Open to Join A Tree to Lounge In

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
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Merryaster's ear flicked at the sound of paws skidding across the clearing, though she didn't lift her head right away. Ravenbloom's cheerful greeting arrived a heartbeat later, and only then did she tilt her chin up from her paws. As she focused on him the corners of her maw lifted in a wide smile.

"Why, good morning, Ravenbloom. Did you sleep well?" She stretched one foreleg forward along the willow root as she adjusted her stance. "Well...some cat's gotta keep a watch over things while Coldstar is busy. Just don't tell him I take his favorite spot."

Coldstar didn't seem the kind of cat to garner many friends much less ones that would speak so playfully about him. But he had been her mentor. She had seen sides to him that others rarely did - and saw fit to poke at him to keep him sincere.

She chuckled lightly, crossing a paw as her tail motioned the tom up in an invitation to join her. "You seem like you're up later than usual...You're not trying to avoid something, are you?"

Every day is a good day for a nap.

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"Morning! I did sleep well!" Ravenbloom chirped, "Although I wish I could have stayed in my nest a little longer." He sent one last longing glance in the direction of his nest before looking back at Merryaster. Just a heartbeat later the other cat answered his question and Ravenbloom nodded in an exaggerated way in understanding and joined on on the playful tone Merryaster had. "I'd never dream of it!"

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
༻❁༺

Merryaster watched him settle with an amicable light in her teal eyes. Ravenbloom just happened to be one of her milk-siblings, raised alongside her and her siblings when she was young. To her, there was barely any difference - although aside from his smaller size compared to the rest of Boldstar's brood, he fit right in being grey. Merryaster was the odd one out of the litter being darker and tinted more brown like her dam. Ravenbloom's exaggerated innocence earned a soft huff of laughter from her as she made some space for him.

"I should have known. Just a victim of your own comfortable nest." What kind of magical moss or comfortable feathers lined his nest, came her internal wonderings, that would make him so wraught to leave it?

"As long as it's not raining...Greenleaf makes me what to jump right up from my nest at the start of the day. Everything's warm...Prey is plentiful! The River is practically begging to be fished." She gave her right paw a quick swipe of her tongue. "And what if it's too hot...in your nest? Wouldn't you want to leave it then?"

There was no accusation in her tone as she addressed him, instead swaying her tail in front of his muzzle to let him know it was all in good fun. "Leafbare I can totally understand wanting to keep curled in your nest, though. If the River is frozen, what's the point of getting up at all?" A sound in her throat gave the impression that it wasn't something she believed in fully. Prey still needed to be caught and borders to be patrolled."

Her whiskers twitched with a hint of playful suspicion. "Have you come to say hi because...you're just looking for company? Or maybe, just maybe, you'd like to go to the River with me?"

Every day is a good day for a nap.

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Ravenbloom nodded in understanding at the she-cats mew, there was so much to do in green-leaf that he could see where she was coming from. "It's the opposite for me." The tom chirped, "In green-leaf everycat catches plenty of fish so quickly that we don't neeeeed," The tom dragged out and changed his tone slightly for the word need, glancing up at the sky and moving his head slightly in an attempt to exaggerate the word, "to obsess over hunting and fishing like we do in leafbare. If we do it'll all just turn into crowfood before we can eat it all!" 

"If it's too warm in my nest then it'll be way too warm to move around in the sun. In the cold moving around and being in the sun helps me get warm." He mewed, plus his fur warmed up in the sun and then he got even warmer so in greenleaf it just became an entire thing. He knew his milk-sister was just messing with him, but this was something he had genuinely put some thought into in the few seasons he'd had to think about this. 

The she-cats mew removed him from the brief jaunt he'd had in his own thoughts, and he licked his paw and swiped it across his ear in an attempt to cover for his becoming engrossed in his thoughts about temperature and weather. 

"Well I was coming by just to say hi." The tom answered truthfully, "But if you want to go to the river I'll happily join you." Despite his desire to avoid the heat the river was nice, and the water could help him cool off a little even if it wasn't extremely warm. 

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
༻❁༺

Taking after her dam, Merryaster lounged patiently as she conversed with Ravenbloom, listening to how he explained his very serious philosophy on temperature and seasonal effort. Her whiskered were already twitching at his endearing mannerisms by the end of it.

"So what you're telling me is that Greenleaf is simply too successful for you." Her tail draped along the root, teasing at the smooth bark as her claws curled into the surface. Climbing was a fun passtime, but not as much as swimming and fishing was.

"It can get easier in Greenleaf and certainly we shouldn't overhunt prey even when it' plentiful. Plenty of time for relaxation as well as our duties."

She blinked slowly over at him. "Well, I'm glad you stopped by to say hello". Though there was an unmistable perk of her ears at his willingness to go to the River. He was happy to do so. He said it himself! "Good." She meowed, rising smoothly to her paws and stretching once more along the willow root. "Because I think a quick trip to the water would do me some good. Let's enjoy it while we can."

Every day is a good day for a nap.

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So what you're telling me is greenleaf is simply too successful for you. The tom nodded in reply, "Yup! But that's a good thing. The less work I have to do the more the clan is thriving, and I always want the clan to thrive." He mewed matter-of-factly, still knowing Merryaster was teasing him. Him getting to stay in his nest later was simply a bonus from the success of his clan, besides sometimes he did have a dawn patrol that took him out of his nest sooner than he'd like.

Ravenbloom slowly blinked back at Merryaster, acknowledging her thanks. He was always happy to talk to any cat, but especially his old milk-siblings and Otterwhisker. He may not have any living kin that he knew of in the clan, but they felt like his kin and had never treated him otherwise and that's all that mattered.

As Merryaster rose to her paws so did he, mimicking her stretch as he tried to get the residual stillness from his long sleep out of his muscles before the journey to the river. "Yup! Let's! Last one there's frog-dung!" He cheered before bounding away from the twin willow and in the direction of the river, glancing back after a few heartbeats to see if Merryaster would join in his antics or if he'd have to slow down.

There’s always something new to try. I’m hungry for all of it!

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Hailstrike had been sitting, waiting, watching her siblings from the shadows of camp. Listening to the jovial conversation about StarClan knows what. All until... going out! Hailstrike lifted her ears as they turned to leave the camp and bunched up her muscles before pouncing out of the den at full speed.

With a massive leap, she pounced onto the back of Ravenbloom, lashing her tail excitedly and laughing as she quickly released him from the pounce. "And where do you think you two are going without your big sister huh?" Hailstrike hummed cheerfully, giving Merryaster a little bat on the muzzle with on of her forepaws. "Surely you two aren't going on a hunting mission without one of the best hunters in the clan!" She announced proudly, placing a paw on her chest and rising her chin proudly.

"So where are we hunting? The River? or are we going along to see what land prey is wondering about huh?" The pale ticked tabby she-cat trilled as she squeezed her muscular frame ahead of the two, curling her tail high with interest, pride and excitement as she turned to face Merryaster and Ravenbloom. "I'll try and go easy on the both of you this time!"

Garden's gem, in sunlight's blaze
༻❁༺

Ravenbloom had barely gotten a head start before a blur of pale fur exploded from the side of camp. Merryaster saw it a heartbeat too late as the start of her sister's name half fell from her mouth. Her ears flicked back in surprise, the momentum of Ravenbloom's challenge completely stolen out from under her...

Her dark, muzzle zagged sharply to avoid her strike towards her muzzle before she hopped lightly down from the willow root after them just as Hailstrike puffed up proudly in front of them. "We were..." She said calmly, smoothing a paw over her chest fur where the excitement had ruffled it. "-Going to the River."

Her teal eyes flicked between the two of them, the hint of a smile tugging at her muzzle. "Fishing, most likely. Maybe a little hunting in the reeds if something interesting shows itself." She lifted her chin toward the direction of the water, where the scent of the river drifted faintly.

Then her expression sharpened just a touch. "But we're not emptying the river while we're out there. Greenleaf may be generous but that doesn't mean we take more than the Clan needs." She had little doubt Ravenbloom would heed to her wisdom as he really only did what was asked of him and little more, but her sister's competitive streak would need a bit more reigning in.

Teamwork would be crucial for them all to hunt together. "Come on!" Not to be a stick in the mud, she animated herself into a gallop towards their destination.