Everlasting Love (Stormwind)

The tom flicked his ear nervously before starting to ask her about what she’d told him.
“So, you’re not interested in mating for your own reasons, right?”

Willowheart reluctantly looked back at her friend. "Yes?"

Before Oakfoot would do anything like that, he tilted his head curiously, meeting his best friend’s gaze again. “Willowheart?”

Willowheart ruffled her fur uncomfortably when he didn't say anything, looking away. She knew most cats looked at sex as an irreplaceable part of life and would likely insist she was just broken or deluded. She didn't know if she could cope if Oakfoot turned on her in disgust like that.

The Tom’s green eyes widened in surprise as Willowheart laid out the problem so blatantly before him. Oakfoot was slightly dumbfounded, but curious all at once. Isn’t that such a huge part of a relationship, though?

Willowheart let out a breath and stated bluntly, "It's not you, Oakfoot. I just don't have any interest in sex. At all." Regardless of saying this so blatantly, she still said it quietly enough that only the tom could hear her. "I never have."

Oakfoot blinked as Willowheart approached. He wondered if she was just going to have him stay in the den, or if they would go somewhere where they could speak in private. “Hey,” The tom Mewed softly, looking down a little awkwardly before returning his gaze to hers.

Willowheart grimaced slightly at the signs that he was uncomfortable around her now. Well, that and him having been avoiding her. She needed to fix that. Sighing, she approached the tom.

Oakfoot Met Willowheart’s eyes with his ears perked attentively, But a bit of a sideways glance, the slight turn of his muzzle indicating he was still nervous about seeing her after their previous encounter.

After a few more minutes, Willowheart wrapped up both her scolding and her work. "Now, you will stay in that nest and rest," she ordered sternly, to which the young tom grumbled but obeyed. Nodding in satisfaction, she turned around, pausing when she caught sight of Oakfoot.

Oakfoot flicked his ear, waiting for Willowheart to look back and see him instead of interrupting the scolding she was giving Nettlepaw.

Willowheart was talking sternly to Nettlepaw when Oakfoot looked in. “I don’t care how big the squirrel is, if the branches are starting to freak underneath your weight, you’re too high.”

Sighing, Oakfoot gave in to whatever strange instinct pulled him towards Willowheart’s den, the tom sticking his head in to see if she was available to talk. He didn’t yet think that she wouldn’t know about Echowhisper’s departure.

Willowheart hadn’t been watching the DimClan cats leave and so did not yet know of the departure of her younger sister yet. Nettlepaw had broken his leg falling out of a tree the day before and she was tending to him.

Left alone and not particularly wanting to follow after The infuriated Emberleaf, Oakfoot glanced around the clearing until his eyes settled on the medicine den. The tom felt something in his chest catch and tighten up a bit as he thought of Willowheart and what had happened the last time he’d spoken to her.

Emberleaf didn’t seem to notice, whipping around and stalking off to demand answers from her mother.

Wolfheart, who was sitting nearby, looked after Echowhisper as she left without mix expression on his face. The tom did flinch slightly as Emberleaf cried out beside him.

Oakfoot watched the exit, stunned, before pressing up against Emberleaf again.

(Indeed! )

Emberleaf looked alarmed, involuntarily taking a step after her sister, eyes wide. “Echowhisper!”

(Now we can finally go back to DimClan! )

“I will too.”

The she cat managed to choke out the words, just loud enough for her mother to hear. Then, before she could change her mind, the petite warrior turned and charged after the Dimclan patrol, not wanting to get left behind.

“Echowhisper?” Oakfoot called after The she-cat, but to no avail, glancing over at Emberleaf to see if she had a clue what this was about as the silvery she-cat’s sister.

Rainstar rasped her tongue over her daughter’s ear, briefly closing her eyes as she took in her scent. “We’ll all miss you.”

Echowhisper purred quietly, pressing her face into her mother’s shoulder affectionately. “I’ll be back, as soon as I can be,” The she-cat reaffirmed, biting back a sob as she took in her mother’s scent for what might be the last time in some time.

Rainstar’s eyes were sad as she gazed at her youngest daughter, who had somehow grown up while she wasn’t looking. “If that is what you want,” she reluctantly acquiesced.

Echowhisper nodded, showing off the scar on her neck that had yet to heal fully, and probably never would. “I became a warrior to fight. And I want to help them, and see what their life is like.” Admittedly, she also had the hots for Rainstorm, but that wasn’t in her top 5 reasons to follow the patrol to Dimclan.

Rainstar gently touched her nose to the young she-cat’s cheek. “Oh, my precious daughter,” she murmured. “You want to leave because you’re feeling guilty for not fighting?”

Oakfoot was now leaning heavily towards asking Emberleaf to be his mate. He and Willowheart still hadn’t talked since her awkward refusal of his advances during the orgy, and he still felt as if it was a personal rebuke of him- that she found him undesirable. The tom was happy to lavish the beautiful red calico with his attention instead, even presenting her with small gifts of flowers and honeycomb on occasion. To that end, he was sporting a bee sting on the side of his muzzle.

Echowhisper cast her lively green/blue eyes downwards. “Not forever! I promise I’ll come back. But... I want to see what it’s like there.” She lifted her head a little. “And... I want to help them fight the rogues. I never got the chance to defend my clan’s honor in battle. Maybe I can help theirs.”