Trust

[oblivion]

After what seemed to be a very long time, Rainstorm finally emerged from the den. It had taken time for her to recollect all of her thoughts. And she had slept for a quite a while. Still, she was far more high spirited than she had been before. New hope filled her just as the taste of a fresh, newly killed mouse would.

She had decided that she would try to talk to Duskhaze and tell him about her feelings. She was itching for a chance to get rid of the new emotions bottled up deep inside of her. Her fur was already bristling with excitement at the thought of seeing him again and feeling his hot breath on her fur.

However, the excitement soon faded away as the young she-cat noticed that there was no one in camp. The whole place seemed to be deserted. Not willing to give up, she sniffed the air. Perhaps they had gone hunting. She tasted Duskhaze's scent, but it was stale. There was no one here.

They had left her. What was even worse was that Duskhaze had left her. She shook her head, trying to get the thought out of her head. No, he would come back. But for now, all she could do was wait and believe in him. And with that thought, the she-cat sat down and waited.

((Well then. That was a long post. Poor Rainstorm. ;o;))

[Sable]

Sablestripe stretched as she padded out of the warriors' den, her leaf-bare-lean muscles rolling under her sleek fur. She shivered at the icy snap in the air, and her breath fogged out in front of her. She shook herself once more and paced around the camp rapidly, trying to warm up. [/color]

[oblivion]

Rainstorm looked up in surprise as she watched Sablestripe walk past her. Hurriedly, she padded after her. "Sablestripe!" The she-cat meowed after she had soon caught up with her. "Do you know where the others went? You know, like Duskhaze..." She looked down at her paws, her fur bristling as she felt the many emotions bottled up inside of her.

((Yay! Someone posted. xD))

[Sable]

Sablestripe paused and turned to face Rainstorm. "Missing? I hadn't noticed . . " she admitted sheepishly. Sighing, she continued, "Do you know when they left? I hope it wasn't too long ago; StarClan knows where they were going."[/color]

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>Duskhaze padded through the forest, a bit more slowly now that he was getting closer to the camp. He thought about what he was going to tell the other cats, and decided that it would be the truth, when his stomach plummeted. What was he going to tell Rainstorm, about Shellpaw? He couldn't be seen alone with her the first thing by the warrior, she would get the wrong idea. Not the wrong idea, fleabrain, you love both of them, but not that you two have been off on an adventure together, without Rainstorm.

He veered off the path he was following, rolling in a wild clump of garlic to mask his scent, and entered the camp through a small hole in the briars. He looked around, to see that Rainstorm was waiting, and he felt love and sadness pulse in his heart at the same time. She was faithful, but he felt as though he was not, leaving like that. You're faithful to yourself, remember that... you can't afford to break either heart, so you're just going to act like there's nothing wrong. He stood there, amber eyes fixed on the sky. A rumble of thunder rolled, and he felt glad for the excuse for him to be looking up; a storm was on its way.</sub>

[arina]

Shellpaw followed Duskhaze through the entrance to camp, tired from running the whole way. Even though she hadn't been gone for long, the camp seemed diffrent. There were less cats around for sure.

Shellpaw noticed Duskhaze look up at the sky. He looked distracted. She walked over to him. " Hey. You ok?" she said quietly.

[oblivion]

Rainstorm shook her head slowly. "No... They didn't tell me anything. They left me, just like you...." Pain clouded her eyes. No, it wasn't they who had left her. For if it had been, she wouldn't have worried as much. It was Duskhaze. And this thought alone made her want to wail loud enough for StarClan to hear. But she didn't. Instead she turned her attention back to camp. Her gaze quickly examined the area. She had to know if there was anyone else in camp who had been left behind.

That's when her eyes locked onto Duskhaze. Her heart leaped with joy. He was back! She was about to rush to his side, but stopped when another flash of movement caught her eye. She watched as Shellpaw made her way back to Duskhaze. Instantly her eyes narrowed and she turned her attention away from him. Instead she focused on grooming her long, silky fur. She had been too focused on waiting for Duskhaze to even have thought about it. It was bound to be tangled and filled with knots and who knew what else by now.

[Sable]

Sablestripe looked up as she saw Duskhaze and Shellpaw enter the camp; she followed Rainstorm's gaze and saw it land on the dark grey tom. Her bright green eyes narrowed. It wasn't hard to figure out her friend's thoughts. The least Duskhaze could do was greet Rainstorm! Feeling frustrated for her friend, Sablestripe wanted to tackle Duskhaze and pound some sense into him.

(( Oh no you DI'N'T, Dusky ))[/color]

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>((But he didn't, Shellpaw did. XDD))

Duskhaze's amber eyes searched around the clearing again to see if anyone was out and about, and he caught Rainstorm's gaze. Flicking his tail for Shellpaw to stay put, he reeled forwards both mentally and physically, enraptured once again by the she-cat whom so charmed him, sitting before him. Upon seeing Shellpaw she narrowed her eyes and looked away, and he felt only a tiny scrap of annoyance, being more relieved to see her than anything else.

Oh, what am I going to do? I can't choose between them, and StarClan knows I can't lie... I have no other choice but to pull both of them aside and talk to them, tell them what I'm feeling. But not yet, not with a spectator. He glanced wearily at Sablestripe. The warrior she-cat was glaring at him, and he sent her an equally hostile gaze. He was here now, and it hurt him to leave without Rainstorm, though he never could have put her in danger.

He padded over to her and licked her forehead once, knowing that she'd definitely be annoyed with him for leaving all of a sudden like that. When he'd left, he never intended to make her feel lost or hurt, but by the expression on her face, he knew he had inflicted the damage already, and there was no going back. And there won't be any going back, not now, not ever.

((Work with meh here, I don't really know what to do in this situation XDD))</sub>

[arina]

(( hey! don't blame it on Shelli! She's ignorant, not evil!))

Shellpaw watched as Duskhaze padded over to Rainstorm, telling her to stay put. She stood there for a while, wondering if she had done something wrong. Then she got it.

Rainstorm liked Duskhaze and Duskhaze liked Rainstorm. And she and the dark warrior had just been off without her. How could she have missed that! Shellpaw knew that it wasn't right to like someone else's mate, but she kinda had feelings for Duskhaze. But she knew better and would stay out of it, even though it would hurt. She turned away smiling sadly and padded over to Sablestripe.

" Hey. You want to go hunting?" she asked quietly.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>((lol, okay XDD))

The deep-gray tom's thoughts were of the fact that he was a traitor, through and through, no matter what he wanted to be. He loved two. But how could he possibly choose between the two? Shellpaw had shown him that life is not all about being a warrior and fighting, that it was about enjoying things as they came. And Rainstorm... she was beautiful, and she had taught him that no matter who you are, you're never alone. She understood him like no one else ever could. But Shellpaw... she would always be in his heart.

He watched the apprentice turn and ask Sablestripe if she would like to go hunting, and he felt a stab of pain, though on the outside he was his same frozen self. She understands too... I think I know what I have to do. I have to be with Rainstorm; there is no other... but I will always feel the pain.</sub>

[oblivion]

((They both sort of did it, but it was all unintentional. I think. o.o))

Rainstorm flinched at the slightest touch of Duskhaze's tongue. She inched farther away from the tom-cat, but still was close enough to speak to him. Her clear blue gaze burned with emotion as it rested on him. "Oh. It's you." She meowed cooly.

She then looked away quickly. "I-I waited for you. I never doubted that you'd come back. But... Why? Why did you leave me?" She turned to face him with eyes filled with emotion. "Didn't you know? I'd walk the ends of the Earth and back to be with you. But it's okay, you love Shellpaw. Right? After all... Who am I to stand in the way of true love?" She didn't wait for the tom-cat to reply. Instead she quickly hurried away. She didn't want to hear his reply, because she was afraid of how Duskhaze would respond to it all. But most of all, she was afraid that she was right.

((I tried. I wasn't exactly sure how to respond either. .___.;; ))

[Sable]

Sablestripe blinked at Shellpaw in surprise, then shrugged. As much as she wanted to keep an eye on Duskhaze and Rainstorm, she knew enough to let them be alone. "Alright. We could use the prey." She loped across the camp to the entrance.[/color]

[arina]

Shellpaw followed the she-cat towards the entrance to the camp. She paused and took one last glance at Rainstorm and Duskhaze, then took off into JungleClan territory.

[Sable]

(( XD This is JungleClan, remember? ))