Tread Softly in the Moonlight {{elissa!/Dawnstep}

[atrb=border,0,true] sitting patiently in the darkening twilight, Willowstorm listened to the falls roar not too far off. Few cats ever came to this part of the territory mostly because they wanted to avoid Windclan and boarder skirmishes, but the sun-down patrols had already come this way and there was no Windclan scent beyond the markers as far as Willowstorm could tell. The first twinkling warriors of Starclan were visible in Silverpelt as the sun ducked below the mountainside. Willowstorm knew a secret about this area of their territory. It wasn't an important secret, he hadn't found a way to swim in the waters here or some sort of stepping stone or tunnel, but he had found out just how beautiful the falls could look in the dying sun. It was the prefect place to talk and enjoy company without being interrupted. The Riverclan deputy watched as the world around him changed with the lighting and his mind wandered to his newest close friend whom he was meeting here tonight. He loved the company of the pointed she-cat who could brighten even the darkest of days with a simple smile. It occurred to the pale tabby that there might come a day when he couldn't spend time with her like this anymore. Dawnstep was an exceptionally pretty she-cat with a heart of gold even if she didn't know how to show it sometimes, and any tom would be daft to ignore or turn her away. Willowstorm wondered what the smaller she-cat looked for when she looked at a tom. Flicking an ear, Willowstorm turned away from that thought, telling himself that they were simply close friends and he wouldn't pursue a she-cat this early. Of course, he couldn't deny that she was the only she-cat who wasn't related to him that he'd drop everything for. Caught deep in the web of his thoughts, Willowstorm seemed to be asleep or hypnotized to any cat who might look on and was completely oblivious to the sounds of the forests around him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Word Count: 335 Muse: It's coming back! Tags: Dawnstep, falling head-over-heals, ooy gooey cheesiness

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[atrb=border,0,true] It was the lovely hour between sundown and true darkness, twilight slowly chilling into the bluer tones of the evening, and she was on her way to the falls. Dawnstep enjoyed spending time there more than most cats; she didn't mind it being close to the WindClan border, because she wasn't ever tempted to stray over, and she enjoyed the rush and spray of the water in a way that, even for her clan, was a bit out of the ordinary. She didn't mind that, though; it just meant that usually she had places like this all to herself. Tonight, though, she was meeting someone here, and her heart fluttered in her chest despite her best intentions. She was quick to remind herself that Willowstorm wasn't looking for a mate - and neither was she! She was perfectly happy without a tom in her life, thank you very much - and that he'd invited her out tonight because he was her friend. He was one of her only close friends, in fact, and more than anything she wanting to stifle the lurking hint of a feeling that threatened to ruin that. It wasn't as though Willowstorm would be a bad choice in a mate, that feeling told her as she walked, her paws slipping over the ground in utter silence as the roar of the falls grew slightly louder in the distance. He was the deputy, after all. And beyond that, he was kind and clever, he made her laugh, he was fun to be around. He was - well, he was also still in mourning over the death of his mate, which meant that any attempt at flirting with him would be really, really inappropriate, she reminded herself firmly, snorting a little into the quiet of the night as she drew up to the entrance of the falls. At any rate, she was here now, and she did her best to banish any lingering thoughts from her mind. And there was Willowstorm, paler pelt shining just slighlty in the evening light. At first, Dawnstep thought he'd actually fallen asleep waiting for her, his form still and quiet, but then she realized that his eyes were definitely open, and huffed a quiet laugh to herself. He must be daydreaming or something, she thought, ignoring completely the way the lurker in her mind cringed a little bit at the thought of who or what he was most likely daydreaming about. At any rate, she padded quietly over to him, sat down, and waited for some proof that he'd noticed her arrival. When she didn't get any, she purred in amusement and flicked his side with her tail. "Hey, mousebrain, you're gonna get pounced if you keep that up. You're just lucky I'm nice." word count: 460 notes: /"won't say i'm in love" playing in the distance/ ugh, sorry this is so late :c

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Startling slightly, Willowstorm looked around until he caught sight of the pretty she-cat that he was seriously starting to crave being around. Dawnstep's playful jibe made Willowstorm flick his tail at her nose, letting loose a playful purr of his own. "Dearest Dawnstep, nothing comes so near here except us." The rumble the falls growled on behind him as he stood and greeted the smaller warrior with a soft lick over one of her ears. "This is one of my favorite thinking spots. It gets beautiful when the sun sets like this." The tom smiled and looked over at Dawnstep, friendliness and thankfulness in his soft gaze. Only two moons after the loss of his first mate and the mother of his kits, he found himself able to enjoy living with Dawnstep's support and friendship. It was what helped the gentle tom make it through his busy and slightly rough day. Willowstorm turned and took a few steps in the direction of some underbrush, pausing to look back and nod for Dawnstep to follow him. There was a nice little cove next to the falls that he wanted to show her. The water was loud there, but the colors in the water as the sun finally fell all the way behind the mountains was wondrous and once they stepped through the underbrush, the water coated the secluded area in soft reflected color. "This is the prettiest place in the entire clan." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Word Count: 241, not horrid Muse: The baby's hating on me, so bad muse. Tags: Dawnstep

Drawing an amused purr from Willowstorm made her feel warm in a way that was completely unrelated to the skulking hint of a feeling in the back of her mind. It was so nice to see him happy, to be able to bring him some cheer. He'd had such hard times, with Featherstep's death and, she was sure, all the stresses of being Deputy as well, especially with some of the strange goings-on between all the Clans lately - surely none of that was easy on him. So if she was able to help at all... well, he was her dear friend. She would do whatever she could, whatever it took, to make him smile. Shaking herself out of this spiral of thoughts - maybe it wasn't the best idea to get trapped into thinking about how much she cared about him, even how much she cared about him as a friend, if she was trying to avoid that pesky warm pressure of a thought that told her she cared so much more than just that - she purred softly and absently, and nodded in response to his words. "It is beautiful here," she agreed, her voice warm and quietly eager. "And it's funny, but the noise almost makes it easier to think, you know?" She shifted her wait gently, settled, wrapped her tail snugly around her paws. "It's nice to just... get away from everything for a little while sometimes." She risked a glance over at him and felt her heart swell with something that she wasn't going to examine too deeply. I really do care for him, she realized, and for once she allowed herself to think that, not squashing it down because, well - it was true. Whatever their relation was or wasn't, that was true; he was important to her, and she cared about him, and she enjoyed spending time together like this. Maybe it didn't have to get more complicated than that, really. word count: 328 notes: oh gosh, so good to be back!!! sorry for the (impossibly long) wait... ugh... but definitely glad to be getting back in the saddle

It had been many moons since Willowstorm had snown anyone his refuge. This beautiful place was one of the only places he could go to get away from the stresses of clan life. Usually around the same time every night. It was good for the Tom to share something, seeing as it had been many moons since featherstep had been lost. Looking next to him now, Willowstorm couldn't stop a feeling that made his fur stand on ent and his ears feel hot. He knew the feeling, he had felt it before and knew that he couldn't hold on to a dead love forever. It was time to move on. "Dawnstep, I'm so glad you met me here. Thank you for sharing this place with me and supporting me like you have." Willowstorm flicked his ear in slight embarrassment as if he were an apprentice with a crush. The large deputy had no clue how Dawnstep would react or even if she would want him next to her like that, but he did have to say or do something. Taking a breath to get himself in order, Willowstorm leaned close to her so that their pelts would brush and attempted to nose her ear. He needed to say this, even if she just wanted to say friends, the large Tom couldn't hide his feelings and never know the answer. "I'd like to know, Will you stay beside me? Will you sleep next to me in the den, and share your life with me?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Word Count: Dunno, on phone sorry. Muse: The baby is moving, uuuhhhhgh. Tags: Dawnstep

She shuffled her feet nervously and avoided his eyes as he started to talk, a little embarrassed by something almost namelessly pleased in his tone. It was - well, she just wasn't all that used to hearing people thank her for supporting them. She was friendly with everyone, but usually her role fell more into comic relief than support, and she was fine with that. Really, she was, but still... something about Willowstorm, something about whatever this relationship that they had was made her want to do whatever she had to to make sure he always felt safe and secure and always had cause to say these things to her.

"It's nothing," she started to murmur, quiet and a little embarrassed still, but he kept talking and she quieted down. She did glance sidelong at him, though, and she was struck by something about him without even knowing how to describe it. He was... different. Not as steady and confident as he usually seemed, to her. Instead of steadfast as a rock, he looked fit to burst with - something, something she couldn't name, and it scared her but it also made that feeling in the back of her mind thrum happily.

There's no way, she thought distantly, almost feeling like her mind was separated from her body as Willowstorm continued to talk. There's no way in StarClan, she thought even as he asked her to share his life. There's no way he's really saying this to me, she thought, and she was wrong.

She couldn't speak for a long, heavy moment after Willowstorm dropped off into silence, just staring at him askance with her mouth unknowingly hanging open. When she finally regained use of her vocal chords, the only thing she could think to do was splutter, "Me?! Are you... are you sure?" It just seemed so impossible - it was everything she'd been firmly trying to convince herself would never happen. But it was happening, she realized dizzily. It was really happening.

"I-I mean... of course. Of course, yes!" she amended, laughing a little breathlessly and moving in to butt her head against Willowstorm's shoulder in pure joy. "As if I'd ever say no to you."

wc: 364
notes: ahhh they're so cuuuuute ; u ;

<sup>Taken aback by her sudden question of his choice, Willowstorm couldn't stop the deep, rolling meow of amusement that tumbled past his lips. Her surprise and genuine excitement made the larger tom happy to know that she would accept his affections. His laugh turned to a purr as he pressed ever closer to his new mate. Starclan bless us. The tom thought silently, a large smile starched across his maw. "Of course I'm sure, silly Furball."

Willowstorm flicked his tail playfully at Dawnstep's ear and dashed a few paw steps away. He turned to face the smaller warrior, eyes full of playful mischief as his tail swung happily back and forth. The large deputy was filled from nose to tail tip with energy and excitement, and it seemed that nothing could drag him down. To hear Dawnstep say yes was all he had wanted. Everything was going to settle into place perfectly with the pointed she-cat at his side.

Willowstorm's deep, but gentle meow echoed like the ripples of light around them as the pale tabby bounced from right to left, waiting for Dawnstep to join into the game. His joy was over flowing into his playfulness and the large tom couldn't not bounce around, his fur standing on end and tail puffed up happily. This only made him look silly, though, because his usually sleek long fur made him look like a giant puff ball when it was fluffed up like it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word Count: 251, not horrible
Tags: Dawnstep, Willowstorm
Notes: Yeay matessssss! X3</sup>

<sup>Dawnstep felt herself flush at his laughing purr, and even more so as he pressed himself into her, her skin almost seeming to vibrate with warmth and excitement beneath her fur. "Sorry," she half-mumbled, half-laughed, "it's just that I've spent a long time not even letting myself hope for something like this." She was almost immediately shocked and embarrassed that that had come out of her mouth, but in a weird way, it also felt good to say it. It was true, after all, and if they were going to be mates they should be - honest, truthful, they should tell each other things like that.

And then he leapt away from her and dropped into a kittenishly playful stance, puffing up like the great goofy furball he was, and she'd never felt this much affection bursting through her chest like shooting stars in all her life. Laughing brightly, she hunkered down into a crouch, holding her position for a few long moments before suddenly pouncing, gently enough that she almost bounced off the larger tom and rolled immediately over onto her back, flailing her paws in the air in an attempt to batter at his legs that really just made her look kind of ridiculous.

She was having fun, though - it was good to get to play like this sometimes, even though she wasn't a kit anymore. Maybe she was a little too much of a jokester sometimes, not quite serious enough, but she liked to think it was healthy to have fun in your life, especially with those you cared about. And she really, truly cared about Willowstorm. Purring warmly, she barely contained a burst of giggles as she looked happily up at her mate.</sup>

wc: 286
notes: ughhh sorry for the wait! :c
muse: ehhhhhh