The river...The silence...The thought [Open]

Maplewind sat in her customary position next to the river, her tail twitching very so often. Her light brown pelt was fluffed up even though it was moderately warm. Spring was coming on, but Maplewind still felt cold. But not the outsider of her, no, it was her heart that was cold. Her mother and father, dead and gone, it was enough to make even the talkative she-cat fall silent. She had no family now, she was the only surviving kit in her litter, her mother's first.

That had been thirteen moons ago, however, and her father and mother's death had only been less than a moon. I will be okay She thought to herself, sighing. As long as she had the river. The calming sound of the gurgling water helped, but her thoughts were constantly being drawn back to Shadowclan. A small bubble of hatred blossomed in her belly. Shadowclan was evil, and did not deserve to be a clan. It had killed her family, her parents.

Maplewind looked up suddenly, wrapping her tail around herself. Had she heard a noise over the sounds of the river or was it just her imagination? Maplewind's pupils dilated in fear. They were coming for her, the Shadowclan cats. They had told her they would, those moons ago, when she was still a curious kit.

Maplewind relaxed. It was just another Riverclan cat. Nothing that would hurt her. She shook herself gently, trying to get rid of the feeling of fear. Her pelt smoothed and her pupils reverted to their normal size.
"Hi Ottersplash." Maplewind said, her usually loud voice soft and a tad melancholy. "I'm Maplewind." Her tail flicked as she looked back out at the river. Some company was good, even if the cat had given her a huge fright.

A small pause. The sounds of the river chattered merrily away, never ceasing. Sometimes, Maplewind thought, If you think hard enough, you can hear when the river is saying. Then Ottersplash spoke.
"So...What's wrong?"
Maplewind shot a side-glance at the she-cat. "Nothing, nothing, just thinking..." She mumbled, shifting her paws into a more comfortable position.
If she told Ottersplash, if she told anyone, they would think her crazy. Seeing Shadowclan cats everywhere. they might even drive her from the camp. Maplewind fluffed her fur. No, she didn't want to think that way. Everything would be alright. She would just keep quiet and everything would be alright.
No it won't, Maplewind. said a small voice in the back of her mind. She shook it away and looked back at Ottersplash, trying to look less worried than she really was.

Maplewind blinked in surprise and looked down at her paws. "Was It really that obvious?" She asked, her blue-green eyes worried. She hoped the she-cat was just exaggerating, she would be so embarrassed if it was as bad as Ottersplash said it was. She sighed heavily. "No," She said, closing her eyes and steeling herself. "No, you weren't too straightforward. I'm just jumpy today, It has been a rough moon."

Maplewind sighed. Embarrassment pricked at her pelt and she shifted to look at the curious she cat. "Some...cats close to me died recently. Some bad memories came back." Maplewind tried to be as vague as she could while still telling the truth. She didn't really want to pour her heart out to this cat she didn't know well.
Maplewind didn't actually have many close friends. She was a very friendly cat, so she had many cats she could talk to, but no one she could confide in something so personal as this.

Maplewind tipped her head to one side. "Best...friends..?" She asked hesitantly. Maplewind felt a bit worried. She'd never had a best friend before, she didn't know how to be one. She shuffled her paws awkwardly, staring back out at the river. The river was her friend, but you couldn't talk to the river. Or, alt least, it couldn't talk back to you. It probably couldn't hear a cat that was trying to talk to it, so busy was it chattering and gurgling along, wrapped up in itself.

"Uh..." Maplewind said, then took a long breath. She was silent for a moment, her liquid eyes glittering with worry. What should she do? Admit that she didn't know how to be a good best friend or just play along? Finally she just decided to tell the truth.
"I don't know how to be a best friend and I've never had one before and...and... The words tumbled from her jaws like water failing down a waterfall, sounding tense and strained. Maplewind worried that Ottersplash would laugh in her face, or worse, turn tail and stalk away from the socially incompetent she-cat. Maplewind closed her eyes, awaiting the she-cat's reaction.
please don't be bad, please don't be bad. she wished in her head.

Maplewind relaxed. That went better than she expected. "Really?" She asked Ottersplash, "Your not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?"
She turned her head to meet the other cat's eyes, but Ottersplash's eyes were closed. Was she telling the truth? It seemed that she was. Maplewind was surprised. The she-cat seemed like she knew exactly what she was doing, and could make best friends in the blink of an eye.

Maplewind relaxed. Her eyes grew lighter, and when Ottersplash asked if she wanted to come swim with her she nodded. "Sure, sounds great."
She felt much better now than she had for a while now. The cheerful Ottersplash had pulled her right out her her self pity. It was amazing. Like magic, but not. Just the magic of a friendly face and someone who cared enough to ask what was wrong. Was that what a best friend was like?

Maplewind jumped into the water after Ottersplash with a dainty little splash, her face alight with joy. She laughed at Ottersplash's story as she let herself drift along for a few tail-lengths until she was closer to the smaller she-cat. "Splashing is fun!" she said, swiping a paw through the water so a little wave splashed up. "I'm not very good at it though." She said with a little mrrrow of laughter.