community garden ⚘ comforting

[Dandelionwish]

"Yer gonna have to eat somethin' eventually, sunshine." The term of endearment slipped out despite his better judgement but he didn't stammer or take it back, instead offering a gentle smile as he set the sparrow down in front of the calico's paws. He'd been trying not to come across overbearing on her return, had been watching quietly and continuing his duties; checking in on the new shelter cats and those who had been taken. Most of theirs were slowly adjusting back, but some were struggling. He had tried to say hello to Snowpaw the other day and the blue tabby stared at him as if not seeing him; hadn't said a word back in reply so he left it but Snowpaw had always been somewhat morose and silent, seeing Butterflytuft so despondent was the most jarring.
Dandelionwish settled down next to her, carefully avoiding touching and giving her space while being present; his paws tucking under him as he adjusted in place to get comfortable. At first he said nothing, how do you comfort someone struggling to process their grief, who just lost someone so important to them. He remembered the emptiness he felt when Rosepaw had died but he had not known Rosepaw his entire life like you would know a mother, he can only imagine how much more vast that empty feeling was now.
"Ye feelin' alright that aside...? Greeneyes fixed up yer nest fer ya real nice." He remembers cleaning the dens in despair, wondering if it was worth the effort to change the bedding or be rid of them entirely; he was glad he had clung to that bit of hope. It's all he did really. Cling to hope. It's all he could do anymore.

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[Ooc]
- @butterflytuft
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[butterflytuft]

Butterflytuft remains near the nursery, all four paws tucked beneath her small body. She is nothing more than a ball of fur, tail wrapped tightly around herself and ears pressed flat to her head. It's been hard to move past this grief. It's an empty feeling; she has never known life in this clan without Daisyflight. How is she expected to go on as if everything is normal?

The sparrow dropped in front of her is accompanied by sweet words, and it's enough to draw her from her despair enough to meet her friend's mismatched eyes. The tortoiseshell offers him a small, apologetic smile. "Thanks, Dandelionwish..." She mews quietly, feeling ashamed that he even has to feed her. "Um...you don't have to stay here. I don't want you to feel like you have to." But he's settling down next to her, and she'd be lying if she said the his presence isn't comforting. She looks back at the sparrow, averting her eyes from him in embarrassment. "Thanks," She murmurs again, this time more for him staying than for the food.

"I'm...well, I'm doing my best," She admits honestly, heaving a quiet sigh. "My nest...yeah, it feels good to be back in the warrior's den, it's just..." How does she say she feels lonely without her mother sleeping there right next to her? That spot that Daisyflight once slept in is now taken by another warrior. She can't be upset; the den can only house so many cats, but the change hurts her. She doesn't like change at all.​

 

[Dandelionwish]

"But I want to." He said simply, pleasantly, and he did. He enjoyed Butterflytuft's company, a friendly cat in a clan of generally pleasant folk. He'd long since stopped feeling like an outsider mostly in part to her and also the unfortunate event of Mallowlark joining and taking all of the ire that otherwise was placed on him. Cats had tolerated him, but his black-footed friend had much more to deal with than just being an ex-WindClanner; he'd also outed Dawnglare as one who felt himself above the code that Blazestar had bled and wept for and Dandelionwish could no longer give his oddities the benefit of the doubt. But he didn't want to think about those things, he wanted to think about softer things, lighter things, things that would help the dreary air of grief clear enough that his calico friend could return to a sense of normalcy.
She trails off as she speaks of her nest, but he doesn't pressure her to continue. He knows what went unsaid. The emptiness was upsetting, lonely. He remembers his first few days in the medicine cat den alone after Honeytwist's exile and he thinks of how much more that would've hurt if he'd known her since he was a kit. Her selfishness had taken some of the sting out of the hurt, but the feeling of loss was similar enough.
He tries to think of how to help other than just the presence of another, the comfort of words and he cheerfully raises a paw to gesture out around them.
"What do ye want most in the world? Yer alive and yer ma would want ye to enjoy it to the fullest...ye have so much potential. Ye can strive to become a cat that guides others..." A lead warrior perhaps, maybe one day deputy-he found Blazestar respectful and the kind of tom he wanted to aspire to be; despite being weighted down by his own sorrows he leads on ever steadfast, "...ye can also just settle for being happy and content." Sometimes power wasn't interesting to some cats and that he understood well. The weight of responsibility was often scary in its own way.
"...what would make ye happiest?" There is a tiny, selfish part of his brain that longs to ask what she felt about perhaps one day sharing her nest with another, but this is hardly the time to dance around his uncertain crush when she was already so overwhelmed; Dandelionwish knew better, but he could not quell the happiness still in having her back.
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[butterflytuft]

The tortoiseshell blinks at him, unsure why she's surprised at his answer. He wants to be here. He's always been such a kind cat, selfless and patient. She studies him for a moment before softly murmuring, "Thank you." She truly does mean it. Not many cats would want to hang around a grieving warrior, much less one who now contributes even less than she had before. "D-Do you mind if we share tongues?" Grooming has always been one of her most relaxing pastimes and she'd do it all the time with Daisyflight.

What he asks next is gentle, but she doesn't know the answer right away. Her brow furrows and she thinks about it more a few heartbeats, wrapping her fluffy tail tighter around herself. "Finding my place," She whispers finally, shuffling her paws. "Surrounded constantly by those I love." There is one less to surround her, now, but she is not lacking for cats to care for. Her younger siblings, her friends, the tom sitting next to her now. Butterflytuft glances up at him. "What about you?"​