It had been a few days since Gato last saw Rhy. Well, it was her first time seeing him, but that didn't really mean anything to her. She was still wondering what the hell his story was, and why he just seemed so insistent on not letting anyone in. She wanted in, but she didn't want to fight for it. That would't be fair to him, and she didn't want to seem like a brute. Still, how would she do this?
She had been taking care of her regrowing claws, sharpening them only when they needed, and making sure that they were growing properly. There wasn't much she could really do, though, so she was starting to learn some of the patterns of the other members. Edea seemed to be faring well with her carving, but she couldn't carve as much because of the cubs. Gato needed to talk to her about techniques, in that she didn't want to wear down her claws so badly again, or so quickly.
The mostly white lioness was letting her paws guide her around when she caught sight of Rhy. Well, she shouldn't really act surprised, since she had an idea of where his post was, but she didn't think that she would actually run into him. Freezing, she stared, knowing that the darkening sky wouldn't hide her. The moon adored her white coat, and she wasn't going to be able to hide without alerting him. So..she took the plunge.
"Hello, Rhy," she said quietly, hoping to not startle him. If he was a good guard, he probably already knew that someone was there, if it wasn't her. Scent was something that carried everywhere, and it was hard to tell exactly where it went. When he turned around, he didn't seem surprised at all. Gato suspected it was because he was good at hiding it, but in truth Rhy had gotten past the point of being surprised. He already had one shake his world apart, someone being behind him wasn't anything to jump at. He glanced at her, wondering why she was here. Ayumi wasn't around to be seen, so perhaps she was lost? It was possible, if all she paid attention to was her work as a carver.
He glanced over towards her, wondering why she was here. Was he really that interesting? Awful? Ugh. He didn't dislike her, but he disliked having to be social. The idea of folding into darkness, letting emotions escape him and behind a solider sounded better than having to deal with something like this. He sighed, turning his body to face her. Though he was so disjointed from the social comings of the pride, he figured it wouldn't be good to upset a vital part of the pride.
"Can I help you?" he asked, wondering how long this was going to take. Gato felt the tension grow in the air, and all of it was coming from him. She tried to not let it get to her, but it was hard. He captivated her, and it was like she didn't realy exist to him. Nothing but a face to talk to and then forget about. She didn't want to end that way. She wanted to be something to him, even if in the end it was just something that bothered him. An annoyance. She would be remembered by him.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing," she stated carefully. "You didn't seem so good that first time I met you, so I just....wanted to check in." Hopefully that didn't sound weird. Yeah, right. Sure it didn't.
His ears perked up at her comment, but not enough for her to see through his mane. She was interested in him? It was something that sort of surprised him, and revolted him at the same time. Why would someone be interested in him? He was broken, destroyed, and there was nothing left inside of him to give. He didn't even really want to take the risk, either. If something happened again...he probably wouldn't survive it. He didn't even know how he had survived it at all. Mio....no, he wouldn't let himself think about her name. He had left her, left his sister, to go to someplace new and to start over.
"Sorry...I don't mean to pry," she said, letting her head droop and ears slink against her skull. It was hopeless, wasn't it? She didn't know why she was trying, but something just made her keep going. "I just thought that maybe you would want someone to talk to." She glanced over to see him glance towards her, and then back to the wilderness that laid before them. She sighed, letting her eyes graze against the ground before she followed his eyes back upwards, outwards.
"I don't talk," he finally answered after letting the silence grow between them. He almost felt like she deserved it. If she was going to chase after his past, she was going to have to develop the patience for it. It was something that he never planned on sharing with anyone, and he wasn't going to just open up because someone asked. Still...there was always a chance that someone could find out, and he would test her.
"I'll listen to you talk, though."
Gato felt herself gasp, and she hated that it came out. She didn't want to seem like she was surprised, even though she was. Success! There was something that she got started, and she was going to cling to it for dear life. Gato was not going to let this go. "Ok," she breathed, smiling. At least this meant that she was going to get somewhere with him.
She let herself collect her thoughts, wondering what she would talk about. Nothing about him, but there were a few things she could probably talk about. A bit of her past, how she got here, what she thought about being here with the Ulili-Mlindaji. There was no way that she was going to talk about everything tonight, but she could share a little story or two. Probably wouldn't get him to laugh or anything, but this was a chance for the two of them to get to know...well, him to get to know her better. Perhaps then he could decide if he wanted to open up to her. For now, she could talk, and see if time would make this easier for the both of them.
Gato was very excited about this, but let herself stay calm. This was a chance to take a step towards her future. Rhy only saw it as passing amusement, but a slim chance as well.
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