the easy morning ☼ open!

She turned around quickly in surprise at the response to her little mumble; she'd been talking to herself at the time, but she certainly wouldn't turn down an actual conversation. Seeing who it was, she trilled happily, scrambling to her paws to rub noses with the newcomer. "Willowstorm!" she meowed cheerfully, greeting her deputy with warm eyes. "It's good to see you." As clanmates went, the deputy was one of her favorites; he had always seemed kind enough to her. He'd never snapped at her, at any rate. She watched as he deposited his own kill, large and sleek, next to hers - it's quite a good size pile, now.

"I doubt I will get many more fish today, but it's good to see how many fish are in the river this morning." She mrrowed a laugh and sat back on her haunches, her eyes sparkling with just a hint of mischief. "Well," she drawled, allowing a bit of swagger to creep into her voice, "there are always fish in the river when you're as good a fisher as I am." She laughed a little at herself and her ridiculous tone, flicking her tail amiably and smiling at the gray tom.

"I can see why you wanted to come." Willowstorm continued, and she nodded cheerfully, gazing out across the banks and to the sparkling water in front of them. "The weather's nice today," she replied, her ears flicking absently at a bothersome fly that had decided the fish were quite interesting. "Sometimes you can tell when the fishing's going to be good just by the weather, you know?" She glanced at Willowstorm, examining him carefully with the distraction of her cocky words to cover her moment of concern. The whole clan knew about the loss of his mate, of course; Featherstep's death had been all too recent, and this was really the first time she'd been alone with the deputy since it happened. She hoped he was doing all right; someone as kind as he'd always seemed didn't deserve that kind of loss. Her tail twitched a bit as she felt concern sneak into her expression and hastily crowded it off.

"You just saw me in the camp, silly. It hasn't been that long, we still can't see the sun over the mountains." Dawnstep purred in amusement and ducked away from his playful swat, her eyes sparkling merrily. "Sure, but it feels longer!" she replied, her tail twitching absently. In fact, it felt like she'd been out here for hours - though of course Willowstorm was quite right, it was only barely past dawn, really. She supposed time flew when one was catching fish.

She glanced over at the mountains herself; the sun was peering through the trees, but only slightly. Then she turned back when Willowstorm continued, "You're one of the best fishers in Riverclan. I'm not surprised that you always catch something."

She ducked her head, honestly flattered but not wanting to show it. "Thanks," she meowed a bit bashfully, staring at the ground and aimlessly moving one paw through the mud as though it were the most fascinating action in the world. "I try." Truthfully, she was enormously proud to receive such a compliment from her deputy, but she worried that if she said so, he might think she was sucking up, or - well, she just didn't want to show how much it meant to her.

Willowstorm's next words gave her pause, however. "Have I acted so differently?" he meowed with a sigh, his entire countenance seeming to droop. Evidently he'd caught on to her concern after all. "I am lost, Dawnstep. I fear everything and my duties are the only things that keep me from sulking. I nearly cry every time I see my daughter and have been avoiding her because of how much like her Berrypaw is." He paused, his words some farce of cheerfulness. "You furball, I was doing good and you got me started again."

Her heart ached for him; she knew how it felt, of course, to loose one's family. True, she'd been very young when her mother had left her to RiverClan, and losing a mate wasn't quite the same thing, but she could empathize nonetheless. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out; she didn't know how to comfort someone over the loss of a rabbit they'd been chasing, much less the loss of someone so dear to them. She wasn't good for much, she thought bitterly, looking away again, but jokes. Finally, she looked back at Willowstorm, sighed, and said hesitantly, "The whole clan grieves with you, you know. And your kits most of all. I think..." She trailed off, unsure if her advice was sound, but not sure what else to say. "I think maybe you should talk to them about it. Maybe sharing your grief would help. You don't have to suffer this alone, you know."

"I know, thank you." Willowstorm smiled at her with what she thought was an impressive display of warmth, for someone so obviously still in mourning, and she smiled back, trying to give him as much of her strength through the expression as she possibly could. Then all of the sudden there was cold water splattering her face and fur, and she spluttered and yelped in surprise until sh realized Willowstorm had been the one to flick it at her. "Now, I do believe we have some fishing to do, unless you'd like to do something else?"

Narrowing her eyes playfully, she dipped her whole paw into the river and flicked it with as much strength as she had, sending water splashing all over the handsome tom. "No, by all means, let's fish," she said mock-haughtily, narrowing her eyes with imaginary disdain even as she stifled a laugh. She couldn't contain herself for very long, though, and giggled as she stood and moved closer to the river, flicking Willowstorm's flank with her tail playfully as she went. She crouched low over the bank, waiting for any fish to swim by. As she waited, she couldn't help but think how glad she was that her deputy felt like he could confide in her. It made some part of her very happy to know that he considered her closer to him than just any old warrior. She was so busy basking in the feeling, in fact, that she very nearly missed when a fish darted by beneath her, only just managing to dash her paw into the water and scoop it out, with just the tips of her claws snagging its slippery scales. "That was a close one!" she exclaimed as she set it down with the others.

((ooc: it's okay! idk why that last one was so long. i was just in the zone, i guess. this one's obviously shorter. : p also, hey, if you're down with that i am soo down with that. ))

"Close? you almost fell in trying to get it!" Dawnstep scowled playfully, grumbling under her breath about ungrateful deputies who made fun of hard-working cats who tried to provide for the clan. Her vitriol was so obviously fake, though, and she couldn't stop herself from smiling privately all the same - or from making a sympathetic noise when a fish just barely slipped from Willowstorm's clutches. "That was beyond mouse brained. How did I manage that one?"

She shook her head, nudging him lightly with her shoulder. "Happens to the best of us," she consoled, her eyes warm with encouragement. "I'm sure you'll get the ne-" She was promptly interrupted when he shoved her into the river after the escaping fish, and once the immediate shock of the cool water had passed over her she stubbornly stayed under just long enough that she thought he'd get worried before clambering back onto the bank.

"Very funny, you big jerk," she grumbled, shaking the water from her pelt and making sure to splatter as much of it on him as she possibly could, but nonetheless mostly just glad to make him a little happier, even if doing so meant getting pushed into the river. "See if I ever fish with you again," though of course she didn't mean that - she was enjoying his company too much for that.

((ooc: oh man i ship it ; v ; haha let's do it i am so ready for this. yeaaah))

"My dear Dawnstep, If you didn't fish with me then who would push you in?" Dawnstep laughed at that as she watched him climb back out of the river, admitting in a fakely grudging tone, "Well, I suppose I would have to find someone else to fill the position..." She watched as he shook water from his pelt; most long-haired cats avoided the water for the sake of their pride, because they looked like rats when they clambered back out of the water, but not Willowstorm. She wasn't blind to the way the lack of any fluff merely accentuated his frame, strong and sturdy. He was lucky, she thought; even with her shorter pelt, she suddenly felt sure she looked a bit ridiculous and overly skinny next to him. Subtly shaking herself out a bit more, she eyed the pile of fish they'd accumulated.

"So," she said, sitting primly and wrapping her still-damp tail around her paws, "I think that's enough fishing for one morning. You want to head back to camp?" All the fish would be scared off now anyway, and besides, they had caught plenty. Despite that, however, she sort of wanted to stay out and relax for a little longer; Willowstorm was one of her favorite cats, and she enjoyed spending time with him. Besides, he seemed to be enjoying himself, too, and it was wonderful to see him happy; she wanted to preserve the atmosphere of joy and comfort for as long as she possibly could. She wanted to make him happy however she was able.

It suddenly struck her how overly-familiar that sounded, even in her head, and she blinked, turning away to look into the water and feeling the prick of embarrassment on her skin. Sure, she liked Willowstorm quite a bit; she considered him among her friends, and though she was on good terms with most of the clan, she didn't really have many close friends. But Willowstorm was the deputy; he was expected to socialize with everyone. It was entirely possible that she liked him a whole lot more than he liked her, and she forced herself to remember that, and to remember that he probably had a lot better things to do than play around in the water with her.

Willowstorm's laughter warmed Dawnstep to the tips of her ears and toes, the sound making her eyes light up brilliant blue. That was what she liked to hear - she'd never quite grown out of the somewhat childish desire to make others laugh, and when it was someone she cared about, the warm feeling she got was even better. "You might have trouble finding a cat like me," he said, and she acquiesced with a grin and a nod of her head.

"True," she returned, tone chipper as she stood and stretched. "You're one of the few that can put up with me!" Her voice was light, but she hoped he understood her more serious meaning anyway - that she valued his company and hoped he valued hers, too. In truth, as much as she really did think they should be getting back to camp, a selfish part of her wanted to stay out here and make Willowstorm laugh some more, keep a smile on his face as long as she could, because of how happy it made her to make those things a reality.

"I guess we should get the fresh-kill back before it goes stale. The elders would have a fit if they were given stale food." She chuckled again at his words and grinned at the truth in them - another thing she'd never quite outgrown was the apprentice's healthy fear for the anger of the elders, should their care be unsatisfactory. She'd certainly been the recipient of many a tongue-lashing during her apprenticeship, if only because she had something of a tendency to sometimes prioritize fun over work. She joined Willowstorm in gathering up the fish and then nearly dropped them all in a surprised sneeze when he flicked his tail at her nose, narrowing her eyes playfully at him when he cast a gaze back over his shoulder at her.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," she mumbled, the words muffled by her mouthful of prey but the message hopefully getting across anyway. Dawnstep padded happily along just behind him, her paws falling into the familiar path back to camp with ease. The fish in their mouths made talking a bit difficult, even for her, so she was quite happy to walk along in silence and enjoy the last dregs of their time together. It took a moment, but after a little while she even caught the sound of a gentle purr, and looked over at Willowstorm in affectionate surprise; he didn't seem to realize he was making a noise, but she nonetheless purred right back, blinking and soaking in the air of contentment.


She was equally surprised to hear his next words - "Perhaps we can share some prey when we get back to camp, or take a walk after sun-high" - and from the look of things, so was he. She mrrowed softly in amusement, but nodded her head eagerly at the same time. "Sounds like a great idea to me," Dawnstep responded, all too happy to make the golden day stretch out a little longer.