[ iindesuka, iindesuka? ] foxflower, open

[Crowzerplorodon]

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Was it right to be so completely and utterly enamored with something?

Foxflower could hardly think of something she liked more.

Sure, there was the love of her mother, and warm feelings she got from being around the Medicine Cat den. And there was that tickly feeling she got deep in her stomach whenever Bramblefang looked at her – oh dear, what was that anyway? Surely the deputy couldn't have superpowers that made cats feel tickly when they look at him. She had discussed this with several of her female friends (and, admittedly, one or two male friends) and none of them had proclaimed anything about it. Well, Tigertail had, but he had done so with a wink and tricky flourish that led Foxflower to believe that the tabby was just kidding.

Yes, the stomach thing. She enjoyed that feeling, because it made her feel blissful.

But, Foxflower liked this particular thing much, much more. And she wondered if that was wrong, as you weren't supposed to like things more than your mother or the medicine cat den. Or were you? Had there been some lesson on that she had forgotten? That would be dreadful! How entirely awful if she had missed some key lesson in learning how to become a warrior that addressed the topic of what you could and could not like more than your mother. Then again, she was pretty sure Russetpelt and Littlewhisker liked each other more then they liked their mothers... They were so cute together.

The bi-colored she-cat smiled gently, thinking of the soft gray color that she just couldn't get out of her head.

It was why she was out here, by the border, resting her paws on the shore of the thin strip of river in MeadowClan territory, eyes looking to the sky. She wanted nothing but to get over this... Enjoyment for this thing. Or maybe just to placate her mind that it was fine to love it more than life itself, however depressing that sounded.

She couldn't help it! She just loved the sunrise!

The gray the preceded burst of intricate and lovely colors that the sun caused. Especially the yellows – Foxflower did love those yellows. She sighed contently, earthy brown eyes on the horizon. Coming out here especially early just to watch the sunrise had been taxing her sleep these last few days. But with the snow there was practically nothing to do, Foxflower was just lucky that she had even found a snowless place to watch the sky! What she would do without the sky, she didn't know.

As a prick of light broke over the distance, a sudden lonely feeling sunk in her stomach. It was so cold out. What she wouldn't give to share this moment with someone else. Perhaps she would invited Tigertail next time. Or Bramblefang.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

It was early. Yet something had driven the Russian Blue to leave his den even before the dawn patrol and go out by himself. Blissful solitude. Surely there was honor in making time for your thoughts, though he might have waited and served his Clan better...still, he felt this was right. StarClan must approve, or they wouldn't have let him catch that shrew.

It was strange how the cold seemed to muffle the territory, yet enliven the general feeling of everything working so hard to survive, live through the hard season until the sun rose on a warmer time.

Sunrise...

He looked up and around, reveling in how it made everything look new, including that pretty bit of ginger and white over there, what was it...Foxflower! Stormclaw blinked in surprise as he recognized his friend. A purr rose in his throat. She was still, seeming to appreciate the rising of the sun as much as he was. Perhaps he could join her.

Yes, he rather thought he would.

Gracefully and quietly, the bluish warrior padded over to his Clanmate, hoping she would not mind his being there as well. Sitting about a tail-length from the ginger-and-white warrior, he dipped his head to her before returning his gaze to the glorious spectacle before him. Really, how could cats not believe in the power and goodness of StarClan, when something like a sunrise could exist?

[Crowzerplorodon]

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The air around her warmed slowly, bits of its chill sapped away by the rising sun. Foxflower could practically feel the heat of it pulsing against her thick coat, melting the cold from her bones. Today, it seemed, would be oddly warm, as already it felt hotter than it had in days and the sun wasn't even over the horizon yet. Heck, not even half of it could be seen over the distant mountains. Nevertheless, it was a wonderfully pleasant sight, the yellow and pink light creeping over tall and dark mountains, casting looming shadows across the ground. It made her feel small, really – how positively humbling!

And it was made all the better when Stormclaw sat down.

Had she not just been thinking about how purely spectacular it would be if she could share this sunrise with a friend? Admittedly, Stormclaw had not been the first cat to her mind, but she was glad for his presence nonetheless. In fact, it made things just that much warmer, and Foxflower liked to think it wasn't the body heat, but the fact that she was sharing such a awe inspiring sunrise with a close friend. She smiled softly at the gray tom, tucking her paws under herself, almost like an invitation to get comfortable, before turning her earthy gaze back to the rising sun, once more taken away by its beauty and simplicity.

In a burst of color the sun finally rose above the lowest mountain, giving more or less a full view of its naked glory to the clans. Perhaps from a different point of view the mountains would still obscure one's view. But from where she sat, friend by her side, the sun was perfectly clear, surrounded by a halo of yellow, white, pink, and all the hues and shades in between. Oh, she wondered with a relieved sigh. Was there anything as beautiful as this? And how was it that something so beautiful, so practically surreal and supernatural occurred every single day? A miracle of the world, whatever the world was – something Foxflower could never hope to solve.

And she didn't want to.

“Good morning, dearest Stormclaw,” she said with a soft whisper, mouth hardly moving.

[Cloud of Diamonds]

How nice! Really, the ancestors must be smiling upon this jolly morning. Foxflower seemed so alike him in feeling, so awed by this simple but life-giving that was so mysteriously enrapturing.

As the great golden circle finally began to show itself over the peaks, he heard a soft greeting from his friend. So nice...yet somehow he didn't want to break the silence, not yet. So he merely smiled, inclined his head to her,and twitched his thin tail, whiskers moving slightly.

While the gray tom looked at the miracle of nature that was unfolding, he also sneaked a side glance or two at his companion. Was it just him, or did her red and white fur seem more vibrant somehow, today? Maybe the sunrise made him imagine such things. But maybe she'd also been even more careful grooming herself today. No, that wasn't it, it wasn't really that the warrior herself had changed...it was how he saw her. It was like she'd been put in a slightly different light from before.

How strange, he thought, furrowing his brow a bit.

Was it really just the slowly increasing sunlight that made her look different? Or had she changed in his mind, somehow?

How positively peculiar. Oh well, when all was said and done, she was simply another good friend.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Despite the cold, birds still managed to find cheer in the day, and began chirping as the sun rose higher and higher. At least she knew that she and Stormclaw were not alone when it came to loving the sunrise. Birds did too! They even sang their approval, and, for a moment, Foxflower wished she could be a bird and sing as they did. But that meant leaving behind MeadowClan and all he friends, including this particularly peaceful moment with Stormclaw. And she didn't want to leave all that behind. No, being a bird would have to wait for another life, now was time for being a warrior of MeadowClan.

The she-cat sighed again, letting out the thoughts of being a bird easily. No, this was bliss, being a cat under a clear sky with a friend and the sunrise. Really, she couldn't think of anything better than this. Maybe a little chat might be nice, but the still of the night still seemed to be upon her companion, and Foxflower didn't have the heart to interrupt him. She was just glad that the gray tom cat had even stumbled upon her, so she wasn't so alone during this sunrise. But still... a little prattle would have been nice, even just a voiced greeting, more than a nod.

She turned her head toward Stormclaw, determined to say something else, just to be stopped by his expression... Ok. Never had she seen a cat switch expressions so quickly and so bluntly and so obviously. Was he alright? Was there something extreme on his mind? That would make sense, she supposed. Many cats came for peace and companionship when they felt troubled, and many cats sought silence when they were thinking hard. Oh, didn't Stormclaw know that he could confide in her? That silly tom was being so... tomly. Thinking he could do everything by himself.

“Is something wrong, Stormclaw?” She asked softly, speaking freer now that the sun was completely up and it could no longer be considered a sunrise. “You seem to be in distress.”

[/blockquote]
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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Oh, Foxflower...should he truly say what was on his mind? What would she think? How would she take it? Could he risk not saying anything and make her mad? No, no, that he could never do. He must answer, and he must be truthful. He must know what to do and do it right, for offending a lady of his Clan would be one of the most heinous of crimes.

Making his voice soft and his tone apologetic, he spoke, green eyes looking at her directly so she would know he was being honest.

"My lady...I thank you for your touching concern of me, as your humble friend. I am not in distress, but I find myself in the midst of an unusual puzzle. For some reason, you appear even more radiant than usual this morning, m'lady...yet I can detect no clear reason. This does not trouble me, but it has not happened before."

After the Russain Blue had spoken, he went back to trying to figure out the cause of this sudden realization of Foxflower's beauty. Of course, she was a naturally beautiful cat; her beautiful fur, her strong stature...maybe it wouldn't appeal to other toms so much, but-

Wait. Appeal? Had he actually thought the word appeal?

Appeal, if he remembered correctly..was a term used for when a she-cat's qualities reached out to a tom's...romantic nature.

Oh, StarClan.

[Crowzerplorodon]

Foxflower turned her head away from Stormclaw when he spoke, feeling her skin flush under his praise. “You're too kind, Stormclaw,” she whispered in response, feeling that she didn't quite deserve his compliments. She didn't find herself radiant at all. Oh no, she just took care of her fur so she was presentable. If ever she looked 'radiant', it was definitely the result of either nature, or the tom being extremely stupid. And Foxflower did not believe Stormclaw was a stupid tom, if anything, she thought quite highly of his intellect. It must be the sunrise. That was all. She moved to tell Stormclaw this, but stopped, shying to look down. He too look quite nice in the sunrise, Foxflower realized with a blush. “It must be the sunrise,” she said gently.

“You look rather nice as well, my friend.” The warrior sighed, then looked up with a smile, pushing back her embarrassment with a sharp flick of her tail. This was no time to crumble under slight praise! This was a clanmate. She should not feel awkward at all around Stormclaw. If anything, she should be completely honored and accept the praise with a head held high and bright eyes. Not facing the ground, and definitely not feeling embarrassed about the whole thing. No, Stormclaw just complimented her, and she was not going to make the tom feel that he had done something wrong.

“The sunrise is so pleasing, it must me altering our views of each other!” She exclaimed, feeling quite giddy. “What a pleasant surprise. I wonder if it does the same for other cats? Perhaps everyone would look more radiant as the sun rises above them.”

[/blockquote]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

Stormclaw could hardly stop from sighing in relief. It seemed the ginger and white she-cat suspected nothing of his odd emotions. He just hoped it would stay that way until he could figure out what all his emotions even were, let alone exactly what they meant. He wouldn't push the subject, now that he'd gotten that out of his head.

Figure them out. Well, what exactly was he feeling right now?

Happy, yes....because of the sunrise and being with his friend, and the fact that he'd caught prey...relieved, because Foxflower didn't seem to have noticed anything....scared, unsure exactly what his new feelings for Foxflower were...and nervous, nervous, nervous if what he feared was happening actually was happening...

But he really should answer her, despite the need to puzzle over his distraught thoughts.

It took a little effort, but he managed to smile again.

"Why, thank you, m'lady. I expect you are right. Such a glorious thing it is, too, in the depths of leaf-bare, and still the sunrise loses no brilliance. Truly, it is a blessing from StarClan."

He laughed kindly at her next words.

"True, true...but oh my, we would have a hard time getting all the warriors out here this early. It would be worth it, however, I think."

[Crowzerplorodon]

She giggled softly, choosing to wait a moment before responding to her friend. The sun was still crawling quickly, after all. Foxflower wanted to view it before it slowed into a gentle slide in the sky, and not the hurried crawl it was currently using. Amusing, she thought with a tilt of the head. The sun seemed to change its speed based solely on time. Or was it perspective? Did the sun only look like it was going slower because it was in a different position than it once one? Oh one may never know, they would need to visit the stars to see exactly how the sun moves.

“Leaf-Bare is beautiful in its own right, dear Stormclaw,” she said breathlessly, finally returning to the real world. “What would snow be without it? And what would we be without snow? Sure it may be cold, but it's magical, Stormclaw, it creates wondrous things. Have you not ever seen a twoleg kit build a man with it? Or a small apprentice take joy in their first snow? It's magic, all of it.” StarClan, however, bothered her. This was magic, this was nature, this was beauty – did that make it StarClan. Foxflower almost stopped to wonder about it. But she had been too silent for too long, and she might throw her friend off. She did not want to, of course, Foxflower quite enjoyed spending time with her handsome friend.

“We could ask Cedarstar!” She exclaimed suddenly, jumping to her paws and twitching her tail. Yes, she was getting far too into this. But the idea of seeing her clanmates in such interesting light so early in the morning was a brilliant one. She really would have liked to. “Oh but, even so, I doubt he'd agree.” As she sobered, Foxflower sat. “But it is a truly lovely idea. Truly, truly lovely.”

[Cloud of Diamonds]

The gray tom looked at his friend in wonder. Clearly she was even smarter than he had first perceived. So sweet, so innocent...if she weren't even bigger than he was (though that wasn't hard to be, seeing as he was lean and skinny for a full-grown warrior) he would think her nothing more than a ten-moon-old apprentice, in the middle of their growth, not fully grown, but no longer truly an awkward youngster. But she was certainly no awkward youngster...the length of her fluffy tail, her strong body, her -

Woah, chap, getting a bit too far into it, there, he thought nervously to himself. Yet a small, sneaky part of him whispered that why not he continue? She was practically his, after all. Stormclaw, horrified, did his best to squash the voice but only managed to make it retreat into a small corner of his mind. This mouse-brained voice had no notion of honor! How had it ever crept into him? Quite distraughting, indeed! Well, he answered himself grimly, no cat is perfect however honorable they may be, and I've just found that out personally.

But he brightened up as he realized what the red and white she-cat had just said. Snow, yes, something about snow...

"Ah...yes. Forgive me, I became distracted. But I do indeed agree that snow is quite nice. It can make cats rather miserable, yes, but magical it is." It occurred to him that love was rather similar to snow, which if cats could blush it would have made him do so. "Lovely...very lovely...yes..." He said somewhat distantly, as he thought and then tried not to think about how lovely it would be to nuzzle his friend affectionately.

He shook his head, trying to drive the thoughts away. Bother his inner demons.