She tried to suppress the uncharacteristic giggle—which was not only born of the humor but her desperation not to dwell upon her emotions—but could not stop, for the tortoiseshell’s sensitive nerves were raw and overwrought. Fortunately ‘twas not a long laugh which rose from her belly, and only moments later the giggle stopped, although an almost creepily goofy smile appeared on her awkward face.

No, guys. Just, just no, she rasped with a headshake, forcing all the meaning into it that she could and looking them both full in the nose. They’d completely understand what she’d just said. With almost a sigh, she said much subdued—though the pointed look on her patched face remained—Now is not the time to escape this situation. What a hypocrite Harbor was, as she suppressed another unfelt chuckle from bubbling over and allowed her face to cement expressionlessly once more… and fully expected to get a glare from Taro.
Instead the other she-cat swallowed and looked very sheepish—she couldn’t be serious, she just couldn’t—but then covered up her childish behavior with a transition back to the topic of the original plan.
Ok, that's good… Do you have any idea where either Indigo, Ash, or the kits would be? I mean, I guess they would all be together sence they are... a... f-family. Harbor felt like someone had socked her in the stomach, as she was sure Stellar would in just a moment, but instead her nose was filled with scents of kits she’d never see again, golden-pelted and golden-eyed like the liquid sun poured through her body to burn Harbor’s insides forever. Her heart grew cold. Taro’s words sparked another idea in the tortoiseshell’s heart, one that she rapidly tried to push away as the tortoiseshell remembered the emotions of separation, her new purpose in this life to find the babes she’d born not so very long ago—No! No, I must not pity this she-cat—if she was so heartless as to desert Stellar I must be heartless in return. She is our adversary right now. My adversary. My opponent. Still, Harbor had to swallow back the thoughts of the implications of this idea of giving Stellar a family… taking Indigo’s away. Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit.
With a twitch of her left ear Harbor hurled the ideas away, filling her wet, black nose with the tabby’s scent bittered by loneliness and felt her acknowledgement of Indigo’s rights settle in the back of her mind. They are your family, she said coldly, yet yellow eyes leaning towards a pleading look, not Ash’s, right? Indigo deserves to start over completely if she wants to, but again, she deserves to start over completely. You sired the babies. Not him. Just remind her of that… oh, come on Snowpaw, give yourself another chance to live. ...please She was too proud to voice that last word in. Harbor'd shoved as much conviction as she could into her wheezy voice, firmly attempting not only to convince Stellar but herself as well that this was right and true. And this argument made sense. Harbor took a deep breath, waiting for his reply, but quickly coughed as the scent of trash filled her nostrils. Ugh, she hated this… well, this dump. After a moment Harbor wondered if she’d sounded like she was begging. Oh snap… well, all she could do was desperately hope not.

(edit: lol, I just spent two paragraphs repeating everything I said two posts ago. no need for that...)

[Stellar Snowpaw]

Stellar smiled, but inched away a bit when Taro rubbed herself against him. Indigo... She had done that. On the night she accepted to be his mate and the day he ran away from her forever. The night he had mated with her. And then he ruined it all with running away.

No. She ruined it. She told him about her Ash. And then tore his heart apart. Typical. She hated him. But now, he had two beautiful feas ribght here... But he wouldn't admit his feelings. He did like them, but they just... They just seemed so far away. He didn't seemed to "clique" with any of them. They were so different. So nice. They never had seemed to experience the love he had. The betraying love that you would do anything for. They seemed so innocent. So... Happy.

He was so sad. So broken. But he could be happy again. He could be happy. And if he was happy, the two femmes would be happy and he wouldn't have to feel sad anymore for anything. Anyone. He could have a life again. And then... And then he didn't know what he would do. Have a family. A life. Something to live for.

"Oh, come on Snowpaw, give yourself another chance to live."

The words sounded like a playful remark that Indigo would say. 'Stellar, just forget about her... She's gone.' Stellar sighed. He didn't know what to do. Stay here with these two or go to find Indigo. It was so hard to make the decision. He bit his lip. The feelings wanted to poor out of him. Poor out of him like a flood of emotion, like a waterfall of tears and sadness. He needed to tell them everything. Anything that was ailing him. Not just his side. The night. The night when he told Indigo his feelings. The night when he asked her to be his mate.

"I have to tell you guys," Stellar began. "I have tot ell you about the first night I told Indigo that I loved her. Then... Then maybe I'll be able to think again."

He sighed. Was this the right thing? Was he doing something that would help him? Or would it just bring him down even more? He went on, he had already began.

"Indigo and I were split up for a while. Then we met again, at this dump. Right here." Stellar kicked the trash beneath him. Then he continued. "She was talking to Ash. Then I asked to talk to her alone." Stellar was shaking, but he remained without a tear. "I told her everything. Why I was hunting for her when I myself was probably more hungry than she was. Why I taught her to fish and to hunt. I told her it was because I loved her." Stellar let one single tear fall, then he loked up at the two feas. "I asked her to be my mate. She said yes." He sniffed, then went on. "Then I saw Ash, walking away. I told Indigo I didn't want to have an enemy for something that I had fought so hard to get. I told her I would just go run up a tree. And then I left. I dumped her... She had a reason to hate me. To love Ash."

Stellar kept his cool for a few seconds, then let it out. He let out everything. "I never wanted to see her again. But then Dapple told me she wanted to see me, a few weeks later. That was the night when I mated with her. We cried so much. We let out everything. And then she twisted me into defering to her wishes and then I mated with her, only to have her tear into me. She told me that she loved Ash. That it was a higher level than what I had felt for her." Stellar stopped crying. "Now, should I hate her? I don't know. I used to love her... But I don't know anymore. She hates me."

[taro]

Taro almost burst into tears herself. The story, Stellar's story, was so sad, too depressing for Taro's ears. She felt like curly into a ball and crying herself to sleep, waiting, waiting for someone to come along and help her, like Stellar did. No wonder he hadn't felt goo, he'd had a rough time with this special love of his, but was all of it true? Does he actually still love Indigo, or was this all a waste? Taro took a deep breath, hoping it would comfort her, as well as the other two felines.

Well, there is only one way to find out, right? She paused and let her mouth catch up with her idea of what to do next. First we find Indigo, ok? Then, She paused, turning to the direction of Stellar's mask. Stellar, if you feel any emotions towards her, let us know. We'll figure it out from there. Is that a good plan? She waited for either of the cat approval before continuing. Taro was known for making bad mistakes in her life, so if either Stellar or Harbor felt the need to change it, she'dbe ok with that.

Her continueus sighing seemed to help calm her down the slightest bit. So she lay her head down upon her paws and slid the rest of her body down with it. Her ribbon flicked side to side, but not because of anger or because of impatience. It was because she moved random parts of her body when she became scared, or a bit depressed, just to keep her mind from wandering back to whatever had frightened her.

After closing her tired optics, she felt a rumble in the ground, but couldn't tell if it was caused by a cat or something else. She let out a high pitched yowl after she spotted the source of the sound. It was a giant truck, and it was heading strait towards them! Before turning tail and running, she stuck her nose into the air, directing the other two cats in the direction the car was. She darted sideways, desperately hoping Stellar would follow her. She glanced backwards only surprised to see that the car hasd changed direction. Had it been attempting to chase them away? Taro's mouth opened in a pant and she glanced back to see her friends.

One awkward ^{s i l e n c e}
And two hopes you cry yourself to ^{s l e e p}

[sorcha]

“Well, there is only one way to find out, right?[/i] Taro addressed Stellar first. “First we find Indigo, ok?... Stellar, if you feel any emotions towards her, let us know. We'll figure it out from there. Is that a good plan?[/i]”

“Obviously you’re minds been made up on that already,” replied Harbor quietly after Taro was finished--maybe even accidentally clipping the other femme's words--and tried hard to make her wheeze sound objective. Harbor’d chosen the second choice the tabby had proposed—she reviled the betraying party. Hate made life simple. But the two’s situation, though similar, visibly would not have the same ending. Already, as it seemed to the tortoiseshell’s inexperienced eyes, Stellar’d gone the heroic… and much, much more painful route of true love till life’s end. “Looks like you’ve got that enemy after all,” she added with a sigh, not unsympathetic… but not dripping with heartfelt apology either. Romantics: they always turned out to be such a mess. This was not going to solve itself as quickly as the impatient femme had hoped.

Truth be told, she was a little frustrated that the three were just sitting around not doing anything, and that—while she and Taro seemed to have decided on a path for him to take—Stellar seemed stuck on square one. Harbor’s edginess was one of her many, many flaws. This was just a part of her personality: to be impatient. But of course he’d stay stuck on this “square one”. Every word he said proved it: Stellar loved this Indigo! He would always. Stellar was not going to move on. Not without a fight, and a fight certainly had not arrived: only tears and shame and frustrations. Harbor’s frusterations as well as Stellar’s. But it was his journey, and not her own. The tortoiseshell needed to remember that better. Taro lay down and began twitching her tail, though if it was also impatience the tortoiseshell had no clue.

“YyyyyOW!” Almost randomly, up jumped the brown cat with a sudden shiver, her golden eyes round with fear, and the Dewleaf girl raced off the asphalt—Oh, realized Harbor, we’re on the highway next to the dump.—and with a quick signal to the tom, of course, with her nose dived for the roadside —Would you look at that, a car.—to quiver in the dirt a few feet away. Harbor watched the car swivel to her left idly, and cocked her head at the fearful-looking cat, who turned to face her. Looking rather embarrassed. Harbor rolled her own yellow opts, feeling like the oldest cat there. Which, it turns out, all of them at the time felt.

[Stellar Snowpaw]

Taro was interesting. She seemed to be someone who made up her mind quickly. She seeemd to be one who could be going in one direction and turn to go the other in a split second, no questions asked. Just turning, changing her direction to change her path.

Harbor seemed to be the opposite. She seemed to be going in on direction, whether it was right or not, not straying from the direction at all. Keeping her paws on the path she had chosen and not wandering off. Nothing could stop her.

Was Stellar that way? Was he on a path that would not change, would not twist or turn to go into a new one? Or was he on a quickly changing path that would morph to a new one, lead him somewhere he never thought possible? Was the "somewhere" to one of these two she-cats before him? Or was his heart meant for Indigo, the only she-cat he had ever loved, so he thought, and never meant for anyone else? Such questions were strange and unanswered, and he didn't know how to answer him, even if he had an explanation. He was stupid, in this sense.

He chuckled lightly to himself when Harbor spoke to Taro, something about her seeming to make up her mind. Such remarks made him think about his calculations about her - not changing her path. He looked at the ground. Was he supposed to be that way? Or was he supposed to swerve, suddenly turn, and go after one of these two. Was he supposed to chose between these two she-cats, forget about Indigo, and Ash, and the kits? Forget everything before now? All his efforts? All the time he spent with Indigo, how he got so far?

'No... You can still remmeber those things, Stellar. Just forget that Indigo ever loved you. She doesn't love you anymore. She's Ash's.' The thought, though painfully true, stungs as hard as the words that Indigo had spoken that harmful night. And now... The words she spoke were true. She ahd Ash. He had no one... Unless he chose. Unless he became someone else's mate. But who? Who would want him?

Taro? She seemed... Too good for him. Harbor seemed not to like him very much... Dapple was long gone, and she probably wasn't interested at all, either. No one around for him to ask. Well, he could ask, but the answer would probably be no, never, or dream on. Nothing.

His thoughts came back to the short-spoken plan. Taro's plan. Find Indigo. And break his heart? Why? What would it do? Nothing. There would be nothing to come from it but pain and suffereing. All for the good of Ash. He woud enjoy every bit of Stellar being bitten and scratched mentally by Indigo's ruthless remarks. He wouldn't care. He had Indigo.

"Where would she be? And what makes you think she won't kill me? Or Ash? He hates me," Stellar said, looking at Harbor, then Taro. "He wouldn't let me near Indigo. And he probably brainwashed the kits too. They probably hate me, too."

[taro]

Taro took a deep breath. She won't kill you, I'm sure of that. She cocked her head to the side, just being cute, not in confusion. She stumbled forward, giving Stellar a lick on the shoulder. Her golden eyes scanned the area, looking for something, but she didn't know what. Where should we search first? This time she cocked her head in the opposite direction, confusion striking her at this point.

She tried to think about all the placin in Nenbrook, or at least the ones Indigo would be at. She wondered if Indigo and Ash would be with the kits, or if they would have to go on a few different quests to bring back the family. A content sigh escaped her mouth, and she brought her wondering eyes to the thing they had been searching for, Stellar's face. She wanted the best for him, which was to find Indigo and pursuade her to return with him. But Taro couldn't help but be naughty and steal a glance at the well-built tabby in front of her. She felt selfish for how much she wanted Stellar for herself, but she couldn't hold back her emotions so easily.

_{[so sorry, very museless right now...]}

[sorcha]

Harbor looked up from the ground, where she had been observing a lonely, squished metal can. Her eyes narrowed upon it, gaining all of her angry attention. Not that the can was anything special, Harbor didn’t often look like anything but angry. She didn’t love anyone—it hurt too much. She didn’t even like anyone—liking things bit you in the rear as soon as you dropped guard. If you liked something you could be manipulated by it, made you susceptible to its desires. Not that Harbor ever let her guard down. Her logic, yes, but never her guard… this can-thingy smelled funny.

“ Where would she be? And what makes you think she won't kill me? Or Ash? He hates me." Harbor felt eyes upon her skull, and jerked her line of vision up and to the left. Stellar then moved on to Taro with green optics, endless in their worry. "He wouldn't let me near Indigo. And he probably brainwashed the kits too. They probably hate me, too.”


She won't kill you, I'm sure of that,[/i]” replied Taro with a cock of her head and a stumble towards the tabby to give his shoulder a comforting lick. Where should we search first? she then asked, goldens sweeping the piles of trash as she cocked her head to the other side and looking comically like a pendulum.

A bit reluctantly, Harbor voiced her agreement with the brown cat. “If Indigo loved you once there’s no reason for her to try and destroy you. The tortoiseshell paused a moment, and asked a bit absent-mindedly as she tried to remember exactly, “Didn’t you say her feelings for Ash were stronger than for you, or something along those lines? It’s unlikely she’ll want to kill you if that’s the case, right?” But immediately after voicing this last part, Harbor regretted her words. False hope was the one thing Harbor didn’t want to dish out, ever, to anyone. Hopefully that comment went somewhat unnoticed… “Er, w-would Ash maybe let you live because…” Oh what to say, “…because he loves Indigo, too, maybe?” Bah. Harbor wasn’t complicated enough for this.

She caught Taro’s eyes looking over Stellar’s pelt and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes again. Bitterly, as usual with Harbor’s thoughts, she wondered if Stellar liked Taro like that. Obviously he liked her. He seemed friendly enough with Harbor, too, oddly seeing as how she’d acted towards him—the tortoiseshell dropped her nose a little bit, feeling a tiny bit guilty for being so… Harbor-like towards the tabby—but Harbor wondered if he liked Taro… like that. Of course if poor Stellar did he was just desperate for a way out of his emotions for Indigo, but Harbor couldn’t help thinking about it anyway. She kind of liked Stellar, somewhat, despite herself. Or at least, Harbor hadn't decided to dislike him yet. The tortoiseshell didn’t have a nose for she-cats but she assumed Taro must be pretty—the sleek brown feline acted like Harbor imagined a pretty cat would. Pretty cats rarely made Harbor’s acquaintance, so she was pretty sure her own body was not a pretty one. Ah, would you look at that, a pun.

Was Stellar… really attracted to Taro? Was Taro really attracted to Stellar? Was Harbor really wondering this? Did she care? Did she not care and have nothing else to do? If only she could give the last question a definite yes, but right now Harbor was having a hard time thinking. “Why don’t we start by just… going to try and find all of them—any of them really, since I guess one cat will lead to another, and… maybe figure out what to do from there?” she asked mostly to Stellar, escaping that tiresome tendril of thought. It seemed that finding the Wintertraps, or maybe the Firestars Harbor guessed, was the only thing all three seemed to have even a little consensus on, and action was becoming an increasing pressing… course of action. On the tortoiseshell’s mind, anyway.

[Stellar Snowpaw]

"But she doesn't love me anymore! She has Ash. Why would she want me, Mr. Dump and Mate? All I was good for was to make Ash jealous and then make him love Indigo even more when she told her side of the story. Why would she want me? I was only a tool."

Stellar sat up straight. New determination came into his mind. He would find Indigo, and tell her. Tell her everything. Everything that had happened to him sionce the day he left her, that night. How he still loved her, even though she hated him. That he would never stop loving her. Never. But would she believe him? Would she agree to even let him stand three feet away from him? Or would it end up in something that was never supposed to happen? Were they never to see each other ever, ever again?

"They may be somewhere in the forest behind the town. We'll start at the river and go down. That should give us a wide enough range." Stellar stood up and shook out his coat, no matter how dog-like it was. He walked over to Taro and touched his nose to her shoulder, a friendly thanks. "Thank you for taking care of me." He looked over at Harbor. Would she let him thank her? He stepped tenderly over to her. He touched his pink nose to her shoulder. "Thank you, too."

He then looked at the forest. "Now. To the stream?" Then he added, "We can eat something on the way."

[[sorry for the short post, no muse, and sorry for taking so long. i had a lot of things to do. also, are we going to make multiple threads or just one at the water fall, where the wintertraps live?]]

[taro]

The delicate pawsteps Stellar had taken to give her a small nuzzle seems to pound in Taro's ears. Her mind was spinning with all of this new information, and with her trying to figure something out, with a lot on her mind, she goes crazy. She had a headache thumping around in her head, seeming to be parading around in circles, not wanting to end at any certain point.

She had to sit down to stop herself from falling over, and not much later did she slide into a recovery sleep position. She felt so tired, and just wanted to curl up and fall asleep in the sunlight, but nooooo... She had to worry about Stellar, and their small but mighty team had to start their investigations. They had to find out what was going on in Indigo's head; see if she still loved Stellar. What if she did? Surely they'd reunite, and Taro and Harbor could be on their ways. But what if she doesn't? Stellar wouldn't crumble to peices would he? What about Ash, would they get in a fight? A fight over Indigo and who got to stay with her? Taro shied away from her own thoughts, afraid of whatever was coming before them.

She took a deep breath, then nodded to herself, giving her the courage to stand up once again. Yes, we'll head off to the river at first, and we'll follow it all the way down to the forest. Hopefully by then we'd find them. She cleared her throat, ruffled her fur, and took a few paces forward. She stopped, and with a cheesy yet confused smirk on her face, she looked around for the closest exit. It seemed to be a far way down, behind two large piles of carrion. Taro sighed, this was going to take a while.

Word Count 306
Muse a lot, just not in the mood to post.
OOC yeah, we'll just make a new post at the stream, and work our way up to the forest. One of us should tell Indigo to post with Ash, then we'll meet up together