Open to Join Down by the Bay (2TW'20)

Rooknose hated leafbare, yet he knew Aspenberry needed him working. His long legs made plowing through the snow easy, but his short pelt made it almost unbearable. The warrior's den had a little but of snow leaking through the roof, and Rooknose had headed out to find some thickets and leaves to better insulate the den. Aspenberry had organised an insulation project last moon, but whoever had worked on the roof hadn't done a very good job. He was already carrying a few thickish sticks in his mouth. What he did not expect was to see Bayflower out here, pottering around Silverfall gorge. He awkwardly stood there for a moment, sticks poking out the sides of his mouth before he briskly spun around, not knowing how to deal with his fellow warrior. Back to camp it would be, or perhaps he would just go somewhere as far as possible from Bayflower. The feline was nice, one of his daughters good friends, but Rooknose was much older, and had nothing in common with the black cat other than Aspenberry. 

Clearly Bayflower had noticed him, so the black tom slowly turned around. He stood there again for a moment, silence washing over the two cats before Rooknose opened his mouth. He attempted to say something but the sound was muffled by the sticks he forgot he was holding. He looked panic stricken for a moment before his rational thinking kicked in and he carefully placed the sticks on the ground, shuffling them between his paws. 'Uhh, If you want to. I'm just collecting sticks and whatnot to insulate the warriors den a little more. Snow keeps creeping in.' He picked up his small pile of sticks again and made his way over to the nearest tree, indirectly ignoring Bayflower's presence. 

'Look for ones that are supple. They are the easiest for me to weave, and aren't dried out, meaning they hold the warmth better. Any small branches with non dead leaves are good too.' Already Rooknose could see a few things peeking out of the snow, in which he approached them and began to gently paw at them, testing out their flexibility. 

As Rooknose shuffled around the snow, choosing sticks and debris to take home, the impending doom of starting conversation loomed over him. Once well into a conversation Rooknose would talk like any other, but the start was absolutely horrible, always filled with awkward conversation starters and half-hearted, useless questions. Maybe they would want to talk about Aspenberry? Probably not but it's all he could think of at the moment. Plus it was better than talking about sticks anyway. 'So uhh, how's Aspenberry? She's been so busy at the moment I haven't had the opportunity to have a proper conversation with her. I know she's fond of you so I assumed you might know more than I do.' A certain stick was lodged into the ground, and he tugged at it with his teeth, clawing at the ground to dig it up but his attempts were fruitless, until it final came loose and he went half flying backwards. 'Just- tell me' he huffed, a little exhausted from pulling the stick, 'if you think- she's overworking herself.' Aspenberry usually had pretty good recognition over her physical status, and would never push herself past her limits. It was more her mental status she had trouble helping herself with, and as of lately she had seemed especially restless.