[o] IT'S ALRIGHT to cry,,

[Pistachio Brokendaze]

The dump wasn't the most scenic place to be in the Chershire area. If anything, it was the least atracting, filled to the brim with wrappers, plastic and waste. Any of the leftover food from the humans' dinners and other meals were here, though not nessecarily edible. Who knows how long they've been sitting there? That chicken over there could have been from Thanksgiving for all you knew. What about that salmon? It had to have been sitting there at least a month. Yet how many strays picked their way through here, eating the rotten foods as a last resort? Too many to count, for sure. What did that say about the life that they lived here on the streets, the felines that tried night and day to survive in the harsh environment? Tough was a word that could be used to describe them. After all, they were the ones in the alleys, stealing, cheating, scavenging. Sure you have friends, mates, kits, but in the end it'll always be you on your own.

At least the weather was nice. The sun lazily rested in the afternoon sky, white clouds innocently floating by on their journey across the light blue. Rays filtered down to the planet it watched over, warming up everything in sight. Summer was in sight, approaching sooner than normal this year. And of course the young feline enjoyed the warm weather and longer days- more time lying in the sun, relaxing in bright green grasses, hunting fat and plentiful prey. But that wasn't why the tom was excited- no, it was only three more months until his first birthday. Then he could finally be treated as an adult who knows something about the world. He wouldn't be considered a kit anymore, one of his pet peeves. And of course, a year marked that he had survived the live of a street cat, without anything happening to him, like-

He stopped his walk through the dump, cursing under his breath. Why did his thoughts bring back to his parents and sisters? Didn't his mental and psychological mind know that he just wanted to forget all of that to save him the pain? It seems that his mind just wanted to be cruel to him today. Emerald eyes looked up towards the bright ball of light in the sky, squinting. Where were his parents now? Can they still be alive? Are they even here in the city? How he wished that Minny could come along and play with him, Pecan reassuring him, mother saying everything was alright. Then father would come, telling Pistachio how proud he was of his son. That would make the world complete. A sigh came out of the feline's small mouth, one of sorrow and giving up. Maybe he'd never see his parents again...

[kestrel]

The small tabby's nose wrinkled with obvious distaste as she surveyed the dump ahead of her. Lifting a paw, she rubbed her nose into the fur, wanting to inhale deeply and wash out all the garbage scents except that then she would also be replacing the scent that she had followed all the way here. Her cousin's scent, that was. Rolling her eyes she lowered her paw shakily back down to the ground and, setting her jaw determinedly, began her way forward, eyes scanning among the mounds of garbage for a glipmse of the silver, orange and white fur that made up Pistchio's tell-tale torbie coat. Her eyes locked on a form not too far away and she breathed a sigh of relief. Good. So that had been his scent then. She'd been 99% percent sure but then again she hadn't seen her cousin in a while so who knew?

Strange though that she almost felt... something similar to guilt about the fact that she hadn't seen Chi in so long. She ignored her siblings most of the time and never batted an eye about it. But of course, that wasn't the same. Lynx, Striker, Lion, Puma... They all had each other. They had Indigo. They had Ash. They didn't need her. And what about Pistachio? His parents, Rowan and Violet, and sister, Cinnamon and Pecan, had all been captured and taken away, presumably to one of those weird human shelters for cats. Kestrel shuddered at the thought. No, she liked her freedom very much, thank you - couldn't even imagine what life would be like without it. That wouldn't be life, that would be prison. Rolling her eyes as she made her way carefully forwards, unsure what to say to her cousin. So I thought I smelled you not too far back and figured I'd like stalk you and see how were doing? Not only was that just weird but it implied that she was checking up on him on something. No, that wouldn't work, she'd have to -

"Pistachio!"

- act surprised. As if this was all some chance meeting. Thank god she'd been blessed with such good acting skills - and had actually developed them. If there was one thing Kessa was good at it was manipulating and tricking others - and a lot of that relied on being able to act, being able to control one's every movement and expression. But aha! There was an even better description. Being in control. The one thing that was vital. Twitching her lips slightly in the smallest of smiles, she picked her way over to her cousin, dipping her head ever so slightly in greeting. "Hey you,' she meowed, flicking him with her tail as she approached. She wanted to ask what he was doing here but knew that that would be idiotic. Sure, it would put the attention on him but it would also inevitably lead to him asking what she was doing there. Sure, she could bull shit something but she'd like to take as many extra seconds as she could to come up with her story.

[Pistachio Brokendaze]

It was quite odd for the feline to be at the dump. It sure wasn't the nicest and safest place; the stench was horrid, the ground was coated with filth and rats scurried everywhere in vast hordes. Yet, getting past the main and obvious reasons of being here, such as searching for food, was the case for Pistachio's appearance here. But why was he here, of all places? Some feeling deep down inside him, telling him to stray away from the Old Road that he had stuck by for the past few months. And, like always, he followed what his inner self told him to do. How many cats had he seen dumped on the roads, left to fend for themselves, under his watch? Too many to count. How pathetic the humans were in that way, dumping their once cherished pets. Yet the felines were still attached to these betraying and heart-breaking owners, hoping that they'd come back and love them once more. Like that would ever happen. Pigs were more likely to fly and the sky to rain cupcakes.

A scent came through his small nose, one that he quickly recognized. Pawsteps from behind confirmed him of his thoughts, but still he did not turn towards the cat. If this cat wanted to talk to him, he'd wait for her to confront him first. A small part of his heart wanted to fight this newly made rule- normally it was the exact opposite and he was the one that talked to everyone. What was with him today? Straying away from his 'home' that he had established by the road and changing his set of rules. Perhaps his mind was just trying to think, expel the negatives inside of him. Like a therapy session or detox, to clean his mind.

"Pistachio!"

Yep, he was right. Of course it was Kestrel, his cousin. Or half cousin, he was not too sure. After all, her mother, Indigo, and his mother- no, he couldn't say her name, it would rip him up inside- were half-sisters. Somehow they were related by blood, although the connection wasn't very strong. He turned towards her, eyes looking the other feline over. Kestrel had grown since he had last seen her (which was a long time, sadly), her height almost the same as his. He wouldn't be surprised if she eventually grew taller than him, what with the rate that she still sprouted up. Him? Like a very very slow sunflower growing in a dark room. She seemed surprised to see him, though Pistachio wasn't too positive that she wasn't just acting- she was an actress at heart, after all. Out of all cats, he was probably the closest to being able to tell, though sometimes he was not too sure. This was one of those times. Closer she came to him, her tail flicking his shoulder in a friendly fasion.

"Hey there Kessa. What brings you here?"

He simled slightly, the response somewhat tired. Sleep had not been something that came easily to him, try as he might. Curse his insomnia. The feline looked back to his paws, patched with silver, grey and orange. A messed-up pattern that maybe once was perfect, but now just a scramble. Like a marbled cake, imperfect and (when left in the dump for too long) not pretty at all. He sighed; oh well, he'd just have to live with his imperfections.

[kestrel]

"Hey there Kessa. What brings you here?"

Oh of coure he would ask the one question she wanted left ignored. That was Pistachio for you. He was always a little bit quicker than everyone. It wasn't just that he was smarter, he just seemed to... know her a bit better. Or something like that. It was weird, seeing as she had four siblings of her own but Pistachio had always been a bit different. He was perceptive and she was just, well she let down her guard a little bit - although that still meant that it was up a lot more than most others'. Rolling her eyes, she pulled a fake pout, teasing. "No 'great to see ya' just straight to the interrogation?" she joked, grinning at her cousin while giving a little shrug. Did she have to have a reason for everything? She snorted. She couldn't go and say that. Pistachio knew her to some extent but that was enough to know that Kestrel Wintertrap didn't do things for no reason. Anyone who'd speant five minutes with her would realize that. Especially when she walked off after 30 seconds because they were wasting her time.

So how to explain this then? She shrugged again, keeping a grin on her face and a light expression in her eyes. "I was just scoping out the neighborhood and I thought I smelled you," she teased lightly, nudging her cousin and making a show of sniffinf him. "Seriously, Chio, when was the last time you groomed yourself?" she joked, the pleasant grin on her face making it clear that she was only fooling around. And not just being her usual bitch. That was the other thing. She was always more relaxed around her cousin - nicer even. He was family but he wasn't close enough that he was any pressure, wasn't part of the messy Wintertrap clan. No, he had the perfect family. Or, had had the perfect family at least. Poor him. It was weird, the way she almost wooried about her, the way she almost felt bad for him. It was so unlike her. So was tracking someone down after scenting them just because she wanted to make sure they were doing all right.

But she'd given a pretty good excuse. After all, it was pretty much the truth. She'd just made it seem like she just wanted to catch up instead of wanting to make sure her cousin was okay. But really, it wasn't as if her lie had been anywhere near obvious. Besides, what was Pistachio more likely to believe? That she'd scented him and figured they could catch up for a bit or that Kestrel Wintertrap had actually been worried about someone? Had actually thought about the good of someone other than herself? Had actually been acting on something that be close to empathy? She blinked on the pretense of the sunlight, squinting slightly as if it were too bright. It was pretty bright after all, she just wasn't the type to be bothered by the sun. But yeah, she though, her thoughts going back to the whole situation. Even she was having a hard time believing the truth over the little fib she'd told. No, not fib - it was just an omission.

Which was pretty much the truth after all. Maybe even completely so in this case.

[Pistachio Brokendaze]

"No 'great to see ya' just straight to the interrogation?"

The silver torbie smiled slightly, chuckling under his breath. That was Kessa for you, whether you liked it or not. Actually, it was the almost nicer side of her, the one that only a few people were aware of. To the average feline, she was, to put it nicely, a bitch. Not necessarily the title that you wanted, but still. Perhaps that was what Kestrel wanted- after all, she practiced lying, cheating and betrayal. She practically ate broken hearts for lunch, that's what she was doing with her life. But it wasn't right for Pistachio to comment on her personal choices of what she did with her life and how she acted- in the end, something bad would probably happen. Karma was something he strongly believed in, like a god to him, and the torbie hoped that something would change the error of her ways before anything too terrible happened. "Nope. Since when have I not greeted you with a question?" Jade eyes sparkled in the sunlight, filled with amusement. They were not unlike the femme's, yet more of a deeper and richer color. The eyes of a philosopher, he had once heard. He had thought about that for a while- he was not very philosophical, more psychiatric in fact. Helping the frayed nerves of the new cats dumped on the Old Road had been a hobby, a pastime for him. What interesting conversations he had had...Of course, by now he had remembered that he still awaited the answer to the question, perking his silver ears.

"I was just scoping out the neighborhood and I thought I smelled you,"

She walked forward, sniffing him over. The pink flesh of the nose was somewhat ticklish against his patched fur, yet he refused to let out a laugh or jerk. Who knew what tickle fit Kessa could put him in.. However, he had to think about her reply, seeing how well-known she was for lying at times. Did it sound true? It was a decent response, nothing out of the ordinary. Now, had she said that she was looking for food or other necessities he might think otherwise. Kessa was a little bit better than eating garbage and other filth. But why had she stopped here? After all, he wasn't interesting, his appearance to him was hideous (although some might disagree) and he certainly was a little odd. How many cats did you meet with a pelt like his? Or a diet like the one that he has to keep up with? It didn't make much sense.

"Seriously, Chio, when was the last time you groomed yourself?"

He turned slightly pink, eyes automatically scanning his fur. Didn't he just clean it a couple hours ago? Surely it couldn't that dirty after... It dawned on him quickly, looking back up to Kestrel with a look of feigned irritation. "Come on, my pelt can't be that bad. It's only a helter-skelter of colors." He couldn't help but smile afterwards, seeing as her tone was only kidding. Though it was normally quite easy to be mad at Kestrel, for whatever reason he wasn't too irritated. Yet. Besides, she was actually trying to be really nice for once, without her normal bitch-flakes for breakfast. How nice.

However, something was...off about the situation. Just the aura that surrounded Kessa felt slightly fake, as if she was hiding or putting something off. Was there something that he was not aware of? The silver tom's mind flooded with the positives; could his parents have returned? What about his sisters? Were those who teased him finally realizing the error of their ways? However, he stopped himself- no, this wasn't a positive aura. Kessa wouldn't be evil enough to hide that important info from him, would she? Then again, this was Kestrel Wintertrap, mastermind in manipulation you were talking about here. He was 99.9 percent positive that this wasn't the case, however. What could it be? Chi looked into her eyes once more, hoping to find something. He soon got what he thought she came for, causing his shoulders to drop slightly. "What do you want me to do? You wouldn't normally track me down just for the sake of conversation." His voice was quite tired, making him sound and seem much older than his young age. Kits his age never sounded tired- never were tired for that matter, but after what he'd been through he didn't see why not. He hoped that she'd get straight to the point so that he could do the errand and be on with his way. It wasn't that Kessa wasn't great company, but beating around the bush wasn't one of his favorite things to listen to.

_WC;; 790[/sub]

[coppersun]

Copper

Copper stopped infront of the dump. Garbage strewn everywhere in one heap. He smelled the air. Minus the nausiating smell of rotting garbage, two cats were noticed. He desided to find them. He trotted forward ears perked. Listening to the sea gulls overhead. His ginger coat shining slightly. His yellow orbs scanned the garbage heaps. He saw to sillouettes. A smaller one and one, just a bit larger.

They seemed to be in deep conversation. He meowed loudly. Showing he was there. He loved friends. He scampered off to them. Hello. I am Copper GoldenSun, who may you be! He said cherrily. A large genuine smiled across his ginger coloured face. He swished his thin tail. He shifted a bit uncomfortably. He nodded to both the cats. The lady and the gentleman.

The silence had no answers, it only had questions. The silence was killing him. Sorry to just barge in. I just have not seen a cat for a while. I was just excited. He said. He wanted to turn around and run away. To take the embarssament away from him. He started backing away a little bit. His ears slightly going back. His paws wanting to wheel around and go. He waited to hear what they had to say before he ran. The female and the male looked pretty nice. He desided to stay. He glanced back and forth between the two of them. They were younger then him, he thought. Maybe just growing out of the kitten stage. Or even still in the kitten stage..