Brick Walls [p]

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Flower

Ariana was hanging around the plains. It was where she spent her time, nowadays. She wasn't born in the area, but she supposed these days she called it home. It was familiar, but it.... Lacked that... Home feel. It was complicated.

She tended to not talk to others in the area, especially with the strange looks she received. She imagined it was due to the scarf around her neck. She figured it made most cats instantly think 'kittypet.' That title... No longer applied to her. But... It was slightly irritating when it happened again and again and caused cats to make judgements. Hmph.

Then her fur stood up on end. She turned her head and greeted the watcher with a polite smile. "Oh. Hello, there."

[Flower]

Mother had never seen a cat who wore a scarf. Of course she knew about kitty pets and the silly collars that they wore, but never had she seen a scarf. So when Mother did spy the kitty who wore one of course she had to follow the thing. In her head she was making up songs to go along with the cat. She hummed a multitude of different tunes as she thought up the lyrics and rhyming schemes that had to do with a cat wearing a scarf.

When the cat turned around Mother jumped slightly and gave her biggest and friendliest smile. "Hello to you as well." She purred, her eyes flicking from the cat's face and then back to the scarf. "Soooo.... Why are you wearing that on your neck?" Mother asked quickly. She tilted her head slightly, the lyrics she had been thinking of still swirling around in her thoughts.

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Ariana was met with friendliness in return. Predictable. The cat immediately started asking after Ari's scarf. She held a paw against her scarf. Then she cocked her head as she began to reply.

"Oh, this old thing? I'd have to say memories." She purred. "My name's Ariana. It'd be nice to know your's." She flashed another warm smile. There was no indication that the warmth was fabricated.

[Flower]

Memories? That was a new one. Most of the cats Mother had met so far didn't particularly like their memories. It was a refreshing change either way. When she spoke Mother's ear twitches slightly. She couldn't place what it was, but something seemed wrong with the way the cat spoke. It was barely there, Mother wasn't even sure it was there, but her ears were great at picking things up and it seemed like something sounded wrong. Mother shrugged. She'd figure it out eventually.

"Fatastic to meet you Ariana. I'm called Mother." She stated and then quickly circled the other cat. She hummed a small tune as she did before taking a seat in front of Ariana. What rhymes with scarf? All that Mother could think of was barf and she had a feeling that it wouldn't fit well in the song. Mother blinked slowly at the she-cat, ever present grin still on her maw.

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Ariana thought that was interesting. She was rather perceptive, always looking for signs that cats were lying to her. As such, she was rather good at it. It meant she saw the subtle twitch of the stranger's ear. Hm. It didn't seem like she knew, but had an odd feeling about Ariana. Interesting. That was more than most were able to do.

The cat before her moved quickly around her in a circular motion and then sat in front of Ari. She then introduced herself with possibly the strangest name in existence. Ariana's own name was a bit strange for a cat in the wild, living on their own, but ultimately less so. Kittypet heritage tended to lead to names like her's, and cat's ancestries seem to fly all over the place.

"Mother. Interesting name. I imagine there's a story behind it." She meowed.

[Flower]

At further mention of Mother's name her ear flicked once again, but her smile never once wavered. "I suppose you could call it that." She stated, not offering any further information into it. Mother's parents had wanted grandkittens it seemed and that's where Mother's name came from. Her parents hadn't been the most normal of cats either. "I enjoy you name, haven't heard one like it before." Mother complimented.

Mother sighed and glanced back at the she-cat's scarf. "Do you have anything that rhymes with scarf? I'm really having trouble thinking of something to go with it." Mother asked. She was trying to think up a song for Ariana, but everytime she got stuck on scarf and barf. Maybe mother should change the words away from scarf? Collar might work similarily, but the scarf didn't exactly look like a collar exactly, plus the scent of kitty pet wasn't exactly right with this cat, as if they had maybe been one at one point, but weren't anymore.

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Ariana hummed in response. She noted the lack of elaboration. So not a happy story then. It was funny how much cats said without saying it. Then she offered up a shrug. "My name isn't that strange if you look in the right places." She replied vaguely. It was true. She was simply leaving out where the right places were. Which happened to be twolegplace. She had to wonder if... This cat had ever been to twolegplace. She placed a paw on her chin. It truly was strange to call this cat by her real name, even in her head.

"Mm... Mind if I give you a nickname? Heather seems to fit your pelt, as we hardly know each other." 

Then suddenly came the topic of rhymes. Ariana thought for a moment. "Well, there's the obvious barf. Snarf. Though, there's some debate on whether that's a legitimate word. Though, if you're looking for rhymes... Perhaps a different word to rhyme with would be better? A scarf can be a muffler." She offered up.

[Flower]

At Ariana's statement Mother laughed. She supposed that was true. In the twoleg places there were a few names for cats that were similar to Ariana's. Mother guessed that her hypothesis was right and that this other she-cat must have been a kittypet at some point, or at least lived near the twolegs. Maybe she still did. Mother didnt mind either way, whether she was a kitty pet or not, but at the sound of the nickname she stuck out her tongue. That she did mind.

"Listen I hate my name as much as the next kitty cat, but that is just one awful nickname. How about for now you just call me something... like... Singer?" Mother suggested. Considering how much Mother sang she preferred it over Heather. Still it wasn't good enough for Mother to consider switching to it. It also seemed that Ariana had the same idea about rhyming that Mother had. Scarf just didn't rhyme with anything usable in a song. Muffler was decent, but it wasn't great. She supposed she'd just work around it. She began humming again as she worked through the song, completely forgetting that she was talking to somebody.

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Ariana immediately could tell that the cat before her hated the nickname. Ari appeared to be sincerely apologetic at this. "Oh. I'm sorry. Singer does sound better." She agreed with the newly nicknamed 'Singer.' It still seemed like it could be better, however. Perhaps... Something else music themed? The nickname suggested she enjoyed something to do with music. Still. Singer was suitable for now. Nothing else was needed.

Then Singer seemed to space out and start singing again. It reminded her vaguely of when she was young and rather... Spacey. At the thought, she breathed in the scents around her. Then a memory returned to her.... Right. She remembered a certain... Moment with her adoptive family.

"Actually, would you mind if you call me Ari?" She asked, coupled with a sunny smile. Some habits were hard to break.

[Flower]

Mother was slowly working out the song. Getting the rhyming down and avoiding the word scarf for fear of having to rhyme it with barf. She was pretty happy with how it was going when Ariana spoke again on the topic of nicknames, this time one for her. Mother brightened instantly, lighting up like the sun. "Of course I can do that!" Mother exclaimed. Ari worked well for the song too.

The feeling that something was off about this cat just couldn't be shaken. Mother wondered if Ari was a spy, or if perhaps she was faking everything she was saying. Mother still couldn't place what was strange, so her mind ran wild. Her blurry vision couldn't pick up any hints of fidgeting or deception, but her ears could. The problem was that her ears weren't telling her what was wrong. So Mother tried to focus on the song. "Why are you here?" She asked suddenly, grinning at the other cat.

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Ariana smiled when Singer lit up like a supernova, at hearing her preferred nickname. She'd always like Ari better, it was short and informal. She hated formalities. She always thought they were stupid. This time... Her smile seemed a little more genuine. She was... Working on being more genuine with cats she met. It was hard and slow-going, though.

Then Singer asked an interesting question. Ari tried to ignore all the harmful implications of the question. 'It's literal. She's asking why you're here in this specific space in the plains, Ari.' She tried to tell herself. "I live in the plains. I like wandering around." She hated having idle paws. It made her cranky and irritable. The false calmness and friendly demeanor returned, with little to no sign of its lack of honesty. Aside from the fact that her voice had wavered slightly.

[Flower]

For a second Mother didn't hear anything strange, but then it was back again when the cat spoke, almost like the question had set it off. Perhaps this cat didn't like talking? Or simply didn't like questions about her? At least now Mother had figured out that she lived in the plains. "Ah that must be a fun life. I haven't quite decided where I'm going to settle down yet. I used to live closer to the twoleg place, but that got boring and I got my scars so I left." Mother explained and flicked her tail towards the scars over her eyes that had ruined her eyesight.

Mother smiled at Ari. "So what's your tragic backstory, Ari? No tears though." She purred and chuckled slightly. Mother didn't really consider her own backstory tragic as it was pretty basic, but she had heard a few cats' histories and they were never really happy.

[sorry no coding, but I'm on my phone.]

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Ariana had noticed the scars before, but hadn't said anything about them. She would've thought Singer would be rather touchy over them. Apparently not. "Plenty of space to run without a care." She explained slightly, giving a reason as to why she enjoyed the plains. It was true. Ari loved to get her blood pumping, running being the best method of doing so. It was better than twolegplace, no matter how big the land that her housefolk had owned.

Then... Singer wanted to know. Ari shrugged. "'Fraid there's not much to tell. I lived with my family. I found a new family. And now I'm here." She replied nonchalantly. Her tone and body language didn't convey even a drop of the grief, insecurity, and anger tied to her past.

[Flower]

Ari explained why she liked the plains and Mother nodded. That was a very good reason to stay. Perhaps that would be where Mother ended up making a more permanent den. She'd need a better one soon before it got too cold to just keep migrating where the wind took her. As Mother pondered this Ari stated her not-so-tragic backstory. Mother flicked her tail tip slightly and squinted at the other she-cat. 

"I see." Mother stated simply and then grinned. "Your backstory is much easier to bear listening to than some others'." She praised before standing and stretching, kneading the ground with her claws slightly. "Would you care for a walk? Sitting in one place is simply so boring. Let's do something fun." Mother purred and chuckled slightly. She never was one to sit still for long.

[Deleted]

It seemed that Singer agreed with Ariana's preference to the open spaces. Perhaps Singer enjoyed the chance to stretch her legs...? Or to perhaps do her music in peace? The plains were certainly large enough you could find a nice quiet spot where you wouldn't be bothering much besides prey if you started making noise.

Then Singer grinned at Ari's extremely simplified version of her past. Ari didn't like the grin. Even though she was smiling back, seemingly as friendly as ever, it hurt. She wanted to scream. "Hm? I couldn't agree more." She purred. "Would you prefer a walk or a run?" She asked politely.