Full Title~ A Fallenclan Challenge- A Moment in the Sun: Fighting Love. This is a continuation of Patience is the Key, and I thought that this challenge would be the perfect way to finish up their little story! A moment in the sun is writing about two characters sharing a nice moment, either friend, romanticly, family, etc. In the sun, pretty self-explanatory for the part. Enjoy!
Adderpaw shifted her paws nervously, she'd just finished her final assessment and Skypool was going to go and talk to Flamestar. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black cat emerge from the shadows, which didn't help her anxiety anymore as she was sure that she was blushing. Surprisingly, she'd grown a little crush on Crowpaw after she'd won her first spar.
Continuing to be lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice Crowpaw seeking up behind her, well not sneaking, Adderpaw just didn't notice her. So, she was fairly surprised when a white-tail tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around to face bright green eyes, far prettier than her bland ones. Crowpaw is near to me, oh dear! Does she want to talk? How could I know, she hasn't even opened her mouth yet!
"You look stressed," Crowpaw commented, sitting down in front of her before casually licking a paw and drawing it over her ear.
"I have the right to be stressed," Adderpaw said nervously, flicking her tail before glancing over her shoulder to see if Skypool had come out of the den yet.
"About what?" The younger apprentice questioned, she looked at the she-cat in surprise. "Oh please, don't tell me that you actually worried about your assessment," Crowpaw added with an eye-roll.
Adderpaw looked at her white paws in embarrassment, I know that I'll pass, I just have a hard time believing that I'll pass. It's not like I needed Crowpaw to tell me that, even though I still don't believe her.
"You'll do great, you beat me every other time when we spar," She was surprised, Crowpaw wasn't one to admit to losing. Studying the green eyes, she supposed that they were a little softer than usual, but she was probably imagining that, probably.
"Yeah, but you were still the one that taught me and Skypool..." Adderpaw protested, ever since that spar, she'd asked Crowpaw to teach her, and they'd taken started on a shaky friendship. If it could even be called that, since Crowpaw still insulted her, though they were closer to teases than hurtful comments.
"See," The black-furred she-cat pointed out, "You can't lose when I've been teaching you." Adderpaw despite herself, laughed when Crowpaw winked at her.
"I suppose," She said, still glancing over her shoulder, and missing the troubled look that passed over Crowpaw's face.
"Come on, there going to be talking for a while, and your ceremony won't be for a few hours anyway. Let's go to oak by the big river, it'll provide shade." Crowpaw said suddenly, standing up.
"But, what if Skypool comes out while we're gone?" Adderpaw worried though she was also standing up.
"It's not like she told you to stay put in camp," Crowpaw sighed dramatically.
"Yeah, that's true..." She agreed, sort of reluctantly, but then again on the inside, she was ecstatic.
"Exactly," Crowpaw said with a confident nod before she began to walk off towards the entrance of the camp, while Adderpaw quickened her pace to catch up with her friend. "Plus, it's a sun-high, the perfect time to take a break and relax," Adderpaw wasn't sure what Crowpaw had done earlier in the day, and hoped that she had earned the time off. And there you are, already thinking like a warrior. The brown she-cat wasn't sure how she felt about that.
"A moment in the sun... Will be a good break," She said instead, feeling that fit the moment perfectly.
"Anyways, since your a warrior and all, shouldn't you be thinking of getting a mate, any toms that have caught your eye?" Crowpaw purred in amusement, Adderpaw sighed at her antics and was a little hurt.
"Ugh, do you think that being a warrior is just about being in love? I thought that was for apprentices," She responded a little too quickly than she'd like. Crowpaw tsked, hopping up on a log.
"Now, now, you still haven't answered my question," Crowpaw complained, "No need to get all serious and go on some long talk about respecting those older than you. And it's not like you can do that with me, seriously at least, I'm almost bigger than you." She added with a twinkle in her eye.
Adderpaw sighed, she was small, and Crowpaw only being a moon and a half or so younger than her was the same size as her, which was not helpful for moments similar to what was happening currently. "No Crowpaw, no toms have caught my eyes." Adderpaw sighed, she'd only have a few crushes, no toms were her age, but she'd have some crushes on some of the older warriors, Shadowstripe for example, Goosepaw before they died, and now, Crowpaw...
Adderpaw's whiskers as she remembered her crush on Shadowstripe, it had been short, and mostly because she was desperately looking for strong and fierce cats, and Shadowstripe was a very fierce tom. Nothing like your other crushes, Goosepaw was so sweet, so, so sweet, they were sort of like Crowpaw, but without the smugness. Adderpaw held in a sigh, she still missed Goosepaw...
Crowpaw cleared her throat, drawing Adderpaw out of her thoughts, making her blush. "Sorry, did you say something?" She asked guilty, tilting her head at Crowpaw as they neared their destination.
"Yeah, so, if not toms, any cats or she-cats?" Crowpaw repeated, scanning the area. Adderpaw blushed again, shaking her head once to clear her thoughts and try to answer honestly without giving anything away.
"Maybe," Adderpaw decided to say, swishing her tail against the ground, picking up a little green leaf. She looked up at the trees to avoid Crowpaw's prying gaze, the trees were losing their leaves due to the approaching leaf-bare.
"Ooh, so, who is it?" Crowpaw chirped, excitedly, a small smirk sent over to Adderpaw. Though before Adderpaw could answer, Crowpaw dashed ahead, and into a pile of leaves. She bounded after Crowpaw, forced to go through the leaves as well, shaking her head at Crowpaw, it was a miracle that she was able to put up with it.
"What was that for?" Adderpaw demanded, ignoring Crowpaw's question when the black she-cat skidded to a halt. Leaves were now stuck in her pelt, all that careful grooming she'd done to get ready for her ceremony while waiting for Skypool was gone.
"To enjoy the leaf-fall weather before it's over, of course!" She answered back, smiling as she turned around, Adderpaw sighed. Sometimes it was clear that Crowpaw was younger than her, and sometimes it was the opposite.
"You're crazy," Adderpaw informed her, stretching her legs out and shaking out her fur, and some of the leaves fluttered to the ground. Covering up the darker brown markings on her back in a messy pattern.
"I know," Crowpaw purred, "And that's why you're my friend." Adderpaw didn't contradict her, instead, she sat down and admired the large river in their territory, the sun shined on the water, making it a little blinding to look at. Though Crowpaw was right when she said that the large oak's shade would provide an escape from the sun, a little bit at least.
"So, what do you think about being a warrior?" Crowpaw settled down beside her, a bit nervously in fact. Adderpaw looked at her friend in surprise, before thinking about the question.
"I'll be nice, not having to do apprentice duties, and to be taken seriously," Adderpaw said, cocking her head to the side, before sighing, I've been doing too much sighing lately... "But lonely until you're a warrior," She added, looking at the black she-cat with a small smile. Rootpaw and Ferretpaw were too busy with each other, she had no other siblings, while Mistflower and Snowfeather became warriors a moon or two into her own apprenticeship.
Crowpaw was the perfect friend and she was glad that she didn't have to be lonely anymore since she'd spent the majority of her time as an apprentice alone, but the past three moons had made up for it. Crowpaw flicked her sharply on the nose, bring her back out of her thoughts and back to her, again, even though most of her thoughts were about Crowpaw in the first place.
"Don't fret, I'll be a warrior soon enough, earing the best name in the clan, your name will be second to me of course, so don't worry." Crowpaw laughed, flashing a charming smile that Adderpaw and slowly began to fall for.
"Hmm? What's this name of mine, that'll be second to best name in the clan?" Adderpaw asked, genuinely curious.
"Adderbird of course, after me." She continued, "Though since that's two animals, Adderfeather would also work, very dainty, like those fighting skills of yours." Adderpaw rolled her eyes at the tease, though she did like the name Adderfeather, and it was better than Adderbird in her opinion. Possible in Crowpaw's which didn't hurt her case.
"What are you going to be then? What's this amazing name?" Adderpaw asked, rolling her eyes as she imaged what the bright-eyed apprentice would be able to come up with.
"Croweyes," Crowpaw smirked, "For my dashing eyes, and it also can remind everyone that we're friends, because of those snake eyes?" She sounded pretty proud of herself for coming up with it. Adderpaw did the only responsible thing to do, blush and laugh convincingly, What about, think of a response as well? Yeah, that might be helpful. She pushed the sarcastic thoughts aside.
"I'm flattered," Adderpaw joked, well-tried. "Croweyes... I like the ring to it!" She said, testing the name out.
"You do?" Crowpaw asked, twitching her tail as it was her this time to avert her gaze.
"Of course I do!" Adderpaw pretended to be offended, "I love all of your ideas," She added in a softer voice, "Except the bad ones." She tried to salvage what she'd said after she realized what she had said. Crowpaw chuckled, and smiled at her, Adderpaw was convinced that any smiles of her's were magic, as they seemed to wash away any worries in her mind. I'll have to tell her... It's not good to hold secrets this long from your friends, better sooner than later. Though she didn't necessarily agree with her thoughts, in this case, they weren't wrong.
"Crowpaw, I have to tell you something..." Adderpaw sighed, shifting position so that she was a little further away from the she-cat, and was looking at her directly so that she won't have to turn her head to see her.
"Hmm? What is it?" Crowpaw asked nervously, twitching her tail and concern flooding her face, Adderpaw wasn't one to speak up.
"Um, I think it's best to get this out of the way since I'm going to be a warrior soon and all, which is both a blessing and a curse for this situation," Adderpaw rambled one, Yeah, blessing and a curse, I'll be sad to be away from Crowpaw, but the space will be a good time to heal...
"Adderpaw, what are you talking about? What's good to get out of the way?" Crowpaw pressed, flattening her ears against her head worriedly, Adderpaw wished that she could take that worry and well, dispose of it, but that wasn't how things worked.
"I like you, like, like you," Adderpaw revealed quickly, saying it in a rushed tone, looking at her paws immediately. A startled laugh escaped Crowpaw, clearly, the other she-cat had thought it was something much worse.
"That's amazing!" Crowpaw exclaimed instead, causing Adderpaw to jerk her head up in surprise.
"What do you mean? How is this amazing?" She questioned, not understanding at all, making Crowpaw bounce up and onto her paws, smiling.
"Because I like you, silly!" Crowpaw explained, excitement in her eyes. "Personly, I didn't think that I was in your standers, like, at all, but then again, you're always one to surprise me!" Adderpaw wasn't sure if it was a dream, this bright and cherry moment in the sun, either way, she was going to take advantage of the situation.
"Y-you like me?" Adderpaw stuttered, confused that her crush could possibly like her back. Crowpaw rolled her eyes, flicking Adderpaw sharply on the nose when her gaze faltered.
"Of course! What isn't there to like about you? You're smart, kind, always know what to say, nervous in the perfect way, pretty, etc." Crowpaw stated, blushing at the end, while the brown-furred she-cat couldn't believe that there was more to like about her, being focused on the 'etc.'
"I guess," Adderpaw said doubtfully, making Crowpaw sigh.
"So, here's my million-mice question, why do you like me?" Bright green eyes meet her own green eyes, though nowhere near as bright.
"Your bold, brave, beautiful, an enigma! You also always know what to say, like asking me to come out here to take my mind off of my assessment!" Adderpaw exclaimed, and just as she said it, she realized that it was true, she'd hardly thought about that this was one of the most important days of her life, and now she was thinking about it... Plus, she'd also confessed her crush for the first time, and the cat liked her back, so that was something to celebrate!
"It took you this long to realize it?" Crowpaw teased, never missing an opportunity to twist something into a tease, compliment, or both. Adderpaw nudged her shoulder, not responding.
"So... Are we courting now?" Adderpaw asked, tilting her head, she was new to this type of thing. This is much more important than a 'thing'. Yes, much more important, I just don't know the name for it yet... After all, she'd never been big on romance, only having three crushes, only two major, and she was becoming a warrior hopefully today, yeah, not that experienced.
"Sure, if you want, that'd be really cool!" Crowpaw purred happily, before giving a small, and cautious, lick on her ear, which sent bursts of happiness throughout her body.
"Yes, I'd like that," Adderpaw purred back, returning the lick shyly, causing Crowpaw to laugh. "This was a perfect day to this, and it was nice to have a moment in the sun before its leaf-bare, and my last one as an apprentice."
"Aww, maybe I'll have to deprive myself of the sun until I'm a warrior so this can be my last one as well!" She teased, walking over so she was leaning against Adderpaw, resting her head on the Adderpaw's shoulder.
"I don't know about that," Adderpaw said nervously, not entirely getting that Crowpaw was joking. "I could yet used to this..." She murmured, it wasn't so long ago that she was looking into poison green eyes, know those eyes were bright and cherry.
"Well, that's good news for me!" Crowpaw laughed, tilting her up since she was still a little shorter than Adderpaw, not by much though. "Ooh, look at the sun, we'd best be getting back for your ceremony, Adderpaw!" She added, noticing the sun's position. Adderpaw nodded, a little disappointed that the moment had come to an end so quickly.
"Your right," Adderpaw said with a weak smile, standing up. Crowpaw did the same and stretched, though when they were approaching the camp, she cautiously twined her tail with Crowpaw's. Together they walked into camp, a bouncing black she-cat, with a timid brown one, not something seen often in the camp.
Right on cue, Flamestar exited her den and climbed onto the large stone, before yowling for the clan's attention, "All cats old enough to hunt in the forest, gather at High Stone for a clan meeting!" Adderpaw was instantly worried.
"Don't worry about it, you'll do great!" Crowpaw encouraged, pulling away from her and disappearing into the cats, to probably find her own mentor, Yewflight. Adderpaw took a deep breath and found Skypool sitting near the edge of the where the clan was gathered, where she quickly sat down.
"Adderpaw, please step forwards," Flamestar ordered, and she did as she was told, quietly taking her spot beneath High Stone. She forced a small smile onto her face, to hide her anxiety.
"Skypool, has your apprentice, Adderpaw, learned the skills of a warrior? Do they understand the importance of the warrior code?" Flamestar asked her mentor, and Adderpaw held her breath, even though earlier that day the grey and white she-cat had praised her and told her that she'd done a great job.
"They have," Skypool said solemnly, though she smiled at Adderpaw warmly.
"Then I, Flamestar, of Fallenclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn." Flamestar began, Just another deep breath, then you'll be a warrior... Just keep breathing... She reminded herself, following her thoughts, she relaxed a little more.
"Adderpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Flamestar questioned, her flame pelt shining in the sun.
"I do," Adderpaw said seriously, without hesitation.
hen by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Adderpaw, from this moment on you, will be known as Addermoth. StarClan honors your quick thinking, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Fallenclan." She finished, hoping down so she could rest her muzzle on the newly made warrior, in turn, Addermoth licked her shoulder.
The clan cheered her name and she smiled, picking out Crowpaw and Skypool's especially loud cheers. Here she was, a warrior, confessed her love to Crowpaw and got a girlfriend. Today is not a bad day... Addermoth smiled, a large and genuine smile, And I'll fight for my clan, and for my love.
Word Count: 2,962
An: Aww, I enjoyed writing this, I needed some of this wholesomeness! Not sure if I like the title, but it's the best I could think of... Some explaining, Adder is a pan, while Crow is a playful lesbian! Just lovely, isn't it? This should conclude their story, but then again, maybe they need some kits in the future or something... Anyways, hope that you enjoyed this! ~ Mist