Well... CLOSED for Blaze

Flamestripe practically jumped in surprise, but settled down when he realized who it was. His heart started beating fast, and he licked his orange chest fur so that Silkpaw wouldn't be able to see it thumping. "Uh, sure," the striped warrior agreed awkwardly. He wanted to yowl, "Yes, I do! Let's go!" But he didn't know how that scenario would end up.

Flamestripe risked a glance out the corner of his eye at Silkpaw. He had always been awkward around the cats he liked. Like, really liked. He sidestepped a little ways away from Silkpaw, more awkward still. "Um... Yeah, it has been... different," the orange-striped tabby mewed softly. He sighed. He wanted to be care-free around Silkpaw, not all awkward!

Flamestripe sighed, and shook his head. He stopped walking, and sank to the ground. Tears welled in his eyes. I had such a terrible life, he thought to himself sadly.

Flamestripe lifted his head, almost too fast. All his troubles were forgotten that moment. "I love you too, Silkpaw," he whispered, no longer awkward.

Flamestripe let his head fall back onto his paws. He let the comforting rasps of Silkpaw's steady licking calm him. He took a deep breath, preparing to tell Silkpaw the tragic story of his life. He knew she would no longer love him after he told her. "Silkpaw, when I was a young apprentice, I had gone out alone to hunt by the RiverClan border. Just as I was about to pounce of a vole, I heard rustling. I turned and saw a RiverClan cat. Later I found out her name was Specklepaw. Now she's Specklestream. That night, we hunted together; a harmless gesture of love. Then we decided to meet again another night. We met every other night, and my weariness was starting to show in my day-to-day activities. Then one night, I was playing around with Specklepaw on Sunningrocks, when a RiverClan tom jumped out of a fern bush beside the border. He leaped on top of me. Then Specklefur, my mentor then, came out and bowled into Specklepaw. The two warriors stepped off of us and cornered us on the tip of Sunningrocks, as if they were daring us to jump into the river to escape. But we didn't. I could sense Specklepaw's shame, equal to mine. Then Specklepaw ran away. We followed her and just in time saw her step onto the Thunderpath. I tried to call, 'Specklepaw, no!' But Specklefur jumped on me and held me down. Then more cats came, RiverClan and ThunderClan. They separated us and brought us to our separate camps. My punishment was becoming a nursery kit again, though I have no idea what Specklepaw's punishment was. When I was made an apprentice again, Palegaze was my mentor, though as we trained I could tell he was a little distant. I didn't know why, though. (OOC: He was meeting another RiverClan warrior in secret) After that day, I never saw Specklestream again. Except for one time I saw her on the border. We fought, but tried not to hurt each other. She beat me, and I scrambled back to our temporary camp in Sunningrocks." Flamestripe sighed, and added, "When my parents realized what I had done, they began hating me. And now my father is dead. I never got to bond with him again. And Frozenflame, my older brother, promised to stand by my side, before he knew what I had done. But when he realized, he turned his back on me too. We're still family, and Frozenflame loves me again, but it's not the same anymore." He sighed again. "Now you, Cloverpaw, and Sunpelt are my closest friends. By the way, Sunpelt is my cousin. Littlefang, his father, was my father's brother." Flamestripe closed his eyes, waiting for Silkpaw to turn her back on him too.

Relief flooded through the orange tabby. "You mean, you don't hate me?" Flamestripe asked disbelievingly, though deep down he knew that was a stupid question. Silkpaw had just said she loved him more, for StarClan's sake!