"Speech." Kallista hadn't meant to speak so much. Still, she found it hard to regret what she had done. She looked up at Rast as she spoke and flicked an ear. Help her look? She had just about given up hope. But even as she thought that, she knew it wasn't true. Every flash of silver or black that she saw out of the corner of her eye made her turn, hoping with every part of her being that Todd had returned. But each time, she was left with just disappointment.

Still, she could never give up. And perhaps someone else helping her to look would help...

Her thoughts were cut off by Ocelot describing how she looked. She flushed slightly at that and shifted her paws slightly. She looked down at her fur and noticed that it was rather dusty. If she had known she was going to come across someone who would've described her out loud she would've cleaned her fur at least a little. As it stands, it was too late now though. And at the end of his description, she flushed even further in her embarrassment, though she tried to ignore it. She cleared her throat and spoke.

"I...My fur is more of a creamy white all over. I just, ah...haven't gotten around to cleaning my fur in some time." The last time she'd gotten it properly cleaned...Was probably back when Li had cleaned her fur. That was cycles ago. She'd cleaned some here and there, but not as much. She'd never really cared. She was starting to regret that.

@Rast @Ocelot

Rast hoped that Kallista took some of her words to heart. It would be hard to be alone. Ocelot seemed to be on bored to help her find Todd when the time was right as well. It made her feel hopeful for Kal. She felt like everything would be ok.

The snow leopard had also forgotten that Ocelot had not described their new stranger when she had made her appearance. Rast listened eagerly as he described her. Slowly, Rast began to put together the puzzle pieces and form an image of Kallista. Was it accurate? She would never know. Right now that didn't seem to matter. Rast was satisfied with just having some sort of image. Next, Kallista spoke up, correcting some of his descriptions. The snow leopard bobbed her head up and down reflexively as she took on the additional information.

"Oh!" Rast giggled a little, "I'm sure you look just fine! I can't imagine what my fur must look like. Grooming is pain anyways." Travelling had left her a little bedraggled looking, especially since she was slowly losing her fluffy kitten fur. The leopard supposed her appearance didn't really matter all that much seeing she was going to be staying in one area for a while. Hopefully somewhere secluded.

@kallista @ocelot

Ocelot listened to Kallista then to Rast. Honestly it was all he needed to hear. He gave Rast the signal again, licking her ear affectionately before walking over to Kallista.

”I can clean you if you like. It’s actually how me and Rast came to bond so well. I cleaned her wounds as much as I could, we spoke all night then we rested. Well, Rast rested. I didn’t sleep at all. I watched her so much. I wanted to keep her safe. I helped her drink after that, then when she had a drink we..... uuh...”

Ocelot shuffled his paws softly with a awkward smile. He slowly looked over to Rast before looking at the floor again.

”Well... we uuh.... my point is... it could help us bond.”

Ocelot wasn’t meant to go into so much detail, but even when he tried he could not forget that feeling. He closed his eyes, remembering that moment. Their noses pressed together, the final lick he delivered. It was a feeling that even now he longed for. Still, Rast didn’t seem to like it as much as he did, and that was ok with him.

@Kallista @Rast

Speech Here
Thoughts Here

"Speech." Kallista chuckled lightly at Rast's words. "You look fine," she said softly, loud enough the cat would still hear her. She then turned to Ocelot as he approached her again.

At his offer, her skin prickled. The last time someone had cleaned her fur, it hadn't ended well. While she was sure what happened last time wouldn't happen now, she was still hesitant to allow him. though as he continued speaking, she couldn't stop the smirk spreading across her face as he fumbled.

"I see. Bonding, hm?" her tone clearly held amusement and she chuckled lightly before pausing. "I...suppose you can clean me. It's...been a while, though, so it may not be too easy." She shuffled her paws slightly, just as Ocelot had done not long ago.

@Rast @Ocelot

Ocelot smiled as she agreed to let him clean her. Slowly he stood up and walked closer to her. He gave her a few sniffs which made his nose crinkle a little. She certainly hadn't washed in a while but Ocelot was determined to help her and bond with her.

"Rast can rest while you get cleaned, so it's good for both of you. Now, let's get started shall we?"

Slowly, Ocelot began to rasp his tongue against her, cleaning her fur bit by bit. He started with her ears and her face, getting any of the dirt off there before slowly moving down to her neck. She was dusty, very dusty and Ocelot knew this was going to take a while. Still, with each rasp of his tongue, none were as gentle or as loving as it were when he did it to Rast.

@Rast @Kallista

Speech Here
Thoughts Here

"Speech." Kallista involuntarily tensed as Ocelot began to rasp his tongue over her dirty fur. She closed her eye and slowly began to relax, leaning against him slightly. It made her think of when Li had cleaned her, before their fight.

But it also made her think of Todd. Right after her battle with Imperia, when the fox found her, he had cleaned her. And the two had spent lots of time together since, often making sure the other was clean and fur wasn't messy. Especially her, since she had hardly ever cared to keep her own fur neat. Todd had been helpful with that.

But for now, she leaned slightly against Ocelot as, bit by bit, her fur got more and more clean.

@Ocelot @Rast

Rast listened as the two of them exchanged words. Her ears rushed with heat as Ocelot stuttered over what had happened between them that day in Polaris. It was an intimate moment she handled with such little grace. She found herself visibly cringing. Maybe he avoided talking about it because he now truly regretted the moment. The thought made her heart feel heavy. Perhaps the way their noses touched was just a heat of the moment thing...

Kallista's comment pulled her from her thoughts. She would allow Ocelot to clean her! Rast was pleased to notice that she didn't feel any jealousy in that moment. The young snow leopard wanted Kallista to travel with them for a bit. If Ocelot cleaning her helped them bond it was fine with her.

But Ocelot was right, it gave her a chance to rest as well. While Ocelot went to work on Kallista, Rast lowered herself onto the cool ground. A content sigh escaped her as she rested her head on her paws. Her body seemed to thank her as each muscle began to relax.

@kallista @ocelot

Ocelot continued to clean Kallista, he saw Rast start to relax and rest as he did his work and was glad to see that there didn’t seem to be any jealousy. He focused back on Kallista and kept cleaning her. This went on for a good few minutes until he finally cleaned her fully, up to the tail.

”There, how’s that? Is that better?”

He smiled then sat down again, watching her. Now her true coat was revealed, she looked very pretty but his eyes was set for another now. He looked to Rast and let out a sigh softly.

@Kallista @Rast

Speech Here
Thoughts Here

"Speech." It took quite some time for Kallista's fur to be cleaned. After a moment, her skin began to prickle. She wasn't used to such close contact and for such a long time. It took everything within her to not shy away from Ocelot's tongue.

Finally, after a time that seemed longer than she'd been alive, he stepped back and sat down. Immediately she let out a sigh of relief that she tried to stifle. She glanced at Ocelot and managed a smile. "Much better. Thank you." She looked around at her fur. Rather than the dusty brown and gray, her fur seemed to shine with the creamy white it is.

At the sound of a soft sigh, she looked up to see Ocelot looking over at Rast. She chuckled at that, and looked over at her as well briefly. Now that her own fur was cleaned, she wasn't sure what to do now. Should she leave, and the let the two continue on their way? Or should she stay? She shifted her paws slightly in her uncertainty.

@Rast @Ocelot