Time in the Water

[the day the world went away]

The leader looked up into Spikeshard's azure eyes and almost broke down. She couldn't help it--she wanted oh so badly to confide in someone, someone who'd understand, someone who'd comfort. And yet, at the same time, she felt that she couldn't, for if Spikeshard knew, he might be compelled to tell someone else...and if he did, the one he told would surely tell others, and it would eventually grow into a rumor, and end with her exile. She couldn't be exiled, not now. Even as all these fears ran through her mind, she felt that the silver bengal in front of her would not tell a soul. The RiverClan leader was insecure--should she tell him, or leave it be? He knew that she was faking smiles; it would be no use to lie more.

"Well...," she began, looking away uncomfortably. Then her iridium orbs snapped back up to the silver bengal's cobalt ones, suddenly hopeless and searching. "Can I trust you?" she blurted thoughtlessly, then regained her composure and repeated, "Can I trust that you won't tell a soul anything I tell you, Spikeshard?"

[/center]

[l.ast of the [wild]s]

Spikeshard's darkly-tipped ears pricked in surprise. His cobalt eyes rounded with slight horror when Cloudystar questioned his loyalty to her. The powdered tom stepped forward to the grieving sterling she-cat. Spikeshard gave Cloudystar an affectionate and reassuring nudge on the shoulder. Then the RiverClan warrior stepped back and his blue eyes sparkled with bright kindness.

"Cloudystar you're my leader. How could I ever betray your trust? As a RiverClan cat I have a duty to my Clan. But as a loyal warrior, I also have a duty to you. I could never betray." Spikeshard whispered with fierce emotion. Unhindering loyalty swarmed in the silver bengal's sapphire depths.

[the day the world went away]

The leader averted her eyes once more, feeling sheepish. "Sorry," she mumbled. "But you're probably going to be compelled to tell someone about this." She didn't want him to tell, but she needed to confide, and she'd just have to take the risk. It'll be alright.

After a brief pause of hesitation, she continued. "I'm suicidal, Spikeshard. It really...hurts to admit this, so please understand...this is a hard time for me. Please don't tell anyone. Please."

[/center]

[l.ast of the [wild]s]

"Why would I tell anyone such a thing?"

The words were low, soft, and didn't hold an ounce of the good humor that Spikeshard held within himself. His indigo sapphires swirled with unabashesd angush as he gazed at Cloudystar. The tom's eyes were wide with a bit of horror after his leader had spoken. However, his soft heart broke under the pain of Cloudystar's words.

"Cloudystar I will never tell a soul of what you told me. I promise." Spikeshard whispered as he wound his tail around the sterling shoulders of the she-cat before him.

[the day the world went away]

The shadowy leader gave him a grateful glance. "Thank you," she mumbled, looking down at her paws. "...I was scared to tell you. Scared to admit my problems. I..can't let the clan know." She sighed, a trembling exhale that shook her small frame. "I hate myself right now, for putting this upon you," she continued after hesitation, her silvery eyes flicking back up to stare at Spikeshard worriedly. "You...don't mind?"

She shuddered. "It really means alot to me that you aren't running off screaming everything I just told you. It feels better to tell someone." Cloudystar's tailtip flicked back and forth thoughtfully. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" she mewed, lifting her achromatic gaze and looking at the silver bengal with gratitude.

[/center]

[l.ast of the [wild]s]

The pale ash warrior was silent for a long moment after. His dark lapis lazulis flickered with thoughts and questions. Then he turned to his silver leader and offered that full fanged grin, eyes sparkling with mischief. "I have a perfect idea how you can make it up to me!"

The silver bengal lept forward and tacked Cloudystar with a ticklish touch. "You can play with me!" Spikeshard meowed, mirth bubbling into his voice.

[the day the world went away]

With yet another surprised cry, she toppled over and landed upside-down. After a moment of staring at Spikeshard, shocked, she snickered and rolled upright, crouching down playfully. "Okay, then!" she purred, and unexpectedly launched herself at the bengal, tailtip twitching playfully as she gave another small cry, this one of excitement.

Then the leader laughed and rolled over, landing with a muffled thump on the ground. Momentum kept her going and she rolled into the water, flailing her legs and widening her silvery eyes. She wasn't worried; it just felt so nice to let go and relax for a while.

[/center]

[l.ast of the [wild]s]

To see Cloudystar so happy and light, it warmed Spikeshard's heart with a feeling he couldn't describe. The silver bengal couldn't help, but laugh with his achromatic leader as he landed on her, paws flashing out to tickle her softly belly. The water splashed and rose drenching the two cats with icy cold, but neither seemed to care. A wondorful feeling began to stir the tom's blood and heart, warming him to his very bones.

As Spikeshard continued to brush his wet fur against Cloudystar's drenched pelt, the stirring feeling caused a sudden shock of liquid fire to run down his spine. The argent warrior gasped in shock as his fur felt as if it had been set aflame. The tom stilled his tickling paws and gazed into Cloudystar's vivid eyes, seeing his reflection and laughter in them.

He didn't know why, he didn't understand why, but Spikeshard felt his head moving closer to his sterling leader. The tom shifted his silver face and pressed it into Cloudystar's shoulder, smelling her scent that was mixed with the river. "Cloudystar, no matter what happens. I'll always keep your secret. I'll always be here for you." Spikeshard fiercely in her ear, feeling a burst of affection and loyalty.

He cared for her. She was his leader and he was her warrior. He'd always be right behind her, following her endlessly because that is what he wanted. He wanted Cloudystar to know that he would be here. "No matter where you go or what happens, I'll always be here." Spikeshard whispered softly, sapphire orbs dancing with strength.

[the day the world went away]

Tumbling and laughing in the frigid waters of the small river with the silver warrior, the leader felt something she hadn't before. Unsure and slightly unnerved by it, she brushed the thought away as a small wave created by their playful romping splashed her in her face. The dark tabby had just pulled back from the water, coughing slightly, when a small gasp sounded beside her, and the leader coughed one last time then began to turn toward the sound. As her head turned, orbs of molten silver and deep oceans of ultramarine connected and a shock ran through her small frame. The achromatic orbs blinked once and widened curiously as Spikeshard's muzzle pressed gently against her shoulder, as his voice sounded so close to her, soft, loyal words spoken directly to her heart.

"No matter where you go or what happens, I'll always be here.." Slowly the excited water around them stilled, and the clear liquid lapped gently, timidly at their argent pelts, like a child tentatively asking another to play. A small silence enveloped the two sterling cats, not an uncomfortable silence at all. Immense relief and affection swelled the Riverclan leader's abused heart, and her muscles relaxed as the gentle, loyal words her warrior whispered to her set in. "I'll always be here for you..."

y o u s a i d t h a t y o u w o u l d d i e f o r m e . . .

She turned to him then, the said relief and affection still glimmering in her pale eyes. "Spikeshard....thank you." One dark-crowned ear flicked off a droplet of water. "It means so much to me that...that you understand.." She nodded and the same warmth from earlier returned, the same fluttery mix of affection. A single thought flashed in her mind: the image of the argent tom gazing, almost as if in shock, at her, the affection and loyalty so clear in the depths of his azure orbs. "..That you're still willing to stand beside me, even with this deadly secret..." The raw gratitude and relief seemed to seep through her, leaking into the river that wove serpentine patterns around their soaked limbs, causing another wave of that same grateful affection crash down gently through her. "..It just...it means the world to me, Spikeshard. Thank you. I'm truly...grateful."

With another dip of her head, the leader leaned forward and cast a grateful lick across her warrior's shoulder, silver orbs still glowing with that odd mix of affectionate emotion. Never before had she felt this way. She had never taken the time to grow close to her clanmates, and the price she had paid was being alone -- which eventually grew from loneliness into her deathwish. Now that she had told Spikeshard, a heavy weight she hadn't been aware of lifted slightly off her chest. She knew that he would not tell a soul, and simply this knowledge made her feel lighter, although it did not take away the depression. She trusted this tom, this loyal warrior, and she would not let her over-paranoid mind even think about what could happen if he accidentally spilled the secret. He would not, and she settled for this piece of small yet relieving information, wrapping the warm feelings around her. His words still rang distantly, gently in her ears.

"...I'll always be here."

a n d i k n o w i ' l l b e o k a y
t h o u g h m y s k i e s a r e t u r n i n g g r a y .

[l.ast of the [wild]s]

| There | you | see | her... |

Everything seemed to slow down. Sapphire eyes watched the slow turn of Cloudystar's head, her silver orbs meeting his blue eyes. The crystal droplets of water slid down her fine, sterling pelt, accenting each hair on her lithe form. Spikeshard blinked, feeling a hot tremor run through his damp coat. He sucked in his breath when he felt her lick his shoulder. She was so close and he was aware of every inch.

"Thank you. I'm truly...grateful."

| ...sitting | there | across | the | way. |

The plated warrior swiveled his tail languidly, his darkly-tipped ears perking upward. Heart hammering once again in his chest, Spikeshard turned to face Cloudystar. He swallowed, sapphire eyes wide as they met a pair of crescent moons. Affection pooled into the bengal tom's blue eyes like a whirlpool. "There's no need for thanks. I'm doing this because I want to Cloudystar." He mewed, his face bearing a look of absolute adoration. He couldn’t help it. He had been friends with Cloudystar for so long. It was only natural he would end up feeling this way for her.

| She | don't | got | a | lot | to | say... |

His feelings only grew and deepened as he saw her turn his way, setting her achromatic eyes on him. It made his pelt burn as if her gaze was scorching him. Spikeshard gave the beautiful leader a shy look, his ears tipping down a bit. ”If there’s something else you need to talk about I’m right here! Just me! Good ol’ Spikeshard.” He mewed, a hot flush of warmth spreading through his plated body. Why did he feel so awkward all of a sudden? Normally he was carefree, devoid of all the woes and worries of agony. But this…

| ...but | there's | something | about | her... |

The heated feeling made him feel like a bumbling and awkward apprentice again. He felt his mouth go dry and a lump entered his throat. Yet at the same time, the intensity in Cloudystar’s silver moons, the sheer and raw emotion in them, made him feel like the strongest warrior alive. The frigid water clinging to his steel pelt rippled as he padded closer to his beloved leader. Deep ocean blue gazed into the transparent silver, the level of affection in the swirling lakes nearly ripping past the tense air. ”Cloudystar…” Spikeshard breathed, his voice deeper and hoarse.

| ...and | you | don't | know | why... |

The RiverClan warrior inhaled the she-cat’s scent, letting it rise into his nostrils and settle into his lungs, swirling beautifully. It was unique and unusual all at once. An aroma mixed with rainwater and fresh water. He closed breathed heavily, trying to steady his rapidly beating heart. ”Cloudystar, I…” Spikeshard gazed deeply in the dark, lithe femme’s eyes. Out of the corner of his peripheral vision, he watch a drop of crystal river water bead down Cloudystar’s sterling pelt, the droplight highlighting each hair it slid down. He gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat as he gazed at his beloved leader.

| ...but | you're | dying | to | try... |

At last he moved. The river rippled once more as the silver Bengal padded forward. His tail lashed about as he pressed himself against the she-cat’s side, light silver fur mixing with dark sterling. ”Cloudystar.” Spikeshard whispered, pushing all his love and affection into the name of his beloved. His tail curled around hers until even the tip was intertwined with the RiverClan leader’s tail. Sparkling cobalt gazed into pale moon disks. ”Cloudystar.” The plated tom mewed as he softly licked her cheek, a purr emitting form his throat and vibrating his body.

| ...you | wanna | kiss | girl! |