ShadowClan Camp

Longstripe perked his ears nad twisted his head as far aroun as it could go to see Willowdance thrashing in her sleep. It definetely wasn't a Starclan blessed sleep. He realized. He quietly stepped out of his nest and prodded the she-cat in one side with his silver forepaw to wake her up. "Bad dream?" He murmured.

Willowdance woke with a start, lashing her paws out with claws unsheathed. Barely stopping herself from scratching Longstripe in the face, she rolled over and sat up. "Yeah..." she said, a bit embarrassed. "Thanks anyway." Willow didnt want to go back to sleep. The dream would return, she was sure of it.

Longtail jumped back with a short hiss of alarm as her claws flashed at him. "No problem." He looked around as he heard some warriors falling back asleep after the small commotion. "Want to go into the clearing?" He invites her. "Come if you want." He drew himself away from the warrior and padded out into the clearing.

Willowdance shrugged and followed him out of the den. The crisp night air hit her, and she shivered. Glancing up at the Silverpelt, she knew her family would be looking down on her. Trotting over to Longstripe, she kneaded the ground with her paws. "Sorry for waking you up."

"Its fine. I wasn't even asleep." Longstripe turned to Willowdance and straed at her intensely. "You know I'm there for you, right? Good. I may be deputy but that does not mean I can' t spend time with my friends." He dragged his gaze away from hers and said, "Silverpelt sure is shining brightly tonight."

Willow nodded. "Yeah... It is." She closed her eyes and felt the small breeze ruffle her fur. When she opened them, the look was peaceful. "Silverpelt seems to glow brighter in Shadowclan," she remarked to herself, very quietly.

The deputy nodded in agreement. "So, Willowdance. Would you mind telling me exactly what happened in your past? You know, if you want too." He laid down on his side and looked up at Willowdance.

"It doesnt matter. My life was happy in Riverclan, up until my mother started talking to Starclan in her sleep. The others called her crazy and killed her. My brother died trying to defend her. No one else knew about it but me and the five other cats who killed them. My sister didnt even grow to become a warrior. Littlepaw had been just made an apprentice when she was sent out to go kill of a badger. She never came back. My father ignored me, and considered me a burden. I was all alone." She dipped her head. "Nothing I can do about it now."

"No. Your not alone anymore." He mewed briskly. He flicked her ear with his tail. "I'm here." Longstripe replied brusquely. "I am sorry for the death of your family and the amazing cat your father rejected." He stretched but still lay down, waiting for her reply.

"Thank you," she whispered, before lying down herself. "I know that here is the place I was meant to be." Her silver fur shone under the soft light of the moon and stars, making her look like she was part of Starclan. Blinking her ocean blue eyes, she rested her had on her paws.

"Of course it was." He purred, his yellow-green eyes narrowed to slits. "Those fish-eaters lost a valuable warrior and her family is all I xan say." He says with a snort of amusement. "Honestly! Maybe she wasn't crazy. She probably never joined the ranks of StarClan." He blinked and looked back at the warrior. "Sorry, I guess you want to talk about something else." He mewed sympathetically.

"Yeah... I wouldnt mind switching the subject," she mewed, her voice light. Falling silent, she curled her tail around herself, the tip twitching. Giving her chest a few licks, she sighed.

Longstripe gave his fur a quick grooming. "I'm hungry. I'm going to grab something from the fresh- kill pile. You want anything?" He flashed a warm smile at her waiting patiently for her reply, no matter how hungry he was.

Willowdance smiled a bit. "No, it's OK. I ate before a fell asleep." She dipped her head to him. "Thanks for the offer though." This time her smile lit up her whole face, one of her only true smiles.

Longstripe flicked his ears in acknowedgement and grabbed a dfrog off the fresh-kill pile. "Good thing they don't taste as bad as they look." He jokes through the frog and settles back down beside Willowdance. "If you need me or anything, don't hesitate to ask." He points out. "Let me tell you a bit about myself I guess." "As you know I was once RiverClan. But enough about that. I like to swim and eat fish from time to time." He admits. "And I also like the soft pine straw and good hunting here. And all my new Clan mates." He says.

Willow listened carefully as he told her about himself. "I like the pine needles too," she mewed when he had finished. "And I-" she broke of for a yawn. "I like the hunting." Resting her head on her paws again, she waited for him to say something.

Longstripe drew his tail over the ground. "You are tired." He mews finally. "I am sorry to have kept you from going back to sleep. You may rest now." Longstripe trie to hid the disappointment in his eye but failed as he slowly got up started towards the warriors dn wwith his houlder hunched and his head down.

Willow stood and trotted after him. "Whats wrong? Is it something I said?" her voice held genuine concern. "I'm sorry."

"Nothings wrong, your fine." He gave a warm smile away. "I saw that your tired. I thought you would want to rest. I guess it just fel nice to have someone like me to talk to." He sighed. "Its alright, I understand if your tired. His fur rippled like the suface of a lake as the wind brushed against him.

Willowdance lowered her eyes. "Well, OK. But if I did hurt you feelings tell me later." Picking her way over the other nests, she found her own and curled up inside. "'Night," she murmured, before drifting of into a dreamless sleep.

He nodded and went into his nest close by. Before settling down he whispered into Wilow's ear, "You didn't hurt my feelings. No worries." He layed down in his nest and his steady, awake, breathing, gave away to soft snores as he fell lightly asleep.

Longstripe opened his eyes and blinked the sleep from them. She stagyered to his paws and arched his back and pushed his front paws in front of him for a good, long stretch. He padded out of the den and started assigning cats for patrols. "And I'll lead the Sunhigh patrol with, Littlefoot and Willowdance." He finishes. Seeing Willowdance, he pads up to her. "You have the Sunhigh patrol with me and Littlefoot." The deputy flicked his ears to a lighy gray tom with small paws. He flicked his tail and padded over to the fresh-kill pile, taking a vole for himself. "Mind if I join you? If your going to eat that is." He asks sitting down by a ump of brambles.

Hurt flashed in the deputy's eyes, but quickly faded away. "Fine." He said coolly. He wasn't going to show he'd been hut. He was deputy for StarClan's sake. He needed to be respected. The tom sat down with his vole and began eating it, casting small and swift glances at Willowdance. Hoping she wouldn't notice.