Haven't Seen You Around [closed]

Larktalon sat quietly, staring at his paws. Would Dawnstrike show up again? They would see each other around occasionally when they snuck out. Silverpelt hung above the tom's head as he waited among the chirping of crickets. He guessed it would be another one of those nights where he found himself alone. He picked himself back onto his four paws and trudged toward the Great Rock, eyeing it up and down. He enjoyed the feeling of being an authority figure. The SkyClan warrior readied himself, crouching down before springing onto the tall rock. He surveyed the landscape, purring in contentment as he began to settle down and relax.

A light breeze swayed the trees in the cool air. A young and hopefully she-cat pranced across the field towards the large clearing. Daisypaw was excited to say the least. Eaglethorn had showed her Fourtrees from the border, only a peak, when they had gone on her first patrol. She had yet to attend a gathering, and the two-toned she-cat was dying to see the enclosed area up close. Despite her morality telling her to remain in camp, her curiosity took over and she had left her den without a sound.

Daisypaw was surprised by the sudden drop, and stumbled to keep on her paws as she ran down the slope. Skidding to a stop in the middle of the clearing, the white and ginger apprentice took a moment to catch her breath. She huffed and puffed for a small amount of time before a small light caught her attention. The light floated away quickly, enticing the playful she-cat. Chasing it towards a large rock, Daisypaw giggled and attempted to catch the glowing object in her paws. It soared high into the sky, dodging her paws and blending in with Silverpelt. Her blue gaze turned to the sky, she noticed a dark figure in the corner of her vision. The tom was perched high on the stone, his green gaze wandering and intense. The apprentice could feel her heart skip a beat as she stared at the strange cat. Gulping rather loudly, she bunched up her hind legs and shot up onto the rock, barely catching it and having to scrap her way up the rest to reach the brown tabby's level.

Daisypaw let out a cough and smiled gently. "Hi. I'm Daisypaw. What are you doing here all by yourself?" She sniffed him quietly, his scent strange to her nose.

Larktalon didn't notice the little apprentice bounding toward him. He was too deep in thought. How could he spend more time with Dawnstrike? How would he be able to get closer to her? He shifted in thoughtfulness, twitching his ears. How do I tell her that I have feelings for her? The SkyClan cat set his chin on his white paws. Was it against the code? Surely, not, right? Nothing was wrong with loving another Clan cat... right?

The tomcat jolted upward as a stranger leapt in front of him. He gave a yowl of surprise, nearly stumbling over the edge of the large boulder to his certain demise. Larktalon finally gathered his composure, giving a rugged sigh of relief. He narrowed his eyes at the apprentice. "You nearly killed me," he hissed, lashing his tail. The longer he stared at the apprentice- with the familiar scent of WindClan -the more she reminded him of Dawnstrike. His eyes softened.

"Daisypaw?" he echoed. He never recalled Dawnstrike mentioning her. The SkyClan tom hesitated at her question. "I'm just out here to think. Get away from the Clan." He gave a nod. "What about you? Are you even old enough to leave camp yet?" He scrunched his nose at the cat's size, sitting promptly away from the rocky edge.

The she-cat crouched low at his aggressive tone, her ears pressing close against her head. She had no intention of scaring the tom, and almost instantly regretted joining him on the Great Rock. She held back a small mew, but as his gaze grew softer, she rose to her original height and dismissed any fear. Nodding as he noted her name, she sat down before huffing at his remark. Daisypaw puffed out her chest and held her head high. "I am old enough," she meowed, her blue eyes glowing with pride. "I wanted to see Fourtrees before my first gathering," the white and ginger apprentice replied. She relaxed again and gave the warrior a small smile.

She was almost glad he had decided clear his head. Thinking about it now, the new apprentice wasn't sure if she wanted to be alone yet. She was almost always beside her parents, her brother, or her mentor. To be alone now, it seemed frightening. Thankfully he was here. But who was he anyways?

"I didn't quite catch your name. It only seems fair that I know yours, since you know mine," Daisypaw asked, tilting her head.

Larktalon nodded. He was just like her when he was an apprentice; impatient and curious. Naive. Waiting for your first Gathering, yet you say you're old enough? Ignoring his thoughts, he curled his tail around his paws, mulling over his name for a while before responding. "Larktalon," he said lowly, sweeping his tail across the smooth rocks. "Of SkyClan, if you couldn't tell." He suddenly fell silent. Should he ask her about Dawnstrike? Would she answer him truthfully? He shuffled his paws in thought for a moment before stopping. He couldn't show weakness to this lowly WindClan cat.

The bulky tom faced the apprentice again, standing tall. The question lingered on his tongue. He could feel the question ready to slip out.... No, he couldn't. He would arise too much suspicion. Instead, he slapped a new question into his mouth, which tumbled out awkwardly and pathetically. "So, you're from WindClan?" What a dumb question. He sat down in defeat, lashing his tail angrily at himself. "I mean, you're going to be attending the next Gathering? Do you know who in your Clan is going?" Good, back onto the relevant questions.

SkyClan huh? No wonder he smelled like pine trees.
ooc: huehue, pine
ic:
The apprentice shifted awkwardly. She smiled at the tom's name. Larktalon seemed like a very strong and fearless name. Daisypaw seemed almost lowly in comparison. Her tail curled around her paws and stared at the warrior curiously. She giggled slightly and stared down at a pebble, softly tossing it between her paws. "Yes, I'm a WindClan cat. I'm not sure exactly who will be going. Falconstar, obviously. Sablefur, Gorsefeather, Emberleaf, pretty much all of the warriors, and of course, the apprentices." Shouldn't this warrior know who would be present? "Oh, Dawnstrike should be coming. She's finally out of the nursery. She was in there longer than she needed to be, I'm glad she's up and running again," the she-cat purred, blissfully unaware of his feelings for her mother. She didn't feel it necessary to mention her relation to the older she-cat. He probably didn't even know her.

"What about SkyClan? Is there anything big going on there?" she asked politely, catching the rock in her grasp and looking back at the tabby.

Larktalon nodded at her rolecall. There were only one or two names he recognized. All of the warriors? Did that include Dawnstrike? Wouldn't she be cooped up in the nursery until her milk ran dry? He hung his head, thoughts buzzing through his mind. Until, the familiar name buzzed in his mind. He glanced up, green eyes wide. Dawnstrike was attending? So, he would see her at the Gathering? Larktalon immediately calmed himself, letting his eyes and posture relax. "Oh, Dawnstrike. Send her my condolences. Very sad... about what happened to her." He dipped his head respectfully. He recalled the WindClan queen telling him that her kittens were all stillborn. What a terrible pity.

Larktalon quickly brushed off his past comment, pleased that the queen was going to be attending as well, despite her loss. "Not really. I know that many of our queens have kitted already, but you'll hear about it during the Gathering."

The apprentice stared at him in confusion. What did he mean? 'Oh, Dawnstrike. Send her my condolences. Very sad... about what happened to her.' The words rang through her head over and over again. Very sad? Nothing sad had happened to the queen. She had just given birth to four kits, and seemed very proud about it. Both her mother and father smothered her and her siblings, to the point where she was convinced no cat could love their kits as much as they did. She scowled. Did Larktalon believe having kits was such a bad thing?

Daisypaw snorted quietly. "I'll make sure to tell her," she meowed curtly, shifting her gaze to watch the trees sway gently in the breeze. The she-cat shook her head, trying to clear good thoughts about the warrior from her mind.

After getting the thoughts out of her young head, she looked at him with confusion. "I can't help but ask though, what do you mean?" Her voice twitched with curiosity, but also had a bit of defense in it. Was there something that happened that she didn't know about? Why wouldn't her mother tell her? What was going on? As questions rang through her head, she waited for his answer, half stuck between reality and thoughts.

Larktalon was quiet for a long time after her question. Surely she knew about Dawnstrike? It seemed as if it would be rather big news among the Clan to hear a queen had an entire stillborn litter. He gave a chuff, sitting down and curling his tail over his paws. "You should get out of your den more often," he commented, swiping his tongue over his paw and washing his face contently. "Surely you've heard about Dawnstrike and her kitting?" The SkyClan warrior could still spot a hint of confusion on the apprentice's face as he gazed from behind his paw.

He stopped his grooming, eyeing the white-and-ginger apprentice with a blank expression. "I thought it would've been big enough news for you to have known." He stood up on the rock, looming over the WindClan she-cat. His green eyes flashed in the darkness. "You know, how her kits all died?"

"How all of her kits died? I think you're mistaken. If they all died, I wouldn't be here." Daisypaw let out a sigh of relief and smiled. He was obviously just misinformed, not a heartless tom. "And here I thought you hated kits," she giggled, laying down and relaxing on the large rock. She let her previous thoughts about Larktalon returned rather quickly. "Maybe you're thinking of some other queen. WindClan has been rather lucky these past moons. There haven't been any stillborn kits as far as I know," the apprentice added, licking her paw and swiping it across her face as he did earlier. Her blue eyes traveled up and met his shining green eyes. Something seemed off. Why would he think she had lost her kits in the first place, if he wasn't mistaking her for some other she-cat?

"My mother is as healthy as ever," Daisypaw remarked, curious to see if he was concerned for the queen.