[Fawn]

Originally Posted by Redtalon

Stormtalon had been minding his own business. He was quietly reclining in the sunny clearing, enjoying the warmth of it on his pelt, which was damp after a productive morning hunt. Once more—minding his own business. Despite this, he noticed the medicine cat’s gaze on him from across the camp, the tom’s amber eyes glinting the way Brightkit’s did when he had a terrible idea.

StarClan.

He wondered just what about him looked approachable when predictably, Fawnsqueak started padding closer. Perhaps he should ask the tom afterwards, so as to avoid it in the future.

It wasn’t that he disliked the medicine cat. In fact, Stormtalon thought of him as one of the more intelligent cats in RiverClan; he respected Fawn’s vast knowledge of herbs and remedies, as well as his undying curiosity and passion to learn. Anycat with eyes could see that what he lacked in social grace, Fawnsqueak made up for in good intentions. That, and Brightkit idolized him.

It was just that… the auburn tom was… a nice cat. Stormtalon thought of the adjective with a hint of reluctance. It was too late to avoid the conversation without being obvious, unfortunately.

Fawnsqueak presented himself, but didn’t speak. He only stared with an odd, crooked smile, head dipped at an angle. Perhaps he forgot his opening line. Stormtalon’s whiskers twitched in amusement.

“Why do I get the feeling,” Storm mewed casually, keeping his body language neutral, “-that you’re about to ask me for a favor?”

Owlish, Fawnsqueak wondered if this.. was an appropriate distance. (No distance was an appropriate distance after he'd spent a while staring at the guy, then sauntered over here as if he needed an even closer look.) Lifting a paw as if to back up, he hesitated, then put it down again. If he lost his nerve now, he wouldn't be regaining it. He'd spend the rest of the day huddled in the stupid medicine cat's den ruminating on his social failures. At least if he convinced Stormtalon to accompany him, he could ruminate on ShadowClan's destruction AND his social failures. (Tens of times better.)

Fawnsqueak could've claimed he was on the brink of a greeting when Stormtalon beat him to it (claimed, lied, same difference) -- and he was taken aback by the brazen assumption!.. That happened to be completely accurate. He didn't like it.

"I was going to tell you that you look like a freaking weirdo sitting alone all the time," he hotly remarked, his intentions skewed when it came out wrong, quite the deviation from a simple fact in his own moment of frustrated embarrassment. It was a sentiment he was all too familiar with, also a weirdo by all definitions. His sharp tongue had the tips of his ears flaming, and he sputtered to continue, "But if you're offering, yeah, I'll take you up on that favor."