IF HAPPY EVER AFTER DID EXIST * [DUNE]

There was something funny - in a twisted, wrong, bemusing way - how quickly one came to miss something once it was wrenched away without the slightest warning. Was it not moons ago that he had tired of his clan? Hadn't he learned to despise the moors and the barrier they created between himself and someone that had become such an integral force in his life? It had been an eager action, mere moons back, to slip away from camp and away from the cats whom had been a part of his life since his birth; to desperately seek out a warrior that should have been forbidden to him. He'd told no one, although he was sure there were some suspicions. Havocstar had an eerie way of seeming to know everything that went on, although the leader, thankfully, had never approached Duneshade to ask where he was needed every week in the middle of the night. It had been dark and stressful and the young warrior had become more and more alienated from his clanmates. And now he found himself missing those times.

This place wasn't home. Home was where the warm scent of heather pervaded all things and there was always a brisk gust ruffling one's fur. Here the air was dank and still in comparison, the breezes strangled by the thick trees and heavy foliage, the smells bathing his palette were too earthy, like they needed more sun. There was something wrong with not being able to see everything for miles out. Then again, there was something wrong with the entire situation at hand. For all his melancholy, Duneshade had never suspected he would be forced out of Zephyrclan territory. Although he had convinced himself he hated his home, there had always been that inner knowledge that he could never wrestle himself away from the lands. There were too many memories, although perhaps not all fond, and a part of the warrior was tied to the rolling hills. 'You don't know you love something until it's gone.' A wry smile twisted on the cat's features. That statement was ringing hard and true right about now.

There had been instructions not to wander. They didn't know the territory and all the cats were on unsure ground as it were with this technical invasion. There was still a touch of rebellion, however, in Duneshade, and there were still moments where he simply couldn't bring himself to face his clanmates. So he slipped away and wandered, dark pelt mixing just fine with the shadows. He had padded near the portion of land where Tempestclan had settled, considered walking amongst that group, and decided against when he realized a stranger might nor be well received at such a time. It was about time he headed back anyways, his paws ached from being pricked constantly by the litter of pine needles, besides it wasn't as though he could hunt or patrol in this place. Once, on the way back, he sniffed curiously, hopefully as a familiar scent registered. It was hard to recognize, mangled as it was by the hopeless mish-mosh of clans smells, but what other Tempestclan cat would be so close to the Zephyrclan group? Sure enough, as he stretched on his long legs to peer across the bodies he spotted a silver-gray shape moving away, down a well-worn path. He danced neatly around the other felines waiting to be some distance away before crying out. "Splashmist!" He broke into a trot, rushing towards the tabby as she heard his call. "I wasn't sure I'd find you nearby."

There was a thick moment of doubt where Duneshade wondered if Splashmist would turn around and greet him or act like she hadn't heard him and just keep walking. It was a foolish notion, but there was a deep-seated fear in the tom that always made him worry about being rejected. In was all too strange, sometimes, to be able to know - think? believe? hope? - that there was a cat out there who saw beyond the spidery frame and timid nature. A strange idea that someone might care for him and he might care back. On occasion the tom would just sit and wonder if the events playing back in his head were just vivid fantasies conjured up by a desperate mind. Foolish. Stupid. But always there in the back of his head. So when he saw the she-cat's footsteps falter as she registered his cry, watched her spin to meet him and call out with his own name, the tom felt the beginnings of a smile tugging on his maw. In the time it took to close the remaining fox-lengths between them the smile had become a full-blown, lopsided grin.

He wanted to say something, anything, but just what he wasn't sure. Even so his jaws were parted to speak when Splashmist beat him to the punch. "I was looking for you. We should talk." The grin faltered and then fell to be replaced with a more somber expression as he gave a mute nod. Those words were never quite the best way to start any sort of meeting. "Of course, you're right," he said after a moment; he motioned for the other to lead the way to some place they could speak in a semblance of privacy. Was there a such thing as privacy with four clans residing on a steadily shrinking territory? It seemed like there was a cat at every turn unless one dared to delve deeper into the Vertigoclan woods against the silent agreement to avoid as much trespassing as possible. Part of him wanted to fill the silence as they walked, yet another was simply happy to enjoy this wordless moment. 'Or happy to push off whatever conversation might be about to happen?' He frowned inwardly at the nagging little voice. If he could will the wonders away he would, only it wasn't so easy. It was hard to say how long they'd walked, Duneshade was no expert at telling time with a thick canopy hampering his view of the sky, but he had begun to let his mind wander freely. When they did slow somewhat, the warrior gave a tiny grunt of surprise and bumped the she-cat as his paws failed to stop quickly enough.

"Well that's a whopper of a question." Was his initial response. He twisted his head to one side, nonplussed and fumbling for some response. He'd hardly thought about where he would be in the next week, let alone what would be happening to the clans in a few months. True, it was something he should have considered, even so he hadn't. "There isn't exactly a way to prep for mass flooding of multiple clans, and, well, I don't believe that we'll be able to just sit on our tails and hope Starclan sends a miracle. Who knows when these rains will leave?" He shook his head, ruffling out his thin fur against the persistent damp. His brow had furrowed thoughtfully, and he glared down at his paws as though they had all the answers. He looked up, yellow-green gaze wary as the tabby continued, moving on to the meat of the matter. On to them. "Splashmist, I-" he paused, fighting not to stammer as he often did when emotions got the better of him. "Damn the rules. I don't care what anyone else thinks. Nothing else matters if I can't have you, if I can't be with you everywhere."

With a small snort he stepped closer to the she-cat, lowering his head to meet the smaller's gaze. "But are you sure? I know that your family might not take too well to this. At least I've got no one to judge me but my clan." Perhaps not the best words, but now was the time to be frank and not dance around the subject as they had for so many moons.

It would have been nice for Duneshade if just once in his life he could be that, quiet, thoughtful cat that always gave out the best advice. Rather than that quiet, thoughtful cat who seemed to never have the right thing to say. It wasn't as though he tried to say the wrong things, only eloquence had never been the spidery tom's forte. He could say something, but more than half the time he decided that everyone would be better off if he just kept silent and stuck to mute nods. It was one of those major character flaws that the warrior sometimes hated about himself. At least he didn't stutter or stumble too often nowadays, as an apprentice that had been far more embarrassing. Still, watching a look of pain surface from beneath Splashmist's tough exterior, the sable feline found himself regretting the frankness with which he had noted the clans' dire situation. 'Just go straight out and say that her home's good as gone and laugh about it, why don't you? He hoped the tabby would understand. He was flawed, they were flawed. Everything was flawed.

After his mock-able excuse for a "speech", Duneshade could feel a sudden freedom, and lightness as though he'd been pressed under the force of an unseen burden, now lifted. He rolled his shoulders slightly, almost testing the lack of pressure like it had been something physical. It was almost a giddy thing, an emotion quite out of place in this, an unfamiliar territory and unhappy circumstance. The tom had just commited himself to a life-changing decision, but then, some part of him felt this turn of events had been set in stone from that first fateful night when he met a silver-gray apprentice along a moon-lit lakeshore. The moment shattered, though, and the grimness of things was brought about again as Splashmist spoke. "It's all just... it's all too much, isn't it? Everything is... gone..." He tried to smile and failed miserably. He wanted to sweep forward and nuzzle the other, just tell her that everything was alright. somehow things would work out. They just had to persevere and stand strong in the face of this challenge. Wasn't that what some of the older gruffs in the clans claimed? He knew what he wanted to say, but he couldn't voice the words. They were lies, and he was sick of lying.

"Not everything is gone," he murmured. "We have each other after all, don't we?" Duneshade gave a soft laugh. "I'm sorry, that was rather cliche wasn't it?" While the cat hated to fall back on lighthearted humor, no other alternative made itself obvious. He listened in silent awe as Splashmist continued on, suddenly taking a a new strength and ferocity in her volition. He'd done nothing to deserve such a partner, but there she was, speaking and showing a willingness to give up all her past life to be with him, to leave behind everything she knew. It should have been the reverse, he dropping all his possessions. Then again, it would seem they'd never been the pair to follow the status quo. "I... I don't know what to say after something like that," he gave a wry smile, a purr rising from his throat to soften the words. "Only that I love you Splashmist and you deserve so much better; don't you dare apologize for anything. That should be me. I was a stupid fool for ever trying to say we couldn't be." He paused. "Things are changing fast now, and not just for us. Everyone is living so closely, I can't say there won't be some changes in the clans anyways." Maybe this was just what they needed. he wasn't about to say such a thing, but the thought crept in the back of his head. would something like this have happened were it not for the clans being displaced?

The lithe warrior felt the warm look creeping onto his face as Splashmist sighed but proceeded to nod and agree with her soft murmurs. The chaos, the swirling, conflicting emotions rushing through the she-cat must have been in a mad tumult; the variety of thoughts, objections, internal battles could be maddening. At least so he thought. And here she was coolly taking a breath, voice level and determined, moving easily through the motions of the conversation. Duneshade recalled the last time he'd felt such an imagined conflict. That had been back on that fateful night on the glacier. Back when he was still too young and immature - not that he still wasn't young and immature - and a freshmade warrior who was torn between loyalties to his clan and loyalties to the female warrior from another clan who saw past his flaws. Past his stammering and his nerves and his detestation of physical violence. He hadn't handled things so well, the outbursts flying from his mouth thoughtlessly. They might have been torn apart, only they instead managed to move past the problems. Such a time seemed a distant memory now.

"And remember that we do have each other. In this, and in all things. " A low chuckle bubbled up from his chest. They were like two pillars with crumbled bases, fragile on their own, unsteady; not assuredly able to stand alone against anything and everything that the world might send. Leaning on the other, though, they were immobile. A near-unshakable force maybe. He pressed back the nose-touch with a pleased purr. "Big day for big changes," he meowed, a wry note to his words. "And whatever happens, I promise I'll be there for you." He fumbled slightly around the words, unsure of just what he was attempting to convey. Stupidly chivalric, aren't you?' He scoffed quietly at himself. "So, if a Zephyrclan warrior and a Tempestclan warrior were ever to agree upon anything, that is... perhaps we might look for a temporary den? Together?"

The sable cat leaned back, mirroring the happy look on Splashmist's face. He rolled his gaze skywards, brow furrowing and face pulling a contemplative look as he considered the few patches of the heavens he could make out through the thick foliage. "Now that would be something of a feat wouldn't it?" He asked with a cock of his head, dipping his chin to look back at the silver-gray tabby. "Two cats which such different tastes finding a suitable place to nest together. We might try, though." The lightness in his tone was enough to convey the joking in his words. "Personally, I think the forest-cat will have better taste in picking out a place beneath trees. So why don't you lead the way?" As he spoke a pressed close, letting their pelts brush before - in spite of his words - he began padding off in a random direction, motioning with a wave of his tail for the other to come along.

He'd thought that Splashmist would be a bit happier at his words, not that expected the she-cat would be gleeful and bright, no times had been far to bleak for that, but he couldn't help but feel his stomach tighten and coil upon itself somewhat as he caught the brooding darkness of an unvoiced question in the mixed green stare. His tail flicked and he met her glance as levelly as he could, wondering at what could elicit the look she was giving him. 'Go on, tell me what's on your mind.' He only wished he was brave enough to say such a thing, but he was still too much a a coward to speak. His throat was tight. Silently a portion of the young warrior's mind begged for her to just speak up, the other half of him secretly wishing she wouldn't. He wasn't entirely sure he might want to face the brevity of news that could force such a clear challenge on the silver tabby's face. He could feels his jaws working, building up to speak. Only he couldn't. He might try, he might make all sorts of attempts, but the male was unable to force any speech. Weak, that's what he was.

Before he could think too long on the glance things had suddenly relaxed, tension breaking into a look of endearment and closeness. Maybe even love? Just go with it, put the wondering away. There would be time to ponder, time to talk later. It would seem, after all, that they'd be spending much more time in each others' vicinity. A childish titter bubbled up from his chest as he heard the feline shifting in surprise when he took off, growing to a full force laugh as she caught up and moved to swipe teasingly at his ear. The tom ducked, though not fast enough to avoid the blow. "Hey!" He flicked the 'hurt' ear with a look of mock pain. "You've got to move fast to keep up with Zephyrclan cat, forest-dweller," came the playful retort, eyes narrowing coyly. "Isn't it often said we're so skittish we must have ants in our pelts. You really shouldn't be surprised at how fast I took off." He gave a soft grunt as the shorter of the pair buffeted his side "accidentally" as she took off in a semi-random direction, stumbling to keep his balance, paws fumbling across the unfamiliar ground.

The dark-furred warrior took pursuit through the thick foliage, grudgingly aware of the incessant tug of twigs and leaves on his fur. "Speaking of which, how in the world do you deal with all the clutter?" He asked with mock scorn, happy to follow after her and meeting her antics with a sly smirk. "I mean, how do you not give yourself away to all the prey. And your pelts... it's a wonder they're intact!" He let his mind wander as the she-cat, who in all honesty probably knew better than he could ever hope to about choosing a good nest, sniffed about curiously. "I love you, by the way," he said suddenly, padding up to brush his head warmly underneath the female's chin. "I don't know that I've ever had the chance to just say that in a casual fashion."