[TGB| There's Still So Much to Believe In]

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / Void-Tribe Camp }

She had a feeling there would be a storm today.

Literally. She had woken up far too early with a familiar ache in her head, one that was gradually getting worse the closer the storm came. At first, she had been able to ignore the feeling as she went about her day, but soon it became incredibly uncomfortable and she found herself slowing down. That, and a very familiar fear had settled into her chest, making her feel sick. Luckily, she hadn't had to deal with storms in awhile...but her fear had gotten so much worse. At first, it had just been due to the sounds that were associated with foul weather, but some instances out in exile really added to the fear. With a shaky breath, the Gold-Void continued mindlessly checking around, trying very hard to ignore how the ache in her face had turned into something akin to a stab every time she moved. Damn her missing eye. She yet again paused in her movements, look up at the clouds, freezing at the dark clouds approaching in the distance. A soft whimper rose in her throat, unbidden, ears drawing back. Soon she would retreat into her den and proceed to not leave for the rest of the day. How she wished Finnick were around... She would never admit it, but he comforted her so much, and damn would she need it.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Territory]

Well on a list of things he hadn't planned to do today, going straight into Void-Tribe's camp was one of them. He really hadn't gad any specific plans for the day, but when his stump started to ache he had begun to panic. At first he had just figured it was just a normal ache that came from time to time, as was one to happen with his missing limb. But as the morning had gone on and the gray clouds loomed closer and closer on the horizon, he couldn't deny that the pain was getting worse. As the pressure dropped the pain increased, which only meant that a storm was definitely coming. He had tried to look for Kato at first, but his brother was nowhere to be found. Great... The one time that he really needed his brother more than anything he was nowhere in sight. Ever since living in the mountains he had never been particularly fond of storms, especially since he'd been caught out in one before. No sir storms were not something he enjoyed at all. They caused uncharacteristic anxiety and a deep fear to settle into his chest. So, without even thinking he had slid out of Water-Tribe's camp and immediately made a beeline for Void-Tribe. He didn't even have to think about it; that was where he needed to go. Padding into their camp and seeing her brought so much more relief than he would ever let on. He quietly padded over to her, his fur sticking up quite a bit, and only offered her a smile. It wasn't his usual arrogant one, either. It was strained. He was really afraid.

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Territory }

She hadn't even realized someone had arrived until uneven steps came close to her. She had been so lost in the pulsing pain behind her eye and the crippling fear that was slowly but sure settling over her, making her pulse rise. She flinched into awareness, wincing at the spike of pain that erupted from the jarring movement. Despite that, she smiled weakly up at him, "H...hello, Pest." she said softly, voice uncharacteristically tight. She opened her mouth to continue, but a distant clap of thunder made her freeze, instinctively shrinking down slightly. Hoping dearly that he hadn't noticed the gesture, the little female stepped over next to him, resting her tail against his hind leg, "C-come on, let us go to my den. Your stump has to b...be aching." her quickly said words sounded almost pleading in quality. The storm was approaching quickly and she really didn't want to be out here when it arrived. She fidgeted, glancing over at the dark clouds, swallowing dryly. Even just the sight of them made her stomach drop. Without her notice, her ears twisted back, pinned against her skull. Ugh... she hated this. She was both terrified AND in pain.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Territory]

Normally he probably would have teased her about the pause and asked if she was nervous to see him. His usual stuff. But this was not a normal occasion and he was not happy like this. His front leg was shaking and his tail had actually dropped between his back legs. He genuinely looked frightened, something that was a rare sight for the ginger tabby. This was probably the only thing that could completely destroy his confident demeanor. "Hey Sourpuss...." His voice was strained as his eyes darted back up to the sky. Hearing the thunder caused a sudden intake of breath, and his entire body locked up. He didn't even notice how she had shrunk down; he was too fixated on his own fear. Well, that and trying to not pee in fright at the very moment. That happened sometimes, and when somebody else was around it was super embarrassing. There was nothing sexy about pissing yourself every time you heard thunder. Major turn-off. Her next words sent instant relief through him, and he relaxed just the slightest bit. "Sounds like a good idea..." He didn't deny the whole thing about his stump hurting; he'd rather her think that he was acting strange because of the pain than know that he was actually terrified of storms. He took a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady himself so that he didn't tear off for her den and leave her there by herself. That wouldn't be classy at all, and he'd have a hell of a hard time explaining that one. His eyes worriedly flickered up to the sky once more, ears flattening as he saw how rapidly the dark clouds were sweeping in. Well this was going to be hellish to say the least.

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Territory }

In any other instance she would have picked up on the telltale signs of fear, but given she was focused on herself right now she was not doing so. Well, she did catch his expression, and for once she wouldn't be too surprised if her own mirrored his. The thunder had completely shattered what remaining composure she had, so that was fun. Once upon a time, she would have only been spooked by the storms, the sound of thunder the only reason why her pulse quickened, but now, there were other reasons why she was afraid. Bad experiences. The first storm after removing her eye had been a nightmare, one that she longed to forget. Those were already bad times without the additional terrifying memories. With a shaky inhale, she spoke, "C-come on...." Spirits, was she stuttering? She had never done that before! She didn't really like it one bit. It was weak and gave a lot of insight into how she was feeling. Hoping that her steps weren't desperately quick (like she wanted them to be. She had 0 desire to be out here now), she began padding towards her den, glancing at him to make sure he was following. A particularly nasty pulse of pain made a soft whine sound from her, forehead creasing from the discomfort. This sucked... She was wrenched from those thoughts by another clap of thunder, this one sounding closer. With her tail having snaked between her legs and the fur upon her spine completely raised, the small female padded up the incline to her den, disappearing inside. Spirits, her pulse was through the fucking roof.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Territory]

Again he didn't even really pick up on the stutter. In any other circumstance he probably would have obnoxiously pointed it out and ruthlessly teased her about it, having never heard her stutter before, but now was not the time. Now was the time to be serious, probably the only time to be serious when it came to him. He wanted to reply in some way but it appeared that his throat had gone dry and all he could do was give a small nod. The walk back to her den was pretty rapid, thankfully, but not rapid enough in his opinion. Again he wanted to just charge off, but ugh that would be giving away just how terrible all of this was to him. And he really wasn't about to show her any kind of weakness like that. Not even Kato or Pangur knew about his deep-seated fear of storms. Having been through several in the mountains had just completely ruined any delight he may have once felt with their presence. With rocks tumbling down the mountain about to crush him combined with mudslides it was all just traumatizing. What made it even worse was that he had experienced storms with Erasmus; he'd actually been saved from a storm by the burly gray tom. He remembered that storm vividly, although he really didn't want to in the slightest. He hadn't even realized that he was now walking so close to her that their pelts were brushing, but he didn't mind it. He wouldn't have minded if he wasn't scared out of his wits, but that would have been for a different yet equally emotionally frustrating situation. "You okay?" he asked when he heard her whine, although it was clear from his tone that he was not okay either. Ugh... He'd never been as happy to see something as he was to see her den. He couldn't restrain himself from charging up the incline at that moment, clawing his way up frantically. Screw beauty and grace he just wanted to get away from all of the damn thunder.

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Territory }  

At his question she...hesitated. She didn't spout a 'yes' like she normally would have. The little female shook her head. No. She was not okay. Admitting that made her feel all sorts of bad, but she was far too scared to think about it really. But, finally, she was inside the dark confines of her den, legs shaking violently. Seeing him come up so turbulently startled her, but she wasn't about to make any comment about it. Instead, she took to flopping gracelessly into her nest. Well, it was really her legs giving up, but no one needed to know that. Stevie breathed out shakily, wide eye glancing outside to see, well, a flash of lighting. Her body seized up, a soft yet clearly fearful sound escaping from her jaws. The boom of thunder only served to increase her already immense fear, forcing her to shift back further into the dark recesses of her den. Her body shook, ears completely flattened against her head. Hnnn, this was awful, and spirits did it fucking hurt. A tabby tail twitched around, rapping against the ground. "A-ahh, c-care to join m-me...?" she asked the red tabby tom, voice shaky. It still wasn't as shaky as she felt though. Only one cat had ever seen her when a storm was around, and that cat couldn't even see damn it! She had never expected to deal with one with another cat again, but here he was. Despite her internal turmoil, his presence comforted her slightly. Yet...he seemed scared too. Was he also afraid of storms...? In any other circumstance, she could have figured it out, but her mind was slightly less controlled and sharp than usual.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Territory]

He caught her head shake, although he couldn't say that he was too surprised at her reaction. From the way she was behaving seemed to indicate that, at least from what little he had been able to focus on her. He was able to do that a little better when he finally got into her den. The fur along his spine was still bristling and his tail was bushed out; he looked pretty ridiculous. His eyes were still wild with fear, although not so much anymore thankfully. Getting somewhere safe had calmed him just the slightest, although it really wasn't much. He was still ready to just crawl into a hole and shove dirt into his ears so he wouldn't have to deal with this. Of course right now she had to see his biggest fear, his only fear really besides his whole issue with emotions and all that. But he really really did not want to think about all of that emotional stuff right now, not when he was already stressed enough. He looked back at her in her nest, but before he could say anything lightning flashed outside, illuminating the entire den. And immediately after that was a loud clap of thunder, indicating that the storm was very close now. Great... He was somehow able to keep his bladder under control so he didn't soil himself, but that was about as far as it went. He was visibly shaking by that point, his eyes stretched so wide with unbridled fear. He hated every moment of this... He didn't need to be asked twice to join her. He didn't even give a reply to that question, instead opting to zoom over immediately and sidle up next to her. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was shaking that much, although there was some effort to control it. He let out a low moan as thunder boomed outside of the den once more, scooting even closer to her. He couldn't tell what was worse at that moment: the blinding pain in his stump or the worrisome thought that he was going to have a heart attack from the way his pulse was behaving. "Some storm...." he grumbled pathetically. Maybe he could distract both of them from all of this...

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }  

She felt sick, and she was starting to worry that would be what happened next. That turn of events would be terribly embarrassing... She mumbled softly as he join her, not even bothering to be hesitant about contact. No, she straight up pressed the right side of her face lightly to his fur, trying to alleviate the awful pain that emanated from it. It felt worse than it did last time, but it had truly been awhile, so she couldn't accurately compare the instances. She was also starting to worry that this would be the day her heart finally gave out. Her pulse was in her ears, seemingly amplifying the pulsing in her head. His smell and warmth had begun to comfort her...but that didn't last for long. It was a sudden and deafening sound, rattling the looser stones that littered the ground. Cloud to ground lightning. A tiny shriek had sounded from her, quickly cut off as she tried to regain her composure. Her entire body was shaking at this point, breathing growing uneven. Don't hyperventilate, Stevie. That would be all sorts of bad. Voice sounding unusually hoarse, the small female spoke, "T-talk to me." It wasn't a command necessarily, but it was the only measure she could think of that would make sure she didn't freak the fuck out. Or freak out even more. She had heard his previous words, but her mind had struggled to comprehend them at that moment. "S-sorry.... I am f-fucking terrified of storms." she whispered out, mushing her face more firmly into his fur. It was embarrassing to acknowledge, let alone admit to him, but it was pretty obvious at this point. No one just acted this way, especially one like her. Her good eye was squinted open, but every boom of thunder had her squeezing it shut. She wasn't even sure if her ears could have got back further at this point. Well, no, apparently they could. Suddenly, the eerie silence, punctuated only by the violent thunder, was replaced with the pounding of rain against the ground. She could have sworn she heard the squawks of a few surprised cats that somehow hadn't gotten the memo, but she wasn't sure. Either way, she hated this.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

The sudden sensation of her face being pressed against his wasn't something he had been expecting, but he couldn't say that he was upset with the way things had gone. Given the whole circumstance of there being a huge storm rolling in this was pretty alright. However pretty alright given the circumstances was still absolutely terrible. A piece of him actually felt like heaving with how stressed and anxious he was, but that would just make things even worse for a multitude of reasons. He had yet to notice that his friend was shaking beside him due to his own shaking body, which he couldn't control. His breathing was doing horrible things and all he wanted to do was go to sleep and wake up somewhere warm and dry where it never ever stormed. It could rain but never storm. Fuck that shit. The sound of her voice roused him a bit. Normally he would have jumped all over that request; hell she wouldn't have even made to make such a request. Normally he would have been his usual chatterbox self, yet here he was now with a dry throat and nothing he really could think to say. How strange that it appeared that only storms and her presence could fuck him up enough to render him speechless. Oh goody. However, there was a bit of relief in learning that she too was afraid of storms. At least he wasn't alone in all of this hell... And now he didn't have to control himself and try to act tough. "I.... I'm actually afraid of storms too..." His voice was pretty pathetic, his breathing all sorts of messed up. "I experienced them up in the mountains. They're fucking terrifying. Like they're scary as hell outside of the mountains but holy shit it's horrible to see all of that up close. You feel like the clouds are so close you could reach out and touch them. And the lightning is so close and so bright that you kinda go blind for a few moments. But the thunder really fucked me up you know? That shit was no fun in the mountains. I didn't have a lot of fun in the mountains in general, but I would happily take all of that emotional shit I had to deal with over that damn thunder. It was so loud and powerful I saw it cause a landslide once. And if the thunder didn't all of the rain did. I almost got crushed by a rock when I was out there... I probably would be dead if it wasn't for... him. Kinda saved my ass during the first storm out there. And a couple of others after that." He was just babbling now, although he really wasn't too sure if she could hear him with her face mushed into his fur. Oh well half of this wasn't even for her; just talking helped him calm down. He had such a soothing voice, even when it was all fucked up from this, that just listening to himself talk had a calming effect. He relaxed a bit whenever he stopped hearing the thunder and just heard the sudden downpour of rain mixed with the exclamations of a few surprised Void-Tribers. "What even causes thunder anyways? Let's find a way to get rid of it why don't we? I can handle rain but fuck thunder and whatever causes it. And lighting too. It's bad enough Air-Tribers can apparently do shit with it let's not have the sky do it too." Ugh this was unpleasant. "I wonder if Light-Tribers have anything for stuff like this... cats in our situation.... that'd be pretty handy. And wonderful. I could really use some kind of 'no terror' magic right now hah...." His voice was still pretty weak, and his humor attempt was miserable at best. At least he tried...

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }

Ahhh, she knew it. Well, as well as she could given the fact that her insides were trying to figure out ways to become her outsides. Her stomach had actually spasmed once, causing the little cat to groan and rub her face along his fur, hissing faintly. The skin of her scar was fucking sensitive, but the pain in her head overrode it by a long shot. She fell silent as he began to speak, trying to focus on the words and not the pounding of her heart. His descriptions, while not the most vivid, still instilled a deeper feeling of fear in her. She had only dealt with normal shitting storms out in exile. Not high altitude, intense shitty storms. She was already scared of heights and storms alone without them intermixing like that. "T-thunder is f-fucking awful." she bit out, teeth clicking together. Damn it, body, stop shaking. It was making speaking even harder than it should have been. At the mention of the rock, she managed to still her thoughts and body long enough to process that. "O...oh... was that how your leg...?" she didn't finish the sentence. That fragmented one worked well enough to convey what she was saying. She paused again at 'him'. "Him as in your ex-lover, correct?" she questioned lightly, voice hesitant. How emotion other than fear was seeping into her tone was beyond her. His voice and....well, how he felt and smell definitely helped calm her a tiny bit. "W...well, lightning precedes it. T...the lightning is caused by essentially a stream of microscopic positive energy. The air that surrounds this stream is hot as, well...hot as fuck. It would burn your skin from your bones. Hell, it'd probably burn your bones too. It is just that hot." she was rambling, "The hot as fuck air cools, which produces a partially devoid area of space around it, like a tube of sorts. This surrounds the lightning. The air around it rapidly expands and contracts, which makes the crack sound. The sound we hear is the echo, or the thunder." She had never talked that much before, and honestly she was slightly out of breath. She did excessive research on shit like this. It was fascinating, and she wanted to know just how it worked. She paused, "T-they probably have some nifty drugs that would calm us down. Or fuck us up, who knows. I would take either at this point." she snorted softly, throwing one front leg over him gently. Her face was still ground into his fur, breathing uneven. Talking science had done a great deal to calm her, but she was still beyond terrified.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

He let out a small hiss of agreement at her comment about thunder, probably having never agreed with something quite to the extent that he agreed with that statement. He felt himself press even closer to her, taking comfort in her scent and just overall warmth. With all of her neck fur she was pretty toasty... He'd have to make that into some kind of pickup line sometime. Her question threw him off a bit though, causing him to shake his head ever so slightly. "Nah I was cool enough to not get killed by a rock in the mountains. I kept all of my limbs up there! That happened right when I got here actually. I was so excited to see my brother that I wasn't paying attention and got into a fight with a badger. I hadn't really eaten much since I left the mountains since there was not a lot of prey so I couldn't really do much. If I had been well-fed I'd have been waltzing into Water-Tribe's camp with four legs and a snazzy badger fur accessory. It would've been great! But yeah it tore the shit out of me. Probably would've died if it hadn't been for this little Light-Triber that found me. I think his name was Balban? Something like that. He had wicked cool eyes! They were blue and yellow, kind of like my father's. Only his were yellow and green." He was babbling again. Oh well it helped keep him calm. Although that calm didn't last too long, what with her next question. That brought up a lot of emotions, although some of them were kind of new. He didn't really enjoy how she was the absolute last cat he wanted to discuss Erasmus with for one reason or another. Well mainly there was one reason. "Yeah that was him." For once he didn't really elaborate on anything, preferring to talk about him as little as possible. "Bet that air isn't as hot as either of us," he grumbled, his eyes shifting around the den. He was tensed up once more, waiting for the thunder clap that would surely arrive at any moment. "Shit I didn't know it worked like that. I learn something new every time with you, Sourpuss." He would have been way more enthused about this conversation if there wasn't a damn storm. He let out a low groan, pressing his ears tighter to his skull. His stump hurt even worse now and his jaw was beginning to ache from clenching it so much. "I'd take being fucked up at this point. Anything's better than this." Well that wasn't necessarily true. "At least we don't have to be alone during this shit." Ah yes some sort of futile stab at positivity.

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Territory }

She purred faintly without her consent as he pressed closer. He was warm and soft... At his description on the events surrounding his leg, she found herself frowning slightly. Well, she had been consistently frowning since she woke up, but this one was different. Her eye widened at the description then the name pinned to it. "I know him...met him in Light-tribe when I was there. He is interesting enough... Apparently he and Tabitha had....had been a thing. He was probably good for her..." her voice dipped into a mumble, shaky words becoming dull in quality. Don't talk about Tabitha. Especially not with him. That would be weird and the definition of an awkward bad time. She didn't have feelings for her anymore, she was kind of dead after all, but....it was still a weird and saddening topic. She didn't press for more information about his ex; it was not of her business in the slightest. She snorted weakly at his comment, rolling her eye. That was a mistake. She forgot that she had a blindingly painful headache. She buried her face back in his fur, a soft groan of pain sounding from her. She felt sick. Her stomach needed to politely stop with this bullshit. An incredibly soft and weak laugh bubbled from her, "Trust me, you have taught me things too. Well...new experiences. Y...yeah." she was smooth as shit obviously. He made her experience a ton of new emotions though, which was exciting and bad. Don't think about that. "I..I think I would too. I feel incredibly unwell. I...I would love something to help with the fucking pain, because it is honestly getting p..pretty awful." her voice cracked as a boom of thunder sounded, the muscles in her back and shoulders locking up. "I could not imagine anyone better to be with right now..." she murmured quietly. In any other instance, she would have gone to internal freakin g out, but she was in so much pain. The little female rolled onto her side, flopping her head down on the ground, good eye squinting from pain. She brought her hind legs closer to her, half curling up miserably. She really wanted to leech more warmth off of him....she felt cold. Plus, apparently he had been comforting her more than she thought; immediately after moving slightly, her heart went back to doing cartwheels. She flopped her tail, trying to silently convey the message of 'please join me'.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

The sound of her purring helped ease his nerves in just the slightest, but he'd take what he could get. At this point any little comfort was better than nothing; it all kept him from going absolutely bonkers. He still felt like he was probably going out of his mind, but who really knew at this point? He sure as hell didn't. He was surprised that the Gold-Void knew the Light-Triber he had mentioned, although why would he be come on Finnick she had almost died last season get with the program. But what surprised him more was the tone her voice had taken. Sure she had sounded downcast and scared before, but now she sounded.... different. Judging by that it sounded like this "Tabitha" was probably somebody really important to her, although he wasn't quite sure in what way. "Who's Tabitha? An old friend?" It sounded like there was some kind of heaviness that was associated with Tabitha's name that seemed to drag his friend down. It almost seemed like she spoke the name the way he spoke Erasmus', like that name was a ghost haunting her. "You don't have to talk about her if you don't want to," he threw in mildly, voice still rattled with fear. There was something about this Tabitha cat that clearly had an effect on the Gold-Void, but now was not the time to start asking personal questions. Now was the time to concentrate on not wetting himself in terror every time he heard a clap of thunder or saw a flash of lightning. What was worse was the anticipation, knowing it was coming but not knowing exactly when. That was horrible. A small smile that was a mixture of smug and complete deviance lit his face when she mentioned "new experiences." Maybe he should go out in the rain to wash away how filthy he was. He didn't reply to that comment, but he did let out a soft laugh to let her know that he'd heard it. She was pretty damn good at distracting him from all of this, although feelings were starting to creep into everything and it was all gross. "You too?" he asked about the pain, genuinely surprised for a moment. Then he remembered that she did have a head injury. That probably hurt like hell; he felt a little better knowing that at least he didn't have a pounding headache. "Same here," he murmured quietly, his body tensed for the sound of more thunder. She managed to distract him, though, by suddenly flopping away from him. Immediately he felt a little more vulnerable, a rare feeling for him indeed, and chills crept up his back. Without really seeing her 'please join me' gesture, the ginger tabby flopped down next to her. He ended up pretty much curling around her, which was fine with him. She was tiny and warm but most of all she was comforting.

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }

His question....immediately brought about feelings and emotions she struggled to bury. She heard his follow up, but ignored it. "Tabitha was...an old friend of mine. Met when she was a Blue/White and I just a mere slip of a white. Funny how I have always had a thing for older cats..." she snorted faintly, but the emotion and energy was draining from every aspect of her, "She did not like me at first, because I playfully winked at the boy she liked, but...  She did something fucking stupid. I did something slightly less stupid. She hot carried away and I picked a fight. Figures that was how it all started." Spirits this already hurt. She barely even focused on the storm anymore. "I taught her control, she taught me to fight. We...grew incredibly close. Little fucking me was falling for her. I think I recognize it now." she laughed, but there was no emotion in her tone and her eye was blank. Her words held many things not directly said. "She was...flawed and beautiful. Hell...we even went on a fucking date..." her voice grew...something. Heavy, broken. "Then I left her. I promised I would be back. I did not fulfil my promise. S...she got killed by a fucking badger." her voice cracked, throat tight. Oh fuck it hurt. It hurt so much and why did she start talking about it. Shove it down. Shove it down like she always did. Her shoulders shook with more than just fear. She managed to catch his eye though, letting her eyelid open for the first time in ages. "I have a hole in my face. It...does not feel nice." she reclosed it, trying to ignore just how...off her voice sounded. Or how off she felt. But...she crumbled when he wrapped around her. It was so comforting and she didn't deserve it. Her body began to shake again, sharp teeth digging into the flesh of her paw, trying to stifle the soft sobs trying to erupt from her. Her eye stung. Her heart still beat in her ears.

This was not how she planned her day to go.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

Oh shit oh no oh shit. At first things had started off pretty tame; he'd figured that Tabitha had been a friend of hers. The comment about having a thing for older cats stuck out in his mind, but he didn't press the issue for once. Instead he remained quiet, a rare thing for him, and listened to what she had to say. He'd tease her about the thing for older cats later when things weren't so serious. "Damn getting around as a White I see." he teased, dropping the seriousness for a moment. But only for a moment. Just a moment later he went back to seriousness, which he realized was a very good idea. His eyes widened at the "falling for her comment," as it genuinely surprised him. He wasn't sure why that had surprised him actually, but it had. Maybe it was because he couldn't really picture her being all lovey dovey and falling for somebody. Well that was a painful thought he did not want to think of again. He also pushed away whatever twinges of jealousy he felt well up in his chest down; this was not the time to get jealous. There was also a great deal of empathy; he was able to draw numerous parallels between what happened to her and Tabitha with him and Erasmus. She knew what he had gone through better than he would have assumed. "Badgers ruin everything..." That was the best he could come up with in response to that story. After a moment of silence out of respect he spoke once more. "But you did come back. She may not have been alive when you came back, but I bet she saw that you came back for her. Wherever she is now I bet she knows that you didn't leave her hanging on that promise. " He paused once more, shuffling his paw. He never had been so quiet with her before. "Thank you for telling me. I know that couldn't be easy. And... I don't know how much it'll help, but I know how that sort of thing feels. I don't know exactly how you feel, but a lot of what you described... it happened to me too." He genuinely wasn't trying to make it about himself... this was strange. She distracted him for a moment when she opened the eyelid to her missing eye, and he made sure not to stare. She already wasn't feeling nice; that would probably make her feel a lot worse. "Ever thought about getting a gem in there? I heard from my niece that the Silver-Fire has a gem instead of an eye. I could get you a nice gem." He winked, hoping it would lighten the mood. Alas that was not the case. Awkwardness, so rare for him, overtook him as she silently sobbed, and he found himself unsure of what to do. Tentatively he leaned forward and licked her ear before moving to just groom her fuzzy neck. Boy this was going to cause a hairball. Oh well. "You'll be okay," he murmured into her fur. "Maybe not right now, but you will be okay. Just give it time."

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }

In any other instance she probably would have smiled. Nothing here made her want to smile though. "Badgers are f-fucking horrible." her voice was a faint growl, months of bitterness and grief lacing her words. She fell quiet again, listening to his words. She hated that it comforted her. Why was he able to just....do that. His words felt like they were easing the pain in her heart. It made it feel like...she could recover with time. She didn't know of his experiences - hell, she didn't even know if she wanted to know - but still..  She shook her head at the question; truth be told, the thought of ramming a rock in her face seemed less than appealing. Everything about that injury was sensitive, so it would likely feel awful. She didn't trust her voice though. The little female removed her fangs from her paw, wincing at the sting and taste of blood...and salt. Tears. Fuck. Tucking the paw under her slightly, she remained quiet, letting him rasp his tongue over her neck. She felt heavy, both in mind and body. The sea of emotions that today had dredged up was exhausting.  She was silent for many more minutes, body still plagued by constant tremors, breathing uneven. Finally, she quietly mumbled, "How are you able to comfort me just by existing....? You keep making me feel some really e...exciting emotions, Pest... Damn you..." her voice was more hushed than usual, words occasionally punctuated by cracks. This should have been the only thing she mentioned about her feelings for him, but knowing her she'd fuck it up. A light sigh stirred her whiskers, the muscles in her back relaxing slightly. That was until another earth shattering thunder broke that calm. Amazing how terror could override pain. The small cat shuddered, eye widening in a quietly terrified way. Heart in her throat, she flipped around, pressing against the tom. She ignored how his body perfectly fit hers. Or how her dumb chest was dancing with fear and other feelings. To make things worse, her tail had curled with his, generally a telltale gesture of things distinctly not platonic.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

Oh damn now there was growling going on. It was faint, but he still heard it. This was... This was a new and slightly scary side of her he'd never seen before. And quite frankly he'd like to never see it again. He didn't like seeing her this way; it wasn't right. He was so used to her either being prickly or something else that made his chest do things he didn't want to think about, but he had never expected anything akin to this. This was something else... He didn't like it. That wasn't to say that he didn't like that she was telling him something that was troubling her or anything along those lines, that he felt more positively towards. It didn't bring him enjoyment to hear her talk of such things but it brought some kind of relief to know that she was getting it out there. But what really bothered him was that she was upset. He'd seen a lot of cats upset in his time, but this time it was different. There was something about her pain that made it almost painful for him too. It felt like he was suffering all of that heartache right alongside her. Maybe it was because he knew how it felt to have a broken heart, even if she didn't say that's what it was. There was also another solution but that one was waaaaaaay too inappropriate to think about in that moment given what she had just revealed to him. Still it was there in the back of his mind, nabbing at him. She wasn't really helping that by what she said next. That low whining noise he'd wanted to make on their last date (and a noise he had consequently made when he got home and Kato asked him how it was) threatened to be heard. He kept it together though, even though internally he was becoming a mess more and more with each passing moment. "I am pretty comforting aren't I?" His voice didn't have its usual tone. She was good at making him behave differently than normal. It was scary. But what was scarier was that he didn't mind it; he may have even liked it. "I guess a handsome face like this is just bound to comfort somebody!" His stomach did a flip flop about the whole exciting emotions thing. Should he address it? He was gonna address it. "What kind of emotions?" All of the playfulness had left his voice. He actually sounded serious. "I'll tell you what emotions you've made me experience if you tell me, Sourpuss. Promise." Okay what why did he say that?! Well shit. To make matters worse another clap of thunder sounded, causing any relaxation he may have felt to vanish into thin air. A small yelp came from his mouth, and before he knew what he was doing he shoved his face into her neck fur. They probably looked ridiculous the way they were positioned, but he didn't care. She was warm and her fur was soft and even though her heart was beating way too fast it all calmed him down. This wasn't good.

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }

As time went in, she felt herself growing calmer. Her heart was still heavy, eye still dulled by the weight of every emotion she felt, but his dumb, amazing self was comforting her. He was....weird in that way. Not even someone as important as her brother could calm her like this. He was special...and it was a good thing, even if it made her feel many things. Every time she talked to him, no, every time she was in his presence, she could feel her feelings for him deepening. Even from day one, she had felt some sort of attraction towards him, even if it was purely for his looks for awhile. She never thought she'd get to this point where she was, well, falling for him. That was what it was. It was terrifying in a way that made her feel nice...among other things. "Definitely...." her voice was soft, especially in the rain. Oh well... A small smile rose on her face, completely unbeknownst to her. That smile quickly faded at the uncharacteristically serious tone of his face. He...genuinely wanted to know. Oh boy. A part of her was yelling at her to stop, to just disregard it, buy another part of her was just figuring out how she'd word this. His words made a thrill of funky excitement go down her spine, belly and chest erupting in those weird fluttery feelings. Oh no emotions. Speaking of those....what exactly did she feel...? The thunder offered her a brief reprieve, even if it had on served to make her mush her face into a side. His scent filled her senses, filling her with an almost calmness. She could... she could do this... what emotions did she feel for him...? She didn't even know half the time! Warmth wasn't an emotion, Stevie.  "M...many things, really... uhh..." Oh boy she was already sounding just fine, "You make me feel all happy and warm... even when you are not around... You make me feel...good about this, good about me... But....all that shifted in a different direction..." Oh shit oh shit she was about to do it. She didn't feel that terrified though; she was probably already emotionally dead inside. Yeah that was probably it. "I...uhh...started liking you. You know....romantically... And it got even deeper and, well, I suppose I am really quite attracted to you..." her voice softened further, lowering to a whisper, "That probably is not what you wanted to hear at all.... my apologies..." she winced. He probably already had someone else... someone far better. She hadn't really felt self-conscious until all of this had started. She swallowed dryly, feeling a mix of relieved and other things after her weird confession... Her chest felt light and heavy. Was such a paradox even possible? She rested the good side of her face against him, his soft fur tickling her nose. This could either go well or horribly....


[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

He really had no clue about what he was going to say to her when it came to this. He wasn't quite sure if he was ready to divulge any of what he felt, especially given the circumstances. Talking about lost loves and all that really didn't seem like the best time to start getting all touchy feely with her. But was there ever an appropriate time to do that? He wasn't really sure. He'd run from any sort of feelings he felt when it came to her, even though Kato had pretty much told him that he shouldn't do that. Kato had encouraged him to make a leap of faith, but he really wasn't sure if he was ready to do that yet. What if she laughed in his face? He'd already dealt with a sort of searing rejection before and he really didn't want to do it again. Man he really didn't want to do that. And what if.... What if everything was reciprocated? Oh man he didn't know how he would deal with that... And if she did he didn't know how Pangur would take it. Either way it seemed like somebody was going to get hurt, but if he remained silent about this that would also cause some kind of hurt. Maybe not to her, but to him definitely. And he was tired of being hurt. He was tired of all of it. He could do this. He could really get it out there. His confidence faltered a bit whenever she began speaking, and a lot of his resolve disappeared. Maybe he shouldn't.... Although it came back a bit whenever she started talking about how happy and warm he made her. Could it be...? Nah. The whole shifted in a different direction thing made him even more nervous, although quickly a feeling of relief washed over him. She... Holy shit. Holy shit. For a moment he just stayed as he was, too shocked to even speak. She was pretty damn good at stunning him into silence curse her. Despite the storm raging outside a sort of giddiness told hold of him. He almost wanted to let out a childish giggle, but he restrained himself. He hadn't felt this good since... Since Erasmus. Oh boy. "I uh.... that caught me off guard, I will say that, Sourpuss." He was really trying to restrain himself. He sounded kind of silly in his tone of voice, but he didn't care. It felt as though a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. "I gotta admit when I first met you I was just amused by how annoyed you were with me. Although I did find you pretty damn attractive. Physically anyways, since you didn't seem to fond of me." He took a deep breath, getting ready to be as dramatic as ever. "But then I got to know you, the you that isn't constantly trying to get rid of me. Guess you realized you're stuck with me, eh? You're so lucky. But I realized that you're a huge dork, and you kind of make me act like a huge dork." It never dawned on him that he was a huge dork to begin with. "I started thinking of you more and more, even though I tried to prevent myself from doing so. I knew where that was going to go, but I couldn't bring myself to try and stop anything from happening. I just went with it. I'm not sure when I first realized it.... Maybe it was when you got hurt? I realized how much I didn't want to lose you and how important you were... are to me. You somehow snuck into my heart and became my best friend, despite me thinking that you would never even give me the time of day when we first met." He laughed a bit at that remark, feeling nostalgic. "And that date didn't really help it either. If anything it only made things worse on my end. You never stop confusing and confounding me, Sourpuss. I think that's why I was initially so drawn to you." He took a deep breath. Even though she'd already done the hard part he was still nervous about saying the thing that had plagued his mind more and more each passing day. Just spit it out, old boy! Clearly things would be alright! "So I guess what I'm trying to say here is... uh.... I.... am attracted to you too. Romantically I mean." It felt so good to finally get it out. He was shaking once more, but this time not from fear of the thunder. Oh man he hadn't been this elated in a long time. Maybe even before Erasmus. Maybe even never before. "This is the first time you were wrong I think, Sourpuss. That was exactly what I wanted to hear." A low purr was rumbling in his chest now, and the biggest, dopiest grin had spread across his face.


{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }

Okay, she lied, there as fear settling in. It was post-confession fear, it seemed. And boy was it unpleasant. It was an ugly, churning sort of fear. What if he rejected her...? He was scared of this stuff, right? Plus...plus there were so many other cats. Cats better than her. Better for him. The small female didn't even notice that her expression was shifting into one that was more self-conscious and nervous, ears swiveling back, gaze averted. His words...confused her. His voice tone was not...disgusted. He sounded...giddy? The compliment made her chest do a thing; while compliments weren't foreign to her...it still felt good. Especially from him... Ugghh... Her lone green eye slowly shifted back to him, breaths growing lighter as he went on. In any other instance, she would have replied to....many of the things he was saying, but she wasn't even sure if her voice would work properly right now. Being tongue-tied was not something she dealt with many times in her life. He seemed to have a knack for reducing her to a mushy, heart-eyed adolescent though.  Whatever was in her head fled as he continued, feeling her heart rate increase further. Her eye was wide, for once not able to hold back the emotion from her features. Oh... A feeling of warmth surged up through her as he mentioned how she was her best friend. It was a likewise feeling, definitely... He was her best friend, and she had grown to trust him with so much. Hell, he knew more about her - especially some of the more sensitive topics - than most of the other cats she was close to did. She had even told him about Tabs.... not even her dad knew about her. He was special... A smile rose to her features at the mention of him finding her confusing. That was never her intention, but her personality just worked in that way. In that aspect, their personalities were perfect together... Hoo boy. She completely froze, though, at his return confession. Oh.... oh. It....it wasn't only her.... Her mouth fell open slightly, staring at him in a completely stunned way for a few moments. Slowly but surely, the corners of her mouth twitched up, different forms of happiness flooding her face. Her chest felt light and she felt so warm and....jeez she felt alive. Stevie found herself purring, eye crinkling up as a true smile found itself onto her face, slightly crooked in quality but completely her. Had she...ever smiled this truly...? She didn't know. Words were definitely beyond her now, she thought as she shifted, pressing her nose to his, eye twinkling. "I...dammit Pest..." she was as eloquent and sophisticated as always. Incredible.... It seemed as if the world was happy about this, because the rain was letting up, thunder rumbling faintly as the storm continued its journey. She remained like that for many minutes, just relishing in him and this and everything. Finally, she leaned back, the smile still bright on her face, "I...wow... I have been holding onto this for awhile now, hah..." her voice was soft, but it was purely happy. "I...what comes next? I mean... I am perfectly fine with remaining your best friend. Someone has to keep you in line." her voice was gently teasing. She didn't even know how she felt anymore. She was just letting the emotions talk now. And...for once she was alright with that.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

He instantly felt better after telling her everything. Even in the moments after he'd finally spilled his guts he could just feel himself getting lighter and lighter. This whole ordeal had occupied his mind for a long time now, much longer than he'd really wanted to admit, and it just felt good to have some closure on it all. Especially when it didn't end in him being rejected and mocked; that was always a good day! He hadn't felt this good in a long time, which was really saying something considering how he felt as good as he looked most days. The most childish smile possible was still plastered to his face, yet it somehow got even bigger whenever he saw her smile. He'd seen her smile a few times before, but never like this. This was different, special even. It was probably the best smile he'd ever seen, maybe even better than his own! That was a pretty bold statement, but he felt confident in it. He was confident in all of this now. And he was really really confident in the fact that he wanted to see that smile more often. Looks like he'd have to make it a goal of his! He was pretty damn good at achieving his goals. I mean look at where he was at that moment: next to a cat who had threatened to push him down a ravine when he first met her. Funny how things worked out. It was also pretty damn funny to hear her finally speak after his little speech. "So eloquent," he teased, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice. She'd brought out a lot of emotions in him in that short span of time. He needed to sneeze after a little bit of their nose touching, but there was no way in hell he was going to be the first one to move. He'd just hold it in as long as possible. As long as he didn't sneeze on her face it'd be a win for him! And since this day was shaping up to be one giant win for him he wasn't too worried about it. He perked a brow at her, his smile shifting from jubilant to teasing. "Oh? How long now?" His tone was sincere though. "Love at first sight, eh, Sourpuss?" Now his tone was less serious, but he quickly snapped out of it at her question. Shit.. What would be the next thing? They were pretty good as they were now, but with everything out in the open he felt like there should be something. "Well you're gonna remain my best friend regardless. You're stuck with that title." He shifted ever so slightly as a thought crossed his mind. He wasn't really sure how she felt about this kind of thing, but it felt right to him so he asked. "Would you.... maybe want to try dating? I know we've technically already been on two dates but like... officially I guess? If that makes any sense." Oh man this was just rolling away from him. "If you don't want to it's cool. You can't get rid of me that easily!" Although in all honesty that'd probably hurt a bit. Maybe not though. At least he knew that she liked him back...

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }

Spirits she was a fucking mess. But, for the first time, it was in a good way. She felt just....good. Good, with no trace of the deep soulful stress. Good because of him. Funny how that happened. She had been so convinced that she would hate him, she HAD disliked him off the bat after all, but that didn't happen. No, the opposite had happened. She still couldn't wipe that smile from her face, and truth be told, she wasn't sure if she wanted to. Not right now at least. She snorted softly at his teasing words, rolling her eye fondly. The nose touch was sweet and....definitely filled with a lot of emotion. She didn't have to pretend like they didn't exist now. Didn't have to ignore them. Didn't have to shove them down in favor of cool impassiveness. It had been....so long before meeting him that she had let herself really feel. Her time in exile had been consumed by hatred and a sadness so deep that it left her feeling nothing but the rage. Then, she had joined the quest and met him. At first, he had annoyed the hell out of her, but... as things continued on, she found herself growing less and less annoyed. It had been replaced by a quiet sort of irritated fondness that had begun to show in how she acted towards him. Visiting him in Water-Tribe everyday to make sure he was okay...she hadn't done that for anyone for. She hadn't ever cared that deeply for someone outside of her family. Tabs...in time maybe, but not then. He...things had gone full speed ahead with him, and she had let it happen. The dates....had added onto it, fortifying the attraction she held for him, making it stronger and stronger until it filled her thoughts with weird giddy happiness. And now.... She snapped out of her reverie, paw quivering from...excitement? Damn, she was feeling a lot today, "...I think I started noticing it when I began my daily visits to Water-Tribe..." her voice was still soft, but it was so genuine. "I am incredibly happy to hold that title, and I plan to hold it for many, many moons.  I am stuck with you and you are stuck with me, Pest." but they had known that, she felt. Their friendship had become so strong and genuine. Her heart rate (okay hopefully she wasn't having a heart attack) increased further, drumming in her ears. Dating... Him and her... He'd be her....boyfriend. The thought made her feel incredibly warm, like...she didn't know. For once, she found her voice rising slightly, "I....of course I would!" she blinked, flushing, "I...that would be wonderful..." her eye gleamed with happiness. Her voice softened again, that dumb smile returning to her face, "D...does that make you my boyfriend then...?" she smiled softly up at him and fuck she felt so happy.

She could not recall a time where she had felt this much....everything.

This was beautiful.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

He smirked at her reply, pleased to hear it. He thought back on his own experiences with her, unsure of when it really all began. True when he had met her he had instantly been drawn to her, as he was one to be. She had the silent broody look going for her, and that had intrigued him. Plus in all honesty he'd been bored and she was there and hot so he thought 'why not' and went for it. He had been determined to make her realize how great he was, and he had managed to do just that. Truthfully, he hadn't really been expecting it, since some cats never recognize true greatness when it's in front of them, yet it had happened. It had been a pretty slow process to get to where they were, but he couldn't say that he had any regrets about any of this. He'd watched her become Gold-Void out on the quest and she'd saved him from drowning. His first embarrassment in front of her. And probably his only knowing him; not being able to live up to the greatness he knew others saw him was the one thing that could cause him shame. Naturally. A piece of him had actually expected them to drift apart somewhat after the quest. After all, she now had a new Tribe to run after being away from the Tribelands for quite some time. He knew that being thrown into such a situation was probably stressful for her and her brother, so he'd figured that the two of them would spend most of their time together or with their family. And yet that hadn't been the case at all; he had been super wrong and he couldn't be happier about it. She came to Water-Tribe every day and spent time with him, a stress reliever for the whole plague thing that was going on. In time he'd become so accustomed to her company that he began to feel something akin to an ache when she wasn't there. Between her getting hurt, the dates, and now this, all of it was starting to make sense. He rarely ever thought of things such as fate or destiny (he didn't believe in either), but for once he thought that maybe this was fate. Not as in the Spirits control everyone's fate, but as in a choosing his own fate thing. He'd chosen to go down this path, and this was where he ended up. Pretty damn good decision making if he did say so himself! "I think I noticed after you saved me from drowning honestly." It was such an embarrassing thing to bring up and she hadn't even asked him but he didn't care. "It only got worse when you kept visiting me, though." He was growing nostalgic yet again. "You may have some competition for that title! Or at least some cat may think they have a chance against you. I couldn't imagine having a better best friend ever." He'd been a little anxious about her response to the whole dating thing, but once more he found that he didn't have to be. Relief swept over him at her response, and a little laugh escaped his jaws as he noted how excited she sounded. She really wanted this. Good. So did he. A more serene smile spread across his features how and if he could melt he probably would have. She was his and he was hers. He winked at her playfully. "Only if that makes you my girlfriend!"

{ Gold-Void / Stevie / VT Camp }

"I had forgotten about that little instance. I cannot believe that you did not believe me at first." she huffed, but it was playful. Everything about her was positive for...probably the first time ever. Spirits, she had never thought that something that caused her such fear, like a storm, would turn into...this. Them confessing their feelings. Them....dating now. It was a fucking beautiful turn of events and....god dammit she was so happy. Happy wasn't even the right word anymore. Elated, euphoric, ecstatic, overjoyed. Perfect. That was how she felt. Perfect. His words made her feel even warmer, as if her insides held gentle flames that didn't burn, but only made her feel warm and fuzzy. She was sure that all of this had rendered her incoherent again, so she waited a few moments to speak, just trying to keep the giggles from erupting from her maw like they wanted to. She was purring though, the sound a deep rumble in her chest. The serene smile on his face was beautiful, but she had considered him so for awhile now. This smile seemed even more beautiful though... "It definitely does...." she murmured, unable to contain the unsolicited joy from her words. From her posture. From...everything.

This was perfect.

The little female curled against him, small body conforming to perfectly meld against him. She longed to stay up and just.....she didn't know, but her body had undergone a lot of stress. It was amazing how much energy was taken out of someone when it felt like their whole face was imploding. "I would love to stay up, but the physical pain the storm brought on has rendered me incredibly tired..." plus, she needed sleep. She twined her tail lightly with his, a soft smile still upon her face even as she closed her eye, the tug of sleep becoming harder to ignore. "Goodnight, Pest..." she murmured softly, stiff shoulders relaxing for once.

She knew her dreams would be good tonight.

[Orange-Water| Finnick| VT Camp]

"I like to pretend it didn't happen for the most part. It's kind of embarrassing, a Water-Triber who can't swim." A mischievous look  crossed his face. "Maybe you can teach me sometime. And I'll teach you how to... Uh... I don't know we'll find something that I'm really awesome at! That won't be hard at all!" He was grinning from ear to ear. Hard to believe that he was behaving this way in the middle of a storm of all things. Well, all of this was really hard to believe. It almost felt like a dream than anything else, but if it all turned out to just be a dream then at least it was a good one. He could live with that. Even with the storm raging outside of her den he felt calm, which was just adding to all of the new sensations. He hadn't been calm during a storm since he was about a year old, and even when he was that young storms had still made him a tad anxious. But now here he was, completely relaxed as thunder boomed and lightning flashed with not a trace of anxiety. All of that had evaporated after their little confession time. Now everything just seemed.... easy. Nothing really seemed like it was that hard to tackle in those moments. Maybe he wouldn't feel that way tomorrow or next week, but that was alright. Right now.. that was pretty damn nice. "Sounds like a deal then!" Once again he winked at her, pleased that now he could do this whenever he wanted.

The moment she mentioned that she was tired he felt his eyelids beginning to grow heavy. Jeez this was like some kind of freaky hypnosis thing. Maybe. Or maybe all of the stress from the storm and having to deal with feelings had just worn him out. Plus there was the whole thing where he was used to sleeping most of the day; he needed his beauty sleep after all. A small yawn escaped his jaws as he settled himself, content with the way she had decided to curl up into him. She was so small yet so warm; all of her fuzz made up for his short pelt. "Night, Sourpuss," eyes already sliding shut. "Sweet dreams."

He knew that he'd dream of her tonight.