[yummyluc]

Originally Posted by king kaleb!

he was tired, even if he wouldnt admit it. training with his young apprentice frostpaw had taken a bit out of him, given his age. it would be his last apprentice before he retired he assumed, so he would put his all into it. the poor kit had gone through so much. he had lost all of his siblings and was taken from his own clan by a greedy queen. he was back now, safe in his birth place, but parent less. risingcreek had taken to the youngster almost immediately, feeling a wave of fatherly instincts run through him. he never had kits of his own, or even a mate, instead working hard on his duties and now he was paying for it in the long run. but he felt the same instincts run through him when he saw beetleskip sitting alone in the clearing. he never had spoken to the tom one on one before, only a few patrols here, some hunting trips there, but nothing personal. he always seemed on the shyer side of things. risingcreek never minded though, he always picked up on other cats personalities pretty quickly and wuld make sure to use softer, more calm tones when addressing beetleskip whenever rising was leading the patrols. he did that with everyone, it was just a matter of respect. afterall, you never knew what was running through another cats mind all the time, or what theyve gone through. but seeing beetleskip alone made him feel..hmm, was the proper word sad? because he knew the tom wasnt a bad guy, or atleast, thats what he gathered from the brief interactions theyve had together. so maybe now was the time to approach him, after all he seemed to be rather calm currently given his usual emotional stance.

walking closer, he made sure his steps were soft. everything about risingcreek seemed to be calm and collected. from his movements to how he spoke, to even the soft smile that was constantly on his face. he loved meeting new cats, and beetleskip was no exception. once he was close enough, which was a good few pawsteps away, he tilted his head in a greeting, "Nice day, isnt it?" he mewed, taking a glance across the clearing. there was a subtle hum of cats chattering, kits playing, and so on. it seemed like a typical day,"Mind if i join you?" he ask briefly. hes understand if the tom said no, after all they dont know really anything about eachother except eachothers names and the such, and risingcreek understood how some people were finicky.

the sudden voice nearly made beetleskip flinch, but he held his composure. instead, his eyes popped open and followed the source of the noise. risingcreek. he was an older tom, one beetleskip himself had never spent the time to bond with. they had been on a patrol or three with one another, though beetleskip hardly even remembered those encounters. he spent a lot of time in his head during those, but not too much so that he didn't recognise the older warrior in front of him. at first, he nodded, following the tom's gaze into the distant activity of the clan. just thinking about it made his head hurt, so he trained his eyes to the ground instead and gave an affirmative grunt as an answer. he stared at his paw that upturned the soil beneath, quickly organising his thoughts as to have a somewhat natural conversation with risingcreek. as he slid the words into place, he remembered that risingcreek was one of the few cats that noticed his internal struggle to control himself and manage. he appreciated that, so when he asked to join him, beetleskip nodded. there was no need to be standoffish or rude to this tom. at least, no need that he'd seen for himself yet. he took a breath, but kept his eyes glued to his feet shifting in the dirt. he was already beginning to feel nervous just by the few words and the presence of risingcreek himself, despite knowing his rather calm and paternal aura that he carried, just about anything could set beetleskip off.

it became sort of obvious when he became skittish. he lost his calm, shy exterior and became fidgety and flinched at nearly everything, loud or not.
besides that, he had trouble sleeping or eating because of his high sensitivity to noise and other senses. however, beetleskip was much more calm with risingcreek because he knew that he acknowledged his discomfort, besides, he had seen how he acts towards cats, especially younger cats. he was something of a father figure to them, and beetleskip could appreciate that.