Sarcasm kills, slowly... (open)

OOC: Hope I can butt in now still, LOL

IC: Shimmerheart stuck her head out of the elders' den. She purred in amusement at hearing the two kits argue. She hobbled out and ruffled her thin, aging black pelt. "You're not the only one," she grunted as she sat down by Flykit. "I was quite the sarcastic one in my day- just ask Leopardfang. Oh, the poor tom, to get stuck with me as his first apprentice..." She chuckled at the memory. "Of course, I was his age- after being stick in the nursery for longer than any other kit- so I suppose that softened the blow."

Ferretpaw giggled as Shimmerheart began telling stories to the kits. She wondered if she'd live to be old enough to become an elder. Sometimes she bet that one elder was more respected than all the leaders in the clans. "I couldn't imagine you as an apprentice, Shimmerheart! That seems like it was such a long time ago!"

Shimmerheart nodded at Ferretpaw. "I suppose it was- but not as long as it should have been." Shimmerheart gingerly moved her back leg and sighed. "I still haven't really recovered from my fall into the gorge... Now, that was a long time ago." She remembered the older WindClan tom who had rescued her and brought her back to ShadowClan. "I wonder how he is now... " she mused, forgetting about the kits and apprentice.

"Seems like a good cat." Flykit admitted, nodding to the elder. "Whatever happened to him?" The kit twitched his ears, smirking. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Shimmerheart hadn't realized she was thinking aloud. "Oh, what? Um... Who d'you mean?"

Flykit twitched his ears. "The old tom who..." he coughed, stopping himself. "Sorry, the young tom who saved you from the gorge..."

"Oh." Shimmerheart nodded wisely. "I'm not quite sure, actually... I mean, we've seen each other at Gatherings and on border patrols before, but we're not really in touch... He's in WindClan, you see."

Rainkit had learned by then what it meant to belong to a different clan; a cat couldn't make friends in a different clan, because it could lead to divided loyalties if you met that friend in battle. So, it made sense that Shimmerheart wasn't in touch with the cat who had saved her. He didn't say anything, though, because there were now more cats in the conversation than he was comfortable talking to, so nervousness kept his mouth shut, and he took a couple of small steps back, intending to quietly slip away from the group soon.

"Ah..." Flykit nodded, trying to look smart. "So technically, that's bad then..." he said, narrowing his eyes in concentration, it seemed Shimmerheart had feelings for this cat - not just because he saved her from the gorge.

OOC: Sorry I was gone, I went out of town and had no internet! P.S. - Lol I didn't realize that the 'gorge cat' was in Shimmer's thoughts, not words. (Flykit can't read minds just to clarify lol) But I guess we'll just go with it XD.

OOC: LOL, I figured- it's okay tho

IC: Shimmerheart thought a moment. This kit was smarter than he looked- oh, to be young again and mentor him! Ah well... "No," she replied carefully, "not necessarily. Cats can occasionally have friends, in some cases family, in other Clans- but never too close. Nothing must interfere with Clan loyalty." Though some think differently. "And even if we could be closer, we'd only be friends," the elder added, narrowing her eyebrows almost sternly at Flykit. "To be mates, or even friends closer than Clanmates, is against the warrior code. It's akin to betraying your Clan, in a way. You must never get too close to cats in other Clans." She remembered Dewclaw. Or they might hurt you... Poor young thing. So innocent... You don't know what some cats are capable of. Pained suddenly, she turned away from the smart kit, only to see another one edging away. "Don't be shy, young one," she chuckled. "I don't bite. Come a little closer and let my old eyes see you.'

Flykit cocked his head to the side, intrigued at Shimmerheart's statement. He shook his fur, trying to clear his brain from the confusing thoughts. "Yeah, Rainkit don't leave!" The tabby tom glanced over to the kit, backing away. "Shimmerheart is spreading her wisdom!"

Rainkit wasn't entirely keen on the idea of sticking around, but hey, if Flykit and Shimmerheart both asked him to... He rejoined the group slowly, looking anxiously up at the elder. "S-sorry," He mewed sheepishly, "I'm just... Not so social, I guess." His tail tip twitched, and he looked at Flykit rather than Shimmerheart after speaking. After all, he was more comfortable around him than Shimmerheart.

Flykit wore a crooked grin on his face, moving his tail so Rainkit could sit down. "It's ok..." he mewed "You just gotta be super sarcastic like me, and never take anything too seriously." The tom stopped, looking content with himself, he could spew wisdom just like Shimmerheart...

OOC: Flykit has no idea what he's talking about XD

Rainkit, of course, was just a naive kit, probably even more naive than Flykit. So, Flykit's advice made sense to him-- after all, Flykit positively radiated confidence! So, Rainkit was perfectly content with taking advice about confidence from him. "I'll keep it in mind." He mewed, flicking Flykit's flank jokingly with his tail, "I don't think I'll ever quite top you though!"

Shimmerheart nodded at Rainkit, after chuckling a little at Flykit. Those two would be great warriors. "I was like that too, as a kit. No one liked me because they thought in was making fun of them. Then I met Leopardpaw... He drew me out of my shell. We discovered that we had the same ideas. It was that conversation which let us be friends, then mentor and apprentice, then finally mates." She sighed happily. "He was strong,  handsome, Thrushstar's favorite... He rescued me from a fox once. I was the luckiest she-cat in the forest to get him as a mate, you understand? We had three beautiful kits- Webtail, Viperfang, and Tigerstorm-" Then she remembered Shrewkit. "Actually, we had four kits," she murmured quietly.