**Branchfire & Sunsetpaw**
The brown tom scanned the den silently as he slowly slipped in through the entrance of the medicine cats' den. He'd felt that him and Elmshadow had grown a sort of unspoken understanding: he stayed out of Elmshadow's way and the medicine cat rarely commented on his presence in his den. Part of Branchfire wanted to believe the older tom even appreciated him being at Sunsetpaw's side, she was his daughter after all and she hadn't woken up since Elmshadow had healed her eye, though he'd healed it only so far as to not develop a fatal infection; Sunsetpaw's eye was an inevitable casualty, at least as far as Elmshadow had commented on it. The young warrior sat down beside Sunsetpaw's nest then slowly began to groom himself as he'd made a habit of in the past many days, waking up in the warrior's den then spending most mornings grooming himself beside Sunsetpaw before starting his duties for the day. He couldn't say the two of them were friends, per say, she'd been one of the few kits, then apprentices, that never really took to him, reclusing herself within her own family though he'd always found her fascinating. He hadn't thought much of her disappearance but respected her return, though she was more reclusive than ever, paying no mind to Branchfire or seemingly anybody else in the clan. He'd noticed the change in her immediately and took it as a sign to keep his distance but when she ended up in the medicine cat's den the first thing he noticed was the lack of visitors. So, in an effort to show support and acceptance towards a clanmate, he picked up the habit of visiting.
Branchfire stopped his grooming, however, when something disrupted his comfortable routine; Sunsetpaw's golden pelt shifted. The brown tom rose to his paws, taking a small step backwards but keeping his yellow eyes on the old apprentice. His first thought was to get Elmshadow but he also didn't want Sunsetpaw to open her eyes to nobody in the den. Would she even understand what was going on? Where she was? So he kept his paws planted.
The ache was the first sensation to break through the golden she-cat's conscience. Her muscles contracted then stretched, seeking respite from the persisting ache. Then her eye; the pain shocked through her as some unattainable memory flashed across her mind, sending the constricting panic shooting through her heart. Her breathing slowed again a heartbeat later and she blinked her one eye open, disoriented by the inability to do the same with her other eye. Her head lifted slowly, her one blue eye searching the den. It took a moment but she slowly recognized her father's den. Then her eye stopped on...Branchfire? The curiosity faded and her mood settled back into the familiar dour attitude she'd built up against the looks and judgement of her clanmates. And now one of them was here, staring at her in her most vulnerable.
"You're awake..." He realized how lame it sounded as soon as it crossed his lips but he hadn't thought about how to address Sunsetpaw when she actually woke. He'd grown a sort of one-sided kinship with the young she-cat in the time he spent by her side but she hadn't been a part of that developing relationship; as far as she was concerned they were as much strangers as they'd ever been, simply seeing one another in passing, her brushing off his quick good-spirited comments.
"Apparently..." she laid her chin back on her paws, realizing that another cat being in the medicine cat's den wouldn't be all that surprising, cats come in here for all sorts of things and she had no idea how long she'd been out.
"Your father should be back soon. He hasn't been gone too long."
Sunsetpaw didn't look at the tom as she muttered,
"Elmshadow. You don't have to endear him."
Branchfire cocked his head. He could sense the distance when Elmshadow was in the den but he'd assumed it had just been a father unsure how to cope with his daughter's new ailment, he'd been actively present as far as Branchfire had seen.
"Oh, alright... How are you feeling?"
She sighed, realizing the bubbly tom wasn't quitting.
"You don't need to make small talk, ya know? No need to pretend I'm not the clan reject."
He cocked his head the other direction then took a small half-step towards her to settle into a more comfortable position.
"Well if cats haven't got the wrong idea from me hanging out with the clan reject yet then a small conversation won't do any harm" He flashed a charming smile.
Sunsetpaw's blue eye switched back to the brown tom, her head lifting again.
What does he mean 'hanging out with the clan reject'? What's he here for? "You're in the medicine cat's den? Why?"
He smiled, feeling her slowly conceding.
"Because you're in here. Seemed like you could use some company."
Sunsetpaw was taken aback. He wasn't here for himself, he was here for her? None of it made sense to Sunsetpaw. Who was this tom anyway? She remembered seeing him around, especially before she left Shadowclan, but he'd never stood out to her, she'd never really talked to him, what was he doing here now?
"Are you hungry? I bet you're hungry. I'll go get you something to eat. I don't think you've eaten anything of substance in a while." He turned to exit the den and, as if on cue, Sunsetpaw felt her stomach growl. When he returned with a toad in his jaws, the scent set the golden she-cat's mouth watering. Branchfire set the toad down in front of Sunsetpaw who dropped in, taking ravenous bites until it was gone. Branchfire stuffed down his own mildly grumbling stomach as he watched her eat with an easy smile. When she'd finished she looked up at him with her one remaining eye, a sudden flash of guilt crossing her features,
"I'm sorry, were you hungry? I didn't realize I'd eaten the whole thing!"
Branchfire shook his head with a soft chuckle. He hadn't eaten since the previous day, prey had been scarce as patrols hadn't been going out regularly and the strangler warrior bringing in prey to the pile wasn't able to keep up sufficiently with the clan's needs. Regardless, he realized Sunsetpaw needed that freshkill more than he did, he'd go out and hunt later to add to the prey pile before taking his own.
"It's all yours, I already ate."
Sunsetpaw licked her lips and settled back into the nest, perplexed by this new presence in her life.
Branchfire... She quickly shoved away the thoughts of letting her guard down even a little.
"Well, thank you for the prey but I think I'm tired now and should rest." She let her chin float down to her paws again, keeping a side eye on Branchfire. She really wasn't tired but she wasn't sure she wanted the tom sticking around either. Branchfire gave another small smile, lingering for a moment, before meowing quietly,
"Alright. See you tomorrow then," and stepping silently out of the den. Sunsetpaw's head rose as he disappeared, her mind turning over the interaction.
'See you tomorrow'? Who is he?