Nutpaw's echoing feeling (Open for Bunny)

Nutpaw sighed as she walked through the grass near the edge of RiverClan territory, next to the gorge. She hoped that her mentor wouldn’t mind that she was out here. Why am I out here? Nutpaw knew part of the answer was that she felt calmed by the sound of the trashing currents at the bottom of the gorge, but that usually wasn’t enough to bring her all the way out here. The other reason she came her is what she didn’t know. Her usually logical mind didn’t have an explanation for it, and as frustrated as that made her, she couldn’t bring herself to leave. So the confused Nutpaw continued wandering aimlessly, than caught scent of something strange, but familiar. WindClan!

Echopaw had been stalking a mouse, practising his hunting. He'd not left camp in a while, for one reason or another, and felt like he needed to fit practise in somewhere.

As he followed the small creature's sent through the open moores, he eventually heard the rush of water and that's when he finally raised his head from the dirt and grass. The gorge, how had he gotten so close? He'd not realised how far he'd come, but figured the mouse had probably fallen off the ledge. Sighing, slightly disappointed at the wasted effort, he turned away and was about to leave when he scented something. Riverclan? Definitely. He was near the border, so it was to be expected, but he still felt his fur stand slightly on end as he turned, raising his nose to the wind. It wasn't just recent, the cat was still there
"Who are you?" His voice came out small, wary

"Oh! Uh, I am Nutpaw, of RiverClan. I'm on my territory, so I'm allowed to be here. Who are you?" Nutpaw tried to finish confidently, but some of her usual spark had been muddled by her confusion. She took a few steps closer to him, so they wouldn't have to yell to here each other. She knew how much RiverClan and WindClan hated each other right now, but two apprentices merely talking didn't break any rules, or harm any cat.

Echopaw's ears pricked as he heard her response. He was slightly glad, however, that she'd revealed herself. If she'd stayed hidden he would have assumed she was doing something wrong, and he really didn't want to tell on her just because she was sitting there.

Taking a step closer, he saw the dizzying plummet into the gorge and stumbled back a few steps, shivering slightly. If he fell, he'd die.
"I-I'm Echopaw. I'm on my territory too... So everything's okay isn't it? I'm not breaking any rules." His voice went from slightly fearful go curious, and he sat and tilted his head to one side "what're you doing so close to... This" he gestured to the crack in the ground, the one that had killed many cats before, and would continue to kill for future moons "Are you hunting like me?"

"Well, I came out thinking I was going to hunt. Then i kind of just came here. The sound of rushing water calms me. Isn't it weird how something so deadly can be so soothing to me?" Nutpaw remarked, trying to start a conversation. She wasn't exactly sure why she was talking to a WindClan apprentice, but something made her stay. The same something that had made her come here.
"I know our clans don't really like each other, but that doesn't mean that we have to fight." Nutpaw hoped this was true, and also hoped that Echopaw felt the same way about it.

Echopaw, being the type of cat he was, immediately relaxed, quickly warming up to the kind, if slightly strange, Riverclan apprentice.
"Well, maybe it's because your clan live by a river? It must be normal for you" The raging waters and sound of water crashing against the rocks sent chills of fear up his spine, but Nutpaw seemed to enjoy it. Echopaw however, being as innocent as he was, had no idea of the conflict between their two clans, and tilted his head curiously to one side as he asked
"Why don't they like each other? What's happening with them?"

"Yeah, our camp is on an island so I guess the sound of rushing water makes me feel at home." Nutpaw replied to his first remark, wrapping her tails around her paws. He looked relaxed, and she felt relieved at that. Doing her best to look the least threatening that she could, she put her sheathed paws in plain sight and perked her ears up cheerfully and non-threateningly. 
"I'm not quite sure how it started, but I know some WindClan warrior blinded Morningfog, a RiverClan queen. She wasn't expecting kits at the time though, at least I'm pretty sure. I also know that Fishstar lead a patrol to WindClan camp, but that is really all I know about it," Nutpaw explained, wishing she had more to tell Echopaw.

Echopaw winced slightly as she explained
"Blinded her? I mean... I know I'm meant to take my clans side but... That doesn't seem right" His voice went quiet as he neared the end of his sentence, as he tried to convince himself that there must be a valid reason behind the warrior's actions. Maybe Morningfog was trespassing? Or breaking the code some other way? He did his best to shake off the doubts and even lay down comfortably, the evening sun warming the grass beneath him as he settled down comfortably
"What do you think about it?"

"I think it's wrong to blind a warrior, but I heard Smokeface say something about the warrior who did it getting exiled. Morningfog doesn't seem angry with WindClan, just the warrior who blinded her. I don't think our clans should hold a grudge against each other." Nutpaw was glad he wasn't mad at her for speaking against his clan, as many cats probably would. He seemed to not know much about it, which made the little she knew seem like a lot. 
"Anyway, I bet most of WindClan is nice. I mean, at least you are."

Echopaw couldn't help a little laugh and a shrug escape him
"Well most of us are okay, obviously I don't get along with everyone but I suppose that's the same for every clan isn't it. It's more about who you are than what clan you belong to" Studying the other apprentice with something like curiosity, he continued "Like, you seem really nice. But that doesn't mean I'll like every other Riverclan cat. Like I'm sure you aren't like that cat a little while ago, what was his name? Sleetfang? He seemed awful, especially right before he died. But you don't seem like him at all" Echopaw had, of course, heard of Sleetfang, the grey tom who went on a murderous rampage right before eventually being killed. He couldn't remember how many cats he hurt and killed, or who eventually killed him, but the whole thing sounded terrible. It had slightly damaged his view of Riverclan cats, but he tried not to judge the whole clan based on one cat going crazy. Especially Nutpaw, she seemed really nice

"Yeah, Sleetfang wasn't a good cat. I don't know much about him, older clan members don't tell me about the bad thing our clan did, only the bad things other clans did. But I hope what some bad cats did doesn't cloud the vision of our clans. Like we are having a peaceful converstaion without going for each other's throats." Nutpaw didn't actually know much about Sleetfang, only a few snippets about some cats that he killed. Hopefully Echopaw didn't think she was like that, she didn't think he was like Smokepelt. She suddenly realized how much she wanted this cat to like her, and how much she wanted to like him.

Echopaw smiled a little and mewed
"Don't worry! You're nothing like him! You seem really nice." He flashed her a quick smile before getting lost in his thoughts. He wanted to be friends with Nutpaw, he really did. She seemed nice and like the kind of cat he'd love to hang out with more, but he was scared too. His loyalties lay entirely in Windclan, so he didn't want to break any rules by being friends with, and hopefully continuing to see, the Riverclan apprentice
"Say Nutpaw, it's not breaking the warrior code to be friends with cats from other clans is it?" He was fairly certain he'd seen warriors from various different clans talking, but none he'd ever seen had stopped this long to have a conversation, so he was uncertain as to that particular area of the code. Or maybe it wasn't against the code but was considered rude? He wasn't certain, and wanted to ask before he made a mistake

"I don't think it is. You are allowed to have friends in other clans, just not betray your clan for them. As long as we keep our loyalties to our clans we can be friends. want to meet up at the next gathering, or sooner?" Fear did wash over her for a moment at Echopaw's question, and her words were just as much to reassure her as him. What would she do if she had to fight him? She already felt a weird sort of friendship or something else between them, and didn't want to break that. But she couldn't break the code for a WindClan apprentice that she had just met.

Echopaw felt relief tush through him, he wasn't breaking any rules and he knew he'd be loyal to Windclan. No matter what. Yet there was still that doubt in his mind. There was a lot of tension between their clans right now, the string pulled so tight that a single touch could cause it to snap and before they knew it they could be thrown head first into a battle with each other. He didn't want to fight her, he knew that much.
"Sure! It is getting kinda late but I'd love to meet up again..." He paused, thinking for a few seconds "Maybe in a few days? I want to see you before then" He felt the fur along his spine stand on end with slight embarrassment as he rose to his feet "But, you know... Because we're friends. Right?" He'd not known her for long, but he definitely felt some sort of friendship there, obviously completely unaware that Nutpaw felt the same

"Of course!" Nutpaw replied quickly with a little too much excitement laced into her mew. Trying to look more formal, she sta up a little straighter and continued; "Maybe at the next quarter moon? We could meet near the the path to fourtrees, so we don't have to be seperated by the gorge." Nutpaw glanced up at the moonless sky, knowing that the next quarter moon was only three or four sunrises away. Standing up, she looked back to Echopaw hopefully. He seemed a little uncertain and embarrassed, but she could tell that her strange feeling of friendship was not one sided.