Don’t stir murky waters if you don’t know what creatures dwell beneath the surface (c)

Out of all of her clanmates, perhaps the only one that she felt the least amount of annoyance towards was Thrushnose, followed by Curlyfluff. The tom had managed to cement himself in the lives of her sisters, becoming a steadfast and friendly face that they could rely upon. That much had softened the tom to her, especially as he had been keen on always being there to take care of Rosepaw and Firefly. It didn't go unnoticed by the tortoiseshell molly, not in the slightest.

As he had been willing to join her on the nighttime patrol, she could only see why her sisters had found comfort in his company. Little seemed to ruffle him, as if that curly fur that he had served more of a purpose than simply holding visual appeal. It was an easy way to identify him in a crowd, that much was for sure. But beyond that, he was certainly the type of tom who was more than willing to be flexible if it met the needs of his clanmates. Deep down, she couldn't help but hope he didn't bend to their wills too much, lest he bit a bit too soft-hearted for the forest.

At his note about the way she spent time with the night, Murkyripple nodded. She did her best to bring a kind smile to her maw, but truth be told, it felt more like a curse to her at times. "It has had... an odd effect. I apologize for my curt way of speaking: spending a lot of time with myself has made me very aware of how I am, but not of my clanmates." It certainly showed in her tone. It was tight, almost formal as she spoke. Like she were attempting to address one of the leaders. She was critically aware of it too, her head ducking in apology. To say that she had a hard time connecting with her clanmates was... an understatement.

She had a routine path that she followed through the territory that had her weave about its forested path, allowing her to cover a maximum amount of territory in the shortest amount of time. It also allowed her to best check for predators that may have been lurking in their home. Truth be told, Murkyripple felt like one herself at times. A foreigner. "What do... you think of... recent events?" Her voice paused as she tried to search for words, eventually coming out with the sentence. What had first ran through her mind was certainly a much more blunt version, and so she had forced herself to stop and think. Make her words better, nicer. Truly think before she spoke. After all, it would do no good if she offended him so early into the patrol.

A strong part of the night-dwelling molly had expected short, quipped answers as a result of her shorter responses. After all, it seemed that she unintentionally set the tone for whatever conversation she joined in, somehow unable to prevent her mannerisms from dwelling or intimidating the way she exchanged words on a topic. Thankfully, though, that seemed far from the case as Curlyfluff opened up about his thoughts on it all. Murkyripple nodded encouragement for the tom to keep going at first, as he seemed to stop himself short for her own sake. As one left with her own thoughts more often than not, simply being able to listen to a voice that was not her own for a change was more than welcomed. One ear stayed alert at the forest in front of them, but the other had curled to listen to what the tom spoke. For the most part, all of his sentiments she agreed with.

To show her gratitude towards being opened up to, Murkyripple stepped to the side just enough so she could give the tom a playful shoulder-bump. A silent way of telling him, It's okay. No need to duck away. After all, those words certainly didn't find themselves to her maw. It was much easier for the molly to act, rather than say. But he had prompted her for her thoughts, and her thoughts she would give. "The forest does seem to be hitting Thunderclan very quickly, with one blow after another." She didn't want to truly keep the topic on her lineage, but her head turned to Curlyfluff so she could give him a blink of gratitude. It felt as if she had been slowly pushed out of the clan ever since she chose to dwell during the night, and that truth had done no assistance.

"Mottlestar has good relations with Skyclan and Riverclan. Hopefully, those can turn into an alliance, and we can dodge the storm the forest is sending at us." It was a good summary of how she felt about it all. Having allies would mean they could be safer, particularly against Windclan. Shadowclan... her chest tightened at the idea of thinking about them. How did she feel about Shadowclan? Part of her felt she should have some deep-down allegiance towards them, but she knew how that entire clan would look her way. With disgust. She was lesser-than to them. The symbol of their failed leader. But at the same time... their very name was what called to her at night. Taking some time to think longer, the tip of her tail fluttered as the thoughts took time to assemble into cohesive words and not just abstract projections that made sense only to the warrior whose mind they resided in.

"We need to come closer as a Clan. Find our strength again. For one hurt or another, the clan is not together. Mottlestar can only take on so much, but it will break her. Has broken her." She knew too well how the recent events had taken not one, but two lives from their leader. It was hard for Murkyripple to also look at her in the lense of her mother. There was... a lot of repairing that needed done. Between all of them. "How is Rosepaw? Firefly?" She found herself asking, once more placing the conversational mouse back in Curlyfluff's paws.