Soaring Wings

Chapter 8

Smudgeleaf gave a small purr as he looked at Vivienne. He didn't know what he was doing, but the female seemed to have control of herself and knew what she wanted. She actually made him smile as well. It seemed unnatural for him to smile that much around her, but he didn't want the others to catch on. He didn't need to be teased by the other males in their group for having a very minor crush on a female that he didn't even know that well. He knew that the crush would fade away after some time of trying to get to know the female or some of the other females. 

The black tom moved forward. He felt self conscious of every movement he made as he approached Vivienne. He just had to remove that collar. That was his job at the moment, and he would accomplish his goal. He did not have to think about what the female would say. He had to remove that collar so that her group would be able to travel with his. He was doing this for Rosefall anyways. 

"Just lift your head up so I do not claw your chin." He said calmed as he locked eyes with Vivienne. The female slowly raised her head up, leaving him with plenty of room to make sure he did not accidentally claw her chin off. 

Why did Coconutsplash and Rosefall not have to do this? Am I the only cat in this group that has super sharp claws? The male thought to himself as he began to dip his claws under the dense fabric that laid around her neck. He did start from the op of the collar, but it would not have been easy with her head down. 

Slowly his claws worked through the fabric. It hurt, but he knew he had to do it. He wanted to get more cats for Rosefall, and they needed a good amount of cats if they were going to be a clan. This would just be the start. He would see if Midsun would go out in the morning with him to survey the area. They also had to figure out where they would be going next. The black tom still knew that they had a while to go before they got to a nice home. He figured it might take another moon for them to get far enough away from the twolegs. 

After a little bit of time, his claws had worked through the collar and it fell to the ground between the two cats. Vivienne looked at the black tom with a surprised expression before she nuzzled his cheek with a purr. 

The black tom stood there with such a confused look, that he would have made a deformed mouse look smart. The female took a step back and looked at the tom. "Thank you Smudgeleaf." She purred before turning around and giving a small jump as she was now a free cat. 

Just a crush that will pass in time. The tom thought in a hiss. Vivienne did not seem to understand what she did to him, but he was glad that she had not realized his feelings. He wanted to still suppress them enough so that they would go away. He did not need a mate. They were for toms weaker than him. A female would only bring him down. 

"Welcome." the tom said to the female before turning toward the rest of the cats. "Next one to get their collar removed, come up." He tried to regain his monotone voice, but it seemed impossible with the female unknowingly hopping and flirting around in his view. 

The cats with the collars soon came up to him and he removed each of the collars. His claws hurt by the end of it, but he was happy to see Rosefall smiling and talking with her new clanmates. He would have left his clan moons ago to see that female smile like that and laugh with her new found friends. He ended up laying near the edge of the water and felt someone walking next to him. 

"You good, Smudgeleaf?" A masculine voice asked as the brown tom laid against my side. Smudgeleaf leaned against him and continued to look out to the water. 

"I'll be fine. Just some mousebrain stuff." He explained to his male companion. Coconutsplash had been with him since the day that he showed up to VolcanoClan, but he knew that there were still secrets that neither of them discussed to the other. 

Coconutsplash rested his head against Smudgeleaf's. "Is there a certain female that you like?" He asked, but to Smudgeleaf it sounded almost forced. It made the tom give a chuckle, but it also scared him. 

"Just someone, but it will go away." He told him. Smudgeleaf did not believe that he could actually like some female. He thought that they would always be annoying. 

Coconutsplash did not apparently see the end of the conversation. "You know, it is fine to like someone. It is natural." He purred. 

"Oh? It is so natural then? Who do you like then?" The black tom snapped at his companion. He knew that he should not been so upset by the tom's persistence on the subject, but it just ended up happening. After he said it, he did feel bad, but Coconutsplash had already moved away before he could apologize. 

"Sorry I said anything. Let's head back to camp." The brown tom sulked. Smudgeleaf felt pain in his heart as he watched the tom walk away with his tail brushing against the ground. 

"Coconutsplash! I'm sorry!" The tom cried out as he leaped to his feet to follow after him. He did not need them to be mad at each other. He would not forgive himself if he made Coconutsplash mad at him for the rest of his life. 

The brown tom whipped his head around and eyed the black tom. "No, it's fine because I'm gay. It is perfectly fine for you to be mad at me because I don't like shecats! I like Cardinal!" The tom hissed.