&& let's pretend you're mine

[kestrel]

The pumpkin patch. It was such a cute little area, even if the only evidence of pumpkins at this time of year was the odd green shoot here or there - a wisp of the beginning of a vine. Kestrel's soft pads tread over the dirt easily as she navigated through the patch, remember another time she'd been here. She'd been what? maybe two months old? and she'd made it here all the way from the falls all by herself. It had been long and exhausting but she'd made it and she'd been more proud than ever. That was how she worked. Setting goals, meeting those goals, and then setting new goals. Except that lately she'd started to re-evaluate the whole system. Always pushing herself one step further, just to see how far she could go. It was pointless, when you thought about it. When really, she could just leave. Wasn't that the biggest step of all? The biggest push?

Eyes narrowing at this new realization, Kessa nodded. It was decided then. Now that she regarded leaving home as a way of pushing the limits - no, not pushing them but breaking them - she knew that it had to be done. She didn't let goals go unfulfilled. She succeeded. She succeeded at everything. Maybe it was tough, maybe it was a lot of pressure she put on herself but it was who she was and she'd known that for as long as she remembered. She had to be perfect - but in the way she wanted. Independently perfect, unbreakable, unstoppable... She didn't have to be - and never cared to be - the perfect daughter, the perfect sister, the perfect cousin, the perfect friend, the most polite she-cat ever. No, she'd chosen her own standards and she had to be perfect when it came to them. Manipulative. Perceptive. Able to read others. Completely in control. Controlling. That was the key really, to all of it. Being in control of herself, being able to control others, to control everything around her. It was all about control.

Which was one of the many reasons that Kestrel Wintertrap was not like other eight month old she-cats. She wasn't silly, didn't play games, didn't giggle at everything, didn't blush and tease tom kittens. Sure, she was able to play the part deceptively well. She could bat her lashes and twist anyone around her paw in a second. But there were always ulterior motives in hand, which was where the distinction came in. Other girl kittens didn't have ulterior motives - probably didn't even know what that meant, Kessa thought with a snort. Not to say that because she wasn't like other girl kittens, she was a tom boy. Ha. Anything but. Kessa was just aloof, withdrawn. She didn't need anybody else except for herself. Everyone else was just fun to play with, to mess around with. Toms especially, she was beginning to realize. She knew that she was more than average looking - what an understatement, really - and she knew that others noticed that too. Her wit, her manipulative side, her inner bitch... All of that was disguised behind an outer beauty which she was quite capable of using to her advantage. Stopping in the patch and curling her tail around her back right leg, Kestrel smirked, emerald eyes narrowing as she let out a small purr of amusement.

{ S O U L }

[Soul Dreamcatcher]

The pumpkin patch. Soul loved the place, and fit right in among them with his short, orange fur. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten here, which was a usual thing with the tom, but he'd been to other pumpkin patches much like this one. He could tell there weren't any up right now, much to his disappointment, but at least it was a nice day.

And of course, Soul loved sunlight. Sleeping in it, especially, btu what cat didn't? Every chance he got he'd bask in it, leaving his fur warm and sun-kissed.

And girls loved it, he'd learned. He'd mastered the art of pretending to sleep, having his eyes open so narrowly it was impossible to detect and evening out his breathing to a slow, drowsy rate. Everytime a she-cat saw him "sleeping" their eyes got all soft and they'd purr, and when he "woke up", then they'd look guilty and appolgize for waking him. A great strategy, and laughably easy. Fun too, plus, it involved sleeping in the sun. A double-win.

But it was always boring for the orange tom without company. He hated being alone, partly because he as bored, but more because it forced him to think. And he didn't like to think, he preferred to just act. It was easier for everything, and he wouldn't have to face anything. Including his non-existent past, which was something he was both eager and terrified to find out. What if he wasn't who he was at all? What if he didn't remember anything from his latest year of life? He could change. And he really, really didn't want to.

Pausing, the tom caught something in the air, and immeditely recognized the scent as feline and female. Smiling, he followed it at a leisurely pace until he found the source.

It was a nice smell he'd been following, of pine and fresh water, and a sweet, floral scent that followed as well. Man, she-cats always smelt so much better than toms. He hoped he didn't smell as bad as half of them did.

Her coat looked really soft- too soft. She looked a little young, but it wasn't as though Soul was incredibly old. He'd just hit the two-yar mark, so with his usual air of confidence, he padded up and spoke with a wide grin,

"You sound happy." Soul was commenting on her earlier purring, although the sound had an edge to it. He couldn't place the sound.

"Something good happen?"

ooc: Such a boy. -tsk tsk- Sorry for the sucky post, fist one is always annoying to write -_- lol. And I copied your text header, hahaha! Ya can't stop me!

[kestrel]

Mmm, it was so nice and sunny today, Kessa thought, as she let herself soak in some well-earned rays. Her eyes were just closing when - "You sound happy." They snapped right back open and Kessa forced herself to breathe out slowly and count to three before whirling around around her heel to face the stranger, haughtiness already evident on her face as she glanced at him, eyes sweeping over every last inch. Orange tabby, hm? To be honest, she was a bit over that whole color altogether. No. She wasn't going to let Indigo put her off a whole freaking color. Backtrack, there. "Something good happen?" Kestrel blinked. What was this idiot talking about? Oh. He must have heard her little purr. Ha. Ironic how her little purr as she contemplated how she could twist others to her advantage was being mistaken as a herald of good news. Or maybe it was sign. He'd misinterpreted and now she could do exactly what she'd been mulling over in the first place.

Manipulate.

Batting her lashes, Kestrel slunk over to the tom, a small grin on her face. "I'm Kestrel Wintertrap," she declared quietly, letting a hint of shy amusement rise to her face. Being an outright bitch was more than fun but subtlety was an art that Kessa had down pat and sometimes it seemed a shame not to use it. If she could get away with being bitchy without him even noticing? Oh how funny that would be, wouldn't it? She already knew the answer, of course. A big fat YES.

"So what brings you here, mister?" she asked, putting just the right amount of curiousity and enthusiasm into her voice. The first step would be to disguise herself. Just another silly little thing, nothing more. See how long it took him to catch on. Sure, it was a bit pointless and Kestrel generally didn't engage in things that were pointless - that had no rewards to be reaped. But it would also be fun and extremely amusing. Plus, she could consider it a test of sorts. An assessment of the other cat and just practice for her. He seemed like the friendly type if he'd walked right up to her and started talking so that could easily be exploited. She'd just had to play the sweet little she-cat and see where this all lead. 'Cause after all, don't some say that the journey is just as important as the destination? In her head, she rolled her eyes.

She'd never been all that great a believer of that, to be honest.

But if it could be twisted around to suit her purposes? Well that was just what she did, wasn't it? Twisted, twisted, twisted...

OOc: Lol it's fine, looks really cute. Sorry my post is so short/crappy.

[Soul Dreamcatcher]

Soul liked her voice. It was sweet, even a little flirty, and he smiled at her as she introduced herself. He always seemed to run into shy or troubled cats these days- it was a relief to finally find someone with no self-esteem issues, or anger problems.

Although he couldn't bring himself to completely believe his own thoughts. She seemed really nice of course, yet he'd met people much like her that ended up being entirely different from his original first impression told him. At least the shy cats were easy to read.

And something seemed a little off. The scathing look she'd first given him when he'd appeared didn't match up to her behavior now.

He chalked it off as a she-cat with a temper before completely ignoring the entire equation. Moving on.

At her question, he shrugged, having no particular answer in mind. He had just walked until he hit this place, no biggie.

"Nothing in particular, I was just wandering... Then I found this place. I'm Soul, by the way, Soul Dreamcatcher, professional thief and here to steal your heart."

He barely even thought about them anymore before saying them, he had a special spot in his brain reserved for his endless one-liners. It was just automatic now.

"But you were here first. How'd you get here?" His grin was friendly, and he eagerly awaited her answer. She seemed like it might be interesting.

ooc: aww stupid Soul. I'm thinking he might sense a little something is off but is too dumb to look into it for a bit.

[kestrel]

"I'm Soul, by the way, Sould Dreamcatcher, professional thief and here to steal your heart."

Kestrel rolled her eyes in her head but kept a perfect little smile on the outside. It was sort of cute, after all. Not that she'd never been flirted with before but there was something about the casual nonchalance that the tom - Soul - seemed to convey even as he said it that was... impressive. Well, almost. She batted her lashes again, comically this time, and then giggled, a light tinkling sound. "Oh really? You know you're awfully confident, Mr. Dreamcatcher," she addressed him. But even as her voice was sweet and admiring, there was something else there too. Warning. Challenge. "I doubt the likes of you could steal my heart," she teased, lightly meowing the words and then flicking him with her tail as she sauntered closer as if the whole thing was a joke. Even though she was dead serious. The idea of anybody "stealing her heart" was preposterous. The whole idea of "stealing someone's heart" was preposterous.

Emotions were so fickle.

"But you were here first. How'd you get here?"

She gave a little laugh at that one, raising one brow and eyeing him strangely while she gave her head a little shake. "I walked?" she replied, as if she was asking a question. She allowed herself another giggle. "You know, one paw forward, then the next, then the next... and so on?" She made a show of demonstrating as she spoke, continuing to giggle slightly. Kittens her age were usually pretty giggly. She wasn't exactly sure why she was doing this - acting like any normal little girl kitten. But it was fun enough to be pulling it off on Soul and well, it was interesting to act like most others. To imagine if this really was her. She almost shivered at the thought. and then turned back to Soul, padding back over with an impish grin.

"Why, how'd you get here?" she asked, raising one brow as she stepped closer, only a few inches away from the tom cat. "Take a ride in one of those human metal-machines? Cars?" Arching her brow higher, she allowed a little giggle as she continued. "Ride a motorbike? A vespa? Gondola ride?" She didn't even knnow what any of those were. Okay so she knew what a motorbike was but not the others exactly. They were just terms of transportation that she'd heard other cats refer too. Or even the odd human when she'd crept close enough to make out what they were saying. "Truck? Tricycle?" she continued, letting another tinker bell-esque giggle fall from her lips. Silly Soul. Though she had to admit he was amusing. So... Kudos.

[Soul Dreamcatcher]

The she-cat seemed innocent enough, playful, joking, much like him. Yet even though he compared himself to her, he found that he should've found more and just didn't. The way she spoke and laughed were much more alien to his mind. He was trying to figure out why he felt almost... Soul couldn't name the emotion. Almost threatened when she spoke. Intimidated.

What the hell...?

"Wanna bet?" He answered her lightheartedly, eyes shining but at the same time almost calculating. As usual, Soul was trying to figure her out. The routine has always been just that- find, speak, understand, be friend. But he was stuck at the understand part. He just didn't get it.

I walked?

He laughed as she named all the different ways she could've arrived at their current location, most of which he didn't know the meanings of. Vespa? What was a Gondola? And there wasn't the slightest bit of a chance that she could've taken a tricycle.

"Bus?" He played along humorously, "Taxi? Train? Subway?

curling up on the ground, he licked a paw and began to run it over his ear, always making sure to have himself looking clean.

Actually," he began in a low voice, conspiratorially almost, "I flew. Ever flow before, miss...?

He trailed off, awaiting an introduction from the young she-cat. He'd hardly even realized that she'd forgotten to tell him her name.

"Because it's really, really..." He trailed off as he took slow steps towards her, a predators grin on his lips. Suddenly and without warning, he slammed into her, throwing them both into the air as they went flying through the air, a good few feet across the ground until they both fell into a soft pile of ferns, the landing not too rough since they hadn't been too high in the air.

He laughed, shaking himself off and grinning crazily like he always did.

"...fun." He finished breathlessly.