[Ever]

Originally Posted by Suspiciousmindz

Jaguarclaw gave her a small nod, waiting a moment for her to take a few steps towards the warriors den. He could sense the tension that lingered between the two of them, the majority of it coming from her. Her limp is worse, he nodded to himself, feeling awful about it. Maybe it wouldn't have happened if he would've fought with her during the Liberation. He shouldn't have left her to fight alone. Suddenly he was the one feeling guilty, but he swallowed the thought and the feeling and began following her as he normally did.

Once entering the warriors den, he padded straight to his nest. Beside it was an older one. Looked as though it hadn't been touched in moons, but perhaps that was just the case. Heat flooded beneath his pelt and he ended up staring at his paws in embarrassment. If Marbledface hadn't already figured it out, it was her old nest. Immediately, however, Jaguarclaw sat in her nest, gesturing for her to lay down in his -- for obvious reasons. "You need the extra lining," he spoke softly. He'd mustered up enough confidence again to meet her gaze warmly. Jaguarclaw was simply embarrassed that she came back while he was keeping her old nest around. For personal reasons, Jaguarclaw liked having it around. It was a reminder to him what friendship he used to love having, but now that the she-cat was back, he could get her stuff for a new nest. Of course, if she didn't want it to be beside him, he'd understand, it was never that way before she left. "W- What did you want to talk about?" he asked, now waiting for her to settle into his nest and tell him what happened. What she felt comfortable saying at least.

@Ever

She was thankful when she saw her old nest sitting in the same place it always had. It didn't sink weirdly to her, it actually gave her reassurance that Jaguarclaw was truly her friend. Marbledface had a lot of doubts throughout her life, and she was glad that he was someone that she could always count on. This situation proved that he would be there for her no matter what as well. She didn't need his nest, she felt bad enough for leaving the clan that she would have enjoyed an unlined nest as some meager punishment. The mottled molly wasn't going to complain about the offer either, though some old flame of herself wanted to feel irritated at the offer. She liked to suffer from her own consequences, it was unfamiliar and made her feel weak in a way to have someone take that from her. Marbledface took a deep breath though and settled into his, it was much better bedding than she'd had over the past while and it felt so good. There was the added factor that it was Jaguarclaw's nest, the thought made her pelt flush with heat and her gaze tumbled to the floor of the den in embarrassment.

Though when he asked what she had on her mind she wasn't still sure how to word it. The word sorry floated in the front of her mind and couldn't seem to be dislodged. She just wanted to apologize a thousand times over, even though he showed no sign of anger. She was too reserved and selfish to give up whatever dignity she had left too and reveal that she was too sad and confused, and that she was embarrassed by those emotions so she left. It felt stupid and belittling to admit that in her eyes. The silence was stretching though and this wasn't how she wanted to spend her first few moments back, locked in a silent conversation with the one cat she needed to make amends with the most.

"I just want to repeat how sorry I am... for leaving you like that without any sort of explanation." She took a breath and let her gaze flicker momentarily to his, though she couldn't hold it. This whole experience was much too alien and uncomfortable to her. She'd never apologized nor felt guilty in her life. "I- I want to explain but it was some... private issues. I just- I needed to work through them on my own. I didn't mean to abandon you in the process, I don't want to hurt you." She felt like her father, it sent a bit of rage through her body. She'd abandoned everything she had, selfishly. He might have been able to help her and she hadn't even let her try. The mottled cat couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes and instead stared at the ground between them. Even though she could admit to herself that he might be able to help her, she couldn't accept help. The instinct to be independent was still so strongly burned within her. Marbledface didn't want him to know how vulnerable she was, in general and to him specifically; it was impossible to hide in her eyes.