SHE'S A PAINKILLER [ ✶ ] EVENINGPAW

[Graypaw]

Cloudpaw's gift had been the inspiration he had needed. In order to show Eveningpaw he was sorry - well and truly - he needed to do something. Not just say it, but act upon it. So later that day, before Eveningpaw came home from training, he had gotten to work. He had stood in the shallows of the river (the very same where he is certain they would be playing in now, if only she were here) and despite the glare of the sun bouncing off that mirrored surface he had scoured the bank until he had found what he had been looking for. His gray paws upending stones and his pale green eyes squinted, water lapping at his belly. The moment he had set his sights on his prize he had let out a small gasp of excitement, a squeal almost escaping from his lips right before he plunges his face into the river in order to retrieve the thing he had been looking for this entire time.

In his jaws, he holds a river clam, polished from moons of being thrown around by the river only to end up on the banks of RiverClan. It had been stripped away of that hard brown shell and in it's place was white, bright and iridescent like moon shine, it glimmered rainbows when tilted just right in the sun and it reminded him of her.

With his catch clutched between his teeth he makes his way over to where she is, praying to StarClan he is not interrupting something important as he lays the clam at her paws. "I found this, for you. I was thinking maybe you could put it in your new nest..." he says, his voice dripping with the words he wants so desperately to say aloud but cannot yet bring himself to. Im sorry

// @EVENINGPAW

( ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ) I can feel you leaving

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  GRAYKIT RIVERCLAN KITTEN ; HE / HIM
  LILYBLOOM X LAKEMOON BROTHER TO SNOWKIT
  

  A plush coated kitten with a pelt marbled in varying shades of gray and white. He has dull green eyes and a tall stature. Most of his personality can be described as carefree though some also say that unmotivated is a more than apt term. His trust and love is easily won through praise but he will do little work to receive it.

  ✶ easy in battle + no formal training
  

 

[EVENINGPAW]

It is anyone's guess whether the swiftly-rising tension from the last few weeks between Graykit and Eveningpaw will ever be talked about in length. As far as she's concerned, it is entirely one-sided; Graykit had given her no reason to be mad at him, and even if he did, she doubts she would ever manage to unleash the true ferocity of her anger at such a dear friend. He's been awfully distant for reasons she does understand... but ever since Cloudpaw's help, it seems something has slowly started to mend.

Her heart certainly follows suit whenever she sees Graykit — or rather, when she specifically sees him approach without that vacant and vaguely bitter stare. It had been hard to miss his antics over at the riverbank, but Eveningpaw is spared from making the decision of whether she should talk to him.

"Hi, Gray!" Eveningpaw greets with usual mirth, but an unusual pitch to her voice. It rises just a tad bit higher than she intends it to... but that's okay. Graykit never seems to mind it when she's loud. "Oh-"

There is something caught between rows of his teeth. Its reveal leaves her gasping, the light catching it just right for the surface of it to glimmer. Iridescence is ever-distracting; her eyes are drawn to shiny things like fish to water, and she swears the little shell is reflected within her eyes with how close she hovers over it. The meaning behind Graykit's words is entirely lost on her; partially because of his gift taking all her hard-earned focus, but mainly because there is nothing to apologize for.

Her head snaps back up to look at him, quick enough to almost slam the top of it into his chin. "Oh, this is... SO pretty! Thank you so much! I'll definitely put it there! And then I should find you something cool in return... not that I wouldn't have gifted you something before you gifted me, but, um-"

Eveningpaw's ramble cuts off then — the sudden heat under her fur is probably not just because of greenleaf's effects. Something akin to self-consciousness seeps in with it... has that ever really happened to her before? Explaining herself so thoroughly and with the grace of a bumblebee seldom tugs at her heartstrings, but Graykit's presence has apparently commanded it. "Y'know what I mean." You always do. Right?
​

 

[Graypaw]

It is a breath of fresh air, her voice. Loud and high-pitched but that's okay too. It was something he had always liked about her- how full of life she was, how full of life she made him feel whenever he's around her, how she could light any den with just her presence. It's what he missed the most about her being in the nursery with him. No. He wouldn't think about that now, because if he sat and he thought about how many days still separated him from apprentice-hood his thoughts would spiral from there, twist into something ugly and unlike the cat he was trying so hard to be.

A smile alights his features to see the joy in her sunset eyes. If he had known something so simple could make her so happy, he would've fished every shell and clam from the river to present to her by now. Something tells him, though, that then it wouldn't be as special. "I know what you mean" he says gently, whiskers twitching. "Maybe when I become an apprentice too, you can help me decorate my nest" he suggests. It would be strange, to have a nest all to his own, one that he didn't have to share with anyone and one that was entirely his. He had never had anything that just belonged to him before but he likes the idea of it, and he likes the idea of Eveningpaw helping to make it more special. Perhaps Snowpaw, too, could help. He always had an eye for such things it seemed, much more than Graykit ever did.

"Is it okay if I lay here with you?" he asks, feeling awkward though he's uncertain as to why. If everything was good between them then there shouldn't be any reason to not right? If she permitted it he would flop over gratefully across from her "We'll always be friends right?" his voice is quieter, more hushed as he poses the question. Pale green eyes shining with the desperation that makes his heart twist in his chest "No matter what?" His blood, his kin, was a certainty, he knew he would always have them by his side. But his friends? That was more uncertain, and it is this that scares him the most.

( ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ ) I can feel you leaving

• 
  
  
• 
  GRAYKIT RIVERCLAN KITTEN ; HE / HIM
  LILYBLOOM X LAKEMOON BROTHER TO SNOWKIT
  

  A plush coated kitten with a pelt marbled in varying shades of gray and white. He has dull green eyes and a tall stature. Most of his personality can be described as carefree though some also say that unmotivated is a more than apt term. His trust and love is easily won through praise but he will do little work to receive it.

  ✶ easy in battle + no formal training
  

 

[EVENINGPAW]

Graykit knows what she means, and oh — there is no greater joy than seeing her friend return to her. Even amidst all the joy she gets from being an apprentice now, most of that was overshadowed one way or another; the realization that his ears are not there to listen to her adventures at the end of the day, the cold fact that they do not share a den anymore.

Anymore- but soon, they would be together again. It's only a matter of time.

"Of course! I think I already have a plan for your nest... but it's a secret," she promises. It is not a lie, but Eveningpaw does not admit that she's been afraid her advances would not be welcomed in the future. She's imagined Graykit becoming Graypaw, those muted green eyes never sparing her another friendly glance again. And yet... Eveningpaw still thought of days where they would train and hone their skills together; it seems not giving up has rewarded her today.

Eveningpaw wants nothing more than to snort at Graykit's question — it should not be a question in the first place —, and she even thinks of jokingly asking her new clam if it agrees... but that sort of tease feels like it is too soon. The last thing she wants is to scare Graykit away again.

And it is a good thing she's kept that joke to herself. Eveningpaw starts to lower herself, limbs soon spreading out from underneath her belly to form a star-like shape, but then-

We'll always be friends, right?

Once again, the answer should be obvious. There is insecurity within Graykit's voice, something Eveningpaw has heard before... but never with her. Perhaps during their first interactions, when he hadn't been sure if she would be welcoming to his presence.

Eveningpaw, ever-animated, jumps back onto her feet. Her tail stands on end like she's just spotted danger on their territory — she is painfully present now, ready to deal with this in the correct way. "Friends are for EVER! I wanna do everything with you again. Like playing, or saving you from worms, or, or-" She stops to take a big inhale. "I want to stay friends. Even if we disagree or argue, or whatever..."

Her onslaught comes to a halt then, and this time, it's not because of a lack of air. Eveningpaw's voice drops to a whisper... like she's scared of the answer Graykit might give her. "Did I make you feel like I don't want to be friends anymore?"
​