spikespoke
"It... sounds like you and Soot were, um..." Was there honestly a nice way to say this? "Imaginative, I suppose." That was good enough. Sunfeather couldn't imagine that fear though. The world. Ending. With a little shiver, she felt thankful that her first encounter with snow had been huddled under the nursery and curling into Cloudkit's fur just wishing it was warmer. "But it won't be so bad this time, r-right? Now that you know?"
GreekGodsNerd
"Yeah, this time," he looked towards, gaining once again an amused look while still having the sense of being perplexed. "This time there won't be a day full of screaming." Ashblaze shook his head at the memory and sighed a bit. "By the way, you can say that we were stupid. I wouldn't have been mad."
spikespoke
"Talk about scaring off the prey," she mused aloud before glancing at him. "You were, um, a little bit wild, weren't you? Unruly, l-like my mentor would say." Sunfeather kept pace with Ashblaze, doing her best to match his steps though finding she had to take a few more to keep up with his broader strides. "I can only imagine what you would have been like in the clan at that age."
GreekGodsNerd
"Probably a lot more different given the rules," Ashblaze pointed out. "Dad had started training my brother and I when we were weaned. The clan doesn't train kits until their six moons old. That's at least..." he paused to do the math in his head. "About four moons difference." He continued thinking more on the differences that likely would have occurred. "Probably would have interacted with snow at an earlier age, maybe around the end of an apprenticeship if I'm doing the time difference right. Probably know how to fish," he added the latter part for humor, nodding as he hummed.
spikespoke
Sunfeather briefly paused her walking to stare at him, a tad bewildered. "Wait, we have a river. You don't know how to fish?" It was hard to imagine any cat who couldn't fish. Now, not fishing well was one thing. But it just made sense. The LeafClan ways did interact with the water and fish now and again during certain times and StoneClan would not have any other difference there. Though it was limited, it was still taught so Ashblaze saying he didn't know, well, it blew her mind.
GreekGodsNerd
"Yeah, Dad sucked at swimming and... well that's the only lesson I remember Mom ever teaching, so... There was a lake where Soot and I lived full of the stuff but we figured since we hunted birds and other lands prey anyway that we didn't really need to eat any of the fish." Ashblaze shrugged. "I asked Softbelly what it tastes like and she said it's sort of like eating a small bird plus it's wings." The tabby tom briefly looked over at her for a bit of confirmation, as he still hadn't tried any that were in the fresh kill pile at the point.
spikespoke
"Bird with... what, no." Softbelly said that? Had she actually eaten a fish before? The tabby hurried back to Ashblaze's side as she continued their brisk walk though with a bit of a bewildered expression permanently pressed to her face. "Well, i-if you ever get curious, i could teach you. I'm not... um, good at it. Not good at most things. But I can try!" Sunfeather nudged him. "M-my first time attempting to train anybody really, but it could be fun."
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze looked embarrassed, but nodded. "Yeah, that'd.. that'd be nice." He gave a small chuckle at her expression though. "That.. that weird enough to hear for you, huh?"
spikespoke
Sunfeather seemed sheepish in her response. "Well, a little," she murmured. "I like fishing. It's relaxing. I'm not a very good hunter. B-but I can be patient which fishing is a lot of. Plus when I don't pull in fish, I can just... watch them. You know?" The sleek warrior had a daydream stare going on, gazing into the distance as she dreamed of little fish swimming just within paws reach. "It's fun. And, and it's easy even in leaf-bare. I mean... if you can tolerate the cold."
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze watched her as she seemed to go into her daydream. Her remark of the cold had him laughing then gesturing towards himself. "Ironically built for it despite having only dealt with it last leaf-bare," he laughed, letting his gaze go about the environment around them. He found himself enjoying the colors that leaf-fall supplied. Reds, oranges, golds, and dull browns he found suiting to his liking. Plus, he had found it easier to hunt and have his pelt blend in when hunting. "Can't wait to get back on patrols," he let out. "Hopefully before leaf-bare, I rather like these colors."
spikespoke
Of course for him, the cold wouldn't even matter. Sunfeather nodded in response to his fur and giggled in turn. "Well, maybe you don't have to worry about it. W-when leaf-bare comes, you'll need to share that with the rest of us." Watching his eyes go elsewhere brought her eyes back forward, staring at the leaf littered forest floor. Tiny sprigs of green grass still poked through now and again on top of the white flowers that tried their best to bloom for the remaining sunny days. It was really pretty here in their new home. "Yeah," the she-cat agreed with Ashblaze. "You look like you fit right in, you know. W-with leaf-fall, I mean."
GreekGodsNerd
"Yeah, I suppose I'm just a cat made for leaf-fall." Ashblaze said, taking in the colors still before the rest of the seasons came to his mind. "Can't wait for new leaf either," he voiced. "Not sure if it's different here compared to what I'm used to, but while the new leaf I'm used to constantly is rainy, muggy, foggy, or just out right deary, the pink flowers make for up all of it."
spikespoke
Thinking over hte seasons, Sunfeather smiled eagerly when he did mention new-leaf. "That's my favorite time," she admitted with a purr. "When I was a kit, I put together lots of flowers and tied them together. One of the older queens showed me back at the time. But I guess I'm not sure if StoneClan territory will be the same. LeafClan's woods made it so beautiful. It's not much different here so I imagine it should be nice." She paused her thought and nudged him. "This would be your first new-leaf with us, wouldn't it?"
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze was quiet for a moment, thinking. "'Yeah... it's my first.. everything with the clan," he said. "I just hope this up coming new leaf will be better than last one... green leaf too... I hate green leaf, honestly."
spikespokeLast
Sunfeather didn't like that word. Hate. It cast a dark gloom over the mood but she also knew how to purr and pick up the thought with kinder words. "Well, it'll be great. I'll show you my favorite spots if it helps." She took several steps ahead, thinking and eyeing the canopy just above. "When it's new-leaf, I'll take you to the north. The river is beautiful when the trees clear out. And- and when it's green-leaf, we can head to where the waters are deeper further south. It ends up so cool, you can lay in the water and completely feel better." Then the cream tabby turned to face him, hoping to see a smile. "Would you like that?"
GreekGodsNerd
"As long as I'm not submerged," he half-joked. He let his eyes look back at her before following her gaze. "Maybe around that time I could you some hunting tricks if you want," he offered, noticing old and abandoned bird nests in some of the branches with his gaze instead of the sky poking out of the canopy. "Hey.." he began, thinking back to some of her preference words. "Back in Leafclan, did it storm often in greenleaf?"
spikespoke
Her tail curled across her back and her ears flushed briefly red. Sunfeather even nervously laughed. It wasn't as if he had done anything wrong. It was just nice to see him accept her offer. "I'd like that." Golden eyes went back to the trail, thinking about being a better hunter- finally- with Ashblaze's help. "I think I'm always one to take on tips. I was never very good as a hunter." The mention of storms though had her shivering yet again. Just a brief chill down her back but the fur on her tail stood up a bit more to think about a heavy storm coming through. "I wouldn't say an unusual amount?" she mentioned. "I... don't have comparisons to other places. But yeah, we did get storms now and again. Gosh, I hope we don't get many this year. I-I'd be scared for that."
GreekGodsNerd
He seemed satisfied with the answer, nodding absentmindedly. "Wonder what changes will have occurred by next greenleaf," he added, briefly taking notice of the shiver Sunfeather had and trying to move a bit towards happier thoughts and topics. "Anything you hope for by then?"
spikespokeLast Wednesday at 6:27 AM
Hopes? Well. There was always a list of those. Sunfeather knew she wanted to see plenty of things. Some small. Some large. A part of her had hoped to feel... satisfied by then. Rather than unhappy in her current position and state of mind. Have a mate and kits though her own mind would tell her no "dirty blood" would find that, as what Gorsejaw had stained her with. But there was also easier dreams like simply seeing the clan flourish. Seeing the first kits. First named warriors. First new-leaf, green-leaf, and any good in between. But in the end, she replied with a slow nod. "So... so many things," was her dreamy answer and forlorn stare into the woods.
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze kept his eyes on her now, keeping note of her stare into the woods in her state. He softly hummed as he turned away as he looked around the area. "... Maybe there'll be more apprentices," he said softly. "Wouldn't mind training one... though definitely would not use the same training tactics I was trained with."
spikespoke
His voice broke her concentration and she glanced over her shoulder at him. "That means kits," she thought aloud. "I wonder if any cat in this clan would though. We have a tough leaf-bare ahead of us. It would be a miracle if any cat decides to raise a family in that." Still, her eyes softened and Sunfeather smiled. "But... it would be nice to see. StoneClan's first kits."
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze looked back at her, ears perked up. "Kits?" He echoed, also thinking on it. It was a nice thought if he let his mind focus on the topic. Then his mind snapped to the current kits the clan already had. "Oh shoot," he whispered as he thought more and more on it. "Hey, Sunshine, how short are Applekit's ad Dapplekit's fur?"
spikespoke
The cream tabby took a pause, settling in the brief shade of a tree to groom her fur then raised a brow at his question. "Short... I mean, they're kits." Then she eyed him up, realizing quickly that in all of his height and fluff, that would be something to genuinely worry about. "Why?"
GreekGodsNerd
He paused in location but not his steps, constantly moving his paws around in his thought process. "Well, it's colder here obviously. And like... won't the clan need to make extra sure they stay warm? The apprentices and warriors have enough of others nearby for warmth." He was not, in any way, shape, or form, going to say how he was sort of grateful for that. "It's sort of just the two of them in the nursery, so when leaf-bare comes along with the snow, are they going to be in either the apprentices or warriors' den until new leaf?"
spikespoke
The she-cat had a curled nose, thinking about their current kits in StoneClan. "Well," the she-cat noted. "They'll likely be apprenticed... I-I'd say mid-leaf-bare. It won't be easy on them. It's the hardest time in general as is." Her paw came down and Sunfeather looked up to Ashblaze. "But I imagine they'd need to stay in the nursery. Kits in the apprentice den or warrior den get underpaw." A slow realization came across her as the warrior tilted her head. "Why? Are you offering your fur coat to warm them up, hm?"
GreekGodsNerd
"Actually I'm sort of more hoping not," he said before he could think on it. He visibly cringed at his own words as he tried to give a valid reason. "I- I mean, like you said, they'd get underpaw and... well... we all way bigger than them and we.. uh..." He stammered more and more as he continued to look back at Sunfeather before Ashblaze ended up mumbling something and shutting up.
spikespoke
The she-cat felt bad she had assumed his words were out of kindness and she ducked her head. "I-I'm sorry," the she-cat mewed. "I didn't mean it quite like that. I just thought- I mean, it was my- well, nevermind." Sunfeather quickly resumed grooming her fur, tucking her paws longer over her ears to hide the blush of embarrassment to them. Then she heard a mumble but not the words he said. She thought of not asking, but eventually answered, quietly, with, "c-come again?" Now her golden stare was on him, wondering what he had actually said under his breath.
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze was making it a point now to not look Sunfeather in the eye as he tried to answer. "I... I'm not..." His voice got quiet as he kept going, more saying it out of determination to just finish it than genuine want to tell. "I'mnotusetootherstouchingbutIdon'tknowhowtoexpressbeingokaywithitornotokaywithit," was what he manage to get out in one breath.
spikespokeY
"Um..." Sunfeather blinked at him, wondering if that glob of mumbling was words. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. Mostly how do you react to that? Then she spoke up with a hint of confusion to her words. "I-I'm a bit confused." She had to work over his words and break it back to what he meant. "So, you, um, don't want others touching you?" StarClan she really hoped she had not offended him if that was the case. Memories quickly crept up her spine to realize she had touched him without asking and guilt swarmed her thoughts. "Or are you saying... you don't know how to, er, say yes or no to it?"
GreekGodsNerd
"I don't know?" was his very embarrassed answer. He actually sat down by down, looking at his paws confused and regretting his determination. How do you explain something you don't know or are unsure of yourself? "I mean... it's easier to have someone on my back or really close to me if there's something to distract? Like with the whole fox patrol, when carrying Bristlestar back to camp, what mostly help was the pain and you and Softbelly talking," he figured to say before looking back at her. "But like, without something to distract I'm more in a flight or fight response? With the added choice of acceptance? And like... dealing with that with kits isn't... it doesn't sound like a good thing but also the idea that they'd need warmth sort of makes it hard to ignore that and... I'm rambling at this point and I don't know why."
spikespoke
Sunfeather was always one to be drawn towards the bleeding heart. There was no way she could say no to a cat that seemed like they needed help. She quickly moved closer to Ashblaze but making sure this time to not touch him. The last thing she wanted was to do so and create that sense of awkwardness or discomfort that started this whole thought for the tom. The molly ducked her head down to try and meet his stare though with no success. Instead, her "mom-friend" override took over. "Don't do something you're not comfortable with," she stated with more firmness than she ever had in this conversation. Finally, his head moved up and she could see his distraught stare. "Ashblaze, we have a whole clan here." Her tail twitched nervously though she spoke with a stronger voice, perhaps feeling the need to carry strength for him. "We have plenty of cats happy to help the kits. You being here, defending StoneClan, hunting for StoneClan, is enough. Don't feel the need to sacrifice your own comfort for others. You matter too." The cream tabby leaned back again and curled her claws slightly into the soft earth, looking sheepish. "I know you matter. If you want to help them like that one day, w-we'll have more kits in StoneClan. More leaf bares with you here. You'll have time to o-overcome that and, um, help then. If you want. But don't rush yourself. We all have growing to do." Instantly, her ears went back and her stare went directly away from Ashblaze. She had said too much. Maybe it was best to move on. Maybe he'd hate her now for speaking up like that. In any case, it was hard not to notice the gentle shiver she had. "You'll be okay. I believe that." Despite the physical reaction she had, her words were true. Now if only her nerves would go away.
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze let loose an audible gulp at her being so close and her words. The fact they had a clan, that he was part of a whole community, was still hard to get into his head. He'd been so use to being the stronger one and the one to (literally) help carry Soot that it was just easy to forget that he was now in a place where others were capable of doing that too and that he also needed that sort of help. As she had leaned away, the tom continued to stare at her, looking at her with a bit of admiration despite her looking away. "Thanks," he managed to get out, before mentally smacking himself. 'Really? That's all you can say!?' he berated himself. He watched her a bit more, noticing her shiver as he began to stand up himself. "Cold?" he asked, wondering if they needed to head back to camp for her own comfort.
spikespoke
Sunfeather hadn't realized that her trembling was noticed and she jumped slightly when Ashblaze spoke again. Instinct meant her gold eyes went back to him and his mismatched ones but now her watery eyes could be seen. "Y-you're welcome," she said through the shaking of her words. "N-not cold. I-I'll be f-fine." HE didn't seem mad. Sunfeather covered her nose and cast her eyes down. It was hard to hide the near-crying she wanted to do. Ashblaze had been very patient with her and she couldn't even handle her own confrontation. Even the imaginary one. "Just... need a sec." Those words were more strained, sounding like her throat had clenched on them. After a sec, Sunfeather whispered, "I-I know you don't... like touch, b-but may I?"
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze frowned in slight concerned "Okay, you do not get to say that I shouldn't sacrifice my comfort if you're going to try to do the same," he said, trying to give a bit of a joking air while still being serious at the same time. He scrunched his face up in worry at seeing that she had been close to crying, stepping half a step closer. At her whispered request, he felt himself feel a lot warmer as his ears went back in slight embarrassment again. He had actually stood frozen still for a moment before giving a slight nod, barely whispering back a "yes."
Ha. It was true. She was a bit of a hypocrite. The cream tabby blinked up at him, whispering back, "Thank you." Then she moved over, hunkering next to Ashblaze, and hiding her face in his fur. She tried to hold back, not pressing tight to him like some terrified kit, but she did try to hide her face until she could collect her thoughts together. The she-cat took in a shaky breath and held it before speaking up. "I'm fine. R-really. I just... get nervous. Then I get emotional. Then I cry. It's my thing." She tried so hard to play it off, trying to keep talking to as not leave Ashblaze in the predicament. Sunfeather reached up, wiping her eyes, then pulling away after the brief break. Her face turned up into a smile despite her watery eyes. "Sorry. I-I was really worried you'd hate me for s-speaking up like that. So thank you, Ashblaze. I really meant what I said. I- I just got scared is all. But I think we'll both be okay if we have our clan and our friendship."
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze tried his best not to freeze up as she press into him, but couldn't help it despite his efforts. He didn't full understand why he felt a lot warmer either, but tried his best to try and distract himself in the process. While she was collecting her thoughts, he found himself lacking in anything distracting as his mind went back to her having her face in his long fur. He turned his head towards her awkwardly, very much unsure of what to actually do and a part of him, just the tiniest voice in his head, wondering if she'd try to attack him if he tried to comfort her while she was there. It felt silly, and by all means she was one of the last cats in his mind to even try such a stunt. But so many moons, fights long gone in the past and his own kithood made it hard to just not think such a thought. Plus, it was once again enforced in his mind of just how small she was compared to him. He was just starting to relax a small bit, getting used to the presence when she pulled away. "What?" he said at first before her words actually got through to his head. "Why would you think I'd hate you for trying to look out for me?" Who pushed it into this nervous speck of sunshine thinking this? The word 'friendship' also got to him, causing a small smile to form on his face unbeknownst to him. "Friends... yeah that sounds... nice."
spikespoke
Sunfeather frowned to think of any reason why she felt this way. Why she was always on the defensive. Ready to protect her word against others or ready to lay her life down over the smallest of things. "It's a long story," she sighed. "Maybe... maybe we can talk about it later. But we should be happy right now." Sunfeather gently prodded Ashblaze and offered him another grin. "You- you did really well. Thank you, Ashblaze. And yeah, we- we have to be friends. We fought a fox together." She giggled and stood up, wiping her eyes one last time. "So, you know, we have that. But come on. I- I broke enough rules letting you out and about, didn't I? We should head back."
GreekGodsNerd
Ashblaze gave a smile, still awkward before nodding, unable to find his voice and offering to lead the way this time.
spikespoke
The molly nodded back to him, falling in step with the larger warrior. Slowly, she spoke again but this time with a purr back to her words. "Thank you, Ashblaze. Truly, StoneClan should be glad to have you. I know I am." The silence was welcomed after that though occasionally it was filled with small talk. Getting Ashblaze home so he could get back to resting his shoulder was what came first. When they got back, Sunfeather thanked the tom for the walk then quickly broke away to tend to the camp. A warm glow fit to her face as she glanced back at him. It was nice to know he was here. It made this camp feel all the more normal. It was good to have a friend too. A true friend. With that, she turned back and hurried on.