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Kindness goes a long way, but don't mistake it for weakness.

✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧༄🦋༄✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧

Duchess had been resting in the shade of a tree as she lay sprawled on a low hanging branch when she noticed some movement below her, a cat, a familiar one that was skulking around in the field of fresh smelling greenery.

She knew who this cat was, the mismatched eyes, the half missing tail, the cinnamon mink fur, that was Kosmo if she ever saw him. But when he called her name, she didn’t respond right away, staring as if she was trying to decipher what he wanted, he seemed a little more worried than he usually was, so she didn’t assume malicious, but it was never too late to examine.

After a few heartbeats, she leapt onto a white, slightly weathered fence and lifted her tail in greeting. “You called?” her voice echoed from behind Kosmo, friendly, warm and smooth as butter and still undeniably Duchess. "Well I’ll be… it’s been a while, Kosmo. What’s been keepin’ ya? Chasin’ your tail ‘round the countryside?" she chirped, however there was no bite behind her words, just her usual friendly tone and a bit of light hearted teasing.

She waited a little longer before speaking again, her hazel narrowed for a moment, not scrutinizing, but thoughtful. She decided to take a leap down to Kosmo’s level, perhaps a little shorter to talk to him without fear of imposed superiority. "You seem... a lil’ on edge. Like a cat in a room full o’ rockin’ chairs." she stated, her voice gently observant with concealed concern behind her humor. But her voice became a little more serious as her nose twitched, smelling nothing new on Kosmo, which perhaps was a little more concerning “What in tarnation’s happened while I’ve been outta sight?"

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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Kosmo didn’t flinch at the sound of her voice behind him and only let out a low exhale. Of course she’d be above him. That same old honey wrapped tone filtered down to him, light as birdsong and twice as practiced. He turned slowly, mismatched gaze lifting to meet her hazel eyes as she leapt gracefully from her perch to join him. She looked untouched by the worry he'd carried here, not a hair out of place.

"You’re alive. Good." But there was something hollow to it, like the relief didn’t quite settle. Kosmo flicked his half tail, a touch slower than usual. He didn’t return her teasing this time. No clever quip, no glint in his mismatched eyes. Just the same quiet scrutiny that had trailed him all the way from the Clan's bleeding borders.

"There’s a killer roaming the countryside. Not just scraps over territory or prey. Two WindClan cats were ripped open and left in the snow." His gaze held hers now, unblinking. He paused, then added more quietly. "I thought she might’ve wandered this way. Or worse… already had."

A beat passed. Kosmo looked toward the herb garden, then back at Duchess with the first hint of something like disappointment flashing in his eyes. "You didn’t hear the wind howl? You've just been napping in trees?" He didn’t mean it harshly. Not entirely. But the edge was there, hiding behind that smooth, indifferent tone.

Kindness goes a long way, but don't mistake it for weakness.

✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧༄🦋༄✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧

Kosmo didn't flinch, she expected as much, from what she knew of him, he wasn't the type. Although she didn't know too much from him aside from some... odd reservations about who knows what and that he's friends with a rather friendly little raven. 

"Alive? ‘Course I’m alive, why wouldn’t-" Her voice had began light, but it cut off like a claw slicing through the wind, a quick shift, but not without confusion and a bit of concern. "...A killer?" she spoke more quietly, concern replacing her usual honey glazed voice, as if the word didn't have a place in her mouth and in a way, it didn't.

Then, he spoke of WindClan, she had no right to speak on behalf of the clans, but perhaps Kosmo did, she didn't live close enough to know much about the whole thing. Regardless, he went on, however she didn't interrupt, she didn't dare. This was much more important than anything she had to say now.

It was only after Kosmo finished his explanation and his edged question, she curled her tail around her hind legs the tip flicking with uncharacteristic nervousness. "I see... Well, I have heard somethin’. Weren’t nowhere near my place, though. More ‘round RiverClan’s side, couple moons back." she added, keeping her voice steady and thoughtful, as if trying to piece this together as well. "Ain’t seen nor heard a peep since then."

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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Kosmo’s eyes narrowed slightly at her words. Maybe the killer had crossed more borders than he’d expected. His claws pressed lightly into the soft earth near the herb beds, the gesture as unconscious as it was telling.

"A couple moons back? That lines up with the first kill I heard about." He looked toward the wind, as if searching for the memory. His mismatched eyes returned to Duchess, scrutinizing her once more. He could see her piecing things together, tail flicking like a needle ticking against time.

"Well..." He murmured after a breath. "She didn’t find you. That’s what matters for now.' It wasn’t quite reassurance, but it was the closest he’d come to offering it. He took a few slow steps toward the herb garden, brushing past a patch of flattened lavender and crushed yarrow. The scent was comforting, familiar.

"You’re not the sort to sleep through a murder..." He meowed after a pause, his voice losing that bitter edge from earlier. He paused beside the thyme and ran his paw through the patch gently, brushing debris from the leaves. His half tail twitched.

"I just needed to make sure. Didn’t want to come back and find you a name in the dirt."

Kindness goes a long way, but don't mistake it for weakness.

✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧༄🦋༄✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧

Duchess curled her tail over her paws this time, perhaps to conceal the nervous kneading into the terrain, or perhaps to be more comfortable or warm as she sat, nothing about her body language gave it away, aside from the fact that her eyes remained unusually calm.

"Sometimes, all we can really do is keep our eyes peeled for whatever’s lurkin’ out yonder." her voice, it was calm, steady, but she couldn't hide any caution that dripped into her voice like a leaky shard of ice beginning to melt in early greenleaf. However, her caution did not pause her attitude.

It was at this time when she actually thought of the clans, they had advantages that she and other outsiders didn't, if clan cats were dying what did that mean or her and her mother? "Them clan cats...they got the upper paw when it comes to numbers. When an outsider’s under fire, well… ain’t too many cats gonna stand by ‘em without strings attached." she added, her tone becoming much more hard, more serious despite the southern lilt it never failed to carry. 

And then, a flash of duty flicked through the hazel of her eyes, she scrunched her nose for a moment but didn't move or make any advance, just sat... thinking. "That’s why we gotta watch each other’s backs, make sure we ain’t caught with our tails in a crack." Her southern grit carried something firm, protective, like she wanted to know Kosmo would be safe as much as he cared enough to check if she was alive. 

The tension caught in her throat for a moment, but she let a sharp breath leave her nostrils before curling her lip to speak "Maybe even get to her before them clan cats do." this time, it was much more light and teasing, trying to cut the thickened tension with nothing but her words. "You seen what she looks like? I’ll keep my eyes peeled, wouldn’t wanna miss a face like that."

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo’s paw stilled in the thyme as Duchess spoke. Her words were steady, but he caught the shift in her tone. She wasn’t wrong. Out here, beyond the Clans, it was every cat for themselves unless you made a choice to do otherwise. He'd made that choice with a few...few enough to count on one paw.

His gaze drifted from the herb bed back to her as she went on. But when her final words tried to slip humor back into the air, Kosmo let out a quiet breath through his nose, not quite a chuckle, but close.

"You'd know if you saw her." He said, low. "She's a tortie - black and red, muscular and long furred." His mismatched gaze went distant for a heartbeat, jaw tight. "I almost had her in WindClan."

There was a pause as he turned back to the herb patch, voice quieter. "I don’t know what she wants or if even the killings have meaning. But if she’s out here, and you see her don’t fight her alone." A rare note of insistence slipped into his tone. Kosmo didn’t give warnings lightly, and he didn’t offer concern unless it mattered. 

Kindness goes a long way, but don't mistake it for weakness.

✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧༄🦋༄✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧

Duchess perked her ears for a moment, the breath that Kosmo let out was not quite a chuckle or a laugh, but it was something, at least her hosting skills weren't going to waste... at least she knew she had them at all. Her gaze also flicked to the thyme, she had no problem with the cinnamon tom taking it she didn't use it at all, there wasn't a need. So, whatever Kosmo needed it for, he could take as much as he wanted.

"Tortoiseshell fur, muscular, long-furred… alright, I got it locked down tighter than a tick on a hound." she replied, confidence and an easygoing lilt slipping back into her voice like it came natural to her while Kosmo explained the rogue in as much detail as he could. "I'll spread the word" she added with a tail flick of acknowledgement.

The pause that came was long, but Duchess saw thousands of words in the silence that it brought, she knew that nothing was every truly silence, so she let it be until he spoke again. Firm and sincere, she replied, "If I catch sight of her, you’ll be the first to know. You’ve got my word, and I don’t go handin’ that out like candy at a county fair."

She raised a brow and stepped closer instinctively, as if there was something to protect in the larger tom, but sometimes, large didn't always mean strong, didn't always mean battle ready, with everything she had in her, she knew she'd help him. "With any luck, we won’t have to cross claws with her. But if it comes to that? Well, I’ll be by your side. I ain’t the type to let a friend go into the lion’s den alone." her voice was solid and protective, she kept her distance, but she was closer, close enough for it to be noted.

But with a sigh, she flicked her tail dismissively, sweeping the topic under the rug for a later date. Then, her voice came in with her usual light-hearted, friendly hum "Now, on a less… thorny note, looks like you’re doin’ fine now that leaf-bare’s packin’ its bags. Had any troubles while the snow was thick as molasses?"

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
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All Kosmo did was offer a small nod. Barely more than a flick of his chin, but enough. "Good. That’s more than most would offer."

The cinnamon tom glanced toward her as she stepped closer. He didn’t say thank you. It was in the way his ears stayed forward, his tail low instead of lashing. Kosmo, always the silent observer, gave his trust in pieces. But she had more than a sliver now.

Then her tone shifted, brushing the darkness aside with that honeyed ease only Duchess could manage. He exhaled slowly, glancing toward the tree line as if watching leafbare itself melt away. "Didn’t freeze, if that’s what you’re asking." The faintest smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I've been listening to the forest here. Even when all is quiet."

He shrugged lightly, eyes returning to her. "The river has melted through. Tracks are clearer. Trails easier." He tilted his head toward her, expression unreadable even if a brow cocked slightly as he breathily returned the gesture. "And you? Snow treat you kind? No mid leafbare fevers?"

Kindness goes a long way, but don't mistake it for weakness.

✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧༄🦋༄✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧

A smirk tugged at her maw when she heard Kosmo say he was fine, as much of a relief it was, he always seemed to serious about everything he said and she found it faintly amusing. "Glad ya didn’t freeze, Kosmo." a light chuckled followed, like she had been half-teasing, and yet, still happy to see Kosmo with as many pieces as she had met him with.

And then, Kosmo went on about the quiet and her ears twitched, not with any emotion specifically but because she was listening. "Quiet’s good… though nothin’s ever truly quiet when ya think on it." she placed her input thoughtfully, and with a slow drawl that seemed to drag on just a long as it needed to.

"There’s always somethin’, a shift in the wind, leaves rustlin’ like they’re whisperin’ secrets, or the soft scuffle of prey sneakin’ ‘round. Just ‘cause there ain’t words, don’t mean it’s quiet." she added, calm, thoughtful and... almost poetic. And yet she still had the southern charm that made her voice warm.

She tilted her head for a moment at the counter of her own question and her shoulders shook with a barely suppressed chuckle, as if she found the question slightly amusing coming from Kosmo. "Ah, I’ve been doin’ just fine. On the colder days, them old housefolk keep me cooped up inside with my mama." However, through her amusement, there was a fond hum when she spoke. Something relaxed, something that had nothing but contentment "When I did get out, it treated me kindly enough though." she added, her voice quiet enough to seem relaxed but loud enough to be heard.

Survival demands caution, but greatness requires daring
⋆｡°✩ ⭒ ──● 𓄿 ●── ⭒ ⋆｡°✩

Kosmo watched her, though his face gave little away. Duchess had a way of answering everything with warmth, even the coldest questions. It was a strange talent - one that could have originated from wanting to lower others' guards. A healer needed it enough.

"Glad the season spared you." He said lowly, his tone a bit rougher. "And that you have kin nearby - I had nearly forgotten that you make your bed with humans. But...they have their uses, I admit."

He let her words about quiet settle between them. The rustling leaves, the wind shifting like it had somewhere to be. She wasn’t wrong. His eyes strayed toward the garden again, then past it, to where the land sloped toward the river.

The forest indeed spoke to those who'd listen, from the smallest cricket to the wingbeats of bird flight above. Not that Duchess had any experience in that matter - unless she thought herself a hunter of wings.

Kosmo didn’t look at her when he said it, but the silence that followed wasn't heavy. He wasn’t holding anything back this time he just didn’t feel the need to explain more.

After a beat, he turned his gaze back to her. The sharpness in his expression had dulled, replaced with something more neutral. He then made his way towards her open invitation. She had not scolded him from trouncing around the herb garden, wild and overgrowth from lack of care. It would be exactly what he needed. Something close to call upon if his stores didn't produce solutions.

"We are neighbors now, you know. A small group of cats to call my own. Should you ever need me, you'd need only wait in the wake of the Stepping Stones." He bent to collect a bit of the fresh, strong leaves that had grown from the newleaf sunshine. Plucking one at a time with dainty accuracy.

Kindness goes a long way, but don't mistake it for weakness.

✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧༄🦋༄✧･ﾟ: ✿ :ﾟﾟ･✧

Duchess' brows raised in amusement as Kosmo took to mentioning her housefolk and she flicked her ears to signal an incoming response, however she was more relaxed than she once was when Kosmo had first arrived. "Well, they got their uses" She agreed, a small chuckle leaving her nostrils in a few shuttered breaths, however she spoke like she was stating a fact. "Promised safety an’ a full belly bein’ two of ‘em."

Then she shrugged, standing on her paws and flicking her tail behind her as she followed Kosmo's mismatched gaze towards the slope leading to the river, not thinking much of the rushing water and the Clan that had taken claim of it. "But me? I like the thrill of the hunt. Nothin’ works up an appetite quite like earnin’ your supper." she added, still glancing over to what seemed like a silent territory. But she knew that silence was never truly their own.

"My, my… well, I’ll keep that in mind, Kosmo." She responded to Kosmo's offer of help, it wasn't hasty, but there was not too much wordlessness between them either, just enough to be meaningful. The offer touched her and she gave a bow of her head to respect that. "If I need your help…" her voice trailed off, leaving the words open as if she trusted Kosmo to find a meaning to the rest without her speaking one.

Suddenly, without warning, Duchess's jaws parted in a yawn, a sign that rest was still waiting for here where she had once sat. "Well, it’s been real nice seein’ ya again, but I’ve got a whole day of treetop restin’ waitin’ on me." she spoke, a smile accompanying her relaxed tone before she whirled around to leap onto the white, weathered fence line. "Happy collectin’, Partner." she hummed before making her way back into the tree from where she had come. As if she had never left at all.