Self-contemplation

[Tiger]

Eagle's Wing sat alone under a tall, thin trembling aspen tree. Decaying leaves littered the ground directly under it, making a soft spot to rest his paws. The adviser was staring directly at a small puddle a few inches away from his fore paws. Illumination here was not the best, but he could see a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes staring right back. He tried to dissect his own appearance through this reflection. On the surface, the cat looked tough. That was good. He needed to appear strong--much stronger than he was--because he was one of the cats who the guild trusted their lives with. He lived to advise Long Cloud on the best decisions to make, while also acting as a counselor and juror in small, everyday scuffles.

As he watched himself sit there, still and unmoving, Eagle's Wing could not sense any sign of inner turbulence or depression or anything else in the eyes of the cat watching him. He saw a glint, indicative of an unmistakable air of toughness and experience.

He saw the cat he wanted to see.

Eagle's Wing smirked ever so slightly. The expression made him look younger (which, given his age, was not necessarily a bad thing) and more confident. It also gave him a faint rebellious look--not exactly the best trait in an adviser--but he thought it looked alright. It made him less likely to appear weak, anyways.

However, the tom then realized what he was doing and straightened up, licking his paw in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. What would the other cats think if they caught their most senior member staring at himself in a puddle?

[heartnet]

Laugh probably.

Two gray paws suddenly splashed the tom as they landed in the puddle. These paws belonged to another advisor, Howling Wind. He was smiling brightly, cocking his head curiously as he gazed up to the other. "See anything interesting?" he asked, his voice having a slight amount of laughter and teasing in it. Obviously he had seen. He then back out of the puddle so it was between the two of them as he sat down, wrapping his tail over his paws. Though he was old in moons as well, he acted more like a newly trained apprentice. He stretched, his tail flickering back an forth boredly.

[Tiger]

Eagle's Wing relaxed.

Under normal circumstances, he would have a problem with a cat laughing at him for acting so silly. However, Howling Wind was someone he trusted--one of his closest friends, one of his colleagues--and someone he knew wouldn't be too judgmental about the incident. "Not really," he replied, a faint smile spreading across his lips. "At least, I'm not seeing anything I haven't seen before." The adviser tucked what was left of his tail around his side and looked up, making eye contact with the other cat. "What about you, Howling Wind? Do you see anything interesting?"

[heartnet]

Howling Wind raised a brow at this question, glancing down to the puddle. He was silent a moment as he gazed at his reflection, his expression thoughtful. Truth be told, he saw to cats in his reflection. One older, wise cat who seemed to have seen many moons. He had been through many experiences, some wonderful and some life changing. You could see these experiences etched across his face, and scars hidden from view but still remembered. But he also saw a young, adventurous tom, a cat who had worked hard to do the best he could. This cat, was in love. He was a skilled member, one of the top but it seemed his thoughts were elsewhere.

Yes, he saw both these cats, together and separately. He smiled, looking back up to his friend with a shrug. "Oh, nah. Nothing new." he said easily. He studied his friend, remembering back when they were both younger and never thought about talking around a puddle. He laughed slightly. "You would never have thought we'd be having this conversation."