SpiderThorn gave MagpiePaw an amused look, ears flicking as her words tumbled out in that endearingly chaotic way of hers. He didn’t interrupt, just sat there with a lopsided grin, letting her work through the disaster she’d made of her own explanation. When she finally finished, he went ahead and gave an exaggerated sniff of the air. “Huh. You smell that? Smells like…someone trying way too hard to explain why they’ve been hoarding leaves for me…” he teased, his voice warm but with a playful edge.

“Okay, okay, let’s back up a second…” he continued, flicking his tail toward the neat pile of green leaves she had somehow decided to bring him. “First of all, nice leaves. Seriously, top-notch selection. Second of all, where was this thoughtfulness when my pelt actually looked like I’d been collecting the entire forest? Eight moons, Mags. Eight moons of me walking around looking like some kind of moving shrub. And now that I finally clean up, you’ve got a gift ready for me?” Yes, SpiderThorn was finding out how easily teasable the apprentice (who was his only friend) was. It was kind of fun actually, as long as he didn’t mess up too bad.

Still, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly, his gaze lingering on the leaves for a moment before shifting back to her. “But hey, I’ll give you credit. You noticed, didn’t you? First cat all day to say something. Most of the others probably thought I’d lost a bet or something.” He ruffled his fur slightly (yes, making it ruffled yet again), the feathers scattered throughout shifting with the motion.

SpiderThorn bent down and nosed one of the leaves from the pile, flicking it into the air with his tail before letting it land in his pelt. There…he has a leaf now! And one from MagpiePaw, which kind of went with his feather theme when you think about it.


@Marigoldwhisper

Owlthroat couldn’t help but chuckle at his brother’s teasing, he knew him well enough by now not to let it get under his skin. ”Soft and cozy ey? That sounds like you all over brother.” The tom retorted, knowing full well Flytail was the stark opposite. Maybe even more so than Owlthroat was now, he was certainly softer in spots when it came to family.

”Blah, your reputation is already ruined in association with me.” Owlthroat returned the wink, ”but you’re right, I’d much rather avoid the sappiness. You know my children will be raised with a firm paw, to be strong and driven like true Shadowclan warriors.” An edge to his tone crept in unwillingly, not even his brother should question his parenting. His litter was destined for greatness even past Dawnstar’s similar aged young. Not that he’d air these opinions out loud, but he’d already spent plenty of time inflating their egos to be the next biggest thing.

But Owlthroat was caught off guard by Flytail’s next comment, a genuine expression of pride. Not for himself but for Owlthroat, it was welcome and warming. Not that he’d show he felt that, instead he felt choked up on his words. Offering Flytail not much more than a nod of awkwardness as he bathed in the thought. It was a relief when he flipped back to a more teasing tone.

Giving Owlthroat a welcome excuse to dodge what was thrown at him. ”Great, I’ll schedule you in for kitsitting later this moon, it’ll be a relief for Nightshiver at least.” He paused, the laugh stuck in his throat. Paws shuffling, unsure at how to respond, mind still caught up on Flytail’s unexpected expression of emotion. His ear flickered again and there was a long pause before he spoke, his own friendly words sounding forced despite the heart behind them. ”It’s nice to catch-up, I’ll see you around.” It sounded robotic out of the burly tom’s mouth, but he knew Flytail knew him well enough to see it as love. His own blunt kind of love, the conversation coming to a weirdly abrupt end.

He raised his haunches and shook out his fur, heading towards the clearing’s edge with only a singular glance back at his sibling.

[ @Tallstar ]