Miss missing you | Catfishleap

[Hazewish]

TRAVELER, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED (AND NOW YOU MUST GO) ⋆⁺₊⋆
Haze and Catfish have not been talking for a very, very long time. Perhaps even longer than they were friends to begin with, though that thought is far too off-putting to linger on. The break was so sudden and all encompassing that it's like they were never friends to begin with: one second they were inseparable, the next they were strangers to each other. Like a bone snapping in two, leaving things forever bent; there is a part of Haze’s heart that they can no longer put weight on.

They've been thinking about it, lately. Since Mosspool was made lead warrior, and they naturally gravitated to each other to knock her down her leader-assigned pedestal. It felt so familiar, so natural, it broke open the walnut shell of Haze’s denial. She has to admit it: she misses her best friend so much. Even though apprenticeship friendships come and go and fade all the time, she wants to believe theirs was, is, different, because no one in the world has ever understood her and trusted her that much. No one else has ever felt more fun to be around than being on her own.

The gap between them was their fault: Haze has reflected on it enough to realize that. Once accepted, the bitterness was easy to swallow. If it’s their fault, there's a chance they're the one who can make it right, too.

It’s with that in mind that Hazewish set out on their last few hunting patrols. Border patrols don’t really cross the river, but it’s fine while fishing; which means they could lie in wait for other clans to pass by and call out to them, asking them for a tiny little favor. (They’ve had to use a lot of words for this. It’s been exhausting.)

No Gathering means they didn’t get to talk to anyone from Shadowclan at all. They hope Catfish won't hold it against them.

The sun is low, golden light glittering over the river as it sets on camp. Haze finds her in a secluded spot and approaches quietly, but without hesitation: she has to do this, and then Catfish can choose whether she accepts it or not, but not before. She lays her gift at the paws of the graceful molly, the bundle of foreign flowers from three clans, as distant lands as Haze could find to bring to her so Catfish wouldn’t have to make the trip there. A peace offering.

And they would look nice in her pelt.

But this small gesture done, she finds herself, strangely enough, at a loss for words. Tongue tied, nothing in her head but a weird anxiety. If this fails – it won’t be the end of the world (just the end of them) but it feels like it might be anyway.

They sit, tail curling around their front paw, and open their mouth– closes it– eventually settling on, ”Thought of you.”

// @Catfishleap

[⋆]​

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[Catfishleap]

Who knew that Mosspool being made important would make Catfishleap's life just a little better. The lead warrior was a pain, but she was the reason that Catfish had approached Hazewish. The reason she had stuck a paw out to let them know that old heartache was starting to fade.

There had been so much hurt during Catfish's last few moons of apprenticeship, both physical and all the other types. She had to cut out whatever pain she could to survive at that point. Hazewish has always been stubborn, and for the most part Catfishleap had been glad her friend would stand their ground. That was until she had been on the opposing ground. There was a night that replayed in her thoughts far more often than it should, barbed tongues and spitting venom had fallen out onto the ground between them. It was supposed to make her feel better, but it hadn't. So she buried the thoughts, the friendship, the love, she had gone on like Hazewish hadn't happened. Removed like a tumor, but Catfishleap was no surgeon, and so even with the hurt gone the wound had stood opening and bleeding.

Thinking it over more she couldn't give Mosspool all the credit, thank StarClan, it was also the rogue attack. A situation that caused the two of them to trust each other again, at least for one night. Since that and the prank Catfish found herself glancing to the other warrior on occasion. Maybe when a cat said something goofy or tripped, just to see their reaction. The two's nests had also migrated ever so slightly closer over the last moon or so. The wound was still tender of course, but it didn't hurt as much to prod at it. With more thought she can't help regret some more than impossible corners she backed Haze into, but she would have time to ask for forgiveness, she was sure of it.

She is sitting alone near the river, watching the sun play in it's waves. With the NewLeaf chill it was too late to comfortably swim in the chilled water, but looking at it brought the silver cat nearly the same kind of comfort. Her serenity is barely interrupted as Hazewish walks out to her. A foreign entity, but at this point not an unwanted one. There is something that twists in the torbie's stomach as she sees the other cat, it's nervous but not unhappy, almost the opposite actually.

A small bundle of flowers is left at her paws. Looking over them she can see they don't come from the riverbed. Her eyes are soft and focused on them as she smells ThunderClan, WindClan and SkyClan, not the cats of them but the land itself. Her ear flicks with confusion as her gaze meets Haze.. Haze's gaze... not Hazewish. She remembers these eyes, these are not a stranger's eyes. Their words are uncertainly certain. A small smile finds itself on her lips "They're gorgeous, where'd you find them all?" she laughed the last part out because truly she couldn't fathom where Hazewish found all of them. She starts to paw at them looking at the individual flowers, her eyes settle on one, a piece of lavender that smells like the moors.

"I think this would look nice in your fur."

"speech"
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[Hazewish]

TRAVELER, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED (AND NOW YOU MUST GO) ⋆⁺₊⋆

The question makes Haze’s ears quirk up in quiet pride — not only because it’s the exact question they wanted her to ask, but because Catfish is asking, inviting them closer. Welcoming their company in a way neither of them have in the past moons.

”Patrols,” she hums. If she averts her eyes, it’s not bashfulness, but rather the opposite: getting her scant few words to other clans across days of patrols and gathering the small bundle took tremendous efforts, and she is proud of managing it, of Catfish’s reaction to them. With the smoke rising on the horizon from Windclan’s burning, she can’t help but feel like her timing was serendipitous — any more hesitating and she would have had a hard time getting anything from them. Missing one clan can be excused, but getting flowers from only Thunderclan and Skyclan would make for a poor gift. ”Asked, traded.”

Haze’s eyes are drawn to the fragrant sprig of lavender Catfish gestured to. ”Yours,” they demur, shaking their head, but their smile betrays their pleasure. Never one to be outdone, they delicately sweep some of the flowers aside to reveal the soft yellow daffodil that, when it had been dropped at their paws by a Thunderclanner, they had immediately thought would match well with Catfish’s colorful pelt.

”Help?” They ask, picking it up delicately between their teeth and gesturing towards the other molly — a clear indication of their plan to slip it in her fur.

[⋆]​

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[Catfishleap]

Her eyes stayed trained to all the flowers, each one so unique and so pretty. She had probably seen each in passing before, she's patrolled most of the clans borders and had stayed in a few of them even, but apparently she had never taken the time to study the fauna. Her gaze was only pulled away when Hazewish said how they got the them all. Catfish can't help the grin that spreads across her face, "You talked to other clans? Look at you go, I must be like really important, huh?" she teased the grey tabby, also letting slip a "like", something she had been trying to remove from her vocabulary. But, this one felt warranted.

She could also feel some heat coming from under her fur, maybe she was overstepping by teasing Hazewish. If this was an attempt to rebuild maybe she would be pushing something that didn't have a strong foundation yet. Whatever, if the comment made it tumble then it would just have to be her who collects flowers next time.

Haze tries to say the lavender twig is hers, which doesn't really help their case. If it's her flower, her mind is quite made up that it would look wonderful against the monochromatic greys in Haze's pelt. But, before the torbie can swoop the flower into Haze's fur, the other cat has a different one in her teeth. They hold it up and Catfishleap can't help but think it's an awfully close colour to the sky in that very moment, warm, golden and comforting.

She goes to bow her head, to accept the flower, but just before she commits to the action "Yes, of course. But, I am putting that lavender in your fur after." Now she can fully accept the help.

"speech"
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