[Arie]

Originally Posted by corgi

It was almost as if the entirety of Shadowclan thought Creekgaze was going to just lay down and do whatever they wanted just because, what, they had a disability, that oh, they were too pretty to waste away just because they wanted to be special. They were, to cut a long story short, done with it, and their current predicament just reeked of everything they had been through before. The pale-eyed tabby stayed silent for a moment as the larger warrior withdrew, assessing the situation for about a millisecond.

And then, they spoke.

"Mate," the enby began, pulling themself further away from Smokestep as soon as he moved, curling a lip over one of their fangs. "I don't think you're getting me. I am not female. I do not get why you're sighing as if this is one of the love stories your great-grandma told you as a kit. Whatever you call a friendly gesture feels more like harassment to me." They had lost attention as he had been grooming them before, and shook whatever water that still latched to them off. Creekgaze felt as if the message was not clear enough, but they weren't one to show open aggression... until now. Creekgaze puffed up their now-dry fur.

It was a long time since someone had done anything like this, and as they reached further monuments in their transition, they expected it to never happen again-- or so they had hoped. They raised a paw, claws still sheathed (but not for long), growing too defensive too quickly, and snarled, "I'm not entirely deaf. I think I can tell. We've only ever been on what, two patrols? Two? How many times have we spoken in the last moon? I think this is the one time we've had a conversation. Get real. I'm not-- I'm not having it."

Smokestep puffed up his fur. He had been keeping calm through the whole thing, now though, Creekgaze had managed to get under his fur. The proud smoke black cat moved so that he could look in her eyes. "Have I ever mentioned something that might show any affection toward you? I have shown what I would show every clanmate, loyalty when something happens to them. You fell into the river, the least I could do was to help you get your fur dry." Raising his head proudly he spun around and headed toward the bush of dry plants, tail shaking angrily.