Late Nights Conversations [closed]

Despite the late evening hour, a gentle warmth still clung to the fragile greenery of RiverClan's territory. Now that Newleaf was all but here, it was as if there had been an explosion of life within the forest- prey was plentiful, foliage and undergrowth were heavy with sweet-smelling buds, the river was practically bursting at its banks with snow-melt, and the air itself was often filled with a fresh dampness. Even with the occasional snow-falls and chilly days, it was still a greatly appreciated change. Ear twitching at the soft whispers of the cool breeze, Adderpaw remained sprawled out in the short, sweet grasses that now dotted the camp. Forepaws extended skywards, the young she-cat's gaze remained trained on the countless specks of brilliant white light high above. Ever since Tigerpaw's abrupt death, she often found herself staying up incredibly late, keeping nothing but the stars as her company.

Is it Newleaf up in StarClan too? Adderpaw absently wondered, wispy tips of her wild fur being gently tugged by the breeze, I hope it is. We're already spending our first warm season far apart, I'd hate to think that Tigerpaw's already gotten to see Newleaf and Greenleaf without me. Paws dropping back down to rest on her chest, the young she-cat swallowed back the unfortunately familiar pang of grief that had become synonymous with her littermate. Wriggling slightly to get comfortable, Adderpaw hardly paid any mind to the soft sound of approaching pawsteps, her reeling mind too preoccupied with thoughts of Tigerpaw.


take a cute song that I listened to while writing this ;w;

Within the darkened interior of the Warrior's Den, Scorchclaw's wide-open eyes gave off a dim green glow. The tabby warrior was unable to sleep. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable or in pain; his nest also felt no different than it usually did, but for some reason he just couldn't sleep. He had closed his eyes, tried counting fish, even rearranged his nest; everything was to no avail. Time dragged by as he lay awake in the darkness. With nothing better to do, his thoughts began to wander back to the happenings of that day. By now, Scorchclaw had pretty much given up. There was a rustling sound to his right. Instantly, the warrior's gaze shot in that direction, only to find out that his denmate had merely rolled over in his sleep. Scorchclaw let out a quiet sigh of frustration. Perhaps it had been too soon to retire for the night. He was just too alert and not sleepy in the least. Perhaps a walk of some sort would tire him out. It might wear out the adrenaline that seemed to be surging through his veins. With that thought on his mind, he climbed out of his nest and headed for the den entrance.

The camp at that time of the night was pretty empty. Most of RiverClan had already retired to their nests. Up above, the stars shone like pinpricks of light in black emptiness. Silverpelt seemed to be in clear view tonight, signalling that StarClan was watching. The night air still had a slight chill to it, but it held the refreshing scent of newleaf. Scorchclaw was crossing through the center of camp when he suddenly made out a weird-looking object lying on the ground. "..........?" As he stepped closer to investigate, he realized that it was not an object at all, but his former denmate Adderpaw who was lying on her back with her forepaws stretched towards the sky. He didn't quite know how he was supposed to react to that. Walking over so that he was standing right next to her head, he stared directly down into her fluffy face. "Aren't you going to sleep?" He asked inquisitively, "The center of RiverClan camp isn't the best place to take a nap." He didn't think she was actually trying to sleep out there, but he did want to know what she was doing.


*quietly takes it*

Countless different shapes seemed to emerge within the tightly knit cluster of stars above Adderpaw, a new outline emerging in each new section of stars her gaze drifted to. A particularly tangled mass of stars seemed to resemble a leaf, while a raggedly spaced collection of particularly dim stars almost appeared to favor a cat's face. Captivated by the constantly shifting shapes above her, she was much too engrossed by the frivolous art of searching for familiar faces in the darkness high above her. A face suddenly looming above her was quite a shock initially, especially considering how it was a slight struggle to recognize the features in such limited light. Thankfully, the combination of the rather familiar rich green eyes and voice, it only took a heartbeat or two to fully put a name to the face that was now blocking out the light above her. Scorchclaw.

Would she sleep? The pondering statement rung between her ears, preoccupying her mind for several brief heartbeats as she attempted to find an answer to the internal wonder. Gently rolling her shoulders in the soft blanket of grass that surrounded her, Adderpaw inhaled the light fragrance exuded by the slightly crushed grasses beneath her. Probably not. But so long as she didn't yawn in front of Viperstorm, then it didn't really matter, did it? "On the contrary," She murmured back, carefully keeping her voice hushed in hopes of avoiding the potential disturbance of her sleeping Clanmates, "I think it's better to sleep out here than in a den. At least this way, I don't have to worry about some cat snoring and kicking me all night or deal with how stuffy the dens keep getting with the warm weather." Remaining lounged on her back, the young she-cat blinked up at Scorchclaw several times before speaking once more, "Plus, I get to look up at the stars instead of the ceiling of the den."

"I see." Scorchclaw mewed. Was she being serious about sleeping out there? For a moment, he pondered over her casual response. Probably not. Then, that meant she was here to look at the stars. The stars, huh? Taking a few pawsteps away from Adderpaw, the warrior cast his green gaze upwards. "…--beautiful." He murmured indistinctly. And then, in a slightly louder voice so Adderpaw could hear him, "There sure are a lot of them out tonight." For a bunch of dead cats floating about in the sky, they really were beautiful. When he looked up at them like he was doing now, it was easy to feel insignificant. On nights that were especially clear, he wouldn't be able to count them all even if he spent the whole night awake to star-watch. Were they really all clan cats who had gone on before him? Lived, laughed, cried, died, and were now mostly forgotten? Each star was a cat who had a life story to tell. He wondered if it was ever lonely, up there in StarClan. Did they really live forever? Or did they vanish once all memory of them faded? Hopefully Fawnsong was enjoying her time in StarClan.

Before he could get buried too deeply in such thoughts, Scorchclaw looked away from the stars. The night sky caused him to feel strangely lonely, and it wasn't a feeling he enjoyed in the least. He glanced down at Adderpaw again. "I can't sleep, so I'm going for a walk. Maybe even catch something in the meantime." There was a slight pause before he continued. "Do you want to come with me?" The company would be welcome. Ever since he had become a warrior a while ago, he had not been able to have a proper conversation with her. Their schedules were too different, and he had become loaded down with the responsibilities of being a warrior. At first he had thought that he would not mind it, but as time passed, he found himself strangely missing the boisterous gray apprentice and her antics. Perhaps he had grown used to sharing a den with her, and now that they no longer did, his life lacked the excitement that it had had before. At least, that was what he thought.

Shifting to take the strain off of her neck, Adderpaw's gaze remained trained on Scorchclaw's face for another brief moment before eventually returning to the softly illuminated sky above. Now that her attention had been diverted from the countless outlines high above, it was almost as if they had shifted places and created various new shapes. Just to the left of her line of sight, one looked like a poorly-done outline of a flower etched into the dirt, while another almost looked like a feather. Letting out a hum of agreement, Adderpaw was surprised at the normalcy that followed the silence between the pair. Wasn't it supposed to be awkward?

Ears pricking at Scorchclaw's question, she blinked once or twice in his direction. Typically apprentices weren't usually allowed outside of camp past sundown, she knew that so long as she wasn't out by her lonesome, she wouldn't face any actual consequences. It would be fine, right? So long as Viperstorm doesn't catch sight of any yawns. Although, something told her that her mother definitely wouldn't be very pleased. Letting out a short huff of effort, she tried to step lightly as she scrambled to her paws. "Sure! Where do you wanna go?" Adderpaw questioned, head tilting slightly as she gazed over at Scorchclaw.

Although he didn't outwardly make a show of it, Scorchclaw felt happy when the wild-furred apprentice readily agreed to come with him. He couldn't quite explain why he felt that way, but it was true that he was pleased, so the reason why didn't really matter. Casting a glance over his shoulder at Adderpaw who had gotten to her paws, he led the way out of the RiverClan camp. He heard her question, but did not immediately reply. Truth be told, he had not quite thought about that yet. Where did he want to go? It did not take long for a place to pop into his mind. As soon as they were through the entrance, he said, "I was thinking about going to the riverbank." Now that they no longer had to worry about waking up their clanmates, he raised the volume of his voice somewhat. It was a randomly chosen destination, but he didn't have a place he wanted to go to in particular. Now that he thought about it, however, it would be kind of interesting to see what the river looked like at night. Would the fish all be sleeping?

There was something about roaming around RiverClan territory at night; somehow, there was just a different feel to it in the day. The night made the forest seem alien and unfamiliar, and Scorchclaw found himself glancing around warily more than once. It was dark out, but as cats and not pathetic twolegs, the pair were perfectly able to see where they were going. The silver claw of a moon in the sky also aided them by lending its feeble light. Before long, Scorchclaw's big paws were crunching on the gravel that lined the edges of the river. It was rather a relief to be out in the open again. As he walked along, a question suddenly popped into his head. "Do you often stay up late looking at the stars, Adderpaw?" It was just a casual question drawn from what he had found the apprentice doing earlier, so he asked without thinking too much about it.

Hurrying after Scorchclaw, there was a slight, hardly tangible skip evident in Adderpaw's step. Going out at night! Viperstorm definitely wouldn't ever let her do something like this! Brushing past the securely woven barrier, she stayed close on the tom's heels as they ventured out into the shadow laden territory. Despite the fact that the territory was now heavy with signs of blossoming life and fresh growth, under the sparse light of the moonlight and stars everything appeared as if they were void of colors. All the lush grasses and reeds seemed to be starkly colored in shady hues of darkness or bleached whites and greys. Absently continuing to fixate upon the familiar landmarks they passed, Adderpaw's attention only seemed to return to the present as the soft earth underpaw gave way to rough sands and gravel. The soft hum of the rapidly moving river nearly drown out their quiet movements entirely.

"Oh," Adderpaw's ears flicked at Scorchclaw's words, turning to gaze at the tom, "I only do it sometimes. Quite a few of my littermates hunt with StarClan now, so it's kind of like a way to spend time with them." The words sounded plain and rather awkward, but she hardly knew any other way to explain her motivations- plus being truthful with her former denmate wasn't entirely hard.

At Adderpaw's reply, Scorchclaw's pawsteps slowed, and he turned his head slightly to view the fluffy gray apprentice at the edges of his vision. So that was what it was. Tigerpaw's death had been quite a while ago. The brown warrior had quickly forgotten about it in the busy days that had passed since then, but it was clear that the same wasn't true for Adderpaw. Family... Was that what it meant to have a family? To have cats who would miss you after you were gone? There was a brief span of silence between the two cats where the only sound that could be heard was the indistinct burbling of the river. As he listened absentmindedly to its comforting lullaby, Scorchclaw tried to figure out an appropriate response for what he had been told.

"..... Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have asked." He said at length. Adderpaw had sounded a little awkward. He wondered if he had made his former denmate uncomfortable. Usually, he was good at reading the situation. "You might miss them now, but one day you will be able to reunite with them in StarClan. You aren't going to be apart forever." Being able to see them eventually didn't change the fact that this period of separation would hurt, but Scorchclaw didn't quite know what else to say. Hopefully, what he had said would make Adderpaw feel a little bit better, even if he had only stated the obvious. "... I don't know if anyone will be waiting for me in StarClan, though. I don't have any littermates. I've never lost someone important to me, so... I don't really understand what it's like."

Tilting her head at Scorchclaw's words, Adderpaw's brows creased in a slightly visible frown that weighed down her soft features. His words were ones she had heard many times before- first with Sparkkit, then with Tigerpaw, and finally with Duskfall. They were more familiar to her than the tom could imagine- practically more well known to her than most of her littermates. She had never even known Sparkkit, and Duskfall was only familiar in name, did that really even count as family? Smooth stones sparsely littered the grating sands underpaw, occasionally offering a slight reprieve from the coarse trails they tred upon. Something deep within the recesses of her mind was given life at Scorchclaw's words, drumming up a soft feeling of comfort. His words, as basic as they truly were, kindled a slight feeling of contentedness within her. Outside of her mother or sister's, hardly any cat had taken the time to even try to offer kind words.

The next words sent out into the drowsy night air, however, easily overcame the heartbeat of softness within Adderpaw. Nobody waiting in StarClan? Her frown deepened as her movements halted entirely, But everybody always had somebody waiting, right? Gaze briefly darting to the rapidly moving river beside the pair, she watched as the murky depths ravenously swallowed the small amount of light reflected upon the surface. "Everybody always has somebody waiting for them," She mewed, wide eyes returning to Scorchclaw as she spoke, "If they aren't there yet, it just means you haven't found them yet. I don't think anybody ever really goes through life all alone."

"Everybody always has somebody waiting for them."

Jerking to a halt, Scorchclaw turned around to face Adderpaw. As he did, he saw that she had stopped as well. A spark of surprise flickered within him at her words, but what surprised him more was the feeling that entered his chest upon hearing them. It felt a little like a flame had been lighted somewhere in his heart that hadn't been there before, and was now providing a slight warmth. It wasn't that surprising for Adderpaw to say something like that, but he seldom saw this side of her, so her earnestness threw him a little. Was there really someone like that out there? Maybe she was right, and maybe she wasn't. He didn't know which one was the right answer, but he found that he wanted to believe her. Even if just a little, it was a nice thought to have. It seemed to make the stars shine a tad bit brighter.

His eyes that had widened slightly returned to normal, and the slightest of smiles crept across his maw. Even though it was dark, he found that he could see her face clearly. The silver that outlined her dark form made her look otherworldly, like a StarClan cat who had come down from the sky. A brief thought of whether he looked the same way passed through his mind. "Is that so?" He mewed, "Then I'll keep searching. Thank you, Adderpaw."

At that moment, rustling sounded in the undergrowth. Scorchclaw's ears twitched, and he turned to face the direction that the sound had come from. The breeze picked up, carrying the sharp, rich scent of prey to the two cats. It did not take long for an idea to form in the tabby warrior's mind. "How about we have a little hunting competition?" Tilting his head slightly in questioning, he looked to Adderpaw. "As long as we stick close to the riverbank, it'll probably be safe. Are you game?"

The momentary display of tenderness had been unlike anything she had seen before in the normally composed and carefully veiled Scorchclaw, so while the glimpse a something akin to a proper emotion was rather pleasing, the ensuing feelings that followed weren't nearly as enjoyable. Adderpaw was much more contended to see her former denmate feel at ease- which was why her relief was practically tangible at his acknowledgment. Briefly flashing her own teeth in a quick, crooked grin, the young she-cat's eyes crinkled as she continued to gaze at the shadow-heavy tom. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to keep looking too. The concept of already having an established amount of kin waiting for her was comforting, but it didn't seem...enough.

The soft sounds emitted from within the undergrowth derailed any further processions of Adderpaw's thoughts, her features flashing with a noticeable interest. The soft breeze ruffled the heavy fur that clung to her face, tugging it ever so lightly as she was greeted with a nose full of enticing scents. Head tilting slightly at Scorchclaw's words, she tried to keep the coy simper from twisting her maw. Although her last monumental failure in front of the tom hadn't been entirely forgotten, the prospect of redemption was much too inviting. "Only if you're prepared to lose!" Adderpaw eagerly responded, a teasing note sweetening her brief statement.

Now that the moment had worn off, Scorchclaw couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. He had never displayed his weaknesses like that to others, and he had no idea just what had brought it on. To start off, why Adderpaw, of all cats? Was it because he felt more comfortable around her? He supposed they could more or less be considered friends. He had been trying to come up with something to say after Adderpaw had told him about her dead littermates, so why had he ended up saying such a thing? Was that supposed to have been an attempt to make her feel better? It was all really weird to him, so it came as a relief when the fluffy gray she-cat accepted his challenge of a hunting competition. He pushed the thoughts of what had just happened to the back of his mind and focused on his new challenge. As he did, he reverted back to his normal self.

Adjusting his stance carefully so as not to disturb the gravel underfoot, he carefully scanned the undergrowth to see where the sound had come from. He could more or less tell. He shot Adderpaw a glance as a smirk tugged lightly at the corners of his mouth."I'm prepared all right, prepared to win." The words that came out were a confident declaration of victory. Despite being a RiverClan cat, he was surprisingly competent at catching land prey. His chances of winning definitely weren't low. While he was a warrior and Adderpaw an apprentice, the age gap wasn't really that great either, so he didn't think he could be accused of winning due to that. "You can go first." He mewed, giving his companion an exaggerated tail gesture as he spoke.

Neck straining slightly to peer more deeply into the softly swaying foliage before them, Adderpaw's nose twitched briskly as she struggled to properly catch a glimpse at the unlucky critter. Tail giving a slight twitch of anticipation, a glimmer of interest simmered within the depths of her gaze at Scorchclaw's invitation. "If you insist!" Any remnants of the tender moment were quick to dissipate in the newfound competitive air. Mouth twisting wryly at the tom's exaggerated gesture, every step taken forward was equally exaggerated and unhurried. Stepping lightly to avoid disturbing the dry and frail undergrowth that unfolded around the pair in thick, hazardous swathes, Adderpaw folded into a somewhat neat crouch. Although it was best noted that hunting wasn't exactly her strongest skill, she wasn't about to be shown up by Scorchclaw of all cats!

She'd sooner get shown up by a ThunderClanner! Weight shifting precariously, the young she-cat's belly twisted anxiously with every slow movement forward across the rough gravel. The fact that it felt like Scorchclaw's eyes were burning a hole in her back did little to help. The closer she drew towards the tangle of reeds and shrubbery, the more the clear the enticing sounds became. Now that she was close enough to genuinely glance at the partially obscured creature, it was easy to pick out the plump mass of feathers that was lingering about just a tail-length ahead of her. It was a dove, right? Wriggling her shoulders for several heartbeats, Adderpaw exploded forwards through the remaining reeds and foliage before her, the ensuing loud crash startling the bird into flight.

Although, thankfully by the mercy of StarClan, after a moment of clumsy swatting and grappling, Adderpaw was able to pull the panicked dove back down into her awaiting claws. Easily dispatching the frightened bird, the young she-cat twisted around to gaze expectantly at Scorchclaw with a mouthful of limp bird. "How's that?" The muffled words were hardly intelligible.

The tabby warrior watched Adderpaw's movements with eyes narrowed in interest. His companion slipped across the gravel, quickly closing in on the source of the noises. For a heartbeat, time seemed frozen as she hesitated. Then she lunged forward, and the scene exploded into life. A bird burst forth from the lush foliage, desperately striving for the sky. The darkness obscured his vision somewhat, so he could not tell for sure what kind of bird it was. Adderpaw caught the hapless creature right when its freedom was but a wing's breadth away. There was a brief flurry of motion before she finished it off. As violently as it had struggled, it ceased just as suddenly. When the apprentice turned to face him, he got a better glimpse of the creature. It was a dove. Adderpaw's words sounded like muffled gibberish through the gray feathers, but he was able to tell what she was trying to say without actually hearing it. "Not bad," Scorchclaw said coolly, "but I can do better."

Drawing himself up to his full height, he began to search the surroundings for something he could catch. Although Adderpaw's catch had been clumsily executed, catching a bird was no small feat for RiverClanners, who didn't hunt much land prey. He had to find something better if he wanted to show her up. A rabbit would probably do the job, but it would be hard to find a rabbit just wandering around near the river, and even harder to catch it. Quickly, he abandoned the idea.

The shore was still and silent. As far as his eyes could pierce the darkness, nothing stirred. It seemed that Adderpaw's commotion had frightened what prey there had been away. Nevertheless, he decided to be patient. Straining his ears, Scorchclaw struggled to pick up the telltale sounds that were the scuffling of tiny feet. After a period of doing so, the waiting almost suffocating, his ears twitched. There. It was barely discernible, but he could definitely hear movement. Padding as lightly as possible, the fluffy tom crept in the direction he had heard the sound from. He did not have to get very close before he could make out the shadowy form of a rodent in the dense shrubbery. Like a snake emerging from the darkness, he pounced upon the unsuspecting creature. The last thing it ever saw was the frightening form of a clawed shadow bearing down on it, before its vision went dark. Scorchclaw picked up the now-dead prey, noting as he did so that it was a vole of some sort. "What do you think?" He mewed in triumph, after he had brought the vole back to Adderpaw, "A lot smoother than your attempt, right?"

As they continued in their hunting competition, the crescent moon overhead was their only witness.