a check-up (closed)

Kitespring was nervous, nervous, nervous. Well, that wasn't that unusual for her; in times of crisis, it made sense that she'd be a little nervous. But this time, it was oh so slightly different. Instead of her brain worrying about herself, about how she could help, it was nervously worrying about the cat she had fallen in love with since she was an apprentice; RiverClan's deputy, Poppyshine.

Poppyshine was always the sunshine of the clan. The calico she-cat wore her heart on her pelt and cared about everyone, from her kits to the warriors that nobody else knew. So when cats inevitably got hurt, it was always Poppyshine who was tormented the most. And with Perchstar's disappearance quickly followed by the death of two of her kits, Kitespring was sure that her incredible resilience to said tragedies would eventually crack as she was inflicted with more and more pain. Everyone has a breaking point.

She just hoped that Poppyshine hadn't gotten there yet.

"Um... Poppyshine?" Kitespring squeaked, popping her head in the leader's den. "Can I... talk to you privately?" She wanted to ask Poppyshine if she was okay, but she realized that Poppyshine was acting leader and that it wouldn't be good if she questioned Poppyshine's emotional state outside. She also worried that Poppyshine would be stressed out about this, thinking it was a favor that Kitespring needed.

Kitespring didn't know what words she could come up with to help Poppyshine. She knew the pain, but she didn't know how to articulate her knowledge to help say... comforting things she could say to her. But since it was Poppyshine, a cat who always had her back when she was at her lowest, she could at least try. Maybe, she hoped, that was all she needed to do. Stepping into the leader's den, the russet she-cat sat gingerly on her haunches. "I'm... worried," she started. "Because of the stuff that happened recently. It... if I were in your situation, it would have crushed me, so... I wanted to ask if you're... okay." She hoped that her question wouldn't hurt Poppyshine, or make her too uncomfortable.

As Poppyshine's face changed, Kitespring couldn't help but feel more guilty about approaching her. She knew that look all too well, the look of guilt from her feeling like she was weighing a friend down. She had felt the same only a few moons ago. And the last thing she wanted was for Poppyshine to feel guilty about this. "You don't have to apologize, Poppyshine," she hushed, before letting the RiverClan deputy vent about everything. The unexpectedness of it all... Kitespring could understand that fully. It was easy to take the cats you care about, the cats who were there every day in your life, for granted.

After Poppyshine started breaking down into tears, Kitespring lightly rested her tail on hers. Hopefully, the physical comfort would comfort her in this desperate emotional state. After the RiverClan deputy thanked her for checking up on her, Kitespring nodded."Of course," she said, trying to make Poppyshine feel more comfortable. "If... if you need anything, Poppyshine, anything at all..." She didn't know how to finish that sentence. The right words just weren't coming into her brain. StarClan, why now? "Even... even if it's something little, like grabbing a piece of fresh-kill or needing someone to cry on... just... let me know and I can... come over. If you want to spend time alone to heal, that's fine as well... I just wanted to offer you my shoulder." Perhaps it shouldn't have been her. One of her kits should be the one to offer this. They were closer to Poppyshine than she was. At the same time, she cared too much to not say this, and Poppyshine could always decline if she wished to.

Kitespring smiled softly when Poppyshine started to lean on her. Selfishly, she liked it a lot, though she tried pushing those thoughts away as she tried focusing on how Poppyshine was feeling. Obviously, she felt comfortable leaning on her, which was always a good thing, especially during the times when everything seemed to be crumbling for her. And Poppyshine seemed to be grateful for Kitespring taking the time to talk with her.

Right now, she didn't have that much to say. Perhaps that was a good thing, though. Right now, her goal was to listen and to be here for Poppyshine, which meant that this wasn't the time to speak anyways. At least, until Poppyshine asked her if she could stay here for a while, and the words started to flow out of her mouth. "Yeah," she mewed, smiling at RiverClan's deputy. "I'll stay with you for as long as you need."