Rowanpaw
(see more art like this on the Art Page)

Crescentsky was anticipating being bored in the warriors den again when she returned, so she decided that she would decorate shells today. She gathered a few on the way back to camp, and a couple of pretty leaves and tiny gleaming stones that she would attach to them.

She gathered the sap last, using her toes to crack off a piece of bark on the side of a maple tree. The tabby warrior dabbed a bit of it onto her pads, then swiped it on an uninjured part of her shoulder. She would carry it there and clean it off her pelt later, since she didn't have anymore room in her jaws for a leaf-wrap filled with sap.

When she made it back to camp she found that she didn't want to go back into the warrior's den just yet. Crescentsky wanted to stay out in the fresh air while it was still daylight, before the rain fell.

The Riverclan warrior knew that decorating shells was more of an apprentice hobby, and even then it was usually she-cats who participated in the activity. Although, according to her father's words- a young tom would sometimes make one for a she-cat if he particularly liked them.

It's better than being bored in the camp all day. It looks like everyone else is out on patrol anyways... That, or resting up before the night-guard shift. She searched for someplace that would stay relatively dry when it began to rain.

Riverclan cats also occasionally used the shells during death vigils. Some cats had put aside the time and energy to make Houndspots one during the span of hours between his death and vigil. They'd been placed atop his grave after he died, as a marker.

I should make Tinyflame's shell first. She deserves one the most right now. She's going to be grieving over her lost mentor for awhile. And maybe it would help her get better soon. 

Oh, yeah. There's a sheltered space behind the elder's den. It was shaded by a big mossy stone on one side. She remembered it now, as she turned her head to look around camp. When she found it, she approached confidently.

Bushy den walls shielded one side, while mossy rock created an enclave in-between them. Crescentsky stepped closer to the rock, rounding it with the assortment of items clasped tightly in her jaws.

But when she stepped around, she saw two cats lying there sharing tongues. She took a second-glance in order to fully realize who they were.

Her two smooth shells clattered to the ground. They landed in the flattened grass that created a pathway between her and the two other cats.

One of them was a deeper and richer brown than her chestnut sister, his jaw angled and his large blue eyes round with shock. The she-cat who'd been sharing tongues with him stood up quickly, disentangling her legs and tail from the tom's.

Rainpaw's eyes were wide and apprehensive while Crescentsky took a spacious step back. It felt like she had interrupted something.

Before, the two cats had been grooming one another's pelts with eyes full of love. Now their pupils were harrowing slits, and Rainpaw's fur was bristling in alarm.

"Sorry!" Feeling incredibly awkward, Crescentsky began to back away. She bumped into the leafy bush-wall behind her, then fully turned around to try and go.

"Wait!" Rainpaw mewed urgently, halting her in her tracks. The gray she-cat's muzzle was creased into a frown.

"You won't tell anyone, will you, Crescentsky?" Rainpaw asked with a plea in her voice. Crescentsky waited there, one paw raised uncertainly.

"No, of course not. I won't tell anyone what I saw... But I should go." Her hindpaw was beginning to ache. And she was fighting flattening her ears.

So Rowanpaw was wrong. Trufflefur doesn't like me like that. He's just been trying to be my friend. A small echo of hurt sang her chest, but it faded quickly.

And he loves Rainpaw since... who knows how long.

Crescentsky still found herself feeling disappointed. Trufflefur and Rainpaw were both closer in age then him and Crescentsky were to each other, so it made sense- but it had felt nice to think that the mature young tom liked her as more than a friend. Even if just for a few moments.

"Can you promise?" Trufflefur asked, and she turned around uncertainly to sit down in front of them. Crescentsky began picking up her shell decoration materials, scooping them closer and plucking them from the grass with her teeth.

"Yes, I promise." She mumbled around the shells.

"But she could be lying. We don't really know her that well, and she's Riverclan."

"I don't think she would," said Trufflefur. Rainpaw was still looking at Crescentsky, until embarrassment made her pelt flush.

"I-... I can tell you as secret of mine!" She said in a hasty tone.

Deep down, Crescentsky knew that she was being reckless. Her heart began to pound as soon as the words left her mouth.

But she didn't want to leave it like this. If she told them, it would help gain their trust.

Both of the cats studied her closely, until Trufflefur finally nodded. His eyes gleamed as if he were bursting with the want to know.

"Uh, I-." Crescentsky paused as she wondered which secret she could tell.

Okay... well, not the wolf one. That's too jarring.

But can I really trust them with the truth about my claws?

She figured it was too late now. She would have to take the leap.

Her tail twitched as she fought to find the right words.

But there's not any. And so Crescentsky just blurted it out.

"I don't have any claws on my front paws. A Twoleg captured me and took them out, before I made the trip around the lake."

They were silent at first. Rainpaw's pelt lifted along her spine as if she were horrified.

"Really?" Trufflefur asked, his eyes widening. Some raindrops weighing down the foliage above them shivered and scattered water over their pelts.

Don't shake it off, Crescentsky thought. She settled for flicking the dewdrops from her ears instead.

"Yes." She lifted a white forepaw and spread out her toes to their full extent. No silver-tipped claws slid out. In fact, there was no sheathes at all.

"Out of all things, I didn't expect that."

"Wow. I hadn't known Twolegs could do such a thing." Rainpaw again looked horrified. Her mouth was pulled into a grimace, and she flattened her ears with sympathy, as if she felt bad for Crescentsky.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore."

"That must suck, not being able to fight now. Besides just mock-battles for training." Crescentsky stayed silent for that one.

"Does anyone else know?" Trufflefur interjected again.

"Tinyflame and Cheetah," the tabby warrior admitted. She didn't mention the fact that Tinyflame's claws were taken as well.

"Can you still hunt?"

They asked her a few more questions, and Crescentsky was suprised to find both of them genuinely interested, and concerned.

"I understand why you don't tell the clan, trust me." Rainpaw said. Her look was clear and relatable.

"And we won't tell on you," Trufflefur reassured Crescentsky as the topic drew to an end.

"So why'd you come over here anyways?" Rainpaw murmured, pricking her ears as if curious. Her blue-gray pelt nearly matched the mist-covered drizzling sky.

"I wanted to decorate my shells somewhere that it would stay dry." She glanced at the withered vine canopy sitting high above their ears.

"Or at least, relatively."

"I wondered what those were for." Trufflefur said before twisting around to groom his back.

"That seems really neat," Rainpaw began.

"Skyclan has never decorated anything, except for the trees. As kits we climb as high as we can and then score the tree-trunks with our claws. The cat with the highest claw-marks wins." She peered over at Trufflefur partway through speaking.

"Well, that's not really decorating them. More like leaving wounds in them." He gave a lop-sided grin, and Rainpaw giggled, unoffended.

"It was our way of decorating."

"You did that with your littermates?" He asked, and the she-cat's amusement was cut short.

"Yes," she said, seeming to withdraw into her shy persona again. It grew quiet after that. Crescentsky thought she was remembering her fallen littermates.

"Well, I'm gonna leave you to it, Crescentsky." Trufflefur rose to his paws and leaned down, closer to Rainpaw. He touched his nose to hers delicately, and then slid his jaw along Rainpaw's, nuzzling her.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, my love. It's best that I go now, before some cat notices where the three of us has gone."

Crescentsky hunched her shoulders, feeling bad about the fact that she had inconvenienced their timely moments together. But Trufflefur gave Crescentsky a friendly nod as he passed.

"Thanks for keeping our secret, Cres'. I hope you know that you're still an asset to your clan, even without your claws. And you're a good friend."

Then the tom slipped from behind the stone discreetly. Both Crescentsky and Rainpaw watched him go.

Next update by Friday February 7th

A/N:
For anyone wondering (Trufflefur around 15 moons old) (Rainpaw currently 17 moons)

Trufflefur