♠ toni x open ♠

[// Sissel]

'You can creep as slowly and as carefully as you like...'

"One step, two step..." Toni Escariel wasn't one to keep still and she certainly wasn't one to do what she was told. "Three step, four..." Although she was already twenty two moons and knew the basics of survival, her parents never let her out of her sight. "Five step, six step..." Why, you ask? "Seven step, more!" Because she was always getting into trouble. "Eight step, nine step..." It's not as if she meant to - she was just always in the wrong place at the wrong time. "Ten step--Oh!" There was one thing about Toni that always puzzled with the minds of others. "What's this?" It's how the she-cat could so easily accept others and see them for who they really were. "Wow, the water's so clean!" No matter whether they be friend or foe. "I've never seen anything like this before!" It's gotten her into trouble from time to time. "I wonder what it's called..." But, that doesn't matter to her. "Maybe I should ask someone from around here?" All Toni really wants is for everyone to be friends. "But, where would I find anyone?"

Toni didn't look like anything extraordinary: she was just your average Australian Mist. But, her mind definitely didn't exist as 'normal'. For her mind constantly worked, like the gears in a factory. If her mind stops, her body does, too; it feels no reason to react to anything at all.

[Pyro]

Owlheart. What a strange name to give a cat. It was hard for Virgil to think of himself as anything other than Virgil--beings as that's the name his ma gave him, but that was one of the clan's laws. And in a sense, he understood it. By accepting this new name he was accepting those laws as his own, and seeing as he agreed with them he saw no reason not to accept them. Besides. He couldn't wander around forever, and the clans offered a stability he hadn't had in a while. A ear twitched as the sound of a voice reached it. Female, young. Probably one of the other clan's kits lost by the wonderf-filled voice. He'd done a pretty good job of cleaning up the territories when he'd first arrived with Everett, but that didn't mean new foxes and badgers couldn't move in. And, to be honest, things were never 'safe enough' for a kit to wander around unaccompanied. The warrior code preached against crossing over into other territories, but he could hardly let a kit go around alone, could he? Nodding to himself, the tom headed toward where the voice was coming from: the stream that marked StreamClan's border. Closer now, he realized it wasn't a clan kit that he'd heard. In fact, it wasn't a kit at all, but a fully grown she-cat. That changed things. But not quite so drastically as one might think. Afterall, though she was not a kit, she was a she-cat, and Virgil couldn't just claw and run off a woman. That wasn't right. She might not even know she was trespassing, as the clans would call it. He coughed, to get her attention. "Can't be here, miss." [bg=5c7764][atrb=width,470,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[// Sissel]

"Can't be here, miss."

Toni wasn't surprised at all when the tomcat had called out. She had heard his pitter-pattering of pawsteps and she had smelled the familiar scent of a feline. It also helped that he had coughed before beginning what he had to say. Toni noticed the quiet tone of urgency in his voice, though the she-cat didn't understand for a minute why. This tom looked like your average tabby cat along with yellow-green eyes, but he was no stranger to survival, she could tell: he didn't look weak or frail, at all - in fact, quite the opposite.

Toni didn't underestimate him for a second, but she felt no reason to be rude. "To be nice to strangers is to be nice to the world," her father always used to say. Turning her head to look at the tabby, she replied with a calm voice. "Oh? Tell me, why not?" At the end, Toni gave a small smile as she always did.

When it came to the story of the clans, the she-cat was like a simple child; unknowing of anything they all went through. Although her mother knew about the clans, she would never tell Toni. Telling her would only prompt her to search for the clans, which would put her own life on the line. It was just like Toni; tell her a story, she'll go out to search for it, no matter what it takes.

[Pyro]

He shrugged. "Just can't." Goddamn, he'd been traveling with just Everett for too long. Travel with only one cat, and after a while the need for speech starts to melt away. Virgil was never much of a talker, and it had gotten to be that he'd only have to look at Everett half the time for the scholar to know what he was trying to say. If he'd told Everett 'Just can't', his friend probably wouldn't need much elaboration. Problem was, most cats didn't like short answers. They needed things spelled out for them. She-cat needed to know the why of it so she wouldn't come back and make the same mistake with a cat other than him. "Clan I'm with owns this patch o' land. Won't like it much if they catch you walkin' on ground they claimed." He shrugged again. "Can't say I like it much neither, on account of me bein' in the clan and such. Not supposed to like it, I guess." Despite his words of warning though, the worn tom didn't look particularly aggressive toward the she-cat. It just wasn't in his nature to be that way toward a woman. Sure, there'd been times when he'd gotten mad at one, hard not to sometimes...But he'd always found something else to take that anger out on. Ma and Pa didn't raise him to be no wife-beatin' jackass, that's for sure. Here in the clans though it seemed that he was expected to fight a cat that crossed StreamClan no matter what their gender. Still wasn't sure what he thought about that. 'Suppose I might find out today.' The she-cat didn't look like she was looking for a fight though. To be honest, she didn't look like she even knew where she was. "I'm thinkin' it might be different though, if you were lookin' to join StreamClan, stead of just wanderin' around." [bg=5c7764][atrb=width,470,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[// Sissel]

"Just can't."

It was a simple answer, giving Toni the impression that socializing wasn't one of this tom's strong points. Didn't matter to her, though - she'd just keep on talking until he came out with something: the she-cat wouldn't stand for silence between two creatures, especially a hostile one. Although, despite not knowing her, this tom didn't seem to show any signs of wanting to hurt her, at all. Toni would never let her guard down, but all the same, it reassured her a little to come to that conclusion.

"Clan I'm with owns this patch o' land. Won't like it much if they catch you walkin' on ground they claimed. Can't say I like it much neither, on account of me bein' in the clan and such. Not supposed to like it, I guess."

Toni blinked with curiosity throughout the tom's explanation and slightly cocked her head to one side before returning it to its straight self.

"I'm thinkin' it might be different though, if you were lookin' to join StreamClan, stead of just wanderin' around."

Stream...Clan? Toni felt confused. And why would she want to join this 'Clan'? Well, she wouldn't get anywhere if she didn't ask this tom-cat. "So, mister, could you tell me what exactly this StreamClan is? I've never heard of 'em." After her amber eyes caught sight of the large pool of water again, she added with her child-like voice, "Tell me what this is, too." Lifting up a paw, she poked it into the fresh water, not realising just how clueless she seemed.

[Pyro]

Virgil blinked. If she was a man he might of slapped her to get the crazy out of her head. He could understand her not knowing what StreamClan was. He himself hadn't had the foggiest what a 'clan' was when he'd first blown in. Hell, he hadn't even known for half the time he was helping them. But streams and ponds? She-cat must have lead a pretty damn sheltered life not to know what they were. "Well miss...uh..." Now he couldn't go degrading her, no matter how crazy her questions were turning. Wasn't polite. So, hard as it was, he had to force the 'duh' tone out of his voice. "That there is a pond you see, and the thing feedin' it is a stream. Got a lot of both those things in this territory, which sorta explains why this clan's named StreamClan." Pleased with his answer, and confident he'd have no violence out of the she-cat, Virgil sat, though not with his tail wrapped around his legs as most might. Just because he thought the she-cat wouldn't give him trouble didn't mean she wouldn't, and he wasn't about to have anything impeding his movement. "Now a clan, miss, is a group of cats. There's four in these parts, and StreamClan's one of them." speaking [bg=5c7764][atrb=width,470,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[// Sissel]

A short silence.

"Well miss...uh... That there is a pond you see, and the thing feedin' it is a stream. Got a lot of both those things in this territory, which sorta explains why this clan's named StreamClan."

Toni took note of the silence in between the beginning and the explanation. 'Was that him choosing his words carefully or was there something else?' Still, the she-cat gave a nod of notice and thanks in explaining the first half of her wondering mind. But, there was also the matter of the clans that still needed to be explained. Bright eyes taking in photos of every move, Toni watched closely as the tom became a little more comfortable in a sitting stance. 'His tail's not wrapped round his paws. Guess he doesn't trust me. Can't blame him, though. I could attack him at any time if I really wanted to.' But, the she-cat knew that she would never turn hostile while talking to this polite young tom.

"Now a clan, miss, is a group of cats. There's four in these parts, and StreamClan's one of them."

'Sounds nice.' Toni turned to look back at her reflection in the water and began thinking all sorts of questions. But she said none of them. In fact, she said something else altogether. "I'm guessing you're not from StreamClan, then?" Though she never moved her head, her eyes moved their gaze to the tom. "I'd expect that those in StreamClan would feast on fish if they had so much water here to look for food. That would mean many of them would be experienced swimmers. Though I can't say whether you're an experienced swimmer or not, I can say for a fact that you don't swim often." She never told her reasons for such an 'accusation'.

Moving her gaze back to the water, Toni continued to add more. "Tell me, mister," she began as she turned her head up to look at the sky. "You told me earlier that you didn't like being a part of a clan. But, why not? To be surrounded by others that you can talk to; that you can trust. To be surrounded by others that you could consider your friends; that you can count on to help you during times of need. To have more than just your family to rely on...It'd be paradise for someone like me." Turning back to the watching tom, Toni gave a childish grin and left her little 'speech' at that.

[Pyro]

"No, miss, I'm a StreamClanner alright." He gave an ear a quick, self-concious scratch. "Can't say swimmin' ever appealed much to me, though." He smiled a little at her misunderstanding. "Didn't say I didn't like being in a clan, said I didn't like ya tresspassin'." Virgil grew quiet as the she-cat gave her speech, musing over what she said for a time afterward. For not being a clancat, she sure painted a pretty picture of clanlife. Pretty accurate too...and having been with StreamClan from the start, he could say he'd had a decent taste of it. Which was why he could say it wasn't quite for him. He was still used to going at things alone, or with only Everett to back him up. Clanlife seemed so...foreign, the comraderie almost overwhelming to a loner like him. Finally he said "You misunderstood sorta correctly though. Clanlife don't really appeal to me." It occurred to Virgil that Jaegerstar might not like him being so friendly to an intruder. Come to think of it, Cloudstar wouldn't have taken so kindly to it either. But it was little things like this that he missed about life as a loner. The Tom wasn't much of a talker, but he liked having the option open to him. "There's a lot of laws that come with bein' in a clan as well as all that family stuff. Need laws of course, cause you need order. But I used to decide for myself what my laws were. It's strange havin' someone else decide for ya." speaking [bg=5c7764][atrb=width,470,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[// Sissel]

"No, miss, I'm a StreamClanner alright. Can't say swimmin' ever appealed much to me, though."

"My bad. Least I figured out that you didn't swim often, though," Toni chuckled. Although the she-cat had the mind of a child, she didn't try to avoid her mistakes, like many of the younger generation tended to do.

"Didn't say I didn't like being in a clan, said I didn't like ya tresspassin'."

Another short silence.

"You misunderstood sorta correctly though. Clanlife don't really appeal to me."

Toni raised an eyelid, awaiting an explanation.

"There's a lot of laws that come with bein' in a clan as well as all that family stuff. Need laws of course, cause you need order. But I used to decide for myself what my laws were. It's strange havin' someone else decide for ya."

The she-cat opened her mouth, but then shut it again. Looking straight ahead of her now, she pondered. If there were laws, there ought to be someone who was the creator of these laws, correct? Toni opened her mouth a second time, but only repeated the same action. 'Stop hesitating, Toni. If it comes out differently from the way you planned, then what does it matter? Just say whatever comes out first.'

"Say, mister. If you want your freedom back, why not just leave this StreamClan and continue roaming about like you did before? And if you can't do that, then why not aim for the top? I'm sure someone created these laws, after all and there must be some sort of leader in your group. And he or she won't stay as the leader forever, right?" Finally deciding to sit down herself, Toni turned to look at the StreamClanner. "I can tell you're not the socializing type, but since when did that matter? All a leader technically needs to function is the ability to do what's right and make judgements that will benefit their group. At least, that's my opinion. So long as the message gets across, it doesn't matter how few words it takes."

[Pyro]

"That you did." For all her child-like tendencies, the she-cat was pretty bright in Virgil's book. He wondered absentmindedly if all she-cats were the same once you sat down to talk with them. Certainly, he'd never talked much with she-cats...just well...did as nature intended if they were feeling obliging. Probably had a few sons and daughters he didn't know about, but the opportunity to settle down had never come up before the clans came around, and it wasn't like the she-cats had been keen on keepin' him around. In any case, this particular she-cat was proving to be near as good for polite conversation as Everett, in that he actually wanted to keep talking to her. And so he did. Virgil chuckled a little at her suggestion that he shoot for leader. "Deputy Shadowclaw has the honor of succeeding Jaegerstar after she passes on which, God willing, won't be anytime soon." His eyes scanned the skies above for a moment before settling back on the she-cat. "For bein' a woman and all, Jaegerstar's done a pretty good job of holdin' StreamClan together, and I don't want to ruin that just because the code's...uhm...chaffsome." He was pretty sure chaffsome wasn't a word, but Everett wasn't around to give him something better. "And I can't just light out on 'em. Wouldn't be right. Would go against the laws I live by, which ain't so chaffsome for me." He smiled. "You can call me 'Virgil' instead of 'mister', by the way. Or Owlheart like my clanmates do." speaking [bg=5c7764][atrb=width,470,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[// Sissel]

"That you did."

There was something about the atmosphere that led Toni to a relaxed state. She wasn't sure if it was because of the chance of having someone else to talk to or if it was something about this tom. Well, whatever it was, the she-cat liked the feeling of being able to really relax around a stranger, even if they were both still on edge a little bit.

"Deputy Shadowclaw has the honor of succeeding Jaegerstar after she passes on which, God willing, won't be anytime soon. For bein' a woman and all, Jaegerstar's done a pretty good job of holdin' StreamClan together, and I don't want to ruin that just because the code's...uhm...chaffsome. And I can't just light out on 'em. Wouldn't be right. Would go against the laws I live by, which ain't so chaffsome for me."

Deputy? What was a deputy? 'Well, considering this Shadowclaw will succeed Jaegerstar, who I assume is the leader, this 'deputy' must be the second-in-command.' And chaffsome...did he mean troublesome? But then, the context changed at the end. What word...? Not wanting to insult the tom-cat, Toni decided to keep her mouth shut.

"You can call me 'Virgil' instead of 'mister', by the way. Or Owlheart like my clanmates do."

Toni couldn't help but give a massive smile back when the now-called Virgil gave her a smile. Throughout their whole conversation, he hadn't smiled once. The she-cat felt relieved to know that the ability to smile existed in this cat. She had seen others with a constant serious face plastered on and it pained her to not see them give even a small upturn of the mouth.

"As I'm not a clanmate of yours, I'll call you Virgil!" Toni gleefully responded. 'Not yet, anyway.' Now that she knew of these clans, the she-cat felt the urge to join this StreamClan of Virgil's, just to see what clan-life was like. "You can call me Toni. Pleasure to meet you, Virgil!"

[Pyro]

"Toni," Virgil said with a nod. It wasn't an attempt to broach another topic yet, he was just repeating her name so he could catalog and remember it. The tom liked to remember things. Course, he couldn't think of anyone who didn't like to remember things, in a general sense. "I have to say, the pleasure's all mine." He nodded to himself again. "Might be Everett's pleasure too. Can't quite tell with him sometimes. Might like talkin' to you though, seein' as you ask a lot of questions. Got a lot of answers, he does." It had been Virgil's experience that a cat who asked a lot of questions was a cat who liked to learn. Good quality in an apprentice, he reckoned. She-cat seemed a little old for it, but then he'd been a little old for ti when he joined StreamClan. Older age usually just meant a quicker apprenticeship, and of course, StreamClan was in need of a few extra paws. It was a bit late, seeing as the clans had settled already...but Jaegerstar had brought that former kittypet into the loop. Might mean she'd be welcome to another useful cat. "I could probably show you StreamClan better than I could tell you about it, if you're still curious." Speaking [bg=4d4d4d][atrb=width,500,true] [atrb=border,0,true]

[// Sissel]

"I have to say, the pleasure's all mine. Might be Everett's pleasure too. Can't quite tell with him sometimes. Might like talkin' to you though, seein' as you ask a lot of questions. Got a lot of answers, he does."

Hearing about her question-asking habit, Toni couldn't help but blush - if that was possible. "Heh heh, I'm sorry. I can't help but ask about things I don't know," she awkwardly responded. At the same time, though, like any other response she had given, a small smile crept onto her face. Whether this was in embarrassment or whether it was due to her habit, Toni didn't know.

"I could probably show you StreamClan better than I could tell you about it, if you're still curious."

Toni couldn't help but be taken aback by the suggestion. Sure, she might be interested in going to see just what this StreamClan was like, but she couldn't go without telling her mother. Still, she couldn't just blatantly reject an offer from the polite young tom. Although it wasn't in her nature to do so, Toni ignored Virgil's suggestion. If she didn't know how to reply, she wouldn't reply at all.

Attempting to change the subject, Toni stammered, "S-so, tell me, who is this Everett you mentioned a little while ago?"

[Glowy]

Count to ten. Count to twenty. Mother always said to count when you were irritated, Ev. Oh, Sootnose had been counting, all right! He'd been counting for so long he'd lost count and had to start over again.

Twice.

The Plan had started off brilliantly. He'd tracked Virgil out of StreamClan's camp, always staying far enough behind his friend that he could safely traipse through the forest with little danger of his being detected. This he had managed for quite some time, gradually getting closer and closer to the tabby-pelted tail of The Lawman. Things were all set up for the shock of the century for good old Virgil- he did always need help to stay on his paws- when the unthinkable happened. Drifting softly, indeed, almost liltingly from beyond was the voice of a she-cat. Virgil, of course, had to stop and speak to the fool!

Sootnose had tried every secret signal they had come up with during their travels together. He'd chirped like a bird, he'd made The-noise-that-did-not-have-a-name deep in his throat, he'd even tossed a pebble against a nearby tree trunk with a clatter so loud he was certain Virgil must have noticed it, but it appeared that this female was occupying all his attention. She was obviously oblivious to Sootnose's needs and was perfectly content to keep his best friend (his only friend, in truth) distracted from the gravity of his situation. Didn't he see what was happening?

Virgil was allowing himself to consort with a lowborn of no standing. She held no territory of her own, he was sure, as she'd mentioned after her inquiry about the pond (claws across a boulder to Everett's educated mind) the convenience of having souls besides blood relations to rely on. A landless cat was a rankless cat, and Everett simply died to think of his dearest companion making such a socially suicidal connection. To think! The audacity of the tom to even consider speaking with such a one! Almost every syllable she uttered resounded with such a lack of grace, every inquiry lacking such intelligence, that it was nearly painful to listen to her exchanging words with The Lawman.

"S-so, tell me, who is this Everett you mentioned a little while ago?"

This was it, his opportunity to step in and remedy the situation! He allowed himself to stop counting and instead took a few deep breaths. The gray-pelted tom was composed enough, in his opinion, to make an appearance before a she-cat he would never see again. But what should he say? What if he made a mistake, and did not succeed in repulsing her attentions to his friend? That would be most grave, indeed. He'd best not fail.

"I am he," he intoned in his deep, yet smooth (for so many deep voices were gravelly and unclean, you see) voice. Though it pained him to do so, he offered a stiff bow to the she-cat, bestowing upon her an honor that Sootnose was certain she did not deserve. However, the laws of courtesy dictated that a gentleman was to perform such an action before all ladies, despite their rank. He did not drop his eyes. He would not submit himself to her to that extent, not even for all the rules of manners. His mouth opened to offer further words, but they stuck in his throat. Oh, not because she was particularly beautiful and made him too nervous to speak (if anything, she was tolerable, just like every other she-cat in the bloody forest), but because she was a stranger. Sootnose sadly lacked the talent to speak to new acquaintances with ease. He certainly did not have the... grace of his friend Virgil in that respect.

His bottom promptly found a seat on the ground, and he glanced at both cats in succession, giving them his silent blessing to continue on with their conversation.

[/blockquote]

[Pyro]

"Hell. S'better than not knowin' for the rest of your life." Who was Everett? Speak of the devil and he shall apppear, there he was right now. He grinned at his friend as the grey tom came over to sit with them, sparing Virgil the task of trying to find the words to describe him. The tabby could have sworn that before Everett's appearance, a small pebble had launched itself at a nearby tree, and now with Everett here, he could not help but wonder if that was a desperate attempt to get his attention. But why? Virgil wracked his brains, and the answer was not long in coming: she was not a streamclanner. She wasn't even a 'clanner' for that matter. In fact, if anyone other than Everett had seen him talking with her instead of chasing her off...the results would probably not be quite as hospitable as an extra cat in the conversation. Could it be then, that Everett was mad at him? His friend did seem a little stiffer than usual, but that might have just been Virgil's mind playing tricks on him. "Why Everett, have you been there this entire time?" All those strangely familiar sounds-and the pebble-seemed to make much more sense now, and he was startled to find that it had been Toni who had prevented him from recognizing them. It was with some embarrassment that he realized he'd been captivated by her for a short time. Of course, it might have been less her, and more the fact that he was actually enjoying socializing for once-a rare feeling for the stolid tom. Whatever the cause or reason for his previous lapse in attention, he was back on the alert now, his eyes and ears attentive for the slightest change in the current peaceful environment. Nothing out of the ordinary...Well, except for Everett not knowing the young lady's name. Or maybe he already knew it, depending on how long he'd been hanging around. Probably be good though, if they were properly introducted. "Everett, this is Toni. Caught her by this here pond, but she didn't seem to know she was tresspassin' so I figured there was no need for claws." Speaking [bg=4d4d4d][atrb=width,500,true] [atrb=border,0,true]