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It seemed so long ago that Druzyprince had been a youngling of the League, but it had hardly been more than a few weeks. Part of him missed the simplicity, if he could call it that when he was secretly training under Kier and almost drowning his sister (. . . long story), but it was less confusing than this had been. He was used to being on the top, of course, as the then-Warden's son, and he remembered feeling the world's biggest sense of entitlement. In a way, he'd been confident, something he couldn't muster now. As much as he wanted to push it down, Druzyprince had a kind heart, and seeing the way Nightclan operated sent shivers down his spine. Inferiors. What a cruel concept. He didn't say anything, not when it was Kier, not when he could make excuses instead — he had no reason to complain, he was a Royal, above everyone save for Kier and Eris themselves, one out of three that existed in the entire clan. He was used to amused looks, to thinly veiled annoyance, to begrudging respect because he was the warden's son and you couldn't exactly be rude, but now he was looked at as almost a beacon amongst the loyalists and a monster by those who secretly weren't. Was it respect or fear? He could hardly tell. It didn't matter, he would tell himself, anything was better than home.
From where he walked in thought, head still held low despite his power, he didn't notice when a cat stepped in front of him until it was too late. He stumbled into them, jumping back with an apology on his lips before he chased it away. Was he supposed to apologize to those lower than him? Probably not. He cleared his throat. "Simpleton!" He raised his voice, trying to give it a mightiness that he didn't possess, trying to sound intimidating and powerful, "you are in my way." Simpleton. That'll intimidate them. His cheeks flushed slightly.
Bumblebeepaw had just been passing through camp as normal, had just been moving about camp with their normal energy; their own almost brand name signature mixture of some always fiery energy bravado-filled eagerness that marked their every step they took. In some ways it might have seemed a counter to Nightclan's often oppressive, violent atmosphere, but in other ways, perhaps in much more meaningful ways, it was in marching step with it.
And so, even as they were stumbled into and the rather pathetic insult was flung at them, that energy that had followed every one of their steps didn't disapear; at least, not immediately. As Bumblebeepaw rushed to regain their footing after being tossed back a bit, they already felt a reply on their lips; a small, carefree yet slightly mocking laugh escaped their maw, before their eyes fully locked onto the cat they had stumbled into and they felt immediatly their jaw lock shut -- at first out of stunned shock, then out of slight alarm, and then, finally, out of a low-lying bitterness.
"Sorry." It barely sounded sincere, because it wasn't. They were mad. Not even because they had been bumped into, not because they had been insulted, but because they had been insulted by something as lame as being called a simpleton and the apprentice couldn't even snap back a witty retort about it. Simpleton! God, it was just too good; even if it had been a superior Bumblebeepaw might have pushed their luck. In fact, they almost certainly would have. But the cat they had bumped into was a royal, head of the royal guard, and though it was almost clear Bumblebeepaw was biting their tongue so hard it might have bled just to stop themselves from snapping back something they would regret in hindsight, somehow they just barely managed the more sensible option of holding, or more so crushing, their tongue.
Immediately, Druzyprince's brows furrowed in a mix of confusion and slight indignation. Did this cat just laugh at him? His face felt even warmer, but a defensiveness curled in his chest. Sorry. He tried to use his incredible height to his advantage, to look more intimidating, but he was too taken aback for it to work. The tone was much different than what he was usually approached with, but perhaps that had to do with the fact that he mostly stuck by Kier's side, silent and watching, an ever-threatening presence waiting on the snap of the king's fingers. Kier said he was learning, but Kier also said he was miles ahead of any apprentice or warrior in the entirety of the clan. He wondered just how many apprentices were older than him — back at the League (which nobody particularly seemed to like, he found), he would have been still waiting for his promotion, though not by much at all, but now he was head of the Royal Guard, head of every warrior and apprentice and mother and prisoner.
Druzyprince's jaw tensed for a moment, thinking. He should have done something about the insolence, the thinly veiled disrespect. He was supposed to use his power, but he found he didn't particularly wanted too. It was ironic considering, as a young kit, this was all he'd ever wanted. This was what he had expected, what his family had expected.
". . . Okay. I mean —" he backpeddled, trying once more to not be the pushover he always was, "I'd be extremely careful if I were you, apprentice, or else you'd be on trial next. And watch your step. We don't want anyone hurt," he rethought that statement, "I mean we do. But not the ones that. . . matter? Not that you. . ." This was so much harder than he ever would have imagined. Kier would have fainted at his idiocy, and Druzy felt a sudden urge to seep into the ground and never return.
Bumblebeepaw paused, for a moment completely at a loss on how to react. It was sad, almost pitiful; actually, Bumblebeepaw wasn't exactly sure that they didn't feel some pity. This royal, this cat who was supposed to be so intimidating, so above them, was fumbeling on own their words so badly that even the most oblivious of cats could have seen through their "tough guy" act. It was awkward, like seeing someone drop all their books in an empty school hallway. Both of them knew how humiliating this was, and there was not much that could be done to pretend it didn't just happen. Though, after a while of just taking in the situation, of just watching Druzyprince struggle for words that then turned to watching as the tom's voice awkwardly trailed off, Bumblebeepaw finally settled on some sort of response; if only to spare him the further struggle.
"Yeah trust me, I'll watch it from now on. I don't want to be on trial either, whether I matter or don't. I prefer my throat in tact." Bumblebeepaw responded, the tone and words almost dangerously casual and joking. They clearly weren't the level of politeness one should have spoken to a royal with, but in some ways, they might have been seen as merciful. Instead of preying on Druzyprince's embaressing attempt at seeming intimidating, the apprentice had just smoothed it over in the best way they knew how -- by playing it off as a casual incident, by pretending the entire situation was sort of a nothing deal, a joke all in itself. The painful irony being that it ought to have and would have been, had rank, pride, and appearances not all been strung into play.
Druzyprince could only nod mutely, polite and agreeable, before he caught on and forced himself to stop. "Right. Yes, yes. You can make it up to me, then — I've needed some. . . help with something. Not too egregious." He added the end more hopefully, as if Bumblebeepaw would have the gall to say no. Which, to be fair, Druzy didn't doubt that he did. When most would meet Kier's star pupil, captain of the Royal Guard, youngest of the Royal family with a past dipped in the League, they would give averted gazes, quick, polite words, if any at all, thoughts always kept to themselves. Sure, he was young, but he was above them in almost every way. His word, his presence, his life, mattered more. Did this apprentice not get that? Druzyprince almost found himself curious, how nonchalant he seemed despite Nightclan's entire atmosphere, their cruel ways of life. And he wasn't even particularly antagonizing, simply uncouth.
He gave a quick, short hum of affirmation, like he was agreeing with himself, "I've needed an assistant anyway. And maybe I'll give Kier a word of favour. Name and class?" The nervousness was still apparent, though parts of it had faded. Still, he was better at receiving orders instead of giving them, and the latter was almost foreign to him. Yes, he used to boss around his sisters as a kit, demand things from others as a simple show of kithood arrogance, but it was never serious. It never had consequence, and half the time nobody listened anyway. Now they had too.
In truth, Bumblebeepaw wasn't as completely "insolent" as they might have at first given off the air of. They were probably bolder than most cats in Nightclan, sure. While most cats would be loathed to dare speak a word against a cat of higher class, especially a superior, Bumblebeepaw had no problem doing it with the ease and brazeness that they would a cat of lower rank; if said cat has lost their repsect, at least. Which was pretty hard to do. Bumblebeepaw was more inclined than they probably should have been to think most cats who earned the superior status had earned it for a reason, and it normally took an pretty terrible fault for Bumblebeepaw to completely lose respect for cats above them. In fact, before this entire situation had you asked Bumblebeepaw if they would have ever even considered disrespecting a royal it would have been a hard, "Never." But this entire situation had thrown everything on its head from a simple, humble mistake, and there was part of the apprentice that wasn't even quite sure if this entire situation wasn't just a weird fever dream.
Even still, whatever they felt about Druzyprince now -- they were still in the midst of wrapping their head around the entire thing -- at the request they had to force a straight straight face. Of course, for a split second it was probably evident the emotions that rushed through them, which ever so breifly flashed in their eyes; a slight exasperation mixed with a certain measure of defeatism that fell upon them at their first assumption that somehow, some way, this was going to end in them getting screwed over. "Sure, yeah I can. Though how helpful I'll manage to be is probably dependent on what you need help with." Bumblebeepaw kept up the casual tone; there was no point in trying to hide it now. They'd done it, there was no undoing it, and in all honesty, playing the role of a sniveling sychphant now would have just wounded their ego.
At the request for their name and class though, the apprentice had to bite back a wince. And maybe I'll give Kier a word of favour. Yeah right, like Bumblebeepaw believed that. Somehow, some way, they were going to find themselves in trouble because they happened to choose just this unfortunate date on this unfortunate hour to not be looking where they were going. They were sure of it. But what else could they really do but actually give them their name and rank? They'd already agreed to help, and it wasn't like almost every other apprentice in the entire clan didn't already at least know their name. At this point, they knew they just had to accept whatever fate they'd been handed. "Oh, and I'm Bumblebeepaw, executioner." They said with the same ease and nonchalantness that only someone who had fully, though bitterly, accepted their fate could -- even as they spoke they realized they were watching a train wreck. Only their life was the train and they were forced to be a passenger, so there was no point in looking away.
He'd been trained to observe. To watch, to listen, to study; think fast, act fast, it might very well cost his life if he didn't (when those situations happened in places other than the League's backyard, he wasn't sure, but it was preparation for when they did), and he could see the emotions flash across their eyes, the slight, quiet irritation. It made him hesitate, if only briefly, before he turned towards the cavern that branched off into the twisting tunnels extended off Nightclan's camp. I'm Bumblebeepaw, executioner. Out of all the classes, that was probably his least favourite one, but who was he to judge? Kier knew what he was doing, he shouldn't be doubting him, especially not when it came to how he could run his clan — surely Druzy couldn't do any better. He shrugged off the slight ick he felt, trying to dispel the awkwardness he'd created between them but failing miserably.
"Like I said, it won't be much. We're looking for crystals. But it's not as difficult as you would think — if you can find a water source, especially a salty one or a warm one, you can find some sort of crystal. But if we can't find any under ground we can go above ground, too, or near the Cenote. Oh, and do keep track of where we're going. I hope you are good at directions." Druzyprince would try to keep track as well, just in case. He wasn't exactly sure where to start, and so, in a move almost uncharacteristic of him, he picked a tunnel at random.
The moonlight cut off as they entered, shrouding them in darkness, and though his eyes had adjusted only slightly to the new night-life, he still found himself running into walls or tripping over his own paws. He played it off as intentional every time, still continuing to chat as if it would make Bumblebeepaw want to tag along more. "It's a gift — for a friend," he sounded unreasonably giddy as he said the word, "and I want it very top quality. I've been meaning to do it anyway, but I. . ." didn't want to go alone, "was very busy. But, I promise you your help will be rewarded."
i am so sorry this is this long i don't even know how this happened xc
Bumblebeepaw nodded along with Druzyprince's words as they followed behind, hearing out what he had to say as they padded with them into the deeper part of the caverns. It wasn't their first time heading down there, they'd been there once before with Ratpaw. In fact, it felt something like a twisted sense of deja vu. They could still remember being there with the other apprentice and how quickly they'd shaken off the other's suspicion at the inherent danger of following another cat into the tunnels who could, on another date, be their competetor for status as easily as the could be their ally. The tunnels were long and far reaching, it would be easy to kill someone down there and never find the body. But they had been going in with an equal back then; had the other apprentice tried to kill them, there would have been no leaving without a fight, without both of their bloods staining that tunnel red, and whoever survived would have had to have explained why the other had not come out alive and why they were doused in scarlet and covered in scars. Perhaps no one would care about the killing, perhaps murdering an equal would have turned no heads in Kier's Nightclan; they didn't really know, but Bumblebeepaw had figured that it being treated with harsher measures wouldn't have been worth the risk. They'd figured that day there was no reason to fear one's peers in the deep caves, bar from the fact that their peer was an idiot.
But a superior? A royal, at that? Yeah, they could probably kill them and throw them in some random tunnel with no recompence. And that thought, that did worry Bumblebeepaw. They had no way of knowing how true Druzyprince's words were, what was going on in the toms' head. For now, tensions seemed to have lightened. Well, any negative tensions; it was still pretty awkward, but they were working through that. Either way, Bumblebeepaw figured there was no point being vigilant; even if Druzyprince did want to kill them, even if they survived and Druzyprince didn't, there was no way Bumblebeepaw wouldn't face execution for even so much as laying a claw on a royal; much less having killed one -- act of defense or not. So they carried on the walk with the sort of forced casualness they had been maintaining so consistently up until that point without any falter; there was no point in worrying too much. If they were dead, they were dead.
"I mean, the good news is we're right nearby the saltwater from the camp, so I feel like that implies more saltwater somewhere deeper. The ground waters probably all coming from the same place, ya' know?" Bumblebeepaw said as they followed Druzyprince into the random tunnel they picked, already trying to keep track of where they were heading as they delved deeper into the shadows, their eyes too trying to adjust to the lack of light. They had the benefit though of naturally being small and sure-footed, being lower to the ground helped. It was one of the few things that made Bumblebeepaw glad to be as diminutive of a cat they were, it allowed them to move through the tunnel with an almost unnatural grace even though they felt just as unsure in their footsteps as Druzyprince did.
"But yeah, I'll try and keep track. I've been down here before but you know, there's probably over a hundred and more tunnels and side paths so that doesn't help a ton. I'll keep a mental list of turns though so we should be fine; I mean I didn't die delving in last time so I say that's pretty sure-fire evidence we'll be fine this time. What could go wrong?" The apprentice's voice practically dripped with sarcasm, but it was pretty happy-go-lucky nevertheless; they had that quality that a select group mad men, tough guys, hardened criminals, and serial gamblers (you know the ones) always seemed to have, the energy they were treating the odds of death and life like it was simultaneously both a bitter and amusing joke; like they knew at any moment they could be dealt a bad hand, but that was just the price of playing the way they did and they weren't stopping any time soon.
As they continued on, there was a beat of silence as Bumblebeepaw had to take a moment to mull something over. They had to debate, because they could read the room. A friend. Yeah right. But they already knew it was the kind of thing that questioning into would likely evoke any number of responses, one of them probably being in Druzyprince's full right as a royal to leave them with a permanent scar for even daring to poke into such personal matters with the amusement they knew they couldn't possibly keep out of their voice. But after a while, they eventually decided on the classic, wise wisdom of; "Oh well. Why not?"
"Anyways, so this "friend" of yours? Who are they?" Bumblebeepaw asked and, as they expected, a slight note amusement played on their voice, despite trying so hard to force it down.
tbh i respect it ASFJNCSJDK keep your words coming magic man
Talking to Bumblebeepaw hit Druzyprince with the sudden realization that he'd hardly ever, in his entire existance, hung out or made friends with anybody his own age. His siblings didn't count, and even then they were hardly friends. Most of his companionship had been with his parents or Kier, and perhaps it was fault of his own. His sisters didn't seem to have any problems making friends, but Druzyprince had always been the odd one out. The recluse. The loner. Too nervous to leave their room, too arrogant to be friendly and too awkward to fit in. He almost felt. . . sad? Cheated? Regretful? He was out of place, suddenly growing much more nervous than before as the realization hit him. What was he supposed to do? Why did he invite them along? What was he doing and why was he being so stupid? Bumping his nose against a wall seemed to knock him out of his thoughts, thought he didn't say anything, only silently followed it as it curved into a different tunnel. He used to be scared of the dark, and now it was more an annoyance than anything. He caught the end of Bumblebeepaw's sentence.
"Indeed!" His voice was a little too strained to be natural, but he played it off. Suddenly he felt the urge to act cool. To be likeable. He listened more intently now, half focusing on their directions. The small tunnel made way to a larger one, wider and taller, mounds of rock and dirt making little towers that seemed to get bigger the further they went along. "I haven't explored it too much. . . you never know what's inside, right?" He forced a laugh. Maybe he was still scared of the dark after all. His pelt crawled.
Anyways, so this "friend" of yours? Who are they? He caught that note of disbelief and almost deflated right then and there. Was it that obvious? He was so glad the darkness hid his burning face. He'd never felt so clumsy in his life. "My friend," he put more force on the word as if it would make it more believable, "is Kier himself. We are friends. Very great friends, actually." He tripped over a protruding stone, once again not mentioning it. "What about you? Do you have friends?"
There was a pause. Even Bumblebeepaw felt like they might have mis-read the situation, as obvious as it seemed to them. And if they hadn't? Well, honestly, it was way too far above Bumblebeepaw's paygrade to stick their paw into that inevitably chaotic love-triangle between royals that would become. Nope. They weren't touching that.
So instead, they turned their attention to Druzyprince's question with a small, half-amused half-dry little laugh, not super different from the one that had started this entire situation to begin with. "A few." There was a moment's pause, as if they had to immediatly re-consider that answer. "Actually, 'aight, okay, I'll be real, friends are kind of hard to come by here. I have cats I call friend, I don't think they'd call me friends. Like I like Lilacpaw well enough, but I'm pretty sure for a list of obvious reasons they hate my guts. And I think Ratpaw is cool, but I'm pretty sure they'd cut my throat in a heartbeat if there was any even slightly good reason to do so. And also I have my siblings, but you know, counting your siblings as friends is pretty lame." There was another pause as if they were making sure to cover all their bases. "Oh, and I talked to Brat once and they slapped me in the face kinda, so I don't know what to call that as."
I have cats I call friend, I don't think they'd call me friends. Druzyprince almost felt bad for asking, but he reminded himself that Bumblebeepaw had laughed at him first, regarded him with a note of disbelief when he had voiced he did, indeed, have friends. He was being hypocritical. He couldn't find it in himself to be any more upset than a mild annoyance, and even that was flimsy — Bumblebeepaw may have struck a slight nerve once or twice, but he wasn't terrible company. I'll absolutely call you a friend if you be nice to me, he wanted to say, but he wouldn't dare voice them out loud. He wasn't sure if he was even supposed to be mingling with the commons, considering the status he had to uphold. He decided to ignore that thought.
At the mention of Brat, he snorted, "I've met her, yes. She's very. . ." he sucked in a breath through his teeth, "unique? I did find her quite amusing."
The tunnel suddenly opened, giving way to a flat stretching cavern with more tunnels in the walls that led to other caves or in circles. The smell of saltwater was stronger, though not incredibly, but it was enough of a lead that they could follow. He felt excited, but with excitement came his usual pessimistic dread — what if they got lost? What if they didn't find anything? "This way," he murmured, leading them to the entrance of a tiny, small tunnel, just enough space for them to squeeze through. His skin crawled again. He hated small dark places. He peered into it first.
"Druzyprince." He blurted suddenly, the name still, somehow, unfamiliar on his lips. "I didn't give you my name, as is. . . custom." He dipped into the tunnel, walls pressing into his sides uncomfortably. A smaller cat would have had a much easier time, but he wasn't gifted the luxury of such size.
"Brat's definently something, that's for sure." Bumblebeepaw said, working to keep up pace. Their short size was serving them well in terms of keeping them upright and from getting half as banged up as the much larger tom, but whenever Druzyprince gained his footing he was pratically making two and a half steps for every one of Bumblebeepaw thanks to his size, though the apprentice wouldn't dare show it. "She's a bit obnoxious but also, she's a kit, so what else can you expect? All kits are obnoxious. She'll grow out of it. Hopefully." Bumblebeepaw continued with their casual humor. It wasn't until the words left their mouth that they realized they were chatting away their unfiltered opinion about Kier's daughter to his right-hand man. Mentally they could have beat themselves for it, but the sense of alarm washed away quickly; back into a pale acceptance of their situation, of the hole they dug for themselves.
As they pressed into the deeper tunnels, the area around them growing narrower with every step and the scent of salt water starting to hint at the air, Bumblebeepaw felt their steps grow more careful, a bit more wary. That was quickly broken however by Druzyprince introducing themselves, and this time they barely held back the amused chuckle that rose in their throat.
"Don't worry, I already knew that. Actually, I'm going to be honest and say you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't know that who hasn't been living under a rock." There was a pause as they looked around, reminded in a beat of amusement that was probably not equal to the revelation that everyone in Nightclan lived in a cavern before adding on a little too excitedly, "Or I guess anyone who has not-not been living under a rock."
Druzyprince didn't feel the need to interrupt their rant. If Kier cared enough about the reputation of his kits, then surely they would be given a more generous rank than Inferior and a better name than Brat. The choices were odd, of course, but he was not one who could judge.
He shimmied forward into the tunnel, wanting nothing more than for it to collapse on his head alone. Right. Why'd he bother? Everybody already knew who Druzyprince was — he knew that — the tom who had shown up mysteriously one night and never left, given a crown and cool title — an old friend, a League cat, whatever else Kier said he was. It just felt necessary, in a strange way. Aside from his captainship, he didn't have much control over anything at all. He stuck by Kier's side, silent and unwavering, all for the intimidation purposes for others and the learning opportunities for himself, and there was never any need to introduce himself by his own name because it was either done for him or he was already known. Saying it there felt different. More like him.
He smiled thinly at Bumblebeepaw's joke, only realizing seconds later that they wouldn't have been able to see it, and so he gave a quick, "ha."
The tunnel sloped upwards, only noticeable to be annoying but not impossible, but eventually he hauled himself out from where the hole had been nestled in a stone wall. One way led to a dead end, the other leading away, downwards, into another area. He waited patiently by the tunnel exit, moving on hardly a moment after Bumblebeepaw would have regained their footing. Druzyprince walked just ahead. The silence settled awkwardly once more, and this time he felt compelled to say something. "Sorry for. . ." he paused to collect his words, unsure of what even he was saying, "for dragging you along. I hope you didn't have anything important. But thank you, you're certainly interesting company." It was meant to be a compliment. Druzyprince was, obviously, very good at compliments.
Bumblebeepaw followed along. The upward slope was a little worse for the apprentice, who was, admittedly, significantly shorter. It took a small hop for Bumblebeepaw to haul themselves up the same way that Druzyprince did, but like him they made it, continuing on as casually as if they hadn't had a bit more of a moment getting up than the other cat they were following did.
"Thanks, I consider myself a pretty interesting cat." The comment was thick with humor and sarcasm. They had no way of knowing how much was actually a compliment and how much was a slight jab, and they were, incorrectly, inclined to think it was something of a funny backhanded compliment, of which even they could appreciate. It reminded them of the kind of thing they would say, and so they took it the way they would have meant.
"But nah, it's alright. I spend most of my time sitting around camp looking for something to do half the time anyways. If I'm not going to classes or practicing I'm normally just going stir-crazy, so this is a lot better than that." It was true. Bumblebeepaw hated sitting still, hated not doing anything. They signed up for some of the most god-awful things just so they would have something to do. They still remembered taking on one of the border patrols just because of that. Walking around checking borders for like 6 or 8 hours? Yeah, still better than sitting in camp doing nothing. It was hard to find something to do as an executioner. Inferiors had all the labor intensive jobs, reporters had the task of sitting around listening in to everyone so they could technically always be working, but executioners? It wasn't like they could sit around cutting off heads all day. Well, maybe the could, but it probably would go down super well for them.
"Good. That's good." He sounded much more chipper, more upbeat now that he'd gotten the confirmation. He shouldn't feel so bad, he should be relishing in his power, it was what he'd always wanted as a kit, to be in the same place his parents were. Leaders, cats people listened to. His feelings were too conflicted now to fully understand, and so he hoped that by pushing them away to the dusty corners of his mind he would eventually forget about them. Should he feel bad? Probably not. Did he? A bit. He wasn't going to touch that.
The ground sloped, leading to a rocky, natural hallway of sorts, walls rising and curving inwards briefly before opening up to a wider expanse. The ceiling glittered blue, high above their heads where they stood and curving inwards near the back edge of the water. There was a hole somewhere, letting in light and fresh air, he could smell it as it mingled with the salty stench. Rocks surrounded the edge of it. While it ended on one side of the cave, the rest filtered into a landless tunnel. His walk turned into a jog as the ground levelled.
"See, it's quite pretty. And this lighting helps a lot," he clambered onto a rock along the edge, disturbing the surface of the water with one of his toes and bringing it to his lips. His face scrunched. "Wonderful salt deposits." He turned to Bumblebeepaw, nodding at him to come over. "I can see why Nightclan chose to have their — our — home here. I know their old one got destroyed or something so they moved here. It's dark, but an upside is there's so much cool stuff." He scanned the surface of the water, trying to see into its depths for any signs of crystals.
As before, Bumblebeepaw followed, admittedly relieved to be in a more open area. The narrow tunnels, the darkness, the cavern system as a whole, didn't intimidate them they way it might have most cats, but at the end of the day they preferred having actual room and the lack of the implication they they might be stuck in a tiny narrow space with no way out. And Duzyprince was right, it was pretty. Bumblebeepaw took a moment to take in the scene, the water, the glitter of blue above, the hint of fresh air intermingeling with the salt. But they quickly snapped back into the moment at Druzyprince's gesture for them to come over, moving over to his side and hopping onto one of the rocks nearby.
"Yeah, pretty cool not gonna' lie. Not something you see every day, that's for sure." They agreed, before starting to scan the water along with Druzyprince to start trying to see if they could spot a crystal as well, taking in Druzyprince's comments with a few nods at his words. "Huh. That's nifty, I didn't know that. The fact the Nightclan's old home got destroyed, I mean. I never heard about that." Perhaps it was the occupational hazard of having been born a kitty-pet before coming over to Nightclan, they had no clue about the clan's history. Truth be told the wanted to know more, they were painfully curious about the culture and world they had been deprived of the first handful of moons of their life, but in Nightclan, unlike in other places where that might have gotten a cat othered, it didn't seem to matter. Nightclan's world was Kier, it was Snowblister, it was here, and it was now. Nothing mattered but your job and your loyalty, and Bumblebeepaw was good at their job, and they were immensely loyal. It never felt like a good time to ask either, it always felt like it would be a quick way to other themselves. And they were content letting cats think they had materialized into the clan with all the knowledge and understanding they ever needed; they didn't mind cats thinking they were dumb, but cats thinking that were ignorant was something the couldn't stand, and admitting they didn't know one lick about their clan -- or any clan's -- history, seemed akin to an admission of ignorance. But now Druzyprince had brought the topic up, and it was just the two of them in one wide, lonely cavern, and if any time felt like the best time to at least touch on the topic, it was now.
He should have moved away by now, as quite obviously there was nothing of use in the water, but he felt almost content on the rock. It was much better to sit beside the water than be in it, and the cave pool was pretty in a way that water on the surface wasn't. He could still feel the way icy water drenched his fur, and for a moment all he could imagine was his sister's floating body. Not something you see every day, that's for sure. He nodded, "yes!" His voice sudden and chirpy, dragging himself out of his mind.
He leaned forward, looking for his reflection, but it was too dark to show anything except a vague, blurry shape. "It was a storm. Or maybe an earthquake, I think. It's interesting to hear about now, but it must have been a terrible time. But it makes sense why they would choose the caves — you'll find security in all the nooks." Druzyprince had always found history to be a fascinating thing, and upon hearing of all the different types of clans, the thought of how did they get like that always seemed to be drifting somewhere in his mind. It was nothing negative, simply pure curiosity, intrigue, and a tinge of passion. When his mother had taken him to Dayclan as a kit, given him a silly clan name he thought he might never use, he'd wanted to know everything there was to know about them all. Now they were a walk away. He remembered hearing about a clan that lived underground, hardly able to believe it at first because who made their home underground? He lived among them. Druzyprince should have felt much happier.
"Yes!" Bumblebeepaw's head snapped over to him, a little bit stunned. It had sounded to them, in the moment, a bit more like a cry of alarm than a note of agreement. But seeing as nothing seemed wrong, they just sort of gave them a long, mildly concerned gaze. A tacit look of, "Are you sure you're alright buddy?", but they didn't actually say anything. And when the tom continued, they decided to stay silent and let him speak.
"Yeah, doesn't sound great. But it is pretty interesting that something like that happened. In like, a grim, pretty not-great sort of way." There was a pause, the short of small, awkward silence, the kind where a bad laugh-track might have played had they been a character in some horrible early 2000s sitcom, and then they continued. "But, the caves are nice. Probably more secure than where they were before, unless you consider a tunnel collapses or something. Which I really shouldn't say; I don't want to jinx us." They said with a small laugh, but there was a small undercurrent of something that seemed to imply it would have been just their sort of luck. It probably wasn't the most reassuring thing, but it was there nevertheless.
Every so often, though his head wouldn't move, Druzy's gaze would drift and linger on Bumblebeepaw, only for a moment, a heartbeat, as if he were studying them. He pretended not to notice their concern. In like, a grim, pretty not-great sort of way. He nodded, turning to hop off the rock as he spoke, still signalling his attention with the direction of his ears, flicking towards them. He moved to examine the edge of the rocks, padding up and down until he finally stopped in between two rocks, where the mud and dirt and rock all met. He examined the pebbles, moving around anything that looked remotely crystal-like — the ones covered in mud, mostly, because he knew sometimes they didn't shine due to dirtiness. He picked one out, rolled it around and scrubbed it in the water until it was clean, and when it revealed nothing of importance he moved on to others, moving to various spots to test his luck. He worked silently, not demanding Bumblebeepaw to help despite asking them along for that exact reason.
Finally, as they rubbed the mud and grime off a rather pointy stone, it caught the light. "Yes!" He cheered, "yes! Yes! I found one!" He made sure it was sparkling before picking it up, wincing at the taste of salty cave water, and carrying it out. It wasn't very big, hardly the size of his paw-pad, though his were unusually big for his age, but it was exactly what he was looking for. Under the brief hints of moonlight, it was colourless, clear. "They're along the bank, but there's probably more elsewhere. Now we need," he paused to mentally count, "six more."
"Woo!" The Bumblebeepaw added onto the cheer. It wasn't as enthusiastic as Druzyprince's was, but it was excited nonetheless; they were happy enough for them. And as the tom gave his advice, the nodded along.
With switch and careful steps, Bumblebeepaw padded over to see what the had found and where they had found it, it was better for future reference. They took a moment to analyze it; it was pretty darn pretty, even if it wasn't giant. But if they could manage to find six more of all about that size, they figured that the fact it was somewhat small wouldn't matter much in the end.
Trailing along the rocks as well, they found another small spot not too far away that met a wide crevasse between rock and muddied earth, and they started digging themselves; though with considerably less luck. Almost all of what they wipped clean were just normal, standard rocks. Admittedly a few of them looked pretty cool to Bumblebeepaw, all sharp and crooked, molded into strange shapes by the colliding factors of stilled cave water, falling surface water, and the slight erosion of time. But they ditched them, certain that they would mean little to the Royal Guard that seemed to know exactly what they wanted, and not about to add an extra thing that they would probably have to carry back to camp.
"So why six more exactly? Or is it just because?" Bumblebeepaw asked, content to make what now was essentially small-talk as they widdled through their options of sharp pointy-things coated in mud.
