Hickorykit's eyes filled with a distilled sparkle that was unmatched by any of her previous joy or excitement. The way the gentle, but exciting hum of the apprentice's voice made her ears perk and paws stiffen as if listening for the faintest sound. In no aspect was this apprentice quiet, and she liked that.

"Okay, and... and no worries,"

Somehow whatever Muddypaw said made a small smile grow across her face. She didn't bump into cats with humor a lot, so it was refreshing. Like cold water splashing across your face on a hot green-leaf day. Concern was funny thing, wasn't it? She was supposed to be impartial, as to her father's words, but her heart longed for real emotions. It was more than a longing, she was out of food more like it, and her stomach--heart--was starving for a nice toad. Except it was so different and intricate in so many ways. Too hard to process for her little, developing mind. She'd have to add it as a star for her thoughts, and dream about it later.

"I hope you can find a stream, too,"

Her voice is solid but as jittery as a bug at the same time. She had hardly mastered the art of communication, though this was definitely good practice. An odd thing, like her mouth lagged behind her mind, and she was thinking so quickly that her lips stuttered and faltered their words. Hickorykit sometimes wished she could match them, but no matter how hard she tried it never caught up.

An oddity at most. But everything and everyone was a little odd, and she figured that was okay, too.