Lionsbeach

[BEAR.]

After his depature from camp, Lionstar was on the hunt.

He wasn't interested in normal prey. No, he had only one thing on his mind: Fawnsqueak. His matefriend had been missing for several days now, ever since he was made deputy.. and Lionstar would be lion-ning if he said he wasn't worried.

He missed his stupid butt, he missed his company. He missed.. everything about him.

By the time Lionstar arrived at the beach, it was already getting late-- the darkening skies dotted by distant lights. Any trails Fawnsqueak might have left were gone or stale, so Lionstar was taking a gamble.. who wouldn't want to go to the beach to get away?

His wanderings took him through the sand, toward the rocky outcrops that decorated the landscape. He was nearing one of the large cliffs that overlooked the water, and he could see the dark holes in the rock formation. Were there caves?

"Fawnsqueak!" He called loudly, not expecting a response as he found a trail leading up part of the cliff. "Fawnsqueak! Cutie, cutie, cutie, where are youuu? Oh darling, the stars aren't half as bright without you here."

@Dipper

[Fawn]

After his departure from camp, Fawnsqueak had been on the run.

Escape into the territory, collect his thoughts, return to camp when he would be in the clear. As in, not deputy. A sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach had gnawed at him with sneaking suspicions that his lack of presence may not have been enough to stop Lionstar, depending on how determined he was about this deputy business... and he still didn't understand why. Nothing about him translated into good leadership. Fawnsqueak recognized that he was a mere apprentice who'd gotten lucky in an early promotion debatable in its validity.

His troubled walk through the RiverClan territory had landed him near the wide clearing toward the beach, another mindless trek for the soul that yearned for numbness, peace and quiet instead of racing thoughts for a change. While he was far from a meditative state, his journey along the beach and its cliffs had yielded a different distraction: an odd clump positioned in the mouth of a seaside cave. Squinting proved useless, minus a basic observation: that didn't belong there.

The ascent was slow-going and difficult, rendering him a huffing and puffing mess of aching muscles by the time he reached the higher tiers of jagged crags lining the edge of the overlook. The tang of saltwater and stone filled his nostrils as he drew closer to the cave, inching in tentative, shaky steps. Heights didn't scare him, but the notion of falling to his death on these slim ledges certainly did.

However, his reservations reduced drastically as recognition floored him. Stunned, Fawnsqueak could only stare in breathless silence -- he knew that pelt, he knew the mangled shape, and the conclusion twisted his stomach. Willowpaw. He didn't remember crying her name through a cracking voice, nor did he remember the almost-careless, staggering bolt to her body that sent his former platforms crumbling into the ocean below.

Overwhelming grief drowned his previous fretting with a devastating discovery far more pressing than any stupid rank in the Clan. And Fawnsqueak couldn't bring himself to be concerned about the vanishing ledge either-- he just wanted to be close to Willowpaw for a final time.

- - -

He didn't know how long he'd waited there, but the trance was broken by Lionstar's loud calls up the coastline. Unmistakable, and.. Fawnsqueak couldn't muster any dread. Hauling up his heavy bones, he turned toward the endless sky as if to ask, "Lionstorm? ...Is that actually you?"

It was so surreal, impossible. Why would Lionstar have traveled to find him? The concept of his disappearance and time spent away from the Clan eluded him in the throes of processing loss.


@BILL.

[BEAR.]

All Lionstar could think about was Fawnsqueak. Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn and his darling Fawn and Fawn and Fawn and he needed to get Fawnsqueak to be mates and Fawn and Fawn and Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and where was Fawn? Fawn and Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn and Fawn and Fawn and oh--

Was that Fawnsqueak's voice his ears spied?

Face breaking into a grin, Lionstar shimmied up the trail in the direction he believed his voice to have come from. He was here!

Lionstar had taken a shot in the dark but his spirits sore at the chance of seeing his mate-friend again, and he pulled himself onto the nearest ledge to give himself access to one of the many cave mouths. "Fawnsqueak!" he called. "Where are you, mouse-dear? My Stars, it's been so long.. did you really think you could hide from me in the cliff, sweetheart?"

@Dipper

[Fawn]

In the proceeding silence, Fawnsqueak waited, listening, kept his breath lowered to pick up on any hint of sound... but there was nothing. Ears drooping, he deflated and scuffed at the rock with his paw. Of course it was just a stupid mind-trick, Lionstar wouldn't be out here. It was beyond RiverClan territory and even past the Seastones, the only cat who dared travel this far...

The corners of Fawnsqueak's mouth trembled in a frown while his heart wrenched. Staring beyond the cave's mouth, an endless water body stretched before him until it collided with the horizon. Stars in the ocean and the sky had Fawnsqueak wondering precisely how long he'd been away, it couldn't be nightfall again. But a glance at his route here didn't give him many options for a return trip--

Hearing his name, Fawnsqueak was alert once more. It couldn't be a hallucination, not that time. He was certain, it sounded so real and closer than before and-- upon hearing it again, he was convinced. "Lionstorm!" Fawnsqueak cried out to anywhere, everywhere. The dryness of his throat forced him to cough a couple times before he could resume, unleashing Lionstar's name into the wind, the cave, wherever would listen. He couldn't quite catch the longer phrase but didn't care, too focused on revealing his location.

@BILL.

[BEAR.]

Oh, Stars, yes. Another response!

Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn Fawn his Fawn and Fawn and Fawn and his sweet Fawnsqueak.

"I'm coming!"

He followed his voice into the cave, the echo of his name causing Lionstar to flinch from the vibrations. Why would anyone come into this hellhole? He didn't like it, that was certain.

At least he could smell Fawnsqueak in here. His scent was faint-- probably because it didn't seem like he came in through this entrance, but it was enough for Lionstar to brave the dark in search of him.

He couldn't wait to see his tiny red butt.

@Dipper

[Fawn]

The reply seemed to come from all directions at once, and Fawnsqueak turned around to peer deeper into the cave, mystified. The reverberations suggested it had to be from inside. Fawnsqueak called out, "Where are you?" But it was like speaking to the void as his meow simply echoed around. He was hesitant to move, uncertain if Lionstar was nearby, and afraid it would hinder their efforts to reconvene. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Can you follow my scent-- or, uh, my voice, or something?"

@BILL.

[BEAR.]

WHERE ARE YOU?

CAN YOU FOLLOW MY SCENT-- OR, UH, MY VOICE, OR SOMETHING?

The echo made Lionstar cringe, a low hiss vibrating from his throat as he followed Fawnsqueak's increasingly-loud voice through the cave. At least his scent brought some comfort, it was growing fresher, stronger..

And then he saw him. Besides some ugly corpse, but he saw Him and that was all that mattered.

"HEY FAWNSQUEAK," his voice was a boom that radiated throughout the cave as he closed the distance between them. In a fluid motion, he bopped his head gently against Fawnsqueak's. "Did you miss me?"

@Dipper

[Fawn]

Fawnsqueak raised his head as movement flashed in the corner of his vision, instantly met with a rush of relief to have Lionstar in view. He wasn't some enigmatic presence anymore, leaving Fawnsqueak to wonder if he was going crazy in his grief--he was here, somehow managing to find him.

"Hey, whoa," he greeted and attempted to counter the flinch-worthy volume, frozen as Lionstar advanced toward him to collect him in an embrace. After what happened, he shouldn't be indulging this. He knew he shouldn't, and yet here he was, failing to back away because he selfishly longed for the comfort.

Smiling lopsidedly, he mumbled, "I missed you more when you weren't deafening me. I'm right here, you don't have to..." He trailed off when he decided it didn't matter, he was simply grateful to have a companion in this lonely cave. It revived the curiosity that led him to ask, "...What are you doing here?"

@BILL.

[BEAR.]

"I was looking for you, silly!" Lionstar beamed at him, affectionately rubbing against him more. Oh, he missed this. Fawn. His Fawnsqueak was back.

"Stars, what are you doing in this cave? I haven't seen you in days! You didn't even attend your deputy ceremony or come around for that.. Cougarpaw ceremony, you haven't met your own apprentice yet!"
@Dipper

[Fawn]

"Are you marking me?" he asked, a light and awkward laugh in the inquiry. Lionstar's elation would've been more infectious if not for the confirmation that Willowpaw had passed.

Fawnsqueak visibly cringed upon learning he had gone through with the ceremony minus his presence, but he supposed that was precisely what he'd believed Lionstar would do anyway. "Yeah... I seriously don't think I'll make a good deputy. I mean, I wasn't even there for my own ceremony." Not that it was any mistake on his part. "Um, Cougarpaw?" He squinted, no face coming to mind. "RiverClan had a Cougarkit?" Fawnsqueak didn't bother asking if Lionstar thought he was qualified, already knowing the answer; he'd joyfully remind him that he wouldn't have appointed him otherwise, and that he was more experienced than most of RiverClan... it drew a shudder from him.

@BILL.