Territory WC to your joy i tether, not a lot, just forever // merrystalk

[harefoot]

Though Harefoot's shoulder had mostly healed by now, it still aches occasionally, still troubles him when he tries to sleep. He just couldn't seem to get comfortable, now. Leg outstretched, leg bent, both hurt. The only comfort he did have was when Merrystalk would settle down next to him, his fluffy fur soft and warm. They had grown closer since the fire. Which was reasonable, Harefoot thinks– fear does that. Ties you together. He was with Merrystalk now, walking through the tall prairie grass, enjoying the late day sun.

Harefoot stops as he catches the scent of rabbit, though faint and likely days old. He pokes around in the grass, and sure enough, finds an abandoned rabbit hole… he pokes at the edge of it, forcing the entrance to collapse in on itself.

"Better to not leave them open…" Harefoot says quietly, looking over at Merrystalk. "A kit could crawl in…" he blinks in the light of the sun. "Owl… Owlbear's kits are lovely," he continues. "It is nice… with new life. So many were taken by the fire…" His voice drifts off, unsure of whether Merrystalk wanted to discuss this particular topic. He wouldn't blame him if not.

@Merrystalk

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

—————————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

Merrystalk couldnt help but glance to Harefoot with a smile as the two walked side by side. The field was warm and the air rich. Despite all that was lost, there were still glimpses of peace amid it all. It was times like these, spending a quiet moment with the other that was a stark reminder that they could persist in spite of what happened at the barn. Though his gaze flickered to the scarring on his shoulder, the occasional wince when he walked, how he only seemed to relax in his sleep when Merry was curled at his side. There was an ache in his chest to see him in pain; there wasn't much he could do to help with that, but company and comfort were something he would always give to Harefoot.

Though he watched as the other sniffed the air, and approached an old rabbit's warren, prodding at it until the dirt collapsed in on itself. He nodded thoughtfully, Starclan forbid if a kitten did end up stuck in a collapsed hole like that, if no one was about to see.. Well... The daunting thought was cut off as Harefoot continued, and another smile spread across Merry's face with the mention of Owlbear's kittens. "They certainly 're a bunch, ain't they." He spoke warmly, Owl was a dear friend of his, so of course her and Daz's kittens had wormed their ways into his heart, he's always been a softie for the smallest fellows of the barn- or well... Clan. His face fell a little.

"Its strange, yknow." There was something solemn in his voice. "'m terribly grateful they waited an extra day, those poor lot bein' born day of the fire?" He shook his head, not even wanting to imagine it. "But how cruel the irony they missed their own grandpa by nothin' but a night." Merry's eyes cast down, the rye at his paws bristling in the wind, he plucked a stalk and popped it in his maw, nipping at the tip of the stem between his teeth.

He steadied his heart, Hoot was a kind cat, one he looked to fondly as he grew up. The man wouldn't want the cats to mope around, so instead he looked back at Harefoot, softening again. "Yer right, while we lost a lot, we can't let it stop us makin' progress for the lil' things. Or fer any that come along in the future." Merry hummed. Seeing the three of them - especially Hootkit - grow into their own, it was something he often pondered. He didn't want to put the pressure of expectation on the little thing, she would never get to know her grandpa other than stories, she would be her own cat someday; same with her siblings. "Always wonder what they're gonna end up like. Whatever it is Hoot would be proud of 'em, I know I sure will be." Merry spoke warmly, as if the three were his own kin, though he had learned long ago family wasn't something of blood, but trust.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merrystalk
  ✦—Windclan moor-runner | 26 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[harefoot]

Harefoot listens quietly as Merrystalk talks. He was closer to Hoot's family than Harefoot was, and still is. He'd actually gone to see the kits, but Harefoot hadn't had the heart to yet. Maybe when his shoulder is healed properly, so he doesn't scare the wee ones…

"I am grateful to you too, Merry," Harefoot says after a brief pause, thoughtful. "I think it is fair to say I would not have survived the winter's without you, and after the fire you have been… a great comfort, and a source of steadiness and safety in all this change. I am… I'm usually okay with change, but this has all been…" his voice drifts off, sentence and thought both left unfinished. His life had changed twice; when he left his kitty pet life and came to the barn, and now this… clan business. And perhaps when he looked back on this moment moons from now, he would add; and when I met Merry. "But you have not changed, your heart is still soft and your eyes still warm. And for that... I am grateful. Who you are... has grown very dear to me."

Suddenly remembering the actual topic of their conversation, he continues quite out of the blue– "Hoot was a good cat, who raised good children. I'm sure Owlbear will do the same… and that they will do us all proud. The first kits born in Windclan… they will be special no matter who they become."

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

—————————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

Merry's eyes had cast out over the prairie, drinking in the views that once he had coveted to see up close while living in the barn. The wind was cool on his fur, even his scarring seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, for just a moment. Though the tom's ears pricked at Harefoot's continuation, his gaze fell to his companion, eyes softening and a smile happening upon his face. "Yer far too sweet, Harefoot, course I kept 'n eye out for ya'. What kinda cat would I have been if I didn't?" He spoke, softly. Though he found his steady heart leaping from his chest, the longer the other spoke, try as he might to keep his cool, the words of his companion slapped a flustered grin across his face.

Where he might usually have something lighthearted to quip back with, Merry found himself stumbling for words. "... I mean... Well, I could say the same for ya'. Kept me steady where I might get in over my head." He purred, those same kind eyes Harefoot had become so fond of, trained on the other tom as Merry tried not to fumble about his words. "You're, well- I'm rather fond of ya' too, Harefoot." Merry's tail twitched, as if to try and curl over Harefoot's, but he hesitated, just long enough for his companion to suddenly recall the conversation at hand.

Merry's tail instead curled about his own leg, suddenly very aware of how dazed he felt all of a sudden. He blinked hard, trying not to overthink the interaction - was he overthinking it? Harefoot wasn't affectionate on the best of days, so his gentle and rather affectionate words ran in the tom's ears. But he couldn't linger and leave Harefoot's thoughts unanswered. "Well, 'f course, Hoot's wisdom'll always live on in Owl and passed down to her lil' ones." Merry looked again at the field, basking in the gentle stirring of the wind all around. "The first kittens 'f Windclan... Hope it's not too much pressure on 'em, 'm sure it won't be long 'til there's more lil' fellers runnin' 'bout." He purred, it was still strange to recall how much they'd all settled into clan life now, felt like any day they might return to the barn, but calling Owl's litter the first of Windclan, well, it made it all feel so much more permenant.

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merrystalk
  ✦—Windclan moor-runner | 26 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46

 

[harefoot]

He notices Merrystalk's slightly flustered state, and he notices the way his own heart skips a beat when the other tom says he is fond of him– but he is not quite sure what it means. He notices the twitch of Merry's tail, but does not really understand it– had he said something inappropriate…? Harefoot doesn't want to make Merry feel uncomfortable or burdened, but he knows the way he speaks can be off putting to some. Then Merrystalk replies to his last words, and Harefoot nods. He is quiet for quite some time after this, thinking.

"The wind has settled," he says at length. "Perhaps it has been restless all along for the return of a clan bearing its name." He looks over at Merry again, and thinking of the times the other tom had comforted him, and the ways in which he had done it– he walks a little closer and sits down by him, fur brushing his. "I will… keep an eye out for you also. The first rabbit I catch when my shoulder has fully healed shall be yours, Merry. Ah… Merrystalk…" he goes quiet again. "I know Dustystar's reasons for giving you your name were sound… Another thing we must adapt too, this new naming system… but still… in my heart, you will always be Merry." A beat. "I would've named you Merrysong," he says. "For your laugh."

 

[Merrystalk Merrystalk]

—————————————— Dreaming along in a pace you'll understand. ✦

A silence fell between the two of them, comfortable, and not one Merry felt as if he had to fill that void. He hoped Harefoot hadn't noticed his behaviour shift, just wanting to enjoy a quiet moment with someone so dear to him. It was his companion to be the one to break the silence, the air was calm, and he was right. The wind settled to join them in that quiet moment, the voice of the other didn't seem to shift or carry with the wind as it usually did, instead just making him seem all the closer in proximity.

"Maybe... The moors 've been rather kind to us, prey plentiful 'nd besides rain the soil desperately needs, even the weather has taken a mercy to us all." It was only because of Harefoot that Mery had begun to pay attention to the wind, the weather, how the world carried itself around him. The wind would never whisper its secrets to the tom, but it had guided him right to Harefoot's side...

Just with that sentiment, the tom felt the other's fur bristle his own, having sat at his side staring out to the moors. Merry's heart again began to race, the closeness of the other was something he was used to, it wasn't some novelty, so why now of all times, did he feel so... Flustered about it? Even as Harefoot spoke, feeling the reverberations of a voice he took so much comfort in humming in the air all around him, Merry couldn't help the warm feeling in his chest as he sat at the other's side, allowing his tail to fall atop the others without flinching away. "Yer mighty kind, though I'd rather we enjoy it together when ya' do, everythin' is always a lil' sweeter with ya' around-" Merry felt his ears go warm, realising as the words tumbled from his lips what he had said. This kind of stuff, it never came easy to him, never with anyone like this before...

With Harefoot's addition, he went to retort something about the strange name conventions, how Harefoot was spared from it all, to try and cover his flustered state. And yet as the other spoke, his heart leaped to his throat. For a moment, Merry was simply stunned, the dumbfounded look on his face was very clearly knit with something else. For the first time ever, someone had successfully silenced Merry. It was now with him wearing an utterly flustered yet smitten look upon a face crinkled with a smile, one he couldn't have hidden if he tried. "I- I uh...."

Try as he might, the tom who had something to say about everything was lost for words. Without thinking, his tail had already curled about the other, something that only made Merry's flustered state worse. To admit, he had no idea how to handle feeling this overwhelmingly flustered, part of him just wanted to collapse and hide his face, as if that would shield him from Harefoot's perception of his state.

There was no doubt about it, why had he doubted it.

He took a moment to steady himself, but he couldn't help but find a laugh slip from his lips at his own state. Instead, Merry pressed a gentle forehead just under Harefoot's head, leaning gently against the other, wary of his injuries, but slotting perfectly there like he belonged the whole time.

Silence fell again, for just a moment, doubt crept in for just a moment, but Merry steadied himself as a purr rose from his throat. "I... Yknow I meant what I said, when I said 'm fond of ya'." Merry breathed, trying to keep his voice from wavering or hesitating too long. "Ya' made the last couple 've moons earlier to live through, but I... Now everythin' is less awful now, I hope ya' wouldn't mind me stayin' at yer side still..."

— And it's harder than you think,

Telling dreams from one another. —

• 
  Merrystalk
  ✦—Windclan moor-runner | 26 Moons
  ✦—He/Him
  ✦—"SPEECH", 'THOUGHTS', ATTACK
  ✦—A skinny, tortoiseshell cat with bright green eyes and pelt speckled with hay.
  #9D6E46