pockets full of nothin' [leaf]

[Wildboy]

FIND ME WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE​

---

All things considered, Wildboy was still an extremely new face to the clan. The ex-kittypet had joined up with the group of wildcats after his twolegs had refused to let him back in the nest one day. Apparently he was 'too rambunctious' for them. What- had they expected him to just grow out of it or something?

It was fine though- that's what he told himself at least. If they didn't want him around then he didn't want them around. And really, he wasn't doing too bad at this whole 'wild cat' thing. Sure, he wasn't as big as most of the other cats, but he was fast and had more than enough energy to compensate for what he lacked in sheer brawn. Hunting was coming surprisingly easy to him, and there didn't seem to be a squirrel or bird that was fast enough to outmatch him in quickness.

Helping things along was the fact that the pretty tomcat was extremely sociable as well. Many of the other cats had already come to know him as the energetic, overly-affectionate, chaos-machine that he was, and to his luck the majority found it to be more on the endearing side than annoying. After all, it wasn't as if Wildboy was trying to upset anyone. That's just who he was.

He'd left the main camp that afternoon in hopes of practicing his hunting skills some more. He definitely had promise, but there was still a lot to experience and get used to out here that he'd never had to contend with back with the upwalkers, and since he had the energy to burn anyways he'd might as well put it to something useful.

The only thing was that Wildboy had a tendency to become distracted easily, and so when he spotted another cat sitting off by themselves he was, of course, inclined to head over and investigate. It wasn't someone that he knew personally or had spoken to, but he was pretty sure he'd seen the cat around with the group before.

"Your Leaf, right?" he asked as he padded over to them, whisker twitching in curiosity as bright eyes regarded them. "Whatcha doin' out here all alone?" he asked, having noted by now that the clan cats were very co-operative, and often would do things in groups. He was only out here alone because the few cats he considered friends didn't always have the energy to keep up with the wirey tom, which would occasionally leave him to deal with his boredom on his own.
​

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thunderclan - tom (afab) - 18 moons - turkish angora - homosexual - polyromantic - has blue and purple pawprints stained onto his fur from berries

 

[Leafshade]

SO YOUNG, YET SO BROKEN​

---

Leaf had been enjoying a moment of peace when a voice suddenly disturbed him. Eyes of cold, steel blue would open slowly, remaining half-lidded in both tiredness and annoyance. "Well," The blue seal point began in a voice laced with irritation, "I had been napping."

With a heavy sigh, Leaf would heave himself up to a proper sit and give his pelt a few licks to clear it of dust before giving the tom before him his semi-full attention. Ah yes. This one. He had the vague memory of a strange-looking white cat who made it a habit of smearing filthy berries and such all over his pelt.

Why any cat would be idiotic enough to do such a thing was beyond him, but he bit back his sneering words and meowed instead, "I forgot your name. But did you need something?" Since joining Thunderclan, Leaf had been on his paws nonstop, hunting or silently finding moss for nests or even just walking along the territory in case some cats tried to reclaim the oak forest. But it wasn't often that cats approached him just for the chance of friendly conversation. ​

 

[Wildboy]

FIND ME WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE​

---

It became apparent to Wildboy rather quickly that he may have overstepped a boundary here. A sharp gaze and a sharper tongue were quick to meet his friendly attempt at a conversation, and the boy could only offer a small, sheepish smile in return.

The tom wasn't offended at not being recognized, mainly because he and Leaf had never really interacted before. He wasn't really sure why. They were both warriors and weren't all that far apart in age, maybe four or five moons if the angora was right.

"My name's Wildboy." the tom replied after Leaf spoke again. "And not really. I was coming out here to hunt, but then I spotted you and figured I'd come say hello." he replied, giving a casual shrug of his narrow shoulders. "Why are you sleeping way out here, anyways? A nest would probably be way more comfortable." he asked, curiosity sitting plainly in his tone as he regarded the other. What a strange guy.
​

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thunderclan - tom (afab) - 18 moons - turkish angora - homosexual - polyromantic - has blue and purple pawprints stained onto his fur from berries

 

[Leafshade]

SO YOUNG, YET SO BROKEN​

---

Leaf would raise a metaphorical eyebrow as this 'Wildboy' introduced himself and then gave his reason for disturbing his nap. The lanky tom would hold back his snort of irritation, instead simply rolling his shoulders before meowing coldly, "I normally can get more peace when I sleep away from the others. Less likely to be disturbed." He spoke that last word with purpose but otherwise appeared to be sinking into frigid acceptance that any hopes of a nap had fluttered away.

He was truthfully still getting used to being around so many new faces. These were not cats he grew up with, they didn't know about his cold and prickly nature, and besides, his mother would want him to at least try to get along with others. The face of his mom would flash in his mind, along with the stone of guilt that sank in his stomach as it always did whenever she came to his mind. But his tail would lash, as if shooing the emotions away like a pesky fly before clearing his throat and huffing, "Well, since you have already woken me up, I suppose I can go with you on your hunt."

He rose fully to his paws and gave one final stretch before looking at the strangely colored tom expectedly, assuming he already had a hunting spot in mind. ​

 

[Wildboy]

FIND ME WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE​

---

The sheepish expression returned as the other made mention of it usually being more peaceful, and the implications behind their words didn't go over the angoras head. Oh yeah, I definitely annoyed this guy. My bad. he thought to himself, inwardly cringing. Wildboy was either good at meeting others, his natural charm and cute looks quick to win others over, or bad, because he was also a rambunctious, impulsive kid at heart. The kind of cat who, when he saw someone napping out in the woods, didn't always let logic outweigh his curiosity.

Just when he'd written the whole thing off as a huge fail though and began wndering if he should stick around specifically to bug the tom, they went ahead and surprised him by saying they'd come along on his hunt with him. He certainly hadn't been expecting the surly male to so readily agree to something like that, but maybe Wildboy was being too quick to judge?

"Yeah, that'd be great!" he quickly agreed, tail waving behind him happily. Prickly or not, Leaf was better company than no company. "I was gonna check down by the river since its been so hot out, but if you know a better spot we can go there instead."

Wildboy was still getting a feel for everything despite the success he'd managed to find during his time there, so he'd just defaulted to the river since it was probably a place prey liked to go to quench their thirst.
​

---

thunderclan - tom (afab) - 18 moons - turkish angora - homosexual - polyromantic - has blue and purple pawprints stained onto his fur from berries

 

[Leafshade]

SO YOUNG, YET SO BROKEN​

---

A soft grunt would leave Leaf's throat as approval for Wildboy's hunting spot and would turn to begin their trek towards the river. The blue-pointed tom was relatively quiet during their walk too, but about halfway there, he bit the inside of his cheek and lashed his tail before meowing, "Leaf."

He would clear his throat and look slightly over his shoulder, "My name, it's Leaf." He would turn back around, his ears flattened against his skull as he cursed the rapid heartbeat in his chest. Why was being polite so...difficult? His mother would be horrified to see him like this. He would shake his head and then try for something akin to a conversation, "So....the river. Do you know how to fish?.."

His body language would practically scream that he was tense, muscles tight and his whiskers twitching in irritation, but it was towards himself and not the berry-covered tom with him. Though he wouldn't be surprised if Wildboy misread it as being annoyed with him. ​

 

[Wildboy]

FIND ME WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE​

---

Leaf? "Oh! he seemed to cue in, realizing a bit late that he had never asked for their name in return. He could have face-palmed at his own accidental ignorance in that moment. "It's nice to meet you, Leaf!" he added, hoping that he wasn't just piling up strikes with this guy. To be honest, it was a little hard to read the younger tomcat. He seemed to be annoyed, his replies clipped and sarcastic, and yet he had offered to come along on his hunt and had even seemed to approve of the location he chose. Wildboy couldn't tell if they were genuinely annoyed or not, and so he decided that the best course of action was to simply do nothing. Maybe it sounded like the 'lazy' route, but it's what made the most sense to him. He hadn't forced Leaf to come along after all or to continue interacting with him, and technically the tom was still free to leave whenever they wanted. Therefore, it was only logical for Wildboy to assume that the problem wasn't necessarily with him. Maybe Leaf just had something on his mind today? And that was fine with him if that was the case- cats were allowed to have bad days. And maybe it was more patience than another would have afforded for a tom of Leafs nature, but Wildboy didn't mind giving it to him.

"Nope.' he answered honestly, the 'p' sound giving a little 'pop!' as he said it. "But I figure on a hot day like this all that cool waters got to be attracting the squirrels and birds, right?" he reasoned, padding along at the others flank.

If Leaf was a bundle of tension and nerves, Widboy was obliviously the opposite. Relaxed and just a little bit distracted by the way the sun was filtering through the canopy to dapple the ground, the odd-eyed boy didn't seem to bothered by his newfound company. After all, even if the bluepoint was a bit unconventional, their company was so far proving to be better than no company. Besides, Wildboy had never been picky. If there was one talent the silky-furred boy was known for his ability to mesh with all kinds of cats. He was a social butterfly for sure, but one with a stinger- or perhaps more accurately, claws and fangs.

"What about you- ever caught a fish before?" he asked, turning the question back on the other. It was hard to judge weather Leaf had ever been in the water or caught a fish before, especially when so many of these wild cats had been out there hunting their entire lives. ​

---

thunderclan - tom (afab) - 18 moons - turkish angora - homosexual - polyromantic - has blue and purple pawprints stained onto his fur from berries

 

[Leafshade]

SO YOUNG, YET SO BROKEN​

---

A pale blue ear would twitch, the only real sign that Leaf was listening to anything that Wildboy was saying because he never turned back around to look at him as they drew closer to their destination.

Was it really nice to meet him? Or was that just one of those pleasant phrases that he had grown up learning from his parents? Things one said to be polite or to appear chummy with others when there was no real connection, just a way to come across as approachable.

Leaf could never tell for sure, reading others was just as difficult to him as being nice, and yet here he was, with a chatty cat whose pelt could send his mother into a fainting episode for how messy and stained it was.

He snorted softly as Wildboy declared nonchalantly that he in fact did NOT know how to fish, and Leaf couldn't help but grumble mentally, then why the hell are we going to the river?

Once they arrived, Leaf would look down at the rushing water and seemed to chew the inside of his cheek as Wildboy asked if he knew how to fish. His mind flashed to the days of his kittenhood, only three moons old and already expected to be perfect at everything on the first try. Staring at his reflection, he couldn't help but relive the memory of the day his father forced him to learn how to swim, dunking him in the water and allowing him to flounder until his mother arrived, horrified and about to claw his father's ears off for doing something so dangerous.

He had been pulled from the water and cooed over by his mother, and yet his father had simply scowled in disappointment from behind, saying nothing as he turned and headed back home. Leaf was never thrown in the river again, but his father had certainly made sure that he could at least fish a bit. "Yea." He would finally say after several heartbeats of silence, "My father taught me. Thought it would be useful."

He gave no further detail but finally looked back at Wildboy before scowling in yet more discomfort and rolling his shoulders to try (unsuccessfully) to ease the tension within them. "D....Do you want me to teach you?" He of course was no Riverclanner, but some knowledge was better than nothing. ​