AN- Oh, look, another one-shot redo. I'm inspired recently. I thought I rushed this a bit and it didn't make any sense after reading it over again as much as I would've liked it to. So here is version two.
The cliff rose how above the lake down below her. The pale blue sky shimmered on its surface, rippling as a gentle wind blew through the air. She sat precariously close to the edge of the cliff. It probably wasn't a smart thing to do, but this cliff brought back so many memories. Moons ago, a silly apprentice decided to jog along this cliff and moons ago, this silly apprentice nearly fell to her death, but moons ago, a life-long friendship began during that fateful day. The FernClan warrior smiled faintly at the memory as she watched a LeafClan patrol gather at the edge of the lake far below. They looked like ants from up here.
Her soft blue eyes traveled along the shoreline, looking for a familiar black and white pelt that would take the well-worn trail to meet up the cliff-face to meet her. She spotted him and recalled the first time she had met him.
The young cream she-cat bounded ahead of her mentor, trying to keep the warrior on her toes. The fresh scent of rain from last night tickled her nose as she cast a glance over her shoulder at her mentor. The tabby she-cat was currently talking with a fellow warrior as they padded along the top of the cliff. The apprentice held back an angry snort. She wasn't paying attention to her, so maybe a little act might keep Kestrelwing more focused on her job instead of handsome warrior Goldenleap.
Leaping over to the very edge of the cliff, Brightpaw stood on an outcropping with a glance over her shoulder. Kestrelwing still had not noticed. Time to amp it up, she thought.
"Kestrelwing!" She screeched and pretended to tumble backwards over the edge of the cliff. Her mentor's head snapped to attention and Brightpaw gave a satisfied grin as she saw horror bloom on the tabby's face.
"Brightpaw! No!" Her mentor's echoing screech made her start laughing as she leaped away from the edge of the cliff.
"Oh my StarClan, Kestrelwing, your face, it was priceless!" She burst out into a fit of giggles. It was cut off with a sharp swat to the head.
"How dare you! You scared me! What would I have said to your mother if you had actually fallen? Don't you ever think about anyone but yourself?" Kestrelwing spat and her flattened ears and narrowed eyes silenced Brightpaw's antics all together.
"Maybe you should actually teach me something and maybe I won't run off and prank you," Brightpaw snapped bitterly and turned tail and marched off along the well-worn path.
"Brightpaw, get your tail back here!" Kestrelwing snarled. The cream apprentice promptly ignored her and kept walking, managing to quicken her pace.
"Brightpaw- look out!" A voice, not Krestelwing's, called out in panic and suddenly the earth started to give way beneath her paws. A moment of sheer terror shot through her as she felt for purchase among the crumbling pieces of dirt. Had she been too close to edge of the cliff? Did the cliff just decided to give way as she was stalking along? Was this StarClan giving her what she had teased Kestrelwing with before? Was StarClan giving her the death she faked just moments before? All these thoughts shot through poor Brightpaw's head as she felt the air simply fly past her.
She let out a screech of terror, knowing there was no hope for her. She was too small and her luck of hitting the water was next to zero. Cats that fell from this hit shattered at the bottom of this cliff, but usually cats were more cautious than she was.
All these thoughts and feelings happened in a matter of seconds while she could still see level ground and the ferns rustling in front of her.
Her neck jerked up suddenly and she cried out in pain as her neck popped. Brightpaw had been halted from her terrible fall by a strong root that happened to protrude from the ground. No, not a root, something sharper that dug tight into her scruff, a pair of jaws, she assumed. A fox that suddenly decided to stop by? Maybe a badger, she mused, still in shock of the recent actions.
"My StarClan," she thought she heard from above her, at least, that's what she thought she heard (she couldn't be for sure because it sounded like 'mmii sarrkaln'); "you're heavy!" Once again, a jumbled mess of words.
"Reedpaw!" That was Krestelwing's voice, she dimly registered. Suddenly, she felt the world tilt crazily and a panic grunt from above her made her screech again in terror and start swiping viciously at the air. "Stop moving, Brightpaw!" Kestrelwing commanded and suddenly another pair of jaws locked around her scruff and twin grunts of effort were heard and she was suddenly on solid land again.
Her paws scrambled for purchase even though she could safely feel the land beneath her paws. She choked on air as if it were the sweetest thing in the whole world. She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath.
"You're an idiot! An idiot! A mouse-brained, fox-dung-"
"Kestrelwing, I think she gets it," a deep voice panted off to her left. She glanced up and spotted a black and white tom with blazing green eyes. She managed to place his name as Reedpaw. She tried to recall all the facts she knew about him. He was a LeafClan apprentice. He was nearly a warrior; just a couple moons shy of being one. Strong. The older apprentices wouldn't shut up about him. Oh, and the most important, he was just like her; adventurous, prideful, and a bit sarcastic. What in StarClan's name was he doing here? He gave her a look of amusement.
"You think this is funny?" She managed and Reedpaw shook his head.
"Quite the opposite and you're welcome for saving your pelt," he added the last part with a pointed look at her. She swallowed and glanced away. Her pride stung a bit, but most of the sting was the shame she felt in actually going near the edge anyway.
"Thank you," she muttered under her breath. Reedpaw gave her a small nod.
"I won't tell any cat you were on our territory, Reedpaw, but thank you for saving her pelt," Kestrelwing meowed and Reedpaw nodded before padding away from them and into the forest. "Now, let's get you home and we can fix you up," the warrior gave Brightpaw a pointed look before moving deeper into the forest away from the cliff.
Brightpaw stood on her toes to look over the cats as she searched from the pelt of Reedpaw among the LeafClan warriors. Tonight was the gathering and Brightpaw had decided to swallow her pride fully and thank to Reedpaw the right way. Her brother stood in front of her as he spotted her searching eyes.
"Who in StarClan's name are you looking for?" The pale golden tom asked his amber eyes dark. Brightpaw rolled her eyes and attempted to push him out of the way.
"A friend, I would think you know what they are," she started and then added scathingly, "Oh, wait, no you wouldn't because you don't have any." Yellowpaw gave her a hot look before stalking off into the sea of warriors.
"Looking for someone," A deep voice breathed in her ear and she spun around to face Reedpaw.
"Oh thank goodness! I wanted to officially thank you for saving my life. I was prideful about it and wasn't extremely polite, so," she took a deep breath and looked into his striking green eyes, "Thank you." He seemed to contemplate her for a little bit.
"You're welcome," he finally meowed. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Maybe we can be friends. Maybe, who knows? I might spare you in a battle someday," he said slyly as he moved away as the leaders called the gathering to a beginning. She watched him, shocked. 'Maybe, who knows? I might spare you in a battle someday.' Was that a promise? She thought with faint smile.
Thus, a friendship began. Reedpaw, now Reedstripe, had stayed true to his word. The next time the two Clans went into battle, Reedstripe had saved her from a massive warrior with a harsh snarl to mind his claws and killing wasn't the warrior code. The warrior had accused him of betrayal, but Reedstripe had shaken his head and charged into the next battle.
"Be careful, Brightsun, last night's rain may give way that boulder you so willingly sit on," a deep voice meowed from behind her. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she had seen the tom approaching.
"Don't tease me like that, Reedstripe, or I may just have to test your thought out. Flying sounds like a fun idea at this time of day, does it not?" She said with a joking glint in her.
"Yes, do it, so I can finally be rid of your insistent noise that you call talking," Reedstripe teased. Those same striking green eyes flashed with mirth.
"You are so mean," she said childishly.
"You wouldn't have me any other way," he pointed out.
"Shut up," she purred and they touched noses in a friendly way. In doing so, she spotted the wound along his shoulder blade. "How is this doing, by the way? I don't think I've had time to ask."
"Its fine, your brother is an almost pain in my tail every battle," he grunted and sat with a plop. Their two Clans had battled just days before and Yellowblaze had gotten ahold of Reedstripe. The event was still crisp in her mind.
The two Clans viciously fought over a piece of useless land. Both sets of warriors knew it was pointless, but would not stop until one Clan had risen victorious. Brightsun pushed back a small apprentice with a snarl and the young tom stumbled away squealing. Her eyes searched for more and she spotted her brother atop Reedstripe. She knew her best friend could handle himself, but Yellowblaze was incredibly insistent and she spotted her brother diving down for a killing blow.
With a screech of panic, she shot across the battle field and collided heavily with her brother. The two FernClan warriors went tumbling away and came to a stumbling halt. Brightsun rose shakily to her feet and her golden brother did the same. She managed to stand between him and Reedstripe.
"You traitor!" His snarl echoed harshly in her ears even though the battle still raged.
"I am no traitor," she hissed back angrily, her tail lashing. Her soft blue eyes were now cold pools.
"Darkstar will know about your treachery, Brightsun. You can't hide the truth any longer-" Yellowblaze started but she cut him off.
"I'm sorry? Is saving a tom from getting killed by you a crime? It is illegal to kill," she said darkly and Yellowblaze snarled.
"Darkstar will know," he hissed before slinking off into battle. Brightsun growled after him and turned to search for Reedstripe, but he had vanished.
"You said that to him?" Reedstripe snorted in disbelief.
"Yes, he attacked you and nearly killed you. I'm not going to stand for that," Brightsun said in disgust at her brother, "you're my best friend and I don't think you deserve to die."
"Best Friend, hmm?" Reedstripe hummed thoughtfully, giving her an amused look.
"Yes, now shut up and tell me about Wrenfeather. What's he like?" Brightsun rolled her eyes and the two friends sat on the boulder overlooking the lake the LeafClan-ers called their own.