private GET IN LINE TO MEET THE GIRL WHO FLEW TOO HIGH [ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ] PINKSHINE

[Halfsun]

Nearly every day since the meeting, since she had been renamed from Halfpaw to Halfsun, she had found some excuse to come close to the WindClan border, mismatched blue eyes searching the heather for even just a glimpse of that familiar calico pelt that made her heart twist in a way that had caught her off guard at first, but was now a feeling she had come to terms with. I love you Pinkshine, and I don't care if there's a border in between us! If you love me too then we will find a way, I promise! she practices in her head over and over again what she is going to say if-when she sees her and every single damn time the grass sways across the thunderpath, she can feel her heart lurch in her chest. The biitter disappointment she feels when it is not her is palpable, a foul taste in her mouth that makes her want to spit upon the earth and curse the stars for not aligning their paths faster.

Today, she strays just a bit away from the rest of her hunting party, an excuse about smelling something and wanting a better look ready on her tongue as she pulls away and heads in the direction of the thunderpath. She stands at the verge for a few long moments, frozen to the spot and eyes unblinking, as if she can will the she-cat into existence through sheer force of will alone. When nothing happens, she lets loose a heavy sigh and turns to walk away. Only, when she does... there. Was that movement she spotted in the corner of her eye?

It could be any WindClanner, she reasons as her hopes sky-rocket. It had been before, she had run into a patrol before, another cat she didn't want to think about, this time though... this time it is the most beautiful horizon hued eyes that stare at her from across the border. "Pinkshine!" she calls out, joy and relief making her voice that much brighter when she lays eyes on her childhood friend. "Over here! I've been looking for you.." her words are accompanied by a purr as she kneads the ground anxiously with her socked front paws, waiting for the WindClanner to come closer to the border.

// @PINKSHINE

( ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ) smile for me when you set me free

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  HALFSUN SHADOWCLAN APPRENTICE ; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO APPLEJAW, ASHENFALL, SWANSONG, GARLICHEART, AND LAURELGRIN
  

  A tall and well-toned she cat with a long half-and half pelt, one side being a dark blue tabby and the other a bright cream, split by a pool of white at her center and travelling up her face like flames she is fire and ice simultaneously swirling into one. Her eyes are a mismatched shade of blue, with one being bright like the daytime sky and the other dark like the depths of the river.

  ✦ Difficult in battle + a skilled fighter
  

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[PINKSHINE]

Pinkshine can kinda forget things often, but never ever would she forget the promises she makes to her friends. Halfpaw's words from the gathering are still , uh, clear enough in her head. So what if she didn't have any quotes? She knew that a warrior ceremony was due, and along with it, a certain tortoiseshell coat would be stepping her way along the borders for a chance to meet her friend. Regardless of anything... of everything. Good things, like the rasp of a tongue against a brown tabby coat. Bad things... like the scent of blood flooding her senses. She had this to smile about still, and she would. It feels unsteady on her face right now... bothered. But, um, she's sure Halfpaw would remind her how to smile properly! She just needed to get lucky...

She sees Pinkshine before Pinkshine sees her. A calico face lights up in surprise. " Halfpaw! " Wasn't she the luckiest cat in the world? Maybe it was a secret code she just cracked, and she needs only think, I need to get lucky to will good things into existence! Could she see a rainbow next? Find and catch the world's fattest rabbit? Maybe even find a berry bush, strong enough enough to withstand the stink of the Thunderpath so she could bring home new colors to Featherspine... The brightest blue or a sun - yellow... Maybe even pink? She just needed to get lucky! A glance is briefly cast around, watching to see if any of her dreams would come true before her very eyes...

Well, maybe there was a one - per - day limit. It'd be a little unfair if there wasn't, right? Pinkshine isn't alone, but in her rush to find something novel and barrel after it, it might look like it! Pinkshine goes as far as she can manage without risking whiskers over the Thunderpath " Hi! " she shouts, tail waving excitedly behind her. " You found me! " she beams. Her voice whips up in an excited squeal. It's not fair at all that Halfpaw hadn't been made a warrior with her in WindClan... she'd just have to be the first WindClan cat to know in order to make up for it! " I gotta know, Right now... What's your warrior name? "​

 

[Halfsun]

When her head turns to look in her direction, it's like the world just stops. Halfsun finds herself holding her breath as she bounds closer, the brightest damned smile spread across features that she could swear would light up even the darkest parts of her marsh-land home. Despite everything, all the loss the anger, the guilt, she finds herself trying to mimic that smile as the corners of her own mouth upturn to match. Radiant, she's absolutely fucking radiant. And the best part? Her smile is for her. Immediately, she sits a little bit straighter, finds herself wishing her paws could carry her across the thunderpath. Home she thinks, the thought coming to her almost against her will as her heart aches. WindClan had not been that to her in many moons but it still sometimes felt as if it should be. "I found you!" she echoes, tail sweeping the darkened loose rubble on the edges of the thunderpath and curling against her paws to hide the way her paws still twitch nervously.

The calico across the way asks to know her new name as quickly as possible. She cannot help the slight laugh at the urgency, at the rush in her friends words. "Halfsun its-it's Halfsun, my father named me" she tells her. It is a direct opposition to her mother - cool and calculated was her namesake but she on the other paw, glowed with her radiance, with fire like the sun. It is a good name, one that makes her happy. She hopes Pinkshine likes it.

"I actually- I wanted to tell you something... something really important..." something that couldn't wait for any gathering, something she had to say now or else she would never find the courage later. She swallows the lump in her throat, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. When she opens her eyes she speaks again, quickly, before she can falter. "Pinkshine I... Oh-" she cuts herself off abruptly as the heather rustles, as a figure steps out.

Her friend is not alone...

( ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ) smile for me when you set me free

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  HALFSUN SHADOWCLAN APPRENTICE ; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO APPLEJAW, ASHENFALL, SWANSONG, GARLICHEART, AND LAURELGRIN
  

  A tall and well-toned she cat with a long half-and half pelt, one side being a dark blue tabby and the other a bright cream, split by a pool of white at her center and travelling up her face like flames she is fire and ice simultaneously swirling into one. Her eyes are a mismatched shade of blue, with one being bright like the daytime sky and the other dark like the depths of the river.

  ✦ Difficult in battle + a skilled fighter
  

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[FEATHERSPINE]

"P-Pinkshine, there you ..." Jaws snapped shut. Purple petals parted, a snowy stride splitting them- the tall flora of the moors split and bent perfectly, bowed just-so against a barging body. Featherspine's movements were never as sharp as his tongue; a fleet-footed form, born on these moors and brushed through with the breeze, ensured a certain grace ot her moveents only tempered by her scowl. It was that natural wind-born subtlety that stunned Halfpaw's eyes, then... she would guess. Ears honed to eavesdropping had heard the name Halfsun on the wind though, weaving toward her before she had even emerged.

Not a single one of them was an apprentice any longer. It made Featherspine feel the slightest bit odd, as every eke of the passage of time did. As ever, his face was twisted in a frown ... though there was a flicker of some soft recognition in narrowed, sun-blister eyes. Halfsun was a Shadowclanner, yes... but a unique one. "Oh, it's you." For once, Featherspine's voice was mostly devoid of quills ... there was a neutrality to him that he did not often afford. She studied Halfsun's face for a few long moments, sensing the ghost of a smile there- though it was rather impossible not to grin like an idiot in Pinkshine's presence. Featherspine had plenty of practice in proximity, over the moons- her frown was a steadfast thing, though slightly smoothed now.

She picked her way to Pinkshine's side - didn't even think as a white-tipped tail grazed against calico stripes, a silent gesture of hello, comfortable in the small affections they had built together. Halfsun had never particularly been a friend to him... but that was kithood, and a gleam of welcoming in Pinkshine's eyes subdued him a little as he faced her. "Sorry for b-buh... b-b-buh ... for intruding, I don't imagine you were looking for me as well." There was snide humour in her voice, but Featherspine would wager it was the friendliest Halfsun had ever seen her.​

✦ penned by pin​

 

[PINKSHINE]

Halfsun, she says. Pinkshine's jaw drops in a slight gape. " That's so much prettier than all the names I gave you! " she exclaims. Halfsun, like the sun and moon halves of her face... Like her sunny personality ( If she remembers right, anyways, and she's pretty sure she does!) Like... she has the power of half the sun, and even half of something so bright and shiny had to be strong on it's own. Halfsun like all of those things, and like Sunstar. The realization barrels into her suddenly, making her face ache as she smiles. " Oh my gosh, like Sunstar! Now you're always gonna have a piece of us with you, " she cheers. " He misses you, I bet. We all miss you! " she says, and her paws graze the black tar of the Thunderpath.

Her ears prick then as the laughs die out and Halfsun speaks up. Not just something important, but really important. Her eyes go round with curiosity. " Really important? " Was this the real reason Halfsun wanted to see her after the gathering, more than just talking about names and warriors aspirations? ...Why hadn't she just told her there then? Was it, like, a huge secret...? A rustling in the heather has an ear flickering back. It wasn't a whole patrol, but...

" Featherspine! " her voice carries across the wind, clipping on her name and then cutting off suddenly. Pinkshine glances over her shoulder, beckoning her friend over with a wave in her tail. Now this was a fun little reunion! She just needed Halfsun's sibling with her too... She briefly scans the trees on ShadowClan's side, wondering if a familiar pelt would step out to join Halfsun the same way Featherspine had. Something like recognition glimmers in Featherspine's words. It's you, he says. " You remember Halfsun? Half...paw. Larkpaw! Lark... " ...What had happened to that whole -Lark thing? Where had that even come from? Pinkshine blinks blankly for a few moments, not able to recall. " Well um, she's Halfsun now! Isn't that name great? "

Pinkshine doesn't think she could possibly smile any bigger as he makes his way to her. Featherspine and Halfsun in one place? How cool was this? She felt like she might just spit up a bunch of butterflies! A warm purr springs from her chest. A friendly — loving gesture is returned by a candy - striped tail and nudge of her head. " It's okay! " she tells Featherspine. " You can trust Featherspine, I promise! She's really good at keeping secrets, " she reassures Halfsun. She doesn't actually know if that's true, but its not like she knows its not true either, so it's probably fine! " I'm like, the happiest cat ever right now! " she announces to them both, standing on her toes. " So what were you gonna say, Halfsun? "​

 

[Halfsun]

Featherspine's presence is a sharp kick to the chest that leaves her brain scrambled, the paws in her mind desperately trying to find purchase of any thought that could explain why she was here without revealing her true reasoning. Her gaze flicks from her calico pelted friend to ruddy-brown fur. For only a moment does she falter before a smile once again plasters itself on her face, wide and oh so forced. "I sure wasn't! But uh yknow that's okay, the more friends the merrier!" she says a little bit too loudly, trying to play it off like she isn't bothered at all when in all actuality her pelt burns with the sudden desire to be anywhere else. Featherspine now, Pinkshine says, not Featherpaw like she remembers from when she had been a kit. "I suppose it's been a while huh?"

Pinkshine tells Featherspine her new name, and she swears her heart stutters when the WindClanner calls it pretty , when she compares it to Sunstar's own name. Like warmth and everything good in this world Everything that ShadowClan needed so desperately. She does not say this though, in fact, she's almost lost for words completely by what happens next.

Her mismatched eyes do not miss a single movement. The way Featherspine drew so impossibly, painfully close (closer than Halfsun ever would get to Pinkshine, that's for certain now) She had taken note of the familiar way a tail was brushed against the back, but she had been willing to dismiss it as an overly friendly gesture. But then, stars, Pinkshine had returned the movement with a nudge of her head, a purr that rumbles in her chest and makes Halfsun feel as if she could wither away and die right here and right now.

Just like that, a spark is extinguished. She doesn't dare stop smiling, even for a heartbeat, even if it feels like her heart might implode in on itself. "I uh... what?" she asks, suddenly realizing Pinkshine had asked her something. "Oh uh.. I forgot, I'm sorry. Maybe I'll remember... next time..." she wouldn't. There would not be a next time, she thinks firmly. If she saw Pinkshine and Featherspine again, it would be in passing as a friendly face across the border and at gatherings. Nothing more. Never anything more. "I have to go, my hunting patrol is probably wondering where I'm at by now..." she feels every muscle in her body screaming at her to run, to get away as fast as she can but she forces herself to back away from the verge slowly "It was nice seeing you both" she says, but the words come out slightly strangled, and as she turns her face away, tears are already forming in her eyes.

She does not dare look back.

// out!

( ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ) smile for me when you set me free

• 
  
  
• 
  HALFSUN SHADOWCLAN APPRENTICE ; SHE / HER ; SISTER TO APPLEJAW, ASHENFALL, SWANSONG, GARLICHEART, AND LAURELGRIN
  

  A tall and well-toned she cat with a long half-and half pelt, one side being a dark blue tabby and the other a bright cream, split by a pool of white at her center and travelling up her face like flames she is fire and ice simultaneously swirling into one. Her eyes are a mismatched shade of blue, with one being bright like the daytime sky and the other dark like the depths of the river.

  ✦ Difficult in battle + a skilled fighter
  

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