SkyClan Clearing

[lone]

Originally Posted by Ebony

"I'm good with Blazingcomet. It's a nice name. Mine is Drizzleshard," she responded in a friendly manner, pointing to her mottled pelt with her tail. "I guess you can call me whatever, too." The lithe she-cat jumped off the slender branch she was on, and onto the thicker one underneath. She was now on the branch the tom was. "And I'm not alone anymore, right?" she asks, flicking Blazingcomet's ear with her tail. Much like Blazingcomet, she was a very flirtatious feline, and felt like practicing the art right now. Her indigo eyes flashed.

"Drizzleshard? That's a beautiful name. It suits you," The tom purred. So far things were going well. She was responding exactly in the way that he wanted. She was doing everything just right. And it made Blazingcomet feel like he was finally back to where he had been. Her touch surprised him-- most of the time it took a little while to get to a both-sided physical standpoint, but it seemed they were there already. "It would appear that way," He purred, brushing her lightly with his own tail. "So, Drizzleshard... what do you do for fun? I always find any sort of a competition or a game to be interesting," He mewed in a more friendly, less smooth tone. Though he would have her wrapped around his paw in a matter of moments. He knew it. It always ended up that way... well... most of the time, not always. His hues flashed with interest as he watched the mottled feline, wondering where she had come from. It was as though StarClan had granted an answer to his boredom. And yet, she had been saying... the equivelant of the same thing. Looks like they were going to help each other out here.

[graves]

Originally Posted by pupy

He was tired—quite tired. The previous day had been long, and he could barely bear with its repercussions: Ploverpaw staggered out of the apprentice’s den, paws uncoordinated with sleep deprivation. On impulse, he searched for his beloved; his best friend. His gait was heavy, the largeness of the tom’s build making it hard to move. Seeing Arrowpaw slide into his line of vision, Plover slurred, “Hey,” barely able to form words. Limping towards the little tabby, he began to purr loudly.

His ears perked at the sound of a familiar voice. One he knew by heart, with his eyes closed, anything. He turned his head to meet Ploverpaws tired gaze and was immediately on his paws once seeing him. While the other tom was bigger, Arrow himself was actually taller then him. Though no one could tell by his posture, lowered by instant fear for everything. Though his height did help him when he pressed against his friend immediately, half because its what they usually did and half so the tom didnt fall over where he stood. The touch felt familiar, something they didnt often when they saw eachother. Physical contact was common. Though Arrows need to worry had kicked in in an instant,¨How late did you stay up last night? You look like you havent slept in moons.¨

[ameko]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

After the Gathering? Greystep mentally calculated when that should be, and then his old smile returned to his features. That would give him plenty of time to get his nerves under control and plenty of time to realize that he was going to live through this. He did really want to do it, though. Acornflash and Splotchfeather were two of the only friends he had! Though Greystep did have six. Six friends. Poor Greystep... while he tried his best, it wasn't always easy for him to meet new cats and make new friends. Especially in tight or stressful situations such as this one. There were pretty much no exceptions to this. It was almost always impossible for him to make a new friend. Thank goodness Acornflash had approached him, because Greystep would never have known what a nice cat he was otherwise. After all... it was nearly impossible to tell just looking at him!
　
Not that Acornflash looked like a mean cat.
　
Greystep just had trouble telling the difference. Shifting his weight he glanced over at the younger tom. "Th-that... that works fine for me." Almost perfect! He was getting more comfortable with other cats now. Before he had met these cats, Ebonypaw and Mouseleap had been his two friends. His niece and his sister. Not the most social cat, he'd clung to them as though he were going to die. Then he'd been given Arrowpaw as an apprentice, and they were friends now... and then he'd met Owlwing, Splotchfeather, and Acornflash. Thank goodness Greystep had any friends at all, right? It was almost surprising that he did, considering the fact that he was quite antisocial. Mind racing to try to think of another subject, Greystep glanced around somewhat nervously.
　
This was getting awkward.
　
And now he could feel his nerves rising again, beginning to get more and more uncomfortable, buzzing within him and strange thoughts began to enter his mind. "So, uhh... so... so other then, then Sp-Splot-Splotchfeather, do you.... do you, um... d-do you have any, any uhh... any other friends?" This sometimes happened when he got excited or extra nervous. Instead of stammering he would just repeat things over and over until he sounded like a complete idiot. Greystep lowered his head, yellow hues completely averted from the other tom's face. He didn't want to see the expression on the other cat's face when he looked up again. It was going to be disapproving, he just knew it. Then again, he was very easy to disapprove of. And he should have known that Acornflash wouldn't make fun of him... but for some reason he just couldn't believe it.
　
Either he couldn't or he wouldn't.

Goodness, Acornflash was simultaneously excited and excruciatingly worried about the Gathering and the training session that they had planned. Firstly, Acornflash was wonderfully happy about the prospect of going to the Gathering with Splotchfeather and Greystep. But there would be so… so many cats there… preferably not as many as he was anticipating, but he knew with a sinking feeling that there would be a lot more. Secondly, the training session was something he was joyfully anticipating, but he wasn’t all that good at fighting in general (in his opinion) and there would be two new cats there, ones that could insult or gossip about his lack of skills. Acornflash didn’t like thinking about it.

But then the sound of Greystep’s voice tore him from his thoughts.

Acornflash straightened, a smile curving the corners of his mouth. “Good!” he replied with bubbly happiness. Greystep was certainly a nice cat. Indeed, Acorn was very pleased to have come across the handsome feline. Besides talking to Splotchfeather—and, of course, Brightpaw—he hadn’t had any good conversations recently to recharge him. Most of the time he was either too nervous or too bored to actually have an interesting conversation with a cat. Sure, the chat with Greystep did bore him at times, though he tried not to admit it, but Greystep did seem a little on the unpredictable side. Acornflash thought that was interesting; he never knew what he was going to expect. Like the grey tom’s very next question, for example. Acornflash blinked, a quiet noise emitting from his maw as he heard Greystep speak once more. The dark brown warrior had not been expecting that, so it had (predictably) caught him off guard.

Patiently he listened to his acquaintance speak, glancing over at the large warrior. “Oh, yes—Nightflash is my friend; he’s very nice. And there’s Auroraflame, though we haven’t really spoken lately.” Acornflash’s face screwed up in concentration, trying to recall his friends. “Hmm… I think that’s it. Well, there’s Sunbreak—he was my mentor—but I don’t think we’ve talked in quite a few moons.” A couple seconds passed, the young warrior deep in concentration. That couldn’t possibly be all of them, could it? He could’ve sworn that there were more, weren’t there..? It was odd. He had always felt like he had someone in his younger days, someone to lean on. Well… now that Acorn thought about it, he had only talked to his mentor and that one childhood friend for the majority of his life… for the moment, he decided to dismiss the worrying thoughts. They would do better in the back of his mind, where he would hopefully forget about them until the end of his conversation with Greystep. “What about you; do you have any other friends besides Splotchfeather?” Acornflash wasn't entirely sure whether or not he actually had any other friends, as horrible as that sounded. Yes, he was rather ashamed that he had even thought that, but it still lingered in his mind. He would be beyond embarrassed if it turned out that Greystep actually didn't have others.

Sighing, Acornflash stretched his paws forward and slid himself down into a prone position on the ground. Moments after, he tucked his paws back underneath him and made himself look similar to a loaf of bread.

[oats]

Originally Posted by woly

His ears perked at the sound of a familiar voice. One he knew by heart, with his eyes closed, anything. He turned his head to meet Ploverpaws tired gaze and was immediately on his paws once seeing him. While the other tom was bigger, Arrow himself was actually taller then him. Though no one could tell by his posture, lowered by instant fear for everything. Though his height did help him when he pressed against his friend immediately, half because its what they usually did and half so the tom didnt fall over where he stood. The touch felt familiar, something they didnt often when they saw eachother. Physical contact was common. Though Arrows need to worry had kicked in in an instant,¨How late did you stay up last night? You look like you havent slept in moons.¨

Ah, there he was—caring for Ploverpaw’s wellbeing as always. The taller tom appeared to be closer to his regular height, and appeared to be quite at ease, since his priorities were to simply worry about his friend. The sudden warmth that pressed into the splotched apprentice sent him sprawling, thoughts too clouded with the desire to rest to realise how… ridiculous he was being. Arrowpaw’s sudden tenseness as he began to fuss over him like a mother did not help his state in any way; Plover felt like a kit in the nursery, like he was living a too-vivid dream. “I don’t think- think I stayed up late,” he mumbled. “I hadn’t gotten any sleep to begin with. Idunno. I wasn’t up? I was—I was layin’ down the entire time.”

[graves]

Originally Posted by pupy

Ah, there he was—caring for Ploverpaw’s wellbeing as always. The taller tom appeared to be closer to his regular height, and appeared to be quite at ease, since his priorities were to simply worry about his friend. The sudden warmth that pressed into the splotched apprentice sent him sprawling, thoughts too clouded with the desire to rest to realise how… ridiculous he was being. Arrowpaw’s sudden tenseness as he began to fuss over him like a mother did not help his state in any way; Plover felt like a kit in the nursery, like he was living a too-vivid dream. “I don’t think- think I stayed up late,” he mumbled. “I hadn’t gotten any sleep to begin with. Idunno. I wasn’t up? I was—I was layin’ down the entire time.”

At hearing his friend never even slept made him worry more. ¨You didnt even sleep last night? Plover why do you do this to yourself.¨ Arrowpaw muttered under his breath as he pressed against the other tom to keep him upright, leaning over and licking the toms head at there were fur out of place. ¨Come on, youre going to lay down in the clearing with me and Im going to force feed you if I have to, I dont think Ive seen you eaten today either.¨ his tone was as if he were a mother, stern yet soft. He cared about his friend dearly and to see him not take care of himself only worried him. He guided them to a more shaded area of the clearing under a set of trees. ¨You such a goof,¨ he snorted under his breath. He knew Plover had a habit of staying up late but not to sleep at all? Was frankly concerning. He planned to get some food into him and let him have a snooze next to him, seeing as he couldnt exactly leave Plover to take care of himself at the moment.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Pathos

Goodness, Acornflash was simultaneously excited and excruciatingly worried about the Gathering and the training session that they had planned. Firstly, Acornflash was wonderfully happy about the prospect of going to the Gathering with Splotchfeather and Greystep. But there would be so… so many cats there… preferably not as many as he was anticipating, but he knew with a sinking feeling that there would be a lot more. Secondly, the training session was something he was joyfully anticipating, but he wasn’t all that good at fighting in general (in his opinion) and there would be two new cats there, ones that could insult or gossip about his lack of skills. Acornflash didn’t like thinking about it.


But then the sound of Greystep’s voice tore him from his thoughts.

Acornflash straightened, a smile curving the corners of his mouth. “Good!” he replied with bubbly happiness. Greystep was certainly a nice cat. Indeed, Acorn was very pleased to have come across the handsome feline. Besides talking to Splotchfeather—and, of course, Brightpaw—he hadn’t had any good conversations recently to recharge him. Most of the time he was either too nervous or too bored to actually have an interesting conversation with a cat. Sure, the chat with Greystep did bore him at times, though he tried not to admit it, but Greystep did seem a little on the unpredictable side. Acornflash thought that was interesting; he never knew what he was going to expect. Like the grey tom’s very next question, for example. Acornflash blinked, a quiet noise emitting from his maw as he heard Greystep speak once more. The dark brown warrior had not been expecting that, so it had (predictably) caught him off guard.

Patiently he listened to his acquaintance speak, glancing over at the large warrior. “Oh, yes—Nightflash is my friend; he’s very nice. And there’s Auroraflame, though we haven’t really spoken lately.” Acornflash’s face screwed up in concentration, trying to recall his friends. “Hmm… I think that’s it. Well, there’s Sunbreak—he was my mentor—but I don’t think we’ve talked in quite a few moons.” A couple seconds passed, the young warrior deep in concentration. That couldn’t possibly be all of them, could it? He could’ve sworn that there were more, weren’t there..? It was odd. He had always felt like he had someone in his younger days, someone to lean on. Well… now that Acorn thought about it, he had only talked to his mentor and that one childhood friend for the majority of his life… for the moment, he decided to dismiss the worrying thoughts. They would do better in the back of his mind, where he would hopefully forget about them until the end of his conversation with Greystep. “What about you; do you have any other friends besides Splotchfeather?” Acornflash wasn't entirely sure whether or not he actually had any other friends, as horrible as that sounded. Yes, he was rather ashamed that he had even thought that, but it still lingered in his mind. He would be beyond embarrassed if it turned out that Greystep actually didn't have others.

Sighing, Acornflash stretched his paws forward and slid himself down into a prone position on the ground. Moments after, he tucked his paws back underneath him and made himself look similar to a loaf of bread.

None of those names sounded familiar to the grey tom. Nightflash? Sunbreak? He didn't think he had ever seen those cats, let alone talked to them. Cocking his head to the side, the large warrior shifted his weight uncomfortably. The tom licked his maw at the younger cat's question and thought about it for a moment. Arrowpaw... Splotchfeather-- oh, but she doesn't count, heh, cause she's herself... Ebonyfrost... that's right, she became a Medicine Cat now! I'm gonna have to congratulate her. And... and Mouseleap-- and Owlwing. That's... that's it, I... I think. Four friends. Two of which were related to him. Not the best selection, but at least he would be able to explain that. Thank goodness for those cats that he cared so much about. Glancing up from his thoughts, he cast a sheepish smile in the direction of Acornflash. Here we go. You got this, Greystep. He thought to himself with a slight wince.

He did have this. He could do this. There was nothing to be afraid of here, that was all he needed to remember. He'd just been talking to this cat for the past... however long it had been, he wasn't sure. An hour? Two, perhaps? Surely it hadn't been much longer then that. Then again, the sun did look much lower then it had originally. Alright, so maybe it had been a few hours. He hoped he wasn't wasting Acornflash's time, though he doubted the other tom would still be there if he was. Thinking once more over what he wanted to say, Greystep's mind turned to his other friends. How was Owlwing? He hadn't seen her in a long time, and part of him wondered if she was even still okay. Of course Greystep had the tendancy to look on the darkest side, and that, at the moment, was that something had happened to her. He could only hope that she was still okay and alive.

"W-well... well, I-- I have Arrow... Arrowpaw, he's my apprentice. And Ebonyfrost, she's my niece. Mouseleap is my sister... they're all my friends, I--I like all of them, of course, they're very... they're very special. And... and, umm... and Owlwing is another close friend of mine but, but I... I haven't seen her recently." Just those words were hard for Greystep to say. But he had done it! He had spoken without much stammering and stuttering, just going back over his words and doing something equivalant to smoothing them out. It hadn't worked. His speech was just as confusing as ever. Feeling his pelt growing warmer from embarrassment and the always-growing heat of the day, Greystep ventured to say one more thing. He could do this. It wasn't that hard and hopefully, hopefully Acornflash would appreciate what he was trying to do-- just maybe.

"And... and I consider y-you... I, I... I con-conseh-consi-consider you to... y-yuh-you... I consider you to b-beh-bee... to be... to be a fruh-frie-friend." I consider you to be a friend. Just seven simple words, not hard to say at all, and yet Greystep was acting as though he were making a love confession, twisting around and looking down at the ground, anywhere but directly at the tom. Why was this so awkward? Maybe because they had just met that day, was it really that weird for him to be talking about them being friends? Perhaps. But, Greystep took a friend when he could find one. And, if Acornflash did reject him? So what. He was used to it by now. He'd been rejected so many times it was almost impossible for him to keep track of them all. And yet life went on... he went on... over and over again, trying to thrive in the Clan that he loved so very much.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Ebony

Drizzleshard felt her ears growing hot at Blazingcomet's compliment. Usually toms couldn't get through to her that easily. She was surprised. "You think so? I, personally, think my mother was to name me Drizzlekit. What cat wants to be named after something that makes no cat want to leave the den? I'm glad you like it though. Why's your name Blazingcomet? Well, the Blazing part is quite obvious, but why the suffix -comet?" the slender she-cat meowed. Her eyes sparkled teasingly as she flicked her tail on Blazingcomet's ear. "I don't really have a favorite activity," the mottled gray cat lied, "I'm usually just quite lonely." In truth, one of her favorite things to do was flirt. Maybe get a tom interested in her. She loved playing matchmaker with herself. This tom, though, was trying the same thing she was, and she could feel herself being caught in his trap, just as he was about to be in hers. It always went that way for her. They'd get really close, then have some petty argument and be done.

Trying to keep up with her words, Blazingcomet's ears twitched and he watched her with growing amusement. Such an interesting feline, honestly. "Oh! Probably because I'm pretty fast. Even with this useless item," He mewed, holding up his twisted paw. It didn't hurt. It didn't even really slow him down, since he normally kept it up and off the ground. Ever since he was a kit he'd learned to run on three paws, and sometimes even dealing with the fourth one. "It's always been there. But I deal with it." Glancing at the dappled feline's expression for any change as he spoke. Reactions varied from 'aww!' to 'are you serious?' to laughter, though that was the rarest one. Most cats were understanding. There were always those few in the Clan, however, that didn't have much tact when dealing with the sensitive subject. This only made Blazingcomet shrug them off more. Her comment surprised him... and he had a hunch that she was lying, but how to prove it? Answer: he couldn't. Not without running the risk of offending her, or losing her attention, neither of which he wanted to do. He had a she cat's attention and all of his energy at that moment was devoted to getting her wrapped around his paw. "Lonely? Why, whoever would leave you? You're the most interesting cat I've met in this Clan," He purred, brushing up against her. The words he had spoken stung a little at the thought of his new friend, but he shrugged it off. Gingerblossom hadn't responded this way; Drizzleshard was. And he was here, in the moment. So he would embrace this.

[Splash]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

Trying to keep up with her words, Blazingcomet's ears twitched and he watched her with growing amusement. Such an interesting feline, honestly. "Oh! Probably because I'm pretty fast. Even with this useless item," He mewed, holding up his twisted paw. It didn't hurt. It didn't even really slow him down, since he normally kept it up and off the ground. Ever since he was a kit he'd learned to run on three paws, and sometimes even dealing with the fourth one. "It's always been there. But I deal with it." Glancing at the dappled feline's expression for any change as he spoke. Reactions varied from 'aww!' to 'are you serious?' to laughter, though that was the rarest one. Most cats were understanding. There were always those few in the Clan, however, that didn't have much tact when dealing with the sensitive subject. This only made Blazingcomet shrug them off more. Her comment surprised him... and he had a hunch that she was lying, but how to prove it? Answer: he couldn't. Not without running the risk of offending her, or losing her attention, neither of which he wanted to do. He had a she cat's attention and all of his energy at that moment was devoted to getting her wrapped around his paw. "Lonely? Why, whoever would leave you? You're the most interesting cat I've met in this Clan," He purred, brushing up against her. The words he had spoken stung a little at the thought of his new friend, but he shrugged it off. Gingerblossom hadn't responded this way; Drizzleshard was. And he was here, in the moment. So he would embrace this.

Drizzleshard's eyes shown with surprise. It wasn't pitiful, though, or cruel. "You learned to run on three paws quickly enough that you were named after your speed?" she asked, obviously impressed. The mottled feline blinked, realizing that this probably wasn't the response Blazingcomet was used to. She flicked her tail slightly, barely noticeably, smuggly. She was definitely doing well. She half expected Blazingcomet to ask more personal questions to get to know her better; the other half of her expected that Blazingcomet was waiting for her to make the first move. Like her, he was a flirt, and she had noticed. "As for being lonely... well, I just haven't felt that 'special someone'. Maybe someday..." she trails off wistfully. As the orange tom brushed up against her silver-gray pelt, Drizzleshard stiffened, but then quickly relaxed. He was just being friendly.

[lone]

Originally Posted by Ebony

Drizzleshard's eyes shown with surprise. It wasn't pitiful, though, or cruel. "You learned to run on three paws quickly enough that you were named after your speed?" she asked, obviously impressed. The mottled feline blinked, realizing that this probably wasn't the response Blazingcomet was used to. She flicked her tail slightly, barely noticeably, smuggly. She was definitely doing well. She half expected Blazingcomet to ask more personal questions to get to know her better; the other half of her expected that Blazingcomet was waiting for her to make the first move. Like her, he was a flirt, and she had noticed. "As for being lonely... well, I just haven't felt that 'special someone'. Maybe someday..." she trails off wistfully. As the orange tom brushed up against her silver-gray pelt, Drizzleshard stiffened, but then quickly relaxed. He was just being friendly.

"That's right!"

Blazingcomet's voice mewed cheerfully, his hues sparkling with interest as he did so. He wasn't the best of cats, to be honest... it was almost surprising that he had friends at all, and yet he did. Her words surprised him once more, and his expression changed to one of worry, followed by his mind racing quickly. Special someone, huh? I have a real opportunity here. This. is. perfect. A purr rumbled in his throat, and he unsheathed his claws, kneading them against the tree branch as he thought. Everything to Blazingcomet was an opportunity for something. There was always the chance that he could meet the cat of his dreams any second, and right now? It looked like he had an opportunity to grab this feline's attention. If he didn't have it already. "Well, you seem like a wonderful cat. I'm sure someday a tom is going to make you very happy." Preferably me... for a while, anyways. This mindset wasn't exactly 'nice.' He still didn't understand why Gingerblossom thought he was a nice cat... he was literally making plans to date and ditch a cat who was already lonely! Not nice at all. But, it was his lifestyle. It was how he lived. Again, he brushed up against her, this time holding the contact. "There's a really pretty spot out in the territory. I think it'd be just the thing... it's always nicer with some company." He mewed lowly in her ear before pulling away. There was no mistaking that for a friendly move, or an accident... at least not as far as he knew.

[Splash]

Originally Posted by Lonestar23

"That's right!"

Blazingcomet's voice mewed cheerfully, his hues sparkling with interest as he did so. He wasn't the best of cats, to be honest... it was almost surprising that he had friends at all, and yet he did. Her words surprised him once more, and his expression changed to one of worry, followed by his mind racing quickly. Special someone, huh? I have a real opportunity here. This. is. perfect. A purr rumbled in his throat, and he unsheathed his claws, kneading them against the tree branch as he thought. Everything to Blazingcomet was an opportunity for something. There was always the chance that he could meet the cat of his dreams any second, and right now? It looked like he had an opportunity to grab this feline's attention. If he didn't have it already. "Well, you seem like a wonderful cat. I'm sure someday a tom is going to make you very happy." Preferably me... for a while, anyways. This mindset wasn't exactly 'nice.' He still didn't understand why Gingerblossom thought he was a nice cat... he was literally making plans to date and ditch a cat who was already lonely! Not nice at all. But, it was his lifestyle. It was how he lived. Again, he brushed up against her, this time holding the contact. "There's a really pretty spot out in the territory. I think it'd be just the thing... it's always nicer with some company." He mewed lowly in her ear before pulling away. There was no mistaking that for a friendly move, or an accident... at least not as far as he knew.

"Well, good job. I can't imagine how hard that must be." Drizzleshard said. Her expression quickly turned to confusion, though, as she saw Blazingcomet's face take on a worried look. What's he thinking of? she wondered, her indigo orbs slightly narrowed. Her ears flicked as he continued speaking. "Someday." she sighed, her eyes still narrowed slightly. The mottled silver she-cat knew what Blazingcomet was doing. She was playing with fire. Her expression relaxed, however, as he leaned against her. The orange tom was quite muscular, she noticed, with a soft blush. "That sounds great." Drizzleshard said, trying to keep the triumph out of her voice.