Business and usual (closed)

Gone, but she couldn't think about it. If she spared enough time to really think about the disappearance it would break her, and that wasn't something she could allow at the moment. It was absolutely unacceptable. She would have to continue with the act, business as usual then.

Silverwing had no idea how to act around Brackenwing at the moment. She had seen how snappy the she-cat had gotten since her leg injury, but if she dared to take that tone with Silverwing then there would be trouble. Crying trouble, she would probably cry, and that would be a good punishment for Brackenwing being so grouchy. Perhaps, Brackenwing's grouchiness had been caused by a lack of Silverwing in her life, that had to be it. They were two halves of the same animal, it was only natural that Brackenwing would be upset about not being with her other half. It was with this thought in mind that Silverwing found her way next to Brackenwing and that busted leg of hers. Surely the senior warrior could use a little cheering up. "Hey Brackenwing, miss me? I was just over there" raising a paw, Silverwing pointed it toward where she had been sitting a few minutes prior, "and I couldn't help but wonder something. What kind of bird do you think we are? Something pretty, right?"

Brackenwing had reluctantly done what she'd promised Batsong she would, and was staying put now that the clan wasn't fleeing twolegs, for the moment. She wasn't thrilled about any of this, which she was sure was obvious to anyone who passed by. The rocky landscape was unfamiliar, almost imposing in a way, and Brackenwing didn't trust it. Shadowclan had fled with them, and Nightstar was not among the other clan's numbers. Brackenwing didn't trust that, either. The one saving grace of this unfamiliar mountainside was that it was marginally more subdued than fourtrees had been. There were less cats, less chatter. Hopefully that also meant less twolegs.

The marbled tabby lifted her head as Silverwing approached, feeling (and already hating) the uncharacteristic flash of irritation. Was this what it meant to be forced to sit in one spot and not do anything while injured? Had she been like this before too? She... Couldn't remember, probably because that time she'd been concussed.

"I don't know." She lifted one shoulder in a shrug at Silverwing's question. At the moment, she lacked the creativity to come up with an answer. "Not like I'm capable of flying at the moment. Or leaving my nest." She added dryly.

Brackenwing was already setting her up, how lovely. Silverwing could already feel any lingering feelings drain away as she gave the other warrior a sufficiently sweet smile. "Of course you can't, silly. Have you ever seen a bird fly with only one wing?" Impossible! Brackenwing was clearly missing her best friend, this had to be her way of saying "I'm lost without you" without having to say it! "You don't need to leave your nest, I'll always come for you if you call me." A thought came to mind, and in typcial Silverwing fashion it was put into action. The silver she-cat curled up next to Brackenwing, snuggling deeper into the older warrior's pelt while trying her best to not get too close to that leg. "You've got a busted wing, but it just needs time to heal. I'll be here for you until it does, and after that too. So I guess I can also do the thinking for us too." With that, her mind went to work. "I don't think a crow, those things just look nasty. It has to be something cool like you, or pretty, maybe a dove? Nah, that doesn't sound right. What do you think about a robin?" Robins were kind of cool looking, though she never really got to see many of them.

"Mhmm," Brackenwing agreed idly as Silverwing curled up next to her. Brackenwing shifted over a little to give the other warrior space as much as she did to help keep the ungainly 'broken wing' out of the way.

"Doves are rather plain, though." She responded. She was sitting around debating what bird they would be. Only Silverwing could manage to get her caught up in this. "A robin... Hmm, maybe. Or something stronger but still... I don't know. Eagle, maybe? Or some type of hawk?"

A soft gasp escaped Silverwing as Brackenwing joined in, offering her own thoughts on the matter. "A hawk! Those things look pretty cool!" Lowering her voice, Silverwing mewed conspiratorially to her friend, "Between you and me, I think they're kind of pretty too. I'd love to snag a couple of feathers from one." Ah shoot, don't say that! Her surprise had almost been spoiled before she could reveal it! She had to talk about something else from this point on, or risk accidentally revealing more of what she had planned. "I love that idea Brackenwing, but I guess we shouldn't really be wondering about something like that at a time like this, huh?" Er, what was she supposed to say now? Silverwing didn't want to talk about sad things, though it was becoming clear that she hadn't asked the simplest question of all. "How are you feeling?" Simple yet effective, she was sure! Hopefully this would get Brackenwing talking!

"They do," She nodded, "But I suppose not, you're right. There's plenty enough to focus on." There was a slight wistfulness to her tone, though. Some nest lining beyond this subpar, scratchy moss would be nice. Especially with the harsh winds and stony ground beneath them.

"Could be better, could be worse, I suppose. Counting the days until I can get this thing-" She glared down at the contraption Batsong and Birchpaw had fixed around her leg - a splint? She hadn't paid much attention to what it was called - "off of me. How's the hunting been out here? And you have two apprentices now? You must be busy."

Silverwing hummed softly to herself as Brackenwing spoke, trying to keep the leg problem off of her mind while the other cat addressed it. Brackenwing was fine, she would heal quickly and be better in no time Silverwing was sure, but... Why had it taken this long? More importantly, why didn't it look better? No no this wasn't something she should think about, something else something more- right, they were talking about things, she could do that! "What'd you say? Oh, yeah I do! I don't understand how though, considering Smallbean still..." Hates me, doesn't want to be around me, I know I can think of a couple more of these. "Is Smallbean, but it's fun! I really love having Russetpaw as an apprentice, and Fuzzpaw is... You've met him right? He's a bit lazy, but I think I can handle him, just need to put a little more effort into him though. The only thing I don't like about apprentices is that it takes away from us time, wouldn't you agree?" Silverwing wiggled slightly beside the she-cat, offering a quick wink as she did.

"Oh come on, Smallbean's not that bad." Brackenwing mewed, "Though I've... heard about Fuzzpaw. He does sound like more of a punishment than anything. I heard something about getting into trouble with Nightstar as a kit?" She scoffed, "I hope he's grown out of that but it doesn't sound like it." It seemed like her clanmates were just destined to annoy the Shadowclan leader.

"Russetpaw seemed... Nice, and awkward." And jealous, but that was Russetpaw's problem. "They'll be warriors soon enough, they have you for a mentor, after all." She added.

Silverwing couldn't help but giggle slightly at the mention of Fuzzpaw's encounter with Nightstar. "From what I heard, Nightstar kicked him across the clearing. It's not something I should be laughing about, but c'mon you've seen Fuzzpaw, he's pretty... Um, hard to lift." Silverwing really didn't want to be insulting her own apprentice, she hoped that what she said wasn't too mean, not that he was here to hear it though. "And it's not that Smallbean's bad, or maybe he is? It's hard to tell anymore, I just know that when I try to talk to him things don't turn out well." For now she would omit the point that he had made her cry, that wasn't something she needed to tell Brackenwing right now, or ever really.

"Awkward? Russetpaw?" The concept of that was just so wrong to her. Russetpaw wasn't awkward, she was an energetic cat, far from awkward in Silverwing's experience. "Maybe she has a bit of a crush on you? I don't think she's ever been awkward in her life." That had to be it, but if Russetpaw thought she was going to steal Brackenwing away then she would need new plans. Brackenwing only belonged to one cat, and that cat was Silverwing.

"A-Ah?" Silverwing's smile was almost too much for her face to handle at this point. That compliment... It made her feel warm and fuzzy, or maybe it was Brackenwing's pelt beside hers, she wasn't quite sure but also didn't really care at the moment. "I-I'm not really- I mean I had help from Blazefang, but Russetpaw is just really talented and, uh..." Yeah, that was that.

Silverwing let herself melt into the other she-cat's warmth. This felt nice, too nice, that gave her an idea... "Hey! I just had a great idea, wanna hear it?"

"You're joking, right?" Brackenwing's eyes widened in disbelief. Coyotegrin had left that out, perhaps conveniently so. "I've... seen him around the fresh-kill pile. He's... Hard to miss." Well, that hadn't... Come out the way she'd meant it to. Hopefully Silverwing didn't take offense to it being her apprentice.

"I don't think I'm the one she has a crush on." Silverwing's response surprised a short laugh out of the marbled tabby. Silverwing was grinning from ear to ear practically as she spoke of her apprentice.

"Alright, what is it?" She asked, green eyes narrowing as she gazed at her friend. There was nothing suspicious to Silverwing's shift in tone... Not at all. Right?

"No, she wouldn't have a crush on you would she? Much too old." Silverwing wrinkled her nose in mock disgust at that last part. "You're practically an elder already!" Brackenwing was right though, if Russetpaw had a crush on anyone it would have to be Sleepypaw. With all the time she spent around Sleepypaw it only made sense that the two were close, but she hadn't assumed that they were this close! Sleepypaw doesn't even know, how cute!

"As perfect as I can be, I was born without a long, fluffy, warm pelt, and it's been getting pretty cold around here lately." Surely Brackenwing knew where this was going. "I was just thinking, you need the company, I need to stay warm, maybe until it starts to warm up around here we could push our nests together?" Wow, that does not sound good! "Just until you find someone more meaningful to sleep with, I mean. Someone more special, if you know what I mean? Just to stay warm!" Silverwing had played this conversation out in her head multiple times since the weather had started to turn, and every time she did it always went smoothly. What had went wrong this time? Stars, PLEASE let Brackenwing understand what I'm trying to say!

"I'm not old." Brackenwing scoffed, "Batsong is old, Smallbean and Shrikestar are old. Not me." She added, only mildly indignant at the suggestion. Batsong would probably confine her to her nest even longer if she'd heard that... Good thing Batsong wasn't here right now.

"Must be nice to have longer fur living in this stars-forsaken place." She referred to the wind and cold, of course, though her little shelter provided some relief from the elements at least. Not much, but it was better than nothing. "Oh, fine." Brackenwing shrugged, Silverwing's meaning completely going over her head. Her usual nest would've been among those of the other warriors, but this makeshift medicine den was cold and the only other cats around were Batsong and Birchpaw. Brackenwing liked her adoptive sister when she wasn't fussing over her. She'd almost found herself missing normal company though, and if Silver wanted to sleep in here among the cloying scent of herbs, at least Brackenwing wouldn't be the only one suffering. The medicine cats must've been completely scent-blind by now.