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***Alchemist Kitsune*** · #**6187** April 14th, 2025, 06:01 PM

His emotionless mask well in place - truthfully, the tom sometimes wondered if he even remembered how to emote well enough to do so - he inwardly panicked as it swiftly became evident that this she-cat... had no designs upon leaving. And good heavens... she talked a lot! More than Speaks-a-Lot had, and that cat talked so much she actively visited him in his dreams after death to keep talking to him. That was commitment to talking, damn it. How was this one even worse?!

The onslaught of questions was like a strike at his nerves, each one hitting a different weak spot. Sprucejumper couldn't help it. He soon found himself quirking a brow at the tornado of words that THE ENEMY passed for conversation, admittedly forgetting half of the things she had asked before the next question was fired away. A part of him almost considered standing up and walking away. Alright... that was a lie. He most definitely considered standing up and walking away, no question about it. Until he heard one of the few names that mattered to him. Mudhound. Them, Firebloom, and Snotzilla were the only cats worth thinking about in ThunderClan... and with The Boulder he got his daily doses of incessant chatter anyways. He didn't need this one to take their place... hmph!

The thought of them giving him pause, the former housecat remained in place, a slight hint of jealousy crossing his gaze before it went blank once more. It seemed THE ENEMY was already in nickname terms with The Boulder, which meant that she was in constant contact with them... or at least, that's what he had to assume was the case. And yet ever since the illness that had plagued ThunderClan, the tom hadn't been able to get a word in to his former mentor. He had tried, of course... Well, maybe not with words... but he had been unsuccessful. The feline had not reacted. Not really cared for their existence. Maybe just like his family before him having arrived to the forest they were... done with him? Yeah... that tracked. Cats only kept you around until they bored of you, after all, and everyone knew how boring he was. He'd made a point of it... Well, everyone except THE ENEMY, clearly.

Ear twitching as the apprentice finally silenced herself, leaving her final question to linger in the air, Sprucejumper settled on an unamused scowl. Excuse her? Grumpy? Grumpy?! How dare she?! Yes, he was boring, uninteresting, and perhaps even a little aloof... but grumpy?! That was almost as foul as being compared with Angry herself!

A snort escaped him as he deliberated, half tempted to place his paws on his head and pretend he couldn't hear her. That would show her who was grumpy! Hmph! But instead, he paused once more, realizing that he... did not know? Did he have friends? And more importantly... did it matter? He had thought The Boulder his friend, but clearly that wasn't the case at all. Snotzilla was his apprentice, so clearly they weren't friends... more partners until she gained her warrior name and wasn't forced to hang around him anymore. And then there was Firebloom... who was kind, and always pleasant to be around, but he wouldn't consider himself a friend to her. True, he liked checking her every now and then to make sure she wasn't too lonely, but really, he was certain she had real friends to talk to and spend time with whenever he wasn't around...

It dawned on him that realistically speaking, he had no one. If he were to choose to leave the clan this instance, nobody would probably even realize he was gone. This was a good thing, of course. He had worked hard to become unapproachable. He didn't want to know about other cats and other cats didn't want to know about him, and that's how it should always be. Besides, letting others get close to you always ended in disappointment or betrayal. Everyone was destined to die alone, and surrounding yourself with false hope that would inevitably lead to heartbreak just made surviving through it all the more unbearable to deal with. And yet he felt an emptiness inside as he realized this, uncertain as to why. Avoiding confusion overtaking him, he shrugged before crossing his paws before him and setting his head there, closing his eyes as if to let her know the conversation was over with a singular word as his response.

"Irrelevant."

@Minku [Quackpaw]