&The path these paws may take me...

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

((FOR KITTY ONLY! <3))

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[atrb=background,http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/yellowstar11193/Tables/Dustfur2.png] Swift paws carried the WindClan tom through his territory, over well-traveled paths that had been taken many times before- not just by himself, but by his ancestors of generations past. Those cats who had traveled this same path were probably watching him now, the warriors of StarClan observing him and judging him just as they did every cat of every Clan. If they saw him now, just as he was, they would probably see nothing special. Just a loyal tom patrolling his borders for his Clan, as he did almost every day. They wouldn't find anything wrong with it. However, if they knew what was going on inside this tom's mind, StarClan would not be so pleased. Dustfur was indeed patrolling, never able to find something more urgent or distracting that interrupted his daily routine, but his mind was swimming with something other than scent marks or enemy Clans: a certain RiverClan she-cat. "Yeah, well, that's why it'll probably never work out between us, Thrushtail. It doesn't matter how much I like him. He's not gonna break the warrior code for some plot that a bunch of she-cats dreamed up." Those words had been playing in his head, over and over, for the past quarter moon. He had been thinking about them more than he should have, admittedly, and it made him feel guilty every time he caught himself remembering the Gathering night. After he had heard Gingertail's outburst, Dustfur had completely withdrawn. He'd made his way to the other end of Fourtrees and stayed there the entire Gathering, too confused and embarrassed to confront Gingertail even after Thrushtail had left to find other company. Thinking back, he regretted avoiding her. He wanted to talk to her more, and they never seemed to have much time for that at all. They'd met on the border several times before, but each of those instances had not lasted very long. That on top of the fact that he was ashamed at himself for being such a coward, and Dustfur was not in the happiest of moods. His paws took him along his usual path, north first and along the ShadowClan border, then to Fourtrees and then south toward the border with RiverClan. Dustfur wasn't sure if it was routine or some other reason that he was suddenly traveling so quickly to the gorge. As the border drew closer and the first scents of RiverClan drifted over his scent glands, he began to wonder if he would spot Gingertail. For the past week he hadn't seen her at the border at all, hadn't even caught a whiff of her scent. And for a while he had been glad; it wasn't that he didn't want to see her, but because of the inevitable awkwardness that would come of them seeing each other since not speaking after the incident at the Gathering. Today was different, however. Today, for some unclear reason, he was hoping he would run into the RiverClan she-cat. It might have had something to do with the odd encounter with his sister several days ago, a memory which suddenly came rushing back at him with no effort to remember it on his part. "Pssst, Dustfur!" Heathertail's voice at the entrance to the warriors' den caught Dustfur's attention, and he lifted his head up from his nest to see his sister padding into the den. He gave her a questioning look but said nothing else. "Dustfur, you'll never guess what happened!" Heathertail said as she made her way closer to her brother, her voice dropping to something of a whisper-hiss, excitement showing through despite the she-cat's efforts to keep quiet. Dustfur gave up, looking at Heathertail with a cock of his head and asked, "What is it?" "I saw Gingertail today! While I was out on patrol, she was near the border and I talked to her!" Dustfur's ears instantly heated up and he looked away from Heathertail, thankful that his words didn't stumble as he muttered out, "So?" "What do you mean, 'So?' She told me that she's been meeting you on the border and talking to you! What do you have to say to that?" "N-nothing!" Dustfur blurted out, kneading his paws on the moss of his nest in an effort to calm his nerves. "Nothing happened, we've just been talking is all!" "Uh-huh. Sure. So why are you acting all nervous now and why did Gingertail seem nervous when I asked her about it? She was asking about you too, you know!" "I already told you, nothing- ...wait. She was asking about me?" Dustfur looked up at his sister, curiosity obvious in his lit-up expression. "I think she's interested in you! You two haven't been flirting in secret, have you?" Heathertail joked. Dustfur's eyes widened, and he began stuttering out a long response that only made Heathertail burst into a fit of giggles. "Okay, okay, I'm just joking! I know that's not you, Dustfur," She eventually said, calming the tom slightly, only for her to make another comment on how embarrassed he looked and causing him to grow hot under his pelt. "...Just tell me, what was she asking about me?" Dustfur finally asked, earning a more serious and attentive look from his sister. "Oh, that's all you want to know? She wanted me to ask you if you would ever want an apprentice some day. Weird, huh? I don't understand it myself." "An apprentice?" Dustfur blinked. "Why?" Heathertail shrugged. "It was what we were talking about and you happened to come up as well. Don't ask me, I just told her I would ask you." Dustfur simply shook his head, not needing to think about his response. "I don't need an apprentice. I wouldn't be able to do it and there are plenty of other warriors more capable of it, like Harewhisker." "I thought you would say something like that. I'll tell her the next time I see her then~ or maybe you could just tell her yourself, since you've been talking a lot!" This time, Dustfur didn't protest. He just got all uncomfortable again and curled up tighter in his nest. After a few more teasing remarks, Heathertail settled into the nest next to his, and that was the end of that discussion. As he drew closer to the border and the scents of RiverClan only grew stronger, Dustfur's mind remained filled with thoughts of Gingertail. Why had she been asking about him, and was there any reason behind it other than just mild curiosity? Was what she said at the Gathering really true- did she like him? As impossible as that sounded... and did he possibly like her? N-no, that was impossible too... there was no way either of them could like each other. It just couldn't happen, and it was against the warrior code, too. Dustfur flicked his ears with confusion as he realized he had wandered from his usual path. The scent of RiverClan was even stronger around here, and he could make out the sound of the river not far away. Had he somehow strayed into RiverClan's territory without realizing it? Mousedung, if he was spotted or scented here he had no idea how he would get himself out of a confrontation. He had to go back... if he could only figure out where he was now. Oh StarClan, what had he been thinking?! A WindClan cat stuck in RiverClan territory. This could not end well.

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[Kitty]

Water lapped up against ginger fur, creating ripples as strong limbs cut through the slowly moving liquid. Swimming always helped relax Gingertail, letting her focus and think. She hadn't gone out of camp just to swim for a while, and she found herself reveling in the feel of the wetness in her fur. She was in a calmer, deeper part of the river -- perfect for a leisurely dip. She could hear the rumble of the water in the gorge off in the distance, however; her location of choice wasn't too far off from the WindClan border. She'd rather not think about that right now, or the reason she always found herself lurking around there.

What she'd rather do and what she did do obviously weren't in agreement, though, and she found herself thinking about those reasons nonetheless. She'd talked to Heathertail only a few days prior, and on a few days before that was the Gathering. When she'd last seen him. Talk about a disaster of an encounter! No doubt he'd heard her last angry outburst at Thrushtail and thought something along the lines of, "Why would I ever like a RiverClan cat?" Well, that was what sh wanted to know, too. Why did she have to like a WindClan cat? Couldn't she just do the normal, simpler thing and fall for a tom in her own Clan? But no, fates had to be cruel and send her a WindClan tom to crush on.

He couldn't feel the same thing for her. After all, when Gingertail had stalked off from Thrushtail, she'd waited for him to come sit by her again, talk like they'd been talking before Thrushtail had interupted. Instead he'd gone and sat somewhere else, leaving her to stare wistfully in his direction and shoot daggers at Thrushtail. Gingertail had ruined everything! Any tiny bit of like Dustfur had had for her had to have been destroyed in that too-loud outburst. It was a wonder the other cats sitting nearby hadn't heard it.

"Yeah, well, that's why it'll probably never work out between us, Thrushtail. It doesn't matter how much I like him. He's not gonna break the warrior code for some plot that a bunch of she-cats dreamed up."

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She was such a mousebrain!

Feeling too dejected to swim any longer, Gingertail swam to the bank and hauled herself out, giving her fur a shake to dislodge some of the water. No doubt her damp pelt was now sticking up tufts all over the place, but she couldn't bring herself to groom it. It wasn't like Dustfur would see her, after all. She began wandering about the territory, grateful that she hadn't passed her apprentice off on her brother for once. Otterpaw had elder duty today, and she slipped away whilst he worked.

Unbidden, Gingertail's paws carried her towards the WindClan border. It figured; she'd been lurking this way so much recently, her paws were probably automatically set to walk this direction. She wasn't feeling up for the possibility of seeing Dustfur today, though, much less his chatty sister Heathertail, and turned back towards the gorge. Maybe she would go sit and watch the water. Meditate. That could be helpful, right?

But she didn't make it far before a familiar scent hit her like a slap to the face. Well, foxdung. A few more pawsteps carried her to a the top of the slight dip she'd been down in, and sure enough, the very tom she'd just been thinking about was there, looking around in an astonished manner as if he wasn't sure how he got there. Gingertail very nearly turned around; he'd made his feelings towards her clear at the last Gathering. Sighing, however, she put on a typical Gingertail-happy face.

"Well, what's this?" she teased. "Did you get lost, Dustfur?" Before, she may have said "Did you miss me?" or something along those lines, but now she was too worried she might face a direct rejection.

Rejection hurt. She wanted to avoid that at all costs.[/blockquote]

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

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[atrb=background,http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/yellowstar11193/Tables/Dustfur2.png] Not good, not good... how did he manage to get himself lost just beyond the RiverClan border, and how in StarClan's name would he get himself unlost? Stay calm, you can just... retrace your steps! Follow your own scent and you'll be back in WindClan... his own voice echoed in his mind, surprisingly wise and calm, and Dustfur listened to it, closing his eyes and allowing the scents around him to drift over his glands once more. He just had to pick up his own scent. However, the only thing that he could scent was RiverClan. Trees, fish, and fresh water everywhere. No windblown, rabbit scent found its way to his nose, and that simple fact sent the WindClan tom's heart racing. If he was spotted here by anyone, even an apprentice, then Willowstar and Ravenstar would find out and would not be good at all. But really... it wasn't like he was doing anything against the warrior code, he had simply been patrolling and... got lost. But that in itself was humiliating and he couldn't have anyone find out! He made a fool of himself enough without anyone spotting him here. Dustfur opened his eyes again and looked around. If he just started heading back the way he came, he would be in WindClan territory again in no time. Then he would just continue on his path and pretend this never happened. And pay more attention from now on. What had he been thinking? ...Oh. Gingertail. His mind had been so distracted by thoughts of the RiverClan cat and confusion over her feelings for him that he had wandered off of the border and straight into RiverClan's land. That couldn't have been on purpose, could it? No, because he wasn't really thinking of it at the time... mousedung, what if she saw him? She would just tease him about being lost and make him feel more humiliated, but... that wouldn't be so bad, and it would be much better than running into an aggressive RiverClan tom. S-stop, he couldn't be thinking about that now. The sooner he got himself out of here, the better. Dustfur turned around to face the direction he came, about to start walking and never stop until he recognized where he was, when a familiar voice made him stop in his tracks. "Well, what's this? Did you get lost, Dustfur?" Dustfur turned so that his eyes met Gingertail's, noting the same old cheerful look on her face, and felt himself relax. Of all cats, at least it was Gingertail who found him. Otherwise it definitely would have been very bad... maybe she would even help him get back to his own territory! A relieved look came over the tom's face as he stepped closer to Gingertail, temporarily forgetting the awkwardness that he was sure would have been their upon their meeting, only seeing his friend who could help him out of his situation. "H-hi, Gingertail! ...No I'm not lost, I just... wandered away from the border a little. What are you doing here?" Nevermind the fact that she had every right to be here- it was her territory, after all. That particular thought didn't cross Dustfur's mind.

[Kitty]

Gingertail looked on in silence, a mixture of feelings playing inside her. There was embarrassment from their last meeting and sadness for knowing that he didn't like her like she liked him, but there was also that traitorous happiness. In fact, when she saw how excited Dustfur seemed to be to see her, that happiness spiked, nearly -- but not quite -- covering her other emotions. Nonetheless, when she smiled next time it was certainly not forced, but genuine. He claimed he wasn't lost, but he definitely had no idea where he was. Even a kit could see that -- he was in unfamiliar territory now.

However, it was also in her territory, and Gingertail couldn't squash the nagging hope that maybe he'd cross the border looking for her into a corner of her mind, safely out of the way. It was probably a vain hope, but at that moment, Gingertail didn't care.

Instead she moved towards him, stopping when she stood a couple tail lengths away. "Well, this is RiverClan territory," she pointed out. "But I was swimming." Suddenly she realized her fur was still damp and stuck to each other, sticking up in messy tufts around her body. Mousedung! She hadn't expected to see him today! If she'd know he was here, she probably would have groomed herself! She fought the urge to look at her pelt as a wave of self consciousness washed over her. Please don't notice how bad my pelt looks, she thought, even though he probably didn't like her. Dustfur didn't seem like the kind to care about appearances, anyway. But her mind was in that state of disorganization that so often came over she-cats when they were around the tom that she liked, focused on impressing him.

"I was just walking around now, So, you know, my fur could dry out," she ended lamely, then mentally berated herself for drawing attention to her pelt. She'd just been hoping that she wouldn't draw attention to her unruly fur! She hoped he wouldn't notice just how bad it looked, or maybe think that it looked okay....

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

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[atrb=background,http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj298/yellowstar11193/Tables/Dustfur2.png] Dustfur smiled, a true, genuine smile, as he looked at Gingertail. His uncertainty from earlier was completely gone, as was the absolute sureness that their meeting would be awkward that he felt earlier. He couldn't remember being so happy to see the RiverClan cat ever before, but something was different about today. He couldn't place a paw on what it was any more than he could catch a rabbit, and that hunch was somewhere in the back of his mind, but he still knew it. However, for now he only focused on smiling back at Gingertail, wondering how it was he ran into her and how much he didn't want to go back to his own territory at that point. When Gingertail noted that she had been swimming, Dustfur blinked in confusion. Sure, he had noticed her damp, rather messy fur before, but he hadn't really noticed it. It wasn't too unusual for Gingertail, after all. And, being a RiverClan cat, it wasn't unusual for her to be wet either. Though now that she pointed it out, the damp, clumped tufts of ginger fur were very noticeable. He glanced back at her face for a moment, then at her fur, then back again. "Oh, that makes sense, sorry," Dustfur said quickly, realizing his earlier mistake of questioning what she was doing on her own territory. What a mousebrain he could be... "But you have to wash yourself to dry, don't you?" Maybe he was weird and that was some RiverClan thing, to only dry without licking the water off. Every time he'd gotten wet, though, he had never just let his fur air-dry. It was much too uncomfortable. ((Awkward Dustfur is awkward. x3))

[Kitty]

Gingertail felt herself growing more and more comfortable around the WindClan tom; it was surprisingly not nearly as awkward or nerve-wracking as she'd expected their next meeting to be. Now, that wasn't to say she wasn't nervous -- she was, but she was pretty good at hiding that under her usual cheery demeanor. Maybe he hadn't heard her outburst at the Gathering after all....well, he probably wasn't going to mention it even if he had, so she'd never really know. Which was a good thing, she told herself. If he brought it up it would be either to say that he liked her too or to tell her to back off. And no matter how ecstatic she would be to discover that he liked her, she just couldn't take the thought of rejection.

Best to not know for sure, her mind chimed.

But still, Gingertail wondered.

The ginger she-cat found herself smiling at Dustfur's awkwardness; it was just so adorable, especially on him.... Nope. don't think about that. Her mind skipped on to the next thought, something along the lines of 'aww, he looks too cute all confused like that...like a little kit', before self-consciousness washed over her.

Mousedung, he looked at her pelt. Her damp, clumped up pelt that no she-cat, no matter how pretty, could pull off. The tufted wet fur thing just didn't work for she-cats. Which was why she usually just cleaned herself right away, but she just hadn't expected to run into anyone, especially Dustfur, and it was just so embarrassing, and she wanted to go bury herself in a hole somewhere...

She covered her flustered-ness as well she could, shrugging a bit. When she spoke her voice was just a bit too high and fast, laced with distress. "Well, yes, you do. Usually, I mean. I was just kind of, you know, forgot. I mean, sometimes it's nice to feel the wind blowing your fur when it's nice..." With an effort, she shut herself up. Only then she allowed herself to glance over her pelt. Ugh, it was as bad as she thought... "I'll just, err, clean myself up a bit. Yes, that's what I'll do. Sorry about that."

Blushing furiously beneath her fur, Gingertail parked her butt right there and began to go over her tabby fur in quick, furious strokes. Just get it looking okay...that's all. Just so it wasn't sticking out in every direction.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

((Got sick of using that table. It looked bad being so narrow. x.o))

Right... how could he have forgotten something like that? Gingertail was a RiverClan cat, it was perfectly normal for her to be adapted to the water... it didn't bother her, unlike him, which just went to show how different their two Clans were. WindClan cats preferred the wide-open, breezy, dry air of their territory while RiverClan cats practically lived off the river. They were so different, just like all the Clans were, yet he had known this for his whole life so it wasn't very surprising to him. Still, the differences between their Clans seemed like such a small thing that he tended to forget about them.

"O-oh, well that makes sense, I guess, you are RiverClan after all..." he trailed off, smiling a bit awkwardly at his own absentmindedness. It wasn't like he would ever be able to stand having his fur wet, but that didn't mean it was the same for her. He sat back and watched as Gingertail began to quickly clean her fur, for a moment appearing just as nervous as he suddenly felt. Or he could have been imagining it... "It's okay, you look fine, Gingertail! Really, it's no big deal..." ...StarClan what was that?! Dustfur looked away from her quickly, flicking his ears back in embarrassment. "I mean... umm..."

Okay. Time to change the subject, right? After another few quiet moments, he looked back to Gingertail to see if she had finished grooming herself yet. Deciding to just come out and say it, because that would hopefully make things easier, he said, "So... I was talking to Heathertail earlier, and she said something about you asking about me?"

...Mouse dung! Why in StarClan's name did he say that?! This would just make things worse! Feeling like he wanted to sink into the ground, Dustfur looked away once more and poked at the ground awkwardly with one paw. So much for trying to fix the sudden uneasy mood...

[Kitty]

After several heartbeats of vigorous grooming, Gingertail was beginning to feel a little less awkward about her pelt. It was starting to lay flat again. Besides, Dustfur didn't think it looked too bad on her. Unless he was lying. But certainly he wasn't. Hopefully he wasn't. She tried not to think about how it would feel for him to help her clean her fur...no, that idea wouldn't do at all, even if it would get the job done twice as fast. He probably didn't want to get wet from her pelt, anyway. Not that the idea had even crossed his mind to help her dry herself. It probably hadn't. Maybe that was for the best, though; it would be hard to explain why she was covered in the smell of WindClan when she got back. No, no, time to think about something else.

So it was met by gratefulness when Dustfur changed the subject, though it was a topic that had just as much potential to become awkward. First embarrassment, then anger swept over the ginger she-cat. Heathertail had promised that she wouldn't tell Dustfur that it was Gingertail that had been asking! That little liar! Gingertail would get her back for that...

But wait. Did Dustfur actually ask her about that? Wow, he must be feeling particularly courageous today! She quashed her irritation towards the tom's sister and shoved it to the far corner of her mind, to be dealt with next time Gingertail saw the brown she-cat, and nodded. Maybe now was her chance to find out his answer... "Um, yeah, I did. I asked if you might ever want an apprentice. You know, to, um, train a young cat. And we kinda talked a little, about how we--that is, you and me--see each other on the borders sometime." As she spoke, she kept her eyes on her pelt, wary of what expressions she might see on his face. Hopefully not annoyance or, StarClan forbid, anger... "I mean, I was just kinda curious and, you know, wanted to...know..."

Usually she didn't have a problem with speaking, but for some reason when she was around Dustfur all coherency flew to the far side of her brain. Just her luck.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

This was bad. Veeeerry bad. StarClan, why had he asked such a stupid question?! He certainly did a horrible job of changing the topic to something less awkward, and he was sure that at any moment he would simply melt with embarrassment, if Gingertail didn't decide to claw his clueless mouth out or turn around and simply walk away. He really didn't want her to leave, for it had been so long since they last were really able to talk, even if it was in a situation like this... mouse dung, Dustfur, focus! Gingertail was finally responding, after quite a long moment of uncomfortable silence, so he forced himself to listen instead of mentally scolding himself.

"Y-yeah, that's what she told me... er, asked me, I mean..." Dustfur mumbled, glancing at Gingertail awkwardly for a moment before looking away just as quickly and focusing his gaze on a particularly interesting looking fern. It wasn't like he could even look at her in his own embarrassment. "I... uh... I-I don't really know what the big deal is... why you would want to know, really, but... I guess... not really? I mean, I don't think I would be very good at it, after all, there are so many more capable warriors in WindClan, you know."

He definitely shouldn't have brought this up... great StarClan, that was right, Heathertail knew about him and Gingertail seeing each other over the borders! That wasn't good, not good at all.... but wait. There wasn't anything going on between them, they were simply friends, just that. So there was no reason to worry over their friendship being discovered, right...? Right. Maybe.

"It doesn't matter how much I like him. He's not gonna break the warrior code for some plot that a bunch of she-cats dreamed up."

Oh, how confused he was...

[Kitty]

Gingertail sighed. Of course Dustfur didn't really want an apprentice. But he did say that it was only because he figured there were plenty other cats in the Clan that could train them better. And kits were much different from apprentices, in any case. He wasn't the bravest cat, she knew. He was kind of awkward, really. Quiet and closed-off. But maybe he'd really be open to kits and have fun with them. Of course, he may be just as awkward around them...actually, he probably was. Probably it would be different around his own kits, though, right? Weren't parents supposed to think their kits were the best things ever?

You're getting ahead of yourself, Gingertail, she scolded herself. Who's to say he even wants kits? He probably doesn't. And even if he did have kits with you, he wouldn't abandon WindClan to help raise them. He'd only see them at Gatherings when they became apprentices. Oh no, now she was plotting out how their kits would see each other, and they weren't even together....she was hopeless.

With a sudden burst of courage, Gingertail glanced up and looked right at Dustfur. "Well, I guess what I really wanted to know was how well you do around kits. You know, young cats. Not that it's really important. I mean, I'm sure you don't have to worry about that." She paused. Had she just insinuated that no she-cats liked him well enough to bear his kits? She blushed beneath her fur. "Oh my, that was harsh, wasn't it? I didn't mean that she-cats don't like you. I mean, I'm sure you have plenty of she-cats padding after you like m-"

She broke off, green eyes wide. Had she almost just said that?! Mousedung, that was a close call! With any luck Dustfur hadn't noticed her little 'like me' at the end. But luck was not on her side today.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Dustfur refused to look at her- no, couldn't look at her, so instead of making himself do just that, he continued to stare off into the distance, at anything and everything that could keep his sight away from the ginger she-cat at all costs. It was much easier to avoid her gaze than to have her see how nervous he suddenly was, how uncertain, how embarrassed and stupid he felt for bringing this up in the first place. Somehow, the mood had gone completely downhill, as opposed to the light, happy air that surrounded them only moments before. He didn't even know how it had changed so much, but that didn't matter now, because he had much more serious problems to deal with. Like what exactly was going on between him and Gingertail, what he thought was happening, and what others seemed to think was happening.

She didn't like him. No, there was just no way. The only reason she had asked about him was because she was curious as a friend, and that was that. It was a silly thing to ask about someone you were interested in after all, wasn't it? ...Not that he really knew, because he'd never padded after any cat before... N-no, it was impossible, and that was that, and that was why she wasn't asking him about apprentices, but about kits instead. ...Wait... she was wondering how he did around kits?

Suddenly, everything seemed to come together at once.

The plot. That was what she was talking about. Gingertail was so worried that she wouldn't be able to find a father for her kits, that the father wouldn't be someone she really loved. She wanted the father of her kits to be someone close, a friend, a mate... and she also had said that thing at the Gathering, about liking him, and to one of her friends at that! One who knew about the plot! StarClan, what if she did like him?! That would be horrible, that would be weird, that would be... no, maybe it wasn't true at all.

Still, Dustfur found himself looking back to Gingertail when she cut off abruptly. Her eyes were wide, as if something had surprised her, but the tom hadn't been paying quite enough attention to notice what it was. He just kept his eyes on her for a moment, trying to fathom the concept that was pulling itself together in his mind. He had never dealt with anything like this before, nothing at all, but something told him this couldn't be one of those things that he just avoided and ran away from, like he did with all his problems.

This was something he had to get the answer to, so, slowly, the WindClan tom swallowed his nervousness and fixed Gingertail with a wary, almost accusing, look. "...Y-You aren't talking about the plot, are you? About me being the... the..."

He couldn't utter the last word, no matter how hard he tried. So he simply trailed off, somehow knowing that she would get the idea anyway.

[Kitty]

Gingertail was so relieved he didn't catch her slip up, it took her mind a moment to process what Dustfur had said. And when she did, she was so frozen with shock it took her a good few heartbeats to reassemble her thoughts enough to reply.

Her initial reaction was surprise; how did he come to that conclusion?! When she'd asked, the plot hadn't even been on her mind! She'd just wanted to know, because she liked him and she liked kits and she wanted to know whether he liked kits, even if there was no hope...but now that he had reminded her of the plot, that just added one more thing to worry about to Gingertail's already stressful life. She had managed to forget about the plot both in speaking to Dustfur and worrying about her relationship with Dustfur. The reminder was not a welcome one.

Nor did she like the accusatory look he gave that accompanied the question. Of course he would think the idea was absurd; he hadn't even really liked it to begin with, she didn't think. She hadn't even planned on asking him that, anyway! She couldn't make Dustfur father kits he'd never get to see or know, even if it would solve all her problems. It would just create half-Clan tensions and hurt the kits and Dustfur more than it would help them. Family members that never met would be terrible. Gingertail couldn't imagine life without one of her parents, so if her kits had to grow up fatherless, it would be sad.

No, she'd only let Dustfur be her kits' father if he volunteered.

Which was where her second emotion came in, a mixture of hurt and embarrassment that snapped her out of her shock. "No no no! It's not like that!" she bumbled out, half horrified he'd come to such a conclusion. "I just wanted to know because I like you!" Mousedung, did she just say that? Oh no.. "I mean! Um! No! You don't need to get involved in the plot! No need, really! I mean, not that I've found anyone yet, but...that's not your problem!"

What a mousebrain she was...

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

The following words that were stuttered out of Gingertail's mouth seemed like nothing more than a jumbled mess to him. She was obviously caught off guard, having no idea what to say in response to his accusations, and Dustfur began to feel a bit guilty for even bringing it up. If Gingertail seemed so surprised, then obviously that hadn't been what she was thinking at all, and perhaps he had been wrong to jump to such a conclusion. It was certainly a relief to him, however there was still a nagging feeling at the back of his mind, one that told him there was something more going on here behind Gingertail's hurried dismissal of his worries. And through the she-cat's panicked explanation, it seemed to jump right out at him.

"I just wanted to know because I like you!"

StarClan, he had been right! ...Not good, not good, not good! That single sentence was all he made sense of from Gingertail's confusing rambling, but it was all that was needed for Dustfur's embarrassment and uncertainty to take a whole other level. His ears heated up even more fiercely than before, and his gaze went straight to the ground as conflicting feelings suddenly sprung up all over. But even so, another emotion seemed to be just as strong as his sudden panic. Was it... relief, and even happiness? ...Did he like Gingertail, too? Was his relief due to the fact that his previous assumption turned out to be completely false, or was it because she felt the same way about him that he did?

"M-maybe I should go," Dustfur mumbled to the ground, taking a step backwards, and then another, attempting to put distance in between them that would hopefully make him feel less nervous than he was. This wasn't how he wanted their first time meeting since the Gathering to turn out, but it had already happened, and he couldn't let it get any worse than it already was. His own feelings were even confusing him, because he had never been in a position like this before, with a she-cat confessing to him... just thinking those words caused his fur to heat up all over again, and he stuttered out an explanation for his sudden change in mood, but try as he may, he couldn't keep his voice steady. "I-I mean, you know, I don't want to be a burden or anything, if there's nothing I can do to help... s-so really, I should go, sorry..."

[Kitty]

What had she done?

Screwed everything up, that's what. Her sudden burst of courage melted away at Dustfur's fumbling reply. This just confirmed all of her suspicions. He didn't like her like that. Sadness swelled up inside of her, but she refused to let him see just how much it crushed her. She didn't want him to pity her for something like this. She-cats got rejected all the time, Gingertail was sure. They made it through just fine. She was sure she could do the same.

But the ginger she-cat found that she really wasn't ready for him to leave. A vague panicky feeling rose inside her when he even mentioned it. He couldn't leave, not like this! Dustfur was so awkward (in the adorable way) that their friendship would never be the same if he left thinking about this. And they were just getting close, too. Of course, Gingertail may have ruined that by opening up her big mouth. She floundered madly for an excuse for him to stay just a bit longer. What had he said? If there's nothing he can do to help...

Movement caught her eye, and she flickered her green gaze towards it. A rabbit. She was reminded of the day he taught her to hunt rabbits, and suddenly she knew the perfect way to get him to stay longer.

"N-no! Wait! I was going to ask, could you do me a favor? You see, I'm a mentor, right? But I'm just not comfortable with teaching Otterpaw how to fish yet. Could you let me practice with you? I mean, if you don't want to, I'll understand, but it won't take long, since the river's right over there, and it'd be a great chance for you to learn, too. You can never know too much, right?"

Please say yes, please say yes.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Dustfur paused as soon as Gingertail called to him. Well, more like froze, standing completely still in place, and wondering what else she could possibly say now that could make this situation even worse than it already was. He couldn't even imagine what it would be, but he wasn't the best at making predictions like that in the first place, so he only paused for a moment, waiting to ear what she had to say. However, what she said wasn't what he had expected.

He waited, waited a little while more, and then slowly started to turn toward her again. His eyes still shone with uncertainty and nervousness, but he started to calm otherwise. If... if mentoring practice was all she was wondering about, and if he just pretended that she never said what she said earlier... then maybe it would be okay. It was a normal thing for them to do, wasn't it? Just last time he had taught- or, well, tried to teach her how to hunt rabbits. So this couldn't be much harm, as long as they were just friends...

"R-really?" He mumbled, quietly at first, then he looked up from his paws toward the she-cat again, slight curiosity peeking onto his face. "Umm... I guess, yeah, I could help, I don't know when I would ever need to know how to fish, though..." he trailed off, awkwardly, his eyes venturing away from Gingertail once more as he kneaded the ground with his paws, staying in place. He didn't have to leave, not quite yet, anyway...