Chirp [closed]

Wide eyed and head held high, Astershine padded into camp, displaying a rather large wood pigeon he'd caught. His head was held high more out of keeping the pigeon from dragging on the ground than out of pride, though. Dropping the mighty bird on the top of the pile, he stepped to the side to allow the rest of his patrol to follow suit.

Now that he'd taken care of duties for a short while, he supposed that he could take time to relax, lay, watch his clanmates as they went about their day. Walking around the camp's outskirts, he nearly walked right past Creamsky before deciding that he wanted to talk to him. It'd been a while. "Hey, Creamsky. What are you up to?" He questioned, a slight smile curling the edges of his maw. "You've got an apprentice now, yeah? I bet you've been busy." It seemed like only a few moons ago that Creamsky himself was still an apprentice. Astershine let out a soft sigh and padded closer to the tom. "Oh- Mind if I sit here? I could grab something for us to eat if you're hungry? I just came back from a hunting patrol, so I could tell you what's on the pile." A quick gesture and glance to the pile across camp and he began to talk again. "I caught a pretty big pigeon, you know." The words were spoken blankly but his eyes shone. "Just let me know if you're hungry."

Creamsky was sunning himself - enjoying the warmer weather that the new season had brought with it. Leafbare was over, and Newleaf was upon them. It was such a welcoming time - a true sign that the hardship that the colder weather had brought was truly over. It was a time to relax, find their footing and prepare for whatever trouble would show itself next. But for now, the warrior was content to bask in the sunbeam. That was, until a voice spoke up - causing his eyes to flicker open as he glanced to see Astershine staring at him.

It had been quite a while since the two had last truly spoken - not since Creamsky had earned his warrior name and the two were no longer mentor and apprentice. Still however, it warmed him to see his old mentor doing well for himself. "Relaxing," he responded, giving a shrug of his shoulders with a smile. "I have a patrol later, but thought I would take the time til then to just enjoy the coming of Newleaf." At the mention of his apprentice thought, a soft laugh escaped him. "Its been something, that is for sure! But Juniperpaw is nearly done with her training I think, so I haven't been so busy recently. Not much left to teach her..."

It made him proud, to think of how far she had come along. Their relationship had started off rocky, but they had made up and grew a stronger relationship for it - not to mention that she had since found her way into his friend group and he was content for the day when she would be his apprentice no longer, and instead be a true friend. His attention however flickered back to Astershine as the tom spoke, giving him a wave of his tail. "I don't mind at all! Its great to catch up with you again - and no, I am fine, but thank you for the offer," he meowed with a dip of his head. "Honestly, I am curious on how you have been doing. Enjoying the freedom that is not having an apprentice now that I am a warrior?" he questioned, a playful tease in his voice.

"Yeah, it's nice, isn't it." It wasn't really a question; it was nice. At Creamsky's permission, he sat beside the tom, neatly wrapping his tail around his paws. He wordlessly nodded along to him as he politely declined his offer of the pigeon.

Astershine playfully nudged Creamsky at his playful words. "Oh, having an apprentice gave me something to do. I wouldn't consider having a lack of one a freedom necessarily." He meowed, light-heartedly. "I liked apprenticing you, it was a learning experience for the both of us, I think."  Regretfully, he thought about the time he spent mourning his father and not training Creamsky. "You became a fine warrior though, fine enough to train an apprentice of your own. It makes me proud." He beamed.

A brief silence befell him as he gazed thoughtfully at the vast blue sky. "I kinda miss it, you know? It's small, but it gives me a sense of.. purpose? I guess? Not that I don't feel like I have one, but it's a direction. Does it do the same for you?" Astershine spoke, eyes fixed on the sky. A singular cloud came into view, passing over the trees above. "You should tell me about Juniperpaw. How is she?"

Creamsky listened politely as Astershine spoke, listening carefully as he went on. He found...He couldn't deny his point - it was nice, having an apprentice. A distraction and change-up from his normal duties of just waiting for Wolfblossom to assign him to a patrol or asking one of his friends to go out with him if he didn't have much to do. A gentle purr escaped him as Astershine took a moment to praise him, turning to look at his old mentor with a smile. "I doubt I would have turned out well as half if it wasn't for you - I was in a rough spot when Blackbear left, it was nice that you were willing to help me focus so much on my training. But you do have a point - there is a nice purpose to it all," he admitted, resting his chin on his paws. "I like having something to focus on - my training served as that when I was an apprentice and doing whatever work Wolfblossom has for me suits me, but having to consider how to tackle training with Juniperpaw - what works best for her, what order to do the lessons... It was wonderful - I admit that I am eager for my next apprentice once she gains her warrior name."

He paused as Astershine questioned about Juniperpaw, smiling softly to himself. "Oh well - she is a clever she-cat. Full of life, she can be a little quick to assume on things but also quick to apologize if she is in the wrong," he noted, thinking about their rocky relationship at the start. Not that she hadn't been completely wrong in her thinking that he was neglecting her - he just hadn't figured out how to balance his warrior duties along with being a mentor, additionally with being as sick as he was... "She also has no problem asking me to cover things she felt unsure about - she is confident, but self-aware of her weaknesses and those are good traits for a warrior. Also more than my apprentice...She ended up becoming a friend and I am content to know that we won't go different paths once she gains her warrior name - that we will continue being close."

"Oh, no worries. You did the same for me, I think. Although, I'm sorry if there were times you feel I neglected you, or something. It was never my intention." The fact that they had both been mourning the loss of someone dear to them at the same time was sad to think about. It was nice that they were able to distract and support each other, albeit without recognizing it. "And I had just lost Crimsonflame. I think it was a hard time for all of us." A hard time, although most who were lost had come home. Crimsonflame would not be among them. And neither would Blackbear, it seemed. He sighed

Raising his ears, his gaze returned to Creamsky. "There's something fulfilling about being a part of a cat's life like that. Being able to watch and help them grow and develop gives me a sense of purpose and accomplishment." He listened as Creamsky described Juniperpaw. Astershine had seen the apprentice around, knew her by name, as he did most of his clanmates, but knowing the cat was far different from seeing them around camp. It sparked curiosity in him, to learn about a cat he hardly knew, and to learn what Creamsky thought of her. "Juniperpaw sounds like she's shaping up to be a warrior as good as you are yourself." He meowed, thoughtfully, purposely leaving out a response to Creamsky's pervious words. Astershine wished that he could say that he remained close with Creamsky, but obviously, if they're having to catch up, it wasn't the case.