@Raywood
It had been over a moon since Grouseflurry was selected to be the deputy of Skyclan, the clan finally seeming to settle back down after the disappearances of the previous deputy and such, getting back into the comfortable groove of things. He took his apprentice out for training every other day, working hard to get the young tom to be as good as he wanted to be, answering any and all questions that he asked, providing help whenever he could, typical Grouse for you really.
Many cats, who may not have known the brown tabby were quickly warming up to him, though that was pretty expected due to his charismatic and cheerful personality. In some cases, his energy and optimism were quite infectious and some cats just couldn't help.. Liking this tom. Even if they wanted to hate him, they found themselves smiling like complete fools when he was around, unable to stop themselves from grinning when he said his greetings to them.
But was this what the clan needed for deputy?
Some could wonder that perhaps a cheerful, naive cat would not be the best cat, what if he couldn't get serious in a situation that required it? What if he wasn't firm enough with loners at the border? How would he deal with a traitor, would he forgive him because he saw the best in every cat? Some cats argued that it would be better to have a stern, level-headed cat rather than one that everyone just simply liked. Of course these arguments were never spoken in the presence of the deputy, fearful that the polite and incredibly nice tom would hear them, they couldn't bring themselves to want to hurting his feelings because he's never done anything wrong to any cat.

With a content sigh, the decently muscled brown tabby padded through the camp entrance, several squirrels and a single robin dangling from his jaws as he headed towards the fresh kill pile, his tail held high as it usually was, a sign of his perpetual happiness that he wasn't afraid to show. No one should be afraid of expressing their happiness, that's what he believed and often said.
Sunlight dancing on and dappling along his back, he would stoop his head down and carefully drop his catches on the pile with the slightest flick of his tail, green eyes glancing upward and squinting just slightly as he looked at the canopy of the tree's, seeing the shadow of a bird flit from one branch to another, the golden rays of light catching his eyes and almost causing them to shimmer like a green crystal, an emerald. After several moments of looking up at the light, he had to shake his head a bit and blink away from looking upwards, what was he doing looking at the canopy anyways?
Chuckling quietly to himself, the deputy would swivel his head around slowly, looking at the cats in the clearing, trying to gather a census of who was here, what they were doing and perhaps if anyone would be open for a small chat over a sunhigh meal, something he quite enjoyed partaking in.
So while his gaze swept over the cats of the clearing, he would stoop his head down again and nose through the pile carefully before selecting a thrush, lifting his head up with the piece of prey hanging there by its tail feathers, he would continue to look for perhaps a cat to chat with.

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 43514) Stumbling out of the apprentice den and into the clearing, a rather nervous Skyepaw found herself looking around, what was her mentors name!? She clearly was losing it and would never be fit to be a warrior if she couldn't remember his name. The new apprentice had only lived in the clan for five moons, surely she could remember someone's name by now. Aetherwing on the otherhand was lounging out on a rock, sunning himself, he didn't mind the thought that the pair of rescues were a little late. They'd figure out today when they were supposed to be up. Tomorrow would be when the fun began, looking over upon hearing the bumbling that was Skyepaw he looked for the apprentice's friend, Mistypaw, who would be his apprentice.

~for @Octavia~

Ashfeather padded into the clearing, the gentle silvery she cat sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws. Her dark ocean colored blue hues scanned the clearing, looking fairly interested- and a little worried at the same time. She often looked like that, without trying to. The young warrior's tail flicked a little and she gave a small smile towards a few of the cats she saw, although she didn't try to make conversation with any of them. She tended to get nervous when she did so. Her thoughts were a little worried, although based on her calm demeanor, it didn't appear that way. She looked as though she were thinking rather than wondering what she should do and worrying about getting looks from other cats. She didn't like to be stared at...she really didn't like it. It made her feel uncomfortable. This is probably why I don't have too many friends, she thought to herself with a slight shrug. It was true; the young she cat didn't really have a lot of friends. In fact, she had next to none, although that was perfectly alright with her. She preferred it that way, to have just a few close friends that she could trust, rather than a bunch of friends that she couldn't. The she cat yawned, stretching out until she was almost laying down, her tail uncurled from her paws and now stretched out nearly all the way behind her.

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 43666) "I-I" Skyepaw murmured before quieting up, noticing that her mentor had revealed herself, tail twitching to the side, she could only nod her head a few times. "I forgot, the sun woke me up much later than in the nursery.." she admitted, not sure what else to say, before dipping her head "... I am ready for what punishment you deem fit." Aetherwing on the other paw was giggling a bit, nodding his head at Mistypaw. "It's alright, I had my first day at one point in my loooooong loooooong life, gosh surely I should be thrown in the elders den already. It feels like a thousand moons already." The tom clearly had a style of mentoring that differed from the norm, or maybe Mistypaw wouldn't know?

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 43780) Ashenstorm would be nearby of course, his tail flicking to and from, the last couple moons had been different, and it was nice having someone he could lean on and talk to who understood that sometimes he had a hard grasp with forming the words in his mind out loud. The mottled dark colored tom could only hold back so much, and often it was nice to curl up next to the shy she-cat, she knew what to say to him often enough. As it stood the tom was wandering back into the camp a trio of mice dangling from his maw, the fact he had been hunting was obvious. The pride that he had done so well was not so obvious, maybe perhaps he had done it for the clan, and maybe perhaps little bit to show off to his mate who happened to be in the clearing as he dropped off the prey. Turning back to head on over the tom's tail flicked back and forth excitedly, his gait becoming more giddy happy. She made his day quite easily. Ending up along her side the tom leaned down to brush his muzzle along Ashfeather's side, purring quietly.

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 44181) @Derpple and Ashie Skyepaw could only cough quietly in apologies "I-uhm... sorry, it won't happen again" the she-cat mumbled out bashfully, who knows, maybe the pair will have a bashful-contest, who ever squeaks first loses. Shaking the stray thought away she looked up at her mentor, "Bramblestripe, what's my punishment?" She finally managed to ask, preparing for the worst? Perhaps she'd get exiled if she failed again like this? Aetherwing on the other paw was having the hardest time keeping a straight face? "How old am I?" He asked himself, quizzically, as if he was going senile for a moment, "Well how old am I, there was the great flooding... the fox attacks... the time pigs flew..." mumbling off to himself for the moment before gasping and looking over., "I know exactly how old I am! I'm old enough to mentor you!" He beamed with a smirk, glancing over to Bramblestripe, as if his humor was pretty good or something

Originally Posted by Lonestar23 (Post 38277) Pantherkit continued to fight on the imaginary battlefield, knowing how strange it must look for him to be jumping and slashing at nothing, but frankly he didn't care. He was having fun, more than he had in a long time as a matter of fact, and he was enjoying every single second of it. Pantherkit spun around to talk to his "deputy," his tail lashing in mock anger, his yellow hues flitting around the clearing as he watched the battle scene commencing. To his surprise, he saw Ashenpaw leaping through the air towards him, obviously preparing to pin him to the ground. "Ashenpaw, wait!" He squeaked out, and although he was about her size, he knew there wasn't much he was going to be able to do against an apprentice. Even being a young apprentice, Ashenpaw had still had training, which was more than he had. At least her claws were sheathed, otherwise Pantherkit would have had to brace himself to be clawed, which was something the young tom absolutely hated. It had happened once before, on accident, and had left a nasty mark although luckily no scar. The fantasy seemed to fade before his eyes as surprise set in, and he was disappointed to find the clearing as before, calm and with no signs of rogues, cats fighting, and no dead or wounded cats, although even if it had been real he would have preferred not to see the last one. Not unless they were rogues, at any rate. Pantherkit didn't have enough time to jump out of the way, as he knew, and even if he wanted to he was practically frozen in shock, which was one of the young tom's flaws. It seemed that whenever he was placed in a frightening situation, he would just freeze up, as though the world around him had stopped moving.

Originally Posted by Raywood (Post 43750) @Duskflight The past moon or so had flew by like a blur, leaving Rabbitfluff half dizzy and half lost in its wake considering the way things appeared to be changing quickly and without warning. The leadership was enough of a challenge to stomach when growing accustomed to change wasn't his specialty, then to tack on his mate's disappearance with a deputy being appointed in the empty position. Rabbitfluff had nothing against either Lemonstar or Grouseflurry, but the former he was beginning to question in skill. The Clan wasn't in dire need of direction, but where in StarClan's name was he? Lately, it felt as if Grouseflurry was doing the vast majority of the work around SkyClan, despite his status as a deputy. Grouseflurry was more of an enigma to the lithe tom, not that he had put in a ton of effort into getting to understand who he was, aside from a diligent warrior. Minus their initial meeting, there'd been an extreme lack of formal interaction between the two, and therefore he didn't believe it was right to pass judgment on a cat he didn't even know personally.Taking into consideration Lemonstar's absence, and how the Clan hadn't fallen to pieces yet, he could safely assume he wasn't the worst deputy in the world. The other piece that hinted at his supposedly good nature was the rest of SkyClan's reactions to him, which hadn't gone unnoticed by Rabbitfluff. Certainly, he took a little longer to warm up to new faces, but everyone else seemed head-over-heels for Grouseflurry, whereas he failed to see the appeal in the tom. It wasn't that he disliked him, but he simply couldn't grasp what was likable to that extent. The timing of his thoughts were perfect, as he glanced up from the mouse he was working on to notice a rather happy-looking Grouseflurry padding through the camp entrance with the day's catches. Rabbitfluff returned to his own fresh kill, staring blankly at it since his appetite had faded and left him only able to eat small meals intermittently throughout the day without getting sick.

Strangely enough, the thought that he was doing most of the work for the clan hadn't even crossed the tom's mind, nor the fact that he hadn't actually spoken to his good friend Lemonstar in a while either, much less seen the tom around the camp. But then again, being so busy, it was acceptable that the tom hadn't exactly thought about it, that and some may suggest that the brown tabby had a knack for forgetting things or becoming preoccupied with other things enough to actually forget certain things and since it wasn't exactly a problem for him, doing a bunch of work for the clan, it hadn't even made it onto the list of his priorities to think about it. In fact, he liked being busy like this, he was an energetic tom after all and sometimes he could perhaps get a bit irritable (hardly if you asked any other cat) if he had nothing to preoccupy himself with.

But I digress; the deputy, not long after taking a gander at the cats present in the clearing, had spotted a particularly pompous tom that he hadn't actually gotten a chance to speak to in a while. Our dear character Rabbitfluff! Immediately his features seemed to brighten seeing the cat that stared rather absently at his meal, Grouseflurry's tail curling in delight before he promptly made an approach to the reserved tom. There was plenty to catch up on, he was sure and so there was much excitement that radiated off of the tabby as he padded up before politely dipping his head and dropping his chosen meal in order to speak properly.

"Greetings Rabbitfluff, is there a chance that I could possibly join you in eating? It's been a while since our last encounter and I'd be interested in catching up if you'd allow me the pleasure." meowed the tom in a highly pleasant and warm voice, the usual tone that accompanied his words, the sound of a stifled purr caused there to be a strange sort of soft rumbling in his voice, but other than that it was fairly normal.
He wouldn't make a move to settle down until the other warrior gave him the go ahead, should the tom decide that he did not want to speak to Grouseflurry at the moment, the deputy would happily accept his decision and instead move on to eat by himself, or perhaps search for another cat to speak with as he ate, something he enjoyed doing as I may have stated before.

Originally Posted by Raywood (Post 45102) Disinterested, Rabbitfluff contemplated simply walking away from the fresh-kill or forcing himself to finish it for the sake of being polite.. but being polite to who? The warrior that'd caught it? The cream-and-brown tom hadn't a clue who would be benefiting from that course of action. He'd end up with a bellyache or nausea, and the original catcher probably would remain oblivious either way. That left the question of what to do, however. He could hunt for a replacement, though that required getting his paws dirty, and he would prefer to avoid that, if at all possible. It wasn't that Rabbitfluff was lazy, he didn't grasp the appeal in killing an animal so crudely, barbarically, for the gain of an additional meal given he hadn't been instructed to do so by a feline of authority. Having already turned back to his food, he didn't immediately catch it when Grouseflurry reacted to him with happiness, but he did peer up after hearing the approach of pawsteps. Expression quizzical, he cocked his head to the side and waited for him to draw nearer, wondering if he'd receive some sort of explanation for the sudden interest, or an order from the deputy. "Good day, Grouseflurry," Rabbitfluff meowed, not bothering to mask the hint of hesitance and questioning from his tone as he surveyed the tabby. The more he spoke, the more confused he became, perplexed that another clanmate would go out of his way to engage in a dialogue when it was as if the majority of SkyClan avoided him. Understandably. Shuffling to make a bit of room for him, he gave an amiable,"If you'd like..? I hadn't been aware my company was so sought after." It was his roundabout method of inquiring what Grouseflurry might want to obtain from this interaction, as he surely wasn't here because he enjoyed what he had to share. With a lifetime of looking down upon others behind him, he doubted anyone would desire his friendship. While he knew Grouseflurry seemed to be sociable by nature, he didn't like the thought of being pitied. If that was why he'd come, Rabbitfluff decided he could kindly remove himself from his presence. On the bright side, at least now he had an easy excuse to voice the compliments he'd mentally considered earlier. "I see it must be a lovely evening to hunt," he said, eyes briefly flicking to the rest of the catches Grouseflurry had retrieved. "Or perhaps you're just skilled." There was no sarcasm or malice coming from him, but instead almost a trace of amusement. "Does the prey flock to you as SkyClan seems to?"

Despite living a fast-paced, energetic life, there has never been a time that he hadn't paid attention to the emotion on another cat's face because, over the years, he's come to realize that some cats, that's all they could talk with, their emotions, their body language, some cats just weren't good at verbally speaking. When he was younger, he hadn't understood that and well, sometimes he forced cats into situations to speak when they didn't necessarily want to speak. He's learned from that mistake, he's learned to read how others are feeling, or as much as the emotions on their face allowed him to see. And so he didn't miss the quizzical look that had passed along Rabbitfluff's head as he approached. And he could guess why.

His head dipped slightly at the other warrior's returned greeting, taking a mental note of the hesitance and questioning tone that was very obviously present in the toms response. Grouseflurry knew that the smaller warrior in front of him wasn't exactly the most.. Popular in the clan and could understand the sort of doubtfulness that the tom might feel for his desire to conversate with him, though made no outward appearance that he noticed.

Finally allowing the trapped purr to escape his throat, it almost seemed to explode as Rabbitfluff made a somewhat awkward move to make room to suggest that the tabby could indeed join him in the feasting though that term is used lightly. Picking up his mouse, the deputy would eagerly settle down right next to the other tom, tucking his tail neatly to his side and holding his prey in his outstretched forepaws, head swiveled and focused in Rabbitfluff's direction, his signature warm and happy grin spreading his lips and showing his glinting white teeth. "Well I don't know about others, I can't really speak for them, but I can speak for me and say that I do enjoy your company! It's a shame that I haven't gotten to spend more time with you, it's been what? Nearly a moon! Maybe even longer!" There was an air of exasperation in his tone because truly, Grouseflurry was surprised it had been so long since the two of them last had a conversation and really, he didn't like that one bit. He tried to speak to every warrior he could as often as he could, get a census on how everyone was doing, that, and he just enjoyed talking with clanmates, they were like his family after all.

Ears swiveling slightly as the other cat spoke up, he carefully got to work on plucking the fur from the mouse he had chosen though his vibrant green eyes remained focused on Rabbitfluff. Modestly he chuckled and shook his head, "I'm just as skilled as any warrior here Rabbitfluff, truly I'm nothing special." Though he couldn't help but laugh at the last comment, rolling his shoulders in a form of a shrug, looking back at his meal. "I wouldn't say that other cats flock to me, if anything I'd say that I might drive them away with my optimism! But no, no, I have to hunt the prey like any other cat, though it'd certainly be nice if they just fell into our paws hm?" Eyes glimmering with that incessant happiness, he glanced over at his eating companion before taking a modest bite out of his meal.

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 45278) Aetherwing was infact 100% serious about his teaching style, and unless it meant him being pushed off a conveniently placed, she'd have to deal with him, every minute of it! Tilting his head over he couldn't help but smirk as much as a cat could, tail flicking to and from. Glancing back at Bramblestripe, a look of shock on his face he couldn't help but take a step towards the meekish she-cat. "They did too fly! You just weren't out hunting with me that day!" Transitioning from the amused expression tabby couldn't help but furrow his brow, developing a serious expression, "Well when you put it that way, I guess being old enough to be an apprentice is all that matters. Do you even know the first rule of warrior way?" He asked, getting as serious as he could, which was laughable to anyone who knew him. Skyepaw on the other paw was more and more confused by Aetherwing's antics, having only really grown up with other she-cats she was intrigued, leaning over very, very slowly she whispered to Bramblestripe, "A-are all toms like this?" She wasn't really sure what she had been thinking about a few seconds ago.

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 45319) Ashenstorm could only let out a small noise of happiness, it wasn't very macho, but he didn't mind that he wasn't very tom-like. He was himself and Ashfeather had helped him be happy with himself. The mottled tom's heart sped up as he noticed just how happy the delicate fluffy she-cat he called his mate. Ashfeather was the softer side to an already fairly pairing. It was silly in a way, he was moss on a tree, but she was the flowers that floated in the breeze. They both were fairly quiet cats, but together they communicated in all the right ways without hardly speaking. It was when they spoke that they really wanted to convey something, even if it was a small simple thing. "Oooh it was alright, except it was lacking..." murmuring softly, touching the tip of his nose against the very tip of her ear. "Oooh you know, at least a little bit of time with you." A short while after he settled down, letting himself lay out along his mates side. Tail flicking gently about, he was unable to resist in letting a faint rumble start to emanate from his own fuzzy chest in response to her own expression of affection.

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 45422) Clearing his throat at once, Aetherwing narrowed up, standing firm and proud, proud enough to be American, staring down into the eyes of his apprentice, he could only let his expression remain the same for so long, eye firm and unyielding for almost a minute before he snickered and looked away, "Oooh you should have seen the look on your face, it's almost as if you were wrong..." His voice quieting down he he waited a moment before smiling, "You were right, at least partially enough to pass the test!" He commented out with a smile on his face. "I-I don't know if I want to grow up to deal with more toms like him then." Skyepaw mumbled a little more happy to have the quiet shy Bramblestripe as her mentor.

Originally Posted by Raywood (Post 45164) Blinking at Grouseflurry as he settled into his spot, Rabbitfluff returned his joyous expression with a bit of a blank one, not opposed to conversing with him but finding it odd when he was a loner. Partially by choice, since he figured he could hold back the stinging comments from time to time. As a socialite and a cat that everybody appeared to know and love, Grouseflurry was much different than he in terms of personality, and, while Rabbitfluff didn't mind his company, he didn't quite understand why he would bother. The purr that he emitted was startling. Well, not terribly. Grouseflurry always found a reason to smile or be cheerful, an admirable trait, though not something he happened to possess as well. With Lemonstar's unexplained disappearance looming over them, that could be what the Clan needed to ensure their spirits were kept high. In a better mood than usual, his ears were tilted forward in earnest interest, but that didn't erase the innate hesitance he felt toward the other tom. "You don't have to speak for them," Rabbitfluff said, flicking his puff-like tail dismissively. "I don't happen to walk around with my eyes closed, and they make their opinions perfectly clear, I assure you." And it wasn't a bad thing, for he was bothered very little by their attitudes, believing he deserved whatever animosity was directed his way. More often than not, the feeling was mutual. Unsure how to react, Rabbitfluff offered an appreciative half-smile upon learning Grouseflurry enjoyed his presence, still hoping he wasn't doing this out of pity or some less-than-noble motivation. "I suppose, but that should hardly rank on your priorities," a huff, "considering you're the deputy." To a leader who was seemingly gone without any warning. "I might add, it's shocking that I even cross your thoughts." The modest chuckle and subsequent response prompted him to raise his eyebrows, a touch perplexed by that and tempted to ask if he was oblivious or ridiculously dull. He had a notion it was the former, as Grouseflurry gave off an air of intelligence, and he held his tongue. "That's one perspective," he pointed out nonchalantly, aware there was an abundance of warriors with varying skills in certain tasks, but maybe Grouseflurry was implying their strengths and weaknesses tended to even out. Blue gaze meeting Grouseflurry's green, Rabbitfluff contemplated that and lightly shrugged his shoulders, "Do you? By StarClan, that's a surprise-- I was under the impression you were a pessimist." The younger tom was speaking sarcastically and with feigned shock, but not hurtfully; there was no bite to the words.

Grouseflurry's burning optimism caused him to completely overlook the blank look, he didn't mind it one bit, some cats weren't used to company, like that one cat Yarrowpounce, he was a nice tom sure enough, he just wasn't used to company! He often found himself conversing with the meek tom because it seemed like any time he held a conversation with him, it seemed to brighten the tom's mood, so, in a way, that could have been a minor motive in him approaching Rabbitfluff, though there may be other underlying motives as well, sometimes you just couldn't tell with the tabby tom. But one very obvious thing that could always be known about the tom was his emotions, seemingly limited to just that of pure happiness and perhaps even innocence, a purity to him that really only kits seemed to hold. Whether he was innocent or not could be debated, but his happiness and optimism was unquestioned.

The tilted ears of Rabbitfluff were a good sign for Grouseflurry and it allowed him to continue the approach he was going and that was bordering on the more talkative approach, should he have gotten a less interested interaction, he would have proceeded with a different way. "Oh I never would have expected that you would walk around with your eyes closed, that would be too much to ask! I mean, what if you accidentally bump into another cat, that could make for quite the embarrassing incident don't you think? Oh or what if you accidentally stumble over a root, that could lead to some injuries and that wouldn't be good at all!" His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head before he chuckled out, whiskers quivering with lighthearted amusement.

Green gaze momentarily glancing over, he puffed out an exhale with a small flick of his tail, a notion that he was a bit exasperated by the other tom's response. "Wh-Of course it ranks pretty high on my priorities, if it didn't then I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you, now would I? Wait.. Well.. Yes I would, but that's not the point!" Clearing his throat, he flicked his tail and gave himself a second to take another nibble at his mouse before continuing.
"Speaking with the warriors of the clan and checking in on them is very important to me, it has always been important to me and me being deputy makes no difference to that. And what do you mean that it's shocking to find that you would ever cross my thoughts, you're an important addition to this clan Rabbitfluff!" Grouseflurry spoke with a grin and nudged at the tom's shoulder with his tail before looking back at his meal.

Though his eyes did meet with Rabbitfluff's again as the smaller tom spoke out with sarcasm, causing the brown tabby's face to light up and a small bout of laughter to begin escaping him; for some reason, Grouseflurry enjoyed sarcasm quite a lot, it was like telling a joke with the inflection of your voice! "Oh, sorry to give you that impression! But I assure you, I am not a pessimist, I think the correct term is optimist!"

Purring out, he glanced at the meal that the warrior had barely touched and couldn't help but tilt his head a bit in mild curiosity. "Not hungry?" Green gaze flickering to the Rabbitfluff's side, he could tell that the other hadn't exactly been eating regularly, he knew it was leaf-fall, but.. His size wasn't quite right. All of the warriors should at least be decently well fed, so that could mean one of two things, either he was sick, or purposefully not eating, maybe suffering from a lack of appetite due to stress? Depression? Anxiety? Grouseflurry was unsure, but he wouldn't question if Rabbitfluff gave any notion that he did not want to be questioned about the matter.

Originally Posted by Raywood (Post 46337) Although he didn't talk nearly as frequently as Grouseflurry nor did he have quite the extensive social life (not many did), Rabbitfluff wouldn't call himself a shy feline, especially not in comparison to some of what he'd seen in his lifetime but attributed his habit of not saying much to what he was taught as a kit. His parents had been stoic and proper, and he'd grown up in the same manner; besides, others listened closer when he wasn't voicing everything that came to mind. But if he did, he had little doubt he would be even less popular around SkyClan than what he already was. "You say that as if I would walk with my eyes closed upon your mere demand to do so," he pointed out, tilting his head to the side. "I'll have you made aware, High and Mighty deputy of SkyClan, that I certainly wouldn't be risking injury simply because you asked me to," Rabbitfluff huffed but wasn't serious, in fact it was verging on a playful tone. A flicker of amusement ignited within the depths of his ocean-blue gaze, and he inquired teasingly, "Though from the detailed way in which you speak of this hypothetical situation, I might conclude that you have first-hand experience...?" It could have been improper to retort with such a comment to a warrior of authority, yet he found himself unable to hold his tongue, and it wasn't as if he intended it to come off as malicious. Grouseflurry had a tendency to awake that piece of him, allowing the young, fluff tom to open up a bit and diverge from his stick-in-the-mud attitude temporarily. "Does it?" he mused over that for a second or two. "Lemonstar must not be giving you enough duties, these days." If striking up a conversation with arguably the most irritable cat in the Clan was high on the deputy's priorities, it led Rabbitfluff to believe Grouseflurry either was bored or had an insatiable wish to get his ears clawed. But of course, he knew it wasn't true that Grouseflurry wasn't busy when the leader's disappearance left him not only his original tasks, but Lemonstar's as well. It was humbling that he would prefer to spend his time chatting with him, but hardly appropriate, Rabbitfluff decided. It caught him off-guard as Grouseflurry's tail nudged his shoulder and momentarily forgetting his own tail was nothing more than a puffball, it twitched as he expressed feigned annoyance at the gesture of friendly affection. "Flattering," he responded dryly. "What exactly do I add, if I may inquire? Aesthetic value?" Confused by the reaction his sarcasm warranted, Rabbitfluff critically examined Grouseflurry and wondered if he'd somehow said it wrong to imply the opposite, but what was said clarified that was not the case. Grouseflurry apparently took it in stride and despite how that rendered his primary weapon of defense useless, it was a point of curiosity: was this how the deputy could stand him? Did he genuinely enjoy his antics? If so.. he supposed he didn't know what to do with that, since it was a rarity among those who happened to cross his path. A small twinge of surprise swept across him as his lack of appetite was brought to attention, not that he dwelled on it, for it wasn't necessarily that he had an issue explaining why he wasn't eating properly, but he was shocked by the audacity and sheer innocence of the question. "It's been a long few moons," Rabbitfluff settled on that, shrugging his shoulders and choosing to avoid going into the specifics in this setting. The middle of the clearing wasn't a wonderful place for that sort of topic.

A grunt escaped the brown tabby as he heard the tailless warrior's playful response, his pleasant smile turning into a wide grin of joy with a dash of his own form of playfulness; the tom loved it when others decided to dawn a playful attitude with him. "Uf! I am not high and mighty, I'm just like any old warrior, with well, just more duties and responsibilities!" His whiskers quivered again with heavy amusement, his spring bud green eyes flickering with various forms of emotion, all of them hardly uncharacteristic for the cheerful cat, the emotions including happiness, humor, and a bit of intelligence as he tried to configure his next response to the tom beside him, taking a quick bite out of the mouse which was quickly disappearing at his paws. "Accidents.. May, or may not have happened.. I just wanted to see if they'd actually do it!" Laughing heartily, there would be a long pause before he shook his head, Grouseflurry couldn't lie. "Ah, but no, I would never ask any cat to do that, there's no reasoning behind it aside from being silly. Though perhaps now that it's been brought up, maybe I should demand that you do it." Eyes still glimmering with amusement, he'd glance over with a smirk before grinning and shaking his head again; to be truthful, Grouseflurry was terrible at teasing because he'd always apologize or end up telling the truth or something of the like. "No, no, I wouldn't do it, don't worry."

"Hah, you could say that again! There's been some days where I've been forced to do nothing but relax, can't say I quite enjoy it and I wish he'd give me more stuff to do!" While it might seem as if he were trying to be sarcastic, the deputy was being completely honest, he did not like being given time to relax. He liked to be up, moving around, doing things for the clan, doing something. But lately.. He.. Hadn't seen Lemonstar at all, in fact, he can't recall having seen Lemonstar since he had selected him as deputy. And the state the clan was in now, they couldn't afford having an absent leader. Grouseflurry had to step up, whether he was ready or not, the clan needed it. He might not be the best cat for the spot, but he was next in line, all he could hope for is that he could do the best for the clan that he could. That's actually why he had approached Rabbitfluff. He needed to go and receive his 9 lives.

At the smaller warriors response to the deputy's inquiry about not eating, the brown tabby simply nodded. Now wouldn't be a good time to bring it up to the tom, but he would certainly bring it up later, or well.. He'd certainly keep it on mind and check up on Rabbitfluff more often. It wasn't good that he wasn't eating, they were about to hit the hardest season for prey and he would need to eat all the food he could now to be strong for the leaf-bare to come.

A small cloud of silence settled over the two for a moment as the deputy finished up his meal, mulling over about how he would ask Rabbitfluff to accompany him to the Whispering Cave. Really, Grouseflurry could have chosen anyone in the clan to journey with him, but.. He wanted to get to know the tailless warrior more, with the notion that he wasn't eating well, he wanted to keep an eye on him, but mostly he enjoyed his company. The brown tabby couldn't quite explain, perhaps it was because he enjoyed everyone's company and he just happened to sit with Rabbitfluff today, perhaps there was deeper meaning than that, who knew. But he had decided he wanted the warrior next to him to journey with him. "Rabbitfluff, I have a question." For once, there was seriousness in his voice, the happiness was still there but it was dulled down, his eyes focused on his paws. "I haven't seen Lemonstar in nearly a moon, really not since the night of the ceremony and I'm sure the clan is starting to take note of his absence. Skyclan can't afford to be leaderless and.. I'm deputy. So what I'm asking is.." Flicking an ear, the tom looked over at Rabbitfluff, green eyes meeting blue. "Would you accompany me on my journey to the Whispering Cave?"

@toothlost!

Flicking his ears, Yarrowpounce carefully settled down at the edge of the clearing with a mouse between his paws, his face a bit blank before a meager smile touched his lips, eyes blinking as he leaned his head down to sniff at his mouse, murmuring a quiet thank you to Starclan before gently beginning to pluck off the fur from the deceased rodent.
A lot of things have been happening in Skyclan, in terms of changes in leadership. He had been saddened to hear that his half-brother Lemonstar had all but disappeared soon after his rise to leadership, but luckily enough another cat was quick to take the spot so that the clan wouldn't crumble away into nothing. All he could do was hope that this cat wouldn't disappear as well, it almost appeared to be a curse on the Skyclan leadership, at least to Yarrowpounce anyways, but he'd never say that to anyone. But Grousestar, he seemed like a friendly, good-hearted cat, if he happened to stick around then he'd likely do a good job at being the leader of the clan.

After plucking off all of the fur from the mouse, the white furred tom with brown patches would pause, licking his lips. There was something bigger working on his mind though, it was the disappearance of the one cat who.. Who well, made him happy, made him comfortable. He hadn't seen Willowrain in moons and honestly, it's been tearing him apart inside. Had his awkwardness driven away another cat? That's what it seemed like to him.
Just when he thought he had a chance at maybe having a mate, it was ripped away.
Blinking at the thought, he flicked an ear, trying to dismiss him, but to be truthful, that's all he could think about. Sometimes it made him cry at night because he truly did think he had a chance with her. Wrinkling his nose, he blinked back tears and shook his head. No crying, you should have expected it anyways.
Leaning his head down, he would take a small bite out of the mouse, staring at the ground as he did so. He would need to go out later to hunt and clear his mind.

Originally Posted by toothlost! (Post 49495) Near the edge of camp a she-cat was sitting and sleeping, passing time away as her brother was off on a patrol, and she having returned from the dawn one earlier in the day. Eventually her eyes opened and she gazed around the clearing, looking to see if her brother was around. He wasn't, so she sat up and started grooming. As she was, she felt hunger wash over her. After her pelt looked decent, she stood and went to the fresh-kill pile, looking for something appetizing. She settled on a thrush, and then looked around the clearing for someone who she could dine with. Eating alone wasn't something she enjoyed, but usually she had a friend around. However, today they were all busy- leaving her to make a new friend. Spotting another cat who had just started eating, she padded that way, inspecting him a moment to see if he was opening to a companion. She couldn't tell, so when she reached his side she fell silent, "Hey, care for some company?" She asked quietly, voice muffled from the bird in her jaws. She hoped he wouldn't say no, but would understand if he did.

After a few moments, the quiet tom was able to get his emotions under control, swallowing down the sadness and sorrow with food and instead focusing his thoughts on the prospect of hunting, something he loved to do, and strangely enough he loved to do it in the seasons of leaf-fall and leaf-bare, he saw it as more of a challenge for his skills, considering he was a very good hunter. Yarrowpounce was better with hunting than with talking with other cats, and it was something he was ashamed of but couldn't quite help.
Flinching a bit in surprise as he suddenly heard a quiet, muffled voice, the tom looked up at the she-cat standing there, asking if she could join him, his eyes glancing down for a moment before dawning a tiny smile and nodding his head. "I wou-wouldn't mind it.." Said the tom awkwardly, scooting over a bit to signify that she could sit with him, his mouse half-eaten.
He always felt awkward in the company of other cats, he never knew what to say, or what to do and it always ended up in awkward silence that became painful for the other cat, causing them to leave and for the quiet, meager tom to be alone again. Sighing quietly, he leaned his head down and took another bite, expecting this interaction to be just the same. There was only one cat that that didn't happen to, and that was Willowrain, and now she was gone.

Originally Posted by Octavia (Post 47493) Letting out a small cough of embarrassment, feeling as though he had messed up in some way for her to have missed him. Ashenstorm was an anxious tom to say it nicely, at his worst he was a total monster wreck. Right now... he was pretty darn close to just being mildly anxious, tail twitching back and forth with every movement around him; the tom was quite a reactive creature, and even now he couldn't help but flinch softly every so often from the unexpected comforting touches that came from his mate. It felt so nice and pleasant, in a way that he couldn't help but have gotten used to, looking forward to them sharing tongues. Didn't help with him still never expecting it, the slightest touch, a tail brushing along his pelt, sent bolts of nervous energy through him. Ashenstorm couldn't help but start to purr louder as they shared a happy little moment just the two of them, him able to filter out the deluge of stimulus that normally threatened to overwhelm his nervous manner at just about every moment. With her it was all mute, subtle, a distant gentle rain; he was able to enjoy life with her around, able to focus on things that were important, and they hadn't really even thought about kits, which he was fine with. Kits were loud, unpredictable, and there was a deep hidden nagging fear inside of him that they'd grow up to hate him for not being macho and super brave like many other warriors of his clan. Twitching his nose as he focused back in on the serenading voice that filled his ears and his alone, the whispering between them was almost akin to a pair of apprentices gossiping, but what was spoken about could never be so juicy or dramatic, merely the simple things that went on when the pair was apart. It was a healthy balance, but still the tom compared himself to other pairs wondering what he could do to keep it going well, it was all he really had personally going for him. "Well I've been doing my best to hunt for the clan, it's hard to keep the young mouths fed if I'm lounging about most the day, so I try my best to be productive to the clan ,seeing I'm not training anyone, and a certain lovely she-cat... doesn't have kits running around needing herding up." the time did his best to not hint at the kits, as he was fine without them having them, or having them. It was enough to have her as a mate to make him happy.

Ashfeather continued to smile, a look of pleasure on her face as she did so. She continued to purr, although it had stopped being the roaring, rumbling sound and had settled down to a kind of vibration, much quieter and calmer than before. "Hm, yes...I haven't really thought about it before," Ashfeather mewed, her smile fading and a thoughtful expression suddenly appearing. She had definitely never thought about kits before. She had often wondered what it might be like to be a Mother, but she hadn't really tried to pursue it. After all, Ashenstorm was quite enough for her, although since she didn't see quite enough of him these days, it might be nice to have kits to keep her company. However, she wasn't at all sure if Ashenstorm would want kits. He would make a wonderful Father, she was sure of that, but she didn't know if she had it in him to actually want to be one.

She knew just thinking about it was making her a little nervous, and her purr was now beginning to falter slightly. It stopped completely a moment later and she raised herself into a sitting position, looking at Ashenstorm with a thoughtful expression. "Have you...ever thought about kits...before?" She asked slowly, some of her old nervous tone coming back. It had been a while since she had felt shy or nervous around him, but with the serious turn the conversation seemed to have taken, she felt as though she couldn't speak clearly. She wasn't sure why, after all this was Ashenstorm...the cat that she would trust with her life, the only cat that she had ever loved, and her best friend in her known world. There really wasn't a reason to be nervous, but Ashfeather, being the awkward young warrior that she was, felt very much so while speaking to him now. She continued to watch him, her blue hues now filled with the slightest worry, and her silvery tail beginning to twitch a little. What would he think of her for asking a question like that? It was a strange question to ask, to be sure...although rather appropriate at the time, at least it had seemed that way to her. Then again, Ashfeather had very little, if any at all, social awareness, and therefore the moment had not been right for her to ask after all. Her tail continued to twitch in an odd, jerking motion. C'mon Ashfeather, you were bound to ask that sooner or later...after all the thinking you've done...and there's no reason for you to be nervous, Ashenstorm is a lovely tom and he's completely understanding, so take a deep breath and try to be calm. Ashfeather managed to regain her smile, and she maintained eye contact with him, at least the best that she could.

(Do you think they should have kits? I was thinking about it for a while, but I wasn't sure whether or not they should x3)

Originally Posted by Moonfang (Post 50220) Surgefrost yawned and stretched as he padded out of the warrior's den. He shook out his medium lengthed fur, and looked around. Seeing the molly drop fresh food into the pile, he smiled like he always does, and walked over to her. "Thanks for the fresh kill, darling." he mewed. His ocean-blue eyes flashing with his usual flirtatious look as he grabbed a mouse.

Originally Posted by Moonfang (Post 50238) "Well, I have seem prettier things." he said, a half-smile across his maw. He took a bit out of the mouse, and after a moment, he looked up and sighed. "Today is beautiful." he sighed. "So, what have you been up to? Especially with the change of leaders in less than two moons?" he asked.

Huffing out in quiet exasperation, Avocetrose settled down into a patch of sunlight to begin grooming herself mercilessly, her stomach rumbling hungrily. There would be nothing that the black and white she-cat would love more than a nice, plump, juicy squirrel, but she needed to do some hunting first. It was leaf-bare and the prey wasn't going to be this plentiful for much longer. She'd need to find a group to go out hunting with, but she'd go looking in a little bit, for now, she was concentrated on being clean.
So without much hesitance, she began to rake her tongue along her coat with a rasping sound, enjoying the warmth the sun provided as it filtered down through the canopy of tree's overhead, her eyes half-lidded as she made quick work of grooming herself.