Starry Meadow

[nyme]

I'M TOO SMOOTH, YOU NEVER SEE ME COMING
NEVER IN A HURRY, I'M JUST MOVIN' FAST

──

REDFACE . 28 MOONS . HE/HIM . WINDCLAN?

Awh, Vinesmoke's just a delight and a half, ain't he? Sure, things were a little tense and awkward there for a second, and maybe they still are just a teeeensy bit, but Redface is feeling grateful and elated enough by now to swoop the rest of the distance between them and give the younger tom's shoulder a fond headbutt. Li'l buddy's really coming through for him, and he appreciates it. His assessment of Redface's red face draws a ragged chuckle out of the older tom. You've definitely got something going for you. And doesn't Redface know it! Anyway, Vinesmoke's hesitance to burst into song and dance and ecstatic worship (he's forgiven for it, don't worry) over Redface's close-up must mean that the looks are suffering bad from how overdue for a full and proper bath he is, so Redface pops that high up on his to-do list. Vinesmoke is thanked with another gentle bump to the shoulder. Redface had never been the touchiest cat, but now he's wondering if it might be worth it to work past that for communication's sake. Pushing all up into others' space certainly allowed for greater nonverbal variety than just the ol' Smile And Nod combo.

Ahhh, it's a work in progress. For sure there's gotta be a plethora of options that he just hasn't found out yet.

Right, well! Small or big, whatever he needs, Vinesmoke is here. Redface sighs and bats his one remaining eye theatrically, hoping it's clear that he's on the verge of threatening to swoon over what a helpful young gentletom Vinesmoke's being, before he cuts the jokes and gets to business.

"Couldya g—o, back, an'," uurgh, hrm. How to put this concisely? He works his jaw. "Lettem knnn—now m'here? Pre-tty....please? An'uhhh..mm.." Redface pushes out another painful-sounding cough before flashing another cheeky grin. "Say'm cool. Nn—ice. Da—hhhh.....dash-ing." He puffs his chest out. Now is the time he has chosen to get the planned strut on. Redface needs Vinesmoke to understand: the favor is going back home with a golden, glowing review of him. "Jus'the...jus'who needsa kn—ow. 'Kay? Don' needa...tell....evr'yone." A glowing review strictly for anyone who might be involved in the process of Redface coming back home, officially. Vinesmoke doesn't need to sing his praises to everyone, Redface could do that just fine himself. After all, there's a certain apprentice that he's still unsure of how to go about this with. Right now the working plan is to just hope she doesn't notice anything. It's not like she'll see me in camp one day. Okay that feels mean but he really doesn't have a better plan. Oh well. He can worry about that after he worries about taking care of his official return, which is where Vinesmoke comes in. It feels a tad over-the-top to send a herald of his pointless glorious return back but he's feeling a little nervous about having to petition more important cats to let him do what he wants (will it even be like that? It's not like he's returning from exile or anything, not like he did something wrong and needs to ask forgiveness—so coming home should be easy-peasy right? Just, walk in and carry on as usual? But those wardens did mention...aughh, stop thinking!), so having a guy go in to set him up for success first seems like a good move.

"M'gonna go. Back s-oon." Redface promises, wrapping up his little catwalk. He needs to go wash up, maybe snag a return offering, and then he'll be back to handle things like a big boy.

@Tallstar ; VINESMOKE

[Tallstar]

Vinesmoke
11 Moons
He/Him
Vinesmoke had barely processed the full weight of Redface's request when he received another bump to the shoulder. For a cat as cautious as him, this interaction felt a little overwhelming, but he understood the sentiment. Redface was trying—really trying—to be gracious, in his own way. The little playful show of his, puffing out his chest and giving a performance like some sort of fancy dignitary, made Vinesmoke smile. He’d never seen the older tom so… well, animated before. Maybe it was a result of the company, or the fact that Redface had finally been able to get comfortable enough around him to drop a bit of that cool exterior.

Still, there was the matter at hand. Twilightstar. Redface's official return. Vinesmoke’s whiskers twitched as the older tom wound down his act and gave a final statement on the matter. He nodded thoughtfully, still unsure how to deliver this request. His instincts were to play it cool, but the earnestness in Redface’s eyes pushed him past that.

"Right. Yeah, I got it," Vinesmoke mewed, not quite sure how to keep his voice casual and light, but the way Redface had laid it out made it clear he didn’t want everyone to know, and the message had to be subtle. "I'll—uh—just, y'know, go talk to Twilightstar, let her know you're, uh, cool. Dashing. Got it."

With a faint chuckle, Vinesmoke gave Redface a nod and turned, tail flicking behind him. It was a simple task, really. But there was something about the gravity of the request—Redface wanted to make sure that things went well with his return—that made him feel a little weightier than he'd anticipated. Twilightstar wasn’t a cat to be trifled with, after all, and knowing how to phrase things just right was critical when dealing with the Clan’s leadership.

@nyme

[sleepysoldier]

Originally Posted by grilledcheese

Lavenderash
warrior, 26 moons || female, she/her || windclan



"As okay as anyone could be at a time like this," she muttered softly, her eyes glimmering with an exhausted sadness. "with how much that has been stirring lately, it would be a miracle from StarClan for anyone to get a fulfilling rest this season."

"But hey," Lavenderash watched Poppyheart's body language, purring in contentment as she noticed her calm, "That's why we're here."

She couldn't even imagine how hard it must be for her friend to witness such violence at her young age, let alone endure it. Even though they aren't many moons apart, Poppyheart seemed so far ahead of her time. It was heart wrenching to see a friend who was once so lively, find their mind plagued.

"Do you remember, a moon before your apprenticeship, you'd be the first that I'd come crying to about how much I felt I didn't belong?" A smile tugged on her muzzle as she looked at Silverpelt above them. "You were just a kit, but you'd listen to every word I had to say."

Lavenderash left that thought linger for a moment before continuing. "I know things aren't simple anymore, but I've never been able to give that back to you."

"What I'm trying to say is," she purred, the stump of her tail brushing against Poppyheart as if it could curl around her, "I want you to talk to me, like I talked to you when we were younger."

"You don't have to now, but... I'm here for you when you're ready."

Poppyheart
warrior, female, she/her, 21 moons

She purred softly at the memory, "of course I remember that, Lavenderash." It had been around that time that Poppyheart had realised she liked Lavenderash, and during those times it was the most painful to see someone she cared about so much being in such pain.


Turning her head to Lavenderash, she blinked slowly showing her gratitude, "thank you," Poppyheart mewed, "I'm really glad to know you as well as I do, you're... really important to me." As she let that out she turned her head away, her tail curling in embarrassment, "ah-- well. I... I really enjoy coming up here during leaf-bare, do you?"