His mind was always active, constantly running and plaguing his happy, sunny days with worries. Reuniting with Ravenstar and having a pleasant conversation was something he should be excited about, but instead, he was horribly stressed. Stressed about how his Clan viewed him, stressed about his relations with RiverClan, stressed about Primrose being a walking feline-bomb, stressed about how Ravenstar might be fairing...

The smoke leader stopped dead in his tracks when he barely heard the muffled voice of the DarkClan she-cat, picking up his head and pricking his ears like an alert ungulate. "Stormchaser"...it as a name he missed, admittedly. Stormstar sounded cool and all, and it represented his position as leader, but he had always been so proud of the warrior name he worked tirelessly for. He loved it, ever since the day he received it. For a moment, he considered dropping everything- forgetting about informing her of his promotion and situations back at home.

But when he saw the flowers in her jaws, his mouth hung open and his dilated eyes grew round. She...remembered? And he forgot?! Oh StarClan, have pity on his soul for being such a selfish fool and forgetting! He had been so giddy about it as well, he even spent an entire afternoon scouring his territory for the most perfect specimens. Not like it was unusual, the entire hoard of WindClan warriors were aware of his fascination and tendency to...well, be himself: a scatterbrained oddball.

"...R-Ravenstar!" He fought to find the words- those flowers complimented her eyes very well. Why did he care, and why did he even notice that? Was he jealous that she was better at picking flowers than he was? Her purr made warmth spread throughout his chest, and the feeling of pressure was immediately lifted from his shoulders. He took a few steps forward, unable to hold back a purr before guilt drove it away. How could he have forgotten? "...You remembered!"

With his shoulders sagging, he averted his gaze to the dirt at his paws. "...And I forgot, like a total hare-brain..."

The black smoke tom felt his tail droop when she mentioned grabbing the flowers on a whim, and for whatever reason, negative thoughts began to pelt his mind again. This time, not so much about his clan and his own problems, but something about Ravenstar mentioning the flowers. Had she been hoping to see him or...someone else? He tried to shake the thought away, but it continued to pester and nag at him like a thorn in his pawpad. What did he care if she had other friends, anyways? He had other friends, too...well, sorta. He counted Snakepad as a friend. He was his deputy, so they had to work well together. "Oh!" It was all he could manage to think of at the moment.

As she continued on, her words made Stormstar wish that he could melt into a little, pitiful puddle. Just disappear from the world and his responsibilities. Not only did the concern of Ravenstar visiting someone else proceed to badger him, but now, she reminded him of his plethora of other problems. Honestly, small wave of anger bubbled up in the pit of his stomach, but he forced the feeling to subside when he reminded himself that she was unconscious of WindClan's problems. He was yet to attend his first Gathering as leader, meaning that everyone was yet to be updated on WindClan's predicaments.

"Uhm, well..." Once more, the smoke leader's eyes darted to his paws, allowing them to shuffle in the dirt as a distraction. How would he word all of this? Could she handle all of this new information at once? Most likely. If a cat as feeble as himself could process it all, he was confident that an individual as strong and confident as Ravenstar could absorb it all with little to no problem. "Heatherstar kind of...died."

He stopped playing with the dust and instead stared at the ground in silence for several heartbeats. He missed his leader, everything just made so much sense under her guidance, and everything always worked out in the end. What was he thinking? He could never live up to her name. "...and so did our deputy, before Heatherstar's passing. O-Our wolf problem has gotten out of control...and so has our relations with RiverClan. Our times of peace are behind us now."

He was thankful that she was willing to offer her advice without him specifically asking for it. That was what real friends did- they helped each other out without a second of hesitation. A handful of cats he knew didn't take well to criticism, but he always welcomed it with open arms. True, it hurt the sensitive tom from time to time, but in the end, things always had a way of working out.

DarkClan was shady in the eyes of other clans, like a group of slippery snakes that couldn't be trusted. For a while, he almost believed that statement, until he met Ravenstar. He didn't understand why ThunerClan had been so bent on casting her out, she was really a brilliant individual. Not to mention, she was also thoughtful. He respected that about her, admired it even. He had met his fair share of generous and kind-hearted felines in his lifetime, but none of them made an impression on him like her.

He took their level of friendship into mind, and concluded that he couldn't hide any secrets from her. If she was so willing to be honest with him, then he'd had to reciprocate that. Stormstar kept his eyes on his paws, before he at last mustered up the courage to anxiously glance up at Ravenstar as she desperately attempted to lend him a paw, oblivious to his new magnitude of power within WindClan.

For her, he could make them see, see DarkClan for the cats they were.

For the cat that she was.

"Ravenstar..." He trailed off, once again fighting with his insecure self to win the right to admit everything to her. He could walk away now and leave, leave because his fear of the truth made him quake like a frightened kitten. Would this change their relationship forever? Would she see him the same after this, or would ancient rules and traditions force her to acknowledge him for who he was, and end their little conversations that made him feel so much more comfortable in his skin?

His heart would pounding, so hard. "...I have to tell you the truth. I-I can't hide it from you- you're my greatest friend, honestly."

No more secrets.

He had arrived hoping that Ravenstar could offer him advice and comfort, to put his mind at ease. But now, he was struggling more than ever, and it made him feel like an inexperienced apprentice heading out on his first hunt. It would be a test of their faith and friendship. He had so many things to throw at her, and this entire time...he was thinking about himself. Of what he could do, and not how if would make her feel.

Stormstar was afraid that she would leave him, and thinking back on it, even that was selfish of him. What mattered more was her feelings on the matter, and if she chose to break their friendly talks off, then so be it. He deserved it. He had a choice to pick between her and his clan when Heatherstar selected him as deputy, and he foolishly took up the offer of a silly title.

Her loyalty meant more than anything else to him, and he picked a title.

And now, he think he'd choose his closest friend over all the glory in the world.

Why hadn't StarClan given them the power to go back in time? "Ravenstar, I-I'm the new leader of WindClan." He had practically choked on the words, and he heard his own voice crack when he attempted to deliver the news. Before he left WindClan to visit her, he had played the scene over in his head hundreds of times, and he always sounded so cool when he said it. But now, he sounded like an awkward adolescent trying to fess up to their crush.

...was that what she was to him?

No, preposterous! Stormstar had never felt attraction before, and Ravenstar was his friend. That was all they could be, anyways. There was so many barriers in their world that would prevent them from joining together, from their positions as leaders to their elements that forced them to be separate forever. All he was doing was making his first and most trusted friend outside of the brother he had lost so many moons ago.

His brother would be proud of him, right?

...could he go through losing another cat so special to him? Was StarClan's great plan for him to live independently for the rest of his life, while driving away any and all meaningful bonds he made? Could the world possibly be so cruel to him?

In the midst of all his troublesome thoughts, he never noticed that he was quivering so hard, shaking like a leaf in the wind, as if he was going to freeze to death. The pressure that her warm greeting had immediately lifted had returned, and it fell upon him like an avalanche. 

The WindClan leader was so absorbed in his terrifying thoughts that he hadn't noticed her approach, and flinched at her touch. He felt the muscles in his form tense at first, until finally they relaxed when he realized that she was beside him. They had never been so close before, in fact, he hadn't been this close to a cat in moons. It felt...odd to him, but at the same time, he had never felt so safe and secure. For a brief moment, with Ravenstar at his side underneath the glittering stars, he felt a feeling so alien to him.

It was there and gone so fast that he was unable to comprehend it.

Stormstar was truly thankful that she was willing to stick by his side through it all, especially when all cats he had known personally had left him in the end. He could only pray to StarClan that this relationship he had with her would last, and that not even war and bloodshed could tear them apart. Did she really mean it?

If she did, then it was the same for him: until the end of time, Stormstar would be there for her.

In rain or shine, in life or death, he would stand proudly by her side.

However, everything was far form over. She knew briefly about WindClan's problems, the wolves and relations with RiverClan, but there was something that only he knew about. A potential threat to them all: their first ever stranger. Stormstar believed that she was a dark element, and deep down, he hoped that Ravenstar wouldn't take her in so soon. He wanted to help Primrose, especially since he made her a promise that he didn't intend on breaking anytime soon. Consumption had taken his brother, and he wouldn't let it take another.

But he had promised himself that he would hide nothing else from Ravenstar. And if she deemed it reasonable for her to take in Primrose, even if she was a walking explosive...then so be it. "There's something else." Finally, after enjoying that moment with Ravenstar by his side, he spoke again.

"...Ravenstar, I have found a stranger. She's not from here, a-and I've taken her in. She's suffering from consumption, and I don't want her to die...I don't want to lose another one." His stomach twisted. Never, he had never told a soul about his backstory. Not a soul knew about his brother's agonizing death, nor did anybody know about the torment he faced from his parents.

Ravenstar sure was special.

Stormstar never put much thought into it, really. He had impulsively agreed to take Primrose in after understanding her situation and reflecting upon his own experiences with the horrible fate. After getting her name and a little information on her, he had accepted despite the devastation she might bring to the forest. But what about her backstory? Speaking with Ravenstar offered him an ounce of confidence, especially since he valued her advice like none other, yet...it also made him think.

And sometimes, his ceaseless thinking only made him feel worse.

Primrose could have been from anywhere, and her father, as she had said, had come from the valley. Therefore, he could have been from any of the clans. Her siblings had passed away from the same affliction, meaning her father hadn't attempted to train them. She never mentioned if he was still alive or not, but Stormstar assumed that he had some degree of control over his powers. So, then...why did he leave the valley? Why didn't he attempt to train his offspring?

"I think she's a dark element." Stormstar finally confessed, feeling his stomach twist. He was worried that Ravenstar might suggest that she take Primrose into DarkClan instead of WindClan, but for whatever reason, he didn't want that to happen. No, he wasn't a dark element, nor was he certain if he had many dark element remaining within his borders. "...But I want to help her. I know that Star Root can help her get things under control for some time. Dangerous or not, I made her a promise, and I'm not going to break it."

Wow, he was never really...that objective, or confident. It felt good, but also exhausting.

"Her father, she mentioned that he came from this valley. Do you...know anybody that fled the clans, particularly someone who might have been a dark element?" He didn't want to prod, but Stormstar was agonizingly curious at the moment. He wanted to investigate the issue, and find out what was really going on beyond their borders. Something didn't feel right, and while he didn't want to go pointing fingers...he knew that DarkClan's deputy was missing. Could that have been the cat? Or was Primrose's father a cat attempting to escape inevitable war?