[ti]Private[/ti]Duty is as Duty does

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Ashlight - - >

    The sooty warrior had just finished bringing back a plump vole to the fresh kill pile, setting it down gingerly next to the other spoils of the day. It was still quite early in the morning, so she figured she should find something for her to do to keep busy. The she-cat began thinking of possible activities, maybe joining in on a patrol, when she saw a familiar silver tabby tom. Her ears perked up as she strode quickly towards RootClan's newly established leader. He always seemed so serious and brooding, but Ashlight knew he was a good cat at heart. Honestly, she hoped he didn't think any less of her having come from MothClan and not being an actual tribe cat, but she was accepted in after all. She knew some of the previous tribe cats still felt a little strange about having outsiders join their now-Clan, but she'd brush off any passing comments and pretend like it was nothing.

    Light filtered in through the makeshift wooden roof above, glinting briefly into the she-cat's eyes as she passed through. Shaking off the minor daze, she realized she'd almost run into the muscular tom. She stopped herself a mouse length from her leader, staring up at him expectantly. "Oof, sorry! I didn't mean to invade your personal space." She mewed, backing up a little bit as she talked. She didn't seem too bother by the interaction, however, she couldn't gauge what the tom was thinking. "I was actually wondering if I could help you out at all. I know being a new leader can be kinda tough...not that I think you're having a hard time or anything! I just thought I would offer." She smiled, standing up a little bit straighter.  

[noctemq]

Blackstar was seated off to the side with his paws neatly tucked underneath his tail. A moment had passed since he was first named leader, and he was adjusting to his role smoothly. Screecheagle's sickness left him familiar with all of the leader-y things that had to be done on a daily basis, so Blackstar wasn't losing any sleep from stress. As was tradition, the leaders were the last to eat. Not to say that he was watching the fresh-kill pile.... but he was definitely watching the fresh-kill pile. His amber eyes quickly stole a glance at what Ashflight placed down before resuming his usual stoic gaze over the cats moving around in the camp. Life seemed to be returning to normal... besides the threat of Mothclan, of course. When he was still deputy, he had assigned a handful of warriors to keep to border tight, hence his lack of worry. Blackstar's train of thought was interrupted by stomach grumble. No, he had self control, an abundance of it, and could wait until every else was had their share. Even if that vole looked particularily fat.... Blackstar shook his neck fur out in an attempt to disperse any cravings.

He shifted his body weight back when Ashflight came too close. He had seen her before, but never interacted nor seen her this closely before. The corners of his lips turned upwards in a terse greeting. "I'm alright." His words were as brief as usual, signaling to the keen eye that he was doing fine. Now if he was talking too much, that would be worrisome. Ashflight's eagerness was refreshing, especially since half of Rootclan just wanted to take a nap until all of the drama was finally over. He tried to think of something for her to do. The last morning patrol left literal moments ago and she was just hunting, so something more relaxed would be a better fit. Blackstar talked to the fresh mentors and told them to focus on battle training and hunting instead of filling up their apprentice's time with chores, so the dens hadn't been refreshing in a while.

"I could some help picking clean moss for the elder's den. I think I heard that Cinderscratch found a burr in her bedding from someone." It was a mundane task for a leader to be doing, although he didn't think of himself as any higher than the average warrior.

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Ashlight - - >

    Tilting her head as she listened to the RootClan leader, she noted his continual neutral expression. However, his expression did change a bit when she mentioned helping out. She'd usually go to Screechstar whenever she wanted something to do, so she wasn't quite used to reporting to Blackstar yet. Hopefully he wouldn't find her repeated requests to help out too annoying. Her ears perked up at the mention of moss-- of course! Why didn't she think of that? Oh, he was going to help her? Honestly she hadn't expected her leader to volunteer with her, especially not something like moss gathering, but she didn't mind. Usually Screechstar would give her a task and send her on her way. Company was always a welcome thing to her, but she never really got a whole lot of it recently. Usually it was only during a patrol or hunting trip, she always made sure to keep herself busy during even her downtime. It was nice to be able to do a menial task such as gathering bedding for the elders. 

    "Yeah, ok!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. She knew all the best spots for moss, and there was never an issue finding them since they grey on all the rocks underground, the tunnels being moist and the perfect spot for it to grow. "Maybe we can snack on some bugs while we work, I haven't gotten the chance for my breakfast yet." Not a usual meal for a cat, and she'd have never have suggested something like that if she was a MothClan cat. She'd noticed however a few other cats that liked to eat the big juicy ones that crawled around the caverns. The she-cat couldn't tell if it had been a tribe thing or simply something of convenience. They were easy to catch and not half bad so hey, to each their own. She bounded over to the camp entrance, paws itching to get started. "I know just the spot to start looking!" Ashlight mewed.