SkyClan Clearing

[dino.]

Originally Posted by #1Warrior

Bluekit looked at her with a giggle. "I don't know what to do. All I ever do is sit alone in the nurserythinking about how mmiserable my life is. I don't have any kin left. " she replied half frowning.

"We could play mossball," she suggested. "I remember that being my favorite game when I was a kit." And when I liked to socialize, she finished silently.

[ameko]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

The Gathering. Greystep had been to the last one with Owlwing, she'd seemed to like him enough... but he hadn't seen the she cat in a while. Truth be told, he was pretty nervous that something bad might happen if he did go to see her again. He might start stammering as he had before when they had first met. She was awfully pretty. But, Greystep knew better then to allow himself to think that way. It would only serve as his enemy in the end. He knew it. Everyone knew it. So then, why was it so hard for the tom to bring himself to accept this? Perhaps he was worried to, realizing that it could eventually lead to his stress acting up and then where would he be? Embarassed and probably crying, that's where he would be. Because unfortunately it seemed that that was Greystep's future. To be forever awkward, embarassed, and... an all around strange cat. Wasn't it bad enough that he felt like he was useless sometimes? Did he have to be known as awkward and strange too?
　
His mind offered him no peace. Realizing he still hadn't answered the question that Acornflash had presented him with, Greystep swallowed and opened his maw to respond, trying to force his vocal cords to move in a way that would make sense. "I-I m-mu-ight... might go. I'm no-- not--- not sure yet." Thank StarClan. That time his voice had sounded normal. The tom wanted to jump in the air and shout for joy, but managed to hold back. Again he swallowed, finding himself feeling small and weak as he did so. How pathetic could he get? Much more, apparently. Considering he felt very strange with the tom asking him about Splotchfeather. The sweet little feline had brightened up his day quite a bit. She was the friendliest cat Acornflash had had the pleasure of meeting in a long time. "We could... we could all g-guh-o... go together." Only one word this time! Again the tom congratulated himself, a purr coming from his maw as he did so.
　
Of course he wasn't doing this out loud. Thankfully he had a good sense of what was and was not socially acceptable. Otherwise it might have been quite awkward. Something that, while Greystep was unforunately good at being, he did not have to be all the time. There had been a few times in the past where he had been socially acceptable. This just might be one of them. In which case, Greystep would feel himself growing very warm with pleasure and slight embarassment at the same time. An odd occurance, but one that seemed to have happened more and more recently. It was something that Greystep thanked StarClan for constantly, despite his embarassment that he still had that obnoxious stammer. It made him want to apologize to everyone in sight. As his companion's tail brushed lightly against his own grey fur, Greystep seemed to shrink backwards before he realized this was an accidental, even friendly touch. Upon recognizing and identifying this, Greystep smiled a little.
　
"What? Y-you seem like suh-such a frien-freh-friendly cat!" His voice was a little more cracky this time. Mainly because the touch had been unexpected and unwanted, both things making Greystep feel extraordinarily strange. Thank goodness it was just friendly. He couldn't deal with trying to make much more then a friend right now... and besides, from the way Acornflash talked about Splotchfeather, it seemed he would soon have a son-figure as well as a daughter one. Soon they would be mates, he was absolutely sure of it.

Greystep considered Acornflash to be friendly. And, by that same notion, Acornflash was considered to be welcoming. Very good. He had been hoping to give a good impression, something he felt like he had trouble with. Always too loud or too cheerful, and then suddenly too nervous at something he had done to even think about first impressions. He didn't like it too much, that ever-present feeling of anxiety lodged in the back of his mind, just waiting to resurface at a moment’s notice. It bothered him to no end, but maybe around Greystep, he would be able to forget about it, like he did with Splotchfeather and, on occasion, Nightflash. Well, Splotchfeather did tease him all too often about liking toms, but he tolerated it if only for having the feeling of anxiety washed away whenever he was with her. It was both a blessing and a curse.

Would Greystep help him forget about it, or would he do no good? Acornflash wasn't certain yet. He had been hoping for the former, but with the earlier, hidden onslaught of anxiety, he wasn't so sure anymore. Still, he had only known the older tom for just a little while—a few moments of his life. Who knows if Greystep was to stick around? Maybe he was just an acquaintance, someone he would talk to once and forget about. But, as he sat next to Greystep, he could almost feel those thoughts slipping through his paws, the wisps disappearing in the wind. His anxiety had been blown away, just as suddenly as it had arrived. “Yes, we should all go together,” he heard himself saying, but he felt as though he were a spectator, watching everything unfold from somewhere far away. Acornflash felt as though he was disconnected from himself, mind and body completely separate.

He had experienced this before, of course. Acornflash assumed that it happened to everyone. It was no big deal to him, just something he had to ride out and hope for the best. Keeping a tentative smile on his face, he observed the cats in the clearing. Everything seemed so hectic, yet so… organized. There were many cats milling around, pushing their way through the throngs of cats, but there was almost some sort of a pattern to it. It was probably just in his head. He had a tendency to get a completely different vibe from something so ordinary. It wasn't voluntary, just something that he did in a subconscious part of him.

His smile widened at the quiet rumbling coming from Greystep. Had he done something that pleased him? Or was it something that the gray tabby had done? He wasn't quite certain. Acornflash darted a quick glance over at Greystep as his tail stayed wrapped around his own paws, save for a slight twitch. “Seriously?” inquired the dark tom, pleasant surprise lighting up his features. “I don't really think all that highly of myself, so it's nice to hear someone else say it.” Acornflash seemed to be coming back down to Earth, now. Disconnection only lasted for a few moments in his cases. They weren't too bothersome. “Oh—I don't remember if I've asked or not, but do you have an apprentice, by any chance? I just remembered that I'm supposed to be taking Brightpaw out for a tour of the territory in a little bit,” he meowed, speech still as rapid as ever. A small part of him wanted, depending on whether or not Greystep had an apprentice, to have a joint training session. Primarily because he was frightened of his first apprentice (just a little bit), but he would never admit that. Though, even if Greystep wasn’t someone’s mentor, then he could still ask Splotchfeather and expect a definite yes—with, of course, the ever-present playful teasing at how obviously worried he was about impressing his apprentice.

[RedHead]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Aww, so cute.

Gingerblossom was definitely an adorable feline. How had she escaped his gaze before? Oh well. Didn't matter, and he didn't care. Technically that was a lie; of course he cared! Why wouldn't he? If she had escaped his gaze, she clearly had some sort of magic. No one did that for very long, right? He would have noticed her sooner or later, even if he wasn't alone... she was pretty, after all. And while this was clearly going to be a challenge, Blazingcomet was certain he wouldn't get attached. After all... there were only a couple cats he'd been attached to. And she wouldn't be added to the list. Right? If he was careful and played his cards right at least, she wouldn't be.

If he wasn't? Well, things might get uncomfortable for them both. Her question had made him smile, and now he was actually going to answer it. "No, I don't have an apprentice. Yet, at least... I want one. It'd be nice to have a younger cat to train," He purred. Well at least they had some things in common. So far he hadn't found that many. But hey, opposites attracted, right? Hard-to-get or just plain oblivious meets flirty bad-- or was he a good?-- boy. Hmm, confusing. But a total sweetheart all the same... definitely, definitely. He was a good boy! Sometimes. A sweetheart? Maybe.

Her next question threw him even more off guard. What flower? Well... he supposed this wouldn't hurt. At least it was the smallest bit of progress, just a flicker of progress, but it was progress all the same. Thank goodness! He would hate it if he hadn't made any at all. "Uhh... f-flower?" Oops. He sounded stupid right then. Sighing, the tom looked down at the ground, feigning embarassment and innocence. Not to mention just the slightest bit of thoughtfulness, that drove she cats crazy. In his experience it did, at least. "Huh. Maybe a red one? Or a white one, those would both look pretty with your fur," He purred, his tone going into the smoothness that it always did when he was flirting.
Oh, he was going to have to watch himself with that, though. She didn't seem to appreciate his smooth tones too much. And really, who could blame her? He wasn't the smartest of cats when it came to reading body language. He'd missed it earlier. Thank goodness she'd lashed out, otherwise he would have gone on frustrating her. Huh, Blazingcomet wasn't really one to look for the good in life all the time... sure, some of the time he did, but that had been frightening! Maybe being around this cat was having a positive effect on him. "But yellow looks really nice with you too. Caught my attention." And there he went again. Did this tom ever learn? The answer to that would be no.

@RedHead

A young cat to train would be really fun. Gingerblossom let her mind wander, thinking of all the possibilities. She could teach them how to hunt, and how to climb trees.... I could have a mini-me! That thought made Gingerblossom happy. She knew that not many cats were like her, and she thought that if she trained one, then maybe they could see the world through her eyes, those mint-green hues.
When Blazingcomet jut meowed "flowers", Gingerblossom cocked her head, looking back at him. He was looking at the ground, and Ginger felt a flutter of..... something in her chest. She couldn't quite place what it was, but it felt like a warm, fuzzy feeling. Like happiness, but more than just that. She then thought about the colors he had suggested. Gingerblossom hadn't worn either of those colors for a while, and they would look pretty, as he put it. But there was one color that Ginger had never worn, one that she loved. She wondered if Blazingcomet would be willing to help her with it. She moved a little closer to him, as to not let other cats hear. She didn't even process in her mind that he might take it differently.
"Well.... There's this one flower, one that I saw growing in my housefolk's yard when I was a kittypet. It only grows there. It has the prettiest petals, a red ranging to pink.." Gingerblossom trailed off, realizing it sounded like she was asking another favor of the ginger tom. Oh no, I can't so this, I already asked him one too many favors! "But of course, it's all the way at my housefolk's, which is pretty far." Ginger finished, smiling to let Blazingcomet know that she was okay without it. On the inside though, she ached for it.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Pathos

Greystep considered Acornflash to be friendly. And, by that same notion, Acornflash was considered to be welcoming. Very good. He had been hoping to give a good impression, something he felt like he had trouble with. Always too loud or too cheerful, and then suddenly too nervous at something he had done to even think about first impressions. He didn't like it too much, that ever-present feeling of anxiety lodged in the back of his mind, just waiting to resurface at a moment’s notice. It bothered him to no end, but maybe around Greystep, he would be able to forget about it, like he did with Splotchfeather and, on occasion, Nightflash. Well, Splotchfeather did tease him all too often about liking toms, but he tolerated it if only for having the feeling of anxiety washed away whenever he was with her. It was both a blessing and a curse.

Would Greystep help him forget about it, or would he do no good? Acornflash wasn't certain yet. He had been hoping for the former, but with the earlier, hidden onslaught of anxiety, he wasn't so sure anymore. Still, he had only known the older tom for just a little while—a few moments of his life. Who knows if Greystep was to stick around? Maybe he was just an acquaintance, someone he would talk to once and forget about. But, as he sat next to Greystep, he could almost feel those thoughts slipping through his paws, the wisps disappearing in the wind. His anxiety had been blown away, just as suddenly as it had arrived. “Yes, we should all go together,” he heard himself saying, but he felt as though he were a spectator, watching everything unfold from somewhere far away. Acornflash felt as though he was disconnected from himself, mind and body completely separate.

He had experienced this before, of course. Acornflash assumed that it happened to everyone. It was no big deal to him, just something he had to ride out and hope for the best. Keeping a tentative smile on his face, he observed the cats in the clearing. Everything seemed so hectic, yet so… organized. There were many cats milling around, pushing their way through the throngs of cats, but there was almost some sort of a pattern to it. It was probably just in his head. He had a tendency to get a completely different vibe from something so ordinary. It wasn't voluntary, just something that he did in a subconscious part of him.

His smile widened at the quiet rumbling coming from Greystep. Had he done something that pleased him? Or was it something that the gray tabby had done? He wasn't quite certain. Acornflash darted a quick glance over at Greystep as his tail stayed wrapped around his own paws, save for a slight twitch. “Seriously?” inquired the dark tom, pleasant surprise lighting up his features. “I don't really think all that highly of myself, so it's nice to hear someone else say it.” Acornflash seemed to be coming back down to Earth, now. Disconnection only lasted for a few moments in his cases. They weren't too bothersome. “Oh—I don't remember if I've asked or not, but do you have an apprentice, by any chance? I just remembered that I'm supposed to be taking Brightpaw out for a tour of the territory in a little bit,” he meowed, speech still as rapid as ever. A small part of him wanted, depending on whether or not Greystep had an apprentice, to have a joint training session. Primarily because he was frightened of his first apprentice (just a little bit), but he would never admit that. Though, even if Greystep wasn’t someone’s mentor, then he could still ask Splotchfeather and expect a definite yes—with, of course, the ever-present playful teasing at how obviously worried he was about impressing his apprentice.

The surprise that suddenly appeared on Acornflash’s features both startled and, if he were being honest, completely pleased the tom. He was glad that he had given some pleasure to the tom. A slow, steady purring came from his maw and he shifted his weight as he smiled over at the cat. Acornflash was such a pleasant cat, really… the type that Greystep hadn’t met in a long, long time. A moment later he stopped and looked confused. Why didn’t the tom think highly of himself? Yes; technically that might be a good thing, but… at the same time it was a bad thing, wasn’t it? It was bad if you didn’t really think highly of yourself. Though, look who was talking—the master of constantly putting himself down. Oh Greystep. Some might call him hypocritical, but he wasn’t trying to be… to be honest, he didn’t even realize how much he was putting himself down. Putting himself down came just from mirroring what he had heard others say.

All he’d ever heard was bad things about himself. There weren’t a whole lot of good things that other cats felt like saying about him. Owlwing, Splotchfeather, and Acornflash had been the few that had decided to give him at least one compliment. “Wh-what? Y-you d-don’t th-thu-think th-thuh-that highly w-with you-yuh-yourself?” The feline mewed, his expression surprised and worried. Sure, he was older, but he was worried more like of a friend then a father. He wasn’t old enough to be a father figure for the younger cat, anyways. Splotchfeather? Maybe. But definitely, definitely not Acornflash. The two of them seemed to have hit it off so far. They were going to end up as friends, he was sure of it…. and that might be considered flattering, at least he didn’t think it very often—which would make it flattering, wouldn’t it? He guessed so. But Greystep had never been too good at building himself up. He’d always torn himself down, ever since he was a younger cat.

Because of mirroring what others said. After all, what was the problem with that? He wanted to be normal. He wanted a normal life. So that would mean saying what others said, and mostly, it was tearing things about himself down. Picking on himself in a way. Acornflash’s question caught him off guard and for a second, he had to question whether he did have an apprentice or not. Yes…? He wanted to mew, but forgot how to speak altogether for a moment. This normally happened when he got really nervous. Generally around cats who were bothering him. He couldn’t remember how to talk. And then, his memory seemed to return and the familiar expression returned to his features. Not one of fear, but of realization. Those were pretty much the two expressions for Greystep. Sometimes one of pleasure, though that was rarely seen on his sometimes handsome features. “Yeh-yes. H-his name’s Arrow… Arr-Arrowpaw.” Just a tiny bit of struggling this time. Which made Greystep feel much prouder of himself. He was doing it! He was talking so well! And no one was trying to speak over him or bother him, Acornflash was actually listening to what he had to say. How special that made the tom feel. Though perhaps it shouldn’t have, it did anyways… kind of awkward but he kept it all the same.



@RedHead

A flower, huh? Just the very thought made Blazingcomet a little more curious then he should have been. Technically he should have been more careful, considering the statements she was making were ones that were used by sharks sometimes. And no, not literal sharks; those fierce huntresses who preyed on the more delicate toms’ emotions. And, while Blazingcomet was anything but delicate, he definitely wasn’t smart enough to catch this. Funny. An expert flirt like him should have been able to detect that easily.
Was it possible that Gingerblossom was growing on him? Nah. The thought was ridiculous! For a tough, wild, tom like him? Untamed and strong? No. No one ‘grew on him.’ He was his own cat. He was the most powerful warrior. He was handsome, an absolutely amazing cat… toms envied him and she cats swooned before him. Most of them, anyways. But for some reason? This one just refused to even bend. Such a nice cat. Huh… nice. Nice was not a thing that the tom was familiar with being called, and he tried to work with it. Nope. It was impossible, he couldn’t find a way to figure out how to deal with it.
“Where is your housefolk’s, exactly?” Perhaps flowers were the way to this she cat’s heart. She seemed to have a deep love for them. And besides, the way she was describing this made Blazingcomet want to see it in her fur. It sounded so pretty. And then, the realization that she had actually moved closer hit the tom, and his expression changed instantly. He looked again, more flirtatious then before. “That flower sounds lovely, Gingerblossom. But there’s just one thing that concerns me; don’t you think your beauty will drown out the color?” It was cringe-worthy, the things he said. And yet Blazingcomet didn’t care. It was all just a game to him.

[Barnabas]

Originally Posted by Turtlestrike

"We could play mossball," she suggested. "I remember that being my favorite game when I was a kit." And when I liked to socialize, she finished silently.

"Okay. " she replied. She went to the nursery and then came back with a mossball inside her jaws. She set it down. "I don't know how to play mossball. " Bluekit admitted.

[dino.]

Originally Posted by #1Warrior

"Okay. " she replied. She went to the nursery and then came back with a mossball inside her jaws. She set it down. "I don't know how to play mossball. " Bluekit admitted.

"It's kind of like a game of catch." Russetstripe hooked the ball in her claws. "Here. Catch." She tossed it to Bluekit.

[Barnabas]

Originally Posted by Turtlestrike

"It's kind of like a game of catch." Russetstripe hooked the ball in her claws. "Here. Catch." She tossed it to Bluekit.

Bluekit jumped in the air and caught it in her mouth. "Like that?" She asked with her mouth full of the ball of moss.

[dino.]

Originally Posted by #1Warrior

Bluekit jumped in the air and caught it in her mouth. "Like that?" She asked with her mouth full of the ball of moss.

"Just like that. Now toss it back to me." The warrior smiled, preparing to catch the ball.

[Barnabas]

Originally Posted by Turtlestrike

"Just like that. Now toss it back to me." The warrior smiled, preparing to catch the ball.

Bluekit tossed it back to Russetstripe with a powerful toss, twisting in the air. She watched it fly to the warrior.

[dino.]

Originally Posted by #1Warrior

Bluekit tossed it back to Russetstripe with a powerful toss, twisting in the air. She watched it fly to the warrior.

The she-cat leaped, twisting in the air to catch it. She hooked it in her teeth and landed, thumping dust into the air.