[Fawn]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

Grouseflurry's burning optimism caused him to completely overlook the blank look, he didn't mind it one bit, some cats weren't used to company, like that one cat Yarrowpounce, he was a nice tom sure enough, he just wasn't used to company! He often found himself conversing with the meek tom because it seemed like any time he held a conversation with him, it seemed to brighten the tom's mood, so, in a way, that could have been a minor motive in him approaching Rabbitfluff, though there may be other underlying motives as well, sometimes you just couldn't tell with the tabby tom. But one very obvious thing that could always be known about the tom was his emotions, seemingly limited to just that of pure happiness and perhaps even innocence, a purity to him that really only kits seemed to hold. Whether he was innocent or not could be debated, but his happiness and optimism was unquestioned.

The tilted ears of Rabbitfluff were a good sign for Grouseflurry and it allowed him to continue the approach he was going and that was bordering on the more talkative approach, should he have gotten a less interested interaction, he would have proceeded with a different way. "Oh I never would have expected that you would walk around with your eyes closed, that would be too much to ask! I mean, what if you accidentally bump into another cat, that could make for quite the embarrassing incident don't you think? Oh or what if you accidentally stumble over a root, that could lead to some injuries and that wouldn't be good at all!" His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head before he chuckled out, whiskers quivering with lighthearted amusement.

Green gaze momentarily glancing over, he puffed out an exhale with a small flick of his tail, a notion that he was a bit exasperated by the other tom's response. "Wh-Of course it ranks pretty high on my priorities, if it didn't then I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you, now would I? Wait.. Well.. Yes I would, but that's not the point!" Clearing his throat, he flicked his tail and gave himself a second to take another nibble at his mouse before continuing.
"Speaking with the warriors of the clan and checking in on them is very important to me, it has always been important to me and me being deputy makes no difference to that. And what do you mean that it's shocking to find that you would ever cross my thoughts, you're an important addition to this clan Rabbitfluff!" Grouseflurry spoke with a grin and nudged at the tom's shoulder with his tail before looking back at his meal.

Though his eyes did meet with Rabbitfluff's again as the smaller tom spoke out with sarcasm, causing the brown tabby's face to light up and a small bout of laughter to begin escaping him; for some reason, Grouseflurry enjoyed sarcasm quite a lot, it was like telling a joke with the inflection of your voice! "Oh, sorry to give you that impression! But I assure you, I am not a pessimist, I think the correct term is optimist!"

Purring out, he glanced at the meal that the warrior had barely touched and couldn't help but tilt his head a bit in mild curiosity. "Not hungry?" Green gaze flickering to the Rabbitfluff's side, he could tell that the other hadn't exactly been eating regularly, he knew it was leaf-fall, but.. His size wasn't quite right. All of the warriors should at least be decently well fed, so that could mean one of two things, either he was sick, or purposefully not eating, maybe suffering from a lack of appetite due to stress? Depression? Anxiety? Grouseflurry was unsure, but he wouldn't question if Rabbitfluff gave any notion that he did not want to be questioned about the matter.

Although he didn't talk nearly as frequently as Grouseflurry nor did he have quite the extensive social life (not many did), Rabbitfluff wouldn't call himself a shy feline, especially not in comparison to some of what he'd seen in his lifetime but attributed his habit of not saying much to what he was taught as a kit. His parents had been stoic and proper, and he'd grown up in the same manner; besides, others listened closer when he wasn't voicing everything that came to mind.

But if he did, he had little doubt he would be even less popular around SkyClan than what he already was.

"You say that as if I would walk with my eyes closed upon your mere demand to do so," he pointed out, tilting his head to the side. "I'll have you made aware, High and Mighty deputy of SkyClan, that I certainly wouldn't be risking injury simply because you asked me to," Rabbitfluff huffed but wasn't serious, in fact it was verging on a playful tone. A flicker of amusement ignited within the depths of his ocean-blue gaze, and he inquired teasingly, "Though from the detailed way in which you speak of this hypothetical situation, I might conclude that you have first-hand experience...?" It could have been improper to retort with such a comment to a warrior of authority, yet he found himself unable to hold his tongue, and it wasn't as if he intended it to come off as malicious. Grouseflurry had a tendency to awake that piece of him, allowing the young, fluff tom to open up a bit and diverge from his stick-in-the-mud attitude temporarily.

"Does it?" he mused over that for a second or two. "Lemonstar must not be giving you enough duties, these days." If striking up a conversation with arguably the most irritable cat in the Clan was high on the deputy's priorities, it led Rabbitfluff to believe Grouseflurry either was bored or had an insatiable wish to get his ears clawed. But of course, he knew it wasn't true that Grouseflurry wasn't busy when the leader's disappearance left him not only his original tasks, but Lemonstar's as well. It was humbling that he would prefer to spend his time chatting with him, but hardly appropriate, Rabbitfluff decided. It caught him off-guard as Grouseflurry's tail nudged his shoulder and momentarily forgetting his own tail was nothing more than a puffball, it twitched as he expressed feigned annoyance at the gesture of friendly affection. "Flattering," he responded dryly. "What exactly do I add, if I may inquire? Aesthetic value?"

Confused by the reaction his sarcasm warranted, Rabbitfluff critically examined Grouseflurry and wondered if he'd somehow said it wrong to imply the opposite, but what was said clarified that was not the case. Grouseflurry apparently took it in stride and despite how that rendered his primary weapon of defense useless, it was a point of curiosity: was this how the deputy could stand him? Did he genuinely enjoy his antics? If so.. he supposed he didn't know what to do with that, since it was a rarity among those who happened to cross his path.

A small twinge of surprise swept across him as his lack of appetite was brought to attention, not that he dwelled on it, for it wasn't necessarily that he had an issue explaining why he wasn't eating properly, but he was shocked by the audacity and sheer innocence of the question. "It's been a long few moons," Rabbitfluff settled on that, shrugging his shoulders and choosing to avoid going into the specifics in this setting. The middle of the clearing wasn't a wonderful place for that sort of topic.