I partially drew the thumbnail Rp by @K3NENOUGH Google gave me the symbols ☾ Silvermoon clan ☾ Waterfallwhisper sat at a stream, trying to catch a fish. He flicked his ear, growling angrily as his claws kept passing the fish. Every time he tried to get one, they would barely slip away. "Mousedung!" He screeched, standing up. "Well, the fish are bound to leap up into your claws when they hear just how upset you are." A chuckle appeared from behind the upset tomcat. Another warrior, Harefang, was sitting behind him, watching his efforts with a smug grin plastered on her face. Titling her head to one side, the warrior's brown eyes glinted with mischief, but her posture was uniformly calm. She was only teasing, after all. "Why don't you relax a little, hmm? I'm sure you'll get one, eventually." Waterfallwhisper flicked his tail. "I should have just stayed with hunting the normal land prey." He mewed, anger lacing his tone. He sat back down, his tail moving over his front paws. "'Eventually' won't catch any prey," he quickly added. Harefang's expression fell slightly, and her voice softened. "Well, you're right about that-I was only trying to cheer you up, though." She padded up to the stream's edge, watching her distorted reflection stare back. She quickly refocused her attention on the shapes beneath the water instead, scanning the area for any specks of light bouncing off fish scales. After a minute or two, Harefang looked up from the water and directed her gaze to the other warrior. "I think I've seen you around camp, but I've never introduced myself, I don't think." She paused for a moment, then smiled in what she hoped was a friendly manner. "...So, my name's Harefang! What's yours?" She mewed. He nodded and stood up. "Waterfallwhisper." He mewed, looking to her. "The names' Waterfallwhisper." ______________________☾______________________ ঌ Emberfall clan ᨒ ______________________ঌ______________________ Nightstar stalked through the night, hunting for prey to provide for his clan. A small bird pecked at the ground, unaware of the danger looming above. With a swift and powerful pounce, Nightstar clamped the bird in his jaws, its tiny form almost lost against his large Maine Coon frame. Suddenly, A twig cracked in the bushes beside him, the sound too loud and sharp to be small prey. Nightstar rose to his full height, amber eyes glinting in the darkness. “Who’s out here?” he hissed, his voice low. "Why in skies' name would I tell you anything about me?" whispered a voice from the shadows, and two stormy gray eyes stared at Nightstar from the shadows. "It's not your place to know everything. Leaders aren't very useful, in my opinion." Nightstar turned his head sharply, fur bristling along his neck. “Why don’t you step into the open?” he growled. “That would be ever so bold of you.” For a moment, he felt like the voice sounded familiar, but he shook the thought away, forcing his fur to lie flat. Who did he know would be in the woods alone anyway? He quickly got his answer. "If that's truly what you want... then yes. I will step into the open." A cat stepped forward so a shaft of moonlight shone on her multicolored fur. She stared Nightstar right in the eye, flashing him a sharp smile. "This IS what you asked for, is it not?" Nightstar’s eyes narrowed, recognition flickering for a brief moment before hardening again, his muscles tensing under his sleek fur. It was Lightflare, a warrior who left the clan many moons ago. “Hmph,” he murmured, his tail flicking with restrained agitation. “Bold…more than I expected.” He took a slow, deliberate step closer, keeping his gaze locked on her. “But don’t mistake this for welcome. You’ve got one chance to speak your reason, Lightflare, make it count.” Lightflare's eyes hardened. She turned away, her tail flicking angrily. "Was I ever welcome?" she asked softly. It didn't seem like a self-pity statement. It seemed more like a rhetorical question, one that had and would be brooded on for a while. "It was always too much for me. I could never follow all of the rules. I suppose I was never meant to be in the clans. I'm here to ask you something. What brought you to be strong enough to become Emberfall's leader? I can't imagine it would be... easy." Nightstar’s ears twitched, and a small smirk touched his lips before fading. “Strength isn’t given, Lightflare,” he said, voice steady. “It comes from every mistake, every fight, every choice you think you can’t make. The clans test you, whether you see it or not.” He paused, looking at her. “Asking this shows you’ve already learned more than you realize.” It almost seems like a compliment. Lightflare ignores it and faces Nightstar. Cont. In Notes and Credits
"So does living alone. Strength isn't given, Nightstar, but neither is loyalty." She mews, her eyes glinting. "It may be hard to live in a clan, but what's going to happen to me once my fur turns gray and my eyes are foggy? I won't have any apprentices to take care of my ticks. I won't have any fresh-kill provided. I'm still going to have to provide for myself until the very end." Nightstar’s gaze softened just a fraction, a flicker of understanding breaking through the usual steel in his eyes. “Maybe…maybe that’s true, Lightflare,” he said, his voice low, almost reluctant. “But strength isn’t just about surviving alone, either. It’s about knowing when to stand with others and when to stand on your own. You think gray fur and cloudy eyes will make you weak? You’ve been proving your strength every day, long before any apprentice ever took a step in your paws.” Lightflare let out a snort. "Another way of showing strength is by regularly crossing the border into Emberfall clan's territory, unless I'm very much mistaken." Lightflare's long, plumed tail was curled neatly around her paw, and she seemed almost relaxed. Nightstar looked into her eyes, searching her. “You always did have a sharp tongue,” he murmured, his tone calm but distant. “But crossing borders isn’t strength, it’s recklessness. One day, that arrogance will cost you more than a few scratches.” He took a slow step closer, his voice lowering. “I don’t want to see that happen to you, Lightflare. Even if you think I don’t care.” Lightflare flicked her ear, a soft smile playing on her face. "Y'know, I'm never going to let you live that down. I'm just going to hold over your head the fact that you said you care." Something flickered in her eyes when she said that, though. It had been a while since someone—anyone—had said they cared. Nightstar’s tail flicked once, a faint twitch betraying his usual composure. “Hmph,” he murmured. “After all this time… I didn’t think anyone could reach it, and yet somehow, you manage to hit the soft spot I didn’t know I had.” He took a slow, deliberate step closer, muscles tense, but there was a flicker of something warmer in his posture. “Don’t think this makes me soft, Lightflare…it just means you’ve reminded me that even someone like me can care.” Lightflare tilted her head down slightly. "I think you knew about that part, Nightstar. I think you just buried it too deep... and forgot about it. There's something everyone tosses under their nest. And for you, I think it was compassion. Was it that you feared you would be seen as weak?" Her voice wasn't accusatory, nor was it pitying; simply questioning. TBC
