Forget Me Not (finchxcrow)

[glowlynose]

Crowpaw gasped in complete and utter shock, his eyes widening to an almost unnatural degree. Willowpaw gone? How could this be? Why had he left? Was he scared of what would happen to him with Owlstar gone, so he just up and abandoned everybody? What sort of cat did that? He'd only met him once, but even he hadn't thought that Willowpaw could be that much of a coward.

Then again, perhaps it wasn't cowardice that prompted Willowpaw to leave his clan. FogClan was sort of in shambles, after all, and it wasn't the best place to be even when it wasn't in shambles. Perhaps Willowpaw had wanted to leave for a while and this had just been his perfect excuse. Or maybe he left because he felt more loyal to Owlstar than he did to this Code breaker. Crowpaw would certainly have been more motivated to follow his old leader in a situation like that, or so he thought. He couldn't really say that, though, since he'd never been in a situation remotely like that before.

Crowpaw shook his head and sighed. He really just needed to clear his head and think right now. Finchpaw probably needed that too. His head was cloudy as the sky above, which actually looked like it was going to rain fairly soon. Aww, they were making the sky sad. Crowpaw actually stopped smiling; it made him sad that they were making the sky sad.

"I'm sure that Willowpaw and the rest of them will be just fine, wherever they are. You should probably get back to your camp, anyway. The sky is going to cry soon, and that would just make you even sadder. Thanks for the advice about the rat bites." Crowpaw sort of just stood there awkwardly after that, not quite sure what to do. Should he make actual physical contact with Finchpaw, or would that just weird him out? It probably would, and he didn't want to weird out his best friend. He should probably just say bye and then go. Yeah, that would be the best.

"See you soon, Finchpaw. Wanna meet back here in a few days just to check up on each other? It's okay if you don't. I was just thinking... anyway, ta-ta for now." Crowpaw turned around and started to walk away, but then something strange came over him. It was like a really weird burst of sunshine through the rainclouds. He ended up sprinting back to Finchpaw and giving him a feline version of a tackle hug. And now he could get an answer from Finchpaw too. He hadn't thought about that. Still, his grin had returned, and he stood laughing over Finchpaw in exhilaration, not mocking his friend, but laughing with him instead.

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[Whiskers]

What a weird thing to say, that the sky was going to cry. He never considered such things-- such a comment implied that the sky felt sad, that the sky felt at all. And the sky could not feel. It drifted between night and day, rainy, cloudy, sunny. Its mood did not decide the weather; the very idea was ridiculous, right?

Finchpaw thought this but he looked up at the sky and heard a far-off growl-- a low, deep mumble of discontent, of an angry sadness. And he frowned, felt his own mood drop. He had actually been rather...cheerful. Crowpaw had done that, cheered him up. But now he did feel sadder, as he saw the bleak horizon and realized that rain was to come. And he thought something ridiculous: why was the sky sad anyway?

He shook this thought away with a stern, inward snort. He had to go back to camp now. Now was not the time for wondering, for mental wandering. He had to stay logical, stay precise and cautious...

"Oh -- er...bye Crowpaw, he feebly called after the tom, so lost and disgruntled in the realization that he had to go back into camp that he had gotten distracted. Crowpaw had asked if he wanted to meet again, but now he was walking away. He wondered if he should call to him. Say yes, yes a thousand times, more than anything. It was risky, especially with Miststar, but Finchpaw enjoyed Crowpaw's company and didn't want to wait until the half-moon.

But Crowpaw was leaving, so it didn't matter. Finchpaw sighed, his ears falling back onto his head, his head drooping down, eyes locking on the floor--

WHAM

And now he was on his back, eyes wide, stars in front of them. He blinked through his surprise and saw that Crowpaw had...had tackled him. And he was laughing.

And so what could he do but laugh? Finchpaw laughed alongside his friend, astonished, but thrilled-- for this encounter brought forth the memory of playfighting with his brother. And now, that was all Finchpaw wanted to do.

He decided to surprise his friend as much as his friend had surprised him. He moved swifly, his paw stretching out, delivering a firm blow to his friend's head, enough to get the tom's weight off him. He used the slight departure of weight to turn his body, which further dislodged Crowpaw, before zooming out. He could have just scampered off, with a friendly "See ya later" then-- but he didn't. He whirled around and fell into a perfect crouch. His tail teased with its waving and Finchpaw's eyes glittered the challenge.

"Why leave so soon?" is all he said.

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[glowlynose]

At first, Crowpaw could only revel in the burst of ego that his surprise attack gave him. He'd surprised Finchpaw! That was a feat in itself, since Finchpaw had to be observant, just like him. It was an unspoken requirement of being a medicine cat. It was a major accomplishment to shock Finchpaw with anything. Oh, and he was laughing too! That was great. Laughter was one of the only medicines that healed the soul; the other was love. It always made Crowpaw's heart soar to see somebody laughing and happy.

Then all of a sudden it felt like something had smacked into the side of his head, something relatively blunt and paw-sized. Had a pine cone fallen from the trees? Finchpaw would never...

Actually, it seemed that he would. He found himself flung away from his grinning, laughing friend. At first, it stung Crowpaw a little bit. He had only been trying to play. Had he hurt Finchpaw's feelings somehow? That would be horrible! Now Finchpaw would never talk to him again. Then he realized that Finchpaw was playing back. He was actually playing back. The little black tom stood for a few moments in shock. He hadn't had an actual play fight in moons. His siblings had given up on playing with him the first time they had all one outside together, and Crowpaw had found those pretty little white flowers. Nobody had played with him since then. He wondered if he remembered how to.

"Haha, bring it!" Crowpaw grinned a thousand suns back at his friend, the challenge that glinted in Finchpaw's eyes mirrored in his own. He started to circle the ginger-and-white-pelted tom cautiously, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Finchpaw was right over there, watching his every move, and sort of weirdly mimicking him. If he didn't make the first move soon, Finchpaw would get the upper hand. So he settled for a nice easy cuff on the ear (it was mostly easy because his lack of battle training had made him weaker), and then a quick jab in Finchpaw's ribs.

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[Whiskers]

Finchpaw was thrust back a million moons ago to a simpler time. He was Finchkit again; smaller, clumsier, careless. He didn't care about his footing as he circled around Crowpaw, nor was he paying attention to what move would be best, what tactic was better suited for this particular fight. This was not a training session, not a mock battle. It was the age-old playfight that he missed and yearned for, and now he was finally getting to return to his kithood and romp again. Of course it would not be the same. How could it be the same when it wasn't Firepaw opposite him? And Crowpaw was much younger than Finchpaw-- a whole six moons or so. He was fresh from kithood, smaller, less experienced, yet skilled in the art of playfighting, while Finchpaw could only draw from distant memories and resist the urge to analyze and predict Crowpaw’s moves.

What made playfighting fun after all was the lack of thinking. It was the automatic instinct that pushed the body to the left. It was the rush that he got, the power that he felt, the freedom that his mind had when he wasn’t looking for his own mistakes. He needed to get into that mindset.

Crowpaw was already in it and he moved fast, his paw coming up and hitting the side of his head, causing Finchpaw to lose his footing—this gave Crowpaw the opportunity to jab him in the ribs too. The jabs were not hard at all though and so he did not gasp for breath; he recovered instantly.

He fell deeper into his crouch but he did not stay there to build up momentum. He sprung forward like a rabbit, tackling Crowpaw just as Crowpaw had tackled him just a moment ago.

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[glowlynose]

Crowpaw toppled over backwards in a fit of giggles as Finchpaw tackled him. This was fun! Ah, if only he were larger, then he could roll over and bring Finchpaw with him, pinning his friend to the ground instead of himself. Unfortunately, he found himself in a bit of an awkward situation. He was on his back, and he couldn't move very well.

Maybe... if he could just... ah, there we go! A devilish smirk took the place of Crowpaw's laughter, and he paused a second just for the satisfaction of seeing the confused expression on his friend's face. Then he powered his hind legs into Finchpaw's belly, laughing once more. He was able to roll over and onto his paws relatively quickly, swaying for a moment to find his center of gravity again. Then he pounced at Finchpaw, hoping to completely bowl him over.

Success!

"Ha, pinn'd ya!" Crowpaw purred happily. It was wonderful to be able to play with someone again. He cuffed Finchpaw on the ear and held him in place, wondering what his friend would do to get himself out of this pickle. A mischievous grin lit up his features. He crouched lower, tail waving, then he backed off of his friend to let him get up.

He might have had the advantage in his previous situation, but it would be altogether more fun this way. "And now the true test of skills begins," he crowed, eyes glittering a challenge. Whatever Finchpaw could do, he was ready for it!

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[Whiskers]

Finchpaw did not expect Crowpaw's counter attack. But he was on his back before he could blink and he was wondering how he had gotten there before all the pieces clicked into place.

Crowpaw had tackled him, or well, pinned him. And pinned him well! He lay astonished, a brief surprised smile on his face.

For an apprentice of just six moons, Crowpaw was deceptively strong. Of course, Finchpaw himself was still skinny, light, mostly fur and bones-- but he was still heavier and taller than Crowpaw and so the fact that Crowpaw managed to pin him was astonishing and quite improbable. But it had happened; like snow in summer, like a Fogclanner and a Pineclanner getting along, the improbable, even seemingly impossible, was coming true. Why? Who cared? It was fun. It was easy. He was happy.

Crowpaw bounced off though, just like a kit would. If this was a regular ol' training battle, then the fight would have already been over. Crowpaw had pinned him and so he had 'won.' But because this wasn't, winning wasn't the goal here, and pinning someone down didn't signal the end. Now, Finchpaw had the opportunity to get him back and settle the score. He whipped his body up and wiggled his toes, taking just a moment to breathe before he struck, hard, fast, like an adder.

He darted forward again, but did not go for the full head-on tackle. Instead he circled his friend, striking out with his paws and jabbing at Crowpaw's chest and flanks, trying to mess with the tom's balance. His blows were not overly hard, but since Finchpaw had abandoned all real thinking and planning, they were certainly hard enough

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[glowlynose]

Crowpaw was glad that he'd lowered his center of gravity. Actually, he was pretty darn relieved, because Finchpaw's attack didn't knock him over. It just made him waver a lot. Had he been standing up like normal, he most certainly would have been knocked over. It wasn't that Finchpaw's blows were too hard, per se, but just hard enough.

And Finchpaw thought he was weak? Good flowers, no! That was probably the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, aside from his sister hating him. Oh, and StarClan being the mighty rulers of all. That was pretty good as well.

But enough about StarClan. Crowpaw was fed up with talking about them for the day, so why should he be thinking about them? He needed to think about the fight here. Finchpaw had just about finished hitting him in the chest, and he needed to play back. It didn't matter that the sky was darkening with increasingly gray clouds, or that the beginnings of a peal of thunder were echoing down from the mountains. All that mattered- all that ever should matter- was his friend.

Crowpaw reared up on his hind legs, flailing his front paws about in a mad attempt to make contact with some part of Finchpaw's body. He had to get in whatever he could before it... oh. Yep, there we go. It started raining, the raindrops beginning to fall only seconds after the thunder clapped down from the mountain. What a buzz kill, man. Now if they kept playing, they would only get wet, and both of their clans would start looking for them if they were gone for too much longer. There were probably terrified apprenticed back in FogClan who had never seen a rainstorm, and would need poppy seeds or something.

"Finchpaw, maybe you oughta get back. Your clan will start getting worried about you, being gone when the sky is crying." He started to turn around and head back towards his camp, but something kept him glued to his friend. Finchpaw would have to leave first. It was the weirdest thing.

"You're my best friend, you know that? If there's ever anything I can do for you, anything at all, just let me know. I'll see that it gets done." Crowpaw's jaw, for once, was not smiling. Instead it was set firmly, stubbornly, if only to prove to Finchpaw that he meant what he said. Finchpaw was already like a brother to him, and he needed him to know that he meant it. He couldn't run out on him like the rest of his family had done to him. Nobody should ever have to endure something like that, especially not Finchpaw.

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[Whiskers]

Finchpaw was tensed and ready for Crowpaw to hit back. He was going to be prepared this time. He knew Crowpaw's strength; it wasn't going to surprise him. However, he never got the chance to prove himself, to take on Crowpaw or dodge Crowpaw's attack. The sky decided not to let him. It let out a low grumble, a pointless warning that mocked instead of doing it's job, since a second later, the first drop of rain fell onto Finchpaw's head. It was quickly followed by another...another...another, each one falling faster than the last. Finchpaw could tell that he would not have very long until the sky poured down and the thunder shook the trees.

He resented the sky for this. It was a stupid thing to do, getting mad at the sky. But he felt it and he heaved a sigh and released the tension from his muscles, pulling himself straight up, sending a quick glare upward. Rain, rain, go away. Please. I'd rather not go back to camp, Finchpaw growled to himself. But he had no choice; the weather was sending him on his way.

But not before Crowpaw could get one last comment in.

"You're my best friend, you know that? If there's ever anything I can do for you, anything at all, just let me know. I'll see that it gets done.

Finchpaw's felt his body go slack and he almost tripped over his own surprise-- which would have been a real accomplishment considering he was standing still. He managed to catch himself and he stood straight, eyes unblinkinnng. Staring. Wondering. And then, smiling.

There would always be this void that Firepaw had left-- created, actually-- but Crowpaw managed to fill up another part of him. He didn't--couldn't-- understand it. It was probably just knowing that he had friends, and a friend that knew pretty much everything (not the medicine bit; he didn't know how Crowpaw would take that and it wasn't important now that he was going to just suck it up and commit to this thing). He was one lucky tom, Finchpaw knew that. Crowpaw had arrived in his life right when he needed him. A ray of sunshine in the cloudy forecast.

Finchpaw grinned and cuffed Crowpaw's ears in that friendly, brotherly way, the way Firepaw would do to him. "Thank you Crowpaw. For everything. I'm lucky to have you as a friend. I'll see you at the Gathering and at half-moon."

Finchpaw grinned and nearly jumped out of his skin when another boom of thunder splintered the sky. He ducked his head as the rain increased. He really did need to get out of there before he got soaked!

"Bye Crowpaw! Tell me how Rain does, okay?"

And with that Finchpaw scampered into the heavy foliage of Fogclan territory, quite happy to have the trees as cover.

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