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Grace is effortless when born into it.

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Laetitia had been resting on a low hanging branch that lay closer to the twoleg territory beyond the road that lead to stars knows where. Her eyes were shut while her body was sprawled elegantly across the branch like it was made for her, large, triangular ears twitching every now and again at the slightest of sounds.

Her nose quickly alerted her to a strange yet familiar scent as it passed and her eyes flicked open, following a blue, long-bodied smokey figure as he stepped near the tree she had proclaimed for her rest and tilted her head at his presence.

"Well well well" She called down from where she stood above the ShadowClan... apprentice? No... she wouldn't think so anymore he didn't look as... disproportional as he once had. Then again, neither did she, her legs and body were much more dainty and refined, something she now took a lot of pride in. "mais enfin! If it is not the most élusif of creatures, Duskpaw." she cheered before hopping down gracefully from the branch onto the grassy floor behind him.

Laetitia let out a mrrp in greeting, expecting Duskpaw... perhaps another name, to turn and greet her, though from their past encounter she wouldn't be surprised if he kept on walking. "You have most certainly grown into yourself now! Vraiment magnifique. It is… how you say… a delight to see you once again." She purred, surprisingly friendly and poised after their last meeting.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle’s ear twitched at the familiar lilt, and he slowed his pace, turning just enough to glance over. The faintest curve tugged at his whiskers, not quite a smile, but maybe something close. Perhaps more indulgent without a border to protect.

"Laetitia...And it's Duskmantle now." His tone carried no edge only a steady, even cadence. "Didn’t expect to hear that voice out here again."

He studied her for a heartbeat, taking in the sleek lines of her frame and the polish she wore so proudly. "Seems you’ve grown into yourself too. Less of a kit darting around where she shouldn’t and more… well, something else." A small huff escaped him, more amused than mocking.

For once there was little vigilance in his stance, no weight of ShadowClan law shadowing his words. Out here he was simply himself. He flicked his tail, gaze sweeping toward the scatter of rooftops and tree lines beyond.

"I may be chasing trouble… I’m looking for someone. My sire." Duskmantle’s cornflower eyes flicked back to hers, steady but not demanding. "If you’ve seen strangers pass through like me but clay and cream, or if you’d walk me through what’s out here it might save me some wanderin'..."

Grace is effortless when born into it.

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"Duskmantle? Ah, parfait!" She approved, speaking of him, of the name, as if she were a connoisseur admiring a fine specimen. "A name as sturdy as you yourself, most bien choisi, most fitting indeed." she added with a fond purr, embracing the name as if it were a part of the air she breathed, truly beautiful.

A smile graced her features as she heard Duskmantle compliment her features in return for her own compliment, offering him a twirl of herself to give him a view of her frame and what it would have to offer. "Why, thank you!" she cheered "It is, after all, part of the reason my genes are held in such reverence within my Cattery. Quelle réputation enviable!" she sounded proud, like whatever a cattery was is important to her, basking in her own prestige without any sharp arrogance.

Though her cheerful pride was paused when Duskmantle mentioned looking for his sire, a look of thoughtfulness followed in silence. "For… your sire? He is not present within your colony?" she asked, eyes narrowing in what seemed like a bit of thought, and a bit of suspicion but mostly curiosity. "Ah, well no… I have not seen any such cat, malheureusement. I do not believe he lingers anywhere near here." there was a bit of regret in her tone but it was still kept formal as ever.

After a moment, she nodded to him, ready to make an offer she was certain she would keep, "Would you like me, perhaps, to keep an eye out for him? Un service des plus gracieux, if it would ease your mind." she added, gracious and almost gallant, an offer dressed in noble courtesy. 

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle listened as she spun herself with a flourish, words tumbling in foreign cadence, and his whiskers twitched dully. "Cattery…" He let the word roll off his tongue, flat and thoughtful, though there was no spark of recognition. The way she carried herself, dressed in pride and pedigree, felt almost alien to him and he had to remind himself she was from a different world entirely.

Still he didn’t press. Instead his gaze shifted back toward the horizon, watching the rooftops gather up the waning light. "If that’s what you value, then… guess it suits you." His tone was even, but his attention was already moving on chasing thoughts she couldn’t quite reach.

At her mention of his sire, though, his ears angled back for a heartbeat. He met her narrowed eyes without bristling. Simply steady. "No. Not in my colony. That’s why I’m out here."The answer was simple, blunt without bitterness. And when she admitted she hadn’t seen him, he only gave a low hum, accepting it like he might accept a shift in the wind. "Didn’t really expect you to. He seems to elude most."

He glanced back at her finally, cornflower eyes holding hers in the quiet that followed. "If you keep watch I’d be grateful. But don’t make it into some grand thing. He’s mine to find...or not. Still… I appreciate the offer. More than I would’ve guessed, last time we crossed paths."

Grace is effortless when born into it.

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Laetitia didn't push unwanted information about the definition of a cattery to Duskmantle, it wasn't something a cat like him would care to understand or care about, and it would leave him with more questions than he cared to have. He more than likely already had so many questions floating around about his sire, she didn't wish for that pile to be added onto.

Ah, so this sire was elusive, she figured as much, Laetitia curled her tail around her paws and held her form with a quiet reverence towards him, hidden but there. "If he is one to elude, then perhaps he does not wish to be found. A journey such as that may well answer many questions… or, mon cher, it may burden you with far more than you carried when you began. If you truly wish to risk leaving with more questions than you arrived with… eh bien, I will not stop you." She solemnly spoke, there was a philosophical hint to her words however there was restraint, she had already talked for the pair of them today. "That is not my place. Non, jamais."

Laetitia raised a brow at Duskmantle's wish for secrecy, lacking the grand gestures that she was raised with, regardless, she gave a nod of acceptance to his wishes. Even if Duskmantle had been a little rude to her in the past, that's all it was, the past. "I will do no such thing. Etre grand, to be grand, that is my brother’s talent, not mine. If I seem so, it is entirely without intention. Should I see your sire, and then see yourself again, I shall of course tell you where he was headed." She mewed in understanding, and honesty understanding that was spoken in humility wrapped in dignity

"Ah… our last encounter." she recalled with a glimmer in her eye, not clear if it was embarrassment or amusement. But her tone revealed some embarrassment that was softened by humor. "I feel you may have spoken a few harsher words to remove me from your territory. But there is no fault in that, naturellement. You are not in your territory now, so the sharpness has faded. We speak, it seems, almost like… acquaintances, if I were to grant it a title." She trilled with a faint smile, a branched offering civility.

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle’s ear flicked, but his pace never slowed. Each step carried him closer to the low growl of the Thunderpath, its stench already creeping into his nose. Laetitia’s voice rolled along beside him, full of foreign turns and polished airs but it was as though he were listening from a distance. Her words seemed to reach him through water—he caught their shape, their weight but they hardly broke through the current of his own thoughts.

"If he doesn’t want to be found…" He murmured at last, eyes narrowing on the dark stretch ahead. "...then he’s done a good job of it." His tone wasn’t bitter, just flat.

The Thunderpath hummed in his ears now, pulling him tighter into himself. For a moment, all he saw was the flash of his mother’s black flank, the blur of her turning to gather them, the roar, the shattering crack. How small he had been, how the world had gone silent in the wake of it. His jaw set, a muscle ticking beneath the fur but his paws didn’t falter.

He drew in a slow breath, tail low, forcing his focus back to the stretch of black stone and the broken skyline of Whitehart beyond. "Acquaintances, maybe. But you don’t need to walk me through what’s mine to cross." A pause, his voice steady but clipped at the edges. "The Twoleg Place is waiting. If there are answers anywhere I’ll drag them out of that place myself." With that he padded closer to the verge of the Thunderpath, shoulders taut, every movement deliberate as though willpower alone might keep memory from sinking its claws too deep.

Grace is effortless when born into it.

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Laetitia watched and followed a tail length behind with interest as Duskmantle approached the thunderpath, eventually she found herself standing behind him, just before the threshold of the acrid smelling stone path, she wagered she understood it more than Duskmantle did, but there was a distance in his expression that made her hold her tongue for a few moments.

"I live there, Duskmantle. If there were to be a cat who knows their way about such a place… it would, bien sûr, be myself." She explained confidently, a soft edge of pride that might have softened or hardened the words beyond her intentions. Regardless of her intention she gave him a curt nod, like royalty nodding to a duke or knight. "I do hope you find what you are seeking, however élusif he may prove to be."

Duskmantle stopping at the path made her think of what could be keeping him from crossing, there were no vehicles in sight or earshot, but she didn't pry, simply moved forward. "The… as you would say, monsters… travel a little slower this way. There are more gaps when they crowd together. At present, though, it seems… vide, empty." she noted a touch of caution behind her regal air.

His sire should better be worth the trouble, if he was found, he could very well be picked up by any house-folk that took interested, he was a looker for certain. Regardless, she shook her head dismissively at her own thoughts "I still desire a bask out here. However, I wish you luck upon your endeavor… acquaintance." her tone was formal and polished with respect that was carefully given at arm's length. "Do let me know if you require a tour"

Tiptoe through the murk and mire
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Duskmantle lingered a breath longer at the edge of the Thunderpath, ears pricked to the silence, waiting for the low growl that never came. Laetitia’s voice pulled him back and though his gaze stayed fixed on the black stretch before them a flicker of acknowledgment crossed the deep lines of his angled face.

"You’d know the turns better than I would." His tone wasn’t surrender so much as acceptance, flat and measured. "I can walk shadows and reed beds blind, but this place…" His eyes narrowed at the skyline of Whitehart, its angles and gleam so far removed from what he knew. "is different."

He shifted, shoulders easing though his stance stayed taut, every inch of him still alive with the memory of monsters. "A tour might not be the worst of things. You’d see the parts worth seeing. The places a cat might stay and vanish into." His eyes cut toward her, cool cornflower blue. "If my sire’s anywhere near, it might be there."

He flicked his tail once, a signal more than anything, before stepping forward, testing the Thunderpath with a paw as if his claws alone could judge the measure of it. "Show me those places." He said simply, voice low but firm. "And maybe I’ll owe you a favor."