RABID LITTLE PUPPY \ butterflytuft

[MALLOWLARK]

Who would have known! He'd bet no one in WindClan on the chaotic day could have predicted the future and claimed that, not only would Dandelionwish find his home in SkyClan, but his love too. Allegedly. It was lovely, really- Mallowlark was happy for the chocolate tom, though he couldn't much change his expression to cement that. And it was even more lovely in its unpredictability- he didn't even think he'd had a conversation with Butterflytuft! She seemed pretty shy, not nearly as social as most... and he could never seem to catch her at the right moment.

Until today.

Mallowlark was hauntingly quiet even as he bounded over to the monarch-painted warrior, gaze burning a hole into the back of her head. "Butterflytuft!" he greeted, a sudden noise like a crack of thunder from his smile-fastened fangs. His head cocked at an angle, swift as a snapped neck. "Sooo... heard about you and Dandelionwish! That's exciting," voice chirping, his tone was perhaps shockingly sincere despite how little his demeanour had shifted from its regular cheeriness. "You better treat him well, though." Sharp teeth flashed in his grin, catching the sunlight. Perhaps, an unintentional threat...

\ @butterflytuft ​

☺PENNED BY PIN​

 

[butterflytuft]

Butterflytuft sits near the edge of camp, diligently grooming her fluffy paws. With fur as thick as hers, it’s a priority to set aside time to detangle and de-burr as often as she can. She doesn’t mind - it’s actually quite soothing. Focused on the task at hand, the tiny she-cat does not notice the cryptic warrior that stalks towards her. That is, until her name crackles from his jaws like a snapped branch. With an eep! she whirls around. Her eyes are level with the hulking tom’s chest, and they quickly dart up until she is met with unblinking silver eyes and a sharp-toothed grin.

Another squeak leaves her as she sinks to the ground, pressing herself so flat to the grass one would think she hopes the earth would simply swallow her. Wide yellow eyes peer up at Mallowlark, standing even taller than he had over her now that she’s so low. “Th…Th….Thank you,” She whispers, struggling to even get the words out as her heart pounds against her chest. She has never gotten to be very comfortable around the ivory ex-WindClanner. While she’s often the first to kindly welcome any outsiders, this one is different. His piercing eyes and unchanging, unsettling grin has effectively warded him off long enough, but today she had been inattentive. She couldn’t run fast enough and now he has her cornered! He’ll eat her, she’s sure of it!

The next words to leave his dripping fangs has her pinning her ears back against her skull. Her eyes squeeze shut as she yelps, “I will! I will!” Of course it’s not a complacent lie - she loves Dandelionwish and only wants to make him the happiest tom in the world! But does her fear add a little more urgency to her promise? Maybe.​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Oh, was she getting smaller? No, no... simply sinking away. Into a more comfortable position, he imagined. Maybe she'd been sat awkwardly before, having to twist herself around to meet his eye. He patted the grass for a moment, testing if it was really so plush you'd want to press your very bones into it... wasn't working for him. But different cats liked different things, didn't they? Oh, he'd learned that the hard way in WindClan's camp...

His head stayed cocked, rested upon his shoulder. It almost seemed impossible that he managed to stay upright. But her promise was certainly enthusiastic, and that was encouraging! The curve of his smile curved more harshly up his face, somehow stretching his smile even wider. It was a wonder the corners of his maw did not creep the circumference of his skull. "Oh, good," he chimed, giggles beginning to permeate his tone. How happy he was for them! That Dandelionwish could have also found someone... what an unlikely future, brightly-painted! "'Cos- well, I'm sure hah-hah-he's told you... be-hehe-been through a lot, that guy." Despite the interruptions of joy, he kept his eye-contact inhumanly fixated. "He de-he-served to find someone s-so nice! Bee-hee-heen a good friend to me..." At the border that day, he was the only one other than Dawnglare who hadn't looked at him with disdain... and he didn't blame the rest of them, but that had been nice...​

☺PENNED BY PIN​

 

[butterflytuft]

Is his smile growing wider? How is that even possible? She tries not to think too hard about it. She squeezes her eyes shut, counting down the seconds until her sure demise. Surprisingly, he just keeps talking instead. One yellow eye peels open, looking up at him as her teeth clench, her tiny form trembling. Oh. Does Mallowlark really just want to talk to her about Dandelionwish?

Slowly, her other eye opens, too, and she shifts to perch a little more straight on her forelegs. Her belly remains pressed to the ground, but she at least looks a little more confident than she had moments prior. “Yeah, he has,” She murmurs hesitantly, ears loosely fallen back against her head. “So…you two were good friends in WindClan, huh?” She forces herself to relax enough to keep the quivering from her voice. Despite her fear of the ivory behemoth, she is curious about just how close he and her mate were before coming to SkyClan.​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Oh, she fidgeted an awful lot, didn't she? Small one second and a little prideful, taller the next. Large yellow eyes stared up at him, and he met her lantern-like gaze with twin silver moons of his own, unflinching. Maybe she was just a little nervous around others. Quieter, like his sister... he cocked his head like a curious kitten, nodding as she agreed with him. And then- then, she smashed open the floodgates with her own paw.

"Oh, you know, we were on good terms. Which was nice, 'cos- I'll tell you, I got a lot of funny loo-hah-looks in WindCla-hah-han!" His shoulders shuddered with laughter, the memory of wrinkled noses and narrowed eyes surfacing rather easily. Those had not been difficult faces to remember! "I was only really- really on great terms with my family, but- but Dandelionwish, he was always nice. And when I showed up here- HAH!" That'd been a day! Silver-lined by a long-awaited union between he and Dawnglare, and an unexpected face. "He seemed- seemed hah-happy to see me. And I was happy to see him too!" He leant in a little closer, eyelids flashing wider. "I thought those Windclanners had ribboned him." ​

☺PENNED BY PIN​

 

[butterflytuft]

Butterflytuft is at least courageous enough to nod along, eyes still wide as a pair of suns. Her ears twitch at the mention of his family. It's odd to imagine a cryptid such as Mallowlark with any kind of family. Did he have a mother and father? Brothers and sisters? Come to think of it, it's difficult to imagine him as a kit at all.

And it does sound like Dandelionwish, to have been always nice. Even to cats like Mallowlark, who leave Butterflytuft's skin crawling. It sure does sound like her mate's compassionate heart. The tom's final sentence, however, leaves her gulping. "R-ribboned...him?" She repeats fearfully, slightly shrinking away once more. Just when she had begun to feel even the teensiest bit more comfortable around him, he has to say something terrifying, doesn't he? She doesn't know what being ribboned is, but she doesn't want to imagine Dandelionwish in any sort of state. Fortunately, her imagination isn't very active; her brain won't go coming up with meanings for the frightening term.​

 

[MALLOWLARK]

Bearing a stare of equal wideness, Mallowlark did not notice quite how terrified her stare was. No, it was just eye-contact, as you were supposed to do... with slit-pupils he stared right back, unaware it looked as though he would rip her leg from its socket any moment. She repeated after him... oh, didn't she understand? He supposed she'd probably never torn up something like that... she seemed the gentler type. Had she ever even tasted blood?

"Oh, you know. Tore him up. Ripped him to pieces. Flayed him, something like that..." Not once did his stare flinch from her face as he said it, smile half the span of his features. Because oh, how happy he was that they hadn't! "You can imagine how nice it was to see him after I thought he was that dead." He'd tried to think of more positive outcomes back then, but had never been able to come up with a happy ending where Dandelionwish had escaped. And how funny for them to find love in the same place! Nature, ambivalent as she was, had some kindness...​

☺PENNED BY PIN​