Beauty Hides Scars [c]

Hailpaw sorted among his collection of feathers. It needed to be preened as often as his own fur, making sure each feather was neat or discarding those that were too damaged to be worn. However, upon cleaning his assortment, he noticed a few he had no real interest in wearing. They were pretty, but clashed too much with his favorites in color. He preferred blues over the reds and yellows of the cardinals and goldfinches. He had a few brown hawk feathers that he had collected to use as camouflage in summer as he did with dove feathers now, but he would prefer to use flowers if he had the chance. However, he didn't want the feathers to go to waste either. They were beautiful on their own, and mixed together, perhaps someone else might want them...

Beechfang was the first name to pop to his head. She didn't seem like the type to want them... but she could use them... The silver of her pelt might have been beautiful in her youth, the color and length was something to envy, but it had been marred by scars. Perhaps some nice feathers would draw some attention away from the blemishes and make her just a bit more pretty. He picked up the bundle, heading out of the apprentice den, seeking out the former medicine cat to approach.

"Hey, I was looking for you." He mewed through a mouthful of feathers. He didn't know if they had talked formally before, but gifting didn't just have to happen between friends. He placed his bundle by his paws, nudging a few feathers in her direction with a bit of emphasis on the hawk and cardinal feathers. Brown and reds seemed to fit the she-cat the most. Silver didn't have an inherent palette, but it just felt right in his head. "I was wondering if you would like some of these? I was cleaning my collection and thought these would look really pretty on you."

Beechfang padded back into camp, tail drooping. She'd been out hunting since the dawn patrol, and a single, scrawny squirrel clamped between her jaws was all she had to show for it. It wasn't nearly enough, and she left it on the fresh-kill pile without taking anything for herself, instead turning to find a relatively quiet spot near the edge of camp. She groomed herself quickly, then stretched out with a sigh. She'd need to go back out hunting, but it would do her no good if she was too exhausted to catch anything. Just a quick catnap and then she'd go out again.

An ear twitched at the sound of approaching pawsteps, and Beechfang lifted her head as one of the apprentices approached. The tom's white pelt blended easily into the snow, only the blue of his eyes making him stand out against the pale backdrop. Hailpaw, if she remembered correctly, Primroselight's apprentice. The pair hadn't spoken before, though her sister had been pleased with how his training was progressing the last time they'd spoke. From what little she knew, he couldn't have been a bad cat... Probably a far nicer tom than her own apprentice was.

"Hey, Hailpaw," She greeted, blinking at the mouthful of feathers Hailpaw carried. She'd seen him wear decorations in his pelt around camp before, though she had no idea how he managed to weave them into his fur with such ease and regularity.

Looking for her? "What did you nee-" And he was talking, stars she must've been tired if this was her reaction time. Asking if she'd like some of 'these' - the feathers he carried? Like for her nest? Well, something extra lining that was always appreciated, of course, though she might've told him to offer them to the elders instead.

Orrr... "Look pretty on me? Like... in my fur...?" Beechfang had never been great at hiding her emotions, and the confusion in her voice was no exception. Beechfang wouldn't have considered herself pretty by any means, Dawnhawk and the stars themselves had taken care of that long, long ago. Her eye narrowed slightly, warily searching the tom's face for a sign of dishonesty. He seemed more earnest and genuine than her own apprentice did, and she couldn't imagine Primroselight would allow her own apprentice to be cruel, but as much as Beechfang didn't want to admit it, Mountainpaw's words had been... draining, oddly. She'd thought Dawnhawk's sneering at her as an apprentice was bad, but that hadn't been a constant and they'd generally avoided each other as much as they could. Mountainpaw though... She was stuck with him, as much as she was trying to hasten his training and get him off of her paws. And unlike with Dawnhawk, she wouldn't have the luxury of not sharing a den with the little brat.

If Hailpaw was about to pull a fast one on her, Beechfang wasn't seeing it in his expression. And he was Primroselight's apprentice. That had to count for something, right?

"Uhm... Sure...? And thanks... I think?" A few feathers couldn't possibly hurt, right?

Hailpaw nodded at her question. "Everyone looks prettier with decorations, it's a shame not to try them at least once." Confusion at his decorations wasn't something he was new to, even though he could never understand how it wasn't a common thing. It took a while to learn how to entangle feathers and flowers just right, especially on shorter fur, but it just made cats so much prettier! It could draw attention to beautiful traits light bright eyes or hide more unsavory things. Or for plain, solid cats like himself, create illusory markings to spice up his pelt. He couldn't think of what life would be like without them. Boring, he supposed.

As Breechfang's gaze hardened on his own, for a moment he was sure she would refuse. He wouldn't fuss, it was a cat's right to how they presented themself even if going without adornments was clearly the wrong decision. However, the she-cat awkwardly agreed, Hailpaw's face lighting up. "No problem! Trust me, you're going to look so pretty with these!" He chirped, picking up a select feather and starting to plan.

Feathers on the left side of her face would distract from the scaring, so that was first course of action. He delicately groomed some of her fur before tucking a few red and brown feathers behind her ear. Then he would step back, judge his work, and slightly adjust the decorations until they were just his liking. This process repeated in his chest fur and into her tail as well. Extra feathers helped with cohesion and gave him an excuse to play with her fur a bit more. It really was beautiful and unique on its own, he hadn't realized each hair had a gradient from white to silver until he had managed to get up close.

"Alright, I think I'm done," he declared, stepping back just far enough that he could still admire in detail. He liked to see his own work... Wait- Beechfang couldn't see either! He glanced around, looking for a puddle, but the harsh cold wouldn't have allowed any of the snow to melt "You'll just have to take my word on it, but the colors on you are fantastic. You wear red so nicely."

Of course, the scarring was still obvious, decorations weren't magic, but the red helped the pink not stand out so much. Both complimented each other nicely. He was so good at this.

Hailpaw seemed downright thrilled, even with the awkward hesitance of her agreement, Beechfang noted. Before she could rethink the decision, the white tom had grabbed a feather and moved toward her face with it. The former medicine cat resisted the impulse to flinch in surprise, the expression on her face shifting to one that was very much akin to a deer in the headlights.

Staying still proved to be easier than expected, at least. Or perhaps it was simply a result of her consternation at the entire thing, Beechfang wasn't sure, not that she'd admit to that. She squirmed a little of course, but Hailpaw was clearly efficient with the feathers, probably because he decorated his own pelt so often. He'd picked hawk and cardinal feathers, reds and browns mostly. They contrasted starkly against her white and silvery fur, and even Beechfang could admit they were eye-catching. Hailpaw's continued enthusiasm was strangely reassuring, too. It was slowly pushing the thoughts of this being a setup toward the back of her mind. Still, she couldn't quite shake the idea of her clanmates watching in confusion, or perhaps amusement at what the apprentice had managed to pull the surly former medicine cat into.

At last Hailpaw was finished, stepping back to admire his work. There was no puddle of water or ice to examine her pelt with, and she turned her head, awkwardly looking over her shoulder. Red and brown feathers were weaved into her fur, and seemed to be stick in pretty well. For not being fastened in place with cobwebs, it was impressive, all the more so because the placement had been deliberate. "Thanks, I-" She mewed, the awkwardness from earlier creeping back to her, Still, the feathers she could see in her fur didn't look half bad, she had to admit. "The creek should be frozen... If it's not buried in snow." It would offer her a less awkward view, at least.

She wore red nicely? "Fair enough." Her whiskers twitched at the thought, a hint of wry amusement creeping into her expression for a moment. Her paws had been stained red plenty, and it did contrast with her fur. Beechfang supposed that did count for something.

He nodded. "True! You should go see when you have the chance. I'd be careful though, if they get stuck on brambles they can be pulled out. Not that I would mind putting them back on again, your fur is delightful to work with." Well, perhaps that was a little white lie. Working around scars wasn't something he was accustomed to. Bare spots could not take decorations and had to be left blank, but he appreciated the challenge anyway. Most of the cats he had worked on were already objectively pretty, decorations could go anywhere in moderation and they would still be stunning. Beech needed a bit more love put into her placements.

"Just wait until the flowers come back. There are so many pretty red ones. Or maybe we could even try different colors! Flowers are the only thing that can come in purple, and everyone looks good in purple." He started to plan before realizing he should probably have the consent of the cat he was dressing up. No one looked good in decorations they didn't want. "If you'd be good with that. Maybe you have a favorite color, one you would like to wear?" He asked, tilting his head the slightest in curiosity.

Her whiskers twitched, an amused huff escaping her at Hailpaw's words. When it came to her pelt, Beechfang had always been a pragmatic sort. She would never have considered her fur 'delightful' in any sense, though perhaps dealing with the leafbare chill was the closest it got. And with the myriad of scars, even Beechfang felt the chill more sharply now. She kept her pelt clean out of necessity, and that was generally about the extent of attention given to it. Looking pretty had always been an afterthought, far behind ideas of being a great warrior or struggling to learn all the stars-cursed herbs and injuries in the forest and keeping the clan alive and healthy. Or keeping herself sane, rather, as much as one could be sane at all while living in Skyclan.

The only cats she knew that had been so focused on maintaining a good appearance had been her littermate and Smokefeather, and Beechfang couldn't imagine either of them weaving flowers into their fur. Smokefeather, she was sure, would've declined on the basis of her own pride when she was younger. Her pelt was beautiful all on its own, she'd never need to waste time on enhancing something that didn't need it. She'd been blessed to have eye-catching fur that was mostly unmarred, even as an elder. Beechfang simply hadn't paid much attention to it at all, more content to treat her pelt like any other tool. It kept her warm in the cold and made her miserable in Greenleaf. Her tail helped her keep her balance, though she hadn't so much as thought about climbing a tree in moons. Her claws could shred herbs... Or flesh. One of those had a much more immediate impact than the other.

Still, there was something strangely infectious about Hailpaw's enthusiasm. "Alright." For something she'd never paid any mind to, he'd caught her attention with this. He seemed to have ideas already, evidenced by the feathers currently woven into her pelt, but she could tell he was scheming up others, too.

"I don't know... It's not something I've ever given much thought to." She admitted. "Maybe not green or yellow, though." Beechfang had spent far too much time staring at herbs in the medicine den, green meant fresh, green was good, but she'd spent enough time with green plants and yellow flowers staining her fur to last a lifetime, thank you.

A cat without a favorite color?! He didn't know that was possible! Color was so integral to his life, the only thing his eyes rendered properly. It was what he spent his first moments awake mulling over when picking his decorations of the day, how he identified friends, what he used to admire the world around him. How could a cat not have a favorite?

"Hmm...  Maybe we can find one? A cat's favorite color usually reminds them of something. Or maybe it represents something the cat likes or it just gives off a... a feeling I guess. Like, I really like purple. It's super hard to find, which makes it really special. It makes me feel just as special when I wear it. Not to mention it's just a beautiful color. Or blue. It reminds me of calm things, like rainwater and mayflowers." Blue was a pretty color too, but if he based his favorites on beauty, every color would be his favorite... besides brown. It was a beautiful pelt color but he always had a preference towards the vibrant and bold.

"But I guess favorite colors don't have to have a personal meaning. Sometimes you just like a color more than the rest." It was probably something subconscious that drew a cat to a color, but he wouldn't pressure a cat to find the reason. It was much more fun to speculate anyway.

Hailpaw seemed utterly incredulous that she didn't have a favorite color. She blinked as he spoke, just as confused by his words as he seemed to be by hers. Finding a favorite color? His was... purple? Did other cats really pay that much attention to such things? The deer-in-the-headlights expression remained on her face, though curiosity warred with the complete and utter confusion she felt.

"Uhh, sure...?" What in the void was she getting herself into? "We can try? I don't know... blue...?" It was something almost never seen in a medicine den, at least. And the sky could be pretty, Beechfang supposed.

...Dawnhawk's eyes were blue. "Err... Maybe not." She added hastily, paws shifting awkwardly.

Hailpaw blinked as he noticed the she-cat's expression change. Oh no, was he being pushy?! He was so absorbed into his own fascination with color he didn't even think to wonder how Beechfang felt! "Or maybe I'm blabbering a bit." He backpedaled, awkwardly licking his chest fur. "I'm very color-oriented but, you know, sometimes cats aren't and that's ok. Maybe it will come to you another time?"

His body language started to mimic the older cat's, his tail curling over his shuffling paws. "I still think red is a pretty color on you though. It doesn't have to be your favorite color, but it's nice. It's a very passionate color, very bold and brave. Or, well, it makes me feel that way, I suppose a color can't really have a personality." He chuckled to himself softly. Did everyone think of him as weird when he gushed about colors? He couldn't help that they were so pretty and fascinating!

Beechfang shook her head at his attempt to backpedal, a sympathetic half-smile flicking across her expression. She knew that awkwardness well, but she hadn't meant to offend him. She was beginning to realize that he had a very different perspective on things than she did, it was... nice, almost, to look at something in a way she never would've thought of on her own.

"I do like the red." She admitted, Hailpaw had a point to his reasoning, she was realizing. And the color did stand out. Especially against her pale fur, and glancing down at the feathers woven carefully into her fur, Beechfang could appreciate how they caught the eye and drew attention away from at least some of the scars that marked her. "You seem to have a good idea of what works well together and what draws the eye, I can't say I've seen many cats that have that attention to detail." She added.

A purr rose in his throat at the she-cat's praise. "Thank you, I take great pride in it." His gaze flicked over her pelt once more, as if already planning other arrangements and decorations would look nice before stopping himself. "It's the detail I see most clearly, and something I think others don't see enough. There's so much beauty in colors and I'm glad I get to share it with some cats!"

"It's the reason I can't wait for new-leaf. All the flowers are blooming and there's going to be so many colors to see and use. It's amazing how flowers can just do that, right? Be so vivid in their coloring? I'm kinda jealous." He spoke in a joking tone with the last sentence, but he spoke nothing but the truth. It wasn't fair that plants could be purple! He supposed wearing the color would have to satiate him for now, but he would figure out how to paint his fur one day. Tastefully... he didn't want to look like he lost a fight with a berry bush.

"Perhaps you're right." Beechfang mewed thoughtfully. She definitely hadn't, and stars only knew what most of the clan would've thought about putting flowers and feathers in their fur, or rather, the lack of thought, much less thoughts about colors themselves.

"Newleaf will bring prey, too." She was still a pragmatic, and Skyclan would need that prey if they were to survive. "Though I suppose the foliage returning will be nice."

"I don't know, there's a benefit to having pale fur. Greenleaf won't kill you... Much." She smirked.