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Sagittarius
The Skyclan leader's gaze was unwavering as he waited for the Shadowclan leader to begin speaking, right now his gaze was subdued, somewhat masking what he was feeling. It was hard to bottle up these emotions again, especially considering they were more than just brief feelings, but Grousestar knew he was in the presence of another leader and had to maintain some sort of mask. This wasn't just some.. Cat. They both held the same authority over their clans, even if the brown tabby was exactly doing his best as leader at the moment.
His pupils narrowed slightly as Windystar started, the voice high and squeaky like that of a nervous young warrior, but he cut himself off and attempted to start again. Sometimes Grousestar forgot he was the oldest leader amongst the others, and with that realization brought guilt.
You've been acting like a mopey apprentice with nothing better to do than to cry and wallow in your emotions. The thought caused him to glower for a moment before he forced himself to focus back on the actual cat in front of him. He'd have time later to deal with his own thoughts.
When he heard what Windystar said, he blinked. Ready to question what the other leader was implying or outright saying. How had he been acting the previous gathering? But he stopped himself seeing as the other leader continued, following up with a much different approach than what he originally thought was going to be taken. It struck a chord in his heart, bringing back his previous thought. '
There are cats that still look up to you, or once did. You're letting them down. You're letting everyone down.'
It made his chest ache with grief and confusion, but his gaze remained glued to Windystar, waiting for him to continue, begging him to continue because if he spoke now his voice would break and his mask would shatter. Thankfully the younger leader did continue and it diverged further down a path that Grousestar did not expect. Waiting for his throat to unclench and the feeling of wishing to grieve to fade away, the brown tabby lightly cleared his throat. "
I believe.. The word your looking for is a friend. You're saying I need a.. Friend." His words were spoken softly, as if to not strain his vocal chords and to keep his voice from quavering with his own emotions. This young leader made his way all the way from Shadowclan to Skyclan, took the risk of being battered by warriors and accusations, took the risk of possibly making an enemy of him, just to.. "
Are.. Are you offering your friendship towards me, Windystar?"