[kairosclerosis]

nettlepaw
tw: intrusive thoughts

”Oh.. well-“ Nettlepaw mewed, but they suddenly paused.
This thing was.. kind of personal to them. It helped them get all their feelings out of their brain by doing something fun. Did they really have to tell them?
Maybe.
If not, that might come off as rude, wouldn’t it?
Nettlepaw didn’t want to be rude.
So they sighed, before giving a small lopsided smile, part of their muzzle sagging downwards despite the rest of their expression.
“Er.. so.. what I.. do is..” they began, before shuffling closer to a bush they’d been plucking leaves off of to make their pattern.
“I look.. up.. at the sky.. and look at.. the clouds for.. a bit.” they mumbled.
This didn’t make sense, but it was their creative process.
They peered upwards at the clouds, admiring the fluffy white billows for a moment before turning back to face Hickorysmoke.
“And then my.. head starts.. being mean. Like.. ‘wow, Nettlepaw.. you’re being.. really.. counterproductive.. maybe you.. should never be.. a warrior..’. And since that’s.. not nice.. I rip off.. a.. bunch of.. random leaves.. and then I.. remember that’s not.. nice.. so then I put them.. on the ground.. and I start.. seeing shapes in.. the groups.. I put them.. in. It makes me.. want to move.. them around.. into pretty.. patterns.” Nettlepaw explained shyly, before looking back at their previous leaf pattern, then over to the warrior whom they were just barely towering over as they sat there.
“So.. there.” the apprentice concluded, blinking awkwardly.

@moxie_the_slime