getting back into things [very open]

[Sunfish]

I walked out of the warriors den for the first time in a moon. I'd been healing from that dog attack, I'd ended up getting an infection and it had drained me of all my energy. I finally felt a little better but my walk had a bit of a limp in it because my shoulder and my leg were incredibly sore and to be honest felt a little numb. I heaved a small sigh, letting myself fall comfortably in a spot in the middle of camp. My amber eyes wandered the clearing. It'd been a while since I'd interacted with my Clan, and for that, I felt a bit bad.

Then I recalled that I was never much of a socialite to begin with. The few friends I'd managed to gain was a shock even among myself. I was a bit of a tough nut to crack. I wasn't entirely sure if my travels as a loner had adapted me into that lifestyle, but I'm sure it played even a minor role.

[Snowkit]

Snowkit observed their grey-furred deputy with narrowed bright blue eyes. The snow white tom was sitting silently near the leader's den, as close as he dared. His breaths were even and measured, calm as it misted in front of him in the chill. One of his ears flicked as he observed the deputy's limp with a serene expression. His previously narrowed eyes relaxed into their naturally sharp shape.

Flicking out his tongue briefly, Snowkit wondered if he should approach the deputy or not. Nawww, he thought as he cocked his head slightly. One of his front legs gave a twitch as if he was going to get up, but he decided against it. He probably wouldn't want to talk to me anyways.

[Sunfish]

My gaze wandered the camp and eventually I looked over by the leader's den. My gaze was slightly filled with a bit of regret for a second. I really did feel bad not talking to Robinstar for the last few moons. I definitely missed my friend's company. Truthfully the last few months had been a bit empty with my recovery but maybe I was being a little to solitary, like usual. I had a bad habit of doing that ever so often. Not that I tried to purposefully push others away but I often let myself distance without realizing it.

I noticed a kitten by the leaders den. I cocked my head and thoughtlessly got up, flinching only a little, but enough to make it evident I'd gotten up a little too quickly. I was just curious as to what the kitten was doing near the den. Was he trying to cause a bit of trouble or prank the leader like a lot of kits seemed to do? I wandered over, forgetting my thoughts and flicking my tail in greeting. "Hey, kid." I nodded slightly. "Causing trouble?" I inquired sarcastically with a small smile.

[Snowkit]

No, he wouldn't want to come over here... But what if he did? What if he- Snowkit was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a voice inquire sarcastically, "Causing trouble?" His bright blue eyes widened in complete surprise when he saw the deputy wandered over. The snow white tomcat trembled slightly before the might of the deputy, and his eyes lowered to the ground.

"No, sir." Snowkit's gentle, quiet voice replied a little shakily. "J-just, ah, admiring the camp, sir." He would never admit it, but authority figures, like warriors and above, intimidated the young kit mightily. With the deputy nearby, the intimidation was set one hundred precent.

[Sunfish]

"Sir?" I laughed slightly to myself. It'd been a while since I'd been addressed so formally. "You can call me Sunfish." I sat down, yawning as the fatigue set in as usual. "Formalities are a bore." My deadpan expression made that obvious. I wasn't anything special before I'd become deputy, and I honestly hadn't seen much of a change when getting the title. I'd grown up in the slums of the twoleg place. Back there I was nothing but a no good stray, I didn't see myself as any better just because I'd received a different status.

"Camp is nice and all, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the territory more once you're big enough to visit." My mentor, my mother, had been a bit fickle with me. My reaction to the outside wasn't really much. I wasn't as excited or astonished like the other apprentices had been. Maybe it was because I'd been a lot older than them, or because I'd already been exposed to places like that before and at an early age.

[Snowkit]

Snowkit observed the deputy warily, instinctively shuffling his body away as the ginger tabby sat down next to him. "Oh, um. Okay.. Sunfish." the white tomkit mewed uncertainly. "I'm, uh, Snowkit." Carefully, Snowkit observed the deputy's deadpan expression, which made him blush awkwardly. Ducking his head uncertainly, he warily observed the sky as he thought, What if a flying fish lands in on this moment?! Oh wait- Is there such thing as a flying fish? The tomkit's now remarkably blank expression changed as he glanced down at his paws. He had barely paid attention to the deputies last sentence.

"Hm." The white kit's tail whisked across his paws, and he glanced up at the deputy with wide blue eyes. "What's being deputy like?" Snowkit inquired after a bit, eyes still slightly downcast and the intimidation leaking back a bit. "Is it hard, at all? You've got to be pretty close to the leader to be deputy.."

[Sunfish]

When he used my name I gave a small smile. "There we go." He introduced himself and I gave a nod in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Snowkit." It made sense as to why he was named that, considering he was white. I noticed the wide eyed tom look up at me and he soon asked me a question I'd surprisingly received a few times. You could imagine how people were usually quite curious about this type of thing.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Being deputy is like being a warrior except with a little bit more authority, and I do ceremonies when Robinstar isn't able to. But for the most part the only job I really have is making patrols and then the same duties the warriors have. I was a senior warrior before I became deputy so I was already accustom to warrior duties." Other cats often had made fun of my age of becoming deputized. "It's responsibility, but I wouldn't exactly say it's difficult. Robinstar and I share the load."

I looked over at the leader's den quickly then returned my gaze back. "Robinstar and I were friends long before he was made deputy. We've been best friends for a very long time."

[Snowkit]

Snowkit's natural curiosity kicked in, and he listened intently as Sunfish explained that it was like being a warrior, only with more authority. He blinked slowly, and Snowkit's tail flicked upwards once as he listened a little more. "It still sounds like a lot of responsibility though." Snowkit murmured, thinking his reply through. His gentle voice was cautious as he moved forward in the topic. "I think I'd like being a warrior more, rather than be deputy."

He yawned, showing sharp kitten teeth. "If you and Robinstar are best friends, where is he now?" he asked innocently. "I mean, wouldn't best friends be together, a lot?" Snowkit tilted his head curiously.

[Sunfish]

I laughed quietly to myself. "That's a good outlook. A lot of cats aspire to be leader or deputy, without really understanding what it actually entails." I was never one of those types of kittens personally, but I guess it was good to have big aspirations. "Being a warrior is great and just as an important role as all others." I was slightly caught off guard when Snowkit asked me where Robinstar was. I flicked an ear awkwardly and glanced over my shoulder to the leader's den then back at the kit.

His next question stung me a little. That was true, maybe in another time. Robinstar and I had always spent a lot of time together when we were younger. The two of us were practically inseparable when I thought of it. While we weren't anything like childhood friends, more so we met when I was maybe an apprentice or warrior, somewhere around there; we still shaped a pretty tight friendship. The thing was while we spent a lot of time indulging in buffoonery ages ago, that wasn't the case anymore. Robinfrost had become leader and with a whole Clan under his command, he was a pretty busy cat. I had my duties too but they weren't comparable in my eye to his. Maybe I just used excuses as to why I never saw him. But the purely innocent idiocy and fun we participated in long ago was not forgotten but we just didn't do that anymore.

"I couldn't say, he's maybe out patrolling." I shrugged my shoulders. "He's a busy guy.. so it's hard to keep track." I admitted, though some of that might have been a lie. I wasn't really sure why I didn't know. "Maybe in the past we hung out a lot, but he's leader, right? He doesn't have as much time for the little things like he used to." Now I felt like I was just blaming him.

[Snowkit]

Snowkit's left ear twitched slightly, and he flushed slightly at the deputy's words. When Sunfish looked over his shoulder and back at him pointedly, Snowkit realized he must've asked a stupid question. For a moment, Sunfish looked a little stung, a little hurt at his next question. Embarrassedly, Snowkit ducked his head and waited for Sunfish to land a scathing blow, or remark. When Snowkit glanced back up, Sunfish was a little zoned out for a moment before he came back to clarity.

Snowkit frowned at Sunfish's next statement. The leader couldn't be busy all the time couldn't he? He had to squeeze in some fun at least! This was his inner optimism acting up. "Well," Snowkit said slowly. "Robinstar's duties require for him to take breaks every now and then, but at night he might relax.." Snowkit turned wide, questioning eyes towards Sunfish. "He might be really busy during the day or something." Snowkit really looked at Sunfish this time, bright blue piercing into amber. "You're holding back." he accused softly. "It sounds like you've been trying to avoid him or something."