the emperor's new clothes (c)

Perchstar wasn't sure that she had ever interacted one-on-one with Harebounce before. When they were on patrols, they seemed to be with many other cats, and they'd spend time hunting or patrolling anyway. But with the currently small roster of warriors that RiverClan was suffering from, patrols were now usually two-cat affairs. So, now it was just the two of them in the territory. What little she knew of Harebounce... She was about the same age as Ashflight, who was much older than her. She had been around during the Asylum, whom she had heard tales about from her mate. She'd had kits with Jaystar-- for some reason-- including Owlshriek and Grebedance, and despite her age, she acted fairly cheerful and... well... eccentric. Yes, that was the right word. Even as they walked now, the leader continued to steal sideways glances at her companion, who didn't seem to have many cares judging from her casual gait. It was greenleaf. The sun was warm, the rivers were cool, and there were more fish than anyone could eat. Harebounce had no reason to be uptight, Perchstar supposed. Still, it was with a slight bit of awkwardness that she walked alongside the warrior, not quite sure how to strike up any kind of conversation.

Truly, Harebounce wasn’t sure how to talk with Head Perchstar either. Heads Ivystar and Jaystar tended to keep their feelings out in the open, but the grey she-cat beside her couldn’t be any further from that. She wanted to speak with her just as freely, yet even after all these moons she never knew where to start. It wasn’t like her to be this unsure about another cat. After all, she could get along with even the most diabolical of cats, even if she only realized their nature after the fact.

Faintly she could hear a honking from a pond’s general direction. She paused for a moment at the sound, searching for any telltale qualities of the call that would reveal if it truly was waterfowl or not. “Is it a goose?” She wondered aloud. “Or Loon?” The confusing nature of that tom’s name did not occur to her in this moment. She wandered a foxlegth further from her patrolmate, peering through the undergrowth for an answer. A flash of white got her hopes up, but that was it. No black. She let out a disappointed sigh, “It’s not.” Perchstar wasn’t going to get much explanation beyond that. Although, now that she saw it…

“H- Perchstar, does that goose look plump to you?”

Harebounce's dreamy-sounding voice soon reached Perchstar's ears, despite how far the warrior was beginning to wander. A goose, she'd said? The leader tensed up slightly when remembering the goose that had attacked her and Poppyshine so many moons ago. They weren't nearly as dangerous as a fox, but still less than easy to deal with. Harebounce apparently had no intention of wandering back to their previous path, so Perchstar made her way over to where the former-Asylum she-cat was wondering about something called a "Loon." Another bird? Her head spun. I understand dealing with cats who have a lot of energy, or some other kind of emotion... but what is Harebounce talking about? I don't understand her thought process at all. Perchstar's ear flicked when she heard the question. Glancing through the scrubby undergrowth for a second yielded a view of-- sure enough-- a large goose. "I suppose," she said uneasily, the fur along her back pricking slightly at the mean look in the goose's eye. Those sharp teeth on its beak... "It likely does not want to be approached."