The day was a great day for a nap - it was warm and a light breeze was filtering through a group of trees, cooling the shade to a blissful level.

However, within the group of trees, a young male sat. He was shaking, seemingly from the scratches that ran across his body. He tried to hold back his tears, covering his sky-colored eyes with a light tan paw.

The wounds did not bother Chozi - they only cause a small tickling feeling to brush over his skin. The tears were from something far more painful - he was alone once again. He had no one - he left home to be away from his mother, and yet... his love - she found him too feminine, and he...

He was alone once again.

Mani's feet were on their usual mission, walking. And walking was just what the cheetah had been doing. Today seemed like she'd made quite a bit of progress though. Seemed like it anyhow, but perhaps that was the wind fooling her abit. ..The sun might have something to do with that feeling as well, but Mani knew she'd walked quite the distance today.

She'd woken up early today, as her feet had been itchin' to get going. ..Although at one point in the day, they literally were itching. Some of the grass had snuck between her toes and started ninja attacking her. Luckily, she'd gotten rid of it easily enough and continued on her way.

Dark ears flicked, and Chozi froze - tears still fell from his eyes, sliding down the 'tear' markings on his face. His breath hitched with broken sobs as he looked around for the footsteps.

"Wh-who's there?" he called softly, moving forward from the thick cover of trees. He hesitated back upon seeing a figure move along - was that were the footsteps were coming from? Another hitched sob came from his small, quaking figure as he tired to calm down.

Mani stopped, her ears flicked in the direction of the voice. It startled her at first, because she wasn't expecting anyone. But..then again, she never was. Her black tail curled as she could hear something else from the voice, a sense of sadness. Perhaps whomever was near was sad? Mani didn't think anything else of that, and softly padded towards the sound. She hadn't given thought that it could be a trap, or that perhaps whomever it was, didn't want her company.

" ..'Ello? ''

It took a moment for Chozi to force the tears back. He gave a shaky breath, rubbing his eyes with one of his paws. He took another moment to try and calm down - they wre short moments, but he didn't want anyone seeing him looking so ugly.

"Hello," he called back, though his voice was still thick with tears and as soon as he finished speaking, his voice hitched. He forwned, giving another shaky breath as moved forward to reveal himself to the new voice.

Hopefully they would be able to distract him from his heartbreak, if only for a little while.

Mani stepped through some itchy grass, and saw a small figure. Thin, like herself but coloured more naturally. More like the other had crawled out of the earth itself. She kept her distance some, not wanting to make her new company feel uncomfortable or crowded. ..Ashamedly, Mani admitted to herself that she couldn't tell if the one before her was male or female.

" Hi there " Mani said, her usual smile on her maw, and kind tone in her voice.

Chozi gave a soft smile at the kind female. He gave a small bow of his head and moved closer to her, cause she seemed so far away. He had no real concept of personal space, having so many siblings (half siblings and otherwise) - he sat down right close to her - if he would reach out one of his long, thin arms, he would be able to touch her.

Despite being so close, he gave a shy laugh. "You caught me at a bad time, I'm sorry," he commented, rubbing his eyes again in an attempt to get rid of the tears.

" Oh? ..I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I was interrupting. " Mani glanced at the thin male next to her.

Now knowing that he did indeed seem sad, Mani didn't mind that her company chose to sit close to her. Though she only picked a farther spot, because she didn't know the individual's boundary limits. She watched as the thin male rubbed his eyes. Trying to wipe away tears, she supposed.

" Is there anything that I can help with? I'm a good listener. "

"Oh, no, you're not inturrupting," he hastened to reassure - he didn't want his company to leave - she was friendly, and that calmed his aching heart a bit. He shifted though.

"I... I was in love with a girl," he murmured the admittance. He was still stuck between believing he was female and the sheer knowledge that he was truthfully a man. She was his first love as a male. "She said she couldn't love me." he gave a small, pitiful laugh.

Mani's brow furrowed a little. She didn't quite understand what was being said. " ..She couldn't love you? "

Of all the things she wasn't prepared for, she hadn't quite something like that. Then again, she hadn't expected to come across anyone that recently had their heart broken. It's a terrible enough feeling, and something that you don't ever get used to. But the fact remained that she wondered why this girl felt as though she couldn't love him. Why? Was she just that mean, or.. was there something going on that she had no control of?

Chozi had to pause as tears welled into eyes. He bit his lip in an attempt to stop the tears from over flowing. He could taste blood as it welled into his mouth in small droplets, but he couldn't feel the pain.

He hesitated before speaking again - he didn't want his voice to crack. "She said I was too womanly," he said bitterly - it wasn't his fault though - was it? It hurt though - it hurt so badly.

" Is that so bad? "

Mani titled her head slightly. She'd met a girly guy before and he was quite sweet. And even if hr company was too girly, why was that such a bad thing? If it was, the why had the girl even tried if it would end up breaking a heart so badly? Or perhaps, she hadn't tried hard enough? Mani was sure that, even if he was ' too womanly ', there must be other things that the girl could've concentrated on.

"I don't," his breath hitched with a sob, "I don't know."

He placed his paw to his eyes, feeling the wetness. "I'm sorry for all this," he murmured, choking back a sob. He just couldn't stop crying. He wanted to with all his might, but every time he thought of her, all the tears would come back. "I'm not usually so teary, despite my name," he gave a kind of thick, self-pitifying laugh through a sob. He rubbed his eyes again, rubbing away the tears that slightly darkened his coat.

Mani couldn't help but feel pretty sad for the cheeton that was now in her company. Heartache was always a terrible thing, and seemed the harshest on the youth. Though adults could have their hearts torn just the same, but..it seemed different with age. Adults have more knowledge of the heart, sometimes; but.. youth didn't. Although, that all also depended upon the individual. A soft sigh excaped her maw as she leaned over gently licked away some of Chozi's tears.

" It's alright, I do not mind it. ..When the heart is in pain, it's alright to cry. "

Chozi gave a small laugh filled with mixed emotions. He was terribly greatful for the Cheetah's kind words and gestures, but he still hurt. "Thank you," he murmured softly. It hadn't been his first heartbreak, but he was so hopeful that this one would work.

Maybe... Maybe in the future someone could accept him for who he was, just like his mother accepted his father (though he couldn't fathom why).