[Fawn]

Originally Posted by Duskflight

A grunt escaped the brown tabby as he heard the tailless warrior's playful response, his pleasant smile turning into a wide grin of joy with a dash of his own form of playfulness; the tom loved it when others decided to dawn a playful attitude with him. "Uf! I am not high and mighty, I'm just like any old warrior, with well, just more duties and responsibilities!" His whiskers quivered again with heavy amusement, his spring bud green eyes flickering with various forms of emotion, all of them hardly uncharacteristic for the cheerful cat, the emotions including happiness, humor, and a bit of intelligence as he tried to configure his next response to the tom beside him, taking a quick bite out of the mouse which was quickly disappearing at his paws. "Accidents.. May, or may not have happened.. I just wanted to see if they'd actually do it!" Laughing heartily, there would be a long pause before he shook his head, Grouseflurry couldn't lie. "Ah, but no, I would never ask any cat to do that, there's no reasoning behind it aside from being silly. Though perhaps now that it's been brought up, maybe I should demand that you do it." Eyes still glimmering with amusement, he'd glance over with a smirk before grinning and shaking his head again; to be truthful, Grouseflurry was terrible at teasing because he'd always apologize or end up telling the truth or something of the like. "No, no, I wouldn't do it, don't worry."

"Hah, you could say that again! There's been some days where I've been forced to do nothing but relax, can't say I quite enjoy it and I wish he'd give me more stuff to do!" While it might seem as if he were trying to be sarcastic, the deputy was being completely honest, he did not like being given time to relax. He liked to be up, moving around, doing things for the clan, doing something. But lately.. He.. Hadn't seen Lemonstar at all, in fact, he can't recall having seen Lemonstar since he had selected him as deputy. And the state the clan was in now, they couldn't afford having an absent leader. Grouseflurry had to step up, whether he was ready or not, the clan needed it. He might not be the best cat for the spot, but he was next in line, all he could hope for is that he could do the best for the clan that he could. That's actually why he had approached Rabbitfluff. He needed to go and receive his 9 lives.

At the smaller warriors response to the deputy's inquiry about not eating, the brown tabby simply nodded. Now wouldn't be a good time to bring it up to the tom, but he would certainly bring it up later, or well.. He'd certainly keep it on mind and check up on Rabbitfluff more often. It wasn't good that he wasn't eating, they were about to hit the hardest season for prey and he would need to eat all the food he could now to be strong for the leaf-bare to come.

A small cloud of silence settled over the two for a moment as the deputy finished up his meal, mulling over about how he would ask Rabbitfluff to accompany him to the Whispering Cave. Really, Grouseflurry could have chosen anyone in the clan to journey with him, but.. He wanted to get to know the tailless warrior more, with the notion that he wasn't eating well, he wanted to keep an eye on him, but mostly he enjoyed his company. The brown tabby couldn't quite explain, perhaps it was because he enjoyed everyone's company and he just happened to sit with Rabbitfluff today, perhaps there was deeper meaning than that, who knew. But he had decided he wanted the warrior next to him to journey with him. "Rabbitfluff, I have a question." For once, there was seriousness in his voice, the happiness was still there but it was dulled down, his eyes focused on his paws. "I haven't seen Lemonstar in nearly a moon, really not since the night of the ceremony and I'm sure the clan is starting to take note of his absence. Skyclan can't afford to be leaderless and.. I'm deputy. So what I'm asking is.." Flicking an ear, the tom looked over at Rabbitfluff, green eyes meeting blue. "Would you accompany me on my journey to the Whispering Cave?"

While it was true that he hadn't expected Grouseflurry to completely shift perspectives and grow annoyed with his attitude, it nevertheless threw him for a loop when his reply was as playful as before, despite his inability to refrain from testing authority. Not that he'd attempting to be rude--quite the opposite, but it didn't guarantee Grouseflurry would see it that way as well. It continued to puzzle him, how Grouseflurry's patience seemed endless to the point where it was trying his own, baffled that a cat could be so calm with sarcastic remarks being tossed at him.

Rabbitfluff's pupils went wide upon hearing that. "You've actually--?" he squeaked in alarm, then shook his head to quickly regain his composure in front of the tom. "I.. I suppose I should have known you would." It didn't seem too far off for him. Puffing his chest slightly, he went on as he struggled to hide the grin on his muzzle, "Well, you can rest assured I will not be roped into these silly little games, much less obtain an injury in them." Grouseflurry would have to be crazy to think he'd want to walk with his eyes closed, or do anything that gave an impression other than absolute formality.

"How terrible. Why, I feel so sympathetic I may have to voice a complaint to Lemonstar," Rabbitfluff said dramatically, complete with a mock gasp. Complaining to the absent leader was easier said than done under the circumstances, however. It would be difficult to gripe to a feline who wasn't present and hadn't been around for a moon, seemingly leaving his Clan to fend for itself, and he had a notion Grouseflurry's loyalty and dedication to them was the only thing keeping SkyClan afloat. Although he didn't blame Ebonypaw, Rabbitfluff did wish they had a fully trained medicine cat for emergencies.. It left them without two very important positions. After a second's pause, a mischievous look crossed his face, "Is this an invitation to keep you busy? If that's the case, I've had a rather unyielding craving for squirrel, lately." Because he understood he was working hard to ensure SkyClan was well-fed, he wasn't truly suggesting Grouseflurry retrieve him one, but it was an amusing idea.

Relieved to be met with nothing but a nod in response, no further prompting, Rabbitfluff internally promised he would give a better answer if they were in a private setting and had the time to do so. For now, he would do his best to eat what he could lest he desire to risk growing ill but couldn't manage more for this particular meal. Maybe later if he was feeling up to the task.

Rabbitfluff returned to staring down the fresh-kill beside his paws, occasionally stealing a glance at Grouseflurry and then peering away again, as it felt like too intimate of a moment to witness. The deputy had an air of contemplation about him, and he wondered if there was something greater than 'just a chat' at stake, but he wasn't going to pry. If he wanted to eat in silence, then that's what they would do.

"What, are you secretly pining after me?" Rabbitfluff scoffed sarcastically as Grouseflurry began by stating he had a question. He knew that wasn't what it was pertaining to--perfectly aware affection was impossible with him being the object of--but was curious to hear what it might be. The seriousness had him intrigued, uncertain of what could be so dire that it required Grouseflurry, cheerful and fun-loving, to take on a grave tone. Following his thought process and nodding slowly, it was confounding why he would ask him, of all choices, and Rabbitfluff appeared to be taken aback. "Me?" it fell from him immediately, the confusion clinging to the word. "Well, I.." he cleared his throat, "I would be honored, Grouseflurry." A faint smile was etched on his expression, and he meowed teasingly, "Well, that's not quite a love confession, but I imagine it'll suffice."