i wanna make you feel happy

Coalpaw had been apprenticed just in time to miss the Gathering, and to call her disappointed would be a massive understatement. So, she decided to visit Fourtrees herself, because she was an apprentice now and could actually leave camp as long as she didn't have anything else to do. She wanted to see the big trees! The giant rock! Smell the smells! Taste the air! The she-cat kneaded her black paws into the dirt, smelling all of the cats that had just been here a couple of nights ago. She flopped onto her back against the Great Rock, eyes on the starlit sky. The air was warming and there wasn't a cloud in sight, and all of Silverpelt was visible in a view she'd never seen anywhere in ShadowClan territory. Her amber eyes sparkled in the starlight, a soft smile on her face; the normally loud she-cat entranced by the view of the night sky.

It had started off as a mere, innocent wander, one that had taken him far further than he'd meant to go - all the way to Fourtrees, a location he had been at a mere few nights prior - and now he was here, head tilted skyward as he watched the branches shake in the breeze. The cacophony of the other night no longer existed, and the scents of all the gathered cats were beginning to fade, and he found himself a little bit in awe of the beauty of the clearing when it was untouched by countless paws. The rock gleamed in the moonlight, the trees hummed and creaked with the wind, providing a serene landscape for a silly 'paw who needed some time to rest before his journey back to camp - perhaps he'd catch something on the way back to make up for his absence. With the recent presence of the rogues, he knew it wasn't the best idea to be out of a nighttime, but he needed to escape Mudpaw's snoring.

Arching his back in a stretch, he padded down the hill and into the clearing, where a new scent befell his nose before the sight of the cat did. Who was that? Lionpaw felt himself bristle, before the harsh pine sap that he had come to associate with the scent of ShadowClan fully washed in, and he forced his fur to lie back down flat. Whether or not there was a gathering, the tom cat wasn't going to fight someone else in the sacred place of Fourtrees, and he warily padded over to the cat settled against the great rock, pleased to find it was just another apprentice, rather than a full grown warrior. Settling down softly, his tail curling over his paws as he took in the sight of the clearly newly apprenticed cat, he wondered on what to say first.

"What are you doing out this late?" the creamy tom found himself asking, relinquishing any tact or control he had over the conversation, and he found his tail twitching with annoyance at himself. Why couldn't he have thought that through anymore, and made himself out to seem cooler ? Not just some silly SkyClan apprentice who should be sleeping in his nest, who was instead interrogating some poor ShadowClan apprentice who looked like she was enjoying herself.

If the young she-cat had actually known any, a thousand curses would have spilled from her maw in the sheer surprise that consumed her in that instant. "Uh--!" was the only thing that came out instead while she scrambled to her paws, her black and grey pelt fluffed out defensively. Coalpaw shut her still open-mouth to wet her drying tongue, trying to get a hold of herself. "It's not that late for ShadowClan," she decided on, the normally feisty she-cat more than a little bit cowed at the fact that the SkyClan cat who had approached her could easily pass for twice her size. "And I wanted to see the Great Rock for myself since I didn't get to go to the Gathering. I wanted to have a visual for the big rock I'll get to stand on some day," she finished, trying to play herself off more smoothly. The apprentice's eyes narrowed skeptically as she realized the other cat's hypocrisy. "What are you doing out here so 'late'?"

He fought off the rumble of amusement that threatened to spill out of his chest, and instead decided to lick a forepaw, drawing it over his slightly curved ears, glad to find she wasn't a threat - no matter how absolutely comedic her response was. This little she-cat, an apprentice unsurprisingly younger than him that he towered over, was trying her hardest to look threatening with puffed out fur and a slightly hostile tone to her voice. "Relax, I won't hurt you," Lionpaw stated, listening to her reasoning with a bemused expression.

"The mighty ShadowClan, where sleep is for the weak, and their apprentices think sneaking out to play leader on their own, in the middle of the night, with a rogue threat is a good idea," the creamy tomcat finished with a snort, still staring her down in her piercing amber eyes as she asked why he was out. "I'm just stretching my legs, noisy denmates and all. I was about to head back to camp when I noticed a strange gray scrap of fur purring like a newborn kit against the great rock," he explained, being wary to keep any of his clanmates names out of his mouth - he knew he shouldn't be talking to her in the first place, it wouldn't help to reveal any information that could get him in trouble. "So, you think you'll be leader someday? His gaze now rested on the top of the stone, and he contemplated jumping up there, he'd wanted to at the gathering he had attended a few nights ago, if it wasn't for the leaders and all the other cats, of course.

But now there was nobody here, and nobody except StarClan could judge, and what could they do to some apprentices just having a little bit of fun?

Coalpaw's fur laid a little flatter as the tom placated her, and her ears drooped a little as well at SkyClan cat's scathing description of her Clan. "We do sleep, just during the day, usually," she explained defensively. "I didn't know there was a rogue threat, what rogue threat?" she asked, tilting her head curiously. The apprentice followed the other cat's eyes up to the top of the Great Rock and grinned cockily before leaping to the top in one bound. "I would like to be leader," she meowed down to him. "But if not, I'll still be the greatest warrior ShadowClan has ever seen."

The she-cat could not pin why she wanted to impress the other cat so badly. It was not as if she was going to matter to him either way, he was from another Clan for StarClan's sake.. but she found herself drawn to the other apprentice. She wasn't particularly fond of any of the other ShadowClan apprentices, though, and it wasn't like it would hurt anyone for her to have actual friends, so she figured she ought to introduce herself. "I'm Coalpaw," she mewed cheerily, finally satisfied that it was safe to be friendly.

The glint of amusement that had glittered in his blue eyes faded almost immediately as she visibly deflated, and he frowned, an apology bubbling on his lips - although he wasn't sure why, she was just another apprentice. The charcoal she-cat continued on without much hesitation, asking about the rogue threat, and his tail twitched uneasily. She really had no idea what the rogue threat was, what if he had been one of those mangy cats? The excitement that shined in her eyes enticed him greatly, and he poked his tongue out at her.

"I apologise, I didn't know," Lionpaw mewed, voice light and airy as he continued, "There have been rogues sniffing around all the territories, hunting in our borders, causing trouble for no reason. It's not safe for any cat to be out alone at the moment, you're lucky it was me who found you," he concluded, his voice now a little tight with worry. He convinced himself it was just out of genuine compassion for the other clans, no leader would want to find one of their own mauled by rogues. As she leapt to the top of the Great Rock, his jaw dropped in mock shock, and he stifled a purr at how small she looked against it, but also how beautifully the moonlight shined on her coat.

With a cursory glance around, and another shot up towards the stars, he mumbled a silent apology to his mother as he leapt to the top of the rock, thankful for the strength in his SkyClan descended hindlegs. Shaking his fur out, he listened to her brag about wanting to be leader, and the cream tom was left wondering - did he want the same? With a jolt he realised he'd much rather a happy family, with someone who loved him as much as he loved them, and kits to raise into fine warriors. Of course he'd want to be the best warrior possible, as any apprentice would want to be, but love was still more important to him.

"That's all well and good, but I'm not sure the best ShadowClan warriors played on the Great Rock in their apprenticehood," his purr rumbled in his chest, and he lounged on the rock, admiring her free spirit just a little more than he'd like to admit. Drawing his tongue over his paw, he set to washing a spot behind his ear, still watching her with mild amusement and interest. "I'm Lionpaw," he rumbled, deciding he may as well introduce himself to her, as he was sure they'd meet at the next gathering. "It's nice to meet you Coalpaw."

The she-cat grinned as the tom joined her on top of the Great Rock. "I guess I was too young to really hear much about it until now. My mother can be.. stifling," she mewed. "I pray that mangy rogues wouldn't be stupid enough to attack a cat in Fourtrees, but I will keep an eye out." Coalpaw tilted her head as she broke out into a full eyes-closed grin. "The pleasure is mine, Lionpaw." After the tom's rather frosty initial attitude, Coalpaw found herself probably happier than she should've been that Lionpaw was engaging her now. This close to him, Coalpaw realized that either he was nearly a warrior or she was just tiny, because he was almost a full head taller than her. The apprentice curled her long black tail over her paws before flicking an ear curiously. "Aren't SkyClan cats supposed to be kinda beefy, not long? You could pass for a WindClan cat if you didn't smell like pine needles."

He poked his tongue out, an affectionate and cheeky gesture he'd picked up in communicating with Swiftpaw, "You mean to tell me that she's that overbearing you're an apprentice and still didn't know? That's almost a little dangerous on her behalf," the tom purred, and was very quickly taken aback by the beauty of her grin, and the soft feeling that enveloped him at it. It was like butterflies were gently emerging, the tips of their wings brushing against his heart which was suddenly hammering in his ears. Looking away for a brief moment to regain his composure, he chuckled at her comment about him looking like a WindClan cat - he had never had that said to him in the past, and he hadn't even thought he looked much like a WindClan cat himself.

Lionpaw was on the fluffier side, and while he was close to warriorhood, he was still yet to finish building up the muscles that often defined a SkyClan cat, and he secretly blamed the lithe form of his biological mother, Flamefur. "You're one to speak," his eyes full of humour, "I was sure you were a lost kit! You're very short for an apprentice," he mewed, secretly relishing in the height difference between the duo, something he had noticed very quickly within heartbeats of meeting her. He could very easily see himself teasing her for it in the future, holding a piece of prey high above her gras- what was he thinking? What in StarClan? The future? He was going to go back to his clan, his family and probably never see her again, except for gatherings.

Almost immediately he felt sadness tug at his chest as he realised this, scaring off the butterflies. Why did that thought make him so upset?

Coalpaw stuck her tongue out at the tom in response, huffing a chuckle. "Mother doesn't seem to always think things through, but I also don't think Firestar is really all that worried about it. ShadowClan pride and whatnot," she meowed. She cocked her head a little as the tom looked off into the distance, her piercing golden eyes still fixated where his had just been. He looked a little flustered, which confused the she-cat, and she missed looking into his pretty blue eyes. Oh no, he's hot, she realized. Her mother's voice sounded in her head, scolding her for the thought, for mingling with the enemy. In spite of that, though, Coalpaw found herself caring very little about what her mother would think.

"I'm not that short!" she grumbled. "I'm lithe. And I'm quicker than most of the bulky oafs in my Clan anyway." Coalpaw had never really cared much about her size, but she certainly didn't want to be seen as frail for it, because she wasn't afraid to give a hard swat on the nose to anyone who thought as much of her.

"Ah yes, the most prideful clan, who could forget?" he purred, feeling her eyes burn holes into his cheek, and he turned back to look at her, feeling the breath momentarily dissipate from his chest. How did she have this effect on him? What in the world? He fought to breathe once more, and his breath hitched in his throat as he tried to repress the wave of affection and attraction that crashed over him at once. Then she spoke, and he took it as an opportunity to regain his composure.

"You are quite short," Lionpaw murmured, drawing himself to his paws to stand next to the she-cat, the tips of his fur gently brushing hers. Heat flooded through every part of his body and electrified him, the tom felt like he could jump and touch the stars with the energy it imbued him with, and he fought off a purr. "See?" He lifted a ginger paw to place on her head, as if to demonstrate the height difference between them, "Short!" he purred, trying to ignore the fact he could no longer feel his paw, the same electrifying feeling from before gripping him in sharp talons. Not that I mind, he thought absentmindedly, and very quickly found himself cursing his own stupid brain out.

He should be at home, in his nest, dealing with Mudpaw's snoring like the rest of his denmates. But no matter how much he knew he should return back to his nest, it was like his paws were firmly planted next to her - wherever she would go.

Coalpaw fought the instinctive urge to puff up again as Lionpaw drew closer to her, black cheeks flooding with heat as she realized just how much bigger than her the tom was. She felt like a kit this close to him, having to crane her head almost all the way back to look him in the eyes. Such pretty eyes. Her mouth opened to protest, but whatever sound was going to come out caught in her throat when the tom put his paw on her head. Her whole body burst into flames internally, starting from the point on her head where his paw gently rested. "I-I guess I am pretty short," she mumbled, unable to make herself any louder despite how loud she normally was.

She huffed, trying to suppress the new urge rising in her chest to press herself closer to the tom, realizing just how little physical contact she'd gotten in recent moons. Something snapped within her and Coalpaw realized she really, genuinely didn't care what anyone else thought and whether it was wrong or not. "I-- This might sound kind of weird," the apprentice said, voice wobbling a little. "But um.. Can I come closer? You're really warm and it's cold and it feels nice and I wanna be closer to you and I don't really know why because it's probably wrong but-" Coalpaw paused, startled, realizing all of her thoughts had just tumbled out of her mouth by accident. Her expression of surprise hardened into one of resolve. "But, I don't think I really care," she meowed, voice more passionate. "...if you don't," the apprentice added somewhat bashfully, remembering that she probably looked really, really stupid for saying any of that.

Heat burned in the tips of his ears as he slowly lowered his paw, admiring the sleekness of her fur against her lithe frame, the way the moonlight so gently framed her face. The amber gaze that matched his own sent shivers down his spine, and his claws flexed against the stone involuntarily as the shudder made its way to his paws. "Very short," he rumbled, fighting off every urge and wandering thought he was currently having about the she-cat. It was almost hard to breathe being this close to her, and for a brief moment he wondered whether it was because the intensity of what he had begun to feel for her, or if it was because he knew it was so incredibly wrong.

At her request, Lionpaw almost fell off the great mound of stone they were sat upon, his entire face lighting up with heat as he fought off a very hearty purr. A thousand thoughts whirred through his head, the warrior code, how disappointed all of his parents would be, that if she were to come closer it would seal his feelings for her. But as she hastily tacked on a query of his feelings, the tom knew he wanted nothing more than to feel her cuddled up to him, his thick fur warming her and chasing away the bite of the leafbare chill.

"O-Of course," he stuttered at last, readjusting himself so they sat side by side but pressed closely together, his tail curled around her in an almost protective way. The creamy tom fluffed out his fur a bit more, feeling himself get warmer by the heartbeat as he got used to the feel of her against him. The same electrifying spikes that had decimated his ability to function previously had trailed off into a warm glow that spread into every vein and bone in his body, a content warmth he hadn't felt since he was a kit curled up at Flamefur's belly.

He knew day would come soon, and that his clanmates would notice his absence and in Breezebranch's case would spiral into a panic over him being hurt by the rogues. "We..." he began, intending to say they both needed to head back to their respective nests, to go back to strangers and ignore the feelings that had very quickly bloomed between them, but he just couldn't. He really, really couldn't. "This is nice. And warm," Lionpaw purred, feeling the instinctual urge to rasp his tongue over her ear in affection, but he didn't dare do it in fear of crossing boundaries. They had just met, why was he acting like this? Flamefur? Whiteclaw? Breezebranch? Please forgive me, he sent a silent prayer, keeping his head slightly bowed so he didn't look at the sky. He couldn't imagine the anger they'd be feeling towards him right now, let alone what Breezebranch would feel if she found out.

To Lionpaw's credit, Coalpaw could not remember having been that warm before, ever. It was not an uncomfortable warmth, it was the kind that made her just want to melt to the ground in a blissful sleep that she so desperately needed. Birds were obnoxiously noisy when the ShadowClan cats were supposed to sleep during the day, and she pretty much never slept well as a result.

She had not actually expected the tom to honor her request in any way, and at his agreement her golden eyes flickered up from where they'd fixed themselves on the ground to meet his with a look of bewilderment. Coalpaw nearly had to bite her tongue to restrain herself from piping a kit-like 'really?' in response, simply letting her eyes fall closed and a rare purr to grow in her narrow chest. The purr rapidly grew to rival Lionpaw's, and Coalpaw was pretty sure that she would've been doing it a lot earlier if she had actually remembered how, but ShadowClan cats definitely did not purr much. If at all.

Coalpaw blinked her eyes open when the other cat began to speak, feeling his voice before she processed hearing it. She'd very nearly fallen asleep, being so warm and strangely comfortable with this cat she shouldn't even be talking to let alone effectively cuddling. She cocked her head a bit when he cut himself off, but didn't say anything of it. "Mm," she replied, voice thick with drowsiness. "I have another.. probably also stupid idea," the apprentice meowed hesitantly. Coalpaw pulled away just slightly to look into Lionpaw's eyes, trying not to search them for reciprocation and failing pretty miserably. "I can't be the only one feeling--" she gestured with her paw, struggling for words, "this," she settled on. "Would you want to maybe... do this again? I don't want this to be the only time I see you on friendly terms outside of Gatherings." The black she-cat looked down, half expecting him to laugh in her face. "I.. understand if you don't want to, though.."

Affection gripped his heart as he felt waves of drowsiness leech off the she-cat and into his own fur, and he melted into her a little bit more, his purr continuing to rumble through his body. As she pulled away, only to proposition another thing - more meetings, more of this - all he wanted was to pull her back into the warmth of his embrace, to gently rest his chin on the top of her head and fall asleep like that, but he listened intently as she stumbled her way through her words.

Now he was met with the question of did he want to do this again? She was right, he did feel whatever was going on with them very clearly, so clearly his heart ached at the thought of having to return to his nest alone. There was something so real and tangible between the duo, and Lionpaw wanted to explore the depths of his feelings for the she-cat, even though it was so so wrong. Oh, what would his parents think? What would StarClan think? The way he felt about Coalpaw, despite only having known her for the duration of the night was so strong that it overpowered his worries and fears, and the slightly dejected way she handed off her statement pulled at his heart. He wanted this, and most of all he wanted her, warrior code damned.

Reaching forward, he rasped his tongue over her ear in affection, a soft "Of course," coming from him. Affection encased his heart once more, and he brought her back in towards him with a large paw, wanting to hold her close through the rest of the night. "I don't know what you're doing to me, but I don't want this to end," Now it was his time for a stupid idea, something that escaped his big dumb head before he processed the thought, "Do you want to spend the night here... together?" Right now the big, fluffy tom could not imagine anything better than curling up in the roots of one of the great oaks dotted around the clearing with Coalpaw, falling asleep with her only to wake up to her soft features. "You don't have to, I know your mother would be fretting like no other I just... I don't want this to end," he murmured, resting his chin on her ebony head, a purr rumbling through him.

Shock, once again, gripped the she-cat's heart with sharp talons that imbued her whole body with a stronger, brighter warmth than ever before. Coalpaw blinked rapidly both in surprise and to clear the stinging sensation from behind her eyes that threatened to embarrass her even further. The lick over her ear sent it home, though, and a couple of tears escaped her eyes as her heart ached oh-so-wonderfully. She directed her face directly into Lionpaw's chest so that hopefully he wouldn't notice. "That makes me so happy I can hardly stand it," she meowed, muffled by his thick fur. At his request, she looked up at him, though, golden eyes sparkling in the starlight. "I'd love nothing more," the younger apprentice replied softly, briefly lost in just how soft everything about Lionpaw looked. After a moment, though, she realized exactly where the two cats still were. "W-We should probably get off of the Great Rock, though!" Coalpaw stuttered out with a huff of laughter that trailed off into an amused purr.

He noticed the dampness in her eyes and didn't mention it, instead he chose to enjoy the moment she buried her head into his chest, and he felt his purr rumble through her small frame. Her happiness made him ecstatic, and to hear the gentle notes that had entered her voice - it was truly enough to send him over the moon. The cream tom felt as if he could leap right into the stars and run across the entirety of the forest territories without losing breath, but he was perfectly content in remaining by Coalpaw's side.

As she agreed to his idea, he felt elation course through his veins that he wouldn't have to leave her just yet, they could spend the night together and deal with everything that would come from that later. Together, the word echoed around his head and his heart, an overwhelming sense of unity and togetherness crashing over him as he realised just how well they would work together. Her prickliness upon their meeting had faded almost immediately, and now they were both gushy messes willing to break the code just to spend as much time as possible together. Lionpaw was filled with so much joy, and at her joke about being on the rock, he regretfully disentangled himself from her, bounding off the rock in one strong leap, feeling the motion jolt his sleepy muscles back awake.

"I beat you down!" he called up to her, arching his back in a large stretch as he looked around for a good place to them to make their nest for the night. Settling on one of the dips under an oak's roots, he was pleased to find leaves that weren't sullied by snow, presumably protected by the tree's roots. Flattening himself into the space, relief washed over him that it was just big enough for two cats to share, and would keep them warm throughout the rest of the cold night. As they settled in together, Lionpaw rasped his tongue over her pelt, lulling himself to sleep more than anything. He drifted off rather quickly, a purr rumbling deep in his chest, absolute weightless happiness giving breath to a good sleep.

Coalpaw watched the burning joy in the tom's eyes and had to will herself into not crying any more than she already had, huffing a scoff at his words when he leaped down. "Oh, please," she meowed, tone biting as she hopped off of the rock and landed gracefully a tail-length away from Lionpaw. "There was never a race established." She followed him to the roots of one of the giant oaks of the four great trees in the clearing and curled up in his warm, cream-colored fluff, purring with abject contentment. The apprentice knew full well as she drifted off into slumber, lulled by Lionpaw's grooming that this would be the best sleep of her life.

Bright light was the first thing that Coalpaw processed as her mind struggled into wakefulness. She blinked open her bleary eyes, shifting her head just a little from where the sunlight had filtered through the snowy leaves of the giant oak they were nestled between. As she tried to raise her head up fully, she bumped it into Lionpaw's, almost flinching away before she remembered the previous night. "Lionpaw," she murmured, running her tongue over the top of his head a couple of times to wrangle a stray tuft of fur. "It's daylight. I'm sure your noisy denmates are wondering where you are." She regretfully disentangled herself from the larger apprentice, stretching her stiff muscles and flexing her claws into the dirt. Coalpaw sighed, more well-rested than she can ever remember being, licking Lionpaw's head one more time before padding off towards ShadowClan territory. She turned before she made it out of the clearing though, eyeing him one last time. "Don't be a stranger, darling," she mewed, just loud enough for him to hear, before she trotted off to return home.