[ameko]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Acornflash seemed like such a lovely cat. Greystep felt bad, making him deal with the tom who wasn't exactly desirable company... the tom wasn't exactly what might be called a cat who would fit in places. He definitely didn't feel like he belonged here most of the time. And sure, he had the sweet feline who was like his daughter, Splotchfeather... he had Owlwing... and maybe someday he would have Acornflash as a friend as well. He wasn't quite sure about it. The tom didn't really know whether or not the tom would want to be around him for a long, long time. He shifted his weight again, looking at the younger cat before him almost nervously. To be honest, embarassment was one of the things that was most strong in Greystep's life. He was constantly being embarassed, whether it was by himself or someone else's actions. Sometimes he would watch things going on in the clearing and cringe at the uncomfortableness of them. How was it that there were so many things going wrong with the Clan at this time?
　
Or, honestly...Clans. As he had found out not too long ago. There were other Clans...there were cats living there in the same lifestyle as SkyClan, with a leader and deputy and medicine cat... how was that possible? He couldn't quite wrap his mind around it no matter how hard he tried. What did Acornflash think of it? There being other Clans? He already knew that the other tom didn't like the Dusk Syndicate. And frankly? Greystep didn't blame him at all. Those cats were the scariest he had ever had the misfortune to encounter, and he hoped to never see them again. If he were to live for another forty moons and never see a Dusk Syndicate cat, he would be absolutely thrilled. How big was the age difference between the two toms? Greystep guessed it wasn't too bad, not more then ten moons or so-- that wasn't horrible. He and Splotchfeather were twenty moons apart, and perhaps if he were younger, things would be different. But as it was, she was more like a daughter to him then anything else.
　
The daughter he had never had-- nor would get to have. Maybe she and Acornflash would meet someday, they seemed like the two of them would be perfectly good friends. The tom's ears picked up as he heard the younger one's more confident sounding voice again. To be honest, he wasn't sure whether he believed the words coming from the chestnut cat's maw or not. Everyone's weird in their own way? What does that mean? He thought, cocking his head to the side. At least he was being a decent cat still. Greystep was half terrified that, given a chance, he would end up with a broken heart...not in the sense that he was in love with Acornflash, but more in the sense that he would run off and leave, making Greystep feel alone once more. Even Splotchfeather had other things to do so he couldn't be around her all the time. Nor could he be around Owlwing a lot of the time either, considering she was busy as well. "W-what if t-th-they do?" He asked in a low voice, almost a whisper when he heard Acornflash's question.
　
Maybe they did know what they were talking about. Maybe he really was just a weird cat, a cat who didn't know what he was doing. The comfort that he felt around the tom was growing, not only because he was being so incredibly friendly but because his nervousness faded over time anyways. Something that he was both grateful for and cursed at the same time. "I mean...wh-what if they're r-ru-right? Wh-what if I-I-I re-real-really am j-just w-wuh-weird, an-and a n-nu-nobody..." Greystep's voice trailed off. He'd been hearing those words for most of his life. But saying them out loud? That really hurt. A nobody. He was a nobody, really. Most of the cats in the Clan were. They were just loyal warriors, doing their job. Nobody important. They were all nobodies, and Greystep? Well, he was just one of them. The most invisible nobody of all. Acornflash's story made Greystep's ears pick up and he listened intently. That would be really scary. Had the tom before him really been through that?
　

"W-wu-wow. That's... that m-muh-must have b-bu-been t-terrifying. G-glad you're in S-Sku-SkyClan n-nu-now."

He spoke. He had stopped repeating his sentences, wondering if Acornflash could still understand what he was saying. It seemed to make sense! Didn't it? He was able to understand it perfectly, and Owlwing had been able to, but she was special. Splotchfeather just hadn't cared. And Acornflash? Well, Greystep was still trying to figure that much out.

[ 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!"