My first "odd couple", suggested by Gaze of Sea. This is Rainwhisker&Swallowtail (of RiverClan). If you look at Starlight, you can see a hint of it there at the Gathering. It starts off around the last leg of their journey to their new home, after they've crossed the mountains and left Stormfur.

The dark gray tomcat flattened himself against the turf, dark blue eyes fixated on the rustling of the bushes ahead. He felt a growl rise in his throat, but stifled it out so that he may keep silent. His claws unsheathed, and with a ripple of muscle he leaped.

A moment later he held the shrew in his jaws, and felt a flicker of satisfaction in the kill. He was just setting it down when a dark tabby she-cat padded out into the open towards him. "Nice catch, Rainwhisker."

"Thanks, Swallowtail." He nodded to her as she padded to his side, beginning to uncover the rest of the prey they'd caught. "We'd better get back to the others."

"Yeah." Rainwhisker didn't try to hide his disappointment that the hunt was over, and Swallowtail seemed to share his feeling. "Still, we've been on our paws all day. It'll be good to get some sleep."

"We'll reach our new home soon," Rainwhisker meowed.

"Sure we will." Swallowtail rolled her green eyes. "I don't know about you, but I've kept my eyes on the horizon for a long time now- and I haven't seen anything that looks remotely like our new home."

Rainwhisker flicked her with his tail. "How can you say that? You don't even know what we're supposed to be looking for!"

"I know what I'm looking for," mewed Swallowtail, lifting her head to the sky. "Water full of fish, and reeds to hide in. Willows and marshes, and a nest full of moss."

Rainwhisker let out a purr of laughter. "You can keep your fish- I don't fancy spitting out scales while I'm eating."

Swallowtail's whiskers twitched, and her dancing eyes met Rainwhisker's for a long moment. The ThunderClan cat felt his pelt prickle and his paws itch. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable- so why was it that he didn't want to turn away?

&&&

Leopardstar met them as they returned to where the Clans were gathered. "Well done," she meowed, eyeing their fresh-kill. "Take that to the elders- and keep a piece for yourselves. There's enough in these hills we're at for every cat to get a share."

Pleased at the thought of being able to ease the ache in his belly, Rainwhisker followed Swallowtail to where a group of ShadowClan and RiverClan elders were gathered. Birchkit and Dawnflower, a RiverClan queen's litter were sitting in front of them, eagerly listening to what the old cats said.

"All the Clans had come together," meowed the former medicine cat Runningnose, "Into one great joint Clan that we called LionClan."

"LionClan!" echoed one of the kits in awe.

"Yes, like the great lions of the past," meowed Loudbelly, a RiverClan elder. "Together, we were stronger than ever before, and we had the strength to drive out BloodClan."

"Were BloodClan very fierce?" mewed Birchkit.

"Yes they were," Shadepelt mewed solemnly. "In fact, I'd still be a warrior if it weren't for them. They ruined my leg." She stretched out her hind leg, and Rainwhisker winced when he saw how twisted and scarred it was. The kits squeaked in terror.

"Don't you worry," Swallowtail meowed as she came up behind them, setting down her fresh-kill. "BloodClan is long gone. We made sure of that!"

She bent down to give one of the kits a lick, and Rainwhisker couldn't help but admire her soft tone. She looked up at Shadepelt, amusement glinting in her eyes. "Scaring the little ones again, Shadepelt?"

The dark gray she-cat twitched her tail. "No more than Loudbelly is by just being here!"

The tabby elder took a swipe at her as Rainwhisker set his prey down. "Here you go."

Loudbelly sniffed it suspiciously, and Swallowtail prodded him. "Honestly, Loudbelly, Rainwhisker's not going to try to poison you. We're all friends here."

"Until we get to the new home," Boulder of ShadowClan warned her. "Then things will go back to normal."

Swallowtail glanced at him before looking back at Rainwhisker. Instead of answering Boulder, she only meowed, "Want to share fresh-kill?"

"Sure." Picking up a rabbit and leaving the rest for the elders, he followed her across the clearing where the cats were spending the night. They were all mingled together, sharing tongues and fresh-kill. Rainwhisker saw his brother Sootfur sitting with Tornear and Robinwing of WindClan, and Firestar with Blackstar. Swallowtail followed his gaze.

"I wonder how long it'll last," she murmured.

Rainwhisker sighed, took a bite of the rabbit, and pushed it towards her. "Like Boulder said: until we reach our new home."

Swallowtail didn't touch the rabbit. She was staring at him again. "The thing is, Rainwhisker..." she meowed quietly, "I almost want it to last longer."

Rainwhisker looked into her eyes, the same color as the forest that he'd loved and left behind. There was something in their depths, a flicker of warmth for him that he'd never seen in any other cat. It made his paws start prickling again, but this time he had a better idea of what it meant.

&&&

The cats were rushing around and making their good-byes, for it was time for them to go their seperate ways as they explored the land around the lake. Rainwhisker padded around the crowd. He wished Whitetail of WindClan good luck and licked her kits one by one, then said his farewell to Cedarheart. The dark gray tom flicked him with his tail as he leaped away.

"Rainwhisker!" Her familiar voice made him turn, and he was surprised by the purr that rose in his throat as Swallowtail came into sight. The dark tabby she-cat sidestepped some elders to reach his side. "Hey. I was afraid that I wasn't going to find you."

Rainwhisker awkwardly bobbed his head up and down. "Good hunting," he meowed.

Swallowtail leaned forward, touching her muzzle in between his eyes. Warmth exploded inside of Rainwhisker, though he knew that she would never be able to give him such an affectionate gesture again. He licked her shoulder. "See you, Swallowtail."

"At Gatherings," she mewed. There was real regret in her tone, and Rainwhisker felt it too. "Yeah. At Gatherings."

"I'll miss hunting with you," Swallowtail meowed.

Rainwhisker nodded wordlessly, but at that moment Swallowtail withdrew sharply, a fire flaring in her tone. "What are we doing, Rainwhisker? Why does it matter whether we hunt together or not? We're from different Clans!"

The ThunderClan warrior took a pace back, trying to keep his sorrow out of his mew. "It shouldn't matter," he meowed.

"But it does." Swallowtail spoke bluntly, almost angrily. "I don't want to care about you, Rainwhisker, but I do. Why, StarClan? How could I ever care about a ThunderClan cat?"

Her voice had risen to a growl, and Rainwhisker felt as if she was ripping into his heart. She doesn't want to care about me. She doesn't want to like me.

His eyes narrowed to dark blue slits as the pain spun quickly to anger, as quickly as the frost evaporated on warm mornings. "You know what, Swallowtail? I'll see you at Gatherings. That's it, okay?"

The dark gray warrior padded away and left her staring after him. Rainwhisker didn't let himself look back at her, but if he had he would have seen the regret and sorrow in her eyes, and then he might have made a very different decision.

As it was, Rainwhisker chose the warrior code over love. He was not the first cat to maek that decision, and he was not the first to know the pain of it. But as he left he told himself- and StarClan- something.

This won't be the last time I see her. And I'll never forget her.

He promised it to StarClan, and, as a good warrior, he kept that promise.

And next up...well, I haven't decided yet. But I have a lot of suggestions to work with; keep 'em coming!