Private Thread Barnyard Bargain

A little bit of elegance never goes out of style
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The afternoon had grown warm enough that even Monty had taking an oppertunity... He trotted back to the barn, his fur darkened where the pond water dampened it still. His whiskers were still damp and every few steps he gave a flick of a paw.

The old tom rounded the corner of a hedgerow and was halfway around when he spotted the flame point she-cat. "Basilflame?" His surprise melted almost immediately and approached her with his tail held high in greeting. His concern for her had only increased when he heard what was happening in WindClan.

"I'm glad to see you." He glanced down at his paws before he met her gaze again. "I heard you'd been through hard days. Emberdawn passed along your Clan's sorrows... and he was kind enough to carry my thanks to you."

I’d rather bear the weight of others than let others carry pain alone.

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Basilflame's ears pricked as the tom approached, half drenched in pond water, but there none-the-less. "Emberdawn kept his word." She replied, giving Monty a few licks across his pelt, ruffling his fur the opposite way of where it naturally flowed to dry is faster. "It dried faster when its ruffled the opposite way." She purred softly before working on the rest of his damp pelt. It had been some time since she had last seen Monty, if she was being honest with herself, she missed the company and was happy to see him again, evident in her purring.

"It's been a while, how have you been? The barn treating you well, Monty?" She asked politely, flicking her tail for a moment before leaving the ruffled fawn fur to dry in the sunlight with a soft chuckle to herself. "It works better on kits I suppose." She snorted out a chuckle "It reminds me of little pinecones when their fur is all ruffled." she spoke again, almost giggling to herself at the thought, pinecone kits, only she could come up with something like that. "I wonder if the longer the fur is, the larger the little pinecone 'bristles' are!" she chirped lightly.

Basilflame then flanked his side, not pressing herself against him, but standing as a steady presence, there one moment, and gone the next, but always returning, like the sunrise and sunset, Monty simply took the time to admire it, and she would thank him silently for that. Or perhaps... in another way. She chose not to mention the reasons for her grief, it wasn't important to him, just... WindClan issues.

A little bit of elegance never goes out of style
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As Basilflame fussed over him, Monty remained still even as he leaned into her actions. A soft rumbling purr escaped him despite himself. "So that's the trick - Two is better than one.And here I was letting the sun do all the work." Once he looked comically fluffed he laughed.

He couldn't remember how long it had been, really. Each day blended evenly into the next as routine settled into his new life. He wandered less and remained where the company was pleasant and the cushions were soft. "The barn has been kind with enough pidgeons for company should I not have a cat to speak to."

"It's been more lonely without a certain warrior keeping tabs on me...." He mumbled with an airy jest before his voice lowered. "Basilflame, have you ever looked at your reflection in the water? Your fur, every scar...the water reflects everything about you, but it's only surface level. A single drop can ripple out and ripple far and give you depth - I think you've become my ripple."