[mvoxhu]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The sarcasm in Lynxthroat's voice made Addaxclaw's eyes sparkle with amusement and appreciation. He was almost excited to hear it coming from Lynxthroat's maw, because to him, that was a sign that their friendship was beginning to take off. Who would've thought that a former loner from WindClan and a grumpy ShadowClan tom who didn't seem to like anyone could've been such good friends? Certainly not Addaxclaw, but here they were. He had come to the border not exactly to see Lynxthroat, but it wouldn't have hurt. He could almost see himself stepping across the border and embracing the other tom as an old friend. While Addaxclaw had always been a risk taker, he hadn't always been... well... that much of one. He wouldn't be able to push himself to do that, that was too much for him, and there was a thin line between taking a risk and being stupid. If he crossed that line, he might never get Lynxthroat's friendship back.

"Well, I'm glad you have the courage to admit it." He retorted snarkily, his eyes sparkling with laughter even as he spoke. Addaxclaw's confidence had taken a hit recently, but being here and feeling freer, being able to laugh and joke around, it was something that definitely helped. Whether Lynxthroat was aware of it or not, he was mending a cat's wounded pride. Having an apprentice was a different experience then the tom had first imagined. It wasn't as hard, but it was trying. He wished he could just pass on the knowledge from his mind to Swiftpaw's without ever speaking so that the apprentice would know exactly what needed to be done and do it perfectly, but as that wasn't an option, Addaxclaw was doing his best to train Swiftpaw without making the other cat feel... well... bad. He had some things in common with his apprentice; they had both grown up outside of the Clan, although Addaxclaw knew that it would probably be harder for Swiftpaw to blend with the other apprentices. Younger cats could be crueler, and that was nothing but the truth.

He remembered younger cats, and even cats his own age (because he had been young) being cruel and making fun of him when he had first joined WindClan. Yet his confidence hadn't wavered through that, he had always been overly confident and while it'd been knocked down to the point where it was a good amount, now it was starting to shrink again with his doubt in being able to care for the apprentice. Lynxthroat's question brought him out of his mental world, and he looked at the larger tom. "I've been getting by. I have an apprentice now - Swiftpaw - he was born outside the Clan too," He mewed with a small sigh. His thoughts turned to Galespring; she had been one of the few warriors who'd been truly nice to Addaxclaw, and he was grateful for the friendship... he'd needed that. She was close to Blazingstar, but he hadn't seen her around lately and it was starting to worry him.

If anything had happened to the she cat, Addaxclaw wasn't sure what he would do. She was older then he was, more like a sister-figure then anything else - not old enough to be a mother-figure, she had been his first friend so she was a little more then "just a normal friend" and Addaxclaw wasn't interested romantically in she cats. If he was, there was no doubt it would have been proven by now. But it hadn't been. "And you, how have you been?" He asked, looking over Lynxthroat again. Addaxclaw had a much slimmer build then the other tom - and more defined, perhaps. That could have been due to the fact that Lynxthroat was much fluffier then him, and it probably was, since Addaxclaw genuinely doubted he was weak or anything like that.

On the contrary, he had no doubt that Lynxthroat could probably seriously hurt him if he wished to do so, and was silently thanking StarClan - whether they were real or not, Addaxclaw figured it couldn't hurt just in case - that the tom was a friend of his. He would just have to remember to stay on Lynxthroat's good side.

An odd pang hit the tom in the stomach, causing his face to scrunch up; despite it being almost unnoticeable to the eye. His tufted audits flicked back and forth constantly, the hums of crickets and grass churning in the breeze grabbing their attention. The male brought his robust cranium to face the Windclan cat, absentmindedly gazing at the tom. Guilt, almost regret, lingered in the very depths of his verdant oculars. Although, you'd only be able to spot it if you looked hard enough. It seemed as if his emotions were confused, and they were just hopelessly bubbling around inside of him.

At Addaxclaw's snarky comment, Lynxthroat forced himself to utter an airy chuckle. It was odd for him to let the laughter slip through his tough demeanour so easily, but it just so happened to occur. Somehow, the tom seemed perfectly fine with it though, and instead of shaking his head in disapproval, or taking a few steps back from the other male, he just grinned. Albeit, it was a stupid, smug type of grin; and it didn't last too long either.
His heavy paws shuffled forwards a bit more, and the male gradually slunk his barrel down onto the ground. It was clear that he had moved ever-so-slightly closer to the border between the two clans. His mitts were basically trespassing onto the other territory, but there would probably be around an inch left if you took the fur away from them.

The swaying of the vegetation on the Windclan territory intrigued the tom, but as soon as his eyes had travelled to the flatter terrain, they had been taken back to the familiar, mud-like earth closer to them. A look of displeasure masked across his face, and Lynxthroat forced his entire attention back to the feline.
"An apprentice, eh?" He seemed to feign a surprised expression, a fake gasp making its way up from his rounded mouth. His brows fell quickly, though, and he relaxed his features once again. "I'm not actually that surprised, to be honest. You seem like you'd be good at that kind of stuff." The tom spoke in his usual, monotonous tone. Although, it was no lie that there was sincerity in his words, and he was being truthful about what he had said. If he hadn't know the tom much, he would've still assumed that he'd have an apprentice. He just had that sort of unique niceness to him, something that you didn't get very often in cats.

"I guess I've been fine. Nothing has really happened that strikes my mind..." His deep voice broke out, accompanied by the twitching of his whiskers. The male diverted his view towards the sky, deciding that he'd had enough of watching the Windclanner in front of him. He traced his pools across the vast darkness, noticing how little amounts of stars were on show tonight. Clouds were placed carelessly, hiding the glimmering white dots from his prying self. Yet, even with the lack of twinkling stars in the skies, Lynxthroat was at peace. The same serenity that lingered around him when they first had met, was still there. And it almost... surprised the tom? But, he tried not to think too hard on the matter. It was probably just the refreshing breeze and faint scent of grass that brought him to a calm state.

His chest pushed itself out as the Shadowclan tom inhaled a large amount of air. Filling his lungs to their maximum capacity, he let the pent-up air break through his lips as a heavy sigh.
"But anyways, what brings you out here on tonight of all nights?"