Welcome to the Club

Flamepaw stalked angrily through the muddy edges of the Shadowclan territory. His paws kicked up rocks and plants as he went.
"I'm sick of this..." He mumbled softly. The fiery orange tom had offered to help in the nursery during a birth again and the queens had chased him off. He'd spent extra moons that should have been spent training in that nursery until the Shadowclan leader decided he was worthy of training to be a part of the clan. When he'd been in the nursery, things had been much the same. Still, every now and then they had put him to work. Now it was like they had forgotten the tom that had shared that den with them for so long. The newer queens were especially wary. Older ones remembered him and tended to be okay with him, but a lot of them had moved out. It's not fair. He thought, suppressing an angry growl, I didn't choose to be like this. I didn't choose my parents. And I didn't choose to be abandoned in the Shadowclan territory. It had initially took a lot of restraint and patient to deal with the hostility and disgust towards him within his own clan, but for the most part he had gotten used to it. Didn't mean that this didn't bother him every now and then.

Before he knew it, his paws had lead him to Fourtrees and out of his clan's territory. He had never been out here alone and never for any reason other then the gatherings. Part of him wanted to know if it was okay to be out here and if he'd get in trouble. The other part didn't care. Once he reached the center of the clearing, Flamepaw settled down with a sigh. He wrapped his tail over his paws and looked around.

"Wow. It's so empty," He said aloud and the words almost seemed to echo.

Viperpaw waved through the trees, leaping through silver strands of grass like the eye of a needle. Her green eyes narrowed, with a dot of white as a reflection of the whole of the forest, she arrived. The four great oaks she could see, not very far. She approached them. I need a breath of air, she thought. The clan's kinda crowded. Viperpaw slithered forwards. Pine needles were the only parcels of vegetation growing on the thin, snow-covered branches of trees. As she continued on, the massive trees came into view. She felt jolly as she looked up at them, towering. She dived into snow, jumping in and out like a dolphin. She blew snow off of her nose.

She scrawled pawprints on the ground as she continued to walk. She didn't expect who she would see next. The scenery was pleasant, but the air was heavy with a strange feeling. Who's there? Viperpaw wondered. It's probably just some prey, after all... she cogitated. She padded through the snow, until she saw a screaming smudge of orange against the blank snow. She backed up.

She shrunk back, fur fluffed up against a tree. It camouflaged almost perfectly. She whimpered, although she was the same size, if not bigger, than the opposing tomcat. She froze to the spot, not knowing where to go. Viperpaw had lost her way. She heard his echoing words. "Yep," she softly agreed.

Flamepaw began to feel like he wasn't alone. A very faint Skyclan scent hit his nose and he panicked internally for a moment. What would a Skyclan cat do to me out here? His fear dissipated when he remembered that he was at fourtrees. This was no one's territory. Here was peace and no clan claims.
"Is someone there?" He called gently, hoping that he wouldn't come off as threatening.

Realizing that the voice was fairly young, Viperpaw mustered up the courage to step out of the thin ferns and bushes. She looked up, scenting ShadowClan. It was a flame-orange tomcat. Rather handsome, in fact. She walked forwards hesitantly. "Yeah," she called back, in the same, gentle tone. She stepped forwards carefully, and perhaps somewhat shyly if you look into it. The snow had melted enough for a spider to be seen skittering across the floor, rushing into a tree.

ooc;; I actually saw a spider in my room last night. I guess it warmed up. (I have arachnophobia)

OCC: I'm sorry.. spiders are real gross

Out from behind the undergrowth stepped a she-cat. Based on her size, he assumed she was an apprentice as well. From the scent of it she was Skyclan. He'd learned the Skyclan scent at the last gathering when his mentor had introduced him to the aggressive Skyclan warrior, Eagleheart. Flamepaw had made sure to memorize that scent after their first encounter. Inside he shifted uncomfortably at the fact he'd run into another clan cat. This was the first time he had seen any other clan outside of at a gathering.
"My names Flamepaw," The Shadowclan apprentice meowed a little hesitantly. She seemed friendly, but he wasn't sure why a Skyclan cat would be at Fourtrees this time of the day. Or outside of the gathering for that matter. I mean I guess I'm out here... It hit him that maybe he could just ask.
"What are you doing out here?" He asked, trying to sound quizzical instead of challenging.

"Taking a walk," replied Viperpaw. "I mean- I don't mean to hurt you..." she flinched. SkyClan and ShadowClan haven't been at each other's throats as far as she knew. The width of the small clearing allowed her a brief step to the side. Flamepaw's fur was like a wave of fire, rushing like a carpet over the expanse of the snow. His green eyes were the color of leaves. I didn't mean to run into you, either, Viperpaw thought. She decided not to be so hostile, yet this was an unfamiliar encounter.

"I just guessed that, since this wasn't any clans' territory, I would go for a walk..." Viperpaw said. She stood in the snow, feeling a few snowflakes start to descend from the sky, onto the already plentiful snowy ground.

ooc;; ikr, it was kind of scary since those were the kind with the long legs and large abdomen that seemed to take up a full corner of my room o.o

OCC: I hope it's gone now that sounds awful

"Me too," Flamepaw agreed, "Just needed to get away from camp for a bit. Not even venturing out into the Shadowclan territory was enough, so Fourtrees seemed like the place". He too watched the snowfall, fighting back the urge to attack it like he'd once done as a kit. For the most part, his playfulness had been trained out of him as reality hit and he grew. But the urge was still there sometimes. With a glance at Viperpaw, he decided he trusted her. The Skyclan apprentice seemed harmless and in her gaze he sensed a familiar loneliness. Without hesitation he lowered himself into a hunting crouch and launched himself at a small pile of white flakes that had collected themselves on the forest floor.

Viperpaw giggled. "I used to do that with the leaves!" she announced, springing towards the falling snowflakes. To be completely honest, this 'Flamepaw' character didn't seem like such a bad guy. She felt like a kit again, carefree. She dove into the white, powdery piles, throwing up snow with her paws. She kept rolling around, feeling like a snowy tortilla.

"Are we kits or what?" Flamepaw chuckled, as she also dove at the snow. They'd literally just met but he already felt more comfortable around her than any of the Shadowclan cats. Except his mentor. But Hazeflight had become distant since she started expecting kits. He knew even thought she had never said anything and never brought it up for the same reason. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone, but he was pretty sure some cats started to notice. Well she-cats aren't exactly required to talk about their relationships... The tom sighed as he thought about being back at camp. Sadly, he knew he would have to return before some cat called him out on being away from camp for too long.

Viperpaw laughed. "No kidding!" she agreed contently. The she-cat leapt out of the snow and back in, basking in it, not caring wether it soaked her fur or not. To be completely honest, even though this tom was ShadowClan, she liked him. She bounced up and down in the silky snow, looking around. She felt like this tomcat was part of her clan. She stopped in front of him, spraying snow up. She giggled excitedly, not wanting to go back to SkyClan to... train and whatnot.

The tom shook himself off as he was sprayed with snow. He let out a playful growl and launched himself at the Skyclan she-cat, claws sheathed. Flamepaw made sure to keep his weight light as to not crush her.
"You won't get away with coating me with snow, Skyclanner!" He batted at her lightly with soft paws. It felt refreshing to mess around with someone who didn't look at him as just a burden to the clan. For a moment, he forgot about the fact that it was most likely frowned upon to be here with a cat from another clan, playing like littermates. For once, he stopped worrying.

"You'll never get me," Viperpaw promised with a feigned growl, "I am the great Viperstar!" she howled, falling to the snow. "And I declare war on ShadowClan!" Viperpaw flung herself at Flamepaw, tackling the other apprentice to the ground. She didn't put as much weight onto him as to squish him, although she put in a significant amount of playful effort. She bat at his paws with her own, whiskers twitching with amusement. They were like silver strands of tinsel in the festive season. She purred, embracing a rather rare, free time.

"Viperstar, huh? Well, you can have Shadowclan, just spare me! I surrender!" There was a hint of laughter in his voice and he went limp underneath the weight of the Skyclan apprentice. Flamepaw sighed, enjoying the first moment of freedom he'd had in as long as he could remember. Sure, there'd been times he had nothing to do. But nothing was this freeing in camp. He wasn't able to be himself around the Shadowclan cats. Part of him was always anxious he would say or do something to make the clan dislike him more. But it was home. With a glance at the sky, he knew he had to get back. Soon, he would have to leave behind this peace. And the fleeting moment of happiness would be gone with it.

"I spare you," Viperpaw laughed, "but your territory is mine! Haha!" she exclaimed, dashing through the snow happily. Around Flamepaw, she could just be herself. The joy in her eyes was like a rippling pool of algae-rich water, with a dot of dilated black in the very centre. She zipped around, fur like a field covered with snow. She finally stopped, gazing across. There had been a flash of worry in Flamepaw's eyes, and she knew why. She realized this too, a painful reminder that they could be found, or have to go back very soon. She sighed quietly. "You know it too, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, as well as you do. Our clans will be missing us," His face clouded with sadness. He shot Viperpaw a weak smile as he looked at her. If only it would be okay for them to be friends. To visit each other in their dens and run through the whole forest. But that would never happen. Never before had he considered that things could be different in other clans, that cats could be different and that he could make a friend. Especially one so quickly. We'll probably never get to run into each other again... unless,

"Hey, Viperpaw?" Flamepaw started slowly, "What is we met back here in a few sunsets? You know, just to play around and stuff. It'd be good to get out again... I don't know".