down the precipice of new affairs [closed]

Aida was furious when she had figured it out, yowling and hissing enough for the upwalkers to hear. It had caused a stir and obvious confusion in their home. Some time had passed since Sienna had discovered the handsome, wild tom. She found her moments with him an escape, paws growing more daring and relaxed with each encounter. Even the thought of his presence stirred a primal joy under her pelt. Sienna, while ignorant to it herself, had fallen in love with a warrior. Her pupils widened when she gazed at him, chatting lightly in a manner that was unique to Redfall, and sinking into moments of comfortable silence. It was over these past few sunsets that she had truly learned what it was like to miss someone. Sienna's mother guarded the door with new purpose, treating her with silence at every other turn. But Aida was sleeping now and seemed to have forgotten about the endless task.

Clawless pads made her step lighter. Soft fur hardly dragged against the ground. Earlier in the day, Sienna had groomed her silky coat and managed to tuck the tags of her collar into the thin strip that en-wreathed her neck. Gentle snores from the next room over told her that it was time. She did not hesitate in dashing through the cat door. The moment the flap closed behind her, the molly's tail had already whisked to the top of her back. Cool night air brushed her tongue and ruffled her pelt. Freedom, in small measures, was the most beautiful of feelings. Her paws moved more quickly than before, filled with excitement and purpose as she sought after the minute sense of independence that had blossomed from these encounters. Hardly any time passed before she had made her way to the cracked, stony hollow. Hopeful eyes peered in as the thought occurred to her that in this time he may have left, while she had wished him to stay.

"Redfall... Redfall... It's me."

The days had gotten continually better since Sienna's arrivals, even if he didn't realize it. Redfall was awake in his nest when he smelled cat. Only a moment passed before he recognized it. The ginger tabby lifted his head, tail wrapping around his paws. The silence was broken with her quiet words. The rogue regarded her for a moment and blinked. His green eyes were silver, reflecting the moon behind her. There would be a Gathering soon. Another moment passed. The tabby spoke up, matching her quiet tone. "I noticed." He sat up and slid backwards. "Come in then, if you want. There's enough space."

Redfall's melancholy thoughts were pushed away as Sienna entered. "Where've you been?" he asked, a subtle note of anxiety in his voice. He fidgeted for a moment, unsure what to say anything, if he should say anything. There was an adrenaline clinging to her, excited and nervous energy pulsing in waves off of her pelt.

Her heart stopped when his voice returned her prying question just as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. A vibrant ginger coat and drawing green eyes pulled her closer in anticipation. When that voice called her forward, there was only a brief moment before Sienna obliged. The kittypet glanced over her shoulder for a brief moment, as if the angry form of her mother would be tearing down the stone at any moment, before slipping into the cavern. He'd pulled to the side and although she could have done the same, Sienna stuck close, their pelts nearly touch and only a whisker away. She glanced up with round eyes and a smile broke across her maw. Outside of the world she had always known, the sleek-pelted housecat now felt like her paws could touch the skies and nothing could ever trouble her again as long as he was there.

Sienna purred briefly before remembering he'd asked about her whereabouts. Concerns riddled her gaze as she spoke, "My mother figured it out, that I've been out with you. She has a bad taste in her maw when it comes to wild cats. The tom who fathered me was a wild cat. I never met him, he disappeared before she could even tell him that she was having kits." Her whiskers flickered as she considered it. The two of them had hardly spoken of their past before, or much of any of merit. It had been a tentative agreement that they merely accepted their time together and let all other things flood away. Redfall's survival in this nearly uninhibited land of the streets was of the upmost importance, and she readily troubled herself with such thoughts. In her dreams, there were fuzzy visions of what her mind had once imagined to be this great and brave tom who adventured to see the world. Aida never spoke of him or the kind of cat he was, so it was only the clinging of a kit-like wonder that conjured the ideal. After a moment, she realized she had paused and shook her head.

"She wouldn't let me leave but I finally managed to get out... I missed you, Redfall, I thought of you all the time. I'm sorry that I couldn't come sooner and that I may have worried you." Her gaze flickered to the stone as embarrassment briefly heated her ears. She longed to hear the tom confess that he had missed her too, that somewhere underneath his cool exterior Redfall had a soft spot for her. But she didn't expect it, and that was okay; her honesty was enough for herself and even if he wasn't receptive, that was fine. Right? Finally, Sienna looked up once more to meet his gaze like she had on the first day they met. Something was in those pools of emerald that hadn't previously resided there.

She paused. He had to admire her there, sleek coat illuminated against the silvery moon. Her head turned back for a second. Redfall's claws dug into the ground; was she going to be leaving? He was surprised to discover that he didn't want that to happen. The thought was lost as she moved in a little closer than need be. Instinctively, he flinched. He didn't like cats near him, but Sienna wasn't going to do anything to him. He had to learn to trust someone: hard when he didn't trust his parents, Wrenspring, his Clan, mostly himself. He swallowed and twitched an ear in a brief apology before leaning closer, letting out a quivering sigh.

Her father was a wild cat? His ear twitched once more. Wild cats were Clan cats. He hesitated, but decided to not say anything. There would be more time to dwell on that when Sienna wasn't there. At least it was something to brood on besides his own thoughts. Redfall nodded. "Overprotective parents, I've seen some of those, sure." His own hadn't been, they hadn't even made theirselves known (which wasn't uncommon, he didn't think about it much) but Smokefeather and Blossomstep's litters were certainly more protective than he would have been.

Green eyes met as Sienna continued to talk. "You didn't w-..." He paused the thought midspeak. Whether he liked it or not, Sienna was having an impact on his happiness. He didn't know whether or not to be glad about that. It was just a fact. She was. And if she was really making him happier, than he wanted her around more. "No... You did, I guess. But you're fine. You're here now, after all." He sat in silence, thoughts drifting around his head. What was their relationship? They hadn't known eachother for that long, a few moons, but she was closer to him than anyone else was. Except for Swansong, maybe, and the whole Wrenspring thing. Redfall's tail flicked back and forth in a minute of silence as he debated what to do. He spoke, finally, in a tone that was probably normal for others but soft for him. "I enjoy your company, Sienna. I hope you know that." However brief our time together is, anyway.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sienna noticed the way that he flinched. Her first thought was that she had done something wrong, however, her second thought was concern of the life he had lived before. She had no knowledge of the things he had been through or what he had lived with and scars were the the physical manifestation of that. Housecats hardly ever saw their pelts marred in such a way. Sadness brimmed the edges of her gaze, especially as he began to speak. Despite wondering where she was, perhaps he truly hadn't worried all this time like she had hoped. But he paused, stalling his speech in the less than tactful way that she had grown to appreciate when speaking with Redfall. He was different, and the molly was drawn to that. There was a heartbeat before he piped up again and her tail flickered anxiously in time.

A breath she had not realized she was holding was released as he admitted missing her, noticing she was gone, in the way that  mere acquaintances normally did not. I enjoy your company, Sienna. I hope you know that. It was perhaps the most honest thing that she had ever heard the red-pelted tom say. The honesty to his voice and the meaning behind the words sent a chill down her spine. For a long moment, she said nothing. But her gaze shone with a myriad of emotions. Paws picked their way softly across the stone in an agonizing manner. Words felt wrong, to break the silence between them felt as if it would snap the frail sense of connection pairing the two cats together. Finally, Sienna pressed her nose to the soft fur just underneath his chin. The rest of her pelt followed, finding the length of his pelt. It was the first time there was never any space between them. Teeth clenched as soft notes of worry he would draw back wormed their way into her conscious but she didn't move.

"I have no idea what you've been through or the things that might still cling to your mind, but I'm glad you're here, Redfall. I want you to stay. I want to spend time with you forever and create a future together." Her words were but a mutter, drifting softly with an elegance that only Sienna could muster, "You don't have to say anything but you need to know... I love you."

His eyes had seen her muscles tense before her head moved, but that didn’t stop the electric jolt when she allowed her nose to press against his chin. He forced himself to stay still, tail prickling uncertainly during the contact. It felt good, he guessed, but affectionate movement wasn’t something he was familiar with whatsoever. The prickly feeling continued to grow as she spoke. The words were so elegant, and meant to be soft, but in his ears they were broken glass shards. Redfall stood stiff with shock, trying to process it. Sienna... wanted to be with him, forever. Create a future. Love.

She had said he didn’t need to talk. So he didn’t. At the same time, he was worried Sienna would think he was being too cold. Hs maw dropped open. A permeating feeling of dread sunk into his pelt as he tried to figure out a way to say what he was feeling - hard when he wasn’t sure he himself could describe it. “Sienna... I can’t say I don’t love you, because I do. But I can’t say, with certainty, that I love you back. I feel different about you than I do any other cat, but I need time to say if it’s love...”

He trailed off. A more characteristic, devilish smile, popped onto his face. Something that hadn’t happened for so long. Since the Gathering, seasons ago, even. When he spoke, the words were soft, but meant clear. “Or we could take a risk.” His eyes caressed her form, sleek and shining. A kittypet, but worth more to him than the wild cats he called kin, or at least used to. “I... I want to take that risk with you.” Stars, that sounded cheesier out loud than it did in his head. Ears burning, he broke eye contact and slammed a paw into the stony ground before giving up and dishing it straight out. “Oh, foxdung to that. I want to have kits with you, that’s what I mean.”

Kits.

The previous moment's uncertainty had left her reeling, crestfallen about the many things that she had hoped for in this tom. While it had been expected, the silence was a heavy weight across her shoulders. Sienna leaned closer to him instinctively. It had been a fleeting thought but she had considered Aida's warnings about wild cats. Then, the she-cat's tail flickered anxiously as she mulled over the way that she had thrust her own selfish desires upon him. This was the most churned up her pelt had ever felt and it left her paws unsteady. But now, here he was, a grin that was first devilish in nature had twisted to something of certainty and decisiveness. Redfall wanted to have kits with her. Green eyes blinked and she sat up to study his face for a long moment.

I want to take that risk.

Her heart fluttered and her features softened. Despite the attachment she had grown to the fiery-pelted warrior, this was a side he hadn't portrayed before. It seemed like the tom before her now hadn't been free to be himself for some moons. Droplets glistened at the fringes of her eyes and Sienna buried her face into his fur. There was no doubt in her mind or in her heart; she wanted to be with Redfall and to have his kits. Furious nodding ruffled the fur of his chest before she finally breathed, "I would love nothing more. You'll be a great father." As great as a father as I can imagine without ever knowing one of my own.Thoughts of forever swam through her mind, no matter the complex nuances that would come with their unusual circumstance. The kits would have their fathers eyes, maybe her pelt. Who knew? But they would soon enough find out.

"I-I want to stay tonight. My upwalkers will worry but I want to be with you. No matter how furious mother is. I want to be here." Willful ignorance blotted out the indications her own words brought, and the problems yet to come of the worlds between them. For now, she would delight in his presence. Tonight, she would dream of their kits.