Take me with you, I start to miss you [loonxgoose]

[Whiskers]

Take me home I don't want to be alone tonight

The Pineclan border was covered in snow. White, glittering, wonderful snow. It was astonishing-- stunning really, though Goosefur secretly thought that the Streamclan border was even prettier, what with the stream frozen into a sheet of sparkling diamonds. Loonstep would probably have loved to see the stream, though he would not be able to swim in it right now. Even if he broke the surface and shattered the diamonds, the water would be too cold, too numbing.

Goosefur made a mental note to take Loonstep to the stream when new-leaf came. Then the Streamclan border really would be the prettiest, what with the laughing water and beautiful lillies that would dance at the river's shore.

But for now, she waited at the Pineclan border, where Loonstep had whispered to meet him. She was definitely very excited-- so excited she let out a giggle every few minutes. It had been too long since she had last seen her best, best friend and she couldn't wait to talk with him, pour out her entire heart to him, and let him do the same with her. This was going to be so, so, so fun and she didn't give a flying hoot that it was forbidden. Why would meeting a friend be forbidden anyway? They weren't going to share prey or anything. They weren't going to swap clan secrets (well, Goosefur would try not to let those spill, but when she started talking...). All they were going to do was be together and talk together, like friends did. Maybe they would share tongues-- but that would be the extent of the meeting. This, Goosefur promised herself.

"But first he has to get here," She whispered and her tail curled in anticipated. "Come on Loonstep. Get here already!"

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Rock, step. Rock, step. The motion was so familiar that the weary tom almost sleepwalked as he padded along with his unusual step. Still, in spite of tiredness he moved onward towards the StreamClan border. After all, didn't he have the best of reasons for going?

The cold made him slow, but it didn't bother the hefty tom. His ridiculously poofy pelt made sure of that. As he came within barely two foxlengths of the border, he heard a familiar voice meow his name. Loonstep grinned, his weariness almost forgotten at the sound of that voice.

He came out from behind the hazel bush where he'd been, padding closer to the scent line until he sat barely a tail-length from it. He put on a mock-ferocious face, growling,

"Who is this Loonstep you speak of? I know him not. But I know you, StreamClanner! Rar!"

He bent down, keeping his ferocious expression until he couldn't stand it anymore and he bust out laughing, his whiskers twitching as he rolled over, looking at Goosefur upside down, yellow eyes almost sparkling with mischief.

"So, how're you doing?"

[Whiskers]

A cat would wonder why Goosefur didn't panic as the forest rustled in front of her, signalling that some cat was coming closer. After all, shouldn't she take extra precaution, being on the edge of the border? What if it wasn't Loonstep, that skeptical cat would say, that was rustling around nearby?

Clearly that cat didn't know Loonstep like Goosefur did then. Because she identified it was him by the very step that he took. Her ears, already so fine tuned to the steps of potential prey, picked up his clumpy, awkward gait easily and she let out a happy meow as the noise reached her. Her happiness spread as Loonstep came into view and put on his "Pineclanner" face for her.

She couldn't take him seriously from the start-- no, the second she saw him, her eyes, like suns, grew bright and shiny and she let out a purr. Even when he growled at her and pretended like she was some kind of intruder, she just kept giggling, until Loonstep joined in with her. Silly tom! Loonstep would never appear scary to Goosefur, no matter how many moons passed with them separated into different claws.

"Huh, what a nice way to greet your best, best friend! I'm just another ol' Streamclanner to you now?" Goosefur teased and giggled again, unable to contain herself. She tried though, clearing her throat like she was going to say something of utmost importance. Of course, that didn't actually happen. Instead she beamed, "And I'm doing much better now that you finally dragged her tail out here! I've been waiting for hours, Loonstep, you wouldn't believe how boring it was! Your border does not have many interesting things to do, let me tell you."

[/size]

[Cloud of Diamonds]

"Hours? Oh, come on. How many times have I told you not to come too early?"

He wiggled himself back upright and yawned, sitting down a tail-length back from where he'd been lying. He tried to ignore her teasing about her being just another StreamClanner...it reminded him, again, of what he would ever do if he had to face his friends in a battle. He could never hurt any of them, even if Gingerstar herself begged him. No, better be called a traitor than lose his dearest, only friends. She wouldn't exile him for not hurting one cat in each Clan...would she?

Ugh. Loonstep shook his head, trying to drive his unwelcome thoughts away. After all, it wasn't like battle was threatening or anything. He had nothing to worry about.

"Well then maybe I should get Crowpaw to plant some flowers along here. That might cheer you up."

He grinned again, his own statement cheering him up and helping him forget his brooding worries. Ha, Crowpaw. He liked the little tom, but then, who didn't? Though how such a happy cat had come from the grumpiest she-cat in the Clan was beyond him. Must be from his father, Otterfur. Funny, friendly cat, even if he was a bit on the slow side. Loonstep liked him, much as he could like any of his Clanmates when he never bothered to get to know them.

He knew he should, really...but he was too scared, too scared something might go wrong.

[Whiskers]

At the mention of Crowpaw, Goosefur's bright, open face scrunched together in a bout of confusion. Crowpaw? She had never heard of this cat, but by the sounds of his name, he was a black apprentice and it was possible that he was Loonstep's! Oh gosh, to think, Loonstep getting his very first apprentice before any of them! It struck Goosefur as...as right, for that to happen. Loonstep was the best warrior out of them-- okay, not the best warrior. Based on skills, Cranetail was fabulously skilled, and not to chirp her own sparrow, but she knew a thing or two about hunting and fighting. But Loonstep was so focused and driven and smart, that he would be a fantastic teacher.

"Crowpaw? Who is that-- if he's your apprentice, I swear to Starclan I'm going to attack you right here for not telling me sooner, Loonstep!" She gasped, and she wasn't even kidding. That was groundbreaking news! It was the type of thing you told your friends right away! "You gotta know what a big step that is, getting an apprentice! I don't think Cloudstar will ever trust me with such a big task like that!"

Oh Cloudstar. At the mention of him, the spark in her eyes got snuffed out. She still hadn't figured out a way to really impress her leader, but she would have to. He was just so...so... Goosefur couldn't even say. But she was getting awfully distracted on patrols lately, and she had only dragged in two itty bitty mice last time she had went out! She was a pathetic excuse for a Streamclan warrior and if she wanted to earn Cloudstar's approval, she'd need to work harder.

Maybe Loonstep could give her some advice? He was probably one of Gingerstar's favorite warriors by now, what with his attitude.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

The big tom rolled his eyes. Goosefur. He chuckled, imagining himself as a medicine cat. Now that was a strange image. "No, Crowpaw's not my apprentice. He's our new medicine cat apprentice, Redclaw's apprentice. He has an odd obsession with flowers, but it's cute." Then he grinned.

"However, Gingerstar told me today I'm going to mentor Crowpaw's brother, Elmkit. But you're not allowed to attack me since I'm not a mentor yet."The black and white tom continued grinning, his black tail tip moving back and forth.

"Pfff, Gingerstar's just picking me because practically every other cat already HAS an apprentice. You know she doesn't like toms.”

He then shuffled his paws in embarrassment, after his friend said how Cloudstar would never trust her with such a big job. “Aw, that’s mouse dung. I bet you have a good chance of getting an apprentice once StreamClan has kits, Goosefur. I mean, isn’t there a pair of cats in your Clan who are mates – Spidertail and Otterstorm or something? I bet you three mice that if they have kits, you get one of them as an apprentice.”

The black and white tom hoped that this would cheer his friend up, because he honestly believed it and wasn’t just saying it to make her feel better. He looked at her with wide yellow eyes, hoping she would feel better. He knew how she felt about Cloudstar, or he suspected it.

OOC: You should ask Toasty if Goosefur can mentor Batkit or Mothkit. ;3

[Whiskers]

So she had been right! Sort of. Though she had not guessed the right apprentice, Goosefur felt proud of herself for catching on that Loonstep did, in fact, have an apprentice of his own-- it was more of a lucky guess than anything, but if anyone asked her how she "knew," she would quickly respond with something like, "Oh I knew it from the gleam in that eye of his" or "I'm psychic." And she would say that with the utmost seriousness.

"Elmkit! Or should I say...Elmpaw. That sounds like a great cat-- he's probably like Cranetail isn't he? Big for a kit? Is he just as brainless?" Goosefur said coyly, winking at Loonstep as she deftly insulted his brother. Cranetail wasn't really brainless, no, but he was not known for his brain either, and there was no harm in a little teasing every now and again. Especially since Cranetail wasn't even around to throw a snarky comment back at her (though she did like having insult wars, they challenged her creativity).

"Anyway, you'll have to bring him to the Gathering-- insist, Loonstep--because I want to meet him. As for my clan, well I dunno!" She giggled at herself. "Maybe they're mates, maybe they're not, there are so many cats in Streamclan I cannot keep track! But believe me, I won't be a mentor for a while. And that's okay. I'll just sneak over here and steal Elmpaw away from you!"

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

Loonstep merely smiled slyly back at her. "He's big, yeah. Is he as brainless as Snowball? Maybe, maybe not." The black and white tom hadn't used the nickname he'd - teasingly - made up for his brother in a long time. Cranetail always got so annoyed when he used it - which was why he did it, of course. Naturally, he got teased by plenty of names in return. Or he used to.

He then snorted at his friend's next suggestion.

"Bring him to the Gathering? That's going to take some work. Apprentices usually don't go until they're older. Maybe I can try and persuade Gingerstar, but don't get your hopes up until he's at least eight moons old. However, I assure you he's nothing special, at least as far as I know. He does have this cute accent, though."

He wrinkled his brow. Even he knew all the names of the cats in his Clan by now, and his memory wasn't exactly perfect. But then, PineClan was a relatively small Clan. StreamClan must be bigger, he supposed.

"Uh, okay. StreamClan must be bigger than I thought." Then he laughed, he couldn't help it. "Steal Elmpaw away? You even try to do that and his mother will eat you up and spit out your bones. If she's in a good mood." He said dryly. "And did I mention Swallowpelt is twice your size?"

Ah, he was probably exaggerating. But where was the fun in life if you didn't?

[Whiskers]

Streamclan, in all reality, was not the biggest clan-- Fogclan was, as most Clan cats were fiercely loyal to Starclan. But Goosefur refused to admit that she was lonely and even a little anti-social in her new clan, because if Loonstep found that out, he'd worry over her non-stop. That was the last thing that Goosefur wanted. As much as it pained her to admit it, Goosefur knew that Loonstep needed to make new friends. And so did she. She really should get to know the cats in the clans, she should know what cats were mates.

She was just reluctant to really and truly try, because if she did, it was like giving up. She would be shutting that door on her old life and accepting life in Streamclan completely and...and...maybe she wasn't ready for that. Maybe Goosefur needed these secret meetings, to ease her into a life without Loonstep, Cranetail and Duckfang. As the moons went on, they wouldn't be as necessary anymore.

These negative thoughts frightened her, and for a second, Goosefur felt distraugt, lost, and full of dread for the day when she no longer considered the three her best friends. That really couldn't happen! Goosefur wanted to run to Loonstep, close their gap, and bury her head in his chest fur and cry about how it just wasn't fair.

But this meeting was supposed to be fun. Not sad.

So Goosefur had to make it fun.

She crouched down to the ground, her eyes glittering like the diamonds in the snow. "Oh I could take this 'Swallowpelt' no problem, no matter how big she is! I mean, I can take YOU and you're bigger than me!"

And with that, she used her paw and flicked some snow into her friend's face.

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[Cloud of Diamonds]

The big tom couldn't help it. He collapsed laughing, luckily so as he just missed being hit by some flicked snow that someone had aimed at him. He pretended to growl, then gave up as he spasmed back into snorting until he stopped. Just the idea of Goosefur so boldly confronting the big, grumpy gray cat was simply so amusing, somehow. The PineClanner could see it now: Goosefur stealing into the PineClan camp, persuading Elmpaw to come with her somehow, and then Swallowpelt blocking their way as they tried to leave. He imagined Goosefur cheekily demanding her to move, and the big gray cat demanding her to explain herself before she attacked Goosefur.

Oh, it would be the hissy fit for the ages.

"Ah...ha...ahahah...snort..." He stopped, finally. He literally felt tired from all that laughing. "I'm sorry, Goosefur, but that's just...you can't even understand how ridiculous the whole thing is."

Now he smiled slyly.

"You could take me, huh? Are you so sure about that, O puny StreamClanner? Don't cross the border, now."

Sure, it was immature of him to tease her, but hey, he hardly ever got to let loose any more. Nope, it was all formalities, formalities, maybe a moment or two of joy here and there.

But nothing like this. He remembered, again, how he could never actually hurt her.