private swamp blossoms // jitterbug

[sunshinespot]

His hunt had gone poorly. With leaf fall came fatter prey - a distinction that Raccoonstripe himself made recently - but also came falling leaves, who's noisy existence alerted everything in the forest to the lumbering baffoon. Doepath recently was released from her medicinal shackles, allowed to wander and roam and find her own pretty blooms to adorn their nest with - he wanted to do more for her, for his friend, but what more can he do in this season? What good can he do thar she cannot do for herself, now that she is free?

He wanders away from a lost mouse, head lowered in dissatisfaction. He has the urge to follow the border towards SkyClan, instead. Maybe he could talk with a few kittypets, meander about their homes and bring home one of their soft treasures for her instead. But his paws find the thunderpath, and across it, ShadowClan. His gaze blurs beyond the asphalt but in the darkness he sees rare colors of blues and purples. His ear twitches as he almost tempts to cross the death path (Doe had almost died here - is he dumb enough to test the same fate?) A figure shifts and moves ahead of him, alone as he is.

"Ah, hello," he purrs, a single paw pressed to the broken gravel edge of the pathway. "Could I bother you for a favor?"
​

 

[jitterbug]

Jitterbug’s eyes flicker with interest, steps stilling as ey hears a voice calling out across from ShadowClan's border. Ey tilts eir head, the tip of eir tail twitching erratically. "Favor, favor, for a favor," ey echoes, voice lilting slightly as the words almost feel pulled from eir mouth. Ey doesn't mind doing favors for others on occasion, but this is an unfamiliar face, one that ey can't quite see from the other side of the Thunderpath, eir damaged eye throwing off eir depth perception. Eir jaw clenches, teeth clicking together a few times before the tension in eir mandible releases and ey focuses on the tortoiseshell over on ThunderClan's territory.

“A favor?” Jitterbug’s voice is sharp, cutting through the air like ey’s sizing up the request before ey even knows what it is. “What kind of favor are we talking here? Something interesting? Not just chatter, chatter, chatter, chatter.” Ey stiffens slightly, clenching eir jaw shut purposefully this time to keep emself from continuing to repeat things. With eir voice unable to spit out words, the energy spills out in rapid blinks, a few quick jerks of the neck. Jitterbug is not one for drawn-out conversations that go nowhere, and ey is already impatient, bouncing lightly on eir paws like ey can’t quite stand still. Ey lets eir jaw loosen again. "Tell me what you want," Jitterbug says bluntly, the edge in eir tone returning as ey turns back toward Sunshinespot. “Make it quick, I don’t have all day, y’know? Unless it's interesting. Or fun. Then I might.” There's a flicker of curiosity in eir gaze as ey waits impatiently for a response.​

 

[sunshinespot]

The repeating is something new. Sunshinespot has encountered stuttering, or throats so tattered they are forced to rasp, but repetition to this degree is not something he's experienced yet. A white eyebrow quirks with curiosity as the other parrots his tone of voice, almost unwillingly, and their feathered coal-colored shape shifts and juts with each attempt to click their teeth closed. Interesting, but not the point of his venture. With the lack of animosity, Sunshinespot takes the first step onto the thunderpath.

"A favor," he repeats in kind, his lazy smile resting within his features with too much ease. As he grows closer, he can see the scarring on the other's face, how their teeth too break from their lip line. Immediately a kinship is born on his side, but he does not assume the same of the ShadowClanner. "I'd like some flowers. Some pretty ones - like..." he tilts his head to look around the marsh ahead of him (behind them,) but ultimately he stops midway across the thunderpath.

He looks back at Jitterbug and nods, "like y'er eyes, yeah? The... blue ones. The purple ones." A white paw waves as he remains on the neutral land between their territories. "I'll bring y'back a few from my side, if y'wanna trade..." there's nothing wrong with that, right? Useless petals and blooms cannot compare to herbs and prey, right? He supposes he will never know, not unless someone conks him over the head with the new knowledge.
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[jitterbug]

Jitterbug's ears flick sharply as ey echoes the words, eir head tilting once more. "A favor, a favor," ey repeats again, eir voice catching as it always does when something grabs eir attention. The words seem to stick in eir throat, unwilling to leave until they’ve repeated themselves a few times. When something piques eir curiosity, the repetition only grows stronger, almost uncontrollable. But this time, it doesn’t irritate em—not yet, at least. The cat standing across the Thunderpath is unusual, and ey has a soft spot for things that are a little off-kilter, a little unexpected. There’s something about this cat that doesn’t quite fit, especially compared to the ShadowClanners ey is used to. Ey likes unusual.

Sunshinespot's easy, laid-back demeanor doesn’t sit right, though. It confuses Jitterbug. He’s too relaxed, too casual, considering he’s standing right on the edge of such a dangerous spot. Jitterbug's eyes narrow as ey watches him closely, studying every step he takes as he moves across the Thunderpath, his paws crossing into neutral ground. "Flowers?" Jitterbug repeats, this time with a sharper tone, almost a huff of disbelief. Flowers? Who in their right mind crosses the Thunderpath for flowers? Ey snaps eir jaws together, the click of eir teeth loud in the still air, a sound that matches the skepticism curling through eir thoughts.

"Blue ones? Purple ones?" ey echoes, the words slipping out before ey can stop them. Like my eyes, ey repeats in eir mind, but doesn’t say aloud. The comparison dances in eir head, looping over and over as ey stares at the other. What is he playing at? And yet... the request is strange enough to hold eir attention. It pulls at eir curiosity in the way only a few things can. Maybe there’s something more to this. Jitterbug's tail twitches as ey weighs the situation, eir mind working behind narrowed eyes. After a long pause, ey finally shrugs, a quick, sharp movement. "I could go for that," ey agrees, eir tone nonchalant but with an edge of interest. "Blue and purple. Easy enough." Ey hums softly to emself, thinking over the oddness of it all. If Sunshinespot wants flowers, fine—ey can oblige. At least the ThunderClanner is offering something in return.

"D'you have orange? Yellow?" ey asks, eir gaze never leaving the cat's face. "I'd like orange an' yellow." The words are casual, but there’s an intensity to the way Jitterbug speaks them, a sharpness that hints at more than just idle curiosity. Those colors, bright and bold, would add something valuable to eir collection of trinkets and treasures squirreled away in eir nest. Sunshinespot might want pretty things for whatever reason, but Jitterbug likes to keep such things for emself—little special pieces of the world ey can claim as eir own. Eir stay locked on the pale tortoiseshell, watching him with a mix of suspicion and intrigue. What kind of cat makes deals for flowers, crossing into the middle of a location where countless creatures have died? Yet here ey is, agreeing to the trade despite emself, already wondering what kind of orange and yellow blooms might come from the other side of the border.​

 

[sunshinespot]

It's easy to train his mind to see past the repetitions. At most he hears them as clarifying statements, even as the other goes over, and over, and over again. No malice can be seen behind his lopsided grin - simply a tom wishing to do more for his friend back home. And feasibly, it seems that the ShadowClanner he's run into has no issue, either, with helping him out. Eir seems interested in a trade after a good bit of time thinking, and the colors orange and yellow are asked for.

Sunshinespot withholds a frown that the other hasn't met him on the thunderpath. Safety first, he supposes. But he did wish Jitterbug had joined him - he wish he could've spoken to em more personally.

"I gotcha," he promises cheerily. "Err... Would y'like them now? I can try t'find them, but it'll take a bit. Or -" his eyes light up slightly, and he pats the cool asphalt beneath his paws, "Meet me here, sundown tomorrow. We can trade flowers then."​

 

[jitterbug]

Jitterbug's sharp blue eyes scan the scene, taking in Sunshinespot's cheery demeanor and the thunderpath that stretches out like a dark, dangerous ribbon between them. The air around the thunderpath has this strange, electric hum to it, like a warning to keep away. Ey learned long ago not to stand too close. The memories of fast, roaring monsters are enough to keep even the most adventurous of cats in check, and Jitterbug has no intention of getting too close. Still, as Sunshinespot speaks, eir paws tap the edge of the asphalt once, twice. The rhythmic sound is calming in its own way, a constant amidst the chaos of eir swirling thoughts. Ey tilts eir head slightly, studying the tom with a curious glint.

"Sundown tomorrow?" Jitterbug echoes, a twitch running through eir jaw as ey speaks. "Sure, sure. Blue and purple. Sundown. Got it." Ey flicks an ear as if sorting through a mental list. The colors are easy enough to find, but that's not the point. The real question is how long Sunshinespot will keep em waiting. Jitterbug hates waiting. It gnaws at em, makes eir skin crawl, and ey has a short enough fuse as it is. Ey taps eir paw against the asphalt again, twice more this time. "I'll be here." A crooked grin spreads across eir face, though another twitch in eir jaw makes it lopsided. Ey glances down at the asphalt under eir paws, then back up at Sunshinespot, already feeling restless. "Just don't be late."
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