[Amberbriar x Cracklestreak] I'm scared...

[Chisato Mikami]

Amberbriar sighed as she entered the camp. All she wanted was a nice nap at the river, but no. A dumb lightning clan tom decided to come in and ruin her alone time. What did it take to get some peace? A least the day wasn’t a complete failure. She did catch a couple squirrels on her way back home. She had to climb a tree to get them, but it was worth it not to return empty handed. Especially now that most of the camp was sick and all because of some kit.

Amberbriar grumbled a little. She really hoped that Flamedapple and Foxfur were proud of themselves, not to mention Shadowstar. Everything was going down all at once and way too fast.  

[Falcona]

Cracklestreak sighed as he ambled back to camp. What a day it was... “And I missed my grooming session too” he muttered under his breath. He wishes he did not go with his fearsome leader onwards to see what was happening but his sense of pride does outweigh his general sense of self-preservation. ‘All for a kit...’ he mused, as he attempted to feed himself after the trek to the border. Food is starting to be hard to come by with Leafbare coming soon, and he knows if he wants to stay alive, he needs to eat as much as he could.

“May Forestclan look upon us favorably this season...” Cracklestreak looked up into the sky as he said this, hoping someone up there could hear. Hearing a squeak, Cracklestreak immediately went on haunches and dove into the bush, emerging triumphant, mouse in maw. Pleased, he set about back to camp to feed and groom all the leaves off his fur. So pleased that he did not see Amberbriar and bumped into her.  

[Chisato Mikami]

“Hey, watch-“ Amberbriar turned toward the cat that bumped into her. She quickly hid her annoyance once she got a good look at the tom. “Cracklestreak… Do you make it a habit of bumping into others while deep in thought?” She hid her smile as best she could. She looked down at the mouse that had dropped from the tom’s mouth. She picked it up and placed it at the tom’s paws. “You better not loose that… No telling who will try to take it away.”  

[Falcona]

Blinking, Cracklestreak thought he will be losing his catch to Amberbriar but when he eyed her (discreetly of course), he was impressed. Of all things he wanted to do, bumping into a rather beautiful female was the last thing he wanted to do “Me? Deep in thought? No, why would I even think as much, it hurts the brain” he replied, shrugging. Looking down, he watched as Amberbriar return his catch, staring at it for a bit then looking back up to her.

“Hungry?” He asked out of the blue, brain running away from him slightly. Can’t blame him. ‘Wait, wasn’t I hungry?!’ He thought. Those yellow eyes that belonged to Amberbriar seems to draw him in (not that he will admit it to her)  

[Chisato Mikami]

“So… you bumped into me on purpose then?” Amberbriar asked, taking a closer step to Cracklstreak. She walked around him, noticing that his fur was a complete mess. ‘He must have run off to the commotion at the border…’ she thought as she plucked a leaf off his back. Now she felt a little bit better that Dewfrost had made her late in returning to the camp. If she had gotten back sooner, then she might not have had Cracklestreak bump into her.

“Are you not used to someone stealing your catch?” Amberbriar asked, hearing him saying hungry. “If you don’t want it, I’m sure there are others that would.”  

[Falcona]

"Uh...maybe?" Cracklestreak watched Amberbriar as she padded round him and plucked a leaf from his fur. Well, she does have such pretty swirls on her body, it is kind of mesmerizing. Blinking, he shook his head a little and stared at his catch again. Turning back to her, he smiled.

"I have had another cat steal my kill, unfortunately..." Cracklestreak narrowed a little at the rather painful memory. "But I am a little famished, so I will have it...unless you have not eaten..." He understands that the kit has greencough, and he knows that if the adults start getting sick, this will be a disaster. He is sure Shadowstar will want able cats to be able to at least hunt.  

[Chisato Mikami]

Amberbriar was a little surprised at first. She actually had eaten, but now enough to make her full. Now greencough was I the camp. Some of the adults were already sick. She was sure she would catch the illness. She attacked the fox that had come into the camp and she heard that fox was looking for the kit. She normally was so calm and collected, but she was scared. Scared for her clan and scared for herself.

“No, I don’t want your mouse,” Amberbriar said, being herself back to the present. She liked Cracklestreak. He was easier to talk to then that stupid tome Dewfrost. She should have pushed him out of the territory instead of wasting time speaking to him. “You need to keep your strength up… Stonebelly and the medical apprentices are literally trapped in the medical den with the kit that is sick…. So is Flamedapple and Foxfur… and Shadowstar is sick as well…” For a moment she looked done, worry on her face. “If you want, I can groom you while you eat.”  

[Falcona]

Cracklestreak observed her with concerned eyes. Greencough is nothing to laugh about. He was also afraid; afraid of the circumstances should he catch it too. “We can survive, if that is what you were worried about. We have and will overcome a lot” Smiling he tried to allay her fears, despite knowing the kit could (extreme, worse case scenario) wipe out their clan.

Surprised by the offer, he blinked somewhat owlishly. “ Uh... sure... uh, thank you?” He never had a female cat groom him before, but hey! He won’t let the opprutinity pass. Amberbriar is beginning to grow on him, and he did not mind being around her. (He had bad encounters with female cats who were too...bitchy, for a lack of a better word, to him as a kit so he was always weary of them) Shadowstar was one of the first he respected... and just maybe, he can trust Amberbriar, respect her and potentially care for her.

With a smile, he dug into the mouse he caught.  

[Chisato Mikami]

Amberbriar smiled too as she settled next to Cracklstreak and began grooming him as he ate. She was afraid. She was afraid that this plague would swipe her new home. She was born from Lightningclan, but she found a home here at Riverclan. She gently plucked the leaves and twigs from Cracklestreak’s fur. “Did you roll in a dead brush? You have twigs all in your fur.” She giggled as she teased him. In truth, Amberbriar never did thing like this. She never spoke to Toms, always deeming them unworthy in her eyes. So, what made Cracklestreak special? The thought hunted her a little as she continued to groom him.  

[Falcona]

Crackle streak shivered slightly when Amberbriar began to groom him. It was a foreign feeling - the only time someone else grooming him was his mother. He is throughly enjoying it...the soft strokes...the- "I did not roll on a dead bush!" There was amusement in his voice as he looked over to her at the teasing. He smiled, eyes growing slightly fond... "So beautiful..." he mused.

He returned to his kill, not knowing he had actually muttered that sentence out loud.  

[Chisato Mikami]

Amberbriar paused for a moment. Did he just say she was beautiful? She smiled a little and resumed cleaning him up. Once he was done eating, she licked his cheek. No one had ever called her beautiful before, but she also never gave anyone a reason to think she was. She had a reputation for being mean and heartless, but she didn’t feel that towards Cracklestreak.

“I think I got the all the twigs out,” she purred softly. “You know… I was… scared.. before you bumped into me. Thank you for getting my mind off if it.”  

[Falcona]

Finishing his kill, he was about to turn to her to see if she was done when Amberbriar licked his cheek. His eyes widen and he stared at her for a moment. His heart fluttered with glee. She...she- His brain short-circuited; he never had that form of affection or something from a female cat before.

"Oh, thank you... " He glanced at his coat blankly, brain not quite here yet. It was only when Amberbriar said she was scared that his brain jolted back into gear. "Wait... Why were you afraid... It's the kit that was brought back wasn't it... " He trailed off. "Hey, Amberbriar, it will be okay......well, we may not know each other for that long... But I'm here....?"  

[Chisato Mikami]

“The kit is sick,” Amberbriar said as she looked away. “It got Flamedapple, Foxfur, and Shadowstar sick as well… What if more of us get sick? Not to mention it’s leafbare right now. The whole clan could…. We might not have a home in the future.” She sighed, thinking about when the split off happened. She left Lightning clan in hopes of finding a better future. Was this her punishment for her decision?

Amberbriar looked up at Cracklestreak. She smiled as she rubbed her head against his. “Thank you, Cracklestreak. You’re the first tom I’ve come across that has seen this side of me. Did you know that?”  

[Falcona]

"That kit will be the bane of our existence.." He replied. " Not all of us are, and no one else will. I have not gotten in contact with that kit, if it is any consolation..." He trailed off, unsure if that will help with her fears. A soft nuzzle caused his heart to jump again. 'Be still heart, I know!' He thought to himself. Cracklestreak observed her softly. "Uh...Uh.." he shook his head to reboot and tried again "I am privileged to be able to see this side of you." A smile. "I guess it would be the same with me..."

He looked away into the distance, past memories coming to head. "I am not as I once was, confident...courageous...I am but a coward now. I hide from wanting to fight at times, spending my time grooming, napping... Its a wonder how Shadowstar got me to be apart of the clan..." Pause. "Ah, what am I thinking, it is the past. We are in the now" He shook his head and turned back to her. "If we no longer have a home, we can always make one. We are Riverclan cats, we can resist anything the world throws at us." Confidence radiated from his voice and he nodded and nuzzled her.

"We can do it, you know we can."  

[Chisato Mikami]

Amberbriar couldn't help but smile a little. She didn't feel as afraid as she did. Cracklstreak helped her in more ways then she had ever thought about. She was still the mean she-cat that was her reputation. Anyone that sort of knew her would know the stories about how she treated others, but this single tom changed that. Not completely though. Only he was able to see the side of her that no one else could.

She felt for him when he told her he was once confident and proud. Maybe she could help him be that cat again. He brought out a softer side to her. It only seemed right that she brought out the more confident and strong out of him. What was it about him that other she-cats didn't like about him? What happened that caused such pain and complete change in character? For Amberbriar, she had always been the way she was. She picked on males, causing them grief and in some cases pain. Her older brother had a huge part in that, but he was in lightning clan now.

"Hey Cracklestreak," she purred a little. "Do you want to get out of camp for a while? We can... talk some more. I would like to get to know you better."