|☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ Skyclan: The Resilient and Tough |☾ ☼ ϟ ≈ ☁| ☼

(Oh sweet! Thanks! 😊)

(Hi Moon! Sunshade has a crush on Eaglenose as well if you want to add that. Not sure if it's mutual yet-Hollyleaf?)

(Yeah Eaglenose is smitten. He’s interested in looking at how it can progress🤓)

Eaglenose nodded, happy that she had agreed. He hadn’t expected the hunting patrol to be so successful in so many ways. He waved his tail happily behind him, forgetting for a moment how tense things were. As soon as they slipped back into camp, it hit him. The scent of ShadowClan bombarded him and overpowered his new good mood. He tried to push it aside. “I’ll go wait over there,” he told Sunshade, giving her a moment to go out her catch on the fresh kill pile. He moved over to a shady corner and settled down, leaving the bird untouched until she came to join him.

Cliffheart winced when she coughed. He shot a glance over at Spiderbite for anything the young medicine cat could do, but Spiderbite wouldn't look at him. The young tom had his head turned downward. He sat like he was respectfully giving Cliffheart and Lavendersky the chance to say goodbye, but silent tears fell from his eyes. 

Cliffheart laid back beside Lavendersky. It terrified him that the Dark Forest was on the rise...again. What happened if he fell back into who he once was? That vile apprentice that was out for blood. A hole sunk in Cliffheart's chest. "So much good being the protective one was. If you leave...I'll be alone. Lavendersky...I'm losing everyone."

Eaglenose watched Sunshade as she approached, noticing the way her pelt looked almost ablaze when the sunlight hit it just right. Despite the fact that he thought fire was terrifying and dangerous, he appreciated the way her pelt glowed. He shifted to give her more room beside him when she grew closer and nodded for her to have the first bite. "Be my guest," he told her, nudging it closer to her.

Eaglenose smiled slightly at her obvious enjoyment of the bird and then leaned his head down to take a bite himself. She was right - it was delicious. “Good hunting,” he said, kind of quiet. He was unsure of what to say, his nerves were bad. Which is weird. He ALWAYS knew what to say.

Eaglenose couldn’t stop the snort of amusement at her actions. It was like they were kits or apprentices again, playing with stuff in the camp. He shook his head to get the feather off and batted it back towards her before it hit the ground. His tail swished. “It’s sad, a bit, that warriors are expected to be so serious all the time,” he said, his tone light. “Why can’t we all play with feathers every once in a while?”

Eaglenose laughed a little more at her kit-like attitude. He felt like he wanted to join her, but his pride kept him back. What would the clan think if he was rolling around like a young kit? Would they still respect him as a strong warrior? His paws tingled and her sneeze made him chuckle again. He glanced around the clearing, his eyes falling on the ShadowClan warriors again and he sighed. He couldn't do it, not in front of them, not when the clan already looked vulnerable. But, he didn't want to hurt Sunshade's feelings by ignoring her fun. He looked down at her, trying to mask his indecision. "Is it not part of the warrior code? I thought it was clearly stated - 'warriors cannot have fun, ever again, after earning their warrior names'," he said with a purr. If he wasn't going to roll around in the leaves - as fun as that looked for him - he would still acknowledge Sunshade in her fun. He knew he thought too much about image, he always wanted to be perceived as strong and noble and loyal - it wasn't always a good thing. Sunshade didn't seem to have that problem and he envied her. What a life he could lead if he wasn't so worried about how others saw him.

Eaglenose was surprised at the gesture and at first his body went rigid. He wasn’t sure how to respond. What was the standard? How would he know. He had few real friends in the clan - fewer now that Warblerwind was gone. After a moment, he processed she was trying to comfort him for his previous mental turmoil. Apparently he was not good at masking how he really felt - she saw right through him. He relaxed his muscles again and gave a soft purr, glad she wasn’t upset or anything at his refusal to join in on the fun. Again, he was speechless. If his mother were alive she’d be shocked to death - he held back a laugh. He couldn’t say that out loud, it would only be funny to him. “We’re lucky,” he said, keeping his tone low as to not fully interrupt the moment. “We are vulnerable without a leader and deputy, but at least we still have great warriors.” He said. He was trying to be subtle and not so subtle. Even not subtle and generally, it was true. They were weak without leadership but strong with warriors - but he was trying to be more pointed without being obvious.

(He was basically complimenting her for being a cool person lol)

Eaglenose looked down at her and cursed in his head. He hadn’t been clear enough. He shrugged and glanced away. “I just mean, we have good warriors - like you - in the clan. And it makes us stronger than ever.” He said, more direct but still trying to play it off. He shifted a little, unsure if he should say more or just leave it at that and see her reaction.

(If you’ve ever seen the movie grease…think of eaglenose as Danny zuko lol. Wants to play it off as a cool guy but really he’s a sweetheart - but he doesn’t want anyone joshing him for being a sweetheart lol)

Eaglenose was relieved she wasn't inquiring more. He lifted his head high when she made the comment about hunters. He was an excellent hunter, that was true, something he could be proud of without having to worry about being proven wrong. "I am one of the best hunters," he said, only half-joking. In his own mind, it was the truth - but he wasn't sure his clanmates would agree. Whens he touched her nose to his, he flinched - another surprise. What was up with him? He acted like this was his first time meeting a cat. Well, perhaps it wasn't his first time meeting a cat, but it was the first time he'd ever had one so affectionate with him outside of his mother. He blinked at her apologetically, hoping she wasn't offended at his surprise. "I...uh, sorry, I wasn't expecting..." he trailed off, not knowing how to explain himself. "Thanks for hunting with me, and sharing the bird," he said, trying to cover up his awkwardness. "You're a better hunting partner than Poppyclaw - he's a bit gruff," he joked. He didn't really dislike hunting with the older tom, he just wanted to find a way to ease the tension that he had created inside himself - completely of his own insecurities. 

Eaglenose caught the hurt that flickered through her gaze and he tensed again. There it was. The reason he wasn't used to affection - because as soon as things got there, he didn't know how to act and ruined everything. He was too proud to just...let it be. What can I do to make her feel better? he thought, resisting the urge to shuffle his paws like a lost apprentice. He didn't know what to do or how to act, and he didn't know how to explain that to her - but it wasn't fair for her if he just...reacted and hurt her feelings. But, this wasn't in his wheelhouse. Showing off and being arrogant - that's what he was good at. Reigning his own personality in and being real with someone - not really. He looked around the camp again, purposely avoiding looking at the ShadowClan warriors, and returned his gaze to her. He flicked his tail so that it crossed over and laid gently over hers. He didn't push it by trying to twine them or anything, he just wanted to make a gesture of good will. He crouched a little and leaned towards her, his whiskers twitching with uncertainty. "Sunshade, I think you're...great. I'm just...not used to, closeness like that and it threw me off. It's not you, I swear, it's my own head. I would like to...hang out more and perhaps...I don't know," he was speaking too slowly. He could only imagine it was like a kit who just figured out how to talk would be. "I'm not good at this, it's not easy for me. I don't want you to think you've done something wrong." he finished. Now, he had rambled on like a dummy. She wouldn't want anything to do with him now.

Eaglenose made sure he didn’t hesitate before he shook his head. He did hesitate to answer, unsure how he wanted to respond. There seemed to be more there than just his actions and he didn’t want to put any past hurt on her shoulders as well - that was the last thing he wanted. “I don’t think so,” he said, steadying his gaze on hers. “I’m just not sure how to react sometimes, because it’s unfamiliar territory. But that’s not because I don’t..appreciate it,” he added. He let out a heavy sigh. “Great StarClan I’m bad at this. I feel like I’m just making things worse.” He admitted.

He laughed. “Well now you’re just lying to make me feel better,” he said. He flicked the tip of his tail and it brushed hers where it still lay over. Eaglenose felt the tension beginning to melt now that the conversation seemed to be moving in a better direction. Hopefully, if he and Sunshade were able to spend more time together and explore things, he would get better at the intimate conversations. Right now, he was hopeless. “I suppose you’re right, we all start somewhere. Just be patient with me,” he said. “And call me a jerk if I act like one, it most likely won’t be on purpose.” His shoulders relaxed again and he sat up a little straighter. Maybe he hadn’t ruined everything by being a total idiot.