Padding afar. open

[| COMRADE |]

Darkness had fallen over the fields that the rogues claimed as places to hunt and sleep. The sun had disappeared completely over the horizon and the quarter moon was high in the sky, casting a new source of light down upon them. The clouds floated steadily across the sky towards the moon and the air grew crisp and chilled. Sile stumbled across the frost-covered earth, treading upon frozen grass and leaves that stuck up in twisted, cold knots. She sighed, and her breath expelled in a large guest of fog. Her paws ached from traveling so hard, and she longed to lay down and rest her tired body but she had to keep going and head towards the forest. Maybe there she could find some shelter. But the farther she walked, the more distant the forest appeared, her vision blurring with exhaustion and body trembling. Her head began to lower and her tail drooped. She couldn't make it so far that night. Finally, she collapsed, landing heavily on her side, panting and shaking her dizzied head. She closed her eyes, trying to sleep but the ground sapped all heat from her body, and no matter how tight she curled she couldn't not be cold.

[~Hawktail~]

Further away, a small cat padded along, a small shiver running through him. He clenched his teeth, trying to keep them from chattering. I need to fin a place to warm up before I freeze to death, he thought. He fluffed out his fur to keep warm, but failed miserably.

Suddenly, up ahead, Bleak saw a figure collapse. He raced forward, the fast movement bringing little warmth. He started when he saw it was a cat. She looked so tired and exhausted Bleak almost felt sorry for her. Almost. He pushed one paw into the she-cat's side in an attempt to wake her. She would freeze if she stayed out here.

"Hey," he meowed in his high-pitched voice."You better wake up; you're going to freeze to death if you stay out in this weather alone." He put his face down by hers and listened to her breathing. He shrugged and lifted his head again, the uncurling causing him to shiver slightly. He awaited the she-cat's answer.

[| COMRADE |]

Sile shivered as the freezing air swirled around her long, fluffy pelt. She held in a cough, trying to keep herself conscious as she felt her strength being sapped along with her heat. Suddenly, a paw prodded her side and she blinked into full wakefulness, her vision still foggy and clouded. She raised her head, staring at the cat that had aroused her. She saw a small, golden tabby tom, and as she blinked dizziness from her eyes she recognized yellow eyes. Struggling to her paws she meowed, stifling a cough, "Thanks. I wasn't thinking clearly," she murmured. No kidding, mouse-brain, she told herself. Trying to fall asleep when it's freezing out. You've got to be confused. Her whiskers twitched as her mind scolded herself and she blinked at the tom again. "I'm Sile, a rogue," she murmured. She couldn't tell if he was a rogue or a loner; she never knew the difference.

[~Hawktail~]

Bleak watched the she-cat rise with his huge unblinking eyes. "Yeah, I guess you weren't," he meowed. He still had not blinked when the she-cat was fighting herself. He finally blinked when she introduced herself. "Umm... my name is Bleak, I don't care what you call me; loner or rouge," he meowed.

Dragging his unblinking stare up and down the she-cat, Bleak asked, "What are you doing clear out here anyway? We should find some shelter." He frowned as he realized he had just said 'we'. It had been a long time since he had used that word. He lifted his head higher to look around, but cast a hard stare at Sile. Why can't she be doing this? She's bigger than me, he thought. He found a spot where the field grew a tad thicker and lowered his head. Turning his head back to Sile with his staring eyes. "Come on, there is a thicker spot over there." He awaited the she-cat's answer while he brought up a paw that have been troubling him and lapped at it.

[| COMRADE |]

Sile blinked at the tom and then glanced in the direction that he had pointed at. She noticed the hard stare he gave her although she didn't understand why he gave her it. She saw what he was looking at; a field with thick undergrowth, enough to probably protect them from the longest claws of the cold. She turned back to the tom, feeling slightly self conscious from his staring. Has he ever heard of manners? She wondered but allowed no sign that she had thought that. "Alright," she meowed. "Spent a long time traveling. Haven't been on fields for awhile, mostly in forests," she murmured. It was true. She'd only walked on a field 8 moons ago when she fled from her home. Her cracked paws ached at the thought of moving farther but she ignored them. This cat was being helpful and she was grateful to him.

[~Hawktail~]

Bleak flicked his ears and led the way to the safer spot. I'm going to need her anyways; sleeping alone will lave my to freeze to death. I'll just stay with her until we are both fit to travel, he told himself. A tingle was going up and down his front right paw and was getting annoying; he would look at it later.

Reaching the thicker area, Bleak curled up with his head still up. He waved his tail, inviting Sile over to lay with him. "Don't worry, I'm a silent sleeper," he added. He lifted his front right paw and examined it. It had a long scratch along the pad. He brought the paw up to his muzzle and took a long fang and snipped it open. A small line of blood leaked down and Bleak rasped his tongue over it. He wouldn't care if Sile thought he was a little crazy; he had taken some mental damage from taking in and causing so many gory scenes with interest. Nothing had seemed crazy to him, but he hadn't thought about what the other cat would think.

[| COMRADE |]

Sile followed, and blinked, puzzled. It had been a long time since she had slept with another cat along side her... So long.. 8 moons ago, on the night of the fire was the last time she had ever seen her brother or parents. She padded forward warily, and twisted into a tight ball on the ground, trying to ignore the sight of blood. It usually didn't bother her, but tonight she wasn't feeling as good as usual. She buried her head in her paws, curling her long tail over her nose. It wasn't as cold as before, having a fluffy fur-ball next to her burning with warmth. The thick grasses and gorse protected them from most of the wind, and the ground seemed warmer here.

[~Hawktail~]

Bleak watched unblinkingly as Sile curled up next to him. It was, indeed, warmer here. He also saw how she had looked away from his paw; away from the blood. He noted that in his mind for further references. He looked at her while she slipped away into another world; a world never visited by Bleak. His dreams were black. He stared at her, murder creeping into his large yellow eyes. He lifted a paw and put it above her, then took it back. He looked at his paw in surprise. He had never drawn back from a kill before.

Curling up, pressed to Sile, Bleak shut his eyes. He had never been this close to another cat since his mother when he was just born; but his mother had never loved him, and Bleak had never loved. Drifting away to the dreams of black, the howling winds faded and Bleak finally fell asleep.

[| COMRADE |]

OOC:
Well, obviously it's morning now xD.

IC:
The coldness had begun to dissipate when Sile next opened her eyes, and she squinted against the sudden sunlight. She blinked; felt the fur against her back and suddenly she felt as though she was back at home with her brother, and she almost forgot everything. But then she saw there were no trees; and the sky and sun was showing instead of hidden by the walls of the den they lived in beneath the rocks. She blinked again, and remembered what had happened last night. Looking at her pulled claws she began to lap at them until the throbbing finally died and the aching stiffness of her paws and leg muscles began to fade. She glanced around at the cat beside her but didn't move because she didn't want to wake him. Unlike most cats she had seen before, he did not twitch or make a sound in his sleep; she wondered if he was even dreaming. Turning her attention back to the sky she rested her muzzle upon her paws and watched the sun as it crept steadily up the sky.

[~Hawktail~]

Bleak's eyes opened a crack when the sun light shone directly on his face. He let out a grunt, forgetting that Sile was there. Sitting up, he looked at the pad of his paw;it had stopped hurting and there was only a small pink line where the cut had been. He placed his small paw back on the ground; that's when he noticed that Sile was still there. He looked at her with his large eyes. She was gazing up at the sky.

"What are you looking at?" he asked in his normal high-pitched voice. He looked up to the sky and squinted against the brightness. He looked back down and shook his head. He never could see things that other cats did, probably from the lack of imagination. The only things he every really thought about was the need for survival and the joy in the kill.

Remembering killing, his thoughts turned back to last night. Why had he drawn back his paw? Maybe it was just because he had needed her for warmth; he wouldn't have survived the night if he had killed her. He was thinking so hard, his thoughts were almost visible in his eyes. He shook his head and looked back to Sile. "Are you feeling better?"

[| COMRADE |]

Sile blinked and turned as the fur faded from her back and she saw Bleak standing their. She glanced back at the sun. "There was nothing else to watch," she meowed with a shrug. Rising to her paws, she flexed her shoulder and lapped off a piece of leaf that must have fallen during the night. What leaves? She wondered. She hadn't seen any but they must be out their somewhere. She felt refreshed, other than her muscles still ached but that would take more than one night's rest to heal. "Yes, thank you," she meowed, answering his second question. Her eyes fell upon the trees, which had seemed so far away last night. They looked almost like the forest that had been at her old home, with the trees so tall and thick. Her heart jerked painfully as she remembered looking back at her birth home as the fire burned it to the ground.

[~Hawktail~]

Bleak watched as the she-cat looked about, stopping at the distant trees. He caught the pain flash through Sile's eyes and his lips pulled back in a gruesome grin. He slid up along side the she-cat , crouched down and had his head turned in the direction of her gaze. The smile vanished before he looked up at her and asked, "Something wrong? You seem a little tense." He stared at her, he guessed she had gotten used to his defectiveness. He brought around his tail and touched her back, seeing as she was odd when she was touched in any way. His cold eyes bored into hers and he thought, You better tell me, or we'll have problems.

"You can talk to me about it. If you'd like, I'll tell you some about yours truly if you share about yourself," he meowed. His voice was gentle, but deep inside, it was as poisonous as adder venom.

[| COMRADE |]

Something about the way Bleak looked at her, and the way he spoke made her feel nervous and unsafe. She paused for heartbeat, trying to understand the look he had on his face when he spoke but she couldn't figure out what it was. She glanced away at the ground, feeling her spine stiffen when he padded close; felt the tip of her tail twitch nervously. He sounded gentle but there was something behind his words that intimidated her into answering. "I was born in a forest like that. My family and I were separated during a fire," she hesitated. "I'm still searching for them." her eyes fell upon the ground as she spoke. She could still remember the flames as they scorched her paws and tore the skin off her pads with their claws of flame; remember her brother's yowl of alarm as he was separated from his sister. She tried to ignore the thoughts and focus on Bleak.

[~Hawktail~]

Bleak nodded as the she-cat explained her story. He inwardly hissed that she had almost seen through him and into his true look. His evilness was sometimes too difficult to control and keep out of sight. Running his tail down Sile's back soothingly, he mewed, "So, you fear fire, right?" He marked that down in his mind. "It's okay to fear; we all have some kind of thing that we would die to avoid," he mewed. Sure, he didn't have a fear that he could recall, but filling up Sile's mind with hope would be fun to watch when she learned more of the hard way of life.

"I can't recall much about myself. Ask me a question and I might be able to answer," he meowed, looking over to the darkest part of the forest. The blackness reminded him of his dreams and of his heart. He found peace in the dark depths of those black trees. A small smirk pulled at his lips.

[| COMRADE |]

Sile blinked in confusion, and her eyes clouded while she gazed at her paws. She didn't like the feeling of his tail running down his back; it reminded her of her brother, which Bleak wasn't mentally or physically. She heard his words but her mind was blank. For a moment she was silent while they replayed through her head, and then she meowed quietly... "Why are you alone?" She wondered what had happened in Bleak's life that had made him separate from his own family... If he even knew his family. She hoped she wasn't bringing up something upsetting and she snapped her mouth shut feeling self-conscious and worried.