i'll wear a sweeter smile (dandelion)

[butterflytuft]

// @Dandelionwish

Butterflytuft revels in the warmth of newleaf. As sunlight filters through the pine boughs, she sits in a heated patch and enjoys every cool breeze that blows through and ruffles her fur. Her attention is up in the tree that stands before her, sunny eyes following the brown pelt of her friend. She has to admit, she's a little jealous of how much better he already is than her at climbing despite having previously lived on the moors! But not quite envious enough to do anything about it. The tortoiseshell is quite content on the ground, where there's no wobbly limbs or long distance separating her from certain doom. Yes, she likes the sturdy ground.

A smile rests on her maw as he makes his way higher. She calls up to him, "You're doing great, Dandelionwish! Already better than last time!" While spending time with her new friend brings her peace, she isn't foolish. They've taken to practicing outside of camp, far from the Twolegplace. She isn't about to risk getting taken like the others. The thought dampens her slightly; she thinks of Quillstrike and Twitchbolt, two of her close friends. Are they scared? She knows she would be. They'll be found, She must assure herself, lest she fall into a pit of anxiety right then and there. And so she must focus back on her companion in the tree as he practices his climbing; he provides a much-needed distraction.​

 

[Dandelionwish]

"Ye reckon?" He called down, amused at the light praise. He didn't think he was doing particularly well still, but progress was progress. Dandelionwish looped himself over the branch once he'd finally reached it, claws sticking into the soft bark to haul himelf forward into an awkward crouch before he was able to stand on it without wobbling too much; the sudden height was both terrifying and exhilirating in a way he could not explain, a thrill that kept him from keeping to the comfort of the ground. Maybe it was a combination of having not gotten to do much but stress in his time in WindClan, that he chased every high he could hit once unburdened from it all. Often times he thought of his old home but it was not as frequent as before and he found his mind more clouded with SkyClan issues now than not. Those missing cats, the cages, the incident with RiverClan he had heard muttered throughout the camp. The chocolate-limbed tom gave a quiet sigh before smiling and making his slow descent back down; it was always the downward scaling that caught him as difficult to manage but this time he hit the earth once more without landing on his tailend and that was better than tumbling backwards as far as he cared, even if he did stumble uncertaintly for a moment.
"Got a good teacher this time I guess!" Mismatched eyes glanced upward to the sky before dropping back down to the tortie with a lopsided grin, his wheat stem bobbing from the movement as he bit down on it harder. "Ye alright though? Ye seem distracted..."
​

 

[butterflytuft]

Butterflytuft watches him leap to the ground, smile still stretched across her muzzle. She gets to her paws to meet him halfway, her tail waving as she trills, "Oh, yeah. Well...I don't know. This twoleg thing....it's really scaring me. I'm just glad we're nowhere near the Twolegplace. And I've got you!" A paw kicks lightly at the ground in embarrassment - she must seem pathetic. What warrior is as afraid of everything as much as she is? None, that's for sure.

Ears fall flat for a moment as she looks down. Eventually, she mumbles, "Do you think we'll be able to find them? Twitchbolt and Quillstrike...they're my friends." She grew up with them, trained with them; they protected her and supported her even as she lagged behind her entire apprenticeship. To not have them around is foreign, and she isn't one to like change all that much.​

 

[Dandelionwish]

He shook his fur out, letting it smooth back down where it had ruffled in places the windy updrafts of his previous ascension. A crooked smile crossed his maw to the assurance in his presence, glad to be a source of comfort rather than irritation for once. There was no denying he still unsettled quite a few SkyClanners by mere existence but he was handling it fine, eventually they would all get along and his joining will be looked back on with an awkward laugh and not the unease it brought otherwise. This was his home now, what made it all the more his was he had picked it out himself; even half dead some part of him had sought out SkyClan, it was the only explaination he could give for wandering so far in his escape before crossing onto a territory.
Dandelionwish shrugged sheepishly but then found his smile faltering to her quietly uttered concerned. The cages, the traps, so many cats missing already including her own peers. He was not as close with the individuals as her, but he rather liked Twitchbolt and Quillstrike seemed a fine guy as well. The false tabby could only imagine her worry. "We'll get'em back. I'm sure of it. If'n they don't rescue themselves that is, ah've seen that Quillstrike spar before, real scary sight! Them two-legs ought to watch their paws if ye ask me." Still, gentle assurances didn't do much, he wished he could offer more to help.
"StarClan'll keep protectin'em."
​

 

[butterflytuft]

Butterflytuft lifts wide eyes to her friend, the fear evident in her gaze. He's so optimistic, so hopeful. And well, his smile is contagious. She can't help but gain hope just from listening to his promises. Slowly, a smile creeps onto her face and she gives a small nod. "You're right...Blazestar will make sure they come home." Her gaze lifts towards the sky. StarClan is protecting them, just like Dandelionwish says.

She brushes her paw against her other foreleg absentmindedly and returns her attention to him, ears flattening bashfully. "Um...I'm sorry. I interrupted your climbing practice. Do you...wanna try again?" She offers lightly, gesturing with her muzzle towards the tree. "Soon enough, you'll be just like a clan-born SkyClanner, after all." She touches her tail-tip to his shoulder in support, eyes crinkling with a smile before she gets up and pads closer to the tree trunk. She could use something to get her mind off of the twolegs, anyway.​

 

[Dandelionwish]

"Blazestar will, I'm sure of it. Good fellow, that cat. The kinda leader I can get behind." And he had, almost instantly. When asked and prodded for his reasons, for what had happened in WindClan, he had seen the ragdoll for who he truly was like an unveiling. A sensible, kind tom, he cared deeply for his clan but would not spit in the face of cat who was not if they showed him the same respect he gave. An unwillingness to be cruel, despite the world. A refusal to face claw with claw, when he had every right. Dandelionwish could pledge his loyalty to such a soul.
The redirection was welcomed and he nodded to the encouragement, pausing to dip his head in a friendly headbump before springing back around to head back to his tree proper, "Well with that kinda encouragement then ah'm gonna be the best climber ye ever did see!"
With a small leap he reclaimed his grip on the trunk to begin scaling back up, working on keeping his weight dispersed evenly as he kicked back upward.
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