Warrior Cat Clans 2 (WCC2 aka Classic) is a roleplay site inspired by the Warrior series by Erin Hunter. Whether you are a fan of the books or new to the Warrior cats world, WCC2 offers a diverse environment with over a decade’s worth of lore for you - and your characters - to explore. Join us today and become a part of our ongoing story!
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Scoffing, Vulturemalice tossed his head. "I don't know what you're talking about," he meowed briskly, pushing past the tom and towards the meadow. But the compliment that Doe sent his way stopped the young tom in his tracks. No one had ever said anything like that to him before - he's never wanted to be found attractive until he met Doe. Turning slightly so only that the side of his face was visible, Vulturemalice gave a small smile and meowed, "Thank you."
The scent of the honeysuckle was heady and sweet, dancing in the air around them. With a smirk and mocking bow, Vulturemalice danced past Doefreckle and into the garden, relishing all the scents and sounds of the night around them.
Doefreckle smiled after Vulturemalice, soft and small and fond; he watched him for a moment longer before letting the honeysuckle gently drop and limping after him languidly. The medicine cat’s sharp smirk and mocking little bow had made his chest fizz with that familiar feeling - he doubted the prickly brown tom was even aware of how stupidly charming he was without even trying. Just for that night, and for as long as Vulturemalice wanted his company in this way, he’d let his own heart do those gentle twists and turns. It wasn’t what he was trying to pretend he didn’t feel for Hywel; no, the affection was purer than that, more innocent, and more for Vulturemalice than it was for himself. But it was never anything but wonderful to spend time with a tom who liked him and who he liked back, and especially not when working out how to cut through to the medicine cat’s desires was so terribly thrilling and fun, like a puzzle both so impossible and so simple offering itself to be solved.
The meadows were darkening around them as dusk crept up from the horizon, cooling the summer heat and making the air feel damp and taste a little swamp-ish. With the recent warm rains, the ground felt spongey beneath his paws; water pooled as high as his toes with every step among the tall grass. The trees, the grass, the sky - everything was being washed blue-black. Over the waterways, fireflies rose and blinked in the air. “Where to now, medicine cat?” Doe breathed in Vulturemalice’s ear, stepping closer in the gathering gloom and brushing his fur lightly, so lightly, against the brown tom’s. There was safety, anonymity, in the dark. Slipping around to Vulturemalice’s other side, he added in that same quiet voice, his cheek just touching the back of the other tom’s jaw, light enough that the contact felt like just another breath in the damp, humid evening, “I don’t know how we’re supposed to find anything in the pitch black.” He let out a quiet purr, eyes studying Vulturemalice’s profile in the gloom; the air between them vibrated with it.
Slowly, quietly, Doe would amp up his efforts until the other tom asked for all the things he was too afraid to want.
[ first time i've sat down in days it feels like rip ]
The contact still sent those electric shivers through Vulturemalice, his swallow audible. Never in his life had he felt anything like this, this wanting, the yearning to be so near and with someone that it was almost painful. Doe's scent wreathed around him, almost seeming to carry Vulturemalice closer to his dappled pelted companion. For a moment, he forgot why they had come to the garden in the first place. "Herbs, right," he stammered, though eyes slowly closing as Doe pressed against him. "Do you have a favorite by any chance? Flower that is, not herb. Though I guess technically if they are medicinal they are herbs," he rambled on, his train of thought once again becoming off track.
Doe grinned at Vulturemalice, soft and joyful. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had been so easily undone by him; it made his heart spark with new life. “Bluebells,” he purred, voice tight with amusement. “I don’t think they’re really good for much. Just pretty.” The night song of frogs and crickets grew slowly louder, and then settled at the volume it would stay at until the first flush of grey dawn; everything was long grass, damp humid air, black water moving silently through the rushes, fireflies, grey. It felt like the end of summer, like whatever happened there would be kept sacred by the sweet-smelling darkness. The far-off trees formed a black half-circle around them, hiding them from the rest of the world and from sight. The ground grew softer under Doe’s paws; cold water squelched up to his dew claws, but all it did was made him happier - a little adventure, a little mystery, new sensations, new secrets. “So, how long do you think you can keep up this pretence?” he asked in a low, warm purr. “I’m just curious. All night? A moon? That would be torture. Thinking about what you want all night, every night, till you’re so tired you can’t think straight - excuse the pun. It’s awful, take it from me. No relief. If only there were a way…” He ran himself along Vulturemalice’s side, giving him a soulful, teasing look, his eyes all scrunched up in a little smile, and a flick under his chin with the tip of his tail as he slipped ahead.
He emerged from the rushes onto a small hill that rose just above the water grasses. A wide, black stream flowed slowly in front of it, just reflecting the white of the cloud-covered starlight; beyond it was shadowy marsh, silent and beautiful. Frogs croaked and splashed around the base of the shallow hill, where pungent herbs - wild garlic, watermint, chickweed, as well as cobwebs - grew along the near-stagnant water, and at the top of it was bare, patchy grass. “Enough herbs, I think,” Doe commented, sinking down onto the cool earth atop the hill and rolling half onto his back like he was settling down for the rest of the night. His voice was both faux-casual and coquettishly knowing. “You pick them and I’ll just lie here.”
[ i've literally worked every day since that last post i'm going to die ]
The songs of the marshy area tugged at something in his soul. The sweet smell of rot mixed with the aroma of the herbs danced across the roof of his mouth, only to be overpowered by that of Doefreckle's. No matter what, everything seemed to come back to the dappled tom. Deep inside himself, Vulturemalice knew that this would never work, that he was young and naive and not even allowed to be thinking about falling in love, yet here he was; standing on the edge of the water with mud squelching up between his toes, looking over at the stark white of Doe's cotton like belly and wanting nothing more that to burrow down next to him.
"You know," he meowed, suddenly feeling braver, "it's really not fair to me when you look like that." He took a couple of steps towards Doefreckle, dropping his head so that they were almost level. "I'm all gangly and angry, and you look as soft as a bed of feathers. Not fair at all."
(that’s so bloody rough, i’m sorry my love. i hope things get easier soon, take care of yourself <3)
Doe followed Vulturemalice with his eyes as he padded closer, his head tilting back against the earth until, with the medicine cat so close, his chin was tucked slightly into his throat to maintain eye contact. Then, suddenly, he burst into a grin - not one of his usual soft, coy grins, but a true one, big and joyous. A little laugh slipped from between his teeth as he looked up at the younger tom. It felt like the most natural transferral of power, Vulturemalice taking the reins a little more like this.
“Join me, then,” he whispered, leaning up a little to touch his nose to the crook between the medicine cat’s jaw and neck and nip slightly at the fur there. He smelled of herbs and dandelions; Doefreckle had never favoured the flowers before, but now he could feel them becoming a favourite. “I like gangly.”
Doe drew back and gazed up at Vulturemalice, blinking in the pale light of the moon, his pupils blown and black and the brown of his eyes turned milky gold. The world chirped and buzzed and clicked around them; the slow water lapped quietly at the rushes; and hidden a little way to Doe’s right among the reeds a white rabbit skull poked out of the dark, damp earth, pearly in the moonlight and lost to time. Its empty eyes followed the two toms, beautiful and sacred and forgotten.
With what seemed like a tormented hiss, Vulturemalice sank to his knees and laid his chin on Doe's snowy chest, a small sigh escaping him. It took him a moment for Vulturemalice to realize that the faint scent of rosemary he had been smelling all day was in fact the tom he lay next to. He would never be able to like that herb again after this, the smell always carrying memories. "I was right about you being soft," he mumbled, nuzzling a little closer so that his belly was pressed against Doe side, his long legs reaching to cradle around the other tom.
Doefreckle let out a pleased, gentle purr as Vulturemalice lay down with him. Part of it was satisfaction at having succeeded; but mostly it was just quiet, soft joy at being able to curl up with someone in the dark, someone who held no bad memories and no guilt and no anger, someone he hadn’t hurt. I was right about you being soft. Doe purred again, a soft one-off sound at first that almost floated away on the cool night breeze, but that soon turned to making his whole chest tremble as Vulturemalice moved closer. He angled his head back to look down at him, watching for a moment the way the medicine cat’s head rose and fell in time with his own breathing. “You were right about you being bony,” he replied teasingly - but if the other tom thought of moving away at that, Doe preempted it by rolling them over, his broken paw resting on Vulturemalice’s chest. He looked down at him with a small, sly smile, his head tilted. “What a compromising position for a medicine cat to be found in,” Doe breathed, voice little more than a whisper. He grinned and leaned down, brushing the side of his muzzle against the brown and white tom’s and giving Vulturemalice’s cheek a few languid licks. The other tom’s head was nudged a little more to the side with every slow stroke of his tongue, his pink nose bumping against him.
Finally, face still buried against Vulturemalice’s cheek, Doe fell still; he stayed there for a long moment, just purring in the warm shadows that smelled of herbs and SummerClan and the other tom. Then, slowly, he leaned himself back against the ground, facing Vulturemalice, and gazed at him with a soft, contented smile, close enough to breathe each other’s breath. His eyes wandered up to the night sky and he tilted his head a little against the dark earth to look up at it. “There are no stars anywhere in the world like there are in SummerClan,” he breathed quietly, eyes wide.
Vulturemalice listened to Doe talk, nestling closer to the dappled tom. From how he was laying, he could hear the other toms heartbeat from his chest. It was steady and soothing, unlike his own that was thundering in his chest. The kisses that turned his head made his heart stutter, as if almost missing a beat. The feeling was almost painful, as if a warning as to what was to come.
When Doe leaned back, Vulturemalice finally opened his eyes to see him staring up at the stars. All sorts of thoughts were racing through his head, but one kept coming to the front. "What happens after this," he spoke, voice barley a whisper. There was an overwhelming since of fear building inside him. He didn't want whatever this was to end. For the first time, he felt whole.
When Vulturemalice spoke, Doe slowly turned his head from the stars to the tom beside him, still smiling. He was silent for a long moment, just gazing at him. He sounded so afraid; it made Doe's heart ache with guilt, with grief, with a strange longing for the younger tom - not just because he wondered himself what it would be like to love him, but because he genuinely hoped the medicine cat would end up happy, whole, in love. He was sweet and delicate, no matter the front he put on; he deserved that gentleness. That soft ending.
"I don't know," he murmured, his voice warm and quiet and comforting. He caught Vulturemalice's eye, still smiling - like he was saying we still have the whole night, it's nothing to worry about, like it wasn't making his chest pinch too - and then leaned in to touch his nose to his cheek. "You're a medicine cat. It wouldn't be fair of me to ask you to forsake your life's calling for me. So let's just... forget about it for a night." His voice was so quiet, just a breath against Vulturemalice's fur; he nuzzled him with tiny, gentle little movements as he spoke. He drew back and smiled, wistful and trying to be brave, before leaning back again and gazing up at the pinpoints of light in the black sky, thousands upon thousands upon thousands. "For a few hours, you can hide from StarClan with me in the dark and have a mate." He rolled his head against the dark earth to look at Vulturemalice, his eyes soft.
I want you, the voice sigh through his mind as Vulture pressed himself even closer to the dappled tom, not minding that his long limbed body wasn't meant to be cuddled, but to be the cuddler. His legs clutched tightly around Doefreckle as if he knew when he let him go, that was going to be it. There was something there, he could feel it. It wasn't just a one night thing, something had branded their souls and would always be there, always be a what if.
You're a medicine cat, Doe had said, jolting him back to reality, just forget about it for a night. Vulturemalice turned his olive gaze up to the stars that were keeping watch over them, and he felt peace. If they had any qualms against this, they would have said something to him by now. "What ever this is for you," he said with a swallow, nestling deeper into his one-night mates fur, "I hope you know it's changed me. You've changed me." He turned his head to meet the deep brown eyes that he wanted his future to be in. He searched them for something, to tell him it was going to be okay, but just found a soft understanding instead. Dread pierced his heart as Vulturemalice realized what this was. Just one night, he told himself, hoping that would be enough. He knew it wouldn't be though, he would always burn for this dappled tom tangled in his limbs.
"I will always want more when it comes to you," he whispered, drinking in that moonlight and rosemary scent that Doefreckle carried. "I don't know how I'm going to wake up tomorrow and walk away like this meant nothing, like it was nothing even though I know something is there. I don't let myself feel for a reason and here you are making me rethink everything I believe in," he words came out in a rush, chest heaving and claws almost gripping the tom in his grasp. "And I would almost be willing to give it all up for you." There was a slight sob at the end, his eyes screwed up in pain and lip curled, reveling his long canines gripped in anguish.
What ever this is for you. Doe felt a stab of guilt at that, ashamed of Vulturemalice having suspected this was just another sweet fling to him. The way the younger tom said it, the simple certainty, made his heart squeeze. And, in truth, it did feel different; the first time around, Doe had fallen for anyone who was passingly kind to him, yes, but he was also very good at one-night-stands he never thought about once dawn broke. This time, though... Vulturemalice was the first tom since coming back he'd had an affair like this with and it meant far more to Doe than any passing lover ever had. He cared for the medicine cat. A part of him would always have a little blossom of love for him, and when they went back to camp and to their lives, every time his eyes found the medicine cat across the clearing he knew he'd smile, a little bittersweet but with all the happiness and hope for him in the world. He deserved someone who could give him their whole heart, and much as Doe would have loved to be the one to do that, he knew he couldn't. If he had changed Vulturemalice - if he had opened him up to a world where he might one day find love - then that was enough for him. He'd see him in love one day and feel his own heart swell, even if a small part of it also broke. They'd always long for each other, for what might have been, just a little bit. In passing; at that point between sleep and consciousness in the early hours of the morning; lying in the last of the day's sun. Then, they'd ache.
As the younger tom continued, sounding helplessly close to tears, Doe licked calming strokes over his forehead, listening with that quiet ache of guilt in his heart. He almost wanted to hush him, afraid of the magnitude of Vulturemalice's feelings - he was so young, of course he felt like this, but it didn't make the pain of them any easier to bear. For a moment, he was afraid he'd ruined his life. Faint panic rose for just a few heartbeats in Doefreckle's chest before he managed to swallow it down. He drew Vulturemalice closer, gently brushing his pink nose over the bridge of the brown and white tom's as he listened, feeling the little prickle as the short fur was nudged with and against the grain. His mother had comforted him in the same way. When Vulturemalice's claws prickled at his sides, he didn't flinch away; he just let him hold him. "You can't give it up for me, my love," he murmured softly, eyes closed as he brushed his cheek against the medicine cat's. "You'd regret it every day of your life. Healing is what you were meant to do. Can you imagine how Greythorn would beat me if he learned you'd thrown it all in for the ex-leader he didn't even like? Deaf or not I wouldn't stand a chance." He opened his eyes and grinned at him, letting out a soft laugh. After a moment, his grin softened to a small smile as he gazed at Vulturemalice. "But I'll always be there. Even if I can't be your mate, I'll still be in your Clan if ever you need me." He leaned in and pressed his forehead to the medicine cat's, his eyes slipping shut and his voice softening to the gentlest murmur. "And I'll always care."
Vulturemalice stay quiet as Doe spoke, drinking in his scents and the feeling of his fur pressed against his. The kisses were soft and sweet, making it even harder for the young tom to realize that this would be the only night. You can't give it up for me, the words rang. Pulling back slightly, Vulturemalice looked painfully at the dapple tom, his narrow muzzle pulled down in a frown. "Is it because I'm a medicine cat, you don't want to try to have something? Is there something wrong with me? I can keep a secret, I would risk it," he stammered, trying to hold on to whatever this was that had happened. It was too real not to last more than a night to him. He wouldn't feel this quickly and hurt this bad if it wasn't something. "I always want more when it comes to you."
The thought of being alone and loveless after this cleaved his heart into pieces. There was no way he was going to recover from this, from learning how good love could be. The brown and white tom groaned slightly, curling his legs even tighter around Doefreckle and burrowing his face as close to the fluffy white chest as he could. This moment would haunt his memories. He could almost feel the golden crown atop his head growing roots and sinking into his skull, forever becoming a part of him.
At Vulturemalice's agonised questioning, his near-pleading, Doe felt both more wretched - close enough to tears that his throat closed up for a moment and he had to blink away the first sting in his eyes - and more certain than ever that the younger tom needed more than him. Doefreckle could love him, he knew he could, and perhaps they could have been wonderfully happy, but it wouldn't have been the love he was denying he felt in his heart for Hywel. They could have been beautiful, but Doe would have known all the while that there was a tom out there he could feel his soul being pulled towards. And that wouldn't have been fair to this gentle, naïve medicine cat who lay nestled against his chest now. He deserved someone who would be his and his alone. Maybe in another lifetime that could have been Doefreckle. But in this one, he had to let him go.
"No," he replied softly, resting his chin between Vulturemalice's ears and stroking his side with soothing brushes of his good forepaw. "It's not because of that. I'm not right for you, sweetheart. And I know that's the most enraging thing to have someone say to you - you think 'I know what's best for me.' And of course you do. But I'm older than you. I have... things I have to deal with, things that it would be so unfair to sit on your shoulders. You have your whole life ahead of you. I mean, I do, too," he laughed, grinning, "I'm not old. But we're just at different times of our lives, my love."
He drew back and bowed his head to catch Vulturemalice's chin atop his nose and tilt it up, drawing back once more to meet his eye and give him a gentle, loving smile. "And there's nothing wrong with you. You're wickedly funny, and there's nothing more attractive than a sarcastic grump." He grinned; he meant it. A moment later, the grin settled back to that soft, tender smile. "And you're kind, and you're clever, and you're going to end up with the greatest mind the forest has ever known. You're beautiful. There's nothing about you that I could want more. I'm just not ready. And I don't know when I will be. You can't spend your whole life waiting, not when there will come a time when someone walks into your life and is everything I can't be for you. And when that happens, I'll be happier for you than I've ever been in my life." He tilted his head to rest his forehead against Vulturemalice's, nuzzling him gently before giving him a gentle lick on his cheek.
He was suddenly struck by how similar this was to his final night with Chim, only now he was filling Chim's role and Vulturemalice was filling his own. His heart ached at the thought, but it was quietly, deeply comforting, too: he cared for Vulturemalice, and Chim had cared for him - he could feel what he must have felt now, and it answered some question he'd been silently asking for all the moons since that night; yes, he really did love you - and they had both been alright. They'd be alright now too. Forehead still resting against the young medicine cat's, Doe breathed in the scent of him, of the slow-moving water murmuring below them, of the damp grass, of the night and the stars. He loved this tom, in a corner of his heart, and he always would. And it had been a lie, to say he would be completely happy to see him end up with someone else - truthfully, he would be achingly jealous, his heart cracking at its very edges. But he would smile for him, and mostly the happiness would be real and warm and bright. He would have Hywel, he hoped, and Vulturemalice would have someone who could love him the way he deserved to be loved, and they would both be at peace, with that lingering ache of their night beside the river.
"Do you have a favourite pattern of stars?" he whispered, trying gently to draw his one-night mate back to the present. Cheek still resting against Vulturemalice's sharp cheekbone, the warmth of the younger tom radiating through him, he tilted his head back to look at the night sky.
No, that single word was sharper and bit colder than the coldest ice he had ever felt. He almost didn't hear the other soft words that came out of the freckle-nosed muzzle. But as Doefreckle continued on, some of the sorrow melted away, replaced by solid determination. Sure, he could forget about this and move on, let the wound scab over and heal, have the scar fade away. But he was stubborn. He wouldn't tell Doe that no matter what, that spot would always be left open.
The scents seemed to sharpen, laying over them like a warm blanket. He knew he would never be able to enjoy these scents and sounds again without the memories. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing, having something to remind him of the happiest moment in his life. Where he felt safe and whole and loved. He could tell there was something that the dappled tom wasn't telling him, and Vulturemalice understood. But they would always have this one night, until maybe one day in the far future they could share another.
Feeling Doe shift, Vulturemalice followed his gaze up to the inky blackness above them, the stars spattered across the sky. For a moment, all he could think about was how they reminded him of the freckles across his lovers muzzle, causing a smile to pull at the corner of his lips. "I've never really sat back to look at them, except for when I'm asking StarClan for answers, but even then I really only look at Silverpelt."
"What!" Doe exclaimed, pushing himself up slightly to look down at Vulturemalice. "Never? Oh my God, you SummerClan cats are so missing out." He settled back down as he spoke, twisting slightly so that now it was the back of his own head resting against the other tom's chest. Reaching out blindly with his good forepaw, he drew one of the medicine cat's paws over his chest, touching a fleeting kiss to its short fur before tucking his own paw over it and holding it to him. Obviously Doe was very well aware that Vulturemalice was a medicine cat, but he still almost forgot that... that entailed interacting with StarClan. Turning to them for answers and guidances, interpreting signs and omens from them, trusting in them. Though he'd been leader, he still only associated medicine cats with herbs and flowers and healing - the thought that Vulturemalice was not only faintly mystical, the gods' representative on Earth, but that he also not only believed fully in them but had perhaps actually spoken to them, made Doe feel strange. Small. Like the tom he was curled up with was suddenly a little unknowable. Doe's hatred of StarClan struggled to reconcile itself with the knowledge that Vulturemalice was on intimate terms with them - that someone, someone he knew, had interacted with them.
"I don't know if you know, but I was born and raised in NightClan. I only left a moon or two after my warrior ceremony. And as much as I don't like my home, the night sky there was as beautiful as the meadows here. I didn't even see the sun until I was almost six moons old. Back there, with no positions of the sun to guide you, you map your way by the stars. By the time I was one moon old I could recognise every single one in the sky like it was an old friend." He smiled at the memory, playing absently with Vulturemalice's paw upon his chest. "Before dawn, when we were getting ready to go to bed, all the apprentices, and some of the warriors, would just lay down in the middle of the camp and spend an hour stargazing. It was one of the only times I felt truly at peace in my home. Truly... happy." He smiled for a moment longer up at the blinking stars before tilting his head back against Vulturemalice's chest to look up at him. "Pick a constellation. It'll be ours."
Vulturemalice let out a small chuckle, happy to finally be the one doing the holding in their position. This is what felt right, having the smaller tom nestled into the curve of his skinny body, with Doe's head on his chest and his chin upon Does head. He tried to imagine the dappled toms life before SummerClan, picturing living in the dark world that was NightClan. It almost sounded like a place he would have fit in as well, with his darker interests in the macabre and whatnot. He couldn't imagine this bright being of a cat living in a world like that. "Sounds nice," he murmured, finding it hard to keep his eyes open. Part of him wanted to sink into sleep, wrapped up like this, but the stronger part of him wanted to see the dawn, taking up every moment of the darkness with him knowing it would be all they had. He didn't want to waste a moment.
Looking up at the vast expanse above them, his olive eyes tried to trace patterns in the stars. He found one he didn't recognize, like to curved spines interlocking. "What about that one?" he asked, using a paw to point it out and trace the edges.
Sounds nice. Doe hummed quiet agreement, closing his own eyes for a moment before blinking back up at the stars. He could feel Vulturemalice's heartbeat so strongly against his head and it was more grounding than anything he'd ever experienced, like being rooted to the earth itself. When the medicine cat raised his paw to the sky, Doe followed it, picking out the curve of the bright stars against the tom's chocolate and white fur. He smiled, nestling in further among Vulturemalice's coarse fur. "Perfect. So for the rest of our lives, no matter where we are or who we're with," he tilted his head back again to catch the other tom's eye, his voice growing quieter, "that'll be our constellation. Our own set of stars. No one else looking up at the night sky will ever know, but we will. Till the day we turn to bones in the earth." He grinned, still looking up at Vulturemalice, but his eyes were incredibly soft and unspeakably sad. "Your very first taste of disgusting romanticism."
Doe tilted his head up and gave the medicine cat a gentle lick at the bottom of his jaw. As he did so, a cloud of bats flew squeaking over their heads, sprinkling the night sky with little black wings and turning the stars to a dark dreamscape of wings and shining eyes. They were everywhere, from the meadows to the trees, their wings and squeaks so loud that they almost entirely blocked out the gurgle of the water and the whisper of the cool breeze through the rushes and the reeds and the grass. Doe smiled and let out an awed little laugh, nestling his head back against Vulturemalice to watch them. He could feel the cold air from their hundreds of wings rushing over his face and ruffling his fur and it made him shiver. But, as beautiful as they were, an idea crept into Doe's head. "Ever studied a bat skeleton?" he asked Vulturemalice, and there was something wicked in his voice. He waggled his brows at him, grinning slightly and rolling over to push himself up just enough to look down at the other tom. What better memento of their night together than a little contribution to the medicine cat's studies?
[ i love them so much sobs also the stars quote is from my favorite book series ;u; ]
For the rest of our lives, the most important voice to him murmured, that'll be out constellation. Vulturemalice returned the smile, giving the dappled tom a quick lick across his nose. "To the stars who listened, and the dreams that are answered," Vulturemalice said in a quiet rumble, looking into those deep browns eyes and seeing the glittered expanse of that sky reflected in them. He wondered if Doe knew there would never be anyone else for him, that he would always being holding out for the dappled tom. This was it. This was his one great love of his life, and even if only for a few moments, he was going to be happy and in love and that was it. There was a slight choking sensation in his throat, as if tears were threatening to make an appearance, but he forced the feeling down and made himself happy. There was no room for sadness right now, only in taking all the good that he could get. He couldn't let the tom wrapped up in his legs see how much knowing there would be nothing killed him. There was only so much space in his heart for love, and Doefreckle managed to nestle himself deep in the core of it.
The brown and white tom let out a long sigh, just relishing the feeling of holding Doefreckle in his limbs, all intertwined and seeming to be of one body. There seemed to be no beginning or end to their bodies, fur all mixing and breaths forming the same clouds. But when Doe shot up, disrupting his thoughts, Vulturemalice arched a brow and looked up to the teaming sky. "No," he said slowly, watching the tiny bodies shoot across the sky above them. "Did you know they are the only flying mammal?" When his lover pushed to his paws, Vultureamalice watched him with a curious expression, a smile forming on his maw. "I know that their wings are of the same bones as our paws, each point being a toe."
Doe grinned down at Vulturemalice as he immediately launched into a fun fact about bats, but it was a smitten, soft sort of grin that made one of his cheeks dimple. God, he loved toms with weird interests and niche trivia and clever minds he could never truly understand. Doe was smart - smarter than most gave him credit for, and smarter than perhaps he even realised - but it was a wily, duplicitous kind of smart, the type that would be called underhanded by someone who didn’t like him, a chess player behind a throne, and artful by someone who did. He’d never been the type to have a hobby - really, even now, though he’d go red to admit it, he still considered having a pretty face as enough of a hobby. Other toms had the odd past-times and strange facts - he just had to sit there and look pretty like a trophy wife and know when to look amazed or impressed or to fawn. It was a habit he was still trying to break, that dumbing himself down. No one likes a clever boy, a tom had once told him when he was an apprentice, and it had stuck. Now, though, all of that took a back seat to the pure joy that came of seeing that spark of curiosity on Vulturemalice’s face. Even more than discovering things for himself, he loved to watch other cats discover them. “You’re such a nerd,” Doe purred adoringly, giving the medicine cat a stroke between his ears with his tongue as he stood.
He listened as the bats swarmed over their heads, the moon appearing fitfully between the teaming cloud of black and casting odd shadows onto the marshland around them. “Maybe you can work out how to make us fly, then,” he teased with a waggle of his soft brows before sweeping around to look up at the bats. His eyes darted over them quick enough to blur, if his vision wasn’t so sharp from his NightClan upbringing. He went quiet as his mind worked. Some of them were flying low enough to catch. In the pine forests of his birth Clan, they’d been taught to leap and climb in a way SummerClan cats weren’t - and though his broken paw had left him weaker, he knew he still had that training in his hindlegs tucked away in some forgotten muscles. Catching sight of one bat in particular among the squeaking flurry, Doe kept his eyes snagged on it and slunk quickly and quietly over to a flat rock rising a little way out of the reeds, his muzzle still turned up to the night sky to watch that one particular bat as it grew nearer. He stood on the rock for a long moment - before finally crouching, waiting another moment as it flew directly overhead— and leaping straight up. He twisted high in the air, snagged it with the claws of his good forepaw, and, with the poor, squealing bat held firm, dropped cleanly back onto the rock. He killed it with a quick bite to its furry neck, looking down in pity and offering his own thanks for its life - to the bat itself, not to StarClan. Then, still standing over the bat with his good forepaw resting on its little chest, Doe turned his head to Vulturemalice with a pleased grin and called, “got it.”
