I've Got a Confession (Firelight and Darkstorm)

[~Night~]

Darkstorm

The pretty tortoiseshell warrior pushed her way into the warriors den. She was the only one in the warriors den at this time. She had just gotten back to camp. She had spent the morning on patrols, hunting, and training with her apprentice, Redpaw. The morning had seemed to last forever. She was glad for a break at last.

Settling down in the thick, soft moss, she tucked her forepaws under her chest neatly. Her non-matching eyes closed, but she was not asleep. She was pondering a thought, a feeling.

I'm in love with Firelight? Do I tell him? But if he doesn't feel the same way, then I may ruin our friendship. Darkstorm’s mind raced. She didn't know what to do. I have to tell him. She decided with determination as she opened her pretty eyes.

[echo]

Firelight
.
A flame colored pelt blazed under the bright skies of sunhigh. The whisper of numerous leaves filled the air, lush and green. Bird song echoed, and even in camp, he could hear the various rustlings in the undergrowth outside of the clearing, telling of bountiful prey. Greenleaf. Firelight's jaws parted in a yawn as he rolled onto his back, soaking in the warm sunlight. Purple eyes bright with energy, the young warrior climbed to his paws, giving his loose fur a shake. Dust and bits of grass clung to his pelt from when he had gone hunting awhile before. Cleaning had never been at the top of his list of priorities.

Firelight's ears pricked when a familiar scent reached his nose, and he turned his head to look. A fluffy, black-and-ginger tail had just vanished into the warriors' den. Darkstorm's finally back, he mused, somewhat annoyed that it had taken her so long. Even if the she-cat had been preoccupied with patrols and mentoring. Mentoring...I still haven't been given an apprentice. How long will it take? Shaking the wistful thought out of his head, the tom padded toward the den, eager to catch up on news with his friend.

The pair had become apprentices together, and then warriors. They'd been partners in pranks. But now that they were warriors, there seemed to be no more spare time left for them to mess around. Firelight poked his head inside, seeing Darkstorm's shape in a particularly comfortable pile of moss. What? Is she asleep? Disappointed, he remained standing, purple eyes still focused on her still form.

[~Night~]

Darkstorm

A familiar scent filled her nose, and made her heart begin to race. Her eyes opened immediately, and it took a second for them to adjust to the darkness. The ginger tom was standing nearby, studying her. He must have thought I was sleeping! She thought.

Hey. How has your day been? She asked brightly. Her eyes betrayed her thoughts, which were racing so fast through her mind it was a wonder she could still speak competently at all.I must tell him now, or I may never get the nerve to tell him. I have to.

She untucked her paws from beneath her chest, and set them in front of her. She pushed them under a bit on moss to hide the fact that she was fidgeting nervously. Take the chance now or you'll never know. Take the chance. Take the chance. You have to tell him. Just hope that he feels the same. Darkstorm thought to herself.

[echo]

Firelight

"How has your day been?" The warrior regarded his friend curiously,seeing the anxious shine in his den mate's mismatched eyes. Did something happen? Though her voice was cheerful, there was also a hidden note of urgency. Somewhat worried, Firelight settled down, laying his tail over his paws. I hope she's alright.

"I'm fine," the ginger tom replied, flicking his ears. "But, are you okay?"

[~Night~]

Darkstorm

Darkstorm answered his question only by nodding mutely. She took a silent deep breath, still fidgeting with her paws. Firelight... I... I have a confession. There was no going back now.

She looked at her forepaws once more. She just stared at the moss that was twitching slightly as she moved her paws beneath it. For a moment, she only stared at her paws, then she took a deep breath and looked up. Her eyes shone with determination.

Well... She began. She paused to take another breath. She could barely believe that she was actually doing this. She could ruin everything. But she had already said she had a confession. It was too late to turn back now. Much, much too late.

I... I... I... She stuttered. I love you. It's okay if you don't feel the same way... But I had to tell you. You're my best friend and I'm so sorry if things are gonna be awkward between us now, but... I had to tell you. I don't think I could have told you another time, but I want you to know.

Her rambling faded into silence. Darkstorm looked at her paws, which she had now pulled close to her body. She felt a wave of shyness wash over her.The normally outgoing cat, who wasn't afraid to challenge a leader or scold a kit in front of the entire clan, was now too shy to even look up from her paws. She shifted uncomfortably, sitting up slightly more, and wrapping her tail around her paws. She stared at the moss, one question echoing in her mind. What have I done?

[echo]

Firelight

The young warrior suppressed a snort of disbelief at her answer. She sure doesn't seem 'okay' to me. He lifted a paw and began licking it, purple eyes half-closed. But as the words left his friend's mouth, he froze, instantly curious. A confession? As in a secret maybe? Firelight let his paw drop back to the soft ground, and gazed intently at Darkstorm, eager for her to continue.

From the way she seemed to be fidgeting and the quivering patch of moss, it seemed like an especially big deal. Ears pricked, he waited for her to continue. A shiver of apprehension went down his spine, as though he already knew what was coming next. Firelight stared unblinking at her, feeling tension bubble up inside of him as Darkstorm spoke. For a heartbeat, he wondered if she was joking, if she was suddenly going to leap up and shout, "Gotcha!" But when no such thing happened, all he could do was look at her, stunned into silence. S-She loves me? Do I love her, too? She's my best friend, but...

Thoughts swirled in his mind, and a storm of emotions raged in him. Shock, relief, confusion, and more. How do I know if I love her, or if we're just friends? Firelight wondered, dazed and disconcerted. What should I say now? That I feel the same way? He took a breath, ready to speak. He would tell her the truth.

"Um...I, well, I don't really know what to say," he began, choking slightly. Stammering, Firelight forced himself to continue. "I mean, I really like you, b-but I don't know if...I don't know if I love you or if I just think of you as a friend." He stopped, suddenly finding it hard to sit still. C'mon, c'mon Firelight! Don't just, just stop! Say something! Something, anything. Just don't act like a mouse-brained fool sitting her babbling! Instead of saying something intelligent, what came out of his mouth was, "Uh um."

[~Night~]

Darkstorm

Darkstorm sighed. I shouldn't have said anything. She felt bad for putting Firelight on the spot like that. She chanced one look at her best friend, the cat she loved. It seemed he had no idea how to respond. Who would? She thought to herself. The shock of a connfession like that could stun anyone.

She studied her paws some more, becoming temporarily fixated on the black and ginger pattern of them. Her eyes just stared for a short moment. Say something Darkstorm. Come on. Change the Subject. Anything. Come on.

You know what I realized during Sleetpad's kits apprentice ceremony? Darkstorm asked, trying to change the subject. I mean, other than that I love you... She thought.

I'm getting old! Darkstorm said, trying to be funny. I shouted at Eaglekit for yelling and sneaking in late, even though, how often did we used to do that? She looked up for a moment. I kinda miss being an apprentice. We're not allowed to pull pranks now. I really miss that.

[echo]

Firelight

Secretly letting out a silent sigh of relief, the ginger tom relaxed slightly, but jerked up as Darkstorm spoke. "What? No! I mean, erm, I'm glad you told me!" he interjected, but stopped as she stared down at her paws. She was just as uncomfortable as he was, if not more. Though awkward, he truly was grateful his friend had said it.Would she believe me? Firelight looked around the den, taking in the familiar thorn walls and the rumpled nests.

He glanced toward Darkstorm, listening. The tom didn't know what else to do. He gave a grudging smile, for he understood how she felt.It was hard not to wish for those days. "Yeah." Firelight nodded in agreement. "I know what you mean. Things have changed a lot since then. But you know what? We still can play pranks--especially on the younger cats. We'll just have to been even sneakier that before." A spark of his usual mischief lit his eyes, and he was almost able to act as if the whole confession business had never happened. Almost.

[~Night~]

Darkstorm

The small warrior pricked her ears forward. I wish Fieryheart would hurry up and give you an Apprentice already. If she thinks I'm capable of handling an apprentice, then certainly you are too. And my Apprentice pretty much hates me.

She was so relieved that the subject had been changed. There was still the lingering awkwardness, but she ignored it. Firelight, please don't ask why she hates me. I wouldn't feel right telling you that she likes you. Not becuase I want you to choose me over her, becuase I want you to be happy. She doesn't even like me because you're my best friend... If I told her how she feels about you... Well I don't wanna think about what she would do when she found out.... She pleaded silently.

It's all Eaglekit's fault. He yowled, and made Whirlclaw's kits come. If he had kept his mouth shut, you and I could be training our apprentices together, messing with their minds some... Her eyes got the familiar miscievious look. The same look she had had many times as an apprentice. She sat up in the moss, still ignoring the lingering awkwardness.

While you're still free from an apprentice, perhaps we should mess with my apprentice. I'm sure Redpaw wouldn't mind if I brought a friend along for her training. Darkstorm offered. Her eyes barely showed any trace of her thoughts this time. Redpaw will be glad if Firelight came too, but I'm not so sure how pleased she would be when I didn't leave the two of them alone... I'm her mentor, so it's my responsibility for training her, not that I don't trust Firelight completely.

[echo]

Firelight

He muttered an agreement, remembering, with a touch of wistfulness, that he still hadn't received an apprentice. Even though so many kits recently became apprentices, the ginger thought. But he knew better than to complain to their newest leader. It wouldn't help at all--it would probably make things worse.

Both of their voices were light and casual, but nagging constantly at the back of his mind was that Darkstorm loved him. Even still, he was careful to ignore the odd feeling. Then Firelight registered what she'd said. "Your apprentice hates...why?" He mewed, puzzled. "Ah...never mind. I wouldn't mind tagging along when you're training her." The thought cheered him up a bit, partly because he could play a prank on her, and partly because it would give him a chance to show how he'd do with an apprentice.

[~Night~]

Darkstorm

Be glad that you don't have an apprentice yet. They don't leave any spare time for pranks... or extra sleep. Darkstorm said, trying to look at the upside of Firelight not having an apprentice yet. She sighed, realizing how tired she actually was. She'd had to get up much earlier since she had gotten an apprentice, and was still going to sleep much later. There was so much to do, then with the added responsibilty of Redpaw's training...

I'm still trying to avoid fight training with Redpaw. I'm afraid she won't want to stop if she manages to knock me down The small tortoiseshell joked, sitting up to show off her small size. Shifting her weight onto one forepaw, she lifted the other paw and flicked a small peice of moss from it.

The she-cat's mind wandered back to her days as an apprentice. She had been thinking alot about her apprentice days lately.But I had to go through three mentors. I hope that no other apprentice have to go through three mentors before they receive their warrior names. I seem to be living in the past alot these days. Thinking more about my apprentice days when I should be focusing on my warrior tasks.

OOC: Srry for da late reply. My muse is dead, so I'm forcing myself to write something at least half decent. *pokes with stick*

[echo]

Firelight

"Having an apprentice can't be all that bad. Otherwise no one would ever want one," he purred, amused. "Besides, I don't want any newer warriors getting an apprentice before me. That would just be...wierd. I mean, what if when your apprentice, Redpaw becomes a warrior and get an apprentice before I ever do?" The ginger tom sighed, sweeping his tail around the den. When will Fierystar give me an apprentice? Is it all because I got in so much trouble before?

Keeping his doubts hidden, Firelight managed a grudging smile towards his friend. "And having 3 mentors isn't exactly such a terrible thing either. Think about it. Everyone has their own fighting style and stuff--you got to learn 3 different ones. And you have your own. Besides, I wouldn't mind helping out with Redpaw's battle training. I want to see what it's like."

(It's okay. I'm museless, too o.O. there isn't much to say anymore)