Shadow's Light (closed)

Stoatclaw padded into the moonlit clearing of Fourtrees. The long trip from Skyclan's territory had felt like an eternity, though his fear of traveling the Thunderpath at night may have played a part in that. Still, Stoatclaw couldn't deny he was excited for this meeting. The tom traveled to the base of the Tallrock, settling himself on the side that faced shadowclan's land before placing his tail neatly over his paws. Stoatclaw could feel his heart racing as he scanned the dark horizon for signs of his friend.

Lighttail’s heart pounded as she slipped through the marsh, paws tracing the edges of the shadows and bright white tail kept out of the moonlight. More than ever, she didn’t want to be caught. Somehow tonight was very different.

And there he was. Her heart skipped a beat. “Stoatclaw,” she mewed, forcing a smile. Why is this so hard? “So… um, we need to talk. I know we haven’t talked in a while since the Great Shake, but um, around then I kinda… had a thing happen with a rogue. At the time I was hurting so bad and he helped me forget for a little while. But I realized too late that he didn’t love me and deep down I didn’t love him either. But I… I had his kits. Alone. He left us. They were born too soon, and none of them made it.” Tears welled up in her eyes. Lighttail had never told anyone the full truth of her relationship with Astraeus or her kits, and somehow saying it aloud made the loss feel more real. “Anyway, I’m telling you this because, well, I… I think I like you. Like like-like. And maybe I have for a long time and I was too mousebrained to see it. You can reject me now if you want and we don’t ever have to see each other again, but you deserve to know the truth of what I’ve done before you decide.”

Stoatclaw greeted the molly with a bright smile. As she began speaking however the smile ran from the tom's face. A rogue? Kits? The tom felt an odd feeling swirling in his belly, was that anger? "I-I'm sorry. Losing them must have been hard on you." And I should have been there for you. Stoatclaw had missed multiple gatherings these past moons, and while one or two of those hadn't been his fault he should have pushed Birdstar into letting him join. Maybe then he could have comforted her like a true friend.

Like, like-like. Immediately the tom's heart began racing. Stoatclaw's feelings for the Shadowclanner had always felt different from his feelings towards Astershine, but until now he had attributed that to Lighttail being his first friend. Now however, he could tell they were different. The amount of joy those simple words had brought him, the amount of joy she always brought him. Even in Skyclan she was always on his mind, seeing her at the gatherings was something he looked forward to every moon. How hadn't he figured it out by now?

"If I never saw you again I'd think I was living in the Dark Forest. Stoatclaw crossed the clearing in a few heartbeats, positioning himself in front of Lighttail. "I don't like-like you Lighttail. I think- no, I know I love you." Stars stars stars, his mind felt like it was about to melt at the admission. If this were some kind of cruel joke he wouldn't know what to do. His next question was a betrayal to his clan and the warrior code, but honestly he didn't care one bit. "Will you be my mate?" Fire, blazing all along his pelt and in his head, if he got any warmer Fourtrees would catch fire.

He wasn’t happy. She knew it. She knew it. She knew it. He hated her now, just like any cat in their right mind would. And then he… apologized? He… still wanted to be friends!

And then he said those words. ”I love you.” The strange tingling Lighttail had felt on and off since the lightning strike roared to life, but she fought it. He… loved her? How could he? She felt like she was drowning all over again.

“I - I, I… You love me?” she stammered, then broke down crying. “Why? I… Stoatclaw, I think I love you but I’m still working it out. This is different than how I felt for Astraeus but I was still wrong once. I.. I just…” Oh, screw this. “Yes. I love you and I don’t know how the heck we’re gonna make this work but we’ll make it work.” She threw herself forward, shoving her face into his chest fur. “We’re both mousebrains, aren’t we Stoatclaw?” she mumbled.