~The Princess and the Knight~ StormxFox-G

[Cloud of Diamonds]

OOC:The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere

BIC: This time it was evening. This time he was also with another cat, and they were patrolling the borders.

But he was still with her again.

Oh, how he was nervous. Nervous without reason, even! What would ever be like if it were worse? If she ever...guessed...and asked him? Oh, horrors above! What could he ever say? He could not lie; especially not to her. But oh, what would he do after he'd said the truth?

I love you, Foxflower.

The gray tom could not even imagine saying it aloud. She would surely hate him. Hate him for making things awkward between them, when they were perfectly wonderful. Not quite, whispered a part of him. She does not know what you and she could be. She does not know - he moaned mentally at the voice to be quiet. That voice had been tormenting him as of late. Whispering forbidden things, tempting him, teasing him.

Maybe hunting would take his mind off it.

Or annoyance at his young companion. Not that Sprucefur was a bad cat, but there was something Stormclaw didn't like about him. Perhaps it was his somewhat dishonorable boasting. Or the way he flirted with young she-cats, even some apprentices. Very off, in this tom's mind.

Still, he kept his disdainful thoughts to himself and paused, sniffing the air, his green eyes looking around; his gaze swept over the quiet dusk-lit grassy expanses and the few trees. The long, thin tail twitched.

And he tried to keep his mind off the muscular ginger and white she-cat a little ways off from him.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Foxflower was rather delighted with life at this point. She had been spending so much time with her friends lately, it practically made her glow with excitement. This was the second time that day she had been able to be with Stormclaw, and Tigertail was there too! She enjoyed both of their company immensely. And Sprucefur was nice too – if a little odd – but Foxflower didn't know him so much, so she really couldn't say her opinion!

Right now she was talking animatedly with Tigertail, the both of them a few steps ahead of Stormclaw and Sprucefur. He had just said something about Cedarstar and Gingerstripe than made her fall into giggles at how true it was. The two really were like blind bees, whatever that meant. Her earthy brown eyes were glittering in amusement, and while Foxflower seemed rather distracted, any good warrior could tell that she wasn't. Her ears were pricked, listening to their surroundings. And her mouth was just slightly open, even when she wasn't suppose to be making noise, taking in the scents from the area as they traveled through the territory.

“And so lately Stormy's been all gloomy on me and I dun... Ya' listenin', Foxy?” Foxflower snapped her head to the side when she was addressed, smiling in apology as she refocused her attention on Tigertail.

“What was that, dear? I must confess I was wrapped up in our assignment... Do repeat it!”

Tigertail just chuckled, flicking his tail against Foxflower's flank before nodding his head in the direction of Stormclaw and Sprucefur. “Dun worry 'bout it, sweet cheeks, ain't gonna have Stormy listen in on us.” Foxflower giggled at that, then slowed down to allow the other two cats to catch up with them, Tigertail following her example as he greeted the toms again. “Don't be strangers, ya' two.”

ooc: late late late and, uh, late. /plus Tigertail's so out of character what is this i don't even.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

OOC: xD It's okay, Crow. We'll forgive you.

BIC:Sprucefur was, frankly, irritated by his companion. What was that stupid accent he had? It sounded dumb. At least when he spoke funny, it didn't sound like it was from a cat that'd been dead for seasons beyond counting. And he was too...gentle. Yeah. Too bland and mild and boring. "Don't be strangers..." Sure, why not? He should catch up to...wait.

Why were Tigertail and Foxflower in front of him? He was just noticing this. They. Should. Not. Be. In front of him. HE was the patrol leader, unless he was badly misinformed. HE was the superior. It irritated him that these warriors thought they were so much better than him that they dared challenge his authority by going ahead. This was HIS hunting patrol, and by StarClan he was going to show it.

So he suddenly sped up, much to the surprise of the Russian Blue. Stormclaw frowned. They were going along fine to the agreed warren, why did they need to go faster? There was plenty of light and time and it would only drain their energy. He sighed. But then, the young warrior was known for being hotheaded and reckless. He could testify to that only too well. And the odd thing was that Sprucefur couldn't have been that much younger than
him; although he had, Stormclaw knew, been an apprentice when he'd joined.

Never mind that. He had to catch up to the gray and white tom, and Tigertail, and...Foxflower.

Gulping as he padded quickly, his thoughts even quicker, he realized that though he'd been thinking about her before, he'd managed to put her out of his mind through annoyance at his male companion. Which was rather distraughting.

At least he'd have Tigertail by his side; a friend balanced by a non-friend balanced by...her. Oh StarClan.

This was going to get very tricky very fast.

Finally stepping up next to the three (Sprucefur had arrogantly shoved his way in front of the other two and was now a bit in front of them) he meowed nervously and low, "I'm worried about our chances of hunting; I hope Sprucefur hasn't forgotten we're going to the warren after the two hills next to the thistle patch."

Which was code for, "Oh my STARCLAN he ticks me off."

Sprucefur, only hearing mutters, decided they didn't matter and forged ahead, determined to get to the rabbits' dens first, plainly forgetting that it was far easier to catch the cotton-tailed prey with allies.

[Crowzerplorodon]

After watching Sprucefur shove between Tigertail and herself, Foxflower decided she could come to a conclusion about the tom. He was arrogant, rude, unpleasant, and rather boy-ish. She made a face akin to one of confusion, scrunching her nose up as she debated with herself. It would be just as rude to ignore him... but Sprucefur was far from the normal cat she hung out with. Perhaps it would be in Foxflower's best interest to just not speak to Sprucefur outside of what was necessary. Yes, that was reasonable enough. She would keep a business like relationship with her fellow warrior.

Foxflower smiled, stepping into place on one side of Stormclaw.

After watching Sprucefur shove between Foxflower and himself, Tigertail decided he could come to a conclusion about the tom. He was arrogant, rude, unpleasant, and rather boy-ish. He made a face akin to one of amusement, scrunching his nose up as he imitated the she-cat next to him. And oh, how he could imitate her. Tigertail could think of every little thing running through the bi-colored cat's mind right now. She was mulling over how rude Sprucefur was, and how rude it was of her to even think that. Tigertail wouldn't doubt that she was even deciding to be civil to him, even if he was a prat.

Tigertail grinned (because he never smiled), stepping into place on the other side of Stormclaw.

Both cats turned to listen when Stormclaw spoke, both of them quirking their heads in a similar manner. It would have caused laughter in any other scenario. Foxflower frowned, ears folded as she didn't quite get the message. “Stormclaw, I do believe that Sprucefur knows where we're to go, despite his brutishness,” she said softly, almost a little disappointed in her friend. She... expected a little better.

Tigertail, on the other paw, just chuckled in agreement, flicking his tail. “Pisses me off too.” He, of course, understood what Stormclaw was saying. And he agreed completely. Sprucefur was an annoying ass if he ever saw one. The warrior raised an eyebrow at Foxflower's statement, even more amused at how blissfully clueless she was. “Chill, girly,” he said light. “Stormy's just bein' a kidder. M'da one who ya' should worry 'bout.” To prove himself, he sped the pace of his paws, catching up to Sprucefur and matching the tom's speed and posture. Just for funsies.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Stormclaw

His heart started beating far faster than it usually did as she stepped beside him...oh, his foolish heart! He should not like the appearance of her so much; well, he should, she was a nice-looking she-cat...but not like he did, it was wrong.

And when she smiled...it was like the world, just for a moment, became a better place.

Oh, what a terribly distraughting dilemma. Quite, quite terrible, indeed. He loved this feeling, he could not lie - but he hated what it was and how it would make her feel if she ever worked out the truth, StarClan forbid.

And then his spirits sank lower than a mole's hole at the ginger and white she-cat's words. As did love make the positive better, it made the negative worse. So much worse. He felt as if he'd done a horrible deed. And I have, he thought miserably as he padded along.

No true Clan cat ever insulted a Clanmate of his - unless they had broken the warrior code. It simply wasn't done. It was...dishonorable, no matter how much he was annoyed. It was a stain that he would bear forever. Another proof of how unworthy he was for her. She would never do something so vile.

His head, tail, and ears drooped like wilted leaves after a moon-long drought.

"F-foxflower is right, Tigertail, I should never be so mean." He mumbled. "It's quite awful of me..."

He was so intent on his misery that he barely noticed that the tabby tom wasn't there anymore.

Sprucefur

What...what was this?! WHY was this IDIOTIC, MOUSE-BRAINED cat looking like a total fool?! He would have wanted to laugh, but for some reason the sight made him angry.

He snarled, his gray ears laid back on his white neck. The warrior's light green eyes were very irritated.

"Vut ish wrong wiff you?" He hissed to the tom who was only a tail-length or two back. "Ish you trying t'seem like'r mentally disabled kit?"

The bi-colored tom had absolutely no idea how ridiculous he sounded in more ways than one.

But look! There was the warren! Ah, hunting...but first he wanted to figure out WHY in StarClan's name Tigertail was acting like this! He had to know!

OOC: Yeah it sucks. :c oh well.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Foxflower frowned a little when Tigertail spoke, feeling like she had missed out on some sort of joke. Then again, the two toms were friends. They probably had all sorts of secrets between them that Foxflower would never understand. She wondered if they talked about she-cats... They were both very handsome toms, they probably had all sorts of admirers. Though Tigertail did have that thing with that she-cat, the one who bore his kits. Foxflower didn't know if he'd ever love again, and Stormclaw was just a mystery.

To herself, she sort of hoped there wasn't a cat who had stolen Stormclaw's eye. Foxflower didn't know why, she just... didn't like the idea of another cat – she-cat – taking her friend's attention. It gave her this weird feeling in her stomach that she couldn't explain. If Tigertail hadn't been up front, he might have commented on how green her ears were turning.

Not that they were actually green. It would just be a saying.

“Oh no, Stormclaw!” She said, eyes wide in embarrassment. “I wasn't thinking, I didn't mean to say that! You weren't mean... You're never mean.” She finished her words with a smile, watching Tigertail leave them to go, presumably, bother Sprucefur. “Besides, if Sprucefur misses where we're supposed to hunt, we can just leave him be. You and I can go hunt, and Tigertail can... Do something in his nature.” Like follow Sprucefur around, even if it was a bit rude. Oh well, Tigertail was a bit of a rude tom.

Up ahead, Tigertail was trying oh-so hard to suppress his grin. Sprucefur was too funny. People said his “accent” was bad, well, listen to this guy! He sounded like someone had shoved a mouse down his throat and left it there to rot. Though, if there was a mouse in his throat, Sprucefur might have been a lot more pissed off. “Vut ish wrong wiff you?” The tabby warrior replied, mocking Sprucefur's accent. “M'jus' walkin wit' my patrol leader. Ain't tryin' to seem like anythin', n' definitely notta mentally disabled kit.” Oh, he did so like bothering people. It made annoying patrols like this completely worth it. “Why ya' askin', n'way? We're at the warren so we should be huntin', not chattin' it up lik-a coupla queens.”

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The gray tom felt like his entire pelt was on fire. Ohhh, why did he have to feel this way? It was the most distraughting thing ever! He never asked to be in love! He never asked to feel like this! Ohhh....Foxflower, Foxflower. He wished she were right. But he knew what he'd done. Only once, but he had - succumbed to rage. He would never do it again - he hoped. He didn't trust himself. And this was why he should never be in love with her. The ginger and white she-cat deserved no less than the perfect tom. And he was by no means a perfect tom.

He was mean...it was mean of him to like her like this.

He smiled weakly, his thin gray tail waving slowly back and forth, his green eyes..strange. Sad, happy, confused, and a little angry all at the same time.

"Oh, I wish that were true." He said quietly, and looked away a moment. Then his attention snapped back on the fluffy warrior with full force. Hunt...alone...with...her? He gulped, hoping it didn't show. Oh, he would die of embarrassment. Another horrible thing about this...love...was that it made him want to do EVERYTHING perfectly in front of her, or he would feel like the worst cat in the world. And he was by no means perfect. And he worried that she might think he didn't want to hunt with her. He did! It was just his own fault he was so awkward...

"Er...I, uh...guess so. No! I mean...I would like that...it's just...following the patrol leader...warrior code...er..." he trailed off lamely. Quite, quite pathetic. He felt like such a fool.

This was why he would never be a fit match for her. This was solid, rock-hard proof.

Sprucefur

Oo, Tigertail was going to get it. He'd show him! He'd catch more rabbits than the silly tabby tom.

"Fine." He hissed, then turned forward, realizing there was a rabbit barely half a tree-length away from them. "Sssh!" He hissed again, serious this time, and forgetting his quarrel with his Clanmate in the face of his duty.

He hesitated for a moment, wanting to catch it himself, but realizing that probably wasn't realistic. Clan first, he knew reluctantly. The warrior code. StarClan's way. If he kept telling himself that, it would be bearable.

"Chu see durr rabbit? Dis ish vut vurr going to do. You're going to go 'round slowleh'n'carefulleh, bein' closh enough ta cut it off bu'not too close th't it would notice yurr in an instant. I trust chu c'n judge dat. While yurr do thut, Imma go to sneak up behind it. Itta prolly notice meh 'fore I get close 'nough turr spring, but dat's where ya come in. Durr moment it notices meh, ya close in runnin' and I run after it. Ve should be able ta trap it so dat vun of us gets it. Yush?"

He began praying to StarClan for luck as he waited for Tigertail to move.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Foxflower's ears flattened a little as Stormclaw seemed to sink into a depression of sorts. Now she really regretted speaking. Stormclaw was such a nice tom, it was really poor of her to have said anything against him. He didn't deserve her rare negativity, especially considering it seemed Foxflower had just misunderstood things. She should have known that Stormclaw wouldn't have been purposely nasty toward another warrior, even if that other warrior was Sprucefur. It was quite impossible for her to even picture Stormclaw being purposely rude. He was such a nice, respectful tom. Quite different from most cats she knew, even if she was friends with many of them. Still, Stormclaw was like a breath of fresh air amidst all these other toms who acted before thinking and went straight to violence.

Foxflower rather liked that.

She smiled a little, trying to counter Stormclaw's apparent depression with her own happiness. “It's very true!” She said, pretending to be annoyed at Stormclaw's self-loathing, but the look it her eyes made it obvious she was joking. Tigertail had once told her that joking around made people feel better, and she was determined to take his word for it. After all, she had seen good humor lighten a mood faster than the sun lit the sky. “You're a nice tom, Stormclaw. Very different from most other toms! It's special.” A curling smile graced her maw, made even a little brighter at how Stormclaw stumbled over his next words. That was sort of cute, how he was determined to stick to the warrior code.

“The warrior code doesn't say a hunting patrol can't split into two parts, dear,” she reminded sweetly. “But we'll stick with Sprucefur and Tigertail. They seem to have a grip on things. Look! They're already targeting a rabbit.” She flicked her tail in their direction, then stopped her paws, deciding it'd be best if they didn't disturb the toms or their prey.

Tigertail was a little upset that their bickering hadn't continued any further. He liked pissing Sprucefur off. It was fun hearing the guy get mad in that weird accent of his. Actually, if Tigertail didn't know any better, he would have assumed that the warrior only spoke in an accent to bother other people when he got emotional. It was increasingly difficult to understand Sprucefur each time he added another emotion to his plate.

But Tigertail got the gist of it. Hunting was more important that screwing with the warrior, anyway. Besides, he could always do it another day. There would be plenty of chances of mess with Sprucefur's head in the, hopefully near, future. Slowly, he nodded, then crept around to where Sprucefur had told him to go, oddly compliant but only because he wanted to catch this freaking rabbit. It didn't notice him at all, which he took as an inflation to his ego, before waiting for Sprucefur to do his own part and sneak up around behind it.

Right at that moment, Tigertail seriously hoped they could put away their... friendly hatred for each other and focus on catching the rabbit. He would be mighty pissed if they lost such an easy catch because the two of them were like bickering queens.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Stormclaw thought he might just faint. Then he mentally shook himself and reminded himself that he was a warrior. Warriors did not faint just because they were in front of she-cats they...er...liked in a special way.

But her words...he nearly sighed with relief. They were like...like...the most beautiful birdsong. It felt so good to hear her say them. Maybe...maybe he was good. Maybe he was what he tried to hard to be. If Foxflower said it...maybe it was true. But, he mustn't become vain and arrogant. Especially not for her. She would never love a tom like that - she would never love him anyway, but especially not if he were like that.

He looked at her, his green eyes sad with his longing that could never be, but happy at the goodness and honesty of her words. Truly, she was a princess among cats.

"Thank you for saying that, Foxflower. I don't wish to sound vain, but I think it has given me strength...you are truly kind." He finished, trying his utmost to sound sincere, which he was. Another thing this feeling caused was worrying about everything he said; would she take him seriously, would she think he was stupid, did he look funny, etc.

And his spirits fell again. Mouse-brain. Of course she was right; how foolish he must look. Still, he tried to keep on a brave look for her; she didn't need to worry about him. How ironic, that she herself was the source of his worries. Not that he blamed her - it was his fault entirely.

Then his grass-colored gaze snapped to the toms in front of him, and he took in the situation in seconds. Sprucefur and Tigertail were targeting a rabbit, and Sprucefur was at the side; a maneuver that probably wouldn't work, but that was presumably why Tigertail as behind it. He studied the mechanics in a breath; it was perhaps not the best set-up, but then, there wasn't much cover on the moorlike territory. They seemed to be coming along fine. Then maybe he really could hunt with Foxflower..and maybe if he was careful enough...he could enjoy it.

Sprucefur

He nodded in approval at Tigertail (it hurt a little) and continued creeping forward, always studying the ground for a few seconds before taking another step. Slowly, slowly, the rabbit only moved a little bit in its grass-eating endeavors. Finally, he was only a fox-length or two away from it. Tigertail, who was roughly the same amount away from his direction, was perfectly in position. All the gray and white tom had to was inch to the side, pounce on it from that direction, and drive it into the brown tom's paws. Simple as cleaning your fur.

He took one step more, readying his pounce - and it was a mistake. His paw crunched ever so slightly on a piece of crumbly rock. And the rabbit stiffened, ever so slightly. It wasn't truly alarmed, but it was wary now, he could tell. The warrior cursed. There was no time, he would have to hope Tigertail had seen the rabbit's response to his foolish mistake. At least they had planned for this anyway.

As he leapt into the air, the rabbit fled a second later - almost directly toward Tigertail. He landed heavily and prayed the tom would have StarClan's blessing and catch it.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Foxflower's senses were trained on the toms a little ways ahead of them, so she almost didn't hear Stormclaw's words. But something – perhaps his tone of voice – snapped her back to attention, and she smiled, a promise that she would reply momentarily, simply because she didn't want to disturb Sprucefur and Tigertail's hunting. Really, though, she was using the moment as an excuse to quell the warmth in her stomach.

Quite a peculiar feeling, especially considering it had stemmed from Stormclaw's response. Foxflower couldn't quite remember a time that she had ever felt the same, though a similar reaction had been spurred whenever she spoke with Bramblefang. Her face fell a little at the memory of their old deputy, and the she-cat had to put forth a practiced smile. From what she could tell, the only difference between the feeling of warmth for her deceased friend and for the one next to her was that Bramblefang's had come out of respect for the tom (who she didn't know well), whereas what she felt toward Stormclaw was simply from spending time with him.

Suffice to say, Foxflower was very confused. She had many other friends, and each of them brought about a unique feeling in her. But Stormclaw's was... even more different. It seemed to separate from the feelings of kinship she normally held, and was similar to how she imagined love would seem. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that her feelings toward Stormclaw were more similar to the ones she held for her family than the ones she held toward, say, Tigertail.

It sent ever more warmth through the she-cat's body.

Her earthy-brown eyes turned to watch Tigertail and Sprucefur, widening slightly when she realized that Sprucefur had made a mistake. Her tail twitched, and Foxflower sent a quick prayer up that her friend would be quick enough on his toes to save this catch.

And of course, he was.

People would say that Tigertail was a goofball, an idiot, or a joker. Maybe even a bit of a joke himself. But the one thing they couldn't say was that he was a poor warrior. The moment he heard the sound from under Sprucefur's paw, his entire body tensed into a crouch. Milliseconds later the rabbit came barreling toward him, not noticing the tabby warrior until it was too late. Tigertail jumped just in time, and it was a blur to him what happened from there. All he knew was that he collided with the rabbit, which tried to wriggle away. But he was too quick for it and next thing he registered was his teeth sinking firmly into the animal's neck, holding it until it no longer struggled for life. Even when the rabbit went still, Tigertail didn't move, crouched over it like a protective mother. Finally, he stepped back, licking traces of the kill off his lips as his tail twitched proudly.

In the distance, he could hear Foxflower's mewl of approval, and he watched as the friendly she-cat bounded toward him. Already he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks, even though the praises hadn't started yet.

Oh well. Wasn't like he didn't deserve them.