[Hellion]

"You ought to offer to take a to-be or two to the jumping ridge," Stag's head turn at the sound of his father's voice. Leave it to his sire to bring attention to his lack of invovlement once again. While it wasn't as poignant as previous encounters with Branch. It still stirred up sour emotions.

"I'll think about it," Stag replied, despoiting a few feathers to add to his father's nest. The greying brown tom, gave a huff of annoyance. Tail twitching to further show his displeasure. "Fine, I'll go," Stag huffed, turning appruptly to leave his father to tend to his own nest. The elder smiling in his victory, concern for his son's happiness ever present.

It wasn't that Stag disliked spending time with the to-be's, in fact he enjoyed some of their company. Their youthful curiosity remended him of himself. How simple things were back in his youth. When everyhing was easy and the only worry he had came from who would take him on his next adventure. Life was simple before him the tom who's name he refused to speak even to himself. The scar across his chest the permanant reminder of how quickly things change. How impossible it is to live with paws in two worlds.

Navigating the oddly busy cave, Stag found himself back at the cave-guard grotto. Familiar tribe mates talked with each other for a shared meal. One particular to-be catching his eye. "Stone! Are you free?" He could take out more then one to-be but he figured one would be enough. He wasn't yet a guide to his own to-be, but he'd like to in the future. In an attempt to ease himself out of his long lasting sorrow at the loss of him Stag didn't want to exhaust his mental capabilties. Better to ease himself into anything he did. That lesson learned all to painfully so many moons ago.

Text ends here.

Ginger | #330| background | lyrics | table by Amber

Weather:
Newleaf 2 Frost covers the ground in the morning, but melts by the midday sun, making a surprisingly warm and beautiful day despite the damp and sometimes muddy earth.

[Ginger]

Stone's eyes drooped. The past few days had been rather exhausting. The to-be found himself constantly standing around with the other cave-guards. Theoretically, he was learning how to stay alert, but in truth, the young tom was doing nothing but boring himself. It seemed a little early to be learning about his duties. He needed to have a little fun first!

A familiar voice caused Stone's ears to swivel around before his eyes followed and made contact with Stag's. A wide smile crossed the tom's face. Of course he was free! Or so he hoped.

A rueful glance at the older cave-guards, and the two cats just shook their heads and laughed, a sign that he was free to go. 

Bouncing up with more energy than he realized he had, Stone bound over to Stag. 

"Are we gonna do something cool?" Desperation latched itself onto every single word, making the young tom sound almost a little pitiful. He simply needed something new to see. Anything new to see.

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168 words
Hellion

[Hellion]

Stag apperciated Stone's excitment. So much of younger self he saw in Stone. He hoped their ancestors had a better path laid out for him. One that did not find heartache in the heart of the valley.

"Yeah, I'm going to take you to the jumping ridge. See how fast you can make it to the top, I'll give you a headstart so you have a reasonable chance," He teased, tail tip flicking over Stone's ear.

He took the lead, having traveled to the jumping ridge countless times over the moons. The well-toned muscle of his hind legs was proof enough.

Stag pushed Stone to keep up with his longer legged pace but trotting along. They needed all the daylight to have a safe training session. Not that he was all that inclined to test Stone's skill, he more or less wanted to race someone on the ridge.

Their arrival was marked by Stag's forepaws stepping around a few rough bolder edges. Where likely seasons ago a few ledges fell to the earth.

"Have you been here before?" He asked, attention directed toward the ledge. The rain had changed their surface but being sure-footed was a trademark of any cave-guard. As long as they didn't go too high, a fall wouldn't cause any lasting damage. Stag knew his limit and intended to help Stone find his.

@tags | #words | background | lyrics | table by Amber