(( the patron saint of lost causes ))

[crush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i53.tinypic.com/30vyq83.jpg] [scrolly:h(166),w(275),sy] A sure-footed paw placed its hold upon the soft piles of pebbles of the cliff and slid slightly to the side as the small rocks gave way. It hardly set the bulky tiger off balance, though. Very little did, terrain-wise, and the cliff by the edge of Tigerclan territory was no exception. But when it came to social skills, that was when Dragonstar faltered. The reason were memories; memories from long ago, and far from Tigerclan, but they were his only kithood memories. They held him back from all that life could be, and as his ear twitched, a sharp stab of pain filled it in memory of the chunk missing from it, though the twitch itself didn't hurt. Just another reminder of the pain. His claws reached out, scratching at the stone with a silent, seething anger. An anger that no one would ever know the cause of. Not that they cared enough. If they did, they wouldn't have been chased away by his fits. Even he knew that. He wasn't stupid, just challenged at connecting with others. He didn't know why it was so easy for all of them to just be happy, make friends, talk about whatever they wanted to. He just knew it would never be that easy for him, and that they had to live with it, whether they wanted to or not. They couldn't get rid of him, and clearly some had seen his worth. After all, he was their leader. He was important. Or something like that. He sighed, coming to a stop and settling back on his haunches, looking out past the cliff edge, the anger fading back to what would seem like nothingness, just a blank gaze that was very vaguely contemplative, though he wasn't truly contemplating anything besides potentially heading back to camp, or hunting for a bit. Though he knew he'd probably end up sitting out here for far longer than it took him to decide. He always did. [/scrolly]

[flame]

Another tiger prowled through the forest. Her movements careful. Her blue eyes watched around her, looking for catmint, mainly because she'd run out, and needed more. Plus she'd wanted to get out. Her ears twitched as she stopped for a second, listening. She was no grand beauty as some of the tigers were. She was just Nightshadow. Even now as she continued to prowl, she went from shadow to shadow, letting her hide cover her movements.

For her life was easy. At least right now. There was nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of. It was just... there. That's how she liked it anyways. Calm and quiet. The worst wounds and hurt's she had to deal with was a scratch from a kit playing to hard, or a broken heart. Nothing like the battle wounds that ones could get, or the horrors of battle and the memories of lost loved ones. She had been walking not paying attention when she spotted a white tiger. Dragonstar. Their reclusive leader. Interesting.

She bobbed her head towards him but continued her search, Which ended up taking her close to him. She stopped and looked off to where he was looking. "Good day Sir. What is it that is so interesting today?" she sounded a bit to formal, but that was her. Better to be polite then to trample all over someone. She continued to look, her blue eyes searching, not giving her entire attention to Dragonstar. not that she needed to but still.

[crush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i53.tinypic.com/30vyq83.jpg] [scrolly:h(166),w(275),sy] His ears had flickered softly at the sound of paws among the stones and plant-life. As always, despite appearing vacant, he was ever so attentive to his surroundings. It wasn't surprising for him to appear asleep only to ask why you were staring at him. It had happened before, with kits, and it would probably happen again. They seemed to think it a fun game, some of them, to try and sneak up on him. He didn't worry himself over the noise too much, though, just took in a deep breath, sorting through the scents that came with it. The stale were pushed aside, as were the obvious, and it left just one; Tigerclan's medicine cat, Nightshadow. He didn't turn to look, he didn't have to. He knew he was right. He wouldn't blame her for not coming near, seeing as most didn't and he never expected any of the felines to, not unless they had a question they needed to ask. So, the tiger didn't move, not even a single muscle, provided the muscles used to breath and his heart were not counted. Slowly, his eyelids blinked, and he stopped thinking about the vague interruption. Then, to his surprise, she did come over. Not that the surprise showed. It rarely did. It was only once she spoke that he turned an ear to listen and his nose tipped ever so slightly in her direction, though his main gaze was still held by the scenery. Something doesn't need to be interesting for it to hold one's attention, Nightshadow. Feathers of a macaw may be captivating by their beauty alone and nothing more; other things may be the same. He murmured softly, perhaps the only indication to anyone that may have been around that he even acknowledged her presence, provided they could even hear it. With most, it would be easy to assume the two had noticed each other and at least said hello, but for him that was never certain. He'd been known to simply ignore anyone around him at times. This just did not happen to be one of them. [/scrolly]

[flame]

The quiet tiger nodded, he was right there. ”And a butterfly’s wing can captivate one for hours.” she said softly her eyes still searching. Ah there. With a quickness that came rarly to the cat she moved forward and cut a bit of the plant’s leaves off with a quick movement of her paw. She moved it easily into a pile, which she would carry away soon. She glanced back at him, flicking her tail at a bug. She was curious about him, though she was probably one of the only ones who were. She didn’t fear him either, but then again she’d dealt with to much to really be bothered by a cat that had an attitude problem.

”Though I must say that having something interesting to look at is better than say having a rock to look at. Though Rocks can be interesting.” she said softly, her ears flicking around her listening.

[crush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i53.tinypic.com/30vyq83.jpg] [scrolly:h(166),w(275),sy] He was silent in reply. There was nothing to add to the conversation, as far as he was concerned. Perhaps it was adding little, useless things that held no meaning that kept a conversation going. He'd toyed with the idea a few times, but never quite gotten up the courage to try it. He'd face the whole of lionclan alone if he had to, but when it came to just simple chitchat, he was, in all intents and purposes, slain. Slain and dead, a carcass of decaying meat and nothing more. He pulled off the authority figure just fine. Giving orders and advice was simply not the same as talking about the weather, or whatever it was the rest of his clan talked about these days. He never kept up, never cared to. It was a useless frivolity, to his mind, especially when he knew about the suffering in the world, something that was a much more important topic. Unfortunately, important topics were often not particularly comfortable or easy topics to discuss and as such were avoided. He sighed softly at this thought, her continuation of her answer reminding him that she was there. He'd forgotten her, momentarily. He scent was familiar enough, like all cats of his clan, that he hardly worried about it. A stranger's scent, or a scent from his kithood for that matter, would have had him on high alert. He would not have allowed his mind to wander as it had now. But she, like the rest, were safe, able to be trusted. And, indeed, he did have to trust them, to a degree. Trust that they would do their duties and report those who were not. Trust that they would not kill him in his sleep, although that would be difficult with his nine lives and his light sleeping patterns. He finally glanced over properly, spotting the catmint. With that, he jumped topics in a way that would seem awkward, or random, to many, though it made sense to him, somehow. I believe I saw some near the dead tree to the east, if you need more. It could not be said he was heartless. He was rarely truly mean to another; impatient, on occasion, or annoyed with some who bothered him, but he had never been openly mean or aggressive to any but opponents. He knew he had to, somehow, make up for his social inabilities, and he often tried by helping in small ways. Often, he forced himself to handle company and join a hunting patrol or a border patrol, even though he theoretically could ask another to go in his place. This was another of those moments, those strange moments when he seemed almost normal - but not quite. He spun and rose to his feet in the same movement, pushing off into a slight jog, though his steps were kept short and it kept the pace down to that of a walk. It was this way. [/scrolly]

[flame]

The young tigeress could tell he didn’t want to talk. Or at least wasn’t going to. He was about to leave, starting to collect the leaves, when he spoke up. Her head swung to look at him as he did so. He’d jumped. And it took her only a second to understand. ”Oh. I would like more. I can’t clip all of the leaves off one plant. Makes it harder for it to grow after all.” she said softly her ears towards im, then flicking back as a bird chirped behind her. Silly things. She nodded, grabbing the pile quickly with her mouth and following. Her steps light. When they got to the tree she layed the catmint down and quickly went to snipping the plants. ”Thank you. I was a bit worried that I’d have to find more farther away, towards the Lion Clan.” she said as she snipped the plants. Her wiskers and mouth tilted up in what could be taken as a smile. She was greatful. ”Do you notice where everything is or just some of it?” she asked him as she worked, her mind on the job.

[crush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i53.tinypic.com/30vyq83.jpg] [scrolly:h(166),w(275),sy] He had padded quickly through the forest as she began to follow him, though he stayed silent. He wasn't sure if it was awkward; it seemed awkward to him. Then again, silence between him and almost any other feline seemed awkward to him, whether it was natural or not. Probably because he always felt he should be saying something during the times he said nothing. Just like he felt he should silent while he spoke. He was an oxymoron - a series of contradictions that hardly made sense, if they made sense at all. They somehow managed to make sense to him, though, and he'd never tried explaining it to anyone else. He knew they probably wouldn't get it. They probably wouldn't listen, either, now that he thought about it. When they arrived, he stayed off to the side, out of the way more than he needed to be. He was comfortable there, farther than most would be, on his own a bit more. The loner, the outsider. Just like always. He chuffed softly at the thanks, a wordless "you're welcome," and she would get nothing more. She was lucky she got that, really. Today was a good day, a day where all the bottled up secrets stayed at bay. Most everything. It's good to be observant. He muttered in reply, beginning to feel that same tenseness that was so familiar to him rise up. Conversation - true conversation - often made him feel this way. The nerves, so afraid he'd say something wrong and the kindness he'd been shown would disappear. He didn't want to go back to that world, the world where there was nothing but pain, hurt and fear. He was stronger now, bigger. He could fight back. But he would never be able to stand up to the sheer number. He knew he should know better, that they wouldn't just turn on him like that, but he couldn't help it. He'd never been much of an optimist. [/scrolly]

[flame]

Nightshadow continued gathering the herbs, finding other’s she could use as well, easily relaxed in the silence, though she could feel the tention from Dragonstar. He needed to relax, but she wasn’t sure she could do it. She’d have to open up more, and she didn’t want to. Not right now. Though she wondered if she’d ever gt him to open up even if she did. She liked him, though she wondered what he thought often. It wasn’t her place to push him, unless it truly endangered himself or someone else. Which she had a feeling it wouldn’t. ”Yes, yes it is. But sometimes you can’t see everywhere at once. Even a healer knows that.” she said softly, and letting it go silent for a moment, before she finished. ”Well I think that’s enough for now… Thank you Dragonstar for helping me. It’s been a while since someone besides me knew what they were looking at.” she said simply with a smile.

[crush]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://i53.tinypic.com/30vyq83.jpg] [scrolly:h(166),w(275),sy] You don't need to see to be observant. He murmured. Eyesight helped to physically observe, yes, but observation included other sense as well. Hearing, smell, in some cases even taste. Using all your senses, and not just sight, you could get an image of what was around you based on intensity, freshness, volume, and so on. He'd learned that at an early age, when he'd stumbled away from his milkgiver with his eyes still hardly open. He refused to call her his mother, for he knew that was not the case. Even if it had been, she hadn't treated him like a son and he would have never dared given her the title of "mother". He'd been lucky that time, but he still remembered what had come in handy and used it now to his advantage. There was a mix between a chuff and a growl as he stood up at the thanks, not caring to comment as he turned to head off somewhere. He wasn't sure where, he had picked the direction at random. But, with a quick glance he recognized it as the direction to camp. Fine. He'd head back. He had little issue with it. He knew he should head back anyway, just in case. Unless he was hunting or patrolling the borders, he didn't think he should be out long any day, in case he was needed for something. It was his image of another duty in his position. [/scrolly]