ThunderClan Territory

[wren]

Rabbitchatter | he/him
A long furred brown tabby tom with amber eyes
—

The deepest most long suffering sigh left the toms parted lips as Alderheart seemed to meditate on the question for quite some time. Though, not genuinely irritated perhaps moreso irked that this wasn’t as easy as he had wanted it to be. The tom swept his tail delicately back and fourth as he pushed snow back over the spot he’d been looking and moved on. He kept quiet a moment allowing whatever his clanmate could be thinking to marinate before making any kind of response. Which turned out to be a big waste of time in the end. A smile worked it’s way onto his muzzle and he forced his shoulders to relax at his sides as he passed from one tree to the next and finally a frozen log.

“Well.” Rabbitchatter exclaimed gently nosing the log away from its place to reveal some scraggly and frost burnt moss underneath it. “I must admit Alder, you are something of a sourpuss.” he hooked a claw under the bundle and worked at pulling it free and out into the open where he began to gather a decently sized pile. He didn’t bother looking over at Alder, he figured the tom wouldn’t be sparing him a glance anyways. “Do you think you have a choice being all upset at the world the way you are? Or… are you born with it” he made a weird swishing gesture with his paw as the words escaped him. The question in and of itself was entirely hypothetical. Of course he had a choice not to be a pile of dung, the question really was, why be miserable? This time he did spare a glance in the russet warriors direction, an eyebrow raised cheekily at his question. Surely Alder had some brain to him, dodging questions the way he was could have meant that one, he didn’t understand or two, he did and chose to ignore it. Meaning Alder was certainly not the dull type.

@val

[odessa]

alderstep
he/him
thunderclan
russet tabby w/ white paws, green eyes
---

Ah, so Rabbitchatter did feel exasperation as well. Alderstep took a tiny grain of comfort in the similarity. He felt like a squirrel out of a tree next to the otherwise cheery tom. He looked back to the fellow warrior, finding that the other tom had found something. Moss? Yes, it looked like it was. Perhaps he should help? No, that would be an overcrowding of claws reaching for the same moss. He began nosing around elsewhere, keeping a bit close but not too close. A perfect distance to hold Rabbitchatter and his feelings away from him.

Alderstep wrinkled his nose secretly. No cat had ever called him a sourpuss. It sounded strange coming from Rabbitchatter, despite it not being intended as an insult. The russet warrior could tell just by the tone and the tom's overall actions. He doubted Rabbitchatter could ever find it inside him to insult another cat. He seemed too fluffy and smotheringly kind for that. Alderstep wriggled under a bare-leafed bush, poking around for a small bit of moss that wasn't too damp in his opinion. Perhaps this moss would go to the apprentices' den.

As he gathered the moss, he thought about Rabbitchatter's question. It surprised him to even be sparing a thought to them, but here he was. What was choice? Alderstep had chosen to wake up and follow the tabby tom into the forest. He had chosen to yell at his apprentice in a petty manner. He chose to do many things. In Alderstep's mind, he felt like those actions were completely justified. He served his clan, and he avoided provoking things, especially other cats. That didn't make him grumpy, did it? He only lashed out because others deserved it.

But how could he say all of that to Rabbitchatter? Alderstep doubted the other cat cared, nor understood. He surely was only asking these questions because he found Alderstep's behavior annoying. Besides, he didn't need "fixing." The warrior fished out a small pile of moss, surprised at how little he had found in comparison to his company. Alderstep shook his head slightly at his tiny failure. "There's no such thing as fate if that's what you mean," he said as he approached Rabbitchatter. Hopefully, that answer would suffice and explain every choice he made and every thought he had.

@wren

[wren]

Rabbitchatter | he/him
A long furred brown tabby tom with amber eyes
—

Rabbitchatter continued to busy himself in scraping out the last bits of moss, which in the end wasn’t all that helpful. Most of it shredded by the time he’d yanked it free of its precious home, leaving strings of dirt in its wake. He gave his paw a gentle shake to free it from the rest of the slightly damp dirt before setting off to a few smaller logs nearby. For some reason rabbit felt Alder was uncomfortable with his staring, and perhaps he was actually reading a little too much into it. He nosed another log aside, gave it a quick visual check and moved to the next. Repeating this process as he went until he’d eventually tired out the log pile. Odd how they were gathered in the one place.

He withdrew momentarily from his work to quickly pass a glance at the warrior as he too seemed to make a small discovery under a prickly looking bush. He was thinking. A little too hard for the question he posed, but perhaps Alder was just careful that way? Questions however simple and straight forward could be interpreted in hundreds of different ways. Rabbit bent to gather his pile of moss in his jaws making his way over to dump his findings on top of his companions pile, taking a liberty to raise a paw and dust the toms shoulder off.

“Don’t think too hard there champ, you’ll blow a fuse” he mused, dodging past the warrior to inspect some other bushes further ahead. Perhaps this was the breakthrough, perhaps Alder would start spilling his feelings and allow him to reach in with his insight. What was it about others that just made them so afraid of feeling? His tail even curled at the thought, the lack of straight forward openness must be torture to most. Imagine bottling up your feelings, after a while they ought to taste like carrion. He shivered and hastened his search between the thin twigs of the bushes.

“Bit of’a deep answer there Alder. Not very telling either.” his one eyebrow perched itself into an arch on his head before his massive head swung back around to carry on his work. “I know you ain’t got bees for brains. In fact. I bet you understand that you are the only thing keepin y’a from being happy once an’a while. In that case, yer makin your own fate.”

@val

[odessa]

alderstep
he/him
thunderclan
russet tabby w/ white paws, green eyes
---

Alderstep flicked his ear as Rabbitchatter dusted off his shoulder. If only life were as easy as dusting off a shoulder. He watched the tom go with placid eyes. "I never agreed to champ," he muttered, though his voice carried enough to be heard. Alderstep was kind of good at being quiet while still being loud enough. It helped create a grumpy character. He turned back to his bush, looking around for others like it. As he walked, he sank deeper into the leftover snow the trees couldn't catch.

It was honestly frustrating at this point. "Well, what do you want me to say?!" Alderstep burst out, pausing in his dig under a bush. He stared at Rabbitchatter. Did he just say that? Ugh. It didn't matter, he probably still sounded grumpy. He turned back to digging, working away furiously. "C'mon, stupid moss. Don't be difficult," he muttered under his breath. Why was moss so hard to find? It should be easy. Leaf-bare made everything difficult. So did Rabbitchatter. Alderstep almost wished he was just a complacent cat like any other average normal clan cat. Why did he have to try and get up in his business?

@wren

[wren]

Rabbitchatter | he/him
A long furred brown tabby tom with amber eyes
—

Rabbitchatter stopped briefly in his tracks when the tom barked out a response to his question. There was satisfaction in knowing his question had hit its intended target, and yet a pang of sadness too. Rabbitchatter wasn’t oblivious like it seemed sometimes, and putting cats into difficult places was never his intention. Er- well. Perhaps that wasn’t the full truth. He didn’t like putting cats into tough places, but he believed deeply that in order to face oneself you must hear the bigger truth. To be pushed and poked in uncomfortable ways. The reaffirmation gave him a second wind for conversation, this time however he abandoned his search and turned to face Alder. His face, unlike before, had softened a great deal. His best attempt at comfort and understanding.

He waited a moment, letting his own thoughts gather themselves and marinate for a moment. Anything he was going to say couldn’t come out of a place of frustration (though he felt himself incapable of it, desperate sure, frustration never.) he attempted to lock eyes with the warrior, steadying his own breath and taking gentle steps to approach him. He almost wished he could reach out and gently bump heads with the tom as a friendly gesture but refrained. Alder didn’t look like physical touch was reaffirming to him. Not in the slightest.

He could see the frustration leaking into the tom with his spastic movements searching for moss and a wave of empathy touched his heart. He likened the experience to himself, as a youngster he had bouts of anger. He took it out physically and… hurt others.. his weight shifted at the discomfort of the hazy memories. It wasn’t about him. “I want yer best honesty kid. I don’t like seein folks mopin about like life ain’t a precious gift. You ain’t no exception. Tell me.” he paused taking a brief glance at the shredded dirt that surrounded Alderheart. “Tell me what’s so wrong. I ain’t gonna promise you I won’t bother you again if you tell me, but I want y’a to be happy. It only comes outta my heart. Genuine concern for you…” he blinked a few more times glancing up to catch his eye like in hopes to see gears shifting.

@val

[odessa]

alderstep
he/him
thunderclan
russet tabby w/ white paws, green eyes
---

Alderstep's claws itched for more moss, but he had essentially taken every resource from the bush. A tiny addition to the pile, but something nonetheless. He sat up, tensing his muscles and then relaxing them with a sigh. What was it? Hadn't the tom been a loner of some sort? Alderstep didn't know the whole story. He shimmied out from under the bush. Maybe that was why Rabbitchatter was so different. Alderstep spent a few moments just compressing the moss pile, idly playing with it a bit.

Fine, then. Why was he so grumpy? Why wasn't Rabbitchatter? He sat so that he only had to look a little bit over his shoulder when he looked at the other tom. He could tell in his amber eyes that he truly meant it. That, and the voice, too. "Again, I'm not that younger than you. Why do you say that?" And there he goes again, avoiding the question. Alderstep could really make a game out of it. Though he did wonder why Rabbitchatter treated him like some kind of...kit? A kit grown-up? It was confusing.

Alderstep swallowed and shifted to face Rabbitchatter more. "...you, uh, work. And you get obsessed?" He paused and curled his tail over his paws for warmth. "Then you're mad no one does it like you," Alderstep muttered. He shook his head. "Anyways, is this enough moss?" He gestured to the pile with his paw. He felt stupid for having this conversation. What he said wasn't even the whole truth. But the moss was his only escape. Moss and his nest and hunting. His very favorite things.

@wren

[Bonsai]

—/— @Archbone —/—

~^~ Duckfluff ~^~

With a small purr of relief he nodded. “Sounds good! Although I haven’t been able to find anything all day.” He was glad his brother had forgiven him. Now they could spend the day hunting! With the two of them together they were sure to find something! He did love hunting and he was good at it, just not in leafbare. His light cream-colored pelt was better hidden in the snow than in underbrush, it was just too difficult to find anything during leafbare. He supposed most cats could relate to that. Not the pelt part, but the leafbare part. Even the oh so grown up Berryclaw. Ah, his mind was drifting. Maybe it was no wonder why he couldn’t find anything. He forced it back again.

He assumed that Berryclaw had also been out here hunting before they had met up. Vaguely he wondered if he had had better luck. He hadn’t been stalking anything when Duckfluff found him. Right? No he would have said something for sure. He sniffed the air. There wasn’t much, seemed there was a raven a couple pawsteps north. That was better than he had smelled in a while. ”What luck! I smell something now!” He turned towards his brother with an excited whisper. He flicked his tail in the direction of the bird.

[JackHunt_17]

Originally Posted by Oasis

—/— @Archbone —/—

~^~ Duckfluff ~^~

With a small purr of relief he nodded. “Sounds good! Although I haven’t been able to find anything all day.” He was glad his brother had forgiven him. Now they could spend the day hunting! With the two of them together they were sure to find something! He did love hunting and he was good at it, just not in leafbare. His light cream-colored pelt was better hidden in the snow than in underbrush, it was just too difficult to find anything during leafbare. He supposed most cats could relate to that. Not the pelt part, but the leafbare part. Even the oh so grown up Berryclaw. Ah, his mind was drifting. Maybe it was no wonder why he couldn’t find anything. He forced it back again.

He assumed that Berryclaw had also been out here hunting before they had met up. Vaguely he wondered if he had had better luck. He hadn’t been stalking anything when Duckfluff found him. Right? No he would have said something for sure. He sniffed the air. There wasn’t much, seemed there was a raven a couple pawsteps north. That was better than he had smelled in a while. ”What luck! I smell something now!” He turned towards his brother with an excited whisper. He flicked his tail in the direction of the bird.

Berryclaw nodded. "You should be able to get it yourself, I caught the scent of a squirrel at the base of that Beech Tree, I'll go after that and you get the bird." He said

[Bonsai]

—/— @Archbone —/—

~^~ Duckfluff ~^~

Duckfluff returned Berryclaw’s nod. He resolved to be serious and to do this quickly. Leafbare wasn’t a time for slacking hunters. “Let’s meet back here.” With another nod to mark how serious he was, he was off. Stalking through the snow, and following the scent of the raven. He found the bird pecking away under a bush. Should I feel bad for killing a bird, because of my name? It was a thought he had often and that just as often went unanswered. He advanced on his prey slowly. Making his paws come down softly on the crunchy snow. Soon, he was in range and with a pounce he was on top of the bird. Quickly, before it could squawk and ruin Berryclaw’s hunt, he sunk his teeth into its neck.

With the small raven swinging in his jaws he picked his was back to their spot. He made less of an effort to stay quiet, without making too much noise. Again, he wouldn’t want to spoil his brother’s hunt. He dug a hole and buried his prize as he waited. If we both get out catches it’ll be a good day! The thought of filling the prey pile after a long day’s hunt with just one piece of prey wasn’t a happy one. He resolved to see it as a success nonetheless. He had tried his best, and this wasn’t a scheduled hunting patrol. Although now that he though of it he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been sent on a hunting patrol. Or the last time he’d seen the deputy.

[Fade]

Redstalk began touring the territory