Try as the apprentice might, there was no hiding the way she flinched from Stormfly's gaze as she'd spoken. She let her shoulders relax, making herself seem less tall and imposing, and let a little of her prideful exterior peel away. She tried to make her expression more.... Open, honest.
She did not need her pretty little plan falling apart because she spooked the most important piece to this carefully crafted machine.
Her ears twitched at the sound of a name that belonged to one she'd never met. Heard of, perhaps, if she really dug through her memories. She had no opinion of him, even now that she was faced with one who seemed to be his masterful and murderous little protege. Perhaps he had a paw in her development, and shaped her to be the glorious weapon she was now. In the end, until she could gather her own conclusion about the usefulness of this cat, she would be reserving judgement.
"Of course, where are manners?"
She dipped her head to be level with her shoulders, all the while maintaining eye contact with Treepaw.
"I am Stormfly."
She would have continued to talk about herself, of course, if it weren't for a question that seemed to be buzzing around the apprentices mind like a nasty little fly. Soon the question was put in the open, for her to dissect and consider.
She raised her head to a comfortable height for herself, and allowed the motion to buy her precious seconds to decide how she wished to address this.
"Thrush has other matters to attend to for the moment. Worry not, though, for he is well." It wasn't a lie, but neither was it a promise she could keep. She doubted the small tom would be in too much danger, especially anything of real consequence to residents of such a dreary and dreadful place.
"I cannot claim that I have been sent in his place, but it is your training with him that draws me to seek you out."
Her tail curls from the middle to the end, folding itself closer to her side.
"I am always seeking to form ties - friendships - with like minded cats and you.... You are someone I wish to know."
The tortoiseshell tilts her head ever so slightly to the right as she lets her gaze slide over the apprentice once again. She felt her whiskers catch an errant and rare breeze through this desolate wasteland, and found herself averting her gaze and closing her eyes to enjoy it for a moment, before returning her attention to Treepaw, waiting patiently for her thoughts.
[ @
SuspiciousMindz ]