[ThunderClan territory] Memories, oh they cut like knives

F I R E S T A R

The fire that saved our Clan

Firestar let himself fall over on his side. The ThunderClan leader was barely visible between the brightly colored autumn leafs that covered the damp forest floor. As soon as everything around him fell quiet, he shifted his gaze towards the colorful trees above him. If only Icestorm were here to enjoy all of this with him. But she wasn't, and he found himself trapped in his memories all the more often. His kits were not enough to fill the void that was left in his heart. Her death had left him with a certain numbness that didn't want to go away, no matter how hard he tried. A cold shiver ran up his spine and he buried his face between the leafs that surrounded him. His green eyes now shut tight, trying to keep his tears from spilling. Drowning in his own memories, he didn't hear someone approaching.

WORDS ### TAGS Silverfang NOTES None

SILVERFANG

no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it

Stripes of sunlight dappled the foliage and the air was thick with the damp scent of Leaf-fall. Silverfang jerked his head up as he caught sight of Firestar, barely visible between the shades of orange and brown. He wondered what the tom-cat was doing there, lying silenty as if he was sleeping. But Silverfang could see that he was awake and it seemed like something was wrong. "You okay?" he asked carefully, while he approached the Thunderclan leader with a questioning look. Somehow he felt uneasy for disturbing him, but he wanted to make sure that nothing was wrong with his so called mentor. It wasn't like him to crash on the floor like that.

Deputy - 26 Moons - Thunderclan territory

F I R E S T A R

The fire that saved our Clan

He jumped up immediately at the sound of a familiar voice, trying to wipe the pained expression off of his face in the progress. His green eyes, that were still wet with unshed tears, locked themselves upon the cat that had disturbed his little moment of self pity. Firestar hadn't heard what the silver tom-cat had said earlier, but the way said cat was looking at him now, he could already guess what it had been. "I'm okay, don't worry about it," he replied quickly. He was hoping Silverfang hadn't seen the tears in his eyes. Last thing he needed was to lose the little respect he'd earned from the old SkyClan cats. The ThunderClan leader did not have the slightest idea of how much the other Clans knew about Icestorm, and he didn't feel like talking about it now.

WORDS ### TAGS None NOTES None

SILVERFANG

no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it

The red tom jumped up in surprise at the sound of his voice and Silverfang pulled his ears down to apologize. He noticed the little shimmer of water in the eyes of the clanleader and frowned. Was Firestar.. crying? 'I'm okay, don't worry about it,' the tom replied quickly, obviously trying not to let anyone notice his discomfort. Silverfang wasn't fully convinced, but decided to try to cheer him up instead of asking what was wrong, as if he hadn't noticed the tears. Firestar would probably be more glad with that. The silver tom cracked a small grin on his face. "Good, because it seemed like you were kissing the ground," he joked.

Deputy - 26 Moons - Thunderclan territory

F I R E S T A R

The fire that saved our Clan

Firestar let out a small sigh of relief when Silverfang decided to drop the matter. He didn't know if the tom-cat had seen him cry or not, but he was grateful for the change of atmosphere. At the silver cat's comment he actually found himself cracking a smile. "Yeah, the ground is such a sweetheart. It deserves some kisses from time to time," he answered. The red tom-cat didn't know how Silverfang managed to make him laugh, but it was slowly becoming a routine. Like that time with the dog. Firestar knew that the last time he had a 'friend' like that was around the time of his arrival in ThunderClan. Even though things were different then, Shadowrose and Graystripe had also been really good friends to him.

WORDS ### TAGS None NOTES None

SILVERFANG

no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it

Silverfang laughed when he heard Firestar's comment, glad that he was able to make jokes again. "Wow Firestar, didn't know you were that desperate." His grin became bigger and he teasingly shoved his tail towards the heart of the red tom. "Don't worry pal, we'll find you a nice she-cat," he said, unaware that Firestar had lost hist partner just recently. "One that doesn't taste like dust."

Deputy - 26 Moons - Thunderclan territory

F I R E S T A R

The fire that saved our Clan

As soon as Silverfang mentioned finding a nice she-cat for him, Firestar felt his body tense up again. Unconsciously he found himself looking at the sky again, sighing at the thought of having to explain it all. It would probably be for the best to do so now anyway. "I had one, a mate, and no she didn't taste like dust," he spoke calmly while resting his gaze on Silverfang. "Her name was Icestorm. She was the one that told us about BloodClan and Scourge at the time. She.. she died a few moons ago, giving birth to our kits. Though she's definitely happier now in StarClan, it still pains me that she's not here.. with me. I would've done anything to make her forget her fears if she was still alive, but I guess I wasn't fast enough to save her." Firestar averted his eyes again, not wanting to look directly at his friend while his word were beginning to sink in.

WORDS ### TAGS None NOTES None

SILVERFANG

no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it

Silverfang's eyes widened in surprise when he heard Firestar say that he had a mate, once. He didn't knew that and suddenly he wished he could claw his own ears off for saying those words, especially when he saw the sad look in his green eyes. That look was full of sorrow and despair. Instead of cheering him up he had only made it worse. "Oh.. I'm sorry," he whispered softly and he dropped his tail back into a respectful position. He thought the subject was closed, but then Firestar started to explain what happened, why his mate wasn't among them anymore. Silverfang listened in silence.

Icestorm.. A sudden admiration for this she-cat was starting to rise in his chest, although he had never met her. He could tell that Firestar had loved her very deeply. "Sounds like you are a very lucky cat, for knowing someone like that," he answered with a soft smile, when Firestar was done speaking.

Deputy - 26 Moons - Thunderclan territory

F I R E S T A R

The fire that saved our Clan

Firestar managed to look up again when Silverfang started speaking. The flame colored tom cracked a small but sincere smile and nodded. "Yes, I guess I am lucky to have known her. I mean, especially since I've known her from before the accident with Scourge. She worked so hard to become a warrior and she accepted me even though I had been a kittypet. Icepaw really was someone to look up to, I kinda admired her. I loved her smile, her soft white fur, her lively golden eyes, her strong personality. After the attack she did have her bright moments, where she would become her old self again, but they became less and less," he paused for a second, "Every time I see her in StarClan my emotions get so mixed up. She's so happy again, because she found peace when she died. I'm happy because of that, but at the same time I can't help to want her back in this world, even though that might sound like a cruel wish." The ThunderClan leader sighed and flicked his tail. "I'm sorry, I guess I got a little carried away."

WORDS ### TAGS None NOTES None

SILVERFANG

no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it

Silverfang couldn't help but smile when he heard Firestar talk about Icestorm that way. Although the tom seemed sad to have lost her, his words were full of affection and joy. That was the way he should memorize her, happy and strong. He was sure Icestorm would have wanted that too. 'I can't help to want her back in this world, even though that might sound like a cruel wish.' The Thunderclan leader flicked his tail and sighed. 'I'm sorry, I guess I got a little carried away,' he apologized. Silverfang shook his head to wave the apology off. "That's ok," he answered understandingly. "And it's not cruel to want the person that you love the most to be near you." The silver tom smiled again. "At least you have seen her again in Starclan." He assumed that because of the certainty Firestar spoke with when he mentioned Icestorm being without fear. He must have seen her in a dream or when he received his nine lives or something. Silverfang didn't know much about that kind of stuff, he wasn't a medicine cat after all, but he did hear of the visions they get from the moonstone. "Not all cats have that privilege," he added. "And you will be with her again one day." While saying that, he seemed to realize something and he quickly pointed his paw to Firestar. "But don't even think of joining her soon! You still have a few more lives left to live, and I'm sure Icestorm would want you to make the most out of it," he said with a warning look in his eyes.

Deputy - 26 Moons - Thunderclan territory

F I R E S T A R

The fire that saved our Clan

Firestar had always thought that others wouldn't want to hear such things from him, because he was their Clanleader and shouldn't show such weaknesses. He was relieved to be proven wrong by Silverfang. When the silver tom began about being with Icestorm again one day, he nodded. "Someday yes.." he said and again managed to smile when the old SkyClan deputy warned him about leaving them too soon. "I wasn't planning on it. That would make me a horrible leader, I owe ThunderClan more than that. Besides, Ice would probably claw my fur off if I joined her now," he said while laughing. This made him realize that he hadn't asked the silver tom about his love life yet. "Soo, do you like anyone? Love maybe?" he asked teasingly.

WORDS ### TAGS None NOTES None

SILVERFANG

no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it

Silverfang nodded in approval and put his paw back on the ground, satisfied with the answer Firestar had given to him. However, when the tom started to ask him about hìs love life he was taken a bit off-guard. Of course the first name that came to his mind was Dogdance, but he knew that that was a lost cause. She had made it very clear to him that he should leave her alone. She hated him for betraying Skyclan, for becoming deputy of another clan. Part of him hated himself for that too, but he knew he had to move on. Skyclan was no more, he was forced to find a new home. And he had found one, in Thunderclan. Dogdance didn't seemed to want to accept that, and because of that he had acted like a fool around her. For a moment Silverfang's gaze drifted to a distant point, hurt shimmering in his pale green eyes, but he soon realized that that would make Firestar suspicious, so he quickly recovered and looked to his friend with a forced grin. "No, no one in particular," he said as innocent as possible.

Deputy - 26 Moons - Thunderclan territory

F I R E S T A R

The fire that saved our Clan

It took his friend way to long to respond to that question. Firestar had noticed his change in demeanor, but he decided to spare the silver tom this time. Acting like he hadn't seen the pain in his eyes, but teasingly commenting on the words that felt way too forced to be true. "As you wish, mister staring off into space. No love involved." The ThunderClan leader playfully lifted his paw and poked Silverfang in his side. "Let's quit the ladies talk. We both sound like a pair of old men talking about 'the old days'. Doesn't exactly help changing the gloomy atmosphere," he said. After he'd said that he remembered something and quickly followed with, "You listened to me though, so if you ever feel like talking about it, I'll be all ears."

WORDS ### TAGS None NOTES None

SILVERFANG

no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it

Even Silverfang wasn't convinced when he heard the sound of his own voice. He hated the way how he had gotten so quiet – hated the tingly warmth he could feel spreading over his face. And more than anything, he hated Firestar's knowing look at that moment. 'As you wish, mister staring off into space. No love involved,' he said teasingly, while he poked him in his side. Silverfang snorted, but couldn't help feeling his mouth lift into a tiny smile again. Firestar was right, they dìd sounded like a bunch of old fools. 'You listened to me though, so if you ever feel like talking about it, I'll be all ears.' Silverfang nodded. "Thanks, I'll do that," he said gratefully, even though he knew there was no way in hell he would ever talk to a tom about his pitiful love-life. He was way too proud for that. So he decided to quickly change the subject. "So..," he began, grinning again. "Feel like going with me on a border patrol? I want to make sure that that badger never shows up again."

Deputy - 26 Moons - Thunderclan territory