small rooks and poppy seeds (closed)

Rookfire padded towards WindClan's camp, looking for Smallbean. They hadn't interacted much ever since they escaped the Twolegs together, so it would be nice to be able to talk with him again. After all, ShadowClan and WindClan were both staying in Highstones, so it was literally the perfect time to hang out.

"Daddy, why is WindClan staying in Highstones with us?"

Well, almost perfect.

"Well, they're taking refuge from the Twolegs, just like us. Neither of us want to get captured by the Twolegs and be brought to the Twolegs' nests." The black tuxedo flashed back to when he was captured by Twolegs. "That's actually how I met Smallbean, actually. We both got caught by the same Twolegs and lived together for a while."

"Really? What was it like to live there?"

Rookfire smiled. "Not the worst, surprisingly," he said, "but I couldn't leave my clanmates behind for long. Especially after Smallbean escaped and I had no one to talk to anymore." The black tuxedo smiled warmly at the young kit, before turning to look for Smallbean. Noticing the calico tom seemingly hanging out, Rookfire quickly bounded over to him. "Hey, Small!" the black tuxedo said, smiling at his old friend. "Are ya busy right now, or are ya free to chat?"

Smallbean wasn't really busy when he'd heard his name being called from across Windclan's makeshift camp. The deputy was only sitting by himself, finishing off the last remnants of a rather small hare. With raised ears, he lifted his head from the hare, mismatched eyes searching his surroundings for the source. A pang of guilt hit him when he realized who'd called his name. "Oh- Rookfire!" It had been so long since he'd heard the other tom's voice. They were so close during the time they had spent together in the twoleg den moons ago - but that was only because they had to be. They were constantly together, with only each other to talk to. During their time trapped, Smallbean had grown close to him, but when they returned, they had to go back to their respective clans. Neither held their position as medicine cat, there had been no excuse to talk to each other between gatherings anymore. Even then, Smallbean had to sit with the deputies.

Abandoning his spot near the fresh-kill pile, he stood up to meet the Shadowclanner. "Yeah, I've got time. I'm not.. doing anything, really." As much as he would consider Rookfire a good friend, they hadn't spoken in so long. He still cared, though.  "I've missed talking to you, Rookfire. How have you been? Um. Do you want to find somewhere to sit?" His eyes drifted downward, spurred by movement behind the Shadowclanner. "Who's this?" He asked, inspecting the kit as he came into his sight. "Is this kit yours?" For some reason, Smallbean never thought Rookfire would have kits. Perhaps it was because he couldn't see himself being a parent again.

Rookfire grinned at his old friend. It would be great to finally catch up with him. All he really knew about the calico tom in the past... several moons - stars, how was it that long? - was the fact that he became WindClan's deputy. "I don't mind standing," the black tuxedo mewed. "But yeah, I'm doing well. Besides the Twolegs, for obvious reasons. Yeesh, even thinking about them rushing into Fourtrees still gives me the jitters." The black tuxedo's grin faded for just a split second, before he shook it off.

When Smallbean asked about Poppykit, Rookfire turned to gaze at the young kit, who was busy hiding behind the black tuxedo's leg. "It's alright, Poppy," Rookfire cooed. "He's not gonna hurt you." He was surprised to see the usually energetic Poppykit choose to not confront Smallbean, though to be fair Smallbean was an unfamiliar cat to the young tom-kit.

Turning back to Smallbean, the black tuxedo nodded. "Yeah, he's my kit." Rookfire said. "This is my son, Poppykit. He's really clever, and he has a good heart." As he was explaining, Poppykit eventually got out of his shell. "Poppykit, this is Smallbean, WindClan's deputy."

Poppykit gave Smallbean a shy smile. "Hi," he said quietly, sitting down closer to Smallbean. WindClan's deputy? So was he like Leopardsun, but in WindClan? That made him a bit more safe around the new cat, despite him smelling a bit weird.

"So, how's it going with you?" Rookfire asked. "I know you became WindClan's deputy-" he started, before realizing: "-wait, did I ever congratulate you on that? If not, then I'd like to say congrats!" He wondered if Smallbean would be weighed down by his insecurities and feelings of doubt, but Rookfire felt that he was still a capable warrior and would make a great deputy. If he ever got to leader... well, WindClan would most certainly be in great paws.

"Yeah... Twolegs..." Their entire situation made him paranoid, the idea of being captured by twolegs again terrified him. The fear of getting captured and not returning back home kept him on his toes, he'd cautiously watch his every pawstep when he was outside of camp. Noticing his steadily growing anxiety, spurred by the thought, he slowly breathed in and exhaled, soothing his nerves. Raising his eyes, he posed a question. "Are you... scared, too?" He and Rookfire were two of the only cats in the whole forest who knew what it was like to be taken by twolegs, uncertain that they'd ever see their friends and families again, the hopelessness of ever escaping. It was by mere luck that they'd both been able to escape and find a way back to the clans.

Rookfire addressed the kit by Poppy, Smallbean noticed. He watched as the Shadowclanner coaxed the kit form hiding until he sat out in the open. Poppykit's behaviors were familiar to him, for he'd acted the same way in his youth. Nodding along as Rookfire introduced Poppykit, he tried his best to not seem intimidating - although, with his small stature, there wasn't much intimidation to be reduced. "Nice to meet you, Poppykit." He greeted the young tom, pairing it with a small smile.

Attention switched back to Rookfire, he smiled wider and exhaled. "Thank you, although I can assure you it's not as glamorous as you'd think. I've been... alright, though." As alright as he could be, given the circumstances. Since they'd moved away from Fourtrees, he'd been feeling much better, though. Taking a deep breath really allowed him to clear his thoughts and calm down. Changing the topic from himself to Rookfire, he reversed the question he'd just been asked. " What about you? How's being a father? I can't really say that parenting was ever my strength, but I'm sure that you'll do great - and that Poppykit will grow up to be a fine cat." His words were genuine, he could see Rookfire's care in the way he reassured Poppykit. A pang of guilt struck him as he recalled all of the times he could have been better to his kits. There was nothing that could be done about it now, though.