So things were a bit.... Wobbly right now and a lotta cats were down in the dumps. Which wasnt Mudhound style of choice! Not by far! No, they were more interested in being happy and having the cats around them be happy too! This was a mindset that'd be semi useless if they didnt intent on spreading joy but luckily they didnt mind doing that too!
So who was their target of joy for today? Why it was Springpaw! The hesitant if capricious apprentice had been kind to them of late. She'd cured their horrible sun blindness and allowed them to see the meeting (which had turned out to be important if unpleasant to be in)! The medicine cat apprentice had been kind when doing so too, she didnt make fun of the tripod for them making a foolish mistake and had been very gentle which was much appreciated. So for giving kindness she was getting kindness in return.
It was the way things should be after all.
But what was a good gift and thank you? Herbs would probably be useful but Mudhound didnt really know any, plus then it'd be a work related gift and not a personal one, Springpaw was more then her role afterall. Prey might be good but it was basic. You could just grab prey off the pile whenever you wanted and the maine coon mix didnt know Springpaws favorite to gift that one specifically. So a trinket, something pretty or fun that could be kept and enjoyed that might suit the young healer was more suitable.
Where to find it was easy too.
The haggard ruins, the very place Mudhound was once born and newly reopened was host to many trinkets and bobs left behind in the evacuation. Things once owned and loved that could be again, reminders of good old times to bright light to shadowed nows.
So in the warrior padded, gazing with wide eyes at the area as they remembered fragment kit memories, left decayed and old.
It was.... Empty, though perhaps that was to be expected, quiet but the groans of the old tree from the wind flowing through it and the echod groans from the ground. Which were.... concerning but Mudhound wasnt running yet. They were getting to work. Pawing through fallen dens and overturning old moss they searched, discarding a few shattered shells and gathering a pile of things that may just work, tucked beneath the old meeting spot.
It was a long search and nothing struck their fancy as they looked growing frustrated until a low hoot filled the air. The warrior froze in the once clearing, golden eyes going wide as they slowly lifted their head, scanning the trees. And in the old willow the cats golden eyes met gold in turn, the bright wide gold of an owl.
Not just any owl to be exact, a huge dark great horned owl.
The two were similar in an odd way, both standing still but calm, fur and feathers rustling in the night breeze, gold eyes meeting gold. Even their coloring and size were similar, shades of brown and huge the raptor and hunter stared and felt a strange sort of understanding. Maybe this bird was a threat to others, but they werent to Mudhound, not right now, as they shared this quiet night. Maybe the owl was stressed to, dealing with bird territory troubles of its own and maybe it to had young it wished to protect and care for. Maybe the owl too was searching for something and was happy to share a moment with a fellow creature.
Or maybe Mudhound was reading too much into it as the cat blinked first. The owl was neutral to them that much was clear but how could they know the mind of a bird. Still there was a sense of melancholy rare to the warrior as the owl silently took flight away from the ruins, going away on its own nocturnal journey.
It left a gift though. A large perfectly patterned flight feather drifted to the ground in front of Mudhound and struck them as just what was wanted. So with a soft smile the warrior picked it up and left this place, taking their treasure back to what would be its new owner in time.
#Air (Purrks used: Flock together tier 3)