The Stumble & Fall [Open]

[Mama Oak]

Littlecloud weaved through the waste and ruin of the abandoned diner, carefully avoiding the various locations where she knew the unnatural, twoleg-made ground was scattered with shards of sharp, tearing material. Many warriors and apprentices had come to her den, paws bloodied and sore. As she carefully removed the strange pieces, they always insisted on describing them to her, as if a thorough, visual depiction could somehow compensate for her lack of sight. Apparently, they were beautiful, and could catch the sunlight in order to sparkle with a strange, almost magical brilliance. The ShadowClan medicine cat had always thought it strange that her clanmates could be so entranced by an object that brought them only pain. That, even as they winced and complained, they could still speak fondly of the way the twoleg-splinters sparkled and shined. Or how they could be so delighted by how the tiny objects looked in sunlight, when they spent the majority of their lives underground.  It was almost like her clanmates were yearning for something beyond their grasp. They reached for beauty, when all it ever did was cut them. They spoke fondly of the sunlight and how the shards sparkled, while their lives were defined by darkness and, in the shadows, the sharp slivers could not shine. They described to her the brilliance and the dazzling gleam, although she would never know the meaning of such beauty. It sometimes baffled her... but... more than often Littlecloud could empathize. Sometimes she, too, yearned for desires and wants beyond her reach. Companionship had always been a slippery foundation her claws, as large and capable as they were, could never quite find purchase upon. Yet she longed for it almost every day. There was Stormpaw, of course, but that was the extent of it. Even with him, the tom whom had become her heart, she would sometimes get the silly, desperate desire to leave ShadowClan and her medicine cat duties behind. Or to at least have the sight to see the color of his pelt, if even for a single moment. To drown in the color of his eyes. To glimpse the kindness of his face and features, just for a second. Other times, Littlecloud wished to change the past. Oft at night she would wonder how different her life might have been, if when she was but a tiny kitten many, many moons ago, her mother had not abandoned her. Or if StarClan had not taken Leopardcloud so soon. Or if Honeyleaf had never come along. They were all useless and kittish musings, but she was not immune to their wistful impressions. Bunching all the strength into her haunches, Littlecloud made a leap to the counter above her. Having made the journey to the diner many times before, she knew exactly where to leap and where to place her paws. Even without sight, the entire Abandoned Diner was mapped out before her. Every pile of twoleg rubble marked and noted in her mind. She could hear the steady 'drip-drip' of water from the faucet only a few tail-lengths away, and began picking her cautious way toward it. However, as distracted as she was with her own thoughts, Littlecloud found herself walking into a pile of dirty, stinking objects. Letting out a tiny squeak as they toppled over and fell to the diner floor with a series of scattered crashes, she leaped back; incidentally throwing herself into another stack of similar objects. Falling all around her and knocking over even more piles of twoleg rubble, the world became nothing but a prolonged cacophony of confusion and disarray. Bearing the clutter and chaos, Littlecloud gritted her teeth and pinched shut her sightless eyes. Once everything quieted and she was left only with the thunderous pounding of blood in her ears, did she slowly allow her cloudy pools of unsettling cerulean to blink back open. Then the she-cat trembled and let out a shaky mew. "Oh S-St-StarClan above, why mussssst you, alwa-alway-always allow m-me to cause such a m-mess?" Beneath her tortoiseshell pelt, Littlecloud's muscles were still painfully tense, and she had not yet found the strength to reclaim her frozen limbs. She was not yet prepared to try and find her way through a place that, in a single, terrifying instant, had become so foreign and unfamiliar.

[Petrichor]

It had been a long day. Cloudfrost had been hunting outside the tunnels, half-hoping that some cat from another Clan would show up so she could skin them alive, but alas, they never showed. So, irritated with life and everything else in general, she had decided to stop by the abandoned diner to get a drink. The grey tabby had spent enough moons fleeing her responsibilities and the cats who wished to be her companions that she had memorized the place like the back of her paw. She had been cut several times in the past, but by now she knew the place enough to avoid the sharp pieces of heaven. The shattered, sharp pieces on the floor were one of Cloudfrost's favorite things. They glimmered their best in the evening, when the sun made way for the moon, but their beauty came with a price, which is what the warrior loved most about them. She had seen many beautiful things in her life, but none that had punished her for admiring them. Now if only the rest of her Clan could be like these flat, translucent, shining stones. Cloudfrost's inner monologue was interrupted as a loud crash assaulted her ears, followed by another, and another. She recognized the noise -- she had knocked over a few of those flat, white things when she was an apprentice, but the noise didn't become any more pleasant as she grew. As the warrior stopped the water drip, she heard the voice of a cat who could only be the medicine cat. The medicine cat. Littlecloud was good with herbs and was certainly kind, but Cloudfrost kind of missed the absolute certainty that Honeyleaf held in his claws. She wasn't sure why he left for BloodClan, but she thought it might be because ShadowClan was so... weak. So vulnerable. The grey warrior could sympathize. As the medicine cat finished her sentence, Cloudfrost leaped across to the other side, onto the perch above the smaller cat. The grey tabby lay down almost directly above the medicine cat, and gave her an answer. "You are so clumsy, Littlecloud," the warrioress began, gaining her Clanmate's attention. "I've never seen a cat knock over so many of those fragile white stones... "But that's not the point. What are you even doing here? You're not the type to leave your den, much less go to a place like this. You can't even see the little sharp objects on the floor!" Cloudfrost grew more exasperated as she spoke, suddenly wishing to pinch her muzzle with her claws, if such a thing were possible with her anatomy. "I suppose I"m being cruel. You are my Clanmate, after all, and I can't help but worry about your sani-- I mean safety. So, how have your... medicine cat duty things going?" ((You know, Stormpaw would probably be able to name everything there. I can see that, Stormpaw taking Littlepaw on a date here and explaining to her what things were and what they look like, comparing them to smells and feelings rather than appearance. But I RP Stormpaw X Littlecloud too much, so let's have Cloudfrost interact with her Clanmates for once. We can save that for later.))

[Mama Oak]

It was never possible for Littlecloud to keep her composure, or to hide her fear. At the abrupt sound of a voice above her, the she-cat's tortoiseshell fur stood on end and she crouched as close to the ground as was physically possible. It was instinct; a primal reaction wired interminably into her nature. Even as the voice continued and Littlecloud recognized the scent of her clanmate, Cloudfrost, the fear subsided slowly. The tension in her body did not disappear quickly, but melted away little-by-little, until she had finally straightened herself. Raising her head, she fixed her eyes at the place where she presumed the warrior to be. "I leave my den quite often, actually!" She squeaked, in a tone that almost succeeded in sounding defiant... if her lark-like warble had not trembled or been interrupted by a pathetic hiccup of lingering surprise. Her ears flattened against her skull as she realized that her words could be received as kittishly-flippant and, although she didn't suspect Cloudfrost to be an overtly-sensitive feline, she continued on in a rushed attempt to mend any possible folly. "I mean, I collect herbs all the time... and, and... and I had to train in ThunderClan territory for moons. You k-know, no one escorted me t-there or back." She would leave out her travels to BloodClan territory, but acknowledged them in her mind with a flick of an ear (now swiveled toward Cloudfrost in a receptive alertness). "And then there's the medicine cat gatherings... I've made those on my own every single moon since Honeyleaf's leaving." Littlecloud's mind worked through the ShadowClan territory as she spoke, shuffling through all the mental notes she had gathered through-out countless moons of herb collecting. No one ever offered their assistance and it was a rare occasion that she could chalk up the courage to ask for help. Even on those infrequent moments when she could summon the confidence to swallow her hesitance, bite her cheek, and strut toward a targeted clanmate — all the while silently reassuring herself that it was "no big deal", her request would not be so much of a burden, and who knew... maybe she would make a friend — her resolve would always crumble and fall away before she even reached the intended tom or she-cat. Consequently, Littlecloud had grown to know the territory quite well, as it was often her slinking from camp unaccompanied to search for herbs, saddled with self-imposed loneliness. With no one to guide her around like an incompetent little kitten, it had been an early task to learn the landmarks; to commit every scent, path, and trail to memory. A tedious undertaking to say the least, but she had made the friendless scrounge for moons. "I'm here for water." She still hadn't moved, afraid to assess the mess around her, but she turned her head toward the slow drip of a near-by faucet, as if physically noting the water source somehow justified her prerogative. "The apprentices don't often bring me water, and what little they do, I preserve for the patients. I usually carry back moss, too, for those in my den." Littlecloud suddenly shook her head, brow creasing as she felt a tiny tremor of offense thrill down her spine. Although her voice remained a nerve-wrecked whisper of yielding reticence, returning her sightless eyes to the warrior above her, almost rebukingly... or the closest to rebukingly that the medicine cat could deliver... which was not very close at all. "And I don't recall anyone calling me clumsy all those times I pulled those sharp objects from their paws. I know exactly where they're scattered! If you enter through the entrance warmed by the sun between sunrise and sunhigh, you have to skirt the wall a little less than ten tail-lengths before careening to the right, where you keep close to the wall for six paces." Her drawl grew faster as she continued, until she wasn't even stopping for breath. "After that you have to arch away, giving the wall a wide berth for twenty-pawsteps." Despite her yearning for sight, the medicine cat had never considered her blindness crippling; had never thought of herself as incapable or disabled. With only a slight pause, she went on to relay the careful route one had to take when entering through the diner through the crack in the opposite wall. And then the slightly more convoluted trail a cat had to blaze when entering through the long, twoleg-made entrance, cut in the adjacent wall. When she was done, her mouthwas dry and her brow furrowed. Her gaze darted back and forth, as if searching for Cloudfrost's reaction. Breathing heavily — taking in those deep inhales that she had neglected in her rambles — Littlecloud had all but forgotten the other she-cat's last inquiry. And she dared not acknowledge that most of what she had just said was useless and terribly kit-like, when blemished by the fact that she had just made a colossal mess due to her (denied) clumsiness.

I didn't even intend for her to get defensive. I mean, for StarClan's sake, she didn't even say 'hi' to Cloudfrost! xD Watch out Shadowclan — Littlecloud's got her sassy pants on!

[Petrichor]

Cloudfrost sat back and watched as Littlecloud attempted to defend herself. The warrioress could appreciate the effort -- most ShadowClan cats wouldn't even try -- but it was pitiful, really. After a long-winded tangent from the medicine cat, Cloudfrost stood up, shook herself out, and leapt down onto Littlecloud's level, making sure she didn't step on any sharp pieces as she fell. "First off," Cloudfrost meowed less than a tail-length away from her Clanmate, "I meant the 'never leave your den' thing metaphorically. You know, like a turtle who never comes out of their shell. You never really interact with any cat beyond when they come to you for medical assistance or when the medicine cat gatherings force you to. "And that leads to another thing. Apprentices can be slow-witted sometimes, and seeing as how you don't have an apprentice and never bother to ask anyone for assistance, of course you're going to have to retrieve water by yourself. I would have helped you gather materials if you would only ask, you know." Cloudfrost paused for a moment. She had truly meant that last sentence. She would do anything to help her Clan, but she wanted Littlecloud to know that she wasn't being sarcastic or mean... this time. "Of course no cat's going to call you clumsy when you have access to some of their weakest points. You could always "accidentally" add the wrong herb and make the wound worse, you know. Not that you'd do that, but there's always the fear, you know?" Cloudfrost shrugged to herself. She knew the medicine cat was blind, but she felt that maybe Littlecloud would be able to hear the movement of her shoulders or something. It felt like a needed action. "And last but not least, You insist you're not clumsy, but you smashed several of these smooth flat things to the floor just now. Maybe this was a one time thing, I don't know, but I wouldn't exactly call something like that graceful." Cloudfrost stopped for a moment and looked up at the ceiling. There were flaking bits somewhat like tree bark up there, blocking the view of the beautiful night sky. Littlecloud would never see the sky. As a matter of fact, if hadowClan ever did rise to the top as I know it can, the medicine cat will not see that, either. She must feel truly and absolutely helpless, and I'm just verbally tearing her apart, Cloudfrost realized. She would have to approach this more gently. The gray tabby sighed and shook her head. "I realize that this probably all sounds really insulting, and I don't mean it that way. I... I just want ShadowClan to live up to the potential I know it has, and I know you could be the best medicine cat in the forest if you wanted to be, which makes it so much more frustrating that you're so... fragile. Honestly, I feel that if I look at you the wrong way you'll break into little pieces. I know that your past is tragic and that you're probably broken more than I'll ever know, and I'm sorry about that. But by StarClan, Littlecloud, you're going to have to grow up eventually. Someday you'll be assigned an apprentice, and you're not nearly ready to command yourself, much less any other cat. "I want us to be friends, Littlecloud, and I know you might want the same, but you're so afraid of rejection that you dare not to reach out. I know I have a bad attitude to deal with just about any cat, much less someone like you, but please, for your own sake, at least try to socialize without crying or melting into a little puddle." Cloudfrost did want to be friends, but not in the way that most cats would consider friendship. Having a medicine cat as an ally would be a very significant advantage, and she would do anything to help ShadowClan rise above the ranks, even if it meant coddling a poor little kit who was afraid of her own shadow. No matter how long it took. ((Oh my Fates Cloudfrost what are you doing. No, you're not supposed to be nice to people, you're supposed to be snarky and sarcastic! Ugh, fine, be friends with Littlecloud, just stop railroading yourself against my will!)) ((Sorry about all the text. Cloudfrost wanted to ramble on, I guess. Hope this isn't too bad, Oakey!))

[Mama Oak]

Littlecloud couldn't help but flinch, with a tiny exhale of surprise, as Cloudfrost leaped down beside her. The instinctual reaction made her ear-tips burn and, as her clanmate countered her monologue with a drawn-out response, the shameful heat did not alleviate, but spread throughout her pelt. She had never asked for help because she didn't want to be a burden. Littlecloud had never wanted to pawn herself off on another clanmate; to have to ignore the suppressed reluctance that would surely be there. Never wanted to be grateful that she couldn't see the eyerolls. She simply wanted someone to help her... not out of duty, but because they wanted to be around her. She wanted it not to be a regretful, time-wasting chore... but an opportunity to spend time with her. A relaxing walk around the territory, full of laughs and companionship... not a rigid travel through the marshes with strained conversation and carrying silence. But what if she had asked? Uncertainty and nervous fear had derailed her attempts every time, but if she had ever been able to take that step — if she had not retreated "back into her shell" after every insurgence of hesitance — could that have been attainable? Her solitude really was self-imposed — her clanmates may not have ever branched out the inviting paw of friendship... but neither had she. Suddenly, shaking the thought away, Littlecloud wished Stormpaw was with her. The one cat whom had become her friend. It was sheer incident that drove them together (or sometimes, she liked to think, an act of StarClan), but in the BloodClan tom, the medicine cat had found what she had so yearned for her entire life. If he was here, the words wouldn't sound so harsh. The truths wouldn't prick at her chest so icily.  By the time Cloudfrost pointed out the mess she had made, Littlecloud's brow had smoothed out and her defensive insistence had simmered. The fire had left her, and she was defeated — all in a matter of seconds; over a course of a few, well-worded counters. How easily and quickly her resolve had been deconstructed, perhaps showed how truly paper-thin and unlasting the medicine cat's strength really was. The thought made the pelt beneath her fur burn even hotter. The older tabby was, of course, right. How could she refuse her clumsiness, while standing amid a mess caused by her own, misguided paw? Raising her head and opening her mouth to apologize, Cloudfrost instead continued. But the works were somehow different. Though still speaking of harsh truths, her voice was marginally softer. Don't melt into a puddle. No crying. You're not fragile, can't be fragile. Grow up. She repeated the words in her mind as Cloudfrost finished, trying to solidify herself. Sightless eyes fixed upon the other she-cat, she searched the face she could not see and, after a moment, dipped her head in the tiniest of acknowledging nods. The apology that had stuck in her throat moments before, felt misplaced now on her tongue, so she swallowed it and clenched her jaw. Cloudfrost did not want apologies, Littlecloud felt. The medicine cat's jaw parted, and the words that came out were not pre-meditated. As they left her lips in a tone that did not tremble or falter, Littlecloud had to wonder where they came from. What had made her say it. After all that her clanmate had said, the response that she offered in return was terse.  "Do you have many friends, Cloudfrost?"

Gah, I don't know what this, I'm sorry. Dx
Hope it's okay enough.

[Petrichor]

Cloudfrost watched as the medicine cat tried as hard as she could to steel herself, and eventually managed to look the warrior in the eyes. Well, Cloudfrost was sure that was what would have happened if Littlecloud could see. But nonetheless, the tortoiseshell had managed to to burst into tears for once. Cloudfrost almost wanted to applaud, if such a thing were possible. The question that Littlecloud presented, however, almost knocked Cloudfrost off her paws. It was a blunt question, one that the warrior was almost proud of. But it was blunt and rather harsh, and Cloudfrost felt her pelt stiffen slightly in response. "You know very well that I don't have friends, Littlecloud," Cloudfrost choked out, trying not to snap at the poor thing. "I haven't had friends since I was young, since I had realized that the other Clans were treating ours as weaker and lesser than we actually are. As soon as I began to speak of that, I lost every connection I had ever wished for." Cloudfrost paused for a moment, recalling recent ventures. "I suppose Shadepaw is a friend of mine. We get along rather well. But other than that, no. I don't have friends. That's not to say I don't want them, but I understand what it is to be alone, Littlecloud, and that's one of the reasons I would like to get to know you better." Cloudfrost thought for another moment, and went back to an earlier topic. "I mentioned earlier that I would help you gather herbs if you asked. I still hold to that, and I would like to say that I'm sure almost any other cat in ShadowClan would go with you if you asked. You're so introverted that most think you don't want our company, so we leave you alone. I honestly didn't know before today that you actually wished for cats to go with you while you gathered things." Cloudfrost shrugged, another invisible, yet necessary action. "I'm sure many other cats think the same." Cloudfrost knew she was trying to sweep the earlier question under the rug, and she knew it probably wouldn't work, but she couldn't help but think that Littlecloud would brush away all of her theories and words about making friends from a cat that had never really had any. ((Cloudfrost no what are you doing stop being sympathetic and start being a jerk again I didn't create you to be nice to cats I created you to be cruel and hateful)) ((Augh fine I'll let you be nice to your fellow Clanmates but I"m deleting you if you start being nice to cats that aren't in ShadowClan or SkyClan))

[Mama Oak]

"I've never had friends," she meowed dully in response, not daring to mention the one friend she did possess. Some subconscious instinct in Littlecloud knew better; was certain that was a piece of her life she could never share with anyone, especially not Cloudfrost. She suspected they couldn't be friends, not completely at least — Stormpaw was a piece of Littlecloud; an irrevocable and entirely irrepressible part of her identity. An important aspect of who she was. And to this she-cat warrior, Littlecloud assumed that this part of her would be unacceptable — a weakness, even. A betrayal on the part of her clan, and a distraction from her responsibility and duty. Though perhaps an unfair assumption on Cloudfrost's character, the medicine cat felt strongly in this instinct. But that did not mean she would not be delighted to find companionship in her clanmate, or that she would not try. For a moment, the fragile femme even wondered if Cloudfrost felt lonely, too. She imagined the two of them looking for herbs together, sharing simple conversation as she taught her how juniper berries looked different than hawthorne berries, and Cloudfrost delved passionately into the hidden strength and stifled potential of their undermined clan. It would be nice to have a friendship that did not require secrecy. The thought of them exchanging their thoughts and beliefs nearly made Littlecloud smile, until a darker thought pulled at her mind. Only a slight tug... a quiet whisper of a notion, that she immediately banished. What if Cloudfrost found that.... the other side... of her? That cat she became. The Littlecloud she could never remember — the one with blood on her paws. The holes and black gaps in her memory left much to the imagination in who that other cat was, but the medicine cat was not so oblivious to deny what deeds had been accomplished every time her world went dark. The orders that had been filled; the tasks Honeyleaf had assigned that went attended. She did not know who that other cat was — who she was — and could only guess at whether or not she lusted for the feel of blood on her paws in those moments, or if she obeyed eagerly. But to Honeyleaf, Littlecloud Too had been a perfect soldier. Honeyleaf was gone, in a sense, but Littlecloud Too was not. Only now without master. The thought made the medicine cat's skin crawl, and she could feel her muscles twitching to tremble. At the mention of Shadepaw, Littlecloud's ears pinned back. The she-cat apprentice had been nothing more to her than a cruel bully, who had offered the medicine cat nothing but a number of patients to care for and personal injury as well. What if that was what Littlecloud Too was like? Littlecloud had no way of knowing. "Oh," Littlecloud mewed when Cloudfrost had finished, trying with undetermined success to keep her troublesome thoughts from having any influence in her tone, "I've entertained the idea that my loneliness was, to an extent, fairly self-imposed, of course. But as reasonable and logical as your words are, I still can not imagine my clanmantes wanting to be around me. They'd accept my offer I'm sure, but out of duty." The words were more honest than sad this time, as if it was a fact that she was gradually learning to accept. Perhaps she was convinced that nineteen moons was too late to start making friends. Or that, now with Stormpaw in her life, she didn't need many cats dabbling their paws in her happenings and whereabouts. Glancing at her clanmate, she tilted her head to the side and nodded. "I would love if you would accompany me sometime, Cloudfrost. If we could know each other better... that... yes.. I would like that. That would be nice. One shouldn't be alone." The last four words were as much for her as Littlecloud, prodding at the undecided possibility that the both of them were lonely.

I was wondering what would happen if Cloudfrost did 
discover Littlecloud Too? I don't know if she would be the
type who could "use" Littlecloud as Honeyleaf did... but it's just
a curious thought. Littlecloud Too could be a useful tool in any 
situation; like a solider on the battlefield, unthinking and trained
to feel no fear or emotion. Motivated only by instinct and obedience.
I'm curious to know the opinion Cloudfrost might have about that.

[Petrichor]

Cloudfrost couldn't say she was surprised at Littlecloud's admission of not having anyone. Cloudfrost would have been surprised if Littlecloud did have a cat to fall back on in her time of need. She watched as Littlecloud seemed to ponder Cloudfrost's suggesstion, and smiled when Littlecloud did. The medicine cat also fessed up that her isolation was self-imposed. Well, kind of. Littlecloud had admitted to thinking about it like that, but still refused to think that she could do anything about it. Cloudfrost couldn't help but draw a comparison with ShadowClan refusing to grow stronger than they were currently. Cloudfrost suppressed an irritated noise, knowing it would scare Littlecloud off. The gray cat flinched slightly as Littlecloud assumed that Cloudfrost was alone. Well, it wasn't an assumption. It was absolute truth. Cloudfrost had an apprentice in Shadepaw, but all they spoke of was ShadowClan's greatness, and while that was Cloudfrost's favorite subject, the two cats couldn't seem to find anything else in common. Perhaps her isolation was as self-inflicted as Littlecloud's. "I think it would be nice to spend time with you," Cloudfrost offered up. "We both seem to spend too much time by ourselves, and it wouldn't be terrible to speak with another cat. Shadepaw's great, but we don't have very much in common." Except sadism and racism, but Littlecloud didn't need to know that. Cloudfrost's eyes snapped up, and she remembered one of Littlecloud's first sentences. "Oh, that's right! You came here for water, didn't you? Hold on a moment, would you?" Cloudfrost launched herself up on the counter and back through the hole in the wall, towards the faucet. She scraped some moss haphazardly and let the water soak it before putting it in her mouth and winding her way back to the medicine cat. "Here." Cloudfrost lay the moss over her foreleg and held it out towards Littlecloud just enough that the medicine cat might be able to feel the moisture towards her fur. "I'm no medicine cat, so the moss isn't best quality, but." Cloudfrost left her sentence there. The message was clear, right? One good deed and all.

((I think that would be fun. I don't think that Cloudfrost would abuse Littlecloud Too... at first. It might start out as experimentation, so that Cloudfrost could describe Littlecloud Too to Littlecloud as an outside perspective, but then Cloudfrost might realize the potential and start planting subliminal messages. I still hold that Stormheart, now that he's pretty much a loner in all but name, should take Littlecloud on a date here.))

[Mama Oak]

A smile — one that was not nervous or tentative, but rather broad and beaming — came suddenly across Littlecloud's brightening face. At the older cat's words of spending time with one another, the medicine cat perked forward and let the incessant troubles of her melancholy thoughts fall frommind. Although Cloudfrost had never struck her before as an ideal friend, that was without having known or attempting to know the fierce warrioress. She was showing herself to be a pleasant she-cat after all, with not only reserves of honesty and kindness, but a yearn for companionship (to which Littlecloud could relate better than many). The medicine cat was about to volley her own joy at their newly-struck acquaintance, and profess her happiness toward promised future endeavors, but Cloudfrost herself gave a small start, touched on Littlecloud's forgotten reason for being in the diner, and leaped away. Falling back on her haunches, Littlecloud listened to her clanmate's muted paw-falls throughout the abandoned diner and, utilizing the other she-cat's absense, began to feel around her blindly. She let her paws travel testingly about the smooth countertop, touching on and committing to memory all the scattered stones around her (their edges now jagged and sharp, she quickly found). She might have moved them from her way (and no doubt some other feline would when they came for a drink), but did not dare push around the mess in fear of toppling another of the standing stacks. Besides, it was much more fun to remember the obstacles that lay in her path — one more sharp object to recall was only one more thing to test her memory and to keep her mind preoccupied... namely from those same longing thoughts of companionship. When she was silently reciting the list of hazards before her, she was not thinking how nice another cat's voice might sound in that moment. Or wonder how Stormpaw was faring. It made for a pleasant distraction sometimes. So much so, that Littlecloud did not note when Cloudfrost returned. Only at her voice, did the medicine cat whirl around and face her. Taking the moss, she smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Cloudfrost." Her dainty face tilted slightly to the side, her smile twitching as a rush of further words danced behind her lips. She couldn't just leave it there, could she — that wouldn't do. "For the water, that was very kind of you," it suddenly seemed direly important that Cloudfrost know how much their encounter really did mean to her, so Littlecloud did not pause for breath — she gushed forward, fearful that if she didn't get it all out now, it would go unsaid. "A-and just... the conversation, too. The concerns and the truths and all the words. For offering to spend time with me. As mentioned before, it's not often that a-anyone... so, yes. Thank you, Cloudfrost."