&YOU WANT ANSWERS { s.o.u.l.

[Slate Snowbreeze]

and where do you G O . . .
with no destination no M A P to g u i d e y o u . . .

He could still remember the way Jane’s hands felt as they stroked his fur. He missed it. Her hands were so soft, and his fur was sleek and shiny beneath them. It was a nice memory, but it had been nicer living it. Of course, it couldn’t be healthy, all the dwelling in the past that he did. At the same time, though, he couldn’t help it--he missed his Jane too much. Slate wanted her back.

Still, he tried to stay optimistic. That wasn’t always easy though. When you were on your own living in the streets, life wasn’t always kind. Kind, or fun. He had to take Tempest into account, however. He’d met a she-cat named Tempest Moonshimmer not that long ago, and he had liked her very much. She had amazing, vivid purple eyes that had immediately caught Slate’s attention, although they most likely attracted a lot of attention.

In fact, the day he had met Tempest had been much like today. The sun was out, it was pleasantly warm with a light, refreshing breeze . . . Except this time he was enjoying it on the hills, not in Nenbrook. Nenbrook. The town was so similar to the one that Jane and Slate had lived in. Oh, how he missed it. Still, he had made the decision to leave, and here he was.

See, the thing is, if he had still been living with Jane when he was given the opportunity to run away, he wouldn’t have gone. If he were given the choice to go back to Jane or continue living on the streets, he would go back to Jane in a heartbeat. However, that wasn’t a possibility. Jane was just gone one day, and her daughter, Alexandra, had taken Slate home with her. Alexandra was nice, and so was her daughter, Hannah, but it just wasn’t the same. Slate had missed Jane, he still did.

And so he left.

Since he wasn’t living with Jane, he wasn’t living in a house at all. He could live on the streets. He’d made it so far, and Slate was happy for that. Not that he doubted his capability to be on his own as a stray, it was just that he tried to stay optimistic, he would use anything as a reason to be happy.

Other than Tempest, Slate didn’t really have any friends. At all. He was a sweetheart, mostly, lovable and easy to get along with, but he just hadn’t met many other cats. In a way, he was grateful, it kept life from getting too complicated, but after meeting Tempest he felt like he had been missing out on something. Something that he now wanted.

With a sigh, Slate increased his slow walking pace to a run. With long, graceful strides he charged his way up the side of the grassy hill. It was a beautiful day, Spring was something that Slate had decided he liked. It was pretty, and reminded him of Jane.

Ha. Jane. Why did everything seem to come back to her? Couldn’t he just let go?

It wasn’t long until Slate reached his destination--the top of the hill, and he immediately stopped and laid down. From where he was, he could almost perfectly see the town of Nenbrook. The sight sent a pang of homesickness through him, though it wasn’t his home he was missing.

and wouldn't Y O U k n o w . . .
that it doesn't M A T T E R . . .

[/b]
we all E N D U P the s a m e . . .[/right]

[Soul Dreamcatcher]

It was a sunny day, but Soul was oh-so-very bored.

Not knowing where much of anything was in his new home, he just wandered around in random directions until he met someone else or found something interesting. And on the perfectest day since spring had begun, there was absolutely nothing to do.

Soul stomped on a particularly happy looking dandelion.

The orange tom was ready to scream in annoyance until a scent hit his nose and, sure enough, upwind from him he spotted a gray cat, male by the looks of it. The dark blue eyes were downcast, but he was generally the same size as Soul.

Yup. The cat was definitely down about something- and on all the days. Stupid sunny day irony. Besides, he had to be really out of it if he hadn't noticed Soul yet, they were only about twenty yards away from each other.

"Hey," Soul called up to him on impulse. "Look sharp. It's really sunny, and you're walking around like you're about to die or something. Chillax a bit, will ya? Buzz-kill."

His voice was amused and laced with good humor, and he offered a smile upon inspection.

[Slate Snowbreeze]

and where do you G O . . .
with no destination no M A P to g u i d e y o u . . .

Jane loved the Spring. Although he was an "indoor cat" while he lived with her, she would come home from walks and be so happy. She's get a glass of water and she'd sit with Slate on the couch and tell him all about the great outdoors. Sometimes she'd even bring home flowers for him to see. He had considered eating a pink one, once, and though it did indeed look appetizing, it was too pretty to sit in his stomach and digest. Jane liked the flower, and it looked very nice. Slate had not eaten it.

Though, admittedly he had eaten a few flowers since he left Alexandra's house. They tasted pretty good, actually, though he much preferred mice or rabbits. Flowers were like a little treat. Plus he didn't enjoy eating them much--he felt guilty, like he had when he imagined himself eating the flower at Jane's. Like he was taking something away from her. And then he felt terrible.

As at the present moment Slate was lost in his thoughts of Jane, and her flowers, Slate didn't notice the orange, amber-eyed tom who was not that far away. "Hey, look sharp. It's really sunny, and you're walking around like you're about to die or something. Chillax a bit, will ya? Buzz-kill."

[/i] At those words, Slate jumped to his feet and whipped around. He had not been expecting that. His teeth were bared and his short gray fur stood on end. A menacing glint made itself present in his deep blue eyes.

Oh. Just another cat.

Well now he felt like a moron! Slowly he let himself relax and he sat down again. He gave the other cat a small, sheepish smile. "Sorry," he apologized. "I wasn't paying attention." Slate coughed awkwardly, and looked back over the hill towards Nenbrook. He was instantly reminded of Tempest again, and those purple eyes of hers. The day he met Tempest, he had been pretty . . . happy. On the inside he was a little miserable, Nenbrook reminded him of the town he had lived in with Jane, but he and Tempest had had a lot of fun. Or at least he did, he wasn't sure about her.

Perhaps it would be worth his time to try to be the cat he had been on that day again, today. With this orange tom. What harm could come from a couple friends? None. "I'm Slate," he finally offered awkwardly. "I'm sorry," he apologized again. "I should've been paying more attention."
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

and wouldn't Y O U k n o w . . .
that it doesn't M A T T E R . . .

[/b]
we all E N D U P the s a m e . . .[/right]

[Soul Dreamcatcher]

At the snarl, Soul took a step away. He didn't cringe, like a lot of cats might, or snarl back, but his eyes did widen. Contrary to many other egoist's habits, Soul hated fighting, and preferred to stop them before actual clawing occurred. And with his lack of practice, he wasn't that great anyways.

"Whoa, whoa, it's cool," He hurriedly told the silver tom, wondering if he'd been offended by his earlier words. Perhaps he was just touchy?

"Sorry," the other apologized. "I wasn't paying attention."

Soul visibly sighed in relief. Threat gone. With a grin, he said, "I could tell."

Upon "Slate's" introduction, Soul nodded before answering him with,

"I'm telling you it's okay, stop apologizing. I'm Soul."

Soul knew more girls than guys-never a bad thing, but a little unusual to say. So it wasn't often that he got to introduce himself without a pick-up line stapled to the end of it. Thinking back at the tom's behavior a few minutes ago, he asked delicately,

"You seem down. What's up?"

[Slate Snowbreeze]

and where do you G O . . .
with no destination no M A P to g u i d e y o u . . .

The orange cat's eyes widened, and Slate felt worse. He hadn't mean to hiss, it was just a natural reaction. Hopefully he would understand. "Whoa, whoa, it's cool," the words were rushed, and Slate wondered for a moment if he had in fact scared the other cat. The way that the other's muscles relaxed beneath his bright fur was obvious as he sighed, and Slate felt his fur prick uncomfortably. He shuffled his gray paws a few times, awkwardly looking away from the stranger. "I could tell." he nodded and Slate laughed a bit. "I'm telling you it's okay, stop apologizing," Slate nodded sheepishly. "I'm Soul."

[/i]

"Hello, Soul,"[/i] Slate greeted. He still felt bad, but not as much as before. Either Soul was very good at deceiving others, or he was being honest. Slate was betting on the latter. Or maybe he was just being too trusting, too quick to judge. It wouldn't be the first time, nor the last. Slate had a habit of believing that there was good and honesty in everyone. Jane had thought that too, and he had picked up many ways of thinking and values from his beloved owner. Because if Jane thought it, then it had to be correct. Right?

Well, that was how Slate looked at it, and he didn't want to see it any other way. "You seem down. What's up?"[/i] Slate held back a sigh and then sat down. It was a little too complicated to explain. Or maybe he just didn't want to. It was a bit of a touchy subject.

"Reminiscing," he said. "Is not always a good thing." Hopefully that would do, though if it didn't he would just explain about Jane in as few words as he could manage. Although Soul probably couldn't care less, Slate had found that the weirdest things made others feel sad. He'd already just about attacked Soul, why make him sad too? "What are you doing up here?" he asked curiously. He didn't want to seem nosy, but he wanted to direct the conversation away from why he had been acting so miserable.
[/blockquote][/blockquote]

and wouldn't Y O U k n o w . . .
that it doesn't M A T T E R . . .

[/b]
we all E N D U P the s a m e . . .[/right]

[Soul Dreamcatcher]

Reminiscing? Soul thought about it for a moment. It wasn't something anyone should be spending their time doing, since it didn't change anything, and it sure as hell wasn't any fun. He didn't do it too often.

"But isn't reminiscing just dwelling on the past?" He asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why are you doing that on such a nice day? Go out, do something productive."

The next question was a mirror of his previous one, so he answered it honestly since Soul didn't usually do anything but.

"Well, I was walking around in circles, then I met you!" He explained with false cheer. But Slate's distance was tugging at him, so he licked a paw and began to clean himself off, hoping to crack the guy's shell and get him talking a bit more.

God knew the guy looked like he needed it. Soul knew what it was like to keep all your emotions holed up inside yourself, and it wasn't healthy. Sometimes you just needed to talk about it, and with who better than a stranger, someone you might likely never see again?

"Hey. I would say I don't mean to pry, but I totally do. What's really up? You look like you're gonna fall apart any moment now. Chillax, tell Dr. Soul about it. Watch your problems slip away."

What better to approach the sensitive topic than with humor? Slate seemed like a nice enough guy, if not totally confused. Maybe if he managed to sort himself out, they'd get to be friends.