Passing Time [c]

As the earliest of sunshines rose to the day, Hollypaw found herself not exactly.. Being able to catch much rest. This was her first ever leaf-bare, and she still had no clue how to get herself more warm until the next newleaf. Compared to other cats, her fur was much more shorter than them. Only now did she have wished for her fur to maybe have dragged on longer— though not necessarily in a bad way, like Ebonypaw's. He'd be able to keep warm, for sure.

She awoke from her moss bed, blinking as she saw just how early in the day it was. The clan seemed fairly quiet, and not much cats were up yet. Nonetheless, the molly padded out of the apprentice den, figuring that she couldn't return to her rest anymore. A shiver ran down her spine as the warmth from the other apprentices left her, now leaving her alone to the chilling cold. She grabbed a fish just enough for her to eat, then sat beside the apprentice's den to finish it up. Though just in the corner of her eye— she saw another cat approaching, and soon lifted her head up.  A warrior?

Bearspirit had been fishing for most of the early morning. He too had found it difficult to rest. His wounds had healed nicely thanks to Cloverheart, but some of them looked like they were going to scar. So be it. How he looked was hardly a concern for him now that he was no longer a kittypet and never would be again, more than likely. How could he ever return to that life, now knowing that there were practically other universes beyond the fences?

He returned to camp holding several fish by their tails and carried them to the fresh-kill pile. Water still dripped from his fur, but he hardly even noticed it as it rolled off of his coat like duck feathers. He dropped his fish where they were supposed to go... and noticed one of the fish were missing. He knew he had brought more than that earlier...

Bearspirit's eyes went to the apprentice sitting outside the apprentice den. Ah... that's where that fish went. "Hollypaw? You're up early. Is everything alright?" If she seemed bothered, he might grab a fish and go join her. He could easily catch more of them later.

Her ears perked as Bearspirit spoke, and she gave him a small dip of the head before replying. "A bit, maybe. But it's just about leaf-bare.. Mostly," She smiled, wrapping her tail around her paws for further warmth. "Or maybe it's about the Leadership and all of that, too. Ivystar's.. Gone. And Dewlight stepped down. It all feels like it's happening all so quickly." She murmured. "And my mom, too. She.. I.. We barely got a chance to ever talk since our first meeting, when I was still a kit." She frowned, lowering her head as her gaze met the ground. Her paws shifted, and her eyes filled up with guilt. Would they maybe have understood each other more, if she ever gathered enough confidence to just stride over to Scarletriver? Well, maybe not stride. But just head over to her, and have a small talk of sorts.

She briefly shook her head, and looked back up to the warrior. "Nevermind about me, why are you up so early?" She'd ask, though soon realizing the fresh scent of fishes surrounding him. "Oh! Did you head out fishing?" Her eyes shifted over to the fresh-kill pile for a moment, noticing just how full it has gotten by now. The warrior must've gotten lucky with his catches, and she smiled, waiting for him to add more to the conversation.

Hollypaw opened up immediately and Bearspirit listened to her concerns. He understood what she was going through. Ivystar's death had been far too sudden... and Dewlight had announced prior that she didn't want to be the leader. He'd been supportive of his mate and her decisions, though he'd had to hide his disappointment when she turned down the leadership position. Riverclan was almost at a loss o what to do until Starclan chose Jayshriek to lead them, and he in turn chose Perchfall.

"I know what you mean." He padded over to her, his large paws and long legs making huge strides in her direction. He plopped his haunches down onto the floor next to her, content to take a break from fishing for a little bit. "I think Riverclan will be in good paws with our current leadership though." He did his best to sound encouraging, but the truth of the matter was that Jaystar and Perchfall were untested. He had no way of knowing whether they would lead Riverclan to prosperity or not, but he had hope that the change was good and that Starclan had chosen wisely.

"This is the best time to catch fish. You can fish during the evening too but I have always found the morning to be the best time." He shrugged, a simple explanation. "You have fished with my apprentice before, right? Ebonyhaze? How did that go?"

"I think Riverclan will be in good paws with our current leadership though." Hollypaw silently nodded along. She barely have ever interacted with the tom before, though she was sure she'd seen him around camp. Though if StarClan has agreed to grant him his nine lives, the molly wouldn't disagree, and had hopes he'd be able to lead RiverClan well. He seemed much.. confident in leading. Bearspirit seemed to have agreed, too.

She nodded again as the tom inquired about Ebonyhaze. He was still a bit older than her, though she felt sure she'd be able to catch up in no time with some more training. "It went alright. We caught a decent amount of prey of leaf-bare, though a weasel appeared in the end." She mewed briefly, noy wanting to get into the details too much. It'll be fairly embarrassing, if anyone was ever to know she's mistaken that for a prey. Nonetheless, she continued on. "Ebonyp— Ebonyhaze, he helped me fought it bravely, and it fled. He seemed to have had experiences with the predator before, too." She smiled. Perhaps Bearspirit have taught him how to deal with that, and she'd have no doubt that the tom was a good mentor. At least, he very much seemed to be one.