[Brilliance]

Originally Posted by RosePelt145

Darkfur gazed at the ground again, pinning his ears back at her question. "I... get turned away or rejected by every she-cat I try to say hi to... you're the first to even say hello to me..." He kneaded his paws into the ground nervously, then glanced at her. "I'm not exactly, what you say, withdrawn. I just... don't talk to others a lot because of my fear that I will be rejected because I'm.... different..." he knew most she-cats wanted an able, strong father for their young ones, not a tom who was limited in what he could do, like he. He wished he had never fallen off that rock so long ago while hunting as an apprentice. Maybe then he would have a better, more social life. But he made the mistake, so he had to live with it. He swiveled his ears in her direction as she spoke again. "Uh... I don't know why other cats don't want to be around me... I just get turned away whenever I try to talk to someone... you are the first to socialize with me..." He continued to share the squirrel with her, his tail tip flicking happily. He glanced at her at her next question, nodding gratefully as she gave him the rest of the meal, tearing into it, perking his ears as the breeze blew by again. In between mouthfuls, he meowed, "Yeah I go out a lot of the time. I can't really go very far, but I enjoy sitting under the shade of the trees and just listening to nature and watching what is going on around me. It's calming to me..."
He paused to take another bite before speaking again. "I especially love to go out at night to watch the stars..." He finished his meal and pushed it away from him, closing his eyes as she began to groom him. He listened to her and shyly began to groom her head.

The black tom paused his licking to answer her with a tilt of his head.
"Yes, I was ThunderClan borne... and you are correct, it is very beautiful here... I don't think I could ever leave, despite how I'm treated. You see, my parents died not too long ago, and I was born an only kit, so I don't want to leave the place where I have memories of them... it just feels strange, ya know...?" He silently groomed the back of her neck as he thought of something else to say. "And you're not mouse brained. You just made a mistake... we all make mistakes we regret or even if we don't regret it, it could turn out badly. You don't regret your son, but it was still a mistake to make a cat you did not truly love your mate. But most mistakes we have to live with. How do you think I injured myself so bad?" He smiled and shook his head. "Wait, don't answer that... but anyway, if you don't regret your son, then stop dwelling on your past mistakes. Focus on the present and being there for Jaggedpaw, okay.. ?" He shyly groomed her shoulders as he finally went quiet. The noise going on around them seemed to fill his ears, and he pinned them back to block out some of the noise around them as they shared tongues.

Saplingpetal didn’t understand if that was considered a...bad thing. Darkfur didn’t look too bad to make as a friend. Again, she guessed it was because of his disabilities. Believe it or not, cats were picky - especially she cats. Inwardly, she pitied him but didn’t dare voice that opinion as she was afraid he would snap at her. Aww, you poor thing...she shook her head, sadly watching as he nervously kneaded the ground with his paws. It was probably embarrassing for him to admit that aloud. Darkfur appeared to be a tom that didn’t take chances. She didn’t recall seeing him around much. Unless she had, and just didn’t notice his appearance. Saplingpetal was a busybee social butterfly that made a friend every chance she got. “I have a fear of rejection too, if I’m honest.” She told him, softly. She felt that if she could relate to him, then it would be easier for him to open up. “You make different sound like being a bad thing, silly tom!” Saplingpetal giggled. She eyed him with a bright look in her eyes, her eyes trailing his physique. His hind leg was twisted, curiously going in-depth shown in her gaze. “...how did it happen?” She asked, oddly becoming introverted. Saplingpetal wasn’t afraid to ask questions but she didn’t know when personal meant personal. Her nosy personality was no more than a curious one. She had stared at his hind leg for a moment, but not out of a vehement gaze. She kept a steady unreadable sparkle in her eyes until her eyes trailed up to meet his face once again as her ears flicked at his answer. Again, she felt a rock sink into her stomach. Maybe it was because she didn’t like seeing others alone. Saplingpetal was naturally friendly and bubbly. She always had more than enough energy and provided an elegant step that matched along with it. “There will be others,” she assured, gently. The best comforting she provided was her tail wrapping around him in a soft manner. “But sometimes it’s always better to have one true friend than many fake ones.” Switching over to another topic as he continued to finish off the squirrel, and Saplingpetal began to groom him under diligent care, while he talked, she lifted herself up a bit to groom around his ears. “Oh, Darkfur! We need to get you out more!” She joked. She got back to her paws after finding that she was satisfied with the clearing. Then she playfully jabbed him with a paw to his chest, “Have you stopped exploring because of...well, you know what.” She indicated to the twist of his leg. She couldn’t blame him if he stopped leaving so much because of what happened to him. When she started to groom his chest fur thoroughly, she felt his tongue on top of her head. It made her purr as she liked the idea of helping to groom others and being groomed in turn. It was a form of generosity and trust, and it never hurt to always stay clean. “Oh, the stars are amazingly beautiful!” She chimed, bubbly. “I especially love nights with a full moon! And all those stars and their brightness! And then they twinkle! It’s just something I could look at for days...” she gushed, having to pull back from under his neck at the words tumbling from her mouth. “We should totally stargaze sometime!” She bubbled, having to believe that spending time with her new friend was ideal. Saplingpetal was always ready for any activity; a moral belief that she should experience everything in life no matter how minimum it was. So far, she liked Darkfur’s company. Yet, she was between the line of whether she pitied him or wanted a genuine friendship. She didn’t want him to think that she only was considering to be his friend just because she felt sorry for him. Time had a way of changing or developing feelings, so she went along with seeing how things would go between them if she wanted a genuine friendship. Her enticing and sweet personality made it easy for her to get along with anyway, so it was never a problem.

Darkfur has began talking about his past, prompting Saplingpetal to pull back from her grooming as well to give him her attention. The she cat nodded briefly, then lowered her neck down to give Darkfur an easier access to groom it. She tilted her head to began grooming the side of his face lightly. “So, Thunderclan isn’t only your home but it has sentimental value to you as well?” She asked, pausing for a quick moment. “How did your parents die?” Another curiously nosy question from her. Her ears pinned down to her head. “I never knew my parents,” her whiskers twitched, “I was pretty much a nomad my entire life.” She huffed. She honestly didn’t remember much of a kithood. She could smell the faint scent of milk, and feeling of other fluffy bodies around her but after her eyes opened, those were gone. Physically she was warm by a lit fire, but her heart was devoid of any emotions and that alone was a cold feeling. Saplingpetal amusingly hummed as Darkfur mentioned that she wasn’t mousebrained. His words following after was true to her heart. Another moral that she learned; I made a mistake. We all done it before. Start fresh. Start anew. Tomorrow is a new day. Saplingpetal let out an inaudible sigh, but Darkfur was right; she didn’t regret her kit. Even if Jaggedpaw was a pawful more than she expected. For one kit, he sure was rowdy! And annoying! An all around brat! Humming once again after Darkfur was finished, Saplingpetal coyly added, “I suppose you Thunderclan toms are very charming. Wouldn’t you agree?” A laugh followed after her words at her own silliness. Then, she leaned down to start grooming his flank. “Growing up in Thunderclan, though...what is it like?” She looked up at him once more, her blue eyes blinking. “Did you have plenty friends as kits? What is it like to train as an apprentice? What about your mentor? How were they? Do all Thunderclanners know how to climb trees? Because I can’t climb trees for the life of me! I tried a couple times but I continued to fall! Yet, I suppose I’m a klutz - something I can’t do anything right,” she paused to snort, “But, I think it would be sooooo fun to climb up the tallest tree and watch sunsets or sunrises! Although I think I would be scared of climbing down more than up. I don’t like heights. They, um, they make me hurl if I realize how far up I am, haha. - “ Saplingpetal paused, bursting into a fit of laughter. “I’m talking too much aren’t I? I’m so sorry! I don’t like talking too much. But, I just love talking! It’s like that I have this hate-Love relationship when it comes to talking because most cats don’t like a talkative feline and some does - which I do appreciate. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with talking, you know what I mean? It’s how you make friends. And, I’m telling you now! By all the stars in the sky - I was soooo lonely as a rogue! No one to talk to but the voices in my head. Literally....and...I’m talking too much again.” Saplingpetal realized blowing a puff of air out and shaking her head. She looked down shyly at her paws with slightly rosy cheeks from embarrassment.
@RosePelt145