The Start of Something New

[Jay]

Ares

Ares yawned, his golden eyes fluttering open as he awoke from his slumber. For a few minutes the tall, well-built tom simply laid like he was, enjoying the relative quiet of the city morning before he managed to rouse himself enough to a sitting position. The tom's golden eyes flickered to the fluffy body of his sister, who had previously been snuggled into his side but was now curled into a ball that he'd moved. A soft, affectionate smile graced the tom-cat's lips as he bent down and lightly licked the tom of her head. Lee had made a lot of progress and was now more of her old self than she'd been in the past few months. Ares wondered if it'd been because he had changed also. Since his meeting with Bella the tom had been overall ... happier. He hadn't seen her since the day they'd spent together but her memory lingered none-the-less. The tom realized, with a start, that he'd begun to fall in love with the she-cat. He loved her eyes and her smile. Her attitude and the way she'd muttered 'idiot'. But .. He'd been without the companionship of a she-cat who wasn't related to him for too long so that made his attraction somewhat more understandable. Somewhat.

With a soft sigh Ares closed his eyes for a few moments, banishing the thoughts from his mind as he stood and gave his fur a good shake, taking a few minutes to properly groom himself. The tom then moved the flower pot to tell Lee that he'd left but would be back later. He was going to find the two of them some breakfast.

Ares gracefully bounded down from the new, and lower, apartment complex room that he and Lee lived in now. He'd moved them from the old was a few moons ago, not liking living in one place for too long. Ares silently padded down the alley-way the fire escape he'd leapt down lead him to, his tail swishing back and forth in content. His golden eyes glowed brightly in the darkness and faded back to their normal hue when he peeked his head around the corner to make sure there wasn't any danger near by. Not seeing any, the tom quickly padded towards the place he'd taken Bella last, wether it was an unconscious decision or done consciously was yet to be seen.

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[Shadow]

K E S T R E L

Kestrel sighed as he dug through a trashcan, an unhappy little frown on the tom's face as he searched for his breakfast, though obviously not having much luck. He pulled away from the trash, nose wrinkled with distaste before sighing and moving away. He had gotten up early that morning to meet with his sister Dove, since her humans didn't exactly appreciate his presence and he had to meet her before or after they went to sleep. It was always worth it, though; Dove was definitely his favorite sibling, and he would have stayed with her all the time if she hadn't chosen the boring life of a housecat. Oh well, at least he still got to see her. But getting up that early to see his precious sister left him absolutely starving after he left, especially since her dry kitty food was too gross to even slightly fill his stomach. And of course, since this was apparently his lucky day, he hadn't seen anyone with an appetizing meal that he could swipe. Made him long for the days when he would snatch a big rat from another cat simply because it looked appealing, not because of hunger.

The tom settled back on the ground, frowning unhappily at the trashcans. He was terrible at this. He wasn't able to knock the can over, and it was difficult to stay balanced on the edge to dig through the trash for very long. He contemplated going to search for that black tom he had met several days ago to get cozy again just to squeeze a meal out of him, but that fellow hadn't been very appealing to spend too much time with.
Kes sighed, glancing around briefly for possibly something to hunt before his eyes fell on another cat. Ah...now who was this? Kestrel looked him over quickly, though soon found his eyes running appreciatively over the other tom instead of inspecting him for danger. Ah, he'd like to get to know this tom~ But his stomach growled before he could act on that thought, and he decided that getting food in his belly was more important.

"Hello, handsome." he greeted with a purr and a smile, not even trying to hide his initial attraction towards the other as he took a few steps towards the larger tom. "Are you looking for breakfast too? You wouldn't mind helping me get mine, would you?" he then inquired, smile growing as he looked up at the other cat before glancing back at the trashcans, "I'm afraid I'm not very good at this."

ooc;; hurr ya gooo
and i can't find a color for kes so he's just black for now /sobsob

and i'll reply with bella tomorrow, since i have so much freetime kenjrkjernfk <333

[Jay]

Ares

Ares looked up, golden eyes showing confusion and surprise as a voice startled him from his mental musings. The tom's ears flicked back at the other cat's greeting. 'Handsome?' Ares' tilted his head fractionally, golden eyes quickly flickering over the cat who appeared to be a tom. Well. That was and ... odd greeting, but ... who was he to judge? The large tom cleared his throat slightly, meeting Kestrel's eyes briefly before he glanced to the trash can. "I am actually and sure, no problem. Just stand back." The tom's voice was still rough with sleep, making his normally deep, attractive voice sound ... well even more attractive.

The tom circled around the trash cans a few times, golden eyes quickly analyzing the and his mind formulating the best, and easiest, way to knock one over. After picking what appeared to be the lightest one the tom cat squeezed between it and the trash can next to it, putting his right shoulder firmly against the side and shoving all of his weight on that shoulder. The powerful muscles lining the tom's large frame flexed and contracted under his dark grey pelt and, golden eyes narrowed as the tom strained and then the trash can was falling to the ground with a loud clank.

Ares shook himself of any debris that may have fallen off of the trash can and moved over to the opening, peering inside and grinning when he found a couple of half eaten pieces of chicken. Grabbing enough for himself and what he hoped would be enough for the new tom, Ares pulled his head back out. The tom then padded over to Kestrel and dropped the chicken at his paws, taking a few pieces back for himself. "The trick is finding the trash can that weighs the least." He meowed with a slight smile. "They usually dump the scraps all through the day so there should be some more in a few hours if that doesn't fill your stomach. Alright, well ... have a nice day." Ares offered yet another small smile to the tortoiseshell tom-cat before grabbing his pieces of chicken and padding off back in the direction he'd come from.

[Shadow]

K E S T R E L

Kestrel smiled happily when this lovely stranger agreed to help him out, settling back to give the other room to watch as the other tom moved in to fetch food from the trashcans. And oh goodness, Kestrel soon found himself drooling for a bit more than a piece of breakfast. How could someone be so damn attractive?! Everything about him was perfect, and Kes knew immediately that he wanted him, and he would work his ass off until this stranger wanted him too.

Kestrel practically zoned out trying to figure out how to wiggle his way into this tom's life, only the chicken that was suddenly placed in front of him and the sound of that attractive voice pulling him back to reality. "Ah..." he paused for a moment, looking up at the other tom as the other explained how to easily find scraps, though the mottled tom found himself hardly paying attention to the actual words and instead to that lovely voice. But then the tom was suddenly leaving with a share of the chicken, and Kestrel's eyes widened. No, no, no. He wouldn't be able to put up with those nasty toms on the street after meeting this god! He was not letting him get away that easily.

"Wait!" he blurted without thinking, taking a few steps after the tom with a faint smile, "Do you really have somewhere to run off to so soon? Besides, I didn't even catch your name." Hopefully this handsome fellow could stick around for a while.

ooc;; blah not the best

[Jay]

Ares

Ares was halfway down the alley when he heard the tom-cat call out to him. Curious and confused the large dark grey tom-cat turned, golden eyes meeting Kestrel's amber-orange. Are's ears flicked back briefly as the tom spoke and more confusion swirled in his golden eyes. Why was this tom so interested in speaking with him? And his greeting earlier .... Ares had never encountered a gay cat before. Sure he'd heard of them but never before had he actually been, well, hit on by one so he was extremely confused about the whole thing.

Ares sat down his chicken, a slight frown flickering across his lips. Lee had been asleep when he'd left so she should be find. He guessed he could spend a little time to talk with this stranger. Clearing his throat Ares glanced up and met Kestrel's eyes briefly. "I have some time to spare, I guess. Name's Ares." Here Ares paused, whiskers twitching, "It's a weird name, I know, but I've been told it was the name of some god of war. Not that I'm agressive or anything, or like war. Just ... yeah. Anyway. What's your name?" Ares fumbled a bit with his words, suddenly feeling self-conscious under the tortoiseshell tom's gaze.

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[Shadow]

K E S T R E L

Kestrel smiled at the tom as he turned around, eyes hopeful that this stranger would decide to stick around for a while. Kes knew he would never be happy ever again if he let this fellow go, and that was not an appealing thought. Withering away with a broken heart, a waste of the handsome young cat that he was. Nope, he needed this tom in his life. Maybe Kes would be willing to let him be the only tom in his life. Oh, wouldn't Dove be thrilled to hear that!

The mottled tortoiseshell's smile grew as the tom set down his chicken, obviously planning on staying a bit longer. Either that or snap at him to leave him alone. Ah well, either way, he'd get to hear that lovely voice.
Thankfully the tom agreed to stay, and even went on to introduce himself. Oh yes, now they were making progress. "Ares?" Kestrel paused at this name. Foreign sounding, not a common name at all. That just made it all the more attractive. Kes paused to listen as Ares then explained his name, the smaller tom having to hold back his delighted purr at the other's awkwardness. Oh, his heart was stolen. He'd never look at another tom again.

"Named after a god, hm?" he then meowed, pleased by this concept. Ares certainly looked like a god among cats, oh yes. "I'm afraid I'm a little more boring." He paused a moment, shifting a bit to sit down before the other cat. "I'm Kestrel. My mother named me and all my siblings after birds. Though I guess I should be thankful I didn't get named after something repulsive like a pigeon." He wrinkled his nose a bit at that. Pigeon. That would be dreadful.
Kes then shrugged a bit before smiling again. "So I take it you live in the city, Ares?" Lovely, lovely name, he just wanted to chant it out-loud. Too soon for that, though. "I'm surprised I've never been graced with your presence before~"

ooc;; OKAY LOL i think i finally found a color yay
and oh lawd the more I get used to Kes the more I love him jwefjehbfjbf

[Jay]

Ares

Ares' golden eyes flickered over Kestrel's face when he tentatively said his name and for some reason the dark grey tom-cat wanted to hear this stranger say his name again and again. His voice ... Ares blinked, golden eyes momentarily darkening, the sudden swarm of emotions catching the tom off-guard.

Thankfully, Kestrel took that moment to talk about his own namesake. Ares couldn't help but chuckle when Kestrel spoke about being thankful that he hadn't been named something worse. "I don't know, I think you'd be cute with the name Pigeon." Ares smiled lopsidedly at Kestrel, golden eyes glittering briefly with mirth. Ah, yes. This was the same Ares that had come out when he'd met Izabella. The tom-cat wasn't sure where the hell this smooth-talking, seductive and overall confident side of him was the rest of the time but it'd been coming out more and more often and to be honest, Ares didn't completely mind.

Ares nodded at Kestrel's question, taking a moment to bite off a piece of chicken and eating it before answering. "I do. I actually just moved dens a little while ago, I only live a few blocks away. As for why you probably haven't seen me, I'm taking care of my younger sister Lee. She's ... She's had a pretty traumatic past so I'm trying to get her back to her old self. I only really leave our home to find food." Ares' golden eyes briefly met Kestrel's amber-orange, sadness reflecting in their depths before he looked away. That was the most Ares had told anyone about his sister since Izabella. It concerned him, to some extents. He wasn't used to being so talkative or so open about his life.

Realizing that he'd likely been quiet for too long, Ares cleared his throat and looked back at Kestrel, offering the tom-cat a slight smile. "What about you, Kestrel? Do you live nearby? Have family here?

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[Shadow]

K E S T R E L

Kestrel kept his wide smile on his face as he waited for Ares' response, hoping he hadn't scared the tom away with his babbling. He had just gotten so excited to be near him! Of course, this little worry was quickly wiped out as Ares spoke again, and Kestrel had to pause with surprise at the sudden change. Oh goodness. Someone out there really was just testing his limits.

A purr filled the tom's throat, tail flicking happily now that Ares had responded positively. He was almost getting worried that the fellow wasn't interested in toms, and that would have been such a huge hassle to fix. But it looked as if he had nothing to worry about. "Then maybe I'll change my name just for you." he hummed with a smile, eyes bright with joy as he let himself scooch just a bit closer to Ares before pausing as he watched the other eat some chicken. Oh, he had been so distracted by this amazing tom he had totally forgotten about the chicken Ares had gotten for him. He shifted to quickly wolf down a few bites, chewing slowly on his last mouthful as he listened to Ares speak about his sister.
Kes frowned a bit at this, struck by sadness for the tom's kin and another burst of awe at just how amazing this guy was. Sticking around to help his sister to recover? He was too perfect. "Well I'm sure she'll be better in no time with you around." Kes then assured with a smile, his words completely the truth despite their flirty little date going on at the moment. Ares seemed like a great caretaker, and Kes was positive the other's sister was in good paws.

He then paused, taking the brief silence to munch a bit more on his meal before glancing up as the question was returned to him. Oh goodness, and Ares even said his name. How romantic. "Oh, yes." he then agreed with a nod and a wide smile, "I sorta just live wherever." He decided not to add that most night's he was sharing another tom's home. That wouldn't exactly be the best thing to throw out there right now. 'By the way, sometimes I kind of act like a whore. Is that cool with you?' No, no, that could certainly wait.
"And I have a terribly huge family, though the only one that really matters is my sister Dove. Well, her and my mom, I mean. Dove's a housecat, though, so I don't get to see her much. The others are just scattered all over the place, from here to the wilderness." Not that he minded. Sure, he missed some of them, but he'd be a-okay with never seeing Falcon again for as long as he lived, and he'd never been terribly close with Eagle or Sparrow. Oh well. He almost suggested Ares meeting his sister someday, but quickly decided against that. What if Ares thought she was cuter than him? That would be absolutely crazy, but maybe Ares didn't have his priorities set straight, and Kes sure didn't want to risk that.

ooc;; ---

[Jay]

Ares

Ares was quiet as he watched Kestrel take a few bites of the chicken he'd gotten. The large tom shyly looked down at his paws as Kestrel's surprisingly heartfelt words. "Thank you. It's not easy, but she is the most precious thing in the world to me." Ares' looked up to meet Kestrel's eyes, smiling faintly.

The tom fell silent when Kestrel began to talk about his own family and Ares' couldn't help but tilt his head curiously at his new companion's tone. It sounded like Kestrel had family problems, but it wasn't his place to inquire about them."It's nice that you still keep in touch with your sister and I'm slightly envious of your ability to live where ever you choose. I've always enjoyed travelling - heck, I was born in the wilderness before moving to the country and then moved here. But I want to see what the world has to offer, ya know?" Ares paused here, his golden eyes bright as he talked about travelling - something he clearly loved.

"Anyway. Do you have a special someone, Kestrel? Kits? Anything of that sort?" Ares took another bite of his chicken, sitting a little straighter as he fixed his gaze on his smaller companion, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

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[Shadow]

K E S T R E L

Kestrel felt his smile grow at the obvious affection Ares had for his sister. It was cute, really. Such a big and intimidating tom could be so damn sweet. And dammit, Kes sure wanted to make Ares talk about him that way. Oh goodness, that would be nice. Yes, yes.

The mottled tom paused as he listened to Ares speak, grinning with joy at the mention of Ares' love to travel. "Well when your sister gets better, we can go all kinds of places." he meowed cheerfully. Oh yes, that would definitely win Ares' heart. Damn, he was just too smart. Besides, that would be fun. It would be like...what did the humans call it? A honeymoon. So romantic.

Kestrel's smile at the thought of traveling with Ares faltered a bit at the next question, though. Oh, well that was a tricky question. A special someone, hm. "Ah, no, certainly no kits." he meowed quickly before pausing again. That much was definitely true. He'd, naturally, given up any hope of having kittens quite some time ago, instead now choosing to view them as little nuisances. Can't want something you can't have, right? "And a special someone...no, can't say I do." he paused a moment before his smile widened again, "I've just had a bit of trouble finding someone to commit, y'know?" That wasn't totally a lie. Of course, he was usually the reason toms didn't commit to him, Kes treating most fellows as the one-night stand they were. Ares didn't need to know that much, though, nope.
"What about yourself?" he then asked, voice growing a bit cautious here, "Got a lucky someone in your life?" Oh goodness, what if he did? Then Kes would have to go in and break them up and that was just so much effort and would really be no fun at all. But he really wouldn't be surprised if Ares had someone. Just look at the cat! He could easily have ten someones. Oh, but it would be so much easier if he didn't have anyone and Kes could wiggle his way in and be his someone. Yes, that would be best.

ooc;; ---

[Jay]

Ares

Ares' golden eyes brightened slightly when Kestrel offered to travel with him and Lee. "Really? That'd be awesome. It's ..." The tom shrugged slightly, glancing down at his paws for a moment. "That's a really nice thing for you to offer. Thank you." Sincerity colored the dark grey tom's voice as he met Kestrel's eyes, offering the tortie tom a slight smile.

Ares tilted his head at Kestrel's rather quick reply about not having any kits. "Do you not want kits? I mean, I don't judge you if you don't. I'm sorry if that's too personal of a question. I don't mean to pry." It was almost adorable how shy Ares still was, the tom was unsure of how to properly communicate with other cats that weren't his sister. A frown formed on the tom's lips as Kestrel talked about his romantic troubles. "All, well, I'm sure you'll meet that 'special someone' eventually. The city's only so big, right?"

When Kestrel asked if he had a special someone his mind went back to Izabella, her laugh, the scent of her fur and the color of her eyes. For a moment the large tom closed his eyes and savored the last fragments of her voice that he could recall. "There was someone ... but ... we didn't know each other for very long. Only a day really. But she was beautiful. I could've easily seen myself settling down with her but all things for a reason right?" The tom shrugged slightly, glancing back at Kestrel, his eyes meeting his companions for a moment before he glanced away.

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[Shadow]

K E S T R E L

Kestrel felt his smile widen at the positive reaction to his offer to travel with the other cat, his heart swelling happily as he obviously did something right. He normally didn't like leaving the city, but damn, he'd go traveling all the time all over the world if it made Ares that happy. The cheerful little smile on the tortie's face faltered a bit at the continued question about kits, though, the tom panicking briefly. Oh no, had he said something wrong? Did Ares want kits? Ares didn't look mad about it, in fact he looked more adorable then ever, but if he wanted kits...Oh god he had ruined everything oh no oh no

"I-...well, I guess I wouldn't mind some, I just don't expect to have any." He said with a faint smile. There, that was a little better, right? "Do you want kits?" What if Ares did? Oh damn, he would steal all the litters in the city if he had to. Or maybe just find a stray kitten or something, that would work too. Oh, and a special someone. Kestrel had to practically force himself to not purr and coo something stupid about how he was looking right at his special someone. No, that wouldn't look good.

Kestrel paused a bit, almost frowning unhappily when Ares confessed to having a brief thing with a she-cat. He sounded like he had really liked her....and while that was tragically romantic and all, Kes felt his nose wrinkle unhappily. Well, at least she was gone now. Probably the one who left, leaving Ares all broken hearted or whatever. "Well, she-cats." he scoffed, "Never the most reliable." He paused for a moment, watching Ares before shrugging with a smile, "But you've gotta move on, yeah? Maybe try something a little...different." He was different enough, right? Hopefully Ares would see that he was the best difference he could ever get.

ooc;; ---

[Jay]

Ares

Ares felt a brush of heat rise to his cheeks. He hadn't thought about having kits, with him taking care of Lee he didn't have time for any other mouths to feed. Though now that he thought about it he didn't exactly mind the thought. "I don't think I'd mind having some. It all depends on the cat though and what they want." The grey tom shrugged slightly, bending down to take a carefully small bite of the chicken. He had to make sure to leave enough for Lee but boy was he hungry. The weather was cooling rapidly and scraps were going to start to become scare. Added to the fact that Ares had been giving majority of his food to Lee in the hopes that she would gain more weight, the dark tom was far leaner than he was in the summer. His stomach growled unhappily, wanting more of the chicken that was in front of him but Ares silently told it to hush. He'd live.

The tom's golden eyes met and held Kestrel's for a moment, gently probing into the tom's swirling emotions before looking away. "Well, she-cats will be she-cat's." He meowed with a slight shrug. "You're right. I've got to leave the past in the past and for trying something different ... we'll see I guess." Ares stood and stretched, rolling his shoulders and frowning slightly at the tenseness there. "It really has been nice talking to you, Kestrel but I should be heading back to my sister now. I'm sure she's probably awake and hungry. Perhaps I'll see you around? Ares offered Kestrel a lopsided smile and lightly flicked the top his companion's head with his tail before he picked up the rest of his chicken. Ares smiled at Kestrel as much as he could before padding off.

The tom was about half-way home when a scent caught his attention. 'Lee? What is she doing all the way out here?' Worry filled the tom's body and he sped up to the source of the scent and what he saw nearly broke him in two. Lee lay in an alleyway, blood covering her beautiful fur. The chicken dropped from Ares' mouth as he rushed forward. "Lee! Lee! Please be ok Lee. Please." Ares knelt down beside his sister gently nuzzling her face and recoiling when the strong scent of a tom rushed up at him. No .... Ares felt his stomach drop and something hard and cold grip his heart as he padded around his sister only to have his suspicions confirmed. Lee had been raped. Ares lifted his head and let out a yowl of pure, unbridled pain and fury. "I will find you! And when I do I will rip you limb from limb!" Ares' voice was hoarse from unshed tears, emotions tearing him apart.

The dark grey tom nuzzled his sister's fur, softly licking the back of her neck and comforted himself in the soft, very soft and shallow sound of her breathing. "Come on Lee. Let's get you home." Ares gently nudged the she-cat only to have her recoil from him, a soft cry falling from her lips. The soft 'no, please no' she muttered tore through Ares' heart worse than daggers could've. "It's ok Lee, it's just me. It's Ares. Your brother." They had been making so much progress, she was starting to become her old self and now this. Why? What has she done to deserve this? The tom thought in anger and pain as he gently coaxed his sister into a sitting position and from there he maneuvered so that she was laid across his back, her ribs poking him from underneath her fluffy fur. "Let's get you home little one." Ares carefully walked out of the alleyway, the chicken all but forgotten.

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