people are strange [C]

Fishpaw let out a quiet breath as the crowd finally settled down around him. Several cats had come to congratulate him while others had sneered from the crowd. He liked the congratulations--loved it, actually, as he preened under the attention--but it did get tiring. Now that everyone had dispersed, though… Quillsplash had told him to settle in for the night. One of the other young cats had volunteered to help him set up his nest. Juniperpaw…? Fish had only caught her name in passing, but he was sure he was right about it. He looked around and saw her dark pelt still nearby, so he sidled up to her.

”Heya!” Fish said cheerily, tail waving high in greeting. ”You’re Juniperpaw, right? You said you’d help me set up my nest.” He flashed a toothy grin and tipped his head to the side. ”So… let’s start.”

Fishpaw thought his… denmate, he supposed? was skittish, but she lit up pretty quickly when he approached. Well--her first words were lowered, until he pressed about the nest, at least. It was nice to see her smile get a little wider, watch her eyes light up. Fishpaw always felt proud of himself when he got someone to smile. All Juniperpaw’s eager questions made his head spin a little, though. ”I… don’t know,” Fishpaw answered with a sheepish chuckle. ”We didn’t really spend a lot of time actually, y’know… building nests back home. I mean, we had nests, but...” He shrugged. ”It wasn’t really a project.”

Fishpaw nodded for Juniperpaw to lead the way and followed after her toward the moss. ”You sound like the expert around here, so what do you recommend?” Fishpaw tipped his head toward her. With another round of giggles, he said, ”I just want to have the best, most comfortable nest in the Clan. Think you can make that happen?”

It was nice to see the way Juniperpaw swelled up from his request. She had seemed shy and skittish, the few times Fishpaw had glanced her before he was officially named. Even when she approached him at his ceremony, she’d been nervous. But this gave her a thrill, and it felt good to bring that out in someone. He was happy to follow her to the half-hidden stump. Beneath the ferns that sheltered it, she pulled out all sorts of things: materials that could be used for bedding or any number of things, strange interlocking rings of flowers, various trinkets. Fishpaw blinked curiously at the display. He almost wasn’t sure what to make of it. It was a surprise to him, he came to eventually, that she had the time for this at all. So much of his life until now had been merely survival, which was a sport he was rather poor at. But Clan cats had a luxury he did not. Time not to worry about their next meal or the safety of their nest. Fishpaw was stunned by it.

He blinked slowly at her request and came back to himself. He glanced around as if he’d been momentarily lost, noting the gloss on the dark feathers Juniperpaw held, the bracken now piled at his paws, and everything that had stunned him being put carefully away. ”Oh, uh--yeah. Of course.” He said. His eyes lingered on the stump a little longer, even after the ferns settled over it again, before he leaned down to gather the lengths of bracken between his teeth. Around his mouthful, he said, ”Hey, what do you do with all that? It’s not all for nest-making. What was with those… rings of flowers, and everything? They looked… nice.” He wanted to understand this kind of luxury that she held over him, wanted to experience it for himself. Hopefully he would get a taste of it through the nest they were set to make.

Flower crowns and bracelets… these were words Fishpaw had never heard before. His ears swiveled forward at the sound of them. What was the point of them--just to look nice? He didn’t understand. But he wanted to, and the little wreaths seemed nice, anyway, so what was the harm in them? Fishpaw’s resting smile got a little toothier. ”I don’t think most warriors are very approving of me, anyway,” he quipped back with a small, amused trill. ”I’d keep it, if you made something for me. I’ve never gotten a gift like that before. I think it’s nice. Maybe,” he squinted warmly, ”I’ll stay up late with you one night and learn how to do it myself. I like being awake during the day more, anyway.”