A Trio Of Good....Friends? (Closed for Squirrelnose and Wavedream)

Nervously, Nectarpaw padded over to Laurelpaw, just across the RiverClan border. He could hear the sound of crashing water already, and it scared him a little. He suddenly had a image in his mind of bragging that he saw the inside of the gorge, and made up his mind. "Well, I haven't yet, but I will now." Mustering up his courage, he started padding slowly towards the edge of the rocky cliff. He placed his paws carefully, slowly making his way to face his fear and peer into the gorge. He knew he was in RiverClan territory now, so he made sure not to do anything to leave a lasting scent.

OOC: XDXD

Stonepaw's eyes bugged out of his head at Laurelpaw's suggestion. Surely she wasn't suggestion they go over the border, was she? It was against the warrior code-no sane cat in Windclan would ever-

His mind short-circuted when the she-cat deviously stepped over the border, Nectarpaw soon following after her in order to look over the gorge in Riverclan territory.

"Wait a minute!" He called with panic sticken in his voice. "Y-You can't do that!"

Startled by Stonepaw's sudden protest, Nectarpaw jumped a little, and he was next to the gorge. Suddenly, his paws slipped dangerously close to the edge of the rocky cliff face. He had never been good with heights, and he was basically frozen with fear now as one of his back legs slipped over the side. "Help me!" Nectarpaw managed to cry desperately to his friends.

Laurelpaw turned around with an exasperated look to glare at Stonepaw, but before she could reply a startled cry from Necterpaw behind her made her whip back around. Her friend was slipping off of the cliff! With a scared cry, the white and speckled she-cat dashed over and grabbed Necterpaw's scruff, and pulled with all of her might. Still, the tom's greater weight seemed determined to pull him down into the swirling water below, and Laurelpaw began to feel her paws skid on the slick grass. Sinking her claws into the ground, she managed to stop the slipping, but Necterpaw was still in his precarious situation. Her voice muffled by his patched fur, Laurelpaw turned her gaze slightly over to where Stonepaw stood. "Come on Stonepaw, help me! I can't hold him for much longer!"

Stonepaw didn't know what to do. His instincts screamed at him to stay away from the border, to not break the warrior code by going into another clan's territory without their leader's permission. But Nectarpaw, his first friend, needed his help. His mind flashed to Ashstar, the leader he looks up to so dearly. She would tell him to cross, just to save his friend.

After a few heavy seconds passed by from Stonepaw's brain going on hard drive from the conflicting feelings screaming at him, the large gray tom finally managed to move his paws to help pull Nectarpaw up. "Hold on, Nectarpaw!" He called out, grabbing the apprentice by the scruff of his neck. With a heave, the strong tom carefully rose Nectarpaw up, getting him farther and farther out until Stonepaw could see his friend's tail. Then, readjusting to get a better grip on him, Stonepaw slowly lifted the apprentice away, lowering to set him on the grass.

"Thanks Stonepaw! Thanks Laurelpaw" Nectarpaw breathed, fear still heavy in his voice. Though he was immensely grateful to both of his friends for saving his life, a small part of him realized it was technically them who had put him in danger. But his gratitude out weighed his frustration, an he was rather curious to what Stonepaw had been freaking out about. "What were you freaking out about though? You seemed really worried, but the only thing that seems dangerous around here is the gorge. Is there something I should be worried about?" Nectarpaw asked Stonepaw, then looked to Laurelpaw to see if she had any idea what had happened.

Now that Nectarpaw was out of the gorge, Stonepaw was anxious to get them out of enemy territory before a Riverclan patrol spotted them. He missed his friend's gratitude in his uneasy state of mind, craning his neck to look around as the uneasy tom sniffed the air. It didn't seem like there was any patrol around, but who was he, a newly made apprentice, to tell?

When Nectarpaw put Stonepaw on the spot for his moment of hesitation in saving him, the gray apprentice was overwhelmed. "Hey, uh, Nectarpaw," he glanced warily at Laurelpaw to hesitantly include her and in fear that she'd stop him- or worse, "Let's get out of here first and then talk?"

"Okay..." Nectarpaw crossed back into WindClan territory, still unsure of what was going on. He gestured to Laurelpaw to follow them, hoping she would do it without a fight. He really did want to know why Stonepaw was so worried, and if he could help his friend. "So can you answer my question? Why were you so, you know, panicked?"

Once Necterpaw was out of the gorge, Laurelpaw heaved a huge sigh of relief, and dashed forward to give the bi-colored tom a friendly nuzzle. "I..I thought you were a goner!" Heart still pounding, the white and speckled she-cat was about to continue the group along the gorge to get a better view of the waterfall, but when she looked back both toms were crossing over back into WindClan territory. Surprised, the she-cat let out an annoyed huff and flicked her tail, continuing her walk alone. This is all Stonepaw's fault! If he hadn't cried out Necterpaw wouldn't have slipped, and then we could've been exploring this whole time! Letting her distaste for the anxious apprentice simmer, Laurelpaw found a nice spot to sit and admire the great tumbling waterfall and the quick rapids below. Without Necterpaw though, the experience felt empty and almost worthless. Sighing, the young she-cat let her face collapse into sadness as she sat alone at the edge of the cliff.

Stonepaw felt a jolt of panic when Laurelpaw didn't follow them. They all needed to get off before a Riverclan patrol found one of them trespassing without a good reason. He didn't hear Nectarpaw yet again, the words washing over with his attention on the retreating form of the young she-cat. "Wait Laurelpaw!" He called out to her, his fear of her momentarily suppressed by the terror of being found. "Come with us!"

Stonepaw's unwelcome voice rang in Laurelpaw's head, and she turned to look over at the retreating toms. Lip curled in a silent snarl, she yowled back "Go on without me! I'll be along in a minute. I can fend for myself!" A unfamiliar edge in her voice, Laurelpaw shot a last glare at Stonepaw before turning back to the water, pointedly ignoring the two. Digging her claws into the moist dirt, she tried to calm her storming emotions toward the annoying tom; if she joined them now she couldn't promise what she would do or say to him.

"Stop fighting! I've been trying not to notice or comment on the tension between you two, but I can't!" Nectarpaw cried. He was standing on the border, right between the two of his best friends. "Laurelpaw, I'd love to explore here more and why would I leave without you? Stonepaw, what in StarClan's name is wrong? You're both my friends, so at least try to compromise! Please?" It sounded sappy even to him, but Nectarpaw didn't really care. He was tired of ignoring the fighting.

Nectarpaw's statement stung Stonepaw like a cuff to the muzzle. He looked over at Laurelpaw warily, now worried that he wouldn't be able to avoid stating his reasoning for begging them out of Riverclan territory any longer. For a moment, he felt stuck with fustration towards the annoying she-cat. If she wasn't so mean to him, then he wouldn't be scared to out his warrior-code fanatic self to them.

"I'm not fighting with her, I just think we should...hunt rabbits! Yeah, they're in Winclan so let's... leave?" He replied cowardly, ending it with a hesistant question.

"Really? Well, if you're scared of the gorge that is believable. I just nearly fell in!" Nectarpaw hoped the only thing Stonepaw was scared of was the gorge. He was probably afraid that Laurelpaw would make fun of him. He waited to hear the she-cat's input before speaking further, hoping she would be as peaceful as Stonepaw tried to be.

Sitting at the edge of the Gorge, her back turned to the two toms, Laurelpaw tried her hardest to calm down.  A overwhelming surge of jealousy, anger, and sadness throbbed in her chest, and it was all stemmed from Stonepaw.  What right does that stupid tom have to steal my friend away from me?!  He ruined our adventure with his dumb fear, and now he's going to make Necterpaw hate me!  Her lip quavering a bit, the young she-cat's eyes misted for a moment before the pale calico tom's words met her ears.  Turning her head to look back, her mouth began to twist into a small smile.  Necterpaw had always been a reasonable, diplomatic cat, able to calm others down and comfort them almost without effort.  

Slowly, she began to feel the surge of emotions fade away, and turned fully to address him, but the suddenly interjection from Stonepaw made her dig her claws into the earth.  What is this cat playing at?  Is he....hiding something?  Growling a bit, the lithe she-cat dashed back over to stand beside Necterpaw and began to confront the gray tom.  "What's your problem Stonepaw?!  It's obvious that you're scared of something here, so why did you even come at all?"  The fur along her spine prickling, she turned to address both cats as she continued.  "You want to know why I've been so off today?  I planned this adventure so we could have fun and explore, not so we could babysit a scared kit!"  Turning back to Stonepaw, she let out the last of her steam as she hissed; "Are you a warrior, or a coward?  I recommend you decide now, and either buck up, or go home!" Panting a bit to catch her breath, for a moment Laurelpaw felt bad for being so harsh; but tolerance for idiots was not something she ever claimed to have.