[The Cannibal]

Originally Posted by Raywood

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.

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?"