Never Really Good at Sports ;Thistleback>

[Pigeonsong]

Pigeonsong had just finished his mouse and he looked around the camp in the somber light of dusk. His first time leading a patrol hadn't quite been what he'd wanted. ThunderClan had insisted and belittling them and their daylight warriors, even in the face of what he thought had been hospitality. It didn't line up to him, why they'd insist on being so rude when they'd been polite. Blazestar had enlightened him a bit when he'd given his report but it did not grant him any solace. He supposed it was good that Blazestar had been pleased with his efforts.

Truthfully, he didn't want to be feeling this so personally and in truth he knew why it bothered him so much. Bananasplash was his best friend and she deserves the respect of any warrior. Not just that but there were other, more complicated feelings he'd begun to feel for her since their outing to the twolegplace. Ones he'd rather not have or he thought he didn't want to anyway. The tom stands to his paws and kicks a small piece of moss away from him.

Thistleback, the brute, he'd been the last tom he'd expect to congratulate him on his level-headedness. Pigeonsong supposed he didn't know the lead warrior as well as he thought he did. The sandy tabby had always respected the tom in question, but he did tend to think of Thistleback more as a terrifying presence than an actual cat and now he felt guilty. Being so quick to judgement hadn't been like him a couple moons ago, but now he found himself having less and less choice in the matter. Now that he was a warrior, he had more responsibilities and he had cats he had to keep safe. Wrong, he had a cat he had to keep safe.

Shaking his head and letting out a frustrated huff of air, he'd make way back to the freshkill pile, pulling out a nice plump shrew. Tentatively, he moved back to where he'd been sitting and looked around again, looking for the collared tom. Finally he appeared and Pigeonsong cast a smile his way.
"Thistleback, come have a bite with me."
It would be better if he spoke to the tom and thanked him for his support. No more assumptions, he wanted to know Thistleback better, even if he was slightly afraid of him.

@ThistleBack

 

[ThistleBack]

Heat rolled off an oily black thorny back in a wave, his limbs carry him with muscled thuds and his prowl is uneven as he moved fallen branches from the edges of camp. Teeth clamping hard as he swings his neck to toss the rotten twigs into the bramble wall, if anything- it added an extra layer of protection.

His mind is clouded, he missed Snowpaw and Quillstrike with an agonizing ache. He had been stewing in anger for so long now he almost felt numb, but he could find some distracting relief with taking up Orangeblossom’s duties. That and just, not sitting still. Thistleback was already a workaholic but for every moment he sit still, was another moment of realizing what was missing in his life.

He turns his chin back to the middle of camp, eyes still on the hunt for more debris when they find Pigeonsong with a smile and a shrew. Calling him over to join, the lead blinked a few times and stood silently before making his way over with his white tipped tail flicking above the ground. Since his execution of Kuiper, Thistleback had gotten used to the solitude he found in the moon following. Even before that, everyone kept an odd distance and simultaneously friendly regard.

The Thunderclan patrol rings in his memory again with the sight of Pigeonsong, the level-tempered tom did well- he stood by that. " a kind offer, Pigeonsong " his scowl shifts into the faintest smile, muscles working against foreign pulls. " how’s the day going for you? " he settles with a wince, shoulders aching as he places himself on his ribs. Tucking his hard knuckled paws under his chest with a slow breath.

​

OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  Thirty-seven moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22 | polyamorous
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Pricklepaw, and Eveningpaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[Pigeonsong]

The tom's earlier participation feels suddenly quite insignificant as he notices how much work the bi-color tom had done. He should've helped, he realizes guiltily, his own smile faltering a bit as Thistleback reveals one of his own. It was almost invisible, but Pigeonsong was a detail oriented cat, most of the time anyway. Once again he is lucid, realizing that he's left the tom's question unanswered, his mind wandering again.

"Oh, uh good, I went with one of the morning hunting patrols." The tom would answer, feeling kind of silly. There's a small air of awkwardness, which irritates him. He respects Thistleback, he should be able to have a normal conversation with the tom.
His brow creases a bit and he nudges the shrew closer to the tom.
"The prey is coming back well enough." This wasn't the piebald's fault, he had other things on his mind.

"I just wanted to thank you, for having my back at the border." He'd utter at last, drawing a cream-colored forepaw over his ear tentatively.

"It wasn't easy just taking their insults but I believe that their pride and arrogance is their greatest weakness. Our greatest strength is and always has been our resilience." It's something the tom truly believes, even if cats like Raccoonstripe thought him a fool. Though judging by how many cats they were losing now, he supposed that maybe the Thunderclanner was right.

Those weren't the only worries playing on his mind right now either. The more time he spent with Bananasplash, the more intensely he felt about her. He had nobody he could speak with about the matter in the mess he called a family.

"Hey, Thistleback, I know this is kind of odd, but could I ask you a question about a personal matter I'm having issues with?" What in StarClan's name was he even thinking, Thistleback had more important things to do than listen to his struggles with a crush. The tom braces, waiting for what will surely be dismissal.

 

[ThistleBack]

I went with one of the morning hunting patrols, Thistleback nods sensing the hesitation in the warrior’s demeanor but paying it no mind outwardly. " not my favorite time to hunt, but- seems it will have to be until Orangeblossom is ready to return to her post " the piebald eyes the rodent pushed towards him with a slight smirk. The earthy smell and shiny brown of the small thing brings a slight watering to the beasts jowls, teeth that regularly gnaw bark peel into the world and pierce a bite with ease.

The sandy tabby thanks him, Thistleback’s eyes pull away from a hungry zone-out on the ground as he chews, back to the other. Our greatest strength is our resilience, Pigeonsong was a perceptive man, there would always be a certain strength of mind to a cat that could see both sides of the metaphorical leaf. Thistleback grunts his agreement. " injured animals always bite the hardest, and enemies will always covet hope " he offers, a slight tilt of his skull. " they will always see us as weak. and…It is my favorite advantage" he smiles a bit around that, a faint display of his ambition.

" and there’s no need to thank me " a black limb brushes at the corner of his jaws, cleaning away a bloody stream. There is a brief silence before Pigeonsong speaks again, Hey Thistleback, I know this is kind of odd, the lead warrior’s brows pinch. Quiet and watchful, patient as he’s asked if he can even ask something. Personal matter. " that isn’t odd at’all " he offers, softening his tone and flicking a tattered ear. He wonders what made the warrior come to him, but it’s a good distraction from his own mind.

" of course, lad " grey eyes meeting olive, expectantly.

​

OOC INFO REF

• —
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  Thirty-seven moons EVENT TRACKER | IMPORTANT INFO
  — Lead warrior of Skyclan since 12.22.22
  — Devoted to Deersong 9.29.22 | polyamorous
  — Father of Coyotepaw, Pricklepaw, and Eveningpaw.
  — mentoring Snowpaw graduate(s) Quillstrike
  — very muscular piebald black and white tom with spiky fur and cold silver-grey eyes.
  — voice & accent
  — biography･ﾟ✧​
  OPEN for Dice battles | stine#3004
  
• 
  
  

​

 

[Pigeonsong]

That wasn't the answer he'd expected. Only recently he'd had audience with Blazestar and now he was allowed to speak with one of SkyClan's lead warriors. It didn't feel like he thought it would. Cats who had once been mystical to him, revealed as flesh at blood, just like him. This was much more personal however and something he'd never dream of speaking about with another cat, not with his upbringing.

"There's a cat I really like and I think they like me too, but it scares me." The tom admits, struggling to continue to meet his stony gaze. This was a conversation he should be having with his family but they didn't seem to like him and so he avoided it.
"Y'know, Bananasplash, just made warrior?" The tom would question, trying to gauge the tom's reaction as he does.

"We spend a lot of time together, even took me to meet her twolegs. It felt like an honor to have someone trust me so much. Nobody's ever shown me that kind of faith before and the more I get to know her, the more I think I can't imagine spending my life with any other cat."
But he's too young, he thinks to know such things but some nagging voice continues to insist that this is a fact he cannot escape. If he doesn't do something about it soon, he's sure he'll lose his mind.