"Congratulations, deputy," he called as he fell in step beside her, his dark eyes amused as they met hers. "That's quite the honor. Are you sure you're up for the job? You'll be doing all of Ratstar's dirty work while he lazes around," he teased, his smile stretching into a full-blown cocky grin. Ragingspire had seen how lost she looked alone by the fresh-kill pile, and he was determined to cheer her up. It was an accomplishment to be chosen as deputy, and he wasn't going to let her forget that.

haha yeah, putting off soot/red happy reunion until the thread with ratstar is over cx

The bronze tom laughed knowingly. It wasn't difficult to guess who she was worried about; the tension between them was obvious after their patrol together. It was a miracle to him they hadn't shredded each other to pieces yet. "Yeah, I saw him go sulking off after the ceremony. How long until he comes back to camp, you think? I'd wager it'll be at least a day, he'll spend the night out there in the dirt." He patted her reassuringly with his tail. "Don't worry about it, you'll do a fine job. Ratstar would've have chosen you if he thought you'd screw it up."

Ragingspire sighed, his smile slipping as he became more serious. "Look, deputy... I say this with all the love in the world, but you're being an idiot. You did nothing wrong, and you shouldn't let him get under your skin. That's his issue, not yours. You deserve this." The warrior looked usually grim. He may not know Dawnmemories that well, but he still wasn't going to let the trash warrior drag her down. "Why are you even wasting your time on him?"

"Maybe you should stop trying," he told her frankly, glancing sideways at her. "Look, maybe it's not my place to say, but stop wasting your efforts on him. If he's hated you since he was a kit he's not going to just change his mind, you know? Just let him be. There's always going to be a cat that hates you, but sometimes there's nothing you can do about it." Trying to add some levity to the discussion, he nudged her with his shoulder. "Guess how I know? Guess who hated me?"

That was strange. He had never considered there was another cat pushing them together, but he couldn't imagine who would be doing it intentionally. Honestly, it would make more sense to him if they were just being a little overdramatic. "Oh, I know what you mean. I keep being pushed to patrol with the other warriors too. It's like man, we were just on patrol together last week, isn't there someone else in the clan? It's like I patrol with everyone once a moon." His whiskers twitched, and he laughed again. "No, but wouldn't it be a fun surprise if we shared a rival? But no, he's nowhere near my league. The first time I met my lovely Nemesis I was just a 'paw. My friend Crownglass was stuck in a tree after a fight with a fox, and I saved him. Ever since then Frostcloud hated me. Now, I know that makes it sound like she's jealous, but really she just loved me." Frostcloud had been the deputy when Sootstep and Dawnmemories were growing up -- and she'd been Sootstep's mentor.

"Difference of opinion," he assured her with a grin. "She thought I was stuck up and entitled because my mother had babied me, which she wasn't that far off about," he admitted. Angelstar was a lovely mother and especially after his sister's death had been too generous with him. He was a rebellious young cat and he had been unstoppable. "She thought how I saved Crownglass was dangerous, but I only broke two of ribs, so honestly I consider it a victory. She knew I was a good fighter, though, and very fair."

Ragingspire smiled affectionately, glowing with warmth at her praise. "Well, sometimes we have to own up to our mistakes and do better," he said simply. "I was so angry, so far gone, I ran away from the clan and went on a journey with some other cats. Even they hated to have me around. And when I returned to the clan, I found out life went on without me. My little sister had a mate and a family of her own, my clan was dying, and my sister had... passed on. And I hadn't been there." Ragingspire swallowed, finding that even after all these moons, he still choked up to think of Dreamcatcher. "That was when I finally grew up."

Ragingspire laughed a little, quietly. "You speak too soon. You barely know me." Some of his sadness was erased as he flashed her a grin. "Spend some more time with me and you'll change your mind."

good because if they keep hanging out he might feel the same, just for the extra eventual heartbreak cx

Ragingspire glowed. "Just you wait, I'm going to change your entire worldview. After me, you'll look at every tom and think 'wow, he seems nice, is he secretly as terrible as Ragingspire?' The answer is no, by the way, nobody else is nearly as gorgeous as I am."