On The Rocks [Closed]

There was something special about stepping onto Sunningrocks with her name - it was as if it was a new dawn...Her tail swished as she padded along the rocks, seeking out one that had the largest sunbeam. Honeytongue...The name still felt weird, unfamiliar but with every passing sunrise, it was feeling more and more like her. She was a warrior now, she had freedom and more responsibility. One day she would even get an apprentice, she was sure...Although she couldn't imagine such a day happening so soon. She shook her head as she sank onto the rocks, letting the warmth of the sun cause her pelt to glow golden. She wanted to make the most of her warriorship...And as a RiverClan cat, sunning was a very important part of that.

As a former RiverClan cat, sunning was a very important part of any day. Dacepaw had been warned the days were getting colder, so she meant to make the most of it. Her first thought was of Sunningrocks - it was always of Sunningrocks - but she knew she wasn't supposed to go there anymore. Not after what her pawpaw Torrentstar had said. Yet when the little apprentice began to wander in search of a place to sun, the terrain of ThunderClan's forest seemed to guide her paws up towards the broad-faced stones. Dacepaw didn't know if she would have kept going or not, but the presence of a RiverClan cat on the great rocks certainly gave her good cause to stop well within her side of the border.

The bright golden pelt and dark face that the she-cat sported sparked beacons of recognition in Dacepaw's head. She always tried very hard to remember names, but it had been almost two moons since she was in RiverClan. Some of them had slipped her mind. The face, though, she knew this cat. Dacepaw sat staring with a friendly expression towards the cat as she called, "Hi - I'm sorry, I hope you're not busy. I don't mean to bother you! I just was wondering - do I know you?" Her plume of a tail wrapped around her paws.

Honeytongue jolted at the voice, eyes snapping open as she glanced off to the side - fear leaping into her heart for a second as the last time she had seen a ThunderClan cat on the rocks, he had been attacking Stormbringer...But this was a she-cat, bright-eyed and bushed tailed as she peaked from the ThunderClan border. Did she know her? The question confused Honeytongue - she had only met a single ThunderClan cat before and it had been a tom. She opened her mouth, ready to deny it but...

No, she did know her.

Her mouth closed as she peered at the she-cat, tail swishing as she tried to put a name to the face. There was something about her that was strikingly familiar, and slowly memories started to bubble in her mind, flashes of being a kit in the nursery...Of standing at her father's side as Jaystar died and watching a mottled pelt disappear from the gathering of cats... "Dacepaw!" she gasped suddenly as the name of the she-cat hit her. She wasn't sure if Dacepaw was still an apprentice, being in ThunderClan but it was the safer bet to go with. "My name is Honeytongue - we were in the nursery together," she added before she smiled softly. "Its so good to see you, how has ThunderClan been treating you?"

The cat was startled, and Dacepaw winced slightly, immediately ducking her head as a form of reassurance that she meant no harm. The Riverclan she-cat sat up and stared, contemplating for a bit with her tail swishing. Well, she hadn't said no yet, right? Dacepaw's face only grew more hopeful as the golden cat considered her, and then after a long moment she exclaimed, "Dacepaw!" "That's me!" she cried brightly in reply, and without hesitation her characteristically thunderous purr kicked in. The she-cat, Honeytongue, continued, explaining how they knew each other, and the pieces settled for Dacepaw too.

"Yes! The nursery! I knew I recognized you!" the ThunderClan apprentice cheered, the tip of her tail twitching with contentment. Still seated pleasantly on her side of the border, she already felt at ease with this she-cat she once knew - and still could. "I like it here, though... I miss the river, and fish," Dacepaw admitted, only a touch of bitterness in her voice. She looked down past Sunningrocks to the flowing body of water and then back to Honeytongue, chattering innocently, "My best friend Houndpaw doesn't like how fish smells, so I had to stop eating it when Sparkfrost brought me here."

Honeytongue's smile faded ever so slightly when Dacepaw - which sound like she was still an apprentice seeing how she hadn't corrected her - express missing the river and fish. Honeytongue wasn't sure she could ever dream of leaving RiverClan, not only out of loyalty but because it was her way of life...She wasn't sure if she could ever be truly happy in another Clan when the rivers were practically in her blood. "That's understandable...It is very sweet of you to give up fish for your friend's sake...and I don't know how happy my father would be if you were taking fish for even a rare treat," she admitted as she glanced out at the river. As she mentioned Torrentstar, she found herself pausing a little as she recall the events of the Gathering a couple moons ago - of Torrentstar giving Dacepaw an ultimatum in front of everybody. "...I'm happy that you are happy there," she meowed as she turned her attention back to the apprentice. "That you are making friends...I'm sorry for what Torrentstar said at the Gathering, even if its not my place to speak on his actions."

Dacepaw was pleased when Honeytongue joined in her conversation, though she certainly understood the sadness on the warrior's face as Dacepaw explained having to give up fish. It made her sad, too. At the comment of Torrentstar, though, the ThunderClan apprentice found her eyes ducking to the ground. She scuffed a little paw on the stony earth. Honeytongue went quiet, too; she was lost in her own thoughts, most likely, and so Dacepaw let her have a moment of peace. After a moment, Honeytongue's voice spoke up again. She expressed happiness for Dacepaw's living situation, and then brought up the drama and heartbreak of the Gathering.

"It's... okay," Dacepaw lied, looking back up to the pretty green-eyed she-cat. "He's the leader and... and he's right: even if I didn't know what I was doing when I did it, I deserted RiverClan, and RiverClan doesn't need deserters. It deserves only the best." She shook her head dismissively, willing the sad thoughts away. Did Sparkfrost know that she would've been unwelcome back home? Why didn't he tell her to return? Why did he have to leave at all? She smiled sadly at Honeytongue and said, "I love RiverClan. I love ThunderClan, too. I'll still love Torrentstar even if he's mad at me. Maybe someday I'll be able to make it up to him."

Honeytongue gave Dacepaw a sad look as she spoke, a soft sigh escaping her. She was right, RiverClan did deserve the best...So why did it seem that the best kept leaving? Sparkfrost, Hailsong, Salmonburn...Even Dappleshine. ...But Dappleshine was a tough question, she didn't know what had happened. She had heard yowls between the two but hadn't dared venture from the apprentice den. But she was gone and Torrentstar seemed unlikely to answer what had happened - simply calling her a traitor and giving no answer of where she had gone if he had any idea. Honeytongue didn't believe it, she couldn't believe it. Dappleshine was like a sister to her, she was the nicest cat that she knew and she couldn't picture her leaving and...

Oh StarClan, Dacepaw didn't know. She couldn't have known, she would be surprised if Torrentstar would breath a word about it and... "I don't know about that," she admitted softly, a sigh escaping her as she shook her head. She didn't want to bear the sad truth but... "Father...Torrentstar, ever since...Ever since gaining his name I would dare to say he isn't the same cat he once was," she said softly, although being loud enough that Dacepaw could hear her from where she stood. She actually doubted that part - perhaps he had never changed, perhaps she had never known her father as well as she thought she did... "I think...I think all the recent events have hurt him so badly and I am unsure if he is willing to let any cat close to him. I want to try - I think I am suppose to try to help him heal but...I'm just not sure...But I'll do my best, Dacepaw," she promised as she slowly slide her sadness behind a mask of smiles and warmth. "I'll try to see if I can get him to forgive you - it wasn't your choice to leave after all and...I'm glad that it seems that Oakstar is treating you right."

Despite Dacepaw's typical words of optimism and hope, Honeytongue's response was uncertain and uneasy. Dacepaw's whiskers twitched as she listened to the RiverClan warriors words about the new Torrenstar - how he'd changed since he'd received his new name. She listened intently to the golden she-cat's confession, and her suspicion that the RiverClan leader had undergone much - too much. Dacepaw felt guilty; she knew she had been one of those to hurt him, and she hated it. She rarely had to think about it in camp during the day, but at night... She missed saying her RiverClan Clanmates' names in her nightly prayer. She missed when she didn't have to say her father's name even when she couldn't see him.

Still, like Dacepaw, Honeytongue seemed to have a ceaseless drive to find optimism. The golden warrior explained that she believed she was supposed to try to help him heal. She suggested kindly, a smile slipping onto her face, that she'd try to get Torrentstar to understand someday. "You're really kind. I'm glad I got to see you, Honeytongue," Dacepaw purred. She blinked warmly at the other she-cat and meowed, "You got your warrior name before me - I bet it'll be that way for a while. Who was your mentor?"

Honeytongue couldn't help but purr at Dacepaw's compliment. She tried her hardest to be kind - she didn't fault Dacepaw for her choice to stay in ThunderClan, Torrentstar hadn't made it easy to pick with his stunt at the Gathering...People's choices were their own, as long as they didn't hurt another cat, that was fine...But again, she supposed what happened with Dacepaw did hurt Torrentstar in some way. Her tail swished to her side, before she blinked at the question of who her mentor was. Oh, right...It was a tad odd that Honeytongue was made a warrior before her, the apprentice was older than her even if Honeytongue found she had a very...Kit-ish face and could easily pass as a young apprentice but that had its own charm to it.

"Ivybrook," she answered. "Well....Hailsong was my first mentor, but she took it upon herself to chase down some foxes that were endangering the camp and...She never returned, but neither have the foxes so..." she noted. "Ivybrook took over once it seemed that Hailsong wasn't returning. She was a very good mentor thought, she helped with my training despite having another apprentice and also the burden of being deputy. She is a very strong she-cat and I'm so thankful that I got to know her better as my mentor...What about you, what is your mentor like?" she asked. She couldn't recall who had served as Dacepaw's mentor in RiverClan in the short while she was there, not that she thought it really mattered - from what she remembered, Dacepaw hadn't been an apprentice for long before her and her father had disappeared.

The ThunderClan apprentice wasn't even the least bit put out by her observation that the younger cat had earned her full name more quickly; in fact, Dacepaw felt no bitterness or disappointment at retaining her apprentice name. She had so much to learn, and she loved that Dawngaze got to be the one to teach her so much of it. Dacepaw truly felt pleased that Honeytongue had earned the respect of her Clan and Clanmates and learned what she needed to become a fully-named warrior. She must have earned it! When Honeytongue explained Ivybrook had been her mentor, Dacepaw chirped slightly and questioned, "Auntivybrook, you mean?" She'd never been corrected about her interpretation of her kin's name.

The tortoiseshell listened with both interest and sympathy as the RiverClan cat explained her training situation. It had taken a while, and it was a shame about the loss of Hailsong - a fuzzy memory in Dacepaw's mind told her that RiverClan had lost someone else important the day that she and Sparkfrost left, too - but still Honeytongue had made her way. Dacepaw nodded enthusiastically at the compliments about Auntivybrook. "She was always really fun, I like her," Dacepaw purred.

She gladly explained, "My mentor's name is Dawngaze! She's really pretty! She's got this fun long patchy fur and these shiny eyes, and she's so tough. She saved me from a raccoon on one of my first times hunting out of camp." The memory was distant enough that Dacepaw's bright and cheery demeanor didn't dull at all as she turned her face from side to side, showing Honeytongue the scars on her cheeks. "She's gonna teach me how to fight 'em so I can't get hurt again." Memories of training with Addershade were fleeting; they'd only gotten together a few days, long enough to see the territory and swim and learn basic fishing.

Dawngaze, huh? It wasn't a name Honeytongue recognized but she hadn't been expecting to in the first place. She listened intently to Dacepaw go on, her heart sinking sadly at the sight of the scars that lined her cheek. Honeytongue didn't know what a raccoon was, she had heard the name of the small creature but hadn't really seen one or even knew what they looked like. "She sounds great, Dacepaw," she added with a purr as she finally forced herself into a sitting position. "I've always found the other Clans so curious...We act like we are tree-branches apart in ideals and rarely think to take things from their point of view...But cats like you, who end up in another Clan at some point in their lives..." she paused, before she gave a soft shrug of her shoulders. "I think its proof that we aren't as different as it seems and so many troubles could be solved by talking things out instead of leaping into the idea of bloodshed first..."

The conversation seemed to be going well; the RiverClan cat, who had sat up when thinking someone was threatening her borders most likely, slowly settled into a sitting position as Dacepaw shared about her ThunderClan mentor. The apprentice finished speaking and then Honeytongue was purring, explaining how she'd always found the other Clans interesting. The ThunderClan apprentice, feeling trusted by her former Clanmate, took several steps closer to the border and stopped just before touching it, sitting and sweeping her thick tail around her body. She listened and nodded in deep agreement to Honeytongue's words.

"I don't wanna have to fight just 'cause I don't understand," Dacepaw mewed, looking into Honeytongue's eyes for confirmation that they felt a similar way. "I... I really like all the things I've learned here, but I still deeply treasure the things I learned at home--er, um, in RiverClan," Dacepaw explained, stumbling over her true feelings for the Clan across the river a bit. "I wish I could've learned more. Or even learn from another Clan. You know, WindClan catches rabbits. And they sleep without any dens!"

"Exactly!" Honeytongue exclaimed, her tail swishing as her eyes brighten. She was overjoyed to find another cat who shared her feelings on such matter - reminded of Marshpaw of ShadowClan...She felt bad that she hadn't gone to the last Gathering but couldn't wait for the next one...Hopefully she would get to see Marshpaw again and who knows, perhaps he would be a warrior by then as well. "We tend to get so distracted by what makes us... Us that we barely think about the other Clans as equals. I don't think I could ever be happy living in another Clan forever but...To get an idea of how they live, how they see the world...It could maybe do so much in helping the Clans live in peace. I'll fight if I have to but...I wouldn't want to fight another Clan if there was peaceful away to solve the problem..."

She paused, fur fluffing up in slight embarrassment as she realized she was rambling. She always did this, the moment she found somebody who shared her same dreams of peace for the Clans she would go on and on about what she thought about it. She shook her head as she let out a soft, nervous laugh. "Ha...Sorry, I'm rambling. I know my dreams are lofty - there will always be bad blood between the Clans but...I've seen so much pain and suffering," she meowed, her voice taking on a sad tone as she reflected the heartache she had seen in her Clanmates. "I want to do everything in my power to ease their burdens, to make them happy and...Avoiding fights seems like the best way to do so. I'll still focus on the smaller steps to cheer people up but if I could ever stop a fight with my words...Bloodshed doesn't have to rule the forest." She paused, wincing. "...I really need to stop rambling like this, sorry."

About this, Honeytongue and Dacepaw certainly agreed. Both of them quickly became a little more animated, their faces brightening with thoughtfulness and desire. The ThunderClan apprentice listened with delight and admiration as Honeytongue explained that, while her true home was with RiverClan, she would like to see how the other Clans live and experience what they go through. The trials they face, their point of view. Dacepaw nodded enthusiastically, her thunderous purr beginning to grow quickly in intensity. She agreed wholeheartedly with Honeytongue's view, her mind brightening with scenarios in which the warrior or herself could defuse a situation - perhaps even between RiverClan and ThunderClan - with their knowledge of the other.

However, Honeytongue's happy exclamations quickly turned into a gentle expression of wistful sadness. Dacepaw shook her head slightly at the warrior's initial dismissal of her own dream, but Honeytongue continued anyways. RiverClan had suffered loss and pain, and they had grieved and mourned. Honeytongue only wanted them to feel better, and Dacepaw felt that deep in her core. Again Honeytongue apologized, and this time Dacepaw shook her head fervently, forgetting herself and standing up and crossing the border. "No, Honeytongue, not at all!" Dacepaw protested, innocently moving towards Sunningrocks with the intention of comforting the she-cat. "I feel the same way, you should never be sorry for being kind, and you should never be sorry for telling your feelings to a friend."

Honeytongue smiled softly at Dacepaw as the she-cat moved to approach, forgetting in the moment about the borders as well...But then she remembered that Dacepaw was not a RiverClan cat anymore and there was rules in place. She blinked, once...Twice...And felt conflicted. "Dacepaw," she warned softly as she glanced over to the side, praying that there wasn't a RiverClan cat in sight. "You've crossed the border." She remembered her father's decree, the threat if Dacepaw was ever to cross the border but...Honeytongue couldn't attack her, it was clear that Dacepaw meant no harm in her actions...And they both wanted peace, after all. She stood up, quickly padding toward the apprentice although she was careful to keep her body language calm and relaxed. "Come on, I can sit next to the border to make this a bit easier - I just don't want any of my Clanmates to come along while you are over here and..." she drifted off, giving a shake of her head although she thought it was rather clear where she was about to go. "Also I don't know if any of your Clanmates would be happy to see you on Sunningrocks as well."