[lone]

Originally Posted by Pathos

[ i'm trying my best to respond with equal paragraphs ;; ]

Greystep's stammer was... out of the ordinary, Acornflash had to admit. He didn't think that he'd met anybody in SkyClan—or not in SkyClan, he supposed—that had a speech impediment as serious as the older warrior's. Well, he didn't talk to every single cat, anyway. He'd only just met this cat! There had to be others like him. Right? Acornflash didn't have a definite answer. Greystep was so adamant in believing that he was totally abnormal and didn't belong in SkyClan, so maybe he actually was..? No. That would be silly, he thought. Still, he couldn't shake that feeling. That dirty, disgusting feeling. Acornflash felt that he was openly dissing Greystep by silently agreeing with the other warrior's acrimony against himself.

"They don't," he persisted, eyes hardening. Momentary frustration was visible in his words; he dug his claws into the dirt and straightened his back, forcing his anger down. He did seem to get annoyed very easily—something he'd need to keep in check with this nervous warrior. Acornflash was a very decisive tom, and he often got bothered by how self-doubting some cats were. But to let that show now would likely make Greystep more uncomfortable, and he did not want that to happen. From the sound of the other tom's voice, he seemed to be growing more at ease around Acornflash, so to do something like that would draw all of that progress back. Or so he thought. He still wasn't completely sure. "They don't know what they're talking about," he reiterated.

"You're not a nobody," Acornflash said, picking up right where Greystep had trailed off. How could someone be a nobody? That didn't make any sort of sense to him. To be a nobody would be to not exist at all, which wasn't possible! If it wasn't obvious, Acornflash tended to be very literate; many metaphors fly right over his furry head. "If you were a nobody, no cat at all would know who you are! And I know who you are, so that makes you definitely not a nobody," he meowed. Sure, his reasoning seemed to be a little off and unsteady, but Acornflash would use anything to justify what he thought was correct. Among many, that was one of his other flaws.

At Greystep's earlier question, Acornflash had launched himself into talk about his past right away. He never liked memories of that to surface. The young tom paused to close his eyes after speaking, shoving his intruding thoughts to the back of his mind. Acornflash couldn't deal with his past, not now. He was just beginning to ease Greystep into talking with less amounts of stammers every time. He didn't want to go back to the drawing board and have Greystep shut himself away. He wanted to get to know this tom, he wanted to become his friend, but he couldn't do that if he made him nervous. Ever since the grey tom had stopped repeating his sentences, it had gotten significantly harder to understand him. He tried to ignore it though and just go with what he thought he said. "Yeah, I'm pretty glad I'm in SkyClan now, too," he sighed, opening his eyes and smiling at Greystep. It was a reassuring one, just to tell him that he was okay and that talking about that hadn't affected him in any way. Easing his nerves would in turn ease Acornflash's. Well, that's what he hoped, anyway. "You should be glad that you're in SkyClan! I'm sure you have cats that you talk to, right? Like how I have Nightflash and Splotchfeather," he meowed, totally oblivious to the fact that Greystep was close to Splotchfeather as well. A moment passed before Acornflash realized that he might... not have anyone. "A-and even if you don't, you have me now!"

Well, Greystep wasn't used to someone telling him that the cats he thought knew so much, the ones he thought were so smart, didn't know what they were talking about. If that were true-- and Greystep was pretty sure it was some sort of an exaggeration, one that he didn't appreciate very much at all-- then how come he felt as though he were so small, and somewhat stupid? As it had been mentioned before, he was quite a large tom. So the fact that he felt small was rather absurd, and yet it was there. Some things were rather absurd about the warrior, such as his irrational fears. He had nothing to be afraid of! And yet, at the same time... it seemed as though he had everything to be afraid of. Still unsure whether Acornflash really understood how intelligent these cats were, but grateful for the unexpected support all the same, a wobbly half-smile spread across Greystep's features. He still didn't say anything. Swallowing, he realized that his vocal cords felt more under control now.
　
It had only taken a short amount of time with Owlwing... perhaps it wouldn't take too long with this strange tom either? At Acornflash's next words, a look of amusement followed by one of interest crossed over his face. "N-not lu-liter-luh-literally a no-nu-nobody. I m-meant n-not im-po-import-ant. Important. Sorry if- if th-that was un-cl-unclear." His voice faltered a few times later on, but he managed to keep it under control to the point where he didn't feel the need to try and repeat everything in a more stable tone of voice. Wasn't it better? He felt better! A look of triumph passed over his features and he managed a more stable smile at the tom that quickly faded to a look of surprise as the younger cat mentioned Splotchfeather. Now, Greystep liked the cheerful young warrior quite a bit. She was extremely important to him, especially because she had cheered his day just a few days ago in a way that he would never forget... well, remember for a while, at least.
　
Forgetting who he was talking to, and his nervousness, a cheerful grin broke out on Greystep's features. He felt as though he were seeing Splotchfeather right now, not to mention that Acornflash's warm words had touched his heart. "I k-know Splotchfeather! Sh-she's su-super n-nu-nice. And thank y-ou, I-I-I really appre-ciate that." Some of his words were messed up a little, but it wasn't out of fear. It was just part of Greystep's nature. Perhaps he was just stuck like that, stuck being a messed up cat. It wasn't a title he necessarily wanted, but could he avoid it? Probably not. Greystep didn't mind that so much, it was the fact that the only friends he had were Owlwing, Splotchfeather, and now... Acornflash? Was that his name? Yes, Acornflash-- how could he have forgotten in that short amount of time? Perhaps the momentary flashback had taken his memory with it. He was truly glad that Acornflash knew Splotchfeather though, the little multicolored feline deserved the world... not to mention she more then deserved the few friends she had.