LoonxCrane {brother, I was a fool} L0S0V0

[ambird]

[bg=252620][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Creeping through some bushes, Cranetail searched the boarding, hoping to find a familiar black and white tom. Where was he? Pineclan border...again Okay, so perhaps this was becoming far too much of a regular habit, but it was better than being cooped up in camp, watching things that would only follow him into his nightmares. Luckily he needn't worry about his scent in his own territory, or really Pineclan, because there was a thicker-than-normal fog covering most of the land. At least someone out there knew he needed this. What, exactly? His brother. Say what you will, but Loonstep had been the only constant in his life. Whether it had been from coming to this place, going separate ways...no matter what, his brother was always there for him. Even when Cranetail deserved no pity or comfort...Loonstep was there. Looking back, he really hadn't deserved a brother like that. And so many agreed with that. 'He's related to that vulgar Cranetail? Your lying!' No one ever really believed them to be of the same blood. Loonstep was always the one that others favored. Was he jealous? At the time, yes. Now? He didn't give a load of dung whether his brother was Mr. Popular. He just needed him to be there for him. Cranetail would have thought that by now he would have given up on him. Looking back, it was always him that asked his brother for help, and most times it was with truly pathetic things. Charming she-cats, getting the Clan to appease to him more and more ludicrous things. None of that even mattered now. If anyone who'd known him as the megalomaniac he had been back then saw him now, they'd only spit in his face and probably say something along the lines of told you so. If he could change anything, it'd probably be how he treated his brother...and Goosefur. Great Starclan, had he been a fox-hearted jerk. He probably still was one. The only thing to change all of that was losing his freedom. Some cat he was, huh? His brother and Goosefur had tried to help him in the beginning, but he had only gotten worse and worse. Maybe if he'd listened every once and awhile, he wouldn't be in the position he currently was in. "You idiot," he murmured,"You had a chance to stay with cat's who cared about you, but you were too caught up in your idiotic world to take notice. And everyone's gone up and left you in your world of delusions." he muttered darkly to himself. "Things may be looking up, though. You....you have second chance. You can make things right," he continued voicing his thoughts, until he remembered nowhere was safe from eavesdroppers. They didn't need to know about either Ashstorm or Loonstep. They were his business, and his alone. With this possibility of redeeming himself, he had to make sure no one learned of them. As long as he kept his chances up, he had the ability to go back to the way things were before he became a first-class jerk. Just don't screw anything up this time round.

[Cloudbat]

[bg=22334a][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Perhaps StarClan did exist, or some sort of higher power enjoyed screwing with him. Because this many border encounters - unplanned ones - happened too much to be random. At first, he debated with himself over whether he should even reveal himself to Cranetail. But then his overwhelming morality - one of his more unfortunate 'feminine' traits - kicked in, insisting he couldn't just leave him hanging. Loonstep groaned mentally to himself. Why, in the blessed name of all that is good, am I such a StarClan-forsaken she-cat sometimes? Dark Forest, who knew. All he did know was that he was going to talk to Cranetail and StarClan take whatever happened because of it. "Welly welly well, look what the badger dragged in." He drawled as he swung his large body out of the undergrowth, breaking into his broad grin, adopting the easy manner he had with no one else, not even Goosefur or Duckstripe since well, they were she-cats. And dang it, for all his freakin' weird tendencies he was a tom."Aren't you supposed to be bleeding your sorry pelt off somewhere like a good little sinner, Cranebutt?" Bahaha. Clever he was, using his brother's old nickname from when they were little. But he faltered; his brother was still talking to himself. What? What the heck was he talking about? Second chances? That wasn't the Cranetail he knew. His brother could be a bleeding idiot, but he didn't need any second chances. He was...well, he was Cranetail. Time for Loonstep's Patented Tough Love Powers to activate! "Look, buster, nothing productive is going to come of you sticking your face up your tail and moaning to yourself. I've done stupid things too. Day I suggested we separate? Dumbest day of my life. All those times I was off by myself, ignoring whatever mess you three got yourself into while thinking myself so high and mighty? Dang it, you're not the only one with mistakes around here." He took a breath, surprised even at himself. Loonstep wasn't an angry cat by nature; his general policy was 'take it, roll your eyes, and imagine their fur lining your nest'. "And Dark Forest take you and your smug face, you're my brother and I'm not gonna let you drown in your own angst pit. Got it? Good. Now tell me about all this 'second chances' rubbish you're rambling of." He really did miss Cranetail.

[ambird]

[bg=252620][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] "Loonstep!" Cranetail cheered, but his happiness was short-lived as his brother gave him a Grade-A lecture, Loonstep style, of course. He didn't deny he definitely needed one. As he mentioned the whole separation thing, Cranetail couldn't help but smile at the Cranebutt dig. Starclan did he deserve that one! Always chasing around she-cats, annoying senior warriors, setting "bad examples" for the apprentices! Ah, sweet memories. He was back. Well, back to as Cranebutt as he could manage. Funny though, all it took was seeing Loonstep and he was ready to go back to what he was good at. By definition, that technically meant being a nuisance. However much he longed for that, he knew it wouldn't come. He couldn't. Not without fixing this mess! Which, that goal in itself was pretty hard to accomplish...angst pit?! Was he that bad? Chances were more than likely yes. Right, no more angst pit for you, he thought to himself. Before he'd never have admitted to his brother that he was right, well, until after all the consequences of his stupid actions had taken place. But now, he knew a bit differently. Huh. So this was how it felt to be--okay, not exactly "mature" mature, but still pretty close. "Wellllll," he began, his tone slightly teasing. Loonstep was, after all, the only cat he currently could tease without expecting punishment in return from. "The single most amazing idea I've had in a pretty long time! Well, except that one--point is, I have a theory of to get rid of the crazies! Rebellion!" he whispered the last word excitedly. Having previously ignored the whole "bloody pelt" comment thing, he know went back to that. "Pfft, don't make me laugh, dude. These crazies are crazy." What? Stating the obvious had always been something of Cranetail's specialty. "Oh, but bro, they love talking about, and I quote 'filthy Pineclanners'. You guys are apparently the worst insult out there." he winked at his brother. Before he'd always cracked jokes about the two Clans rivalries with one another, and it had always been in jest. Fogclanners had always mentioned dirty comments of his brother's Clan, but now, the way they threw it around? Nothing less than pitiful. Sweet Starclan yes! Less-than-original-Cranebutt was back! Hmm. Maybe he should mention the fact he'd also been talking to Ashstorm? Why not! "Oh, so,ya know Ashstorm, right? Warrior in your Clan. I was sitting out here in self-pity and she comes up outta know where! Well, first she was all 'Rawr, evil Fogclanner get away from the border!' but then I started talking to her, so now she's all 'Down with nut-jobs! Helping out the awesome Cranetail!'. Well....err....more or less, that last part." he blinked cheerfully at his brother. "She's kinda funny. One minute she's yelling at me, the next she's pretty cool! Er--y'know in the 'help get rid of crazies way'. Y-Yeah." he finished, his tail twitched in anxiety all of the sudden. Gah, what in Starclan's name is happening to me?!

[Cloudbat]

[bg=22334a][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Good, my words seemed to have knocked some sense into his thick skull. Not that Cranetail didn't have a right to be depressed; of course he did. But lately it seemed like that was all he'd been. So the heavyset tom smiled to his own brother somewhat cheered up. His short ears perked at "Rebellion." "What, took you that long to think of it?" He teased back. But he knew why; he only imagine the agony it took to watch your every step and word, trying not to get injured for goshdarned sane reason at all. The yellow-eyed PineClanner shuddered, and not just from the fog drifting onto the edges of his territory from its origin one. "Nooooo." He droned back in reply to Cranetail's no crap, mouse-brain statement. "Thank you, Captain Obvious." Loonstep laughed softly, then assumed a mock arrogant expression. "Well, of course we are. We work hard at it, you know. Don't do all this 'I don't believe in nonsense' stuff to be intelligent or anything. It's all to be the best insult in the land of stupid." Oh this was much better than - wait. What. What did he just say? The warrior's white-furred face changed from happy!Loonstep to extremely confused!Loonstep in under two seconds. Ashstorm had been talking to Cranetail, of all cats? She was well known for her disdain of the other Clans, her short temper, and her general dislike of toms. The beginning sounded like her...but how on earth had she managed to not claw his brother's face off, let alone talk to him for an extended period of time? Thinking of the pair of them, Cranetail was probably exactly the type of cat who'd get on her nerves in no time flat. Even more, she'd said she'd help him? What sorcery was this? I don't want to even consider the fact that he might try to flirt with her, he thought, shuddering once more. "Uh..." He said, a quizzical eyebrow still raised. "You sure all the beatings haven't driven you crazy? No offense, bro, but you're exactly the kind of cat she hates. Ashstorm has no love for the other Clans, and she's not fond of toms in general, though I don't know why. And she really, really doesn't like toms flirting with her, which I assure you if you do, there won't be enough left of you to fit in my paw. So don't get any ideas." He ended his little speech with a head shake, looking at Cranetail with an amused expression. Then, however, he went into serious mode again, actually thinking about the implications of helping the white FogClanner with his rebellion idea. "Although...if you're not hallucinating and you actually got her to listen, maybe I could work with her to get other PineClanners to help. It's a slim shot but...I don't want to see you suffer forever, man. You and anyone else in your depraved Clan who's not a lunatic. Anyway, what did you guys even discuss? I've gotta hear this, because it must be good." He sneezed, then wiped his nose on a dead leaf, grumbling. Stupid cold humidity. Irony, considering he loved being wet. But that was different, and when Loonstep was swimming he wasn't surrounded by the icky scent of all FogClanners except his brother. (And even Cranetail didn't smell like a bed of roses.)

[ambird]

[bg=252620][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Cranetail merely nodded at his brother, up until...well. He agreed with everything ol' Loonie'd been saying until that whole...er...Ashstorm...thing. Well...who was he kidding? He was everything that Loonstep had just described was what she hated. However much he hated it, that's exactly what he was. Different Clan, womanizer(and proud--she probably hated those kind of toms even more) and he was well...Cranetail. And Cranetail honestly didn't know if he could change that much for a-- Woah. Okay. Rewind and backtrack. What was he even thinking?! He had bigger things to worry about--like whack-jobs and the Council and what in the name of Starclan he was even gonna do and...he had to get his head back on straight. Cranetail for once in his life couldn't fill his thoughts with luring she-cats. He had to do what was best for his Clan and friends. "Haha, yeah, what was I thinking...'sides, Crane-y's got bigger fish to fry...like the crazies." he dismissed all....erm...thoughts like that of Ashstorm out of his head. It wasn't exactly Code-abiding anyways(not that he cared about rules, but he had to rationalize laying off she-cats somehow, right?) Great Starclan! Of course Loonie had to drag the conversation right back to the she-cat... Well, he couldn't blame him. Since when did egotistical Cranetail actually have the decency to have a perfectly polite conversation with a she-cat? Never. At least, not since before the crazies. And right now he didn't really have anything to say to most anyone. It was better when he didn't open his mouth. Less chance of screwing up and getting punished. "Our talk? Let's see. Well, first we talked a bit 'bout you. Mostly how you and I act nothing alike, and I think she said something snarky about how we act nothing alike. Then I kind of...opened up to her after she said she wouldn't call my face off. We talked about more....and then we started addressing the possibility of rounding up the non-crazies in rebellion. Yeah. I think...that was about the jist of the convo," he finished. "Oh yeah, and she's pretty scary when she's ready to claw off a face. 'Specially when she thinks I was followed. Or that it was all a trap. I swear Loon, she's more paranoid than you are." he chuckled to himself.

[Cloudbat]

[bg=22334a][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Still quizzical, but starting to get tired of the moisture dogging his pelt (how on earth did FogClanners put up with it?) the black and white tom decided to answer quickly and retreat into his mercifully drier territory. Then again, he guessed FogClan didn't have to worry about droughts. "Glad we're clear on that." He said, still amused. A she-cat Cranetail had only met once, from another Clan, and he seemed to like her a little? I will never understand how his brain works. Of course, on the flip side I have practically no friends in my Clan. Maybe liking something about someone even if you don't know them completely isn't all bad. His claws sheathed and retracted, shredding the grass beneath his paws absentmindedly as he listened further. Then the tom's broad face split in a grin of yellowed teeth. "What is she talking about? We're twins, obviously. How can any cat doubt that we're related?" Obvious sarcasm is obvious, but it was just nice to stand here, making stupid jokes. The bi-colored PineClanner's short black ears perked up as his brother spoke further. Ashstorm had said she wouldn't claw his face off? Well, maybe she knew it'd only bring more trouble and hate between the two Clans. He might not like her, but she wasn't a mouse-brain. He highly doubted it had been out of any respect for his brother; but...his yellow eyes widened. Ashstorm had had the same idea? Okay, her not killing Cranetail he could just about accept...but wow, this was something else. Maybe he's more mature than I give him credit for, Loonstep realized guiltily. It's awful that this is what it took, though. "Well...gosh. I mean...dang. Ashstorm and I aren't friends or anything...but if I approached her, maybe we could work together. Yeah, she is pretty scary sometimes. Really, I don't know what you could see in her. Maybe it's just your habit." It was said lightly, but he meant it. The warrior shook his head. "Besides, who am I to judge you after what you've been through? Plus it's not like I know what to look for in she-cats, anyway." Besides Goosefur, he thought guiltily. At least he wasn't feeling that way right now. Pondering to himself, he almost missed the white tom's last words. "Nonsense, why should I be paranoid when my brother lives in a whole Clan of cats who want to hate me, and we would both be in seriously deep fox dung if one of them came along right now? Gee, who wouldn't be totally relaxed? Don't worry though, I'll reassure her. She's suspicious, but when I vouch for you she'll probably believe you." He paused to breathe in the misty air. "I don't know how you stand it, but I'm getting tired of this fog." Loonstep sneezed once more.

[ambird]

[bg=252620][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Having had adapted to the moisture-filled land, Cranetail was somewhat oblivious to Loonstep's discomfort with the fog. That was until his brother sneezed for the umpteenth time. He blinked to himself, as reading others wasn't something he was particularly good at. He snorted at Loonstep. If there was one thing his brother had down to a pat, it was sarcasm. It was definitely ironic. Back in the old days, Loonie probably would have scoffed at Cranetail for cracking jokes in such dire times. But here Loonstep himself was, disobeying the warrior code by merely stand there talking to him, and being sarcastic as if they were still back as apprentices. Habit? Cranetail looked down, ashamed. Huh. Who would have ever thought Cranetail the Casanova would ever feel guilty of chasing after she-cats. Strange times, for sure. It just made him feel worse that his brother wasn't shocked when he hit on she-cats. Great Starclan did he have to improve his reputation. Especially if he wanted anybody to help him. "No experience at all? Come on, bro. You're telling me no she-cat's are interested in the almighty Loonstep?" Cranetail smirked. His brother may not of been much of a lady's man, but that's how he appealed to cats. Or, so Cranetail reasoned. "True enough," he murmured, "This sure does suck, huh? If I hadn't gone up and decided to leave you for a different Clan we wouldn't have to sneak around like disobedient apprentices. Even if I'd gone with Goosefur none of this would have happened." he muttered, recalling the she-cat who had been both he and Loonstep's friend for as long as they could remember. "Sounds like a plan. I guess that just leaves me having to...talk to a bunch of cats who I barely know. Just another day for me, eh? Awh, bro, the fog isn't so bad. Once you get used to it. Which basically means never," he laughed.

[Cloudbat]

[bg=22334a][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] "The almighty Loonstep doesn't exactly go out of his way to be charming." He snorted. "If any she-cats have a crush on me, they sure know how to keep it a secret." Okay, maybe I know a little about romance...but I don't know much about how she-cats think about it. Duckstripe...well, she could be as flirty as Cranetail when she felt like it, but sometimes she gave toms the coldest shoulder possible. It's hard to gauge anything from her, much as I love her. Jeezum, he hadn't seen her in forever, despite the fact that she was the one he probably had the most normal relationship with. His reminiscing was interrupted by the depressed mutterings of the tom in front of him. Loonstep's expression softened with fraternal love, and he padded forward to nuzzle his sibling, whatever the consequences might be. "Hey, bro. Don't let it get you down. You wanted to come here. It was a good place once, right? You can make it one again. Even if I don't get StarClan and all, I know we need balance. I think you can do it if you actually try, which you can. Just be stealth!Crane, eh? Like when we were kits." Yeah, I suck at comforting. But at least I try. OOC: Short post is short. |D But Loonstep is cold and sniffly.

[ambird]

[bg=252620][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] Cranetail just snorted at his brother. Oh, yeah, he knew he didn't try to be charming, that was obvious enough. But his brother still had to have some interest, right? He inwardly eye-rolled, leave it to Cranetail to think of the stupidest stuff to think about at a time like this. But, old habits die hard and being nosy in his brother's personal life had been a habit of his that he had never rid himself of. Stifling laughter, Cranetail gave his brother a sly look,"You know half the stuff as kits was just dumb-luck? Half the time I had no idea what I was even doing. But that was the best part. Winging it." he said matter-of-factly, a silly grin plastered on his features. "So, what's happening in the ever-exciting life of Loonstep? Now that we've gotten all the gory and horrifying weekly events of my life, let's hear about how ol' Loon's doing with the loonies. And hey, speaking of Goosefur, have you seen her lately? Last Gathering I tried to look around for her but Crazy Council members got me preoccupied." he grimaced at the memory of Thrushflower screaming at him to stop mingling with forsaken Pineclanner's. He'd just walked past them and she'd had a conniption fit. Crazy old bat, he thought to himself. Goosefur. Cranetail hadn't thought much about his friend in awhile, and though truth be told he did feel guilty, he also had the oddest sensation of relief. She hadn't had to deal with maniac!Crane-y in sometime, and that probably helped her ten fold. Usually whenever cats had to worry about them it was never good. Partially because he always gave them something new to imagine him doing. Pissing of the enemy. Being killed because he was flirting with the enemy. Being killed because he'd flirted with the innocent looking she-cat and then the enemy(who they were involved with) attacked him. Yeah. The possibilities were endless. Since the trio had separated, both Loonstep and Goosefur didn't have to directly worry about whatever trouble he might get himself into. Well, at least that'd been true until abuncha crazies went up and took over the entire Clan. Yeha, besides that insignificant little detail(read: sarcasm), things actually had been going pretty good(meaning he hadn't pissed anyone off in about five moons, a new record.)

[Cloudbat]

[bg=22334a][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,500,true] "It was." Agreed the PineClanner."It really was." He added wistfully. Even the chill of the fog couldn't dispel the remembered warmth of the simpler days, when there had been no four Clans, there had only been ForestClan. When there were no faith-insane cats, no boundaries between them, no confusing feelings for Goosefur. I miss those days, even more than usual now. Yet he couldn't help smiling. How could Cranetail, bloody, beaten, living with terrible things everyday, still manage to cheer him up? It was a miracle. StarClan couldn't be responsible for this; if anything, they might have abandoned FogClan because they were so warped, assuming they existed. No, thought Loonstep, my faith lies in the warm, living hearts of others, not in cold stars. "The ever-exciting life of Loonstep is currently lacking in a trained apprentice. I've been so negligent with Elmpaw lately that he's embarrassingly behind the learning curve. Goodness knows how I even got an apprentice; I'm a young warrior, and I'm a tom. Two strikes against me in Gingerstar's eyes. Then again, PineClan's pretty small. I guess there was no one else. No prizes for guessing what I've been doing in my spare time, either." He added teasingly, grinning. Wait, Goosefur? Heh...uh...huh. How was he going to answer this. "Goosefur is...fine, I think. Haven't seen her a half-moon or so. We met at the Gathering place, but not during a Gathering. It was okay." Also, I think I'm in love with her, but I really don't feel like complicating things even more. Did I mention that? Oh wait, no. Because she was in love with you too once and somewhere in my soul I'm still jealous for some earth-forsaken reason. Oh good, the Council. Something he could talk about without feeling awkward and nervous. "Mmm, yeah. They suck, I'm aware. But who do you think might actually be against them?" He asked curiously. "You must have some idea."