by your side. [C]

Rookpaw

Rookpaw sighed quietly into the wind that tugged gently at their fur. They walked with Larkpaw alongside the river, gazing out over the water at the opposite forest. They were meant to be checking and marking the borders, but the two had wandered farther ahead of their patrol, and without a warrior to chide them for it, Rookpaw was content just to walk with their brother. It had been a while since they had just had a moment of quiet, anyway. Though they were sure to spend as much time with Larkpaw as they could, training and Sunpaw often took up large parts of their day as well.

Sunpaw had not been a matter of their schedule lately, though. Rookpaw’s eyes narrowed over the thought, but they forced it to the back of their mind. They were with Lark. Dismay nagged, but they boxed it to a corner to brood over later.

And besides… they had been meaning to properly talk to Lark. Apprenticeship had not been especially kind to him so far. Rowansong was a terrible mentor, and Perchstar herself apparently hated him (which Rookpaw thought strange, as she’d been kind to them, but they listened regardless), and seemingly no one in the Clan liked him at all. They wanted to help more, though they were not much better at being friendly, and could not give him any practical help or advice. They were at least good at listening. Shifting closer to nudge Larkpaw’s shoulder, Rookpaw murmured, “How has today been, Lark?”

Larkpaw

Larkpaw was, for once, in a great mood. He usually was when it came to spending time with their sibling, which is a luxury that was becoming more and more rare with how much of Rookpaw’s time was taken up by training or by other cats. Larkpaw never had that problem, since so few cats ever wanted to be in his vicinity. And that was…fine. It was fine. He didn’t like them either. But it did make for a very boring time in camp. He didn’t have the freedom to wander out into the territory like a warrior, and so his time with Rookpaw was where his happiness lay. He knew his brother was happy about it too. This was the most time they had spent with one another in days!

…and yet, Larkpaw could not help but notice how Rookpaw seemed to be distracted. Larkpaw tried not to let it bother him, instead wanting to focus on the positives of time spent with his sibling. Larkpaw offered Rookpaw one of his rare smiles and replied, “Today has been alright. Better now, spending time with you. You’re always far too busy. Our leader works you ragged.” He shook his head in slight dismay and then lifted his head again. “You’ll just be better prepared for being a warrior, though. You’ll be a great one.”

His eyes glanced back towards his sibling and after a beat he added, “What has been bothering you?”

RiverClan • Apprentice • He/Him • 20 | 60 • #787878

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