[lio]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The longer the younger warrior spoke, the more the elder had to struggle to keep his stony expression up. The tom had some walls up, but there were also cracks in these walls; for example, the way that he was almost smiling at Powdernose's words. They were funny to him, making him want to be open and laugh and joke around, but at the same time... his reputation was what was keeping them up. Stonegazer had a reputation in the Clan for taking no-nonsense, for being a stern-faced tom, and he liked that reputation. He was always on guard. He wasn't distrusting, on the contrary, he would trust his clanmates with his life. But he was introverted, and that meant sometimes staying away from his clanmates when he had the chance. Stonegazer's stoic armor, like all things, had weaknesses and cracks and chips.

It was just a matter of finding the right cat to take those things and pull them apart. "That's ridiculous. I don't make jokes, just as none of those things will ever happen." Clearing his throat, and feeling a slight flush rising, his heartbeat quickening just the slightest bit (he was quite embarrassed, but too stubborn to admit it) Stonegazer avoided eye contact and instead looked down at the ground like he could drill a hole in it through the power of eyesight alone. But, his ears pricked back up and he fixed Powdernose with that icy gaze once again at the mention of a "lazy day." What was this? He couldn't remember the last tie he had just relaxed, without worrying... even now, talking with Powdernose, part of his mind was on the inevitable battle that would come.

He should be talking with the younger warriors, making sure they were ready, patrolling the borders, doing something useful instead. Not sitting here and talking with another cat. "Perhaps after the battle." Stonegazer was about to get to his paws, that familiar coldness returning and basically sweeping him up with it's icy power, before he stopped and looked once more at the tom he already considered a... nice cat. An acquaintance. Not a friend, not yet. "Actually, maybe I will take you up on your offer. You do understand, however, at the first sign of trouble that I will be up and gone in an instant?" He asked, his tail twitching lightly as he stayed in the half-raised position. He wasn't quite sitting, wasn't quite standing - it was that awkward in-between position that made things so uncomfortable normally.

♡ ahh sorry this is so late !! ♡

powdernose perked up at stonegazer's reply, his mood visibly changing. "of course! i perfectly understand," he dipped his head, as if he were thanking the tom, and leaped to his paws. truthfully, he couldn't wait to show stonegazer the path into his world. a glimpse through the eyes of a lazy cat. chirping, powdernose trotted in a circle around the silver feline, sending all prayers to whatever lies after death that nothing would go wrong. he finally had a chance to talk to his idol, and to spend an entire day with him. why would he want that to be ruined?
after many heartbeats, powdernose settled down and thought. albeit having a sudden burst if energy, he had to calm down in order to allow the experience to seem real. at least, for him. he would make stonegazer feel more relaxed than he had ever felt before. and, if everything went well, maybe they could do it again in the future, after all the tension has settled down enough to not be worrying about an ambush at every turn. right now, his job was to make stonegazer allow his stoney walls to fall, even if for just a short while.
if powdernose was anything besides lazy, he was determined.
everyone deserved a little happiness, right? it wasn't healthy to stay cautious all the time. it helped the clan to stay safe, yes, but too much worrying can cause terrible trouble on the mind in the future. so, stonegazer will relax, if it's the last thing powdernose does.
his tail swished up to curl over his back, the fur waving everywhere. the siamese purred quietly before signalling to stonegazer with a flick of his ear, as if saying follow me. powdernose padded over to the shade of a tree after grabbing a small piece of prey.
"first things first, we need to eat. we have a long day ahead of us. the true prize will be at night, so we need a way to spend the time. take this as a way to see into the life of a lazy cat," be snickered before going on. "after eating, we will go on a walk to my favorite place to sleep. i'll leave the rest for when we get there." powdernose nodded towards stonegazer before dipping his head and taking a bite, trying to be as neat as possible while he chewed. with a quick paw, the powdery feline prodded the prey towards his new companion, a warm smile on his face.