Passing Pleasantries [Closed]

The place was rather dreadful. Unlike pristine and well-kept walker patches, these herbs and plants overgrew in an unsightly way. Shelters were crumbling or lopsided showing the lack of care. Overall, his mother would have hated it. Starlord managed a lopsided grin as he padded out of the shadow of a rotting fence. His orange and white patched coat looked like it had once been groomed to perfection but was now rendered a mess of ruffled and scruffy patches. Dirts lightly stained several parts of his pelt. It was obvious that he was one of the few loners who half-attempted to keep himself looking nice, a nod to his housecat roots. However, the fact he even visited these decaying grounds was a testimony to how he had managed to shed those roots. Mother was a housecat, father was a wildcat and that's how I came to grace your presence. Starlord almost chuckled at his own thoughts. Most cats didn't care about where each other came from, but the few that did got his glorious tale.

Although, it had been a while since that had happened. Most of the others lurking around seemed to be more willing to strike your maw than a conversation. Not that he mattered, the ginger patched tom never passed up a good fight. To him, combat was more thrilling than anything. He had fun. A burst of energy sent him sprinting ahead and unfortunately head first into a bone-dry pile of sticks. There were several crunches and crackles that came from the addition of his weight, "Oof!"

Another successful attempt at being self-assured ended up with him managing to trip over his own paws. Heaving himself up onto his paws, a dejected sigh broke from his mouth. The last couple moons had been rather dull. Before, Starlord had traveled with his brothers at a couple of rather eccentric other loners. Everyone got along well and it had been ever exciting. It was mostly due to their antics that he was hated by several other groups. Part of him hoped he might cross paths with one of them. At least it would give him something to do other than wandering aimlessly. He missed Rocket and Drax, along with Pelly and James. After a massive storm, they'd all been washed out and separated drastically. Starlord hadn't seen tail nor claw of any of theirs. All scents had been washed away in the floods. Thus, rendering him to his own devices for the past moons. With a huff, his brilliant blue eyes looked disinterestedly off into the distance. A flickering off to the right caused his gaze to snap in that direction. Within a split second, Starlord managed to roll over to face the new cat with a coat now littered in the debris of sticks.

"Well, hello there. The names Starlord. And you are?"

As the she-cat settled down, he couldn't help but allow for the lopsided grin to once more curve up the sides of his maw. There was a certain light to the blue depths of his eyes that only seemed to accentuate that smile. Although he was covered in sticks, and far from a beautifully sleek housecat, there was a rugged handsomeness to the young tom's face. Starlord shook his ginger spotted coat and debris was scattered about, some lightly showering the other loner as he padded a couple steps closer. But he stopped. She seemed guarded and uncertain. There were plenty of moments where Starlord was ignorant of the obvious expressions of others and times where his astuteness was almost impeccable. Unfortunately, it was always a toss-up. Fortunately, he had managed to guess correctly this time.

"Berry, huh? Well, you don't really look like a berry, do you?" There came a soft chuckle that arose from laughter that had built up throughout the duration of his own joke. His gaze flitted over her coat. She reminded him of Pelly. The tom had always been soft on his friend's mate. Now he could not help a bit of that softness shine through his gaze. There was no doubt he missed his kin, the blood relatives and decided alike. But, it was something he tried not to consider for the sake of pursuing his own happiness. Fixing things out of his paws was impossible. There was a slight nod to his head as he dismissed all thoughts and tried to come back to the realization that despite the similarities, this was not Pelly standing here before him.

"Sorry, I'm not known for my humor. But, lucky for you I do still have the good looks and charm." Starlord sauntered around her, briefly glancing at the mouse. There was a light growl from his stomach as if to remind him that he was hungry. In the search for excitement, the loner had forgotten some basic needs. Apparently, food was one of them. He tried to hide the hints of embarrassment and followed up the noise with a sheepish grin and an amendment, "I'm not after your catch, even though, uh, that may be what it sounds like." Starlord glanced underneath himself to all but glare at his stomach for interrupting such a smooth introduction. How was he supposed to get she-cats if his own body kept betraying him? After a low grumble, Starlord glanced back up.

"If you're wanting something more to eat, I could show you a nice place to hunt."

ooc: apologies for late reply!

((OoC: No problem! I understand. <3))

Berry snorted at his comment. Technically, her name wasn't Berry, but he didn't need to know her kittypet name. He didn't really need to know anything about her, right? The memories of kittypet life still hadn't left her, likely because she frequented Twoleg space quite often. She tried not to think about it. He chuckled at his own joke. She simply replied, "Well, no, I really don't. But you don't particularly look like a star or a lord, either." The she-cat stared uncertainly back as Starlord looked her over, his gaze clouded as though he were lost in memory.

When he shook himself back to the present, he went back to joking. Berry had to admit he wasn't unattractive, just a little bit... well, strange. For now. She tried to stay relaxed as he padded towards her, his lean gold-and-white body moving casually around her, but she still wasn't certain if she could trust him. She instinctively bristled as she heard his stomach growl, and she reached a paw towards it. He immediately explained and apologized, and Berry felt self-conscious for protecting her prey when she didn't need to.

Besides, she reasoned with a pang of pity, he's hungry, just like I am. He's being perfectly friendly. "It's alright, empty stomachs are the best ice-breakers," Berry replied, her whiskers twitching with amusement. She removed her paw from her mouse, relaxing a little more with each heartbeat. "I'd be happy to learn a good place to hunt if you don't mind sharing." She picked up her earlier catch and looked at him expectantly, ready to follow.