Really Saying Nothing at All ((30))

[Meadowlark]

Jerrie didn't reply more than to shut the door, leaning his forehead against it, biting back a growl. Damnit.

[victoriousscarf]

Martin blinked at the closed door and shrugged. Well, he'd done what he came for. Turning, he headed back down the street.

[amanika]

Rumpelteazer jogged the last few yards from the bus stop, she'd failed to mention to Jerrie that she'd left her coat at the restaraunt, and rather than bring it up, knowing a new one wouldn't come so cheap, she'd been piling on the layers beneath her clothes instead and making do, minimising the time she spent outdoors.

All the same, when she opened the front door, she was glad to get out of the cold, closing it quickly behind her and heading for the kitchen to make herself a hot drink. She had seen the truck in the driveway, but expected Jerrie to be down in the basement.

[Meadowlark]

Jerrie was sitting in the kitchen, his chair tipped back against the wall and a carving in paw. Teazer's coat was draped over the chair opposite him, but his hazel eyes were focused on each cut with the knife. His ear twitched, but he didn't look up as she entered.

[amanika]

Teazer's eyes fell first on her brother, knowing something was wrong the second he didn't look up, "Jer...?" then she saw her coat, and stopped in her tracks, the cosy little kitchen suddenly feeling like a vast, cold expanse of tiles, the knife on wood the only sound. She swallowed, making herself ask him, "Jer, what happened?"

[Meadowlark]

He didn't look up, except to gesture with his knife to the coat. "Martin dropped y' coat by."

[amanika]

She took a few steps towards her brother, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes first checking Jerrie for any signs of obvious injury in case he'd decided to fight the other cat, then, when she found none, searching his expression for what might have happened.

She sat down at the kitchen table, avoiding the chair where her coat was, "Jer, please." Everything she could see in his bodylanguage, not to mention the invisible storm cloud that seemed to have gathered over her brother, indicated that there was more to this. Cat she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him react quite this badly to anything. His refusal to look at her making her stomach twist more.

[Meadowlark]

"What can y' tell me 'bout th' Coral, Tea?" the knife bit deeply into the wood as he spoke.

[amanika]

The slow sinking feeling in her stomach changed so that it felt like the pit of it had just dropped away altogether. She said nothing, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. If he was asking then there was hardly any point in her trying to explain. It looked like Martin had done enough of that for her.

[Meadowlark]

"I jus' wanna know why." He spoke softly, his tail wrapping around the leg of the chair, his ears lowered, but not laced back.

[amanika]

Teazer swallowed, resting her chin on her knees as well, tail also curled about herself. "Why I go or why I didn't tell you?" she finally asked in a small voice, somewhat wary of his answer.

[Meadowlark]

"Why y' didn't tell me."

[amanika]

She let out a long sigh, "Why d'you think I didn't tell you Jer... You worry about me jus' bein' at work late." there was nothing accusatory in her tone though, a small bit of protest, perhaps.

[Meadowlark]

"So t' sneak b'hind 'm back, y' choose a place like th' Coral?" He finally glanced up at her, but let his gaze return to the carving in his paw.

[amanika]

When she looked back at him, the hurt was evident in her expression, "What d'you mean?"