introvert + introvert = friends? [p]

[poppy]

Dovefluff
she/her | thunderclan warrior
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In the days and weeks after her ex-mate attacked her, Dovefluff had been feeling... different. Like a snake who shed her skin, a bird who molted and grew shinier feathers, she felt reborn. Her existence wasn't rooted around being afraid, she found herself enjoying the sunrises more- not because she feared they'd be her last, but because she simply appreciated the beauty. She wasn't afraid to close her eyes and be afraid that something was going to rip her away, or hurt those she loved. She was only troubled by memories of the past, and not fears of the future. Because the demon that had haunted her for so long had been reduced to just that- a memory. The past. No way he would claw his way back to life. She was safe. And she had those three cats to thank for it.

She wasn't sure if she'd ever find the words appropriate enough to fit the large service they had done for her, but one day she planned on returning the favor whenever she could. Either in small doses or in a service so grand that it was equal to them saving her life and her future. All three both saved her life and gave her the key to the life she never had, to the version of herself that she had never known. A version of her without her core being constructed of fear and submission. But she also didn't want the only things she said to those cats be that of gratitude and memories of past traumas, she wanted to know them. She wanted to spend more time with the cats that were important to her. Springpaw. Morningcall. Lioncrest. "Alderstep?"

Calling into the warrior's den the name of her friend, the molly pressed down on a swab of cobwebs, trying to flatten them so she didn't look like a ball of spiderwebs. Lapis blue eyes searched the den for the tom, gaze passing over her own nest. It was a little past sunrise, so unless he had gotten up early for some deputy reason, he should be here, hopefully already awake (she'd feel terrible if he was still asleep.)
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@navarra

[val]

Mice-chasing dreams well past spent, Alderstep lay in his nest playing dead, not quite ready to get up yet, but not wanting others to see him lazing in the warm moss. Stars forbid someone perceive him as anything other than a morning cat (even though he never could be one.) Curled paws hid his face, shielding it from any rays of sunlight that dared trespass past the den walls. Despite his preventive measures, light pierced through his eyelids, swirling the darkness into a murky red-yellow.

He almost didn't hear the call of another's cat voice, ears flicking a smidge involuntarily. His mind ran, looped, tumbled, and soared -

Fell a few seconds later. Alderstep shifted his paws, peeking out from behind them with half-lidded green eyes. His pupils shrank into slits as he searched the den for the intruder that had infringed upon his calm silence. Moments later, his gaze settled on the grey pelt of none other than Dovefluff, who was still cobwebbed up. With a tiny sigh, the russet tabby stretched his lithe frame within his nest, pulling at the sore muscles. Finished with that, Alderstep rolled over onto his stomach and sat up, arching his spine in yet another stretch.

Even though he'd been awake for some time now, a yawn still split his jaws as he quietly regarded Dovefluff, subtly glancing at her nest. Had she gotten up recently? Why was she up before even him? Alderstep sniffed indignantly, noting to step up his game. He shouldn't be rotting away in his nest so late in the day.

Anyways. Enough wailing about his failings. "Say something?" Alderstep asked in lieu of a conventional greeting. His eyes flicked over her once again, searching for any signs of distress that could explain why she was searching for him so early in the day. Finding nothing and feeling dissatisfied, he focused back on the present.

@poppy.