Rainstorm's Fight or Flight



Book one in the Colony of Caves quad of novellas <3

CREDITS
Thanks to Dreaming-Dragon on a small little website called Scratch for the roleplay this story came from. We would not have this story without her!

Disclaimer!!! The only characters that belong to me are Sharpfang and Rainstorm, the ownership of Rainstorm's kits is shared between me and Silverdove777 on Scratch

This book has been completed! The next book in this series is Crystalblaze's Journey so if you want to know more about what happens to the four apprentices, go there!

Chapter 1 - A Salty Start
Rainkit sniffed a mouse on the prey pile. Leafbare winters always affected FlowerClan the hardest, while the MistClan cats were over there, stuffing their bellies full of food!

Rainkit tried not to think about it. He picked up the mouse and dragged it over to a small bush in camp, as it was his favorite place in camp, Rainkit had never tried mouse before and this would be his first taste of prey.

"What are you doing Rainkit?!" Tinyfang, the FlowerClan deputy hissed, storming over to him and clawing his ears. "You are far too young for prey!"

"But I'm five moons old!" Rainkit retorted. "If you're too young to hunt, you're too young to eat prey." Tinyfang told him; that's what every kit was told in FlowerClan, caring about themselves more than others.

Rainkit scoffed and placed the mouse on the prey pile, his ears stinging from the blow. Maybe Darkkit will wanna play! He thought, running over to the nursery.

Rainkit scurried in to find Fernpaw talking to the other kits, Darkkit and Dewkit. "Hi, Fernpaw!" Rainkit greeted shyly, forgetting Darkpaw. "You wanna play mossball?" Fernpaw nodded eagerly. "I'd love to!" She meowed, grabbing a ball of moss.

She flung it at Rainkit and they tossed it back and fourth outside the nursery until it slipped out of paw and landed in Flamestar's den. "Oh, i guess our game is over." Fernpaw sighed unhappily. "Nonsense!" Rainkit replied, wanting to cheer her up. "I'll get it!" He squealed, running into Flamestar's den.

Fernpaw followed a bit more cautiously. "I dont think we should be in here..." She meowed anxiously as Rainkit grabbed the ball. "Don't wor-". "

What are you two doing in my den?!" Flamestar shouted at the entrance. She was an impressively large she-cat with a brilliant ginger pelt, and she was glaring at the kits as if they were MistClan warriors.

"W-we were only getting our mossball!" Fernpaw pleaded, but Flamestar wasn't hearing any of it. She flung herself at Fernpaw, raking the young paw's ears.

"Let her go!" Rainkit wailed, fear chilling his pads. "This will teach you not to come into my den! Now get out!" Flamestar yowled angrily.

"Y- yes Flamestar," Fernpaw sighed, beckoning Rainkit to leave the den.

Chapter 2 - Hints and Glances
. "Rainkit, Darkkit, Crystalkit and Dewkit. Step towards the highrock."

Rainkit did so and watched as his brother Darkkit, and his friends Cyrstalkit and Dewkit step forward as well. Crystalkit was nice, but they'd only ever interacted once.

"Do you four pledge to follow me and me only? To train to be expert MistClan slayers?" Flamestar asked. Dewkit, Crystalkit, and Darkkit said yes without hesitation, though Rainkit was a bit more reluctant.

"I-I... um... I do" Rainkit squeaked. Flamestar narrowed her eyes. "Then from this day until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Rainpaw, Darkpaw, Crystalpaw, and Dewpaw. Your mentors will be Tinyfang, Scourgesoul, Sharpfang and Owlfeather." Flamestar snarled and jumped from the highledge.

"We are finally apprentinces!" Crystalpaw yowled. Darkpaw nodded at her, purring.

"Rainpaw! Now I won't be alone!" Fernpaw said, running up to Rainpaw and nuzzling him.

Darkpaw ran up and nuzzled Fernpaw, leaving Crystalpaw behind looking disappointed. She flattened her ears and padded away.

Rainpaw felt a twang of sympathy for her, but pushed it away, focusing angrily on Darkpaw. "No, you won't be!" He said, purring-and ignoring Rainpaw's glare.

Chapter 3 - Sibling Rivalries
Rainpaw walked into camp from training; he had a cut on his pad from Tinyfang being tough.

"Hey Fernpaw!" He called, seeing the older apprentice lounging by the apprentice's den. "You wanna hang?"

Fernpaw ran up, stretching out a kink in her tail. "Of course, its so boring in camp!" She said, just as Darkpaw walked up.

"I'm coming too!" He declared, bounding to the entrance with Fernpaw and Rainpaw in tow. "Hey Fernpaw, I was thinking you could show me how to hunt? Tinyfang says that she wont show me." Rainpaw told her. Sometimes, he felt Tinyfang hated Rainpaw personally.

"Yeah, sure!" Fernpaw replied. "But later. Come on! Let's go, I wanna show you guys the Sky Tree!" Fernpaw said, racing north.

Darkpaw and Rainpaw followed, exchanging nervous glances. Though they were padding after the same she-cat, they were still siblings.

Fernpaw stopped at the Sky Tree. Rainpaw stared in awe, gaping. "Wow! It's so big!" He exclaimed, digging his claws into the bark. Fernpaw jumped over him, scrabbing with her hind paws to climb up.

She stopped to rest on a branch higher up than Rainpaw expected, but he wasn't scared. Not to be outdone, Darkpaw and Rainpaw followed and climbed the tree.

Rainpaw climbed onto a branch higher than the one Fernpaw was on. Though he was still close to the ground, he dug his claws into the bark. That would be a nasty fall.

Fernpaw's flanks heaved, and she brushed noses with Darkpaw.

Rainpaw saw from above that Darkpaw was leaning on Fernpaw. Rainpaw glared and growled softly, he jumped down to the two.

"Hey! What did I miss?" He asked. Fernpaw shrugged, looking slightly confused at the attention. "Not much, we didn't say anything." She meowed, not noticing Rainpaw glaring at Darkpaw, who stared back innocently.

"The view is nice up here." Rainpaw said. Fernpaw nodded and turned to the sun. It was setting slowly, lighting up the sky in a blaze of colors. "Yeah. It is. You know, this could be our own little spot, a place we could come to get away from FlowerClan!" Darkpaw suggested.

Fernpaw nodded, and the three fell asleep, leaning on eachother for warmth.

Chapter 4 - Punishment
Sometime in the middle of the night, Darkpaw moved his leg.

Rainpaw shifted slightly, curling closer to Fernpaw.

Her breathing caused him to shift his head slightly.

Rainpaw turned in his sleep... and plummeted off the branch.

He woke while he was falling. He twisted, unsheathing his claws.

Don't scream, don't scream, he thought. But he couldn't help it, he let out a low caterwaul that woke up Fernpaw and Darkpaw instantly.

He landed on a thick branch, barely thin enough to support his wait, and he plunged his claws into the sturdy bark.

Chest heaving, he made his way to the branch where Fernpaw and Darkpaw were watching, eyes transfixed in horror.

Fernpaw ran up to him, ears flat in distress. "Rainpaw! Are you okay?" She asked him breathlessly.

He nodded, shaken. "I'm fine, although I feel pretty battered."

They curled up closer together, closer to the trunk of the tree, and fell back asleep. Rainpaw's wide eyes kept replaying the scene in his mind. He shivered, and curled up next to Fernpaw, shoving his brother aside.

The three of them woke up, the first thing they thought was that Tinyfang was going to kill them.

"Okay, we should definetally get some prey and get back." Rainpaw decided.

Fernpaw and Darkpaw nodded. "Okay!"

They each carefully got down from the tree and started to look for prey, Rainpaw found a mouse nest and managed to kill four of them. Darkpaw got a squirrel and two mice. Fernpaw managed to catch a sparrow and a thrush.

"Time to head back!" Darkpaw called.

They each made their way back. They snuck into the camp, dropping the prey on the pile and then looking around.

Sure enough, Tinyfang was marching over to them, her long claws unsheathed.

"WHERE have you been?" She yowled, clawing each of their ears until they were bleeding masses.

Rainpaw winced, blood was dripping into his eyes. "We were hunting. We got up early and went to go hunt."

Tinyfang hissed. "So now you're lying to me?" She pinned Darkpaw and Rainpaw down and glared at Fernpaw.

"Go to the den, no prey for a week." Fernpaw's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything.

"You two." Tinyfang dug her claws into their chests until beads of blood started showing through their fur. "Go. To. The. Medicine. Den." She hissed in their ears. None of them moved.

"Weaklings," she scoffed. She picked them up both and basically dropped them onto the floor of the medicine den. Fernpaw scrambled to her paws, hurrying towards the apprentice's den, though Rainpaw could feel her eyes on him.

They stirred slightly. Ashwing glared at Tinyfang. "Nice job. They're almost dead." She started applying herbs and cobwebs to the wounds, the fur on her spine standing up angrily.

Rainpaw managed to sit up once Tinyfang was gone, Fernpaw walked in quietly. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly.

Rainpaw nodded. "I'm fine, but we should leave the clan. Now. We have to. We aren't safe." Rainpaw decided. Fernpaw flattened her ears. "Leave the clan?" She meowed, her voice shrill.

There was a hissing sound from behind them. They turned to see Ashwing blocking the exit, casually extending her claws. "Unfortunately, I can't let you do that."

Chapter 5 - Wait, WHAT?
"What do you mean 'you can't let us do that?'" Rainpaw asked.

"Just, let me explain." Ashwing said.

"You have five minutes or I'm busting us outta here, whether you like it or not." Fernpaw replied. Ashwing rolled her eyes, and Fernpaw shrunk back.

Ashwing sighed. "Okay. Tinyfang was only like that because that's what she knows. She was raised where if she didn't fight she would die. She was worried sick when you didn't return home last night." Ashwing tried to explain.

"She was about to force the whole camp to go out and find you, and Rainpaw, you got hurt." She added.

"If Tinyfang cared so much about our well being then she wouldn't have clawed our ears off." Darkpaw said.

"And how would you know how it feels? Fearing that your own clanmates would be willing to hunt you down for a mousetail? It's not like they could do that to you, you're the medicine cat. They depend on you. But us? We're just some lousy apprentices!" Rainpaw practically shouted at Ashwing, who just sat there.

"Calm down Rainpaw, your clan would never kill you," She promised.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

Ashwing looked uneasy, tail twitching. "Give me time, I can show you that your clan loves and cherishes you." She said, sheathing her claws.

Rainpaw looked to the others and they nodded. "You have three days."

Chapter 6: A New Home
Three days later, Rainpaw hadn't seen any changes in the clans behavior.

The war raged on, Tinyfang was still being a fox-hearted mouse-brain. The only cat that had changed was Ashwing, who was constantly trying to get him and his friends to stay.

"Hey, you wanna go hunting?" Crystalpaw asked from behind Rainpaw. "ah!" Rainpaw jumped back in surprise, he had been lost in thought and hadn't noticed her. He nodded warmly at her once he realized who she was. "Sure," He replied.

He followed Crystalpaw outside of camp, but she seemed to be doing more exploring than hunting, sticking her nose under branches and digging her paws through rabbit dens. After a while, Rainpaw had found they had crossed the border to find a large cave surrounded by a mossy clearing.

"Woah! this is so cool!" he said. "I gotta show this to my friends! They would love it here!" He smiled. Crystalpaw nodded.

The two rushed back to camp, along the way Crystalpaw stopped Rainpaw. "Hey, um, can I ask you something before we say anything to Darkpaw again?" She asked. Rainpaw looked confused,. "''We"? Who said anything about we?'' Crystalpaw had just showed up, its not like she was his friend. "Sure," Rainpaw replied, a bit puzzled. "What is it?" He asked. "Will you help me get together with your brother?" Crystalpaw asked.

Chapter 7 - Leaving
Rainpaw hurried with Darkpaw and Fernpaw behind him. He had agreed to help Crystalpaw confess her feelings to Darkpaw, but nothing more.

Crystalpaw had decided to wait at the cave while Rainpaw got his friends over there.

"And where do you think you're going out, all alone?" Sharpfang, Darkpaw's mentor, asked, blocking the exit to the camp with his massive body. "Last time you all went out together you went missing overnight, and Crystalpaw's gone." Sharpfang lifted his lips angrily.

"They're with me." Tinyfang approached the group, nodding to Sharpfang. Sharpfang nodded reluctantly back to his deputy and let them leave.

Once they were far enough away from camp, Rainpaw looked to Tinyfang.

"Why are you helping us?" He asked. "Ashwing told me everything." she said. "And plus, I owe you this." Rainpaw only nodded.

They got to the border and the group said their goodbyes.

Fernpaw took off running, it took Rainpaw and Darkpaw a bit to catch up but eventually they made it to the cave where crystalpaw was waiting.

"Hi, Fernpaw and Darkpaw," Crystalpaw said shyly, shuffling her paws on the cave's floor.

Fernpaw looked delighted. "Oh, are you staying with us too?" She meowed, weaving around Crystalpaw who looked a bit overwhelmed. "It's going to be so great to have another she-cat around."

Rainpaw noticed Darkpaw avoiding Crystalpaw's gaze, as if something was wrong. Rainpaw suddenly felt bad for Crystalpaw, and he gave her a small nod to indicate that he was still going to help her.

Chapter 8 - Jealousy
Rainpaw walked into the cave with Crystalpaw, each carrying three mice, Rainpaw seemed to be blushing a bit. It had been a few moons since he had agreed to help her out.

Crystalpaw was giggling at what he was saying, she was blushing a lot. Rainpaw purred at her, angling his ears.

"Bye, I'm going to go take a nap," She meowed. "I'm tired." Rainpaw nodded, watching her pad away. he felt bad for neglecting her when they had been friends in FlowerClan, she was good company.

Rainpaw padded over to the fresh kill pile and dropped off his mice. Fernpaw was walking out of the den they had set up. She exchanged a warm greeting with Crystalpaw, then padded over to Rainpaw.

“Oh, HEY Fernpaw!” Rainpaw called on instinct and started to purr, but immediately stopped himself. He and Crystalpaw had decided the best way was to make Darkpaw jealous, and a bonus would be that if Darkpaw liked her, Rainpaw would have a shot with Fernpaw, so he needed to act the part.

Fernpaw dropped a ball of moss from her jaws "Hi Rainpaw!" She said, her tone friendly. “Hey,” He replied. This time, his tone wasn’t unfriendly but he had obviously forced himself to drop some enthusiasm.

She flicked her ears, confused at his tone, but other than that didn't show it. "Want to go train? I know we're not clan cats any more, but I'd like to anyways." She asked hopefully.

Rainpaw turned to the apprentice's den, where Crystalpaw's tail was just visible from the entrance. “Um, no, sorry, I just went hunting and I thought I’d spend some time with crystalpaw.” Rainpaw told Fernpaw.

Fernpaw's tail drooped a bit. "Oh okay," She meowed, but it then sprang back up "Maybe I'll ask Darkpaw, you know where he is?"

Rainpaw looked a bit shocked, this was not going to plan. “NOPE! I do NOT know where he is,” He said, obviously doing his best to hide the fact that he REALLY wanted to hang with Fernpaw.

Fernpaw looked like she wanted to hang out with him too, but she was also confused. "I'll go look for him then, it was nice talking to you." She stepped back, flattening her ears in embarassment.

Rainpaw nodded, shoving his emotions aside. “Mm-hm.” She turned and gripped the moss in her jaws, clearly sad that Rainpaw couldn't train. Rainpaw looked nervous, and he shuffled his paws.

Fernpaw was clearly a bit confused, probably wondering, did Rainpaw like Crystalpaw? Rainpaw shook out his fur awkwardly.

Rainpaw went over and sat next to Crystalpaw in the apprentice's den, slightly nudging her shoulder with his head. Her head rose, and she blinked at him sleepily. Rainpaw didn't notice Fernpaw leave.

"Hey," She meowed, arching her back. Rainpaw smiled, pricking his ears at her. He knew that they were visible, so it was best to act like they liked each other still. "Hey."

"How are you?" He meowed, nuzzling her playfully. She laughed, and it sounded genuine. "I'm okay. Even though it was a short nap, it was nice." She meowed, licking a paw and drawing it over her ear.

Rainpaw sighed. “That took a lot of effort.” At Crystalpaw's confused look, he added, "Fernpaw invited me to train, but I said no." Grief sparked in Crystalpaw's gaze and she looked away. "Look," She meowed awkwardly after a moment. "If this is making you uncomfortable, or if you just don't want to do it anymore, we can stop."

Rainpaw was confused. "But- But what about Darkpaw?" The unhappiness in Crystalpaw's eyes became much more pronounced. "What about him?" She meowed flatly. "If it's making you unhappy, I'll stop. We're friends now, remember?"

He stared at her in confusion for a moment, then shook his head. "No, no, it's fine. Um, I'm sure it'll get better." Crystalpaw nodded, curling up so that anyone outside the den wouldn't be able to see her. For some reason, Rainpaw scooted over to her and curled up next to her, their pelts nearly brushing.

Chapter 10 - Apology Accepted... or Not
Crystalpaw woke up, blinking in the darkness; everyone was still adjusting to sleeping in a cave now. She looked and saw Rainpaw curled up next to her. She felt guilty about not letting him hang out with Fernpaw, but this was the plan. "I'm sorry, Rainpaw." She murmured into his ear, before stretching and leaving the den.

Rainpaw had been up all night, he couldn’t sleep so he had just stayed there, curled up all night staring at the rocky ceiling of the cave. Hearing crystalpaws voice had surprised him and he couldn’t help but give an ever so slight purr, was he changing his mind about this being fake? Rainpaw questioned himself. He didn’t quite know.

Crystalpaw sighed as Rainpaw padded over to her right outside the den. Fernpaw was curled up in her nest, and Darkpaw was close, but not next to her. Progress, Rainpaw forced himself to think, progress.

She widened her eyes when she saw him. "Oh, Rainpaw. Hi." She meowed, faking cheeriness. Rainpaw nodded at her, smiling. No one was around, so it was weird that he was acting this way.

"Want to go hunting?" Crystalpaw asked him, though her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "No, not this early," Rainpaw meowed, arching his back. Crystalpaw twitched her ears in disappointment but didn't say anything.

"A walk around the territory sounds nice, though. We've been doing nothing for so long, I'm really bored.” Rainpaw said, trying to cheer her up. She smiled, but again it didn't touch her eyes.

"Sure." She meowed, pricking her ears to touch his. Her touch sent small ripples of pleasure over Rainpaw's fur, and he supressed a shiver. "Let's go." He meowed, getting to his paws.

She nodded, then looked embarassed. "Um, Fernpaw's right there, and she's waking up. Should we... um... twine tails or something?" Crystalpaw mumbled; she seemed really embarrassed as she spoke.

He shrugged, though the idea of twining tails with Crystalpaw excited and confused him. "Yeah, sure." He meowed. They twined tails just as Fernpaw got to her paws.

"Come on," Crystalpaw meowed, a little louder than usual. "Let's go for the walk." Crystalpaw avoided his gaze, and he noticed it. They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a while.

Rainpaw enjoyed the silence, but he noticed crystalpaws avoiding gaze. He understood, he was confused about his feelings too. He noticed their tails were untwined.

On impulse, he reached over to twine his tail with Crystalpaw. He didn't realize he had done it until she had, too. As if unable to stop herself, she let out a small purr.

They stared at each other for a moment. Then Rainpaw meowed quickly, "I'm sorry," And ran off. Crystalpaw ran after him, finally catching up. "W-Wait!" She meowed, shuffling her paws awkwardly. "Look, I'm really sorry, but I have feelings for you, and I know you probably hate me right now..." She sighed. "But I know you like Fernpaw, and I don't want to get in the way."

Rainpaw was breathing heavily “ I... I can’t... you can’t...” Rainpaw sat to think. “What about fernpaw? And Darkpaw?” He asked to himself and Crystalpaw. “We can’t....” Rainpaw was seeming to question everything, he sat down, not even realizing they were both far past the border into clan territory.

Crystalpaw opened her eyes, scenting FlowerClan. "We're in FlowerClan territory!" She yowled. "Um, look, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to put you in this position and I hate myself right now, too. But right now we're both in danger, so let's forget this ever happened and go back to the camp."

Rainpaw nodded, guilt weighing him down like a stone. "Let's go."

Chapter 11 - The Colony
This time they walked with an invisible barrier between them, not daring to cross it. When they went back into the camp, Rainpaw shuffled his paws. "Er, should we stop doing this?" Rainpaw asked her.

She nodded a bit sadly. "That seems best." He placed his tail on her shoulder. "Hey, I have an idea. We should have a ceremony!" "But only the leader can preform a ceremony." Crystalpaw meowed.

"Fernpaw! Darkpaw! Get over here!" Rainpaw yowled; it echoed across the cave and the two cats scurried over.

"Since we're kind of a clan, who should be our leader?" Rainpaw asked. Crystalpaw sat down, keeping the distance between her and Rainpaw. "I think Rainpaw should be leader," Fernpaw meowed loyally.

Darkpaw nodded. "So do I." Crystalpaw muttered. Rainpaw's eartips burned, but he ignored this. "Oh, okay. Who should be second in command, like a deputy?" He asked.

"If- If that's okay, I'd like to be deputy." Crystalpaw meowed shyly. Rainpaw hesitated, but Fernpaw nodded. "Yeah! You found the cave, after all." Crystalpaw met Rainpaw's eyes, but dropped her gaze quickly.

"Okay. Then we need a naming ceremony." He jumped onto the walls of the cave, clambering up onto a ledge. It would be a great Highrock. "I will be Rainstorm, the leader of..."

"CaveClan?" Fernpaw offered. "No, not a clan. We came here to escape our clans." Rainstorm replied thoughtfully. "The Colony of Caves!" Crystalpaw offered.

"Yeah!" Rainstorm meowed excitedly. "I am Rainstorm, the leader of the Colony of Caves. My second in command will be Crystal..." He stared at her. "Crystalblaze." Crystalbalze meowed firmly. "My second in command will be Crystalblaze!" He yowled, throwing his head back.

"Now, Fernpaw, what do you wish to be called?" Rainstorm asked. "Fernwish, please, Rainstar." She shuffled her paws shyly. "Fernpaw, you shall now be known as Fernwish. And Darkpaw?" Rainstorm asked his brother.

Darkpaw stepped forward, and Crystalblaze winced, looking away. "I would like to be named Darkcloud." Darkcloud meowed evenly. Rainstorm nodded at his brother. "Darkpaw, you are now Darkcloud."

"Darkcloud! Fernwish! Crystalblaze! Rainstorm!" The four apprentices cheered happily.

Chapter 12 - Mates
Rainstorm was eating a mouse in the middle of the cave. He had just finished when Fernwish padded up to him.

"Oh, Fernwish." Rainstorm meowed warmly, purring. Fernwish smiled at him. "I came to tell you that Crystalblaze and I went hunting." She gestured to the prey-pile by the entrance of the cave, now freshly-stocked.

"That's great! Thanks, Fernwish!" He meowed, purring again. Fernwish sat down next to him, tucking her paws under her chest. "She's a great friend. We did a great job choosing her as deputy."

Rainstorm smiled then turned his head to Fernwish a bit sadly. “I think I like Crystalblaze, the same way I did for you, not too many moons ago.” Rainstorm admitted.

She looked him in the eye "As long as you're happy." She said with small hints of sadness in her gaze and eyes. Rainstorm pawed at the ground. “Everybody seems to say that, but they never seem to express how they feel about it,” Rainstorm shook his head. “I want to be able to see when my friends are sad, I don’t want to have to gather clues and hints.” He wasn't mad, just frustrated.

Fernwish sighed "This has all been happening so quickly, leaving and everything, but I would be disappointed if you were mates with Crystalblaze." She admitted, looking at her paws. "Though it would be reassuring for me to know if you're truly happy with her; as your friend It's my job to support your decisions."

Rainstorm nodded. “I haven’t decided yet, it just depends on which one of you can win me over.” Rainstorm said, then playfully headbutted her. She nuzzled his head for a moment then teasefully pawed at him. "Silly."

Rainstorm then pounced on Fernwish, starting a play fight. Fernwish playfully batted at him, claws sheathed, laughing. Rainstorm laughed too, he hadn’t felt this free to be himself in moons. He felt great, happy, free.

Fernpaw batted at him a little harder, her claws still sheathed. "You may be our leader, but I will always be the best fighter!" She meowed, amusement glimmering in her eyes.

“Ha! As if!” Rainstorm replied, pinning Fernwish to the ground. They paused there for a minute, Rainstorm blushing hard. Great, he thought, you ruined it.

Rainstorm let Fernwish free, that pause had ended the playful moment, and reminded him that the time of carelessness was over for him, and had been for a while.

That’s when Rainstorm decided. “Hey, Fernwish?” He paused for a moment, “Will you be my mate?” Even though a part of him wondered quietly what it would have been like to say these words to Crystalblaze, he knew that he would be happy with Fernwish.

"Of course."

And that was what mattered.

Sequel here <3