Two Unsupervised Cats

28/10/2022 — 10/12/2022 RP with Stone!

Stone )
Greywind slowed his pace to a trot. Despite moons and moons of experience running and going long distances, the grey-pointed tom found himself already panting for breath. He hissed as he slowed to a stop. Was he that out of shape already? Perhaps he should join a patrol or two. The old tom managed to keep walking once he caught a few breaths. Moorclan's territory wasn't larger or more spacious than any group's lands he'd traversed in the past, but it did feel like it stretched on and on.

The breeze cooled his thin fur out in the relatively open areas that Moorclan made its home in. Greywind shivered a little from the sudden temperature drop. Since when had this little bit of air change bothered him so much? He had survived droughts and blizzards for Sorcha's sake! He should be more resilient than that. Or so he thought.

Wading through the long grasses and amongst the few remaining flowers of the season, Greywind searched for pretty things. For his mask, of course. If Sorcha had graciously allowed him to live in her domain, then his visage of her should be elegant. Picking up some bright petals and stray feathers, the grey tom kept walking, only to be tugged on by some wayward weeds! Hissing in annoyance, Greywind tugged his tail out only for his back leg to be covered in burrs. Then another plant caught on his pendant! The old cat wanted to yowl in frustration.

Leo )
A soft humming could be heard as Honeypaw tapped her paws cheerfully on the ground as she weaved through the undergrowth. Her tail bounced back and forth in time with her humming, she was on the hunt! Not for any kind of prey, but something interesting she might be able to use for her mask! Or at least that had been the plan, until she had gotten a little distracted along the way with playing around.

Her head popped out from a bush as her purple eyes narrowed, before her there was a bit of a wide stretch of flat ground with one little dip down in between. It didn't take long for her eyes to shine as a plan hatched in her mind. Crouching down she burst out of the bushes and ran faster than her little paws had ever taken her, and as the dip came into view she pushed off from the edge and leaped across! Her take off was a little rocky all things considered but she still managed to get airtime, "Whoohoo!! Came the childish but gleeful cry as Honeypaw felt the wind whipping across her face, in that moment- She truly felt she was flying! Coming in contact with the other side she just barely made it, but her paws gave out from underneath her and she ended up taking a tumble head over heels.

She lay on her back looking stunned for a moment before she burst into a fit of giggles. Only pausing as her eyes caught a figure standing not too far from where she was- "Oh- Hello!" Honeypaw grinned, still laying on her back with bits of leaves and twigs sticking out from her fur. She hadn't realised just how close to the Moorclan border she had gotten but thankfully it seemed she hadn't crossed it this time!

Stone )
Greywind's fur spiked up when he heard a sudden voice. The scent of another clan kicked his warrior instincts into gear. Someone was here, someone from another clan! Whirling around towards the direction the voice came from, Greywind tried to give a menacing hiss. But it came out more stuttery than alarming and his voice ended in a weird caterwauling noise like a distressed duck. The pants still tugged at his scraggly fur as he tried to intimidate the possible intruder. But his own fury had to be redirected to the plants that locked him in their grasp.

With claws that were still capable after all these moons, Greywind managed to free himself. But not without some stalks and thorns still clinging to his thin, grey pointed pelt. Agitation spent; he turned his blue-green eyes towards this new cat. Turns out, it wasn't a warrior. It was a young cat, an apprentice. By themselves. And with the scent that clung to the apprentice's fur, this honey furred cat was probably a medicine cat. Not at all a threat. The grey elder let his fur lie flat.

"Wh-what are y-you doing here?" He asked, being as neutral as he could, but clearly failing as his stutter appeared.

Leo )
The apprentice's eyes widened for a moment as she noticed the surprise in the tom’s actions, ”Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” She blinked as she slowly twisted around her body so that she was now laying on her chest, ”I was just trying to fly!” The words flew out her mouth with a bubbly giggle before she stopped to consider how they might sound out of context.

As she got a better look at her new companion, she suddenly noticed the thorns and burrs stuck in the grey-elders fur, it was pretty messy not unlike her own but the things tangled in his fur were a lot more annoying than her own. Did that happen because he had been startled by her…? With a quick hop to her paws she was quick to offer help, ”Ah-You’ve got some stuff tangled in your fur, I can help to get them out if you’d like, I’m really good at that!” She made a little determined pose with her right paw as she spoke. Tending to the elder’s fur coats was one of the more basic of her duties as a medicine cat apprentice so she was an expert at it at this point!

Stone )
Fly. This young cat was trying to fly. Greywind couldn't help but let out a snorty, undignified laugh. He supposed cats should still enjoy their fun, even into their adolescent years. His own kit had done something similar when she was that age as well. Though Greywind could remember the moment as clear as day, he couldn't help but notice how much time had passed since then. The realization brought him back down to earth with this Ridgeclan medicine cat apprentice and his tangled, messy fur.

Help? Did he really need help with something as mundane as getting little bits out of his pelt? "I-I can do it. Th-thank y-you." He mewed with more stutters. Despite the fact that a medicine cat would have seen a lot more pathetic individuals than him in her short time on the job, the grey pointed tom couldn't help but feel his skin heat up in embarrassment. In his youth, he had prided himself on how well kept his fur. Why shouldn't it be the same now?

Greywind tugged at the bits and burrs in his pointed fur. He tried to use his teeth to grip the plant particles, but he only managed to crush them instead. He tried to maneuver his bony body to get a better angle, but another stray plant caught his pendant! Anxiety shot up his spine. He couldn't lose that! Scared to move anymore, fearful his pendant would snap off his neck, Greywind shit his blue-green eyes on the little she-cat.

"Alright. I g-guess I d-do need help."

Leo )
"Oh- Okay..." Honeypaw didn't hide the disappointment in her voice as the elder rejected her offer of help. It didn't cross her mind that perhaps he was embarrassed about his fur which is why he had said he was fine. As she watched him try to pull the bits tangled in her fur, her eyes slowly pooled bigger. She looked like an abandoned puppy, her eyes seemed to scream 'I can help! I wanna help!' as she sat fidgeting with her paws trying to fight the urge to get up and go over.

So as soon as the elder turned back towards her to ask for help, her face instantly brightened up and she was up in a flash! "Can do!!!" She beamed as she drew closer settling down beside the grey furred tom. Quickly she got to work, careful to inspect where the plant had tangled with his pendant she murmured, "Hold still for a moment." Before gently freeing it from its grasp. Now that was out of the way! The burrs were next! Having already done it a lot before, the apprentice was clearly skillful in untangling the bits from the elder's fur without causing harm, "I'm Honeypaw by the way!" She said in between taking a burr out, "I'm from Ridgeclan! But maybe that was already obvious?" She laughed.

Stone )
Despite being grateful for this young she-cat's expertise, Greywind couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the sight he must have been! In front of a relatively important member of another clan for that matter? And though he was free of the knots and burrs, his pelt looks bedraggled and unkempt! He had to tamp down the urge to immediately tend to his fur right then and there.

"Th-thank you." Greywind meowed, thankful for this smaller cat's help. His anxiety was put at ease when she freed his pendant from the grabby plants. He wouldn't be fae food today.

Well, he might as well go with the pleasantries if this apprentice was kind enough to help him out.

"I'm Gr-Greywind," the grey pointed tom said, "yes, you sm-smell like Ridgeclan." He confirmed with a nod. Her typical clan smell was covered by whatever herbs her den tended to keep. It helped mask the familiar hair raising scent that most Ridgeclan warriors would typically carry. A small memory kept from the ear that this apprentice would have no notion of.

"You are v-very gentle. A good h-healer you will be." Greywind praised. In his younger years, he'd been tended to by healers who were much more callous. A bright, but caring soul like her would make a brilliant caretaker to her patients.

"A-aren't you a bit young t-to be out a-alone?" He mewed. Was it dangerous for cats with little self defense experience to be out alone at this age? In lands like this? (Not that he was much better at her age).

Leo )
"It's my pleasure, Greywind!" Honeypaw couldn't help but smile out of reflex as the elder thanked her. It always made her happy when she could be of help! Helping out the elders was always especially fun, they often grumbled about this and that but always seemed pleased when she came around. Not only that, but they told some of the best stories! She never knew why the other apprentices seemed to think of it as a chore.

"You think so?" Honeypaw's eyes lit up eagerly under the elder's praise, it was a warm feeling but also a little embarrassing! "Hehehe thank you!! I really wanna be just like my mentor one day! She's an amazing healer!" She had a bit of a goofy grin as her tail bobbed happily up and down, clearly passionate about what she was talking about.

Her tail paused mid-bob as the elder questioned about her being out here alone and her face quickly grew sheepish, "Oh- Well- I-" You could see she was trying hard to scramble with a response as her eyes darted left and right. If there was one thing she was terrible at it was lying, so in the end she choose honesty, "Um I might have ended up getting like a teeny tiny bit distracted and just maybe wandered away from my group- Or something like that."

Stone )
Honeypaw was a joy. Her reaction to his praise and genuine enthusiasm for her clan role was something that brought a smile to Greywind's silver tipped face. If only some apprentices in Moorclan had that kind of passion...

The grey pointed elder wanted to laugh, but he didn't want to insult the younger cat. "Distracted y-you say." He meowed. Honeypaw was a lot like his daughter at that age. Soot had always been distracted by the rest of the world around her. A familiar memory within the depths of a clan he had called 'enemy' for many moons was a refreshing perspective. It made Greywind's whiskers twitch in amusement.

"It's a-alright. I-it happens to the best of u-us." He said kindly. Well, that was true. In all the groups he'd lived with, there was many a cat that got left behind because their focus wandered off somewhere else. "M-my own kit did s-so many times when she w-was your age. She always w-wandered off away from u-us."

It was a small comfort to see Soot's spirit in another cat, even though she was still alive. Greywind would be lying to himself if he said he didn't miss her or any former groupmates he lived with in the past.

"W-what kinds of things a-are you gathering today?"

Leo )
Honeypaw was appreciative of Greywind's kind words, he didn't mock or tell her off but instead showed understanding. "It sounds like me and your daughter would get along well!" She giggled; she knew her tendency to wander was probably not the best... But it was so hard when there were so many interesting things around!

It only took a moment for Honeypaw to become engrossed in something and then completely lose track of where she went. It was the same when she had followed that butterfly that had resulted in her getting spooked and then getting lost in Moorclan before. Though in both that case and this one, she had gotten the chance to meet a new friend from Moor!

"I was looking for items that I could use for my mask for the festival of the fae!" The apprentice excitedly explained, "This will be my first time attending and I'm really looking forward to it! I wonder if I might see a fae! Or makes some new friends from other clans!"

Stone )
Greywind wished that Soot could have come along with him. But she had a place in her group. And he wouldn't dare ruin her happiness by insisting that she follow her father. The pointed tom nodded. Yes, she and Honeypaw would have been good friends. A shame they would never meet.

He gave a light hearted chuckle at Honeypaw's enthusiasm. To be an apprentice aged cat again!

"I-I have also n-never been," Greywind said, remembering that the war had pushed so many traditions aside, "celebrations l-like this didn't e-exist where I'm from."

Greywind couldn't help but smile. It was nice that all the clans could celebrate together for once. After a life revolving around conflict, the old tom could use a little peace. But perhaps that was because he couldn't handle the constant punishment anymore. He picked up a few scattered feathers. He had tried to pick feathers shed from colorful birds. Bluejays, cardinals, blackbirds, and pigeons were his birds of choice. Perhaps Ridgeclan cats would appreciate them! He didn't think a clan that liked tunnels would see many birds...

"Ah! I'm a-also gathering things f-for masks," he gave a few feathers to Honeypaw with a small huff, "I d-don't think you w-want to meet a fae. Th-they seem h-hostile if I need a pendant to l-live here."

Leo )
Honeypaw’s eyes twinkled at the elders’ words, of course, she had certainly noticed the pendant around the toms’ neck but what he said gave her 100% confirmation that he was indeed a cat born outside the clan’s territory. It was something that wholly fascinated the apprentice, ”What was it like? Where you came from?” She asked, she had heard a bit about it from Milkpaw.

Though from what he had said, most of the land had been dying, which was admittedly hard for her to picture, ”Were there lots of other cats there?” Perhaps there were other places like theirs? Would she find them if she left? But if she did, she had been told her natural born blessing would be revoked and she too would need a pendant on return.

A wide smile lit her features as Greywind offered her some feathers, ”Oh wow, thank you!! These are so pretty, are you sure I can have them?” Before she looked up to continue, ”Hmm I did hear they like to play pranks but I’m sure there are some good fae too! Apparently, sometimes they even bless cats!”

Stone )
What was the world outside the clan territories like? That question made Greywind think. He couldn't really come up with a short, concrete answer for that. There was so much to experience out there. The old tom was sure that his experiences alone were just a tiny grain of sand in the beach of everything else. But he entertained the thought no less.

"Outside. I-it's, well, big. I-I traveled a lot w-when I was your age," Greywind reminisced, "there are lots of c-cats out there t-to meet. I l-lived with m-more than one group over the s-seasons." Better leave out all the wars, loss of love and the fact that he was separated from his daughter for a long time out of the story. No need to crush this young she-cat's good mood.

The grey pointed tom plucked a few colorful feathers and placed them in random places in Honeypaw's pelt. "I'd h-hope some are good." Greywind himself hadn't had much time to ask anyone about the fae when he arrived. Everything started falling apart with the war occurring shortly after he joined Moorclan. "And w-what would 'b-blessing' entail? Greywind had never heard of that before. A few mentioned it in passing, but he thought it would be rude or taboo to ask.

Turning a bit to groom his ragged fur, Greywind tried to look a little more presentable. Even if Honeypaw was just an apprentice who didn't care, he should still represent his clan better.

Leo )
"Oh wow!" Honeypaw exclaimed excitedly, "That sounds so fun, I'd love to go traveling!" Considering how much fun she had just wandering around the Ridgeclan territory meeting new faces at the border, there was no doubt the apprentice would certainly love being able to travel around. Though undoubtedly, she probably wasn't considering the fact that she would quickly get homesick after not being able to see her family and friends.

She looked in awe at the pretty feathers Greywind tucked into her fur, "They are all beautiful! Ah- Wait- I know I have something-" The apprentice quickly started to fiddle through her fur, and somehow, she managed to pull out all sorts of things that she had collected on the way. Interesting leaves, some feathers of her own, herbs, twigs- Somehow there seemed to be a lot hidden in amongst her long fur. "Ah! Here it is!" Pulling something out she gently placed it before the tom and then pulled her head back up to reveal pretty teal colour stones. "Here! I found these earlier, they are the same colours as your eyes!" She looked eagerly up at the elder’s face, hoping he would like the gift!

"Apparently if you are blessed by a fae you will be granted a special gift! A long time ago there was said to be a blessed cat who could breathe underwater!" The apprentice was only more than eager to tell the tales she'd heard as a kit- Well of course she knew they weren't tales since her bestie Plumpaw was living proof that it was in fact true! But that was a secret Silkweb had told her to keep for her friend’s sake, so of course, her lips were sealed on the matter. Little did she know, she was actually in the same boat as her friend.

Stone )
Greywind smiled. He briefly reminisced about the adventures he had. Not all of them were happy moments. But they were experiences he'd never take back. "Ah y-yes. Traveling can be fun. B-but lonely t-too sometimes. Th-then I made my w-way here." He explained. Too many details to truly tell his story. But no matter. The outcome was the same. Greywind had finally found a place he could live the rest of his life in.

Curious, the little medicine cat apprentice was able to store things in her thick coat? The grey tom gave Honeypaw a puzzled, slow blink as he watched her bring things out of her fur as if she was materializing things out of thin air! He marveled at long fur pelts. He couldn't relate, having had short, thin fur his whole life. Greywind gave an audible purr when the little she-cat gave him a gift in return for his feathers.

"O-oh. Th-thank you so much! They're lovely. I-I'll decorate with them." The pointed elder smiled brightly, grateful for the genuineness of the gesture. It has been moons- no, seasons. Countless seasons since he'd received an actual gift. Greywind cherished the moment.

"B-breathe under water?" He echoed. Hmm, what an interesting thought! Greywind had never met a fae or guardian in person (though many of his clanmates had thought the owls he followed on his way to clan lands were Sorcha. They likely weren't.) It wouldn't have been the first time he'd lived among a group that believed in something so supernatural. But he supposed a clanborn individual would know better than him.

Leo )
It seemed like it had been well worth searching for the pretty stones amongst her fur, the elders bright smile was enough of a reward for her! "You're welcome!" Honeypaw purred, "It's the least I could do with all the pretty feathers you have given me! I'll use them too! Oh- is it okay if I share some of them with my brother too?" She suddenly thought that Flickerpaw would appreciate these too but since Greywind had given them to her, she felt it was only polite to ask first.

Yes!" The apprentice chirped back excitedly in reply, "No one knows why or how they choose the cats they bless but then again there is a lot of mystery about the fae!" That was part of the fun in Honeypaw's opinion though, the mystery meant there was room to speculate. It was fun to try and imagine what meeting a fae would be like, which one was the one that blessed Plumpaw? "If you had an ability, what do you think you'd like?" She asked the elder out of curiosity.

Stone )
"Of course! Sh-sharing is important." Greywind smiled. It was good to see young cats focused on their family ties. It was something he hadn't had when he was her age. And as he got older, the pointed tom learned to cherish bonds like that.

He tried to smooth out a few patchy spots on his fur. He frowned. The plants had claimed more of his fur than he'd have liked. It made him feel self conscious. Older even. And even though he was an elder, Greywind didn't like to feel old. Being near a young, energy filled apprentice made him forget that he was aging. It was freeing.

The old tom listened intently as Honeypaw rattled on about the fae. This was much more than he knew before and he appreciated the little she-cat's enthusiasm. "M-mysterious indeed." He nodded. "Hmmm. I-I th-think I'd like to f-fly. Like Sorcha d-does." He said after a moment of pondering. Yes. Flight would be nice! That way, he could go wherever he liked without these pesky plants nabbing his pelt.

Leo )
"Thank you!" Honeypaw smiled as the elder gave her permission. She couldn't wait to bring them back and show her brother now!! What kind of face would he make? It was fun just to try and picture!

She seemed to love Greywind's suggestion because she hopped excitedly from one paw to another as she replied, "Flying would be so cool! You'd be able to go wherever you wanted!!" It was what she had been trying to emulate just before after all! Even just the sensation of jumping through the air was wonderful, so she could only imagine how much fun flying would be! "I think I'd like be able to-"

"Honeypaw!"

Suddenly a voice could be heard in the distance, causing the apprentice to pause mid-sentence and turn her head.

"Oops- I think I better go." No doubt, her clan-mates were trying to find her so it probably wasn't wise to keep them waiting.

"It was lovely to meet you Greywind! Thank you for the feathers and I'll hopefully see you at the festival of the fae!" She gave a cheerful goodbye to the elder as she got ready to head off.