Sharing Stories (c)

Honeypaw

Honeypaw was bored and restless. It was late evening, and it was a little too late at night to go out and do anything outside of camp. Or at least, Honeypaw didn’t think he could convince anyone to take him out this late. He was far too awake to sleep though, so he just sat outside the apprentices den. He flopped over on his side, lazily stretching out, when he spotted a warrior also sitting outside not far from him.

Honeypaw brightened. He hadn’t spoken to this particular warrior before, but perhaps he was just as bored as Honeypaw. Or at least, maybe he would enjoy a little company. Besides, the warrior looked to be a little older, and Honeypaw had been hoping to speak to warriors who’d lived before the Dark Forests invasion. He wanted to know what his clan had been like before… all of that. Maybe learn a little more about the mysterious Starclan while he was at it.

So with his mind made up, Honeypaw rolled back over and got to his feet. He trotted over to Duskflight and gave him a warm smile. “Hi! I’m Honeypaw,” He said, pitching his voice a little lower than normal, conscious of the fact that many cats have already settled down for the night. “Is it alright if I sit with you?” He asked hopefully, tilting his head a little to the side.

Duskflight

Duskflight gazed at his paws, letting time pass by as he sat in silence. There was another cat around at this time, strange enough, but he left them alone. However, the tom hadn't expected to be approached by them. A younger clanmate — an apprentice.. But he'd give it a try. It's been a while since he'd talked to someone younger than him. "Go ahead, I don't mind." He offered a warm smile. Well, at least he didn't seem unapproachable by his younger clanmates. Glancing above, though only for a while, the black-furred tom gazed at the stars, as well as the night sky — then returned to look at Honeypaw.

"So, did you need anything? Or simply unable to fall asleep?"

Honeypaw

Honeypaw smiled at Duskflight, settling down beside him. “Unable to fall asleep. And I like being with other cats.” He chuckled softly. “By the way, what’s your name? It’s nice to meet you. Officially, I mean, I’ve seen you around camp before.” He giggled.

He hoped he wasn’t being too talkative, he knows he can be really chatty sometimes. But he gets excited, and he likes getting to spend time with his fellow clanmates.

Duskflight

"Well, I guess that makes the two of us. Nice to meet you officially too, Honeypaw. I'm Duskflight." The tom purred. Gazing at Honeypaw.. Duskflight suddenly found himself somewhat more nostalgic. "You know.. you remind me a lot of my younger self," He began, "I was a lot more cheerful and sociable back then, just like you. I loved seeing new cats, and being able to talk to everyone. My clanmates, too, especially." He'd close his eyes, letting himself sink into his memories again.. before opening his eyes.

"..Though things have changed, I still adore my clanmates. I'd do anything to protect them, honestly." Blinking, the tom composed himself again, attempting to lightly chuckle things off. "Sorry for my rambling. I don't do so very often, but somehow, I felt in the mood to do so now. I hope you didn't mind?"

Honeypaw

Honeypaw smiled softly listening to Duskflight, tucking his paws underneath himself and getting comfortable. “I don’t mind at all!” He promised. “Honestly, I was hoping to learn more about… I don’t know, you, the clan, what things were like before…” He trailed off and looked up at the stars he’s still not used to seeing in the sky. “Well, you know.” His tail flicks.

He looked at Duskflight again. “My point is, I like listening to other cats. Ramble away.” He chuckled. “I like listening.” He gave Duskflight a bright smile.

Duskflight

Duskflight's gaze softened, glad to have somebody to listen to him. Maybe that was what he needed for so long. "Well, in that case, I'd be glad to continue." He followed Honeypaw, stretching, before laying down. "But first, perhaps you should talk to Swiftheart if you haven't already. She's a great conversation starter." The tom would nod in approval.

"Well.. going further back, did you know I've met Murkystar ever since she was a warrior? Though that was when I was still a kit. I remember how much I've admired her ever since kithood, and I still do, even now. Flintstar, or Flintshard was our leader then. He retired soon after Murkystar became deputy, though, and now how quickly has time passed by. Frostgaze will soon be Froststar, and Nightstalker will one day be leader, too."

Casting a wink to Honeypaw, he continued. "StarClan had always and will continue to be up in the sky for the five clans to depend on. The only exception was what happened when The Dark Forest cats rose not too far ago," He gave a low growl but sighed. "Everything was so well then. The only harshest challenge, though, was the harshness Leaf-bare brought to the clans. We all learned from it, however. Someday, you'll experience it too."

Honeypaw

Honeypaw giggled at the comment about Swiftheart and he nods eagerly, softly saying, “Oh yes, Swiftheart is a good friend,” He said before letting Duskflight speak uninterrupted.

His eyes widened as he listened to Duskflight talk about the different leaders he met. He didn’t get much of a chance to truly know Murkystar. Even his apprentice ceremony had been done by Frostgaze. All he knew is how well-loved Murkystar had been by the clan before her death; he hadn’t even known who the leader was before Murkystar. It was really interesting to know more about his clans history. He smiled at Duskflight’s wink.

He turned his eyes towards Starclan as Duskflight talked about them, trying to imagine what it would’ve been like to have always had them there. “I don’t remember leaf-bare. I think I was born towards the end of it, but I was really young. I didn’t even know the dark forest cats were unusual to have in camp until…after the battle. Sometimes it’s really strange how… the things that were my normal were actually a nightmare for most cats.”

“It’s like how… you know how sometimes, when you fall asleep, your dreams can feel really real? And then you wake up, and it feels really hard to adjust to being awake again.” He shook his head, then looked at Duskflight. “I don’t know. I just know I look forward to seeing more of what Shadowclan is like without that,” He smiled, and rested his chin on his paws, silently encouraging Duskflight to tell him more.

Duskflight

Duskflight widened his eyes, glancing away with a short cough; a poor attempt to hide his embarrassment. She really was a good friend though. "If you think about it that way, I suppose so... It's strange. Newleaf and Greenleaf will be a breeze for you. It does get a bit chillier in Leaffall, though, so beware." He'd continue to listen to Honeypaw, and gave a small nod each time he paused. "Yeah. ShadowClan is pretty amazing, even now." He smiled, ready to tell another one of his stories as the apprentice waited for him.

"I've never gotten to tell a cat so many stories," He mewed in amusement. "But I'll share one last one with you now before we both have to go do our own duties." The tom recalled back to a memory, then spoke. "Have you ever been to The Pine Grove? Y'know, the place where plenty of prey is available? Well, I went there was Deerleap once while it was Leafbare. Deerleap was my daughter, then still Deerpaw. I still remember then was before Snakebite and Fuzzypaw, both my sons were still being carried by Ivycreek, a molly I dearly loved. But she's gone missing for moons since their birth, and all attempts to search for her were all in vain." Duskflight frowned.

"Though I still miss her, I've learned to acknowledge that she's gone. Continuing my story, Deerleap and I hunted for prey... or, well, it was only her that hunted. I stood out like a crow amongst the white snow. Each of my attempts to hunt was in vain, and instead, I became a predator magnet." He sighed, showing Honeypaw the few injuries that were left on him from the raccoon and snake attacks. "It's weirdly amusing, thinking back on it now. We managed to fight them off quickly, but it felt as if a nest of predators had been aiming for us. Her pelt was brown and white, so it didn't stand out as much as mine."

"During the Finale Battle, she sacrificed herself along with Sootwhisker. I was devasted, but her daughter, Snowfoot, was more concerned with the aftermath. I was torn. All of my dear friends, who I considered family, were leaving me — yet the ones who were my family still remained. I wish they could've stayed, Honeypaw, but Snowfoot's right. I can't keep mourning for the dead. I've got to care for the ones that I'm still able to protect, too."

Honeypaw

Honeypaw listened quietly, his heart going out to Duskflight for those he’d lost. Still, he chuckles a bit as Duskflight tells of sticking out in the snow, and his eyes widened looking at the scars. He looked up at Duskflight again as he wrapped up the tale, and he nodded.

“I’m sorry for Deerleap's loss, Duskflight.” Honeypaw said softly. “I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been. Must still be. But I hope you’re able to find peace with the rest of the clan.” He smiled a bit, and let them both sit in quiet contemplation for a moment.

Then, the young apprentice interrupted the quiet with a stifled yawn. Try as he might, relaxing with Duskflight made his body remember how tired he actually was. “Thank you for telling me all of that,” He said. “I know we should probably both get to bed, but if you ever want a listening ear again, I’m always around!” He gave Duskflight another one of those big smiles as he stretched out and got to his feet.