Territory DON'T TALK IF YOU WON'T MAKE IT WORTH IT!!

[MAREMANE]

Ever since Sass and Merry had their fight, Maremane has been … avoidant of Hollowmumble and the apprentices. Especially Meadowpaw, the betrayed expression that had struck across her face making Lucille's conscious twist. She hates it. She is justified, after all, because one of those toms were once a name held fondly on her mouth. Now, all she tastes is sour.

It makes her run more. Spending all that energy, anxiety cold on her breath. The grass whips past her, stinging carelessly across her shoulders and face. In this state, the sun's heat can barely catch her until she stops.

And she does stop after nearly bowling into the calico. Her run turns into an awkward hop, side-stepping @Meadowpaw as Maremane chokes back a gasp which thankfully doesn't emerge. It is hard not to feel like Meadowpaw is porcelain with her healing injuries and missing limb. Like the reckless bull that Maremane was would shatter the remaining three off.

Caught in an interaction, she pauses. Then, she offers, polite in a corporate way: "Hello."

 

[Meadowpaw]

Sitting in the dark waiting on the stars
Thinking through all the places that you've been

.

Since the fire, their lives had felt like tangled threads — overlapping, tanging into knots, splitting at the ends. When everything unraveled, it had brought out the best in some of them… and the worst in others.

She used to think so highly of the older barn cats. They were brave and kind and strong... everything she wanted to be. But now she wasn't so sure. She hadn't spoken to Merrystalk since arguing with him about the fight with Sassy. Not because she was angry or didn't understand why he acted the way he did, but because she didn't know what to say. Meadow didn't know how to fix things.

Before the fire, everything seemed simpler. She could always go to Nutmeg or Chicken or even Merrystalk, and they'd help her figure it out. She didn't want to burden her sister any more than she had to. So now, who did she turn to? They were supposed to be the ones with all the answers when everything went wrong. It wasn't fair to place that on them, she knew that now, but Meadowpaw couldn't help it. Was it too much to ask them to try even a little?

Maybe it wasn't her place to try and fix things. But whatever this was—whatever was happening to them—it felt like it was tearing them apart. At a time when they needed each other the most.

When I need them most.

She hopped forward, flowers tucked gently into the crook of her shoulder. Her eyes were downcast, too occupied with her thoughts for her to watch where she was going. But when someone nearly bowled into her, she stumbled backward onto her rump. The bundle tumbling from her jaws, scattering stems and petals across the ground.

Green eyes snapped up to the cat she'd nearly collided with, concern flashing across her face. "Oh sorry!" The calico freezes upon seeing Maremane.

Since the fight, Meadowpaw hadn't gotten a chance to speak with Maremane, not that she hadn't tried to. But it seemed like every time Meadow worked up the courage, she was nowhere to be found. "Oh uh… hello…" She mewed softly. The urge to turn around and flee in the other direction was strong, but there were things she wanted to ask. Now she had a chance to, if she could figure out how to do that without it evolving into another argument.

Her gaze dropped to the petals on the ground, but she didn't look away long, fearing that if she did, Maremane would vanish again. "Actually... um... I-I know you're probably busy, but could I ask a favor?" The apprentice swallows and then looks up at the she-cat with soft, hopeful eyes. "I can't ask anyone else and its not something I can do by myself anymore..."

Speech, thoughts/emphasis

8 MOONS

⟢

WINDCLAN

⟢

SONG

⟢

bio

 

[MAREMANE]

Petals scatter like tears, which Maremane scans Meadowpaw's face for, her gut twisting with anxiety. Her strictly etiquette expression falls as she takes in the mess that their almost-collision had resulted in. Meadowpaw has no reason to apologize, but she does. Maremane never knows how to deal with such kind cats. She scoops one of the flowers up, the stem almost bald of its colourful petals. At the very least, she owes the calico help in salvaging her bouquet. Her ears perk at the request, vision raising from the fallen flowers to Meadowpaw's hopeful gaze.

The selfish part of her hopes it is just recollecting the flowers. She prays it's not advice about another cat or helping make a brand new bouquet. Her excuse to leave is already being molded as she answers, short and tentative as if anything more than a word would be perceived as a sturdy lifeline: "Uh, sure?"

She's been trapped. Maremane can't possibly know what Meadowpaw will ask. The last time she'd really seen the apprentice was during Merrystalk and Sassafraschill's argument. During it, Maremane's focus had been inwards, even more so than towards the two bickering toms. She remembers the trust shattering in Meadowpaw's voice, but beyond that she had thought minimally of how it had affected her, or any of the others really.