... the story begins(go to Dimi's form first!)The stars were awake, and, luckily for two certain apprentices, the rest of their Clans were not.
. Quailpaw watched as the night guard walked the other way, and he quietly slipped through the brambles at the edge of FrontierClan territory. Soon he was out of sight, running through the woods towards the meeting place.
. Ever since Otterstar had split them up, ever since he had threatened them with trouble if they ever stuck another paw out of line... well, Quail and his sister Owlpaw had been doing exactly that. Tonight, the tiny black apprentice thought as he sprinted through the woods, was one of those nights.
. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the clearing and clambered. It was a small place surrounded by thick bushes, with only a single tree in the very center. Basically, it was the perfect hiding spot.
Quailpaw emerged on the other side, looked up - and Owlpaw was already there, in the first branch of the tree, a confident grin on her face. "Hey, Quailpaw! Took you long enough to get here, eh? I've been here for
ages!"
. Owlpaw scared him a bit... but he still loved her. She was the brave one, the daring one, and seeing her again made him feel a little bit braver, too. "Owlpaw!" he said quietly, a smile of his own forming. "Why are you up there?"
. "Wanted to check out this tree. It's perfect for climbing!" She had that mischievous glint in her eye, the one that meant a challenge. "Wanna race to the top?"
. Despite his fears, despite his hesitation, Quail only ever had one answer. "You bet I do!"
. "Then come on, brother!" she cried, and bounded up the tree. Quailpaw hurried to catch up. He clawed up to the first branch, and Owl was already at the third.
. 'Hey, no fair! That's a head start!" he called up to her, but he didn't really care. He just was glad that they could still be together sometimes, despite everything.
. Owlpaw stopped near the very top of the tree, and by the time Quail dragged himself up there, his paws were shaking in fright.
"We're... so high up..." he stammered, and Owlpaw nodded cheerfully.
. "Yeah. You can see for ages from here," she said, missing the point of the statement. Then she turned to look at him and realized how terrified he was. Her tail brushed up against him, cautiously so as to not startle him. "Hey. Quail. You trust me, right?"
. "Yeah?"
. "I promise I won't let you fall."
. "... okay," said Quail, hesitantly.
They looked out at the world beneath them in silence after that, simply appreciating what little time they had together.
. Owlpaw was the first to speak. "I'm glad we're still friends, brother."
. Quailpaw nodded enthusiastically. "I'm glad, too! Otterstar's scary but... you're still my sister. No one's going to separate us, not forever." Though Quail could be very non-commital most of the time, this was the one thing he was sure of. Nothing could stop him from being with his sister.
. Owl smiled, but then she had an idea. "Hey, just in case anything ever goes wrong... can we agree on something?"
. Quail nodded, a bit slower this time. "Of course! On what?"
. "If a day comes when we can't see each other anymore, secretly or not... let's look up at the stars every night, wherever we are, and say hello."
. "...I like that."
. "Then we're doing it?"
. "Mhm. I do that already anyway."
. Owlpaw sighed, staring up into the galaxy above. "Me too, little brother. Me too."
(597 words according to wordcounter.net)
[Credits]
Dimi did the coding of both forms and the written segment for Owlpaw's form.
Sunlitsecrets did the art pieces on both forms and the written segment for Quailpaw's form.