And Who Might You Be? (Closed)

Ryeheart smiled as he padded down the rise that surrounded Fourtrees, gazing softly at the dappled pattern on the ground made by the leaves and branches of the mighty trees above.  Looking around, the pale ginger tabby tom felt a thrill of excitement; the five Clans met here every moon, but seeing the sacred space empty and filled with warm sunshine made him almost feel even more happy to be here.  Right now, this was his place, free to explore wherever and whatever he pleased.  Making his way farther towards the middle of the area, Ryeheart glanced up at the Great Rock, an idea alight in his icy eyes.  

Digging his claws into the stone, he easily found age-old footholds and climbed his way up onto the leader's rock, standing at the very peak with a proud smile on his furry face.  Someday....I'n gonna be up here for real!  The brave Ryestar, leading his crowd of loyal ShadowClan warriors down the rise and jumping up onto his rightful place!  Chest puffed out, Ryeheart was too distracted imagining the imaginary crowd of cats to notice an actual cat had entered the clearing; and was watching his immature display.

Willowpetal had started out on a solitary hunting patrol when she found her paws bringing her towards Fourtrees. It was probably one of her favorite places in the forest, besides the river, and it didn't surprise her one bit that her paws would lead her there. When it was just her there, she could bask in the warmth and sweet scents of prey and the place just had an aura of peacefulness around it. Whether it be because StarClan willed it, or maybe it was just all in her mind, it didn't matter. It calmed her to be there. Plus hunting there was particularly easy. Almost as if the prey there thought they were safe in the surrounding of trees. Purring softly to herself, she froze midstep as she stepped into the clearing and her gaze rested on a golden tabby tom. She opened her mouth slightly to take in his scent. ShadowClanner She thought, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He sat himself up on top of the Great Rock like he was some leader when it was almost obvious he had just become a warrior, probably not even a few moons ago. He had a smug look about him like he was just imagining himself as leader and it almost made her laugh. Shaking her head with a disapproving grunt, she glared at the tom, oblivious to her presence. "I didn't know they let kits become leaders in ShadowClan." She called up to him, an amused, yet disapproving look on her face. Though they were on neutral territory and she didn't expect him to attack her, she readied herself to defend just in case.

(occ: okay, we're all good and approved now :)  Let Rye's shame commence!)

"Huh?  Who-GHAA!"

Ryeheart was taken completely by surprise when the pale gray she-cat spoke up, startling him out of his daydream and back to reality; he had no time to comprehend the fact though that he probably looked very silly before he felt his paws slip ominously.  In his shock, he had jumped a bit, and his already precarious grip on the edge of the stone was compromised, leaving the tom with nothing to do but desperately try to latch on to the edge with his front claws as he was pulled down from his mighty 'throne'.  With a surprised, and slightly panicked, cry, Ryeheart just barely managed to grab the lip of the stone, but claws do not easily sink into solid rock, and he quickly tumbled to the ground, landing in a flustered tangle of limbs and long fur.  Thankfully, his little save had slowed his descent, and it was only a short, painless tail-length fall; it was more his pride that was injured.

Flushing hot under his ginger fur, the young tom quickly scrambled to his paws and faced the she-cat who had called out to him; she was a little bit older than he and smelled of RiverClan, but he was more concerned with the fact that he had embarrassed himself in front of a rival warrior than with the thought of chasing her off.  Ears flattened against his head, the handsome tabby laughed awkwardly as he drug a claw through the dirt, wishing with all his might that a StarClan warrior would descend and fly him away from here, or even maybe at this moment he could be stolen by the Mist; any fate would be better right now than having to face her after such an embarrassing display.

"W..well um....aha well you see...I...uh....hm"  Clearing his throat, Ryeheart gathered together what remained of his fractured pride and stood up straight, showing off his fully fairly-tall height with a serious face, hoping to maybe...intimidate her into forgetting?  Aw heck I don't know, anything's worth a shot at this point.  "Wh..what are you doing here, RiverClanner?  A bit far from your island, wouldn't you say?"  Besides the tough face, he was slowly dying inside; was there any sort of escape from this?

Willowpetal rolled her deep blue eyes at the tom's flustered response. Though his immaturity annoyed her, it also humored her. She never thought of ShadowClan cats as childish or all over the place, but that was just what this cat seemed to be. She laughed quietly as Ryeheart attempted to regain his dignity and seem tough. "Well I was just coming for some peace and quiet." She meowed matter-of-factly. She was well aware that she did not owe him any explanation whatsoever, but he intrigued her. "But I might ask you the same thing, ShadowClanner ." She drawled, padded forwards to stand in front of him. "What are you doing so far away from your boggy marsh?" SHe questioned, mischief in her blue gaze.

ooc; short and late im sorry ;;

Ryeheart tilted his head slightly in a curious, kit-like way, the beginnings of a playful smile starting to appear on his maw as his embarrassment faded slightly.  His icy eyes flashed jokingly as he purred; "Peace and quiet eh?  Well, I guess I just ruined that for you, my apologies.  Heights aren't my specialty, I guess I should've known better before I climbed the biggest boulder this side of the moor.  Well, you only live once, so might as well try everything!"  He let his mouth run; the pale ginger tom always started babbling when trying to get over an awkward moment, and maybe this would end up starting some kind of conversation.

As this RiverClan she-cat took a step forward towards him, her shiny silvery-gray fun shone in the sunlight, and her blue eyes sparkling with mischief seemed to mystify the tom, his eyes rounding a bit as he seemed to stand up just a little bit straighter.  Flicking his fluffy ringed tail, Ryeheart's eyes narrowed in a good-natured way as he purred back.  "Well......I.....I really shouldn't tell you...."  His usually light-hearted voice suddenly mysterious and secretive, the tabby tom turned his head away from the she-cat, but his eyes flicked back towards her, shining in a sly manner.

Willowpetal settled down as they conversed, "Well I believe this is a bit more.. interesting." She laughed softly, though he blue eyes watched him closely. Why was she sitting there talking to his tom? She didn't know. It wasn't be against the code, right? They were just having a friendly conversation in Fourtrees. The place that was designated for peace among the clans. It wasn't like they were discussing the weaknesses or secrets of their clans. Yes. She nodded to herself slightly. This couldn't be against the code. This was alright. She finally convinced herself she was doing no wrong and was still perfectly loyal to her clan. Her ears perked as he gave of a mysterious vibe. "And.. why is that, ShadowClanner?" She asked curiously, tail tip flicking. She was so much different than her apprentice self. She used to so extremely shy, she wouldn't have dared to initiate a conversation with anyone. Especially not some cat from a different clan. Now, she was happy with herself, and she had loads more confidence. It had taken a while, but warriorhood had given that to her.

Good, she took the bait; now, to show off my moves...  Ryeheart's eyes widened in an innocent way as the pale ginger tom gazed up at the pale blue sky, where when darkness fell would be host to the brilliant shining stars of their ancestors.  His voice still ringing with mysticism, he purred smoothly; "Well, StarClan told me that if I came here, I would find the most beautiful thing in the whole forest...."  Eyes narrowing flirtatiously, the long-furred ShadowClan tom took a bold step forward, the fluffy white fur on his chest touching her own chest, and gazed deeply into her eyes, icy greenish-blue meeting pure sky-blue.  "Well....it seems they were right."  Giving her a wink, he took a step back and grinned, tilting his head curiously as he purred; "The name's Ryeheart, it's nice to meet you m'lady."

Willowpetal rolled her eyes as he claimed to have been visited by StarClan. "Is that so?" She drawled in a sing song voice. She lifted her head to be eyes level with the tom as he stepped closer, their chest fur brushing. "Hmm.." She mumbled, almost breathless, as he stepped away from her. How could this ShadowClan tom take her breath away so suddenly. What was happening to her? She narrowed her eyes, "Well, Ryeheart, it's nice to meet you, too." She meowed. "I'm Willowpetal." She said, an involuntary purr escaping her maw. She gave her fluffy white chest fur a few shy licks before glancing back up to him. She couldn't look away. It was as if she were trapped in his green gaze, being pulled deeper and deeper into them against her will, which was becoming weaker and weaker by the minute.

"Willowpetal..."  Ryeheart's eyes shifted up towards the sky as if contemplating something, regretfully tearing away from the RiverClan she-cat's gaze.  Not for long though; he quickly looked back down and met her eye-to-eye again.  ...I like it!  A beautiful name for a beautiful she-cat."  A flirty smile spreading across his face, Ryeheart was actually a bit surprised that Willowpetal seemed to actually be taken by his coquettish ways; usually the she-cats in ShadowClan just brushed it off and hissed at him, or in the case of Darkpaw shunned him, even though he had never even flirted with her!  At this moment though he didn't want to think about his complicated relationship with his best friend.  Right here, right now, he was with a she-cat who actually seemed to appreciate him for once, and that was a feeling he had been sorely missing.  My father and brother are dead, my mother never wanted anything to do with me, and my best friend hates my guts....maybe StarClan did lead me here.  His intense expression softened into a genuine soft smile, and Ryeheart sat down in front of Willowpetal, eyes shining curiously.  "I don't remember seeing you around before at Gatherings; and trust me, if I had seen you I definitely would've remembered."  He fell back into flirtatiousness again for a moment - he couldn't resist it - but he quickly was back to normal, gazing at her with inquisitive icy eyes.

Willowpetal smiled involuntarily at the tom's.. well charm. He certainly had his hooks in her and she wasn't quite sure she even wanted out. "Well, thank ya, Ryeheart." She meowed, drawing out his name slowly. His next statement made her laugh outwardly. "You're a pretty good smooth talker." She admitted, her white plume of a tail swaying thoughtfully. "Well I do tend to stay in camp to help out where I'm needed." She told him. "Though I have gone to my fair share of gatherings, I usually keep to myself." She added after a moment of thought. She was mesmirized by the way this tom spoke to her. It was like no other tom in her clan had ever spoken to her and it intrigued her. Little did she know, though, she was following in the same pawsteps of Willowbreeze, the cat that she was in her past life. She remembered nothing of her life as Willowbreeze, but nonetheless, she still lead about the same life. "Do all ShadowClanners speak the way you do? Or was it something you were, let's just say, born with?"

At the she-cat's high praise, Ryeheart felt his fluffy white chest puff out, and his long feathery tail was lifted high as a proud smile broke out across his muzzle, his eyes sparkling enchantingly.  Yes!  It's working, way to go Ryeheart!  After an understanding nod accompanied with a soft "Ah..", Ryeheart was taken slightly by surprise by Willowpetal's next question; he even try to hold back a laugh.  "Ha!  My clanmates wouldn't know humor if it came and slapped them in the face with a fish!  Which in of itself would be funnier than they ever are!  Everyone in ShadowClan are just grumpy, way-too-serious sticklers for the rules; they act like a little bit of pranking, or just a bit of adventure are crimes punishable by...by death!"  He might have been overreacting on that last bit.

Ryeheart sighed solemnly, a rare glint of hopelessness apparent in his eyes.  He clawed distractedly at the ground with an unsheathed paw, giving off a hesitant, slightly awkward vibe; as if he was trying to work up the courage to say something he had been holding in for a long time.  After a few moments he finally found his voice;  "I..um...I just......I love my clan, honestly.  I would give my life to save any one of my clanmates, no matter how annoying they are....but honestly....cats from other clans are so much more enjoyable to talk to.  Each one of them are so different and unique and...interesting!"  Sighing, Ryeheart's voice choked as he tried to continue, not able to force out the words he dreaded saying.  I feel so alone there.

Willowpetal rolled her eyes laughingly as the tom in front of her began talking. "Maybe you were born in the wrong clan then." She laughed jokingly as she groomed her fluffy grey and white tail. "Yes, I agree. I would die for my clanmates without even batting an eye, and I have no clue what I'd do without them. They're all like family to me." She purred, thinking of her clanmates back in camp. "Believe it or not, but I used to be extremely shy. If you had met me in my apprentice days, well, let's just say I would not have approached you." She laughed quietly as she drifted off in thought. Snapping back to reality, she nodded in agreement. "I love listening to other clans warriors talk sometimes. The stories they have are.. interesting, and it's fun to hear about different clan's customs." She said, thinking back to all her conversations with other clan cats, which wasn't very many. "I think a lot about what my life would be like if I wasn't ever shy." She mewed. "Like, maybe I'd have more friends to talk to at Gatherings or maybe I'd be the same as I am now. Who knows?" She continued, almost talking to herself. Maybe I'd have a mate and kits already.. She added silently to herself before glancing away from Ryeheart and staring off into the trees.

Ryeheart laughed, breaking out of his somber mood for a quick second; "Heh, maybe I was!  Maybe I was meant to be running out on the moor, or swimming in the river!"  Observing his long, thick fur and fluffy tail for a moment, he backtracked on his words; "Well, maybe not WindClan.  I would just end up tripping over this poofy thing."  Waving his plume of a tail for a moment, he chuckled before regaining his strange seriousness.  Slightly surprised by her claim that she used to be shy, Ryeheart's icy eyes widened a bit; "Really? I never would've guessed!"  He watched, smiling kindly, as she seemed to ramble to herself for a moment; slowly, he shuffled a bit closer to the pretty RiverClan she-cat so that the tips of their fur were brushing in a comforting, but flirtatious way.  Purring, the young ginger warrior tilted his head and squinted his eyes cutely, a faint smile on his maw."Well...it's better late than never, wouldn't you say?"

Willowpetal smiled laughingly at his response, "Yeah, I guess so." She meowed, watching him with interest. This is definitely more fun than lazing around camp all day. She thought, still smiling. "You're an interesting tom, ya know that?" She told him, a soft purr rumbling in her throat. Despite knowing that her clanmates loved her, this tom was giving her way more attention than any other tom in her clan ever even thought to give, and she couldn't help but take it all in and bask in it. Even though she knew it was wrong to be where she was, flirting with a ShadowClan warrior, she didn't even care the least bit. They weren't harming anyone, so why did it matter? "I think we'd make perfect.. friends if we were in the same clan." She commented, stumbling a bit when she got to the word for them. She didn't know why it had come out weird to her, but she shrugged inwardly, dismissing it.