Mousefur still remembered the sheen of Mistyfoot's gray coat as she would pull herself out of the river at Sunningrocks. She would always give Mousefur a warm smile, and butt her head affectionately against her pelt. Then she'd shake her fur off, laughing as Mousefur would growl as the cold droplets would hit. She still remembered the nights sitting in the nursery as kits.
"One day, I'm gonna be a leader! And you're gonna be my loyal deputy! We're gonna be fierce and brave, and we'll stay friends forever!" Mistykit would chirp, enthusiasm bubbling from her as she bounced around the nursery. And Mousekit would always nod, because of course it would happen. It was all her kit self knew: Mousekit and Mistykit were an inseparable duo. Oh, how Mousefur wished it could have been true.
Mousefur still didn't understand why she and Mistyfoot couldn't have been mates. It didn't matter to her that Mistyfoot wasn't a tom. StarClan, Mistyfoot could have been a bright pink vole and Mousefur would have still loved her.
Mousefur pushed her way out of the warriors' den, needing to go for a walk. She brushed past Dustpelt, who was silently guarding the camp. Mousefur ducked her head as she passed him, angry about the way his gaze seemed to be questioning her. I'm a senior warrior, mousebrain.
She wasn't quite sure why her feet lead her to the river border between ThunderClan and RiverClan. Maybe it was all the times she had snuck out of camp, just to go to that border. Maybe she was just looking for a glimpse of that beautiful grey pelt. Maybe, somewhere deep down inside, she still hoped something could work.
When she arrived at the river, she settled down onto the rough sand of the bank. She gazed at the river, watching the way the water rippled and swirled around the stones. Oh, Mistyfoot... Mistyfoot was beautiful. She always had been. There wasn't any real argument about that, and with Mousefur's wiry fur, she wasn't surprised that Mistyfoot didn't find her attractive. However, Mistyfoot... Mistyfoot had the most beautiful thick grey fur. And the smell that she had lacked the fishy smell of RiverClan. Well, maybe not, but Mousefur didn't seem to mind it as much when she was around that molly. All she ever did around Mistyfoot was pray that one day she would lick Mousefur's cheek and maybe give her a pretty smile. That was all.
"Mousefur?" A surprised voice interrupted her thoughts, and she froze. No. No. That she-cat could NOT be swimming across the river right now to do StarClan-knows-what and make her feel all sorts of sappy feelings.
"What do you want, Mistyfoot?" She spat. Betrayal. Fear. Distrust. Hope. Love. Great StarClan, I'm such a dreamer.
"I wanted to see if you were okay." Mistyfoot sat beside her, ignoring the fact that she was now on ThunderClan territory. Due to this fact, Mousefur was debating dragging Mistyfoot by the scruff and dunking her in the river. Repeatedly.
"I'm fine." Mousefur answered gruffly, pushing herself of the ground and turning around the head back to the forest.
"Wait!" Mistyfoot called. "I wanted to talk to you, anyway!"
"Why?" Mousefur whipped around. "You said you never wanted to talk to me again! Remember that day, Mistyfoot? Remember when you cut me off while we were both apprentices because it 'wasn't right'? I have nothing more to say to you!"
Mistyfoot gasped, and the pain in it tore Mousefur to shreds. Her ears flattened and she frantically cuffed at the ground, hoping that she didn't actually say that, that this was some sort of nightmare.
"Do you... Do you honestly think I didn't love you, Mousefur? Because you're wrong. Dead wrong." Mistyfoot walked up beside Mousefur, pressing against her. Mousefur recoiled, and Mistyfoot's tail drooped.
"I'll leave."
"No, you're just wet. And cold." The words, laced with forgiveness, came out of Mousefur's mouth before she could stop them. Damn it. But when Mistyfoot's head flung up, eyes glowing, Mousefur couldn't find it in herself to be angry with her.
Oh, great StarClan. Ugh. Did I really think that? Again? What am I, the leader of TakeStarClan'sNameInVainClan?
"-you know, I always thought you were the bravest person I knew." With a jolt, Mousefur realized Mistyfoot was talking to her. Had she really gotten lost in Mistyfoot's eyes? Oh come on.
"I always thought you were beautiful." The words felt foreign wrapped around Mousefur's tongue.
"Really?" Mistyfoot squinted her eyes, stepping closer to Mousefur. She took a step back, and Mistyfoot backed up a little bit. And I'm awkward. Fantastic. I'll be scaring her away in no time.
"Yes. You have really nice eyes and shiny fur." Mousefur quickly looked away, gulping as she felt heat flood her ears.
"You think I'm beautiful because of my fur?" Mistyfoot laughed. Mousefur stormed back to the rocks, bounding up them to escape Mistyfoot's laughter. She whipped around, facing her again. Anger surged through her. Why does she always laugh?
"Why do you do that? Every time I try to tell you why I love you and that I love you, you sit here and laugh at me. You always have. You don't really care, do you? No, you're playing with me because you think it's fun. Well you know what Mistyfoot-"
Mistyfoot bounded up the rocks and pinned Mousefur down, peering down on her.
"I love you too, mousebrain." She licked Mousefur's cheek, and Mousefur balked.
Mousefur took the dignity of getting wet to walk- or swim- with Mistyfoot back into RiverClan territory.
She also took the damned responsibility of rolling herself in ferns and mud to hide the stench of RiverClan.
That time she had to get in the river for a completely different reason. Damn it, Mistyfoot.
When she got back to camp, she curled up a ball on her nest, tail over her nose. Sleep came easy for the first time in moons, and later she would realize that it was because it was the first time she had ever heard Mistyfoot say 'I love you.'
She was sinking fast for Mistyfoot, and she didn't care. She knew Mistyfoot wouldn't let her drown. Hopefully.