Ohana Means Family

Blossomstep had just returned from a hunt, a large squirrel dangling from her jaws. Prey was slowly starting to return to the forest, the slowly warming days enticing them from the dens and nests. She hesitated near the fresh-kill pile before turning towards the nursery. Ashstorm had recently kitted, and the queen would likely appreciate the prey.... And Blossomstep supposed she should attempt to get to know her grandkit's mate a little bit more, Asylum or not. Her tail tip twitched slightly at the idea, but love was love, and Blossomstep would never turn her back on family for something like this. She made her way over to the nursery, announcing herself quietly before stepping in to check on her granddaughter and great grandkits. She didn't immediately see the tom that had captured Ashstorm's heart, but she knew he wouldn't be far, he had hardly left the queen's side. Finally, she caught sight of his pelt and she called out to him. "Um... Himbo Bob, was it? Do you have some time to talk?" She asked, keeping her gaze steady as she watched for his reaction.

Himbo Bob's head snapped up instantly, scared it was Smokeheather. To his relief, it was just Blossomstep. "Yes, that's me. Sure, I have plenty of time to, uh, talk," He mewed softly, still a bit nervous, although definitely not as much as he was talking with Smokeheather. Gently untangling himself from his mate and kits, murmuring to Ashstorm he'd be back soon, he stood, carefully walking around any kits and queens in the nursery.

Padding outside behind Blossomstep, he sat down across from her, "Uh, how're you? What did you want to.. Talk about?"

Blossomstep smiled at Ashstorm briefly before padding out of the nursery, waiting patiently for Himbo Bob to follow behind her. As he settled across from her, she looked at him for a few moments. "I'm doing well, and I hope the same for you. I just... Well, with Ashstorm taking you as a mate, I thought I would get to know you. I want to be sure my grandkit is well taken care of." She mewed, getting straight to the point. "I don't only want to know that she's taken care of, but if you're part of the family I want to know about you. How did you join Asylum? What is your favorite prey? Things like that." The she-cat sat down as well, gazing back at the Asylum tom curiously.

Himbo Bob blinked, thoughtful, "Oh, gosh, no cat here's asked me about myself before, aside from Ashstorm. Good to know she's not the only one willing to understand or at least try to make friends." He mewed, more to himself than Blossomstep.

"Well, I originally came from a place called the Prairies. We followed a set of guidelines called the Code of Mannerisms, which pretty much just detailed how to treat others. We were a peaceful group, and so when Asylum came we didn't put up much a fight; I was still a kit at the time. Most of us became standards, scouts, or pelt wards, with very few Nightstrikers. I was around seven moons when we were integrated into Asylum, but I remember on the first day of newleaf we had a grand festival, with tons of prey and games."

A smile crossed his maw as he recalled a memory from so long ago, back when he was a young kit, new to the world. "It was at that festival that I tasted dove for the first time. While doves are hard to find, they're probably my favorite type of prey. Water voles are a close second, I've never been a big fan of fish, nor squirrels. What about you? Were you born in FlyClan? What type of prey do you like? What type of things do you like to do in your spare time?"

Blossomstep listened intently as Himbo Bob described where he had come from, and how he had come to join Asylum. So he had been brought into Asylum as a young cat, barely over apprentice age. As he described a festival, her head tilted slightly. It sounded like fun, but how could they get so much prey as leaf-bare was ending? What games did they play? Was it similar to what they had done in the clan versus Asylum games a couple moons before? She held her questions as the tom continued to explain that he loved dove. The small birds were difficult to catch, so they didn't often grace the fresh-kill pile, and Blossomstep didn't recall ever getting the opportunity to try one. "I see. So you came from a peaceful group that was absorbed by Asylum... What kind of games did you play at your festival? And how were you able to catch so much prey right after leaf-bare? I don't think I've ever gotten the chance to try a dove, but I will make the effort to give it a shot. I agree that water voles are good, but I have to say that squirrel is probably my favorite. Especially one caught just before leaf-bare, when it's all fattened up from foraging through greenleaf. I was born here in SkyClan, as the only kit of a single litter my parents had. Our last leader, Spottedstar, was my mentor. As far as your last question, I like to hunt, and race in the treetops, and look for herbs. I also enjoy spending time with my family and listening to them, even though we're all together in the same clan it can still feel like there's a distance, so I try to keep up with everyone..... I'll admit I'm not the best at it though, despite my best efforts. My family has grown a lot in the last moons." She mewed, smiling as she turned her gaze towards the nursery for a moment before focusing back on the tom. "What about you? What do you do in your spare time? And what did you do in your spare time before coming here?"

"There were different games depending on your age. The young ones had a leaf catching game, an older cat would throw leaves down from a high rock. They were different colors, and had been collected and preserved during Leaf-fall for this purpose. Each was worth more if you caught it. Brown were worth five points, green seven, orange ten, yellow twelve, and red fifteen." The flame point explained."I was just over the age for that game, six moons. So I played the next one, which was a race. The first cat to reach a stump about three foxlengths outside our home and back won, and got first pick of prey, after our Seniors, of course." Blossomstep definitely was nice, he thought.

"I'm not sure what games the older cats played, but I think it was a Hunting game of sorts. The Seniors, which are like your Elders, had a game as well. It was a story telling game and whoever who could catch the attention of the most kits won the title of 'best storyteller'. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was cool." A broad grin formed on his face, and he laughed, "The Seniors really looked forward to it. They got insanely competitive each year to outdo each other!"

"The cats ten moons and older went on hunting parties throughout the night, I guess that's how, we we're a pretty big group. We had a big chunk of territory as no other groups of cats bordered us. It was a flat, open expanse, with bits of shrubbery and tree dotted around the area. The prey pile contained all types of prey. Birds, lizards, rodents, even an occasional fish from a little pond in our territory." He shrugged. He hadn't really thought about it, if he was being honest. Especially as a young kit. "Squirrels are nice, but they have too much fur."

"Hmm, what I like to do? Well, my favorite thing is definitely being beside Ashstorm. She's everything to me, and our sweet little kits as well. And Fedora, she's truly a blessing from StarCl--" He cut himself off quickly, acutely aware of the fact other Asylum members were in camp. "Uhm, besides that I like to sit at the edge of your creek, and just listen to the water hit the stones. It's really peaceful."

"Before I came here, I spent most of my time with Holly." A pause, and a flicker of something-- sadness, maybe-- touched his gaze but he quickly shook it it away, "Ah, uh, she was... A close companion. She died to the fox on my shoulders."

A silence fell over the pair for a moment, a she tried changing the subject. "So, I know a bit about Clan life. Ashstorm's been teaching me the basics, like the Warrior Code. But.. I'm curious- why do you change your names so many times? It's quite confusing."

"That sounds a lot like the games we played with Asylum..." Blossomstep mused out loud. She smiled back at the tom. "It sounds like a lot of fun. Perhaps we could try something like that with our own elders, I think most of them would really enjoy it." She mewed, going quiet as Himbo Bob continued. "The creek is quite nice, and I'm happy to hear how much you love Ashstorm and your kits. They're beautiful, all of them." Himbo Bob continued further, gesturing to the fox pelt that lay across his shoulders. Blossomstep's gaze rose to it and she lowered her head slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that... A loss of a friend is felt deeply for a long time." After a pause, he asked a question she hadn't expected to hear. Why did they change their names? Blossomstep smiled. "It's a symbol of our rank. When you're a kit, your name ends with kit. When you become an apprentice, your name changes to end with paw. Then when you become a warrior, your name becomes a unique one in the clan. It usually references something you're skilled at, or that identifies you. From there, your name usually stays the same, unless something drastic happens that leads to a change." She explained. "How does Asylum show their rank?"