Poppy Seeds and Storm Clouds [c]

Stormdance

Stormdance padded beside Poppyshine, walking the shore of the river and the Riverclan border. Poppyshine invited him out, and Stormdance happily agreed. It’s been a while since he’s been able to spend time with her one on one, since she was in the nursery for a while and after that he had his apprentices and warrior duties to focus on, on top of her normal deputy duties resuming. Their last prolonged interaction was when he helped take down that eagle (something he’d prefer not to think about), and the last time they actually spent time together was when he was still an apprentice. And there were snakes involved.

Stormdance was really hoping for no predators this time.

They’d been walking in peaceful silence for the past few moments, just enjoying the early morning sunlight and the sounds of the rushing water next to them. It was early enough in the morning that the Greenleaf sun hadn't become too oppressively hot, a fact which Stormdance appreciated, considering his thick fur. There was a light layer of dew on the grass as they walked, which Stormdance occasionally shook off his paws.

“How have you been doing?” He asked softly. Another reason he wanted to spend some time with Poppyshine is to check up on her. Stormdance knew that there were people in Poppyshine’s life that she was closer to to help her with her grief over the death of Rainpaw, but still. She was his friend, and he wanted to at least let her know he was there.

Poppyshine

Poppyshine stayed quiet as she and Stormdance walked the path for the patrol. She hadn’t known what to say to him, and he seemed to be the same for a while. It wasn’t that the territory wasn’t beautiful, or that she was focusing too hard to speak to Stormdance. She just had a lot weighing on her mind as of late. Thoughts of Rainpaw plagued her mind constantly, and Poppyshine was grateful that she did not have another apprentice to attend to at this point in time, because she feared that she would neglect them.

Her head lifted at the sound of Stormdance’s voice. She looked back towards the ground. “I’m alright,” she mewed. It was the easiest thing to say, even if she wasn’t sure if it was true. The guilt and sadness was not as terrible as it was the first week, but it was still painful nonetheless. “I apologize, if I seem down.”

Stormdance

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Stormdance said immediately, looking over at her. He didn’t really believe that she was alright, but he didn’t push. Still, what he did say was, “You don’t have to be happy all the time. A lot has happened recently. You’ve been through a lot, Poppyshine. I can’t imagine how much is on your mind. I don’t mind, I promise.”

He was tempted to lean against her, provide some physical support, but he wasn’t sure if that was alright. He shifted a little closer regardless, his heart aching for his friend. He wished he knew the right way to help her.

Poppyshine

Poppyshine looked to Stormdance with a small smile. He had always been such a sweet cat, and that was true even now. There were few cats that Poppyshine felt she didn’t have to keep up her happy side around, and while Storm was not quite one of them—he was close. She appreciated him all the more for it.

“Thank you, Stormdance,” she mewed as they continued their walk. “I suppose it’s easy to just try to face things with a smile. I’m glad I have cats like you that I can rely on to not have to do that all the time with.”

She slowed by the river and looked into it, staring at her reflection. Her reflection looked tired to her. No wonder Stormdance was worried…Poppyshine looked over at Stormdance and tried to brighten herself up a little more. “How about we do some hunting?” With the amount of cats rotating through the medicine den, she was sure that they would be grateful for some fresh prey.

Stormdance

Stormdance offered Poppyshine a hesitant smile in return, following her gaze to the river. He took a deep breath, trying to refocus his mind on what they came out here for. “Right.” He said, dipping his head to Poppyshine. He’s sure they could both use the distraction, Poppyshine especially. Perhaps it would be nice to just focus on the familiar, comforting motions of hunting, and the equally familiar and comforting presence of the cat beside him.

So he settled down beside Poppyshine, looking down into the water and studying his reflection for a moment before focusing on the shadows moving beneath it. He fell silent, comforted by the sound of rushing water and the feeling of falling into training that Owlshriek ingrained in him. He never had trouble with the sitting and waiting part of fishing. Sometimes it was his favorite part.

It didn’t take very long though before he saw the shadow of a fish coming downstream, and so he shifted into place. As it came underneath him, he swiped his paw down to attempt to hook his claws into it. His claws made contact and he yanked the fish up and out of the water, finishing it with a swift bite. The simple satisfaction reminded him of simpler days, and he lifted his head to grin at Poppyshine.

Stormdance attempted to catch a fish, and succeeded! It cost him -3 SP. He is now at 97/100 SP.

Poppyshine

In contrast to Stormdance, Poppyshine did not relax as they stopped at the river. She had gone there hundreds of times since she became an apprentice, but since her unfortunate tumble into the rushing leafbare water, she had never once felt at ease. It was an embarrassing fact that she did not know how to swim despite being the deputy of RiverClan. It made hunting at the river difficult, even when the fish were plentiful.

Poppyshine shook her head and focused again. After giving a small purr of congratulations to Stormdance for his catch, she looked to the river and readied her own claw. She took a breath and then threw her paw down at the sight of scales. Her form was a bit clumsy, but she managed to hook a claw into a fish of her own. When she dumped it onto the riverbank, it continued to flop and jump until she bit down onto it.

"There we are," she mewed, letting out a small sigh of relief.

Stormdance

Stormdance glanced at Poppyshine as she settled down, noting her tense posture as she looked at the river. Maybe he was imagining it, and he debated saying anything as she completed her hunt. He let out a purr as she finished off her catch. He let them fall into a comfortable silence, focusing on the shadows flitting in the water. He tried to bat out another fish, but missed this time. “Dang.” He mewed under his breath.

He’s quiet for another moment, then glanced at Poppyshine, and finally hesitantly asked, “Are you doing alright? I… hope this isn’t overstepping but you always seem a bit tense when we go near the water.” He was always hesitant with Poppyshine, aware of her status as a deputy, but… Beyond her being his deputy, she was his friend first and foremost. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable and happy. She was one of the best cats he knew, and one of the first friends he ever made. She deserved that much, at least.

Poppyshine

Poppyshine let out a small purr when they caught their fish, and then her attention turned back to Stormdance as he started speaking. Her head tilted and she frowned a little bit, confused. “…oh!” She straightened up again and smiled with a twinge of embarrassment. “Oh it’s nothing, really…Yes, the water makes me a bit nervous.” She looked to the river and a shiver ran down her spine. “When I was an apprentice, during leafbare, I fell into the rushing river. I nearly drowned. If it wasn’t for Perchstar being there, I think I would have died. So since then, I had never felt very comfortable around water, is all.”