Need assistance? [Moonshine]

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[atrb=background,http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/7560/u0h8.jpg] For a while Flamestrike just stood there, motionless in a strange and light catatonia. He still felt the weight of his miscalculation and the surprisingly firm words of his hunting partner made the blow colder. He hadn’t taken into consideration the stray prey so he had tuned out the scents that didn’t belong in WindClan. The orange warrior had made a mistake, a small one in the eyes of many but this sorts of things came as unacceptable to the tom. He could tolerate mistakes from everyone else as long as he had them contemplated but he couldn’t tolerate his own errors. He expected a kit to fall when he tried to run, he knew apprentices always had trouble with training at the beginning, he even thought about the mistakes a warrior could commit while on duty; but he never contemplated his own mistakes. He finally moved a muscle, he felt the need to walk for a while a think. The wind ruffled his fur and the sun created the illusion of a pelt made of fire, he loved the moorland and remembered every single nook and cranny that covered it. The usual somber and content smile appeared on his features, he never truly felt happy, he just felt satisfied with his thoughts. The orange tom walked along the river and gorge that signaled the border with RiverClan, he soon found himself in the Gorge, close to Fourtress and closer still to the two borders she shared with his neighbors. The RiverClan border called his attention, the craftsmanship of two-legs to be more precise; he looked at the strange wooden bridge from a distance. Then the most curious of sights greeted him, a she-cat stuck in thorns on the other side of the border close to the two-leg bridge. He tilted his head and stopped himself from getting amused and instead walked towards the RiverClan cat. “Are you in need of assistance, miss?” he mewed over the sound of the gorge and loud enough for her to hear with that strangely neutral voice of his. He stared at the thorns and thought of different ways of getting the she-cat untangled without hurting her, his whiskers twitched as he contemplated a possible injury or ripped fur. The she-cat had long fur like most RiverClan warriors, it was exquisite in quality and for a second he found himself imagining the softness of her pelt. It would be a true waste if some of it managed to get stuck in the thorns. word count: 406 words. tags: Moonshine. notes: IM SO EXCITED. This is in the two-leg bridge, imagine some thorns were just there being happy on the RiverClan side of the border.

Huffing and puffing Moonshine was not pleased with herself one bit right now. She was chasing a land creature for the first time in a while and she decided to chase it through a thorn bush thinking she would slip right through but sadly she didn't. Moving in every which way tears stung her eyes because of how much pain she was in from moving. About to just let out a sob a voice made her perk her head up and look to see an orange tom come at her with a sweet voice asking if she needed help. Holding back her tears the riverclan she cat cleared her throat and mewed, ''Umm I'm perfectly fine. I'm good. I don't need any help thank you, you know just taking a breath.'' she purred looking at the tom who came her way. Opening her mouth a bit she tilted her head and asked, ''Are you.. Windclan?'' Before he could answer with a soft voice she mewed breaking her gaze away from him, ''If I were you I would swiftly run back to your border and continue chasing rabbits. I don't wish to be the reason why you get in trouble.'' Golden eyes looked back at him and looked him over. Heart racing what the heck was she feeling? No. No surely not. This tom would be on his way and ignore her and she can go back to struggling trying to free herself once he was gone and out of sight and out of mind.

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[atrb=background,http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/7560/u0h8.jpg] ''Umm I'm perfectly fine. I'm good. I don't need any help thank you, you know just taking a breath." Flamestrike’s eyes shone with amusement for a split second, he opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it when he saw signs in the she-cats behavior that she wanted to add something else. Her voice was sweet and mellow, the kind of voices that could lull you to sleep with nursery rhymes in a heartbeat or calm you down in the face of tragedy. He tilted his head and slowly got closer, dangerously close to the gorge but before his steps could take him to a sure fall he turned to the bridge and gave an experimental step in the wood. ''Are you.. Windclan?'' the she-cat paused for a second as if realization had suddenly hit her. ''If I were you I would swiftly run back to your border and continue chasing rabbits. I don't wish to be the reason why you get in trouble.'' “Ah yes, the rabbit chaser nickname, been a while since I last heard it.” He paid no attention to her soft warnings and crossed the border with ease, he doubted many cats came this way except for Gatherings and they were still a half-moon away from that. “And I’ll only get into trouble if one of us speaks about my little…” he thought for a second about the word he was about to say next. “Misstep,” he finished with a satisfied smile. There was no harm in helping a RiverClan cat, it sounded quite logical in fact, helping a cat in distress. He inspected the thorns that trapped her in place and with much care and precision he began to work. Flamestrike worked as gently as he could manage, pulling the spikes away from her body, biting those that couldn’t be pulled away and wincing every time he thought he’d harm the she-cats skin and fur even if he never quite managed to scrap her skin. He contemplated his work and frowned a little at the cuts that had been done by the she-cat’s previous struggle. They were bleeding and he knew they stung because he’d been cut like that before. “You’re hurt” he mewed before sniffing her wounds and giving them a soft lick. For a heartbeat he stood there confused, his thoughts and body had moved on their own, he did contemplate possible injuries but he never thought about helping heal those injuries. This is logical too, part of the spectrum, helping a cat in distress. Flamestrike shrugged and continued to lick her wounds, he expected some sort of resistance and was quite surprised when he was met with a little or in short none. “That should do it,” he said once he was sure her wounds were clean. “Now, introductions are due I think, my name is Flamestrike,” he tilted his head and met her amber eyes with his green ones expecting an answer. word count: 492 words. tags: Moonshine. notes:

Moonshine rolled her eyes in a friendly way and before she knew it he was going at her trying to help her out of the thorns. Moonshine was about to open her mouth to tell him to stop but he kept working at it. She could feel the thorns be lifted from her pelt one by one and she couldn't help but give an ''ouch'' here and there when the windclan warrior was helping her out. When she felt she could scoot out she slipped out of the thorns and gave a shake and purred.

''Your hurt'' The tom mewed.

Before she could open her mouth again he started.. to lick her wounds. Feeling her face get warm she looked away from him hoping he couldn't tell she enjoyed this. His licks were soft and smooth. Soothing to the point where she was almost falling asleep. When he was done she opened her eyes and looked at him with her golden eyes and blinked softly. ''Flamestrike. Thank you for rescuing me from the terrible ball of thorns. I'm Moonshine. How does one thank her rescuer on this fine fair day?'' Giving a small tilt of her head she gave out a purr and looked into his eyes and just felt right and calm and.. well protected.

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[atrb=background,http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/7560/u0h8.jpg] Flamestrike tilted his head, mimicking her movements in a peculiar way, blinking at her words and suppressing an amused smile, he felt strangely calm as if the warrior in front of him was not of a rival clan but simply a pretty she-cat who went by the name Moonshine. He would purr if the notion was not so alien to him, never the object of affection he didn’t quite know how to respond to the she-cat’s question, a thank you? When was the last time the words left one of his comrades’ mouths? Or when was the last time he actually stopped to thank someone for anything? He shook his head ever so slightly and gave his chest a quick lick to re-arrange his thoughts. Moonshine… He found himself thinking, somehow the phonetic of the name left him a sweet taste in the tongue and a warm feeling in his chest. Flamestrike finally dared lock his green eyes with her golden pools, he hesitated for a second and frowned. “I’m not very familiar with the act of thanking,” confusion was clear in his eyes as his mind slowly tinkered away his next carefully said response, he wanted to express some sort of comfort, to assure her that a simple ‘thank you’ would suffice; but how could those words leave his tongue if he was never taught how to use them? “A small thank you, I believe, is more than I deserve…” Once again he frowned a little, did he get the message across? Or did he miscalculate a word, a tone? Why am I so nervous when a few seconds ago I was as calm as moonlit pool? He puzzled at last, he didn't quite understand but when he laid his gaze in her eyes again the strange calmness flooded his body like a tidal wave. word count: 294 words. tags: Moonshine. notes: Sorry for poofing all week! D:

Moonshine gave a little smile and mewed, ''Well, thank you. Might have been moons until someone found me. Not many cats come around here only for a patrol and that's about it.'' Giving a shrug she looked around then locked with his green eyes and asked, ''What brings you all the way out here..Flamestrike.'' she hesitated but finally got his name. Flamestrike.. she thought as she looked him over. Something about him made her feel.. wonderful. For some reason she didn't want this conversation to end really. Things for her were starting to get well.. great. Moonshine got up and gave a shake of her fluffy fur and looked at the warrior and asked, ''Do you mind.. walking with me? Forest kind of scars me sometimes.. and I don't like walking alone. Call me a kit but that's who I am sadly..little scaredy cat..'' Blinking she then added, ''I'm sorry don't feel you have to do anything with me.. how rude of me..'' looking away she felt her cheeks getting warm and Moonshine knew she screwed this up. Get a hold of yourself moonshine.. she thought to herself as she started to walk away hoping this tom would forget her and everything she had did, said and done.

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[atrb=background,http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/7560/u0h8.jpg] He could just go, forget he ever crossed the RiverClan border and met the pretty warrior; all he needed to do was walk back to the moorland. But no, he was gifted or cursed with an infallible memory. He closed his eyes for a second and the image of a pair of beautiful golden eyes sprang immediately clouding the rest of the carefully arranged memories. Flamestrike opened them again and saw the pretty she-cat leaving him behind; he grimaced for in a few sunrises she’d probably forget he ever existed while he was cursed to remember every second of their encounter. Or you could go after her… The thought was as tempting as a plum freshly caught rabbit, he could go after her, walk along the border and spring back to the WindClan side if the need raised. It’s logical, isn’t it? He thought as his steps brought him closer to the RiverClan warrior as if he was a simple piece of metal being attracted to the most magnificent of magnets. He soon caught up and opened his mouth to speak but shut it again afraid of saying something wrong or out of place. The silence stretched and it somehow managed to get under his fiery fur. It was not like him, he usually basked in silence appreciating every second of the lack of sound. Finally he dared speak. “Why would you be scared of the woods you roam since you were a kit?” He felt an odd sensation in his tongue for a second, the question was genuine and it felt strange not to measure everything in detail. But he felt that if he tried to calculate everything would just turn for the worst, deep in his gut he didn’t have the need to calculate and to measure, it was the first time in moons he didn’t hide behind logic and carefully placed sentences. And he didn't quite understand why he wasn't hiding anymore. word count: 322 words. tags: Moonshine. notes:

Moonshine heard the words of a question for her from the toms mouth and it made her shrug. ''I've just always hated being alone. Sure all the toms in my clan want to be with me as they say and call me beautiful and pretty and do nice things for me.. I don't really understand why they do what they do for me. Ha.. I mean just yesterday a tom bought me a fish that I could of caught to feed myself..I guess I've been alone for so long.. seeing others have mates and kits so on.. its starting to scare me that I wont have that..'' she mewed her voice getting quitter. It was the truth. Moonshine hated being alone in this world or even just to go to one place or another. ''I mean.. if something happened to me.. would the clan even notice.. would anyone notice..'' Golden eyes looked at the ground and sorrow hit her like a tidal wave. Shaking her head her golden eyes looked at the tom and mewed, ''Enough about me tell me about yourself. whats it like in Windclan. All we do is swim and fish. Not really a fun life honestly.''

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[atrb=background,http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/7560/u0h8.jpg] Flamestrike smiled, just a little tiny smile, she was perhaps the most beautiful creature in the entire land it didn’t surprise him that tons of toms wanted to be in her grace, what surprised and made him smile was the obliviousness the she-cat presented. Could she not see her beauty reflected in the water when she fished? Or could she not notice how melodious her voice sounded in his ears? He killed his smiles however when she voiced her worries about never having a mate or kits, how everyone always seemed to move on ahead of her… she wondered aloud if anyone would notice her disappearance. If he lived in RiverClan he would notice, he thought that if she was gone from the world the sun would loose some of its warmth and the trees and grass would loose some of its color. He was about to say exactly that when she decided she had enough of that particular topic, he frowned just a little at her sudden interest in him. “Oh, we don’t do much, we chase lots of rabbits much like our nickname indicates,” he mewed casually looking over the border, in truth he felt that the day he didn’t chase a rabbit around the moor would be the day his legs didn’t function anymore. It was life, running defined him as a clan cat, heck his body was built for it. He shook his head just slightly and looked for her golden eyes. “But, if I may be so bold,” he cleared his throat unsure of exactly what he wanted to say. “I think that more cats would miss you than you realize,” he smiled reassuringly, he wasn’t one to talk about such things since most of the time he spent it alone or with Cloudstep. “I’ve just met you and I already think you are the most wonderful she-cat to have ever walked this paths,” he bit his tongue when he felt his face heating up, had he just said that? But he felt lightheaded as if the words had come not from his mind but from his heart. word count: 353 words tags: Moonshine notes: Sorry it was so late

Moonshine's eyes widened when the tom gave her a very nice compliment and blushed a bit seeing he seemed a little embarrassed himself. Blinking softly she gave a short nod and mewed, ''Well thank you, Flamestrike. You really know how to make a she cats day.'' She gave the tom a calm smile but gentle at the same time. Looking him over she mewed, ''How is it that a nice windclan tom like yourself doesn't have a beautiful mate yet. Surely you have your eye on someone who you would like to make a family with and love forever.'' Raising an eyebrow she looked away from him and really started to like this tom, but who was she to like him.. they were from different clans and if they were caught together.. that would be the end of both of them.. almost to the point where she would never see him again. Moonshine didnt want that really.. she loved his company and everything about him.. deep down she wished he was in her clan.. sadly life didnt work in that way.

<sup>Flamestrike smiled for she had enjoyed his compliment, however his face showed a frown only moments later. He wasn’t a tom who liked to think about things like mates and love, the thought always seemed awkward and out of place, as if it had lost its way when travelling the mind of his clanmates. In short, the WindClan warrior was not used to ‘love’ or affection for that matter so he never bothered himself with such ideas. But right now, as the topix had been so bluntly presented his mind did what ir did best: think. Could he really be worthy of love? Was he worthy of the kind of love that made you smile goofily and cheer up at the mere thought of that special someone? Did he really deserve love? Questions without answer or satisfactory conclusion. He noticed he had stopped, frozen by the question presented to him.

He looked up to the RiverClan she-cat, his gaze seemed oddly troubled. “I don’t know if I deserve such a precious thing,” he mewed matter-of-factly, that was his satisfactory conlusion: doubt. He wasn’t sure if it counted as one but it had to do before his mind raced recklessly through the unknown. He hesitated before walking to her side again, Flamestrike stared at the moorland across the border, was there love in his home? He looked back at Moonshine, in his eyes she deserved all the love in the world. “It’s just-“ doubt for the second time in his day. He sighed defeated by the question, no conclusion and no answer.

Words: 260 words
Tags: Moonshine
Notes: I said I was going to write a good reply, I'm so sorry I lied</sup>