[poppy]

Dovefluff

The gray cat kept a close eye on Springpaws body language, so the second she was causing any potential discomfort, she could retract the contact. The last thing she wanted was to make her beloved daughter feel uncomfortable.

As Springpaw returned the hug, the molly felt slightly guilty for the lie. But what was Dove supposed to say? Yeah I'm scared that my abusive ex is going to come hurt you because I love you so much and oh you know the guy who tore Gentledoe to shreds? He was probably my best friend. How on earth could she go about saying that? She had already struggled with feeling like a burden. Worrying cats and pushing them away wasn't going to help that.

So Dovefluff purred lovingly and relieved as Springpaw promised to come to her if she needed anything, and nodded to signal she had heard the last bit. "Of course, I'll come to you. Thank you, sweetie. I think I'm just worried for nothing." Little did she know that wasn't true in the slightest, and would soon come back to her as gruesome foreshadowing. Her eyes stung with forced back tears as Springpaw mentioned not wanting to see her suffer anymore, and the molly rested her chin gently on the top of the apprentice's head to hide her tearful eyes. "Of course I'd do the same for you. I'd do anything for you." Maybe a little corny, but it was true. She was never told that when she was a kid, she never had any security or affection. Maybe that was why she showered Springpaw with love as she did. She didn't know what was normal, she'd never had anything close to it.

Looking up with a surprised squeak as Littlelion approached, the former queen looked down briefly at the very secretively passed pebble. She found a proud, warm smile growing on her face. "I'm very proud, indeed." She shot the warrior a small purr as they scooted away again, and then scooped up the pebble, glancing at the nearest cat that wasn't her daughter, which happened to be Pebblepaw (how ironic), she reached out and nudged the young cat with her tail before waiting for Bumblestar to look away, then passed it to the young apprentice.

"Hey, pass the pebble along!" She whispered with a soft, playful purr, her worries forgotten momentarily.

( @ares @Fawnhearted @Poprock - the pebble has been passed to pebble