Darkgaze's claws ripped at the earth, her tail lashing. She paced, claws still out and gouging into the ground.
"What's got you so riled up?" her brother asked in concern, his tail touching her flank as she passed him. She just tossed her head and huffed.
"You've been like this since the last Gathering. What's wrong? You know you can tell me." Darkgaze looked at him, then slowed down her pacing. Her line of sight changed to the trees going toward WindClan.
"I feel.. restless," she finally mewed. She caught the scent of heather, and mentally pushed it away. "Too full of energy. I don't know why." Her claws dug into the earth again, and she ripped up a pawful of dirt.
"Well, we're supposed to be hunting," Hawkear reminded her. "And at this rate no prey will be left."
She shook her head again, then bounded into the trees, automatically falling into a hunting crouch. It didn't take too long for her to catch a squirrel, then a chaffinch, but it did little to get rid of the energy itching at her paws.
Hawkear shook his head as she piled her catch, and his, a mouse, together. A few minutes later he added another mouse to the pile of prey.
"I smell something," she mewed abruptly, falling into a stalking crouch. "Will you take the other prey back to the camp? I want to hunt over there." Hawkear sighed and nodded, moving to pick the prey they'd caught up. A moment later and he was gone.
When he had left, Darkgaze disappeared into the tall grass past the trees. She stalked forward, mouth open and scenting. She smelled rabbit and.. something else. Heather and wind. Her tailtip flicked irritably.
The rabbit was right near the border, just on ThunderClan's side. Darkgaze could smell the scentmarkers from where she was, and so could the rabbit, by the way it was nervously looking around. The heather scent increased, and Darkgaze risked lifting her head higher to see.
"Hey, a rabbit," she heard, and the rabbit froze.
"Too bad it's on ThunderClan territory," another, familiar voice mewed. At that the rabbit took off, right towards Darkgaze.
She leapt out, pinning the prey down with both paws and biting its neck. The WindClan patrol muttered to themselves, and Darkgaze looked up with the rabbit in her jaws. A thrill went up her spine and made her tail fluff.
Springstep was looking at her among three other cats, one who she recognized as Swiftstorm, the deputy. Her eyes were wide and bright with an emotion Darkgaze couldn't identify. The two other cats huffed at her and warned her to stay off their territory, though whatever effect it would have had was dented by the pride Darkgaze felt at catching a rabbit right in front of a bunch of rabbit-chasing WindClan cats.
She flicked an ear at them and turned back into the grass, prepared to take the prey back to camp... But stopped a moment later and dropped the rabbit, crouching back down to hide herself in the shadows.
The WindClan patrol moved on after remarking the boundaries, having no other reason to stick around. For a minute Darkgaze wondered why she'd even bothered to stay.. and then a familiar pale pelt appeared again, coming close to the border. She glanced around, ears twitching.
Her heart was beginning to pound. Darkgaze opened her mouth to let the wind wash over her scent glands, suddenly longing for the smell of heather. She stepped out. Springstep immediately locked onto her.
"I thought you'd left," she mewed quietly, moving closer to the border but not over it. "I hoped you hadn't."
Darkgaze closed the distance between them on her own side of the border. "I should have," she murmured.
"But you didn't." Springstep paced much like Darkgaze had been earlier. "I've been wanting to see you," she confessed.
The ThunderClan warrior realized she had too. The energy she had been feeling the days since the Gathering swelled. "I-I-" she stammered. How could she admit she'd been wanting to see Springstep too?
The WindClan cat leaned over the border to touch her nose against Darkgaze's. "You don't have to say it," she whispered, a growing warmth in her eyes. She leaned back then, the warmth igniting into a spark. "You feel it too, don't you?" She moved back, paws scrabbling at the earth. "Since the Gathering. I haven't been able to get you out of my head.."
Darkgaze felt another thrill. She remembered half-forgotten dreams: the smell of heather, a pale shade of blue. Slowly, she nodded, feeling an equal mix of shame and anticipation. Distantly she was aware that the longer they stayed, the more likely it was that they'd be caught.
Springstep seemed to have the same idea. She broke her stare for a moment to glance back towards where the rest of her patrol had gone, then her eyes flicked back to Darkgaze's. "I think I love you," she mewed, so soft that even Darkgaze, just mouse-lengths away, could only just hear her. "I know we only just met, but I can't imagine not ever seeing you again. I have to see you again, Darkgaze. Please tell me you'll see me again. Please tell me you love me too."
Darkgaze took a step back. A brief flash of hurt appeared in Springstep's eyes. "I-I can't," she stammered. "We're from different Clans-"
"That doesn't matter!" Springstep rebuked.
"The warrior code," Darkgaze tried.
"We can still be loyal- it's been done before."
"It's been done badly," she mewed desperately.
"Love isn't bad. It can't be bad." Springstep pressed to the edge of the border. "If it was bad then-then StarClan would say so. They'd send a sign. Right?" she looked desperate, staring at Darkgaze with naked longing that the ThunderClan cat had a hard time not returning.
With a jolt she remembered something that made her queasy. "I can't," she mewed, defeat and sadness coating every word. "Springstep, I can't. I have a mate."
Note: I did not confuse the genders! Springstep and Darkgaze are both female! I made no mistake. I didn't typo. They are both girls.