Heroneye's gaze softened slightly at the sight of the fellow warrior's smile. So she really was still amiable to Heroneye despite her previous clumsiness. Heroneye had to imagine that wouldn't last once Floodsight discovered for herself what a snoozefest the former could be, but that was neither here nor there. In any case, being her usual worrywart self probably wouldn't help that impression terribly, she had to imagine. In other words, if she was bound to make a fool of herself anyway (which she already had, to be fair), she supposed it wasn't worth giving a second thought. Easier said than done, but better than ignored.
"Alright, then. Let's go." Heroneye paused, taking a moment to reflect on her appalling way with words before slipping out of camp, glancing over her shoulder to ensure the silver-pelted warrior was following.
Entering into the mountain territory and making her way towards the river, Heroneye decided to take a stab at smalltalk. Far from her forte, but Heroneye was beginning to doubt that she even had a forte to begin with, so what difference would it make, anyway? It beat walking around in awkward silence, at the very least. "It seems like it may rain soon," she began in a lowered voice, not wanting to startle any potential nearby prey. Wow, great one, Heroneye. Because Floodsight doesn't have eyes with which to see the sky, apparently. Fascinating conversation starter; I can feel whatever opinion she had of you crumbling to dust as you speak.
Heroneye was on one of her usual solo hunting patrols, humming monotonously to herself as she trotted through the mountain territory. Hunting was when she felt most at-ease, when she could feel her mind melting into the surrounding world, any troubling thoughts soon to follow. But as she walked, she noticed a sight that made her feel very much not at ease. Dusklion, out of camp. Fadingstar had ordered her to stay put, right?
She began to approach the deputy, nose wrinkled in thought. She knew she really had no right to order the deputy around, but she was clearly worse for wear. What would be the point of having rediscovered her, only for her to die of exhaustion shortly thereafter? It was the leader's words Heroneye would use--not her own. That was whose command it was. That was what she told herself.
"Dusklion?" Heroneye called out tentatively. As she grew closer, she became all the more aware of the deputy's state. She was thin with malnourishment and breathing haggardly, evidently exhausted. What could have drawn her out of camp, even after all that had happened? "What are you doing out of camp? Did something happen?" Her tone was as curious as it was uneasy. Whatever it was, it would have to be resolved quickly, before the situation was exacerbated.
Still trying to catch her breath, the deputy didn't notice at first when there were approaching paw steps. It wasn't until a voice spoke that she lifted her head in surprise, claws sliding out in preparation only to discover it wasn't a threat but Heroneye. Sliding her claws back in, the dull look returned to her gaze and she struggled to get to her paws, ignoring the way they shook and hoping the she-cat before her would too. "Was lookin' for Talonpaw... couldn't find him in camp 'n... just... I dunno..." Dropping her gaze to her paws and shrugging her shoulders, the dark tabby just shook her head. "He was a troubled kid... just sucks he seems to have gone missin', is all."
"I know 'm not suppose to be outta camp, but..." yeah, this was likely getting back to her brother for sure. Not that Dusklion really cared - she would just shrug off whatever scolding he gave her like she always had and always did. Lifting her head to look at Heroneye now she started to limp closer, opening her jaws to speak once more when her paw landed in something rather damp and dirty. Looking down the deputy notice a stream of black ants pouring out from a little hill that she had, unknowingly, stepped on."...Sorry little guys," she muttered under her breath, lifting her paw and side-stepping around the hill with a glance before looking back to Heroneye. "Had to look for him, at least a bit. I know a lot of cats go missin', 'n we can't find 'em all, but..."
Letting her voice trail off she shook her head. "He probably'd just claw me anyway if I did find him," she tried to joke off, though it was clear in the way her voice was tight that her concern was rising. If they didn't find him and he was stuck here in the mountains... Dusklion would never forgive herself. "You out doin' some huntin'?" Changing the subject seemed like the best course of action, and now that the deputy had gotten a moment to catch her breath she felt... a little better. Physically, at least.
Heroneye listened to Dusklion's explanation. So, Talonpaw had gone missing? Of course, something like that would have caused the deputy to leave camp, even with her deteriorated health. It was true that going missing was very common in the Clans--her mind drifted briefly to her own little escapade from several moons ago, though she quickly dismissed the thought. She would much rather forget that whole period, thank you very much. Though she couldn't help but wonder if there were any cats in the Clan who had had any sort of reaction to her own disappearance, and she dismissed that thought with even more vigor. Seriously, Dusklion was expressing her concern for someone evidently very dear to her, and all Heroneye could think of was herself. Typical.
In any case, it was impossible to say the exact nature of Talonpaw's disappearance, which was surely why the deputy was so concerned. Had he left on his own volition, or had something much more dire occurred, like it had with Dusklion? In Heroneye's mind, there wasn't any real point in asking that particular question; they wouldn't know until or unless they found him, and it wouldn't change anything. Not to say that she didn't believe it was worth searching for Talonpaw, just that the specifics could be dwelt on if and when he was found. In any case, that advice was pretty obviously unhelpful, so Heroneye tried a different approach.
"I understand being worried for him," Heroneye began, her voice small and thin. Did she, though? Did she really? Could she honestly say that she related to the feeling of losing someone dear and wanting to tear up the whole territory looking for them, even as she was on the brink of collapse? She swallowed that question, continuing, "But given your current state, it's all too likely that you yourself go missing, or worse." She did her best to keep her face from contorting with embarrassment; seriously, who did she think she was, giving advice to a deputy, of all cats? Did she really dare to question anyone's judgment? Heroneye, of all cats? But she managed to keep her facial expression neutral in the end, her tail tip flicking to and fro rhythmically.
Heroneye's gaze flicked idly to the smushed anthill. Dusklion had made a joke--that Talonpaw would probably just claw her if found--but she couldn't bring herself to laugh. She didn't laugh much normally, but now seemed like an especially inappropriate time. And then the deputy had asked if Heroneye had been doing some hunting. Her own whereabouts were irrelevant and unimportant, but Dusklion was clearly just trying to alleviate the tension, so Heroneye supposed it made sense. She probably still smelt of the fish she'd half-buried in gravel nearby, anyway.
"Yes, I was," Heroneye replied, turning her body in the direction of RiverClan's temporary camp. "I was just getting ready to head back." Okay, fine, that was a lie; Heroneye would much prefer hunting until dark as usual, until she absolutely could not continue (not like she had anything better to do, anyway), but she was really just trying to get the deputy back into camp. Heroneye's head turned back to Dusklion with a subtly pleading look on her face, silently trying to convey, Can we maybe go back, please? We really should go back, you know... with her eyes.
Re: RiverClan Mountain Territory
