yesterday (p)

[Deleted]

|| Natalia ||

Not having to go to the barn, Jude found himself with a lot of time on his paws. So naturally, he decided that messing with his friend would be the best way to waste time.

'Where is she...' The tabby wondered, prowling along the tree branches. 'She has to be around here somewhere.'

Then, in the corner of his eye, he spotted a bright-colored pelt. Grinning, he silently crept closer until he was staring down at her from above. When the moment was right, he leaped off the branch and landed on the ground with a crash. "Boo!"

[Natalia]

Natalia was walking around, gazing up at the trees. She was looking for a nice, inconspicuous spot to relax. She'd rather not have any other psychopaths give her weird looks. Hell, she'd rather nobody give her any looks. Outside from a small number of cats, Jude, Patch, Pain... She didn't trust anyone. There were some cats she felt alright with, Esther, Sky, Serenity, Peter.... Perhaps more. But outside of that number, she tended to rub others the wrong way and the feeling usually turned out to be mutual. 

When suddenly there a sharp exclamation behind her with a crash. She inhaled sharply, managing not to jump, but her fur was standing on end. As she forced her fur to lie flat, as her ears slowly folded downwards, an extremely irritated expression took its place on her face. She slowly turned around to see...

Jude.

Her expression relaxed into conveying more tiredness, though still with the slightest edge of annoyance. Her temper had faded. She was mostly annoyed with Jude doing that. She didn't like startled.

"Don't do that."

[Deleted]

Jude's whiskers twitched in amusement. "Oh come on, isn't it fun to get scared once in a while? The adrenaline rush is fantastic." His tail waved behind him as he said this. He had an unusual amount of energy today for some reason.

Once calmed down, he gave Natalia a look up and down. He hadn't seen her in some time, so he was more than relieved to see that she was alive, and that there didn't seem to be any new major scars. He looked away. "How are things?"

[Natalia]

Natalia was not an adrenaline junkie liek apparently Jude was, so she did not agree. Her ears flattened all the way. "No." She replied flatly. Her tail was twitched with irritation. "What is with you today?" She grumbled.

She huffed.

Then Jude started staring her down for some reason. "Stop staring at me. It's weird." She said suddenly, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. "I'm fine. Nothing new. Saw some new cats who I think are Deathclan newcomers." 

[Deleted]

He flattened his ears slightly at her grumble. "Well, sorry." He muttered back, ears flattening even more when she spoke again. "I just wanted to see if you were okay." 'Why's she so irritable?' He didn't think he'd startled her that badly.

Jude looked behind him when she spoke again. 'Maybe she's having a bad day. I'll just leave if I'm bugging her.' "Yeah? Who?" He didn't try to hide the disinterest in his voice.

[Natalia]

Natalia sighed. "It's fine, Jude." She reassured him. She didn't like seeing him upset. Especially if it was because she did or said something to make him upset. Sometimes she wondered if she was a little too nice... Her doubts were always chased away by remembering how... Well, great Jude was. He wasn't perfect, but he sure was a Hell of a lot better than Natalia. 

... Then came the question that Jude didn't really sound like he was genuinely curious about. "I don't know the name of the first. She was a bit of a psychopath, though. The other two... Erm..." She shrugged. "I forgot their names." She admitted. Then she sighed. "Jude. I know you didn't actually want an answer to that question. You alright?"

[Deleted]

"Okay..." He turned back to her, not fully believing her answer. It sounded like she was just trying to dismiss him. 'I bet she's not actually fine.' He wouldn't tell her that, though, in fear of starting an argument. 'Maybe I should think twice before startling her.'

"A psychopath?" 'Just how crazy was she?' He hadn't spoken with a crazy in a long time. He kind of missed it, they were so interesting. He couldn't really recall who the last insane cat he'd met. He wanted to say Static, but that felt too far off. He nodded when she questioned him. "I'm fine."

[Natalia]

Natalia got the feeling that Jude didn't believe her. She huffed. "Really. I'm fine. Nothing has happened that has grievously injured me, emotionally or otherwise. Mostly irritating things." She tried to explain, though she slightly annoyed with having to explain that she really was fine.

Natalia nodded. "Yeah. Came up to me with a creepy smile and practical murder in her eyes. Seemed to say murder was her hobby. She denied it, but I'm reasonably sure that she murders on a whim." She shook her head. "Hope she doesn't stick around long." She did not normally talk to crazy people, but she would rather they weren't murderous.

[Deleted]

'Mostly irritating things, huh?' "Am I irritating you now?" He asked, slight humor in his voice.

He rolled his eyes when she explained. Cats were so dark nowadays. Murdering as a hobby? 'Murdering mice, maybe. She has to be bluffing.' He shrugged. "She'll probably get killed or something with that kind of attitude." It wouldn't be too far-fetched for that to happen, either. 'I'll be surprised if she survives the next few moons.'

[Natalia]

Natalia sighed. "No. You're probably the only non-irritating one nowadays." She answered, sounding a bit tired with the shenanigans of the cats around here. 

Natalia sighed. "I don't wish death on cats... But I admit, I'd prefer a fox-length or a thousand between us." She knew some cats really did get that messed up in the head, for whatever reason. Sometimes cats ended up nicer, like Jude. Some cats ended up jaded like Natalia. Some ended up like that psycho, not really coping at all.

[Deleted]

"Aw, thanks." He trilled a slight purr, a little amused by how tired she sounded. 'Are the other DeathClanners really that troublesome?'

Jude nodded. "I doubt they'll bother you again. Someone as crazy as that probably has other things to worry about." 'Like cats having it out for them. Now that I think about it, it might be fun to attack someone like that.' He sunk his claws into the ground. 'Now I really hope I get to meet her.'

[Natalia]

Natalia shrugged. "I suppose..." She noticed Jude's claws sinking into the ground. "Feeling a little twitchy?" She asked.

She didn't recall Jude being one to itch for a fight... But cats change, don't they? Upon meeting him, you wouldn't guess that he was capable of the anger that she'd seen with her own eyes. Heh. Kind of funny... Jude and herself weren't exactly what meets the eye, were they?

[Deleted]

"Hm?" He followed her gaze down to his claws, immediately sheathing them. "Yeah, guess so." He didn't want others to think he was a violent cat. He wasn't. 'At least, I don't think I am. I was just stretching my claws, that's all.' It wasn't like he was imagining tearing the psychopath to shreds. Nah.

He stifled a yawn. "What do you do when you're bored, Nat?"

[Natalia]

Natalia sighed deeply. "I guess so." She repeated. She noticed that Jude had retracted his claws. Perhaps it was not voluntary. Err... She wasn't sure how she felt about Jude unconsciously unsheathing his claws around her. 

She thought about it. "Climb a tree and just relax, I suppose."

[Deleted]

Jude sighed. 'Boorrriiinnng.' There had to be something else they could do. 'I'll think of something.' The kits at the barn had taught him a lot of games. Most of which were pretty fun.

But for now he'd settle for talking some more. "Have you seen Pain around much?"