Snailblossom clears her head(open)

[Madelaine]

Snailblossom padded out of clan territory to clear her mind. She wondered here, knowing her clanmates wouldn't be out here. The molly had just run out of the clan meeting and it had upset her. Pinewish, her own father never followed. How could he just stay there and now follow her. She could use him now. Snailblossom sighed and hid herself in a tree log. The windclan warrior laid down, placing her head down on her paws.

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak had his nose to the air, tasting it to determine where the best hunting spots would be. The mouse-trails in the snow had disappeared with leaf-bare in full swing, and he was running low on ideas, so the search for food--that wasn't fish--had brought him to the edge of RiverClan territory. It... wasn't exactly ethical to continue hunting beyond here, but who would notice if he took something from the outskirts? It wasn't stealing from another Clan. Although uneasy, Fawnsqueak stepped forward after a glance around to ensure he wasn't being watched, then drew a long breath inward.

There was a familiar, sweet scent in the air. Not of prey, but of his past. He began to follow it, padding quietly along the snow drifts until he eventually squinted at the source. The memory was fuzzy. "Um," his voice cracked, "Snail.. Snailpaw?" That seemed right, it brought back the night they'd met at the gathering. Everything clicked into place as he recognized her.

@Blissie Bliss

[Madelaine]

Snailblossom was daydreaming when she heard pawsteps in the snow. What cat would come to this part of the outskirts. Oh wait she was that cat who could. She blinked her eyes and peeked out of her hiding spot. She had no sense of smell, so that was something she couldn't use. Snailblossom got a good look at him with her good eye. It wasn't until he spoke that she remembered who he was. It was the tom from the gathering many moons ago.

"Fawnpaw?", she called, making her way out of the tree trunk. Snailblossom got a better view of him and it made her smile. Her heart skipped a beat. "My name's Snailblossom now.", the windclan warrior replied. Her lower eye focused on the snow below her while the other looked at him.

| @Dipper; |

[Fawn]

His ears flattered, overcome by surprise and a surge of emotion, nostalgia rushing forth. "Wow," he breathed, "it's... it's been a while, huh?" And there was that stupid laugh after his equally-dumb greeting, he wanted to hide his face. Six moons had passed, and he couldn't stop making a fool of himself in front of her, all flustered and embarrassed and reduced to the smallest of goofy grins. It was difficult to believe it was her. Puzzled, he inquired, "What were you doing in there? Is... Does WindClan come hunt here now?" Not that it looked like she'd been hunting, exactly.

"Oh-- Snailblossom," he said, the new name rolling from his tongue, "that's.. really pretty. Snailblossom." It fit her, a beautiful name for a beautiful soul, and it was after a moment of daydreaming that he realized he should probably share his own. "Right, uh, that reminds me. I'm actually Fawnsqueak now. ...I know it's not as good as Snailblossom, but.." With a shrug, he trailed off only to lamely joke, "I guess a better name for the better warrior?"

@Blissie Bliss

[Madelaine]

Snailblossom dipped her head at his words. She agreed it had been a while since they spoke at that gathering. "No Windclan doesn't hunt here. i just had to get away from Windclan for a while. Got some rather shocking news, but best if I keep quiet about that until the next gathering.", she meowed. This was a weakness for Windclan in some way and she would never betray her clan.

"i guess it is.", she meowed. It was the name her aunt gave her and now she had betrayed her and Brightstar had lost her trust. "Fawnsqueak isn't that bad of a name. Kittypet's and rogue's have much weirder names.", she meowed with a friendly smile. Snailblossom didn't think she was the better warrior. Her depression had gotten to her a bunch. "i wouldn't say I'm the better warrior. I'm starting to fall apart.", she admitted.

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak turned toward where WindClan's territory would be, silently debating. "I know I've heard some, uh... not great things have been happening. Like, aren't you guys literally starving over there?" Every WindClanner he'd seen was thin and bony to a concerning extent, and he shifted to look back at Snailblossom, worried for her. He didn't know how to voice that and simply scuffed his paw at the snow, supposing her loyalty to the Clan was admirable but misplaced when leadership had let it fall to ruin.

At her less than enthusiastic reply, he cocked his head in curiosity. "You don't like it? I thought it was nice, kind of... like a flower. Sorry, it's just-- it's pretty." He was done tripping over his words attempting to explain it and thought it best to stop there, before he dug himself deeper. He coughed a watery chuckle and replied, "Oh. Thanks, I'm glad it's better than literal outsiders." It wasn't much of a compliment, but he appreciated the gesture.

Although he felt as though there was a lot to catch up on, that was dashed from his mind when she spoke of... falling apart. "What?" he asked, voice cracking over the word. "Hey, come on.. let's--" he tipped his head back toward the tree and scooted in alongside her, imagining this would be a bit of a conversation. "What's going on?"


@Blissie Bliss

[Madelaine]

Snailblossom used her good eye and tracked his eyes to the Windclan border. "Yeah we are, but that's mainly because our territory got taken by those filthy Shadowclan cats.", she meowed. The way she said Shadowclan was like venom in her mouth. If she had her way those cats would pay for what they did. That wasn't what they were talking about though.

"yeah it's like a flower, but my aunt gave it to me, since she's leader and I don't think I can trust her anymore though.", she meowed. The molly didn't like calling Brightstar a leader when she was going to give up on that.

Snailblossom felt her depression sink back into her body and she lost her spirit even more from when they first started talking. "It's not just me falling apart it's my home. Everyday I've been depressed wanting a purpose in life. Now I feel like there's no loyalty left in me for Windclan anymore.", she meowed. Snailblossom wanted to break down, but she couldn't. Not in front of him.
| @Dipper; |

[Fawn]

It was a sentiment he could commisserate with and frowned, commenting, "ShadowClan hasn't been that great to us either. But, uh, Lionstar doesn't really sit around or anything, he staged retaliation in a raid." After he spoke, he fell into a self-conscious quiet during which he stole a peek at her to question if he'd said too much. After all, she had been reluctant to give insight on WindClan's inner workings until the gathering.

"...Brightstar? You can't trust her?" WindClan truly was shrouded in mystery, and he leaned forward with interest. "Did something happen?" When his senses caught up to him and he realized that was possibly too nosy, he backtracked with an awkward, "Not that you have to tell me. You don't. It's not my business."

Fawnsqueak deflated with her, heart aching at the helplessness that'd washed over him watching her misfortune unfold. "I mean, you're a great warrior... that's a purpose, isn't it? And you probably have friends, uh, a ...mate." He wasn't sure about that one but tossed it with a sheepish shrug, cheeks heating from the mention of it. A lot had happened while they hadn't seen each other.

Averting his gaze, he pointed out, "Look, nobody is going to make you stay in WindClan..." Nervous, he swallowed. "You could always live in RiverClan and, y'know, not starve instead."

@Blissie Bliss

[Madelaine]

Snailblossom hadn't heard of the raid. It must have happened not too long ago. It wasn't really her business. It was between Shadowclan and Riverclan. "Lionstar's a good leader for what I hear. He would never back down from his position like some cats.", she meowed, almost giving away what she wouldn't tell him. At this point any clan leader was better then Windclans and that was hard to think of.

Like she had said earlier he would find out at the next gathering or somebody would find out before hand. "I'm sorry I can't tell you. I still have some loyalty to my clan.", she meowed.

Snailblossom looked away from him. When she said there was still loyalty for Windclan she was starting to think it was a lie. When he mentioned friends and a mate, she froze. Her mind began to think of Pricklebush. Her heart broke. "I uh... I had a mate, but I told him I should look for somebody my own age.", she replied. That cat she had trusted now hated her and she couldn't blame him.

"If i left I would be betraying my clan, but some cats in Windclan already betrayed me. I've never known a place besides Windclan. I could leave, but I don't know who would want me not even Lionstar.", she meowed. he could be just the same as her mother.

| @Dipper; |

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak let out another laugh, light and air as he considered that. "I don't know. I guess it depends on who you ask about his leadership." Lionstar was a go-getter, ambitious, take charge, and had a weird charm about him. But he was also pretty sure that Lionstar qualified for 'worst cat he'd ever met', destructive, selfish mouse-brain. "Sometimes... backing down is the right thing to do, y'know? But I bet WindClan... might not see it that way. You guys have been getting trampled by ShadowClan and ThunderClan." As far as he knew, WindClan had not completed a counter-attack yet.

Understanding, he nodded. "Yeah, don't worry about it. I just thought that, maybe, you'd want to talk about it." It was disheartening to the idealistic, naive warrior, but it was a splash of reality that they couldn't jump back to being friends in the blink of an eye. They'd spent so many moons without a word exchanged, yet it was still so easy to talk to her. Trying to not overthink it, he admitted, "I've missed your company."

Oh. Mates and divorced already. That... was definitely not the best thing to bring up, and Fawnsqueak regretted putting his paw in his mouth like that. "I, uh, yeah. That makes sense. Sorry to hear that." It was stiff and uncomfortable, finished with an awkward cough.

"It's the middle of leaf-bare and you left WindClan territory because you're upset with them," he stressed, the concern in his meow evident. She had to see how dire the situation was. "Are you kitten me? Lionstar would love a warrior like you-- you're smart, and hard-working, and you contribute to your Clan... I honestly think RiverClan would be honored to have you in our ranks." It was laced with sincerity. He sighed after a moment, hoping she recognized her survival was more important than loyalty.

"Look, you can't save everyone. Even if you just save one cat, that's better than nobody--and that cat can be you, Snailblossom."

@Blissie Bliss