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Mitsu looked up at Atticus as he turned toward her. Tilting her head to the side she tried to decipher his comment. Was it a compliment? Was it....oh no....the folded arms...the heated stare! That's what the adults all did when she said something out of line or did something bad. They all had that same look...though Atticus' was played down quite a bit.

For a moment, just a moment, it looked like the meek Mitsu might show her way through. Her large eyes widened to the point of being pitiful, her ears seemed to droop at the sides of her head and her eyes started to become glassy like there might be tears. But at the turn of a hat that all changed as soon as she opened her mouth. "What? I'm four."

She had heard the other adults use that excuse before to calm the others who were upset. 'She's only four, you can't take what she says too seriously.' 'She's only a child, she doesn't understand.' So why shouldn't it work for her now? How was she to know that she sounded more like a brat than trying to explain herself.

At the sound of a voice, Neko paused slightly, looking to see who had spoken. He was surprised to find the little blonde calling after him. "What? Are you coming to make fun of me too?" His voice lacked the bite to it he wished it would have had, instead he just sounded sad.

Neko's expression softened a little at the girl's words. Kindness and understanding wasn't something he was used to from others. His mother had been the only one. When the girl placed a hand on her chest and spoke, for a moment, Neko thought she might be physically hurt. It wasn't until she asked him if he hurt as well that he understood. She was speaking of the heart...and yes it hurt, but it was hard to say those words out loud. He had promised himself he wouldn't let the world know how it made him feel.

"I..." He hesitated, the truth on the tip of his tongue. "I don't feel it much anymore." He lied. Tilting his head he took in the girl's appearance, small and meek. The black cat features and the red eyes didn't seem to register as anything odd, but the look she had, even though it was focused at the ground. "People have hurt you too." It was more of a statement than anything. "Why would they hurt you?"

Grimacing, Blade decided not to risk it. As much as he missed them, he didn't really want to join his parents just yet. But still, he never liked going hungry. And without much of an idea where he was or how far civilization was, he didn't know how long he'd last out here.

Groaning, he soon paused as he heard a slight rustle. Glancing up, he saw a squirrel on the base of a tree. Well..that would do he suppose. Creeping closer, he heaved up and tried to swing the sword at the small furry creature. The squirrel darted off long before the blade came around, causing it to clang off the tree trunk and right out of the boy's hands.

He gave out a frustrated growl of sorts before picking the weapon right back up and continuing storming about to look for food. Blade didn't have a whole lot of luck, so he just made his way back to the clearing, stopping a few feet away from the adult.

"How do I get out of here?" he asked with reluctance.

Well....her explanation didn't seem to work. So...screw the cute facade. Instantly her eyes narrowed looking up at Atticus, her brain trying to wrap itself around the word he had used. "Responshibility is for old people." But as quick as that was said she lost interest in the conversation and walked off, curious to see what the scaredy cat and other kitty person were up to.

Neko waited for an answer that never was to come. He didn't really understand but he shrugged it off. "Suit yourself." His own black tail gave a twitch, the two ends suddenly out of sync, as he looked at her black ears. As he seemed to focus on those ears, lost in thought, the swirling grays in his eyes seemed to calm and still for a moment. He was trying to think of a reason why someone else would be mean to this girl, but he was coming up with nothing. She looked normal enough. At least nothing screamed out to him as strange. Just as the gray almost faded to a solid color the raging storm flared up again as Neko realized the wolf girl was approaching.

Looking back to the blonde, Neko felt compelled to tell her something but was unsure how to word it. "Maybe you should come with me?" Well....that was something. "I will keep you safe." At least from everything except a snake.

The puppy seemed to be quite stuck in the bush, so poke was having trouble pulling him out. Eventually though she was able to detach the puppy from it. Holding it up she looked around for the kitties. They were there, but they seemed to be talking, and she didn't want to intrude. She saw the adult was talking to two of the other kids, so maybe she should go over there. But then the puppy girl was going over to the kitties.

Ah! what if she was gonna be mean to them again? poke quickly ran over to them, holding onto tobi while she ran.

Neko nodded, a small smile touching his lips as he held out his hand to the girl. She seemed rather enthusiastic about leaving with him. Maybe it would be like having a family again. He had always wanted a little brother or sister. "My name's Nekomata. My mom always called me Neko for short. What's your name?"

"So where is Scaredy Cat and the other kitty going?" Mitsu asked as she finally approached the two.

Neko flinched a little but ignored the girl. She was only here to make fun of him anyway.

Once freed from the bush Tobi gave a happy yip realizing he was in good hands. His little tail began to wag at a furious pace as he saw they were approaching the others. Maybe they were all going to play a game! Picking out the perfect stick was essential to play any game so Tobi knew he would have to show them how it was done.

Atticus began to look around for an answer to his questions. It was already determined that this wasn't a dream. So what had caused this. "So Blade." He started, trying to make conversation while he searched. "Why are you so angry?" Atticus decided to phrase it nicely instead of asking why he was such a little s**t. "... Out of curiosity." Was how he finished, pretending to not honestly care. His eyes occasionally glanced to the cluster of kids right next to the forest, making sure they weren't getting themselves into trouble.

Riyo looked down at the hand as if it was a shining beacon of hope that gently called her name. As if all her problems would disappear if she joined her own hand with it.

"I'm Riyo." She spoke softly and let her small fingers find comfort in his. "M-my Mother calls me a lot of things, but most of them aren't shorter, I guess..." Nor were they very appropriate for children to talk about, but all of that didn't matter.

Little Riyo looked back as the small wolf girl approached, still mocking Neko without remorse. It brought out a different kind of emotion in her that rarely appeared but was frequently ignored when it did. It made her angry. People could kick her around all they wanted. She couldn't say she was used to it... But it seemed to become less and less of an issue as the days went by.

It did, however, deeply bother her when the only potential friend she had (excluding the ones she made up) was getting picked on. Her eyes narrowed. It felt like something was stirring inside of her at the rising body heat, just begging to get out.

Taking hold of Riyo's hand, Neko ignored the wolf girl as he smiled a bit awkwardly. "I like that name. Riyo. Its cute, I think it suits you."

Mitsu huffed, she didn't like being ignored, though the girl was giving her a bit of a glare she didn't like. Narrowing her eyes as well Mitsu glared right back trying to make her stare more intense. Her concentration was broken, however, as Poke came up and told her to stop saying stuff. "Stuff like what?" Mitsu asked quirking a brow.

"Come on, just ignore her," Neko instructed pulling lightly on Riyo's hand. "Let's just get out of here."