Fire and Ice + Text

Warrun padded towards the icy lake, once full of water and fish and other water-bound things. He placed a paw on the ice, and quickly took it back, shivering. "Geez, I never knew ice could be so cold! I mean, I knew it could, but DANG!" He fluffed up his fur and decided to knead his paws in the snow, making little paw prints as he did. He began to wonder if the Tribes had some sort of written code...something that could say certain things, like marking on a tree or how leaves and twigs could be arranged.

Belial broke out of the forest at a lope, enjoying the wind against his fur. It felt good to be out of breath, to have run for such a long ways and stretched his legs. Having run through the brush, the tom's coat was almost invisible under the white of snow that had fallen onto it. Shaking himself without slowing, the cat stumble slightly, managing to regain his footing without looking too ungraceful. Unfortunately, it had proven distraction enough, and by the time Bel blinked away the snow that had fallen into his eyes, he found himself on a crash-course with a certain familiar maned tom. "Warrun!" he yelped, startled, eyes widening slightly as he hit the brakes. Predictably, it wasn't enough, what with the slippery snow underfoot, and the tom hit the Air-Triber at half speed, toppling them both over onto the iced surface of the lake. The blue-fire slid farther along, having had more velocity, and scrambled on the ice, spinning slightly. "Sorry!" Digging his claws in, scoring deep marks into the frozen water, the fire-triber finally managed to stop sliding. Regardless, he was lying down, clinging to the ground as though concerned it might continue to sweep him away. "... Hey." Belial offered a faint grin, sheepish and embarrassed, trying to cover him his somewhat panicked posture. He still didn't let go of the ice.

Warrun was able to glance behind him a second before the Blue-Fire crashed into him.  His sapphire eyes widened in...shock, horror, and a kerbangle of other things.  "Beli-OOOF"  His words were cut short as he and the tom were sent out across the ice.  Warrun's fur pricked up from the cold, making him look like a funny fuzz ball.  His eyes spin around, as he dug his claws into the ice to keep himself from sliding all over.  As he lay on the ice, he shook his head, focusing his sight on the blue-fire.  Warrun smirked, meowing, "Sup, bro?  Have a nice slip?"  The auburn tom chuckled to himself.  On the outside, his fur was frozen from the cold.  On the inside, however, he was warm from happiness from seeing his new friend since they had last met.  The blue-air had been unsure if he would ever see his buddy from Fire Tribe again, especially with the war.

"Witty as always, I see," the tom drawled in response, carefully making his way to his feet. Making sure to keep his claws in the ice, Belial picked his way across the surface, staring at his paw-work with deep concentration. It took him a little while to reach the air-triber, but once he did, the blue-fire flopped down in front of him. "I've never been on the lake before," Bel confessed softly, as though sharing some secret that the frozen water may overhear and scorn him for. The tip of his tail twitching, the fire-triber shifted his eyes down to the ice, lowering his nose nearly to touching it and staring. "Do you think the fish are frozen?" he asked suddenly, both ears pricking and angling towards the surface below them.
Warrun sniffed the ice as Belial worked his way over.  "Nor have I.  It feels...weird.  I wonder why it does that."  The auburn tom began to trace circles in the ice with a claw, lightly so as not to cut a hole, but enough to make a marking.  He glanced up at the blue-fire, "Most likely. I mean, how could you survive in frozen water?  It's gotta be cold.  Maybe they, like, hibernate or something.  And in the spring they thaw and continue to live."  He shrugged it off, and continued to cut a few lines into the ice.

Belial glanced at the other marking the ice, watching silently as the scratches appeared. "Don't they have to eat?" the tom wondered, peering below. Huffing, he rolled onto his side, only to end up sliding somewhat. Bumping once again into Warrun, the fire-triber mumbled a quiet "oof" before hooking a claw into the ground and pulling himself away. "Why is it slick?" he sighed, leering at the ice distrustfully. "It's inconvenient." Sprawling out on his side, making sure to keep at least one paw anchored in the ice with a claw, Bel rolled halfway, craning his neck and looking at the air-triber from an upsidedown point of view. "... It's been a while since we saw each other." He seemed to be musing aloud, shutting his eyes thoughtfully.

"Nah, they eat a lot before the hibernation.  But after the thaw, they are really starving."  Warrun meowed.  He managed to brace himself for the small bump from the blue-air to prevent himself from sliding, and replied to his other question.  "Inconvenient for cats yes, I mean...we don't live on it.  'Swhy we weren't born with...permanent claws or something.  I don't even know any creature that would live on ice!  It's cold too, ugh."  His nose wrinkled and he shook his head, using a forepaw to brush his mane.  "Indeed it has been, dude.  How are things in Fire Tribe going?"  The young tom cast his eyes downward sorrowly, mewing, "How's my sister?"

Opening his eyes, the tom glanced at the other. Yes, how were things in Fire Tribe? Belial lowered his eyes somewhat, looking through the ice with half-shut eyes. The young fire-triber had been avoiding his home, the past little while. He slept with his tribemates, hunted for them, but almost every waking hour was spent in neutral territory; walking, napping, but always thinking. "I'm not sure," he replied quietly, shutting his eyes. He was being oddly up-front, for once. The recondite persona seemed to have faded, although whether it was in general or simply around Warrun was up to the blue-air to decide. "I haven't been spending much time there." Burying his nose under one paw, Bel exhaled slowly and silently. Was he making the same mistake again? Belial could barely identify half of his tribe. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he did it again, but this time it seemed that he was putting a conscious effort to put space between himself and his tribe. Perhaps, once all this war business was over, he wouldn't feel the need to detach himself. That didn't seem like the best excuse, though; Warrun was from air-tribe. He should be the one Bel was avoiding, logically. Maybe the tom was getting tired of thinking logically. "Warrun..."

Warrun nodded and shifted his position from lying straight on his belly to his side, letting his tail flick.  He looked at Belial as the tom placed his nose under his paw, listening to what the young tom was saying.  "Oh..."  The blue-air didn't know how to respond to that, for he had always returned at night (or day) to rest in his nest.  He knew most of his tribe mates, mostly by face.  His claws scraped the ice once more, making swirly markings.  Warrun's ears pricked when the blue-fire said his name.  "Yes Belial?  What is it?"

Shifting to lie on his stomach, the tom lowered his chin to his paws, staring into the distance. Eventually, Belial heaved out a sigh, flopping onto his side. The momentary lapse in reason had faded, and already he regret almost burdening his friend with a problem that wasn't rightly his. "... What is Air Tribe's ability?" Inclining his head towards the blue-air, Bel watched him with curious silence. It would be difficult for someone to pick up on his previous mood, or at least that he'd shifted gears. He still had faith that, while he liked Warrun, the other didn't know him quite well enough to take notice of the slightest changes in his mood. After all, Belial was good at hiding his thoughts.

Warrun flopped onto his back and pedaled his hind paws in the air, "Oh, well I'm really good at speed!  So I can use the wind to push myself a little bit faster!  It's really cool!"  He cast a sapphire glance at his friend.  "How about you?  Can you melt things?  My mother can do that, she can create flames."  His tail flicked as the blue-air remembered her mother's warm flames during cold nights.

Lifting his head, the blue-fire can't help but smile at the other's kicking. So Warrun was fast. Ears pricking, though, the tom blinked, tilting his head. "Ah, just... a little bit." Pawing at the snow, Belial meowed, "I can make a small flame, and heat up the air around me, but that's all." It wasn't like the fire-triber to indulge such information, but for some reason, he didn't mind sharing with the air-triber. It wasn't so much that he didn't consider the other a threat-- Bel wasn't naive enough to assume giving information to someone he believed was inept wouldn't bite him in the ass someday-- or that he really, honestly trusted him, but for some reason, maybe he wanted somebody to know more about him. Maybe he did trust Warrun, or at least he wanted to.

The auburn tom noticed how his friend was acting a little reserved, as if not completely open to him.  Well, he is from the rebellion...  Warrin pondered this, then curled his paws at the thought of Belial's ability to heat the air and make a small flame.  Warrun sat up, a small grin on his face.  "Say," he mewed, " Ya think we could burn through some of the ice here?"  He glanced below the ice, pondering if they could melt it away to reach the bottom of the lake.  Warrun took a claw and made a big ring in the ice, marking a little x in the center of it.  "See if you can focus a flame right here..."  He wasn't sure it would work, but he wanted to give it a shot anyways.

Pricking his ears, the tom looked at the other, before letting his gaze drop to the little x. He hadn't thought about it before-- he knew he could melt snow-- but would ice be so easy? Standing and making his way over to the circle, finding it easier to navigate the icy surface now that he'd had some practice, Belial sniffed the mark, circling it thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how much I can burn," Bel confessed, "But I can try." After another few moment's thoughtful consideration, the fire-triber's tattoo began to glow, brightening slowly as he focused his attention. It was easy to summon the heat, but zeroing in on the circle proved a little harder than the blue-fire was used to. Deciding to forego the first two steps, the tom squinted slightly, his left eye flashing blue. A small flame appeared, flickering directly above the x Warrun had made. The ice began to run around it, melting, and the young tom's ears shot up, seeming surprised. That had been much easier than expected.

Warrun watched Belial make his way over, quite impressed at how the tom had gotten used to the ice so fast, especially after sliding all over the place before.  It wasn't until Belial's tattoo started to glow that the blue-air's eyes widened with curiosity.  He loved how the glow light up his friend's dark face, and could feel a faint heat from the circle he made.  Warrun couldn't hide the fact that when the flame appeared, he jumped a little; fur prickling.  Although his mother had used the same ability before, being away from the fire and heated camp had made the young tom almost forget how sudden the flame could appear.  His jaw opened a little once the ice started to melt...and...Is that...? He pondered,  no way...it's melting!  Before Warrun's eyes, the ice transformed to water over his x, demolishing it before him.

His own eyes widening slightly as it continued to melt, the tom watched on with deep interest. It took but a single, quick glance to notice Warrun staring, and the blue-fire returned his attention to the small mark. For some reason not wanting to disappoint his friend, Belial pricked both ears forward, continuing to feed the small flame as it ate through the ice. The sight of it was rather enchanting, and by the time it had slipped beneath the surface, Bel stepped forward to peer down into the small hole he had made, the flame continuing to sink. Right up until it hit water and was extinguished. Looking faintly startled, snapping out of his reverie with a physical jolt and a backwards step, the tom shook his head quickly, blinking away the daze. "What--?" His tattoo stopped glowing abruptly, his concentration broken. Stepping forward with a slight frown, the fire-triber sank into a crouch and lowered his nose towards the hole. The motion disrupted the water underneath the surface, causing it to splash up and lap at his nose. Giving an inelegant squawk of surprise, he jerked back, standing up straight. "Water!" he exclaimed, staring at it. "The lake isn't completely frozen!"

Warrun gave the dumbest look ever when Belial discovered water.  His ears folded down sheepishly, "Oops...sorry."  For the first time in his life, Warrun felt completely shamed.  Sure, he acted stupid in front of others sometimes, but for once he hadn't meant to be dumb.  His fur hot, he dug his nose under his paws, looking down at the hole.  So the lake doesn't freeze all the way through...  He gave a huff, then lifted his gaze, his emotions shielded by his hardened sapphire eyes.  He gave a slight smile, "Heh, well!  Would ya look at that!  Water!  I bet that means that the fish aren't frozen either!"  He grinned and then dipped a paw in the hole to flick more water at Belial.  Licking his paw dry, he mewed, "Say, ya think we could fish from this hole...?  Maybe make it a little bigger?"

Looking at the other, seeming a bit taken aback by his despondent expression, the tom lowered his head, ears laying back. Why was Warrun upset? Remaining silent, staring at his paws as the air-triber collected himself, Belial lifted hooded eyes towards the overcast sky. Once his friend recovered, though, the fire-triber glanced at him. A bit reluctant to let the blue-air's short brooding go without comment, he hesitated before returning the grin halfheartedly. Giving a startled sound as more water speckled his coat, Bel stood up, shaking himself off with a sharp glare, although a faint smile belied his amusement. Blinking, he tilted his head, glancing at the hole. "Maybe," he meowed, inching closer and gazing down into the water. "Fish sounds good right now." Pawing at the edge, the fire-triber finally shifted his focus once more, concentrating on the edge of the ice. With yet another flash, his tattoo lit up brightly, reflecting blue across his black face. His now-blue left eye shining intensely with determination, Belial set to heating the surface once more, finally managing the small flame. Passing it around the hole to widen it, doing his best to avoid having it touch the water, the blue-fire lowered himself slowly, completely immersed in the task. Big enough for a fish to fit though...

Warrun licked his lips, "Indeed, fish does.  It would be a relief from all the mice and rabbits recently."  Warrun sat in silence as he watched the blue-fire work around the ice.  His sapphire eyes followed the sparking flame as it turned the frozen ice into water.  He sat up to watch the fire closer, almost as intently as Belial was.  The hole melted away slowly, but Warrun could tell that it was getting bigger.  He hoped his plan would work, to fish through the ice.  The young tom didn't know of any cat who would do that, but also didn't think they were the first to try it.  The auburn feline suddenly thought of the markings he had been trying to make earlier.  The fire crackled occasionally, but otherwise the forest was quiet.  Warrun licked his lips once more and decided to strike up a conversation, "Say Belial...do you think the tribes have a...writing system?"  The blue-air hoped that this question wouldn't disturb his concentration, but most likely it did.

The flame flickered slightly once the other spoke abruptly, but it strengthened quickly, resuming its task. Swiveling an ear in the blue-air's direction to indicate he had heard, Belial continued to gaze at the hole, seeming to think about it. "I'm not sure," he finally replied. Inching away from the growing hole, the tom continued to stare, not wanting to risk his concentration by looking at Warrun. "We should make one." This, too, seemed as out of the blue as the air-triber's sudden question, but now Bel trusted himself to glance away from his work, if just momentarily. "In case we don't see each other for a long time again. We can leave each other messages." Shifting his gaze back to the hole, the tom reached out, nudging some of the weaker ice and listening to it splash quietly into the water below.

Warrun held his breath slightly as he noticed the flame flicker, flicking his tail as an apology of some sort.  Glad to know that his question wasn't ignored, he meowed, "I agree, it'd be a great way to tell the other what's going on."  He placed his head on his paws as he watched the flame once again, lending a paw to help scrape away some lose ice.  The young tom stood up to stretch his legs, before settling back down again.  His body had gotten used to the ice by now.  Although I'd still prefer a nice and warm and cozy nest...  He thought to himself.  Etching a few lines in the ice, he traced the Air Tribe tattoo, but only the skeletal wings.  Then the drew a circle with three triangles atop, similar to the Fire Tribe tattoo.  He stared at the symbols...then wrinkled his nose.  "I supposed our tattoos wouldn't be a good idea to use, because it could alert other tribes. Hmm..."  Warrum hummed, trying to think of a creative way to express the markings more subtly.

Rocking back and forth slowly, Belial continued to gaze at the flame as it worked away at the ice. It was taking a long time, but he could see that his efforts were not in vain; the hole was almost big enough to maybe fit a small fish. Twitching an ear in Warrun's direction, the tom inclined his head thoughtfully, still staring straight ahead. "Mhm. It would have to be something only we understood," he agreed, "Or else others could figure out what it means." It felt like a breach in privacy, the idea of leaving a message for his friend and having any cat who strolled across it deciphering the meaning. Fluffing up his fur a bit, the tom sank against the ground, the flame curling in on itself as his tattoo's light faded. Shutting his eyes and waiting for his heart to settle a bit, Bel turned towards the blue-air. He was just taking a short break, but to cover up, he began to paw at the hole's edges, nudging ice chips away and using his claws to widen it a bit.

Furrowing his brows, Warrun thought long and hard. "First," he began, "We need symbols for each of the tribes. These can represent cats themselves or the territories. What could represent Fire Tribe..." His mews faded off as he clawed more at the hole, the flame gone and the heat evaporating with it. The young tom began to feel cold once more and decided to scoot closer to his friend until their pelts brushed together. Curling his tail over his paws, Warrun began to etch a few symbols into the ice; a fish, a leaf, and a bird. Once more Warrun furrowed his eyebrows, trying to think of other symbols. Glancing towards Belial, he meowed, "What do you think about these symbols for Water, Earth, and Air Tribe? I can't seem to think of anything for Fire or Shadow though...without the obvious flame or mouth tattoo." He flicked his tail in annoyance. The blue-air peeped down the hole they had melted away, imagining a paw catching a fish. "Think it's done yet?" At this moment, Warrun realized he asked a lot of questions without letting the blue-fire have a chance to answer them. He continued to scratch away at the loose bits of ice, occasionally breathing on it to let his hot breath melt some ice.

Nodding absentmindedly, the tom continued to work away at the whole, finding the work tedious and refreshing. Most of his efforts of late had proven to be stressful and nerve-wracking; this proved to be a relief in its simplicity. At the touch, Belial glanced at his friend. Since the heat had gone, the cold had begun to work its way under his pelt, and it had apparently done the same to his companion. Knowing he wouldn't have noticed if the other hadn't inched nearer, the blue-fire pressed his side against the other's, grateful for the shared heat as he peered at the markings. He gave Warrun the time to finish his questions, unable to hide a fleeting, bemused expression. Bel didn't mind letting his friend talk; he wasn't much for holding up a conversation, and while he did enjoy talking sometimes, Warrun seemed to balance him out just right, what with taking incentive to talk while still sparing some time for his company's input. Sometimes. "I think it's done," he said, giving it a critical look. "It could be better, but I'm not sure we'll catch anything much bigger." Scooting closer, keeping his flank pressed to the air-triber's, Belial glanced over the edge, pawing at the icy water with a slight shiver. "Are they just swimming around, I wonder?" the tom murmured thoughtfully, gazing into the dark depths.

Warrun stared at the hole, gazing into the depths. The water seemed mostly still, which disappointed the auburn tom. Laying back his ears, he growled, "Honestly I don't know anymore. Since the water isn't entirely frozen, that means the fish probably aren't frozen either." Warrun hovered a paw over the water, but quickly placed it back underneath him. Dipping his paw in the water would scare away any fish that could be there. The blue-air continued to stare at the water, his sapphire eyes searching for some movement...a flicker of scales...anything. Then he saw it! A shadow underneath the water in the hole they made. His fur prickled with excitement, and Warrun softly scooted up to the hole, freeing his forepaw to hover over the water. The young tom's eyes intently watched the for the shadow to come again. He mewed under his breath without taking his eyes off the water, "Didja see it, Bel?" His tail shivered from excitement as he saw...not one, but two shadows at once! Warrun's eyes narrowed as he peeked into the hole...waiting...

Belial smiled faintly, lowering his chin to his paws and watching the water's surface silently. Both ears pricked at the sight, though, and his eyes widened imperceptibly. Were the fish really just swimming around? They looked slow, sluggish, but they were moving. Then something else caught him off guard, and he shot Warrun an openly startled look. It was rather unlike the blue-fire to lose control of his expression and he glanced away hastily, furrowing his brows and rubbing a paw against his cheek to try and cover it up. Had anyone ever called him Bel before? No, he didn't think so. "I saw," the tom replied under his breath, not wanting to disturb the aquatic snack. Had Warrun noticed his surprise? Hopefully not. Unlikely, actually, seeing how focused the air-triber was on the fish. "Have you ever fished before?" he asked after a moment, casting the other a sideways glance and quirking a skeptical brow.

As quick as a flash of lightning, Warrun's paw splashed into the water just as the shadow reappeared. In that quick second, he was able to curve his paw and hook the fish by the gill. But when he brought his paw back up, the fish flopped back into the water. A drop of blood dropped onto the ice, staining the beautiful opaque blue with a ghastly red. Warrun huffed, "No, I never have." He looked at Belial curiously, trying to remember if he had seen the blue-fire react shockingly to his nickname of Bel. He had sworn that he saw the dark faced tom strike an unusual expression before covering it up with his paw. Shrugging it off, though, Warrun asked, "Have you?" He gave a lick to his paw to clean off the red liquid, and swiped it over his mane to fix any lose hairs.

"Once," he replied, glancing longingly at the fish as it slipped farther beneath the surface. An ear flicked in Warrun's direction and Belial glanced at the other, blinking in absent surprise. "Hey, careful," the tom meowed, batting the other's paw down. "You're getting blood all over yourself." Sitting up, the blue-fire ran his tongue over the other's mane, scrunching up his nose. "How do you handle so much fur?" he sighed, the tip of his tail twitching as he licked the stains away roughly. "There." Reaching up to rub a paw against the thick fur, Bel gave a faint nod of approval before hunkering back down and pressing against the other. Gazing into the water once more and scooting closer, he squinted into the depths, his paw hovering near the edge as he waited patiently.

Warrun grumpily let Belial clean the stains off of his mane. "Blahh, how'd I let that happen. Thanks, dude." He fluffed up his fur some more to help warm the blue-fire up, and meowed a response, "My mom taught he how to keep my mane from getting messy and how to groom it. She taught me well, although," he chuckled, "I'm a little obsessed with cleaning it sometimes." The auburn tom looked back at the hole again, folding his ears down, "Yeah, I've never fished before. Think you can teach me?" Warrun looked into his friend's orange eyes, which were surrounded by a dark face. He knew now that he had seen Belial's face change to surprise when he said Bel. No doubt about it, he thought, a face that dark would be easy to hide emotions when one wants to. I must've caught him off guard. Turning to look at the hole again, he waited patiently for his friend to decide whether or not to teach the blue-air how to fish.

The tom kept his eyes on the hole, watching for any shadows lurking beneath the surface. "I guess so," he admit reluctantly. "I don't know much, though." Grateful for the other's thick fur, in the end, Belial kept himself near the other as he gestured for the air-triber to put his paw near the hole. "Don't let your paw cast a shadow, or else the fish will see it. Sometimes they can hear if you talk, I think, so it's easier to catch them if you're silent. Let it get close enough so that it doesn't look too timid, then hook your claws right into the gills. Flick it onto land quickly, or else it might drag you under." By the slight bristling of Bel's ears, it was rather likely he had learned that little tip the hard way. "The long ones, with the flat faces, have really sharp teeth. The smaller ones with the weird eyes have backwards hooks in their gills. Just make sure you never put your whole paw in, or else you might cut yourself up pretty badly." Again, it seemed that experience had a hand in teaching the young tom. Apparently, one time had been enough to show him quite a bit.
Indeed, rather suddenly, Belial's paw darted under the surface. Curving his claws, the tom stood sharply upright, tossing a fish onto the ice. It flopped into the snow, beginning to jump and twitch around, albeit much less lively than it might've been during the summer. "Maybe they're cold too," the fire-triber said slowly after a moment. Approaching the fish as its fight seemed to fade, rather prematurely at that, the blue-fire nudged it, angling his ears forward. "... Hungry?" Glancing back towards his friend, Bel grinned, for once without reservation.

Warrun listened intently, his ears angled forward. He took in every detail of how to fish, and thought about what he had done wrong. "I guess I forgot to bring it up quickly, huh?" He chuckled slightly. As Belial jumped to his paws, Warrun jumped himself, his fur bristling by the sudden action. He calmed down quickly as he realized that was the fish Belial had just thrown. Warrun's tail drooped a little when the blue-air had said something about the fish being cold too. "Yeah..I guess they are. I mean...they live underneath frozen water!" He padded up to the tom and pawed at the fish, smiling a toothy grin, "Indeed. Which part do you want?"

Batting the fish absently from side to side, the tom smiled to himself, seeming lost in his own thoughts. "Ah..? Hm, I'm not sure." Frowning slightly, the blue-fire stared at the creature for a long time before looking faintly perturbed. "Are we... supposed to eat the scales?" He looked slightly offput at the concept. Nudging the snack, taking note that it seemed pretty dead already, Belial crouched in front of it, pouting faintly. "Y'know, fish look pretty weird," he announced as he sat up once more. It was so pointless a statement, so unlike Bel, that even he paused to consider it. "... Yep." He nodded. "Definitely weird-looking." Taking a claw to the fish, he began scraping off the scales, scrunching up his nose. "How odd."

Warrun snickered, "Haha, indeed! They do look funny!" The tom helped scratch some scales off, and then padded back over to the hole. He sat down and peered into it, a paw raised and ready for a strike. He was careful not to let it linger over the hole and cast a shadow...and at the right moment he swiped down into the water, causing a splash. The blue-air quickly pulled his arm back up, flinging the fish into the air. A momentary glow of his tattoo and Warrun's whole body blurred. From his point of view, time seemed to have slowed down and Warrun easily padded toward the flying fish, and jumped up to catch it in his jaws. He landed back on the ground, his tattoo back to normal, and grinned stupidly with the fish in his mouth. "Cawt it!" He muffled, and went back to the other tom to set it down.

Belial shook his paw, ridding it of the scales he had scratched off, before glancing over to watch Warrun. He sat for a few moments, silent as the other tom waited. After a minute, the fire-tribe apprentice slid into a crouch and stared at his friend's deeply concentrated face for a long time. Eventually, he noticed himself smiling slightly to himself, and wondered how long he had lost control of his expression. A tremor ran through his body before he shook himself off and turned his attention back to his own fish, continuing to rake his claws down its sides. The scales came away with ease, but there seemed to be three times as many as there looked to be.
Hearing a splash, he looked up, watching as Warrun-- did a lot. Blinking, startled, Bel stared as the air-triber landed with the fish in his mouth, seeming to go from one spot to another in less time than he could blink. When the other tom proclaimed his catch, Belial couldn't help but laugh. It was such an obvious statement, but the sight of Warrun with the fish in his mouth, his words muffled-- it took him longer to ward off the sudden burst of giggles that overtook him. "I-- I can see that," he managed to respond after a minute, covering his snout to try and swallow the laughter. Once he inhaled, though, the smell of fish invaded his nostrils, and he let out a startled squawk, yanking his paw away from his face. "Ew! Oh Spirits, that's--" He coughed, burying his paws into the snow. "Ew!"

Smiling, Warrun padded up to the grossed out Fire-Triber and plopped the fish on his dark head.  "Haha, it's not that gross! It's just fish!"  He picked his claws at the fish on the ground, and managed to slice through the tough skin.  Using a claw, he carefully shredded off the rest of the scales.  After splitting the fish in two, he shoved the half with the head towards his friend.  "Here, eat up." The blue-air began to gorge himself on his tail half, licking the fishy body to taste the flesh and ripping the fillet with his teeth.  Warrun was chewing a bite when he meowed, "So, remember that thing I was saying with the symbols?  What should the fish represent?"

"It smells wretched!" the tom exclaimed indignantly, blowing up his cheeks in a pout. Squalling quietly when the fish was dropped on him, Belial shook his head and dislodged it, shooting Warrun an irate smirk. Yeah, he'd get him back some other time. It felt good to be able to relax around someone. Watching as the air-triber fleshed out the fish, Bel leaned forward-- and rocked back on his haunches as food was tossed his way. Oh, but did that smell good now that it wasn't slimey scales. Burying his snout into the fillet, the fire-triber purred happily. Pricking an ear in his friend's direction, he sat back, licking blood from his muzzle and casting his eyes skyward thoughtfully. "Maybe Moonfish Lake," he said after a minute, batting his snack from one paw to the next before taking a bite out of the meat. "I'll always think of today whenever I see it," the apprentice continued with a chuckle. "Although, maybe it should mean Water Tribe. That wouldn't be too obvious, right?"

"Maybe it can mean both Moonfishes Lake and Water Tribe.  Say...one fish represents Water Tribe, and two represent this lake.  To symbolize the two fish we caught. Warrun meowed, gulping the rest of his meal and licking the blood from his lips.  Satisfied from the meal, and rolled onto his back to stretch, causing him to slide a little from the pushing force.  Flopping back to face Belial, Warrun smiled.  "We should really do this again sometime," the auburn tom's gaze was cast downward as he mumbled, "if only this war didn't stop us from seeing each other."

"That sounds perfect," the tom hummed, gazing intently at the fish marking. Taking another nibble from his snack, he flicked an ear in Warrun's direction, orange eyes intent. "Yeah," he responded lightly, looking towards his friend thoughtfully. It was one thing to say Belial was always thinking, calculating, meticulous, but this was an openly considering gaze. He was weighing the pros and cons of something as he watched the air-triber. Likely, it had something to do with the other tom. After a few moments' silence, though, the fire-triber lowered his muzzle back to the meat and took a bite. "Maybe it will go away."

"Gosh, I hope so..." The auburn tom felt his fur fluff up from the sudden coldness and scooted closer to the Blue-Fire. He smiled warmly at his friend, curling his tail around his paws.  His gaze flickered with worry for a split second, thinking about the up coming war between their two tribes. What would that mean for their friendship? Will I have to fight my best friend someday...? Warrun wondered in his head as he groomed his paws.  Looking up at the sky, he noticed that the sun was beginning to climb down the sky and past the horizon.  The Blue-Air gave a huge yawn, and stood up to stretch his legs.  "My legs are getting stiff from the cold!  If we stay here any longer we might freeze to death!"  With that, he chuckled and slowly began to walk toward the edge of the lake.

When the blue-air moved closer, Belial leaned subtly in his direction, glancing towards the land. He still found it entertaining and a little surreal that they were actually sitting in the middle of Moonfish lake. It was a peaceful spot, anyway.
The sun was setting. It was odd, but just looking towards Warrun, stealing a peek at his friend, Belial could tell what the other tom was thinking. Or maybe it was just obvious; the blue-air was looking towards the sky, and he had shivered. The night would bring further cold, and the fire-triber was pretty sure he rather not be caught in the snow after sunset again.
"We might," the young tom laughed faintly, following the other's lead and standing. His legs were stiff, too; somehow he hadn't noticed. Lowering his front half and giving a long stretch, Bel sighed long and low, shaking himself off when he finally stood. Following the air-triber, he looked around the frozen lake, towards the remains of the fish they had eaten. Oh.
Stopping, Bel ran back to the hole he had made and picked up the fish he had caught. They had eaten Warrun's catch, but the blue-fire figured that one of them could bring this one back to their camp. Trotting back to his friend with the meal in his mouth, Belial pricked his ears in the other's direction.

"Oops," Warrun flicked his tail as he watched the Blue-Fire retrieve their leftovers, "Guess I should have waited until we finished!"  The auburn tom gave his friend a warm smile, yet his eyes reflected a hint of sorrow.  If only they were tribe-mates, it would have made their friendship so much easier.  Shuffling his paws in the snow, Warrun looked around the area.  With the lake frozen over and night was upon them, he expected no cats to find the two apprentices.  However, the young tom was growing quite tired from his day of play.  Yawning, he mewed, "I'm getting a little tired now...say, um...Bel?  When do you think we should meet next?"  The Blue-Air wanted to make plans for the next time he would see his friend.  Since Warrun had become accustomed to living out in the neutral territory, he figured it'd be easy to see Belial without being seen by other Alliance cats.

Warrun wasn't the only one getting drowsy. Belial's own yawn was muffled by the fish, which fell from the ground when he finally let his mouth open. Shaking his head faintly, the fire-triber looked towards his friend, tail swaying behind him. That nickname again. Dimly, he decided he liked it. At least when Warrun said it, anyway; it might sound odd coming from someone else. Then again,  a name of endearment reserved for friends would sound odd coming from anyone but a friend.
"Maybe tomorrow?" the young tom ventured, looking towards Air-tribe territory. For now, he wouldn't let himself be troubled by the impending war.

Twitching his ear, Warrun thought about what he'd be doing tomorrow.  He didn't think Sylvester would have anything planned for him, so the young tom bounced a little.  "Yeah, that sounds great!"  Purring a little, the Blue-Air couldn't help but to nuzzle his friend on the cheek with his nose.  Warrun felt truly happy with the tom.  Pulling away, embarrassed, he lowered his ears and meowed, "You're my best friend Belial.  I'm glad we're such great friends."  The wind blew their fur again, and suddenly flakes of white began to appear in the sky.  They spiraled around the two friends as the wind passed through them.  It was quite an amazing sight and left Warrun in awe.

The fur on the tom's ears bristled in embarrassment as the other nuzzled him. What really made the blue-fire scuff his paws, though, was when he returned the affection without hesitating. It was reflexive, almost.
His tail swept across the ground and, after a moment, Belial responded lightly, "Me too." It was a bigger relief than Warrun probably realized. With everything in his life, Bel had wondered at times if he would ever be happy. For the longest time, he'd had no friends, and worse, no family. Those memories-- or rather, the lack of memories-- still haunted him.
But it had become bearable since meeting Warrun. There was something to look forward to, a friendly face and a smile to wait for. It was nice to have something to be happy about, and somehow, that had shone its own light onto everything else in the Fire-triber's life.
Distantly, Belial stared at the snow as it fell around them, lost in thought rather than awe. He decided silently that he loved the snow. There were few things the tom would claim to love, but snow was definitely one of them. Warrun fit neatly into a special part in his heart, as well.
The blue-fire pressed his flank against the other's and pressed his nose against Warrun's jaw, rubbing warmly against him. For the life of him, Bel couldn't think of any time he'd been happier. Shutting his eyes and resting against his friend, he let himself, just for a few moments, stop thinking completely.

"Isn't snow wonderful?" Warrun gasped, a small smile on his muzzle as he pressed closer to his friend.  Looking at the Blue-Fire, Warrun took a deep breath.  He knew he had to leave soon, but he didn't want to disturb the black faced apprentice's peace.  Instead, he wrapped his tail around the tom and held him close in a warm hug.  As the snow blew, the Blue-Air felt his fur grow cold and huddled closer.  Warrun whispered, "Meet me here tomorrow at sun high, okay?  If we stay here any longer, we'll freeze."  Before Warrun pulled away, he nuzzled his friend one last time.  "I love you bro."

When he started thinking again, Belial appreciated the other's patience. It had felt good to just totally relax for a bit, but he was cold. The thought of returning home to warm Fire-Tribe territory was welcoming. "Alright," he mumbled. Sun high. It would be plenty warmer then, and they would have more time to hang out. Maybe catch some more fish for their tribes.
For a moment, Bel just listened to the muted sound of snowfall. Then, rousing himself slowly, he pressed his nose against Warrun's snout, shutting his eyes. "Love you too." Had he ever said that before? Had he ever told his parents he loved them? Had he loved them?
Somehow, just the presence of his friend made the sorrow of these thoughts a little less potent.

Warrun's eyes lit up brightly and he smiled.  He couldn't wait for tomorrow!  With a flick of his tail, he meowed happily, "I'll see you tomorrow Bel!  Take care, and may the Spirits guide you home safely, my friend!"  He waited a little for his friend to respond, even if it was only a few short words.  It was the Belial Way, anyhow, and that didn't bother the talkative auburn tom.

"May the Spirits watch over you." With a final, affectionate lick over Warrun's infuriatingly fluffy mane, the Fire-triber picked up his fish and turned towards home, picking his away across the frozen tundra with care.