Rules for Friendship

 RULES FOR FRIENDSHIP

Episode Seven, Season One, of Rise.

Enjoy <3

Rules for Friendship
I peek my head inside. “Terran?”

The gray-white tom jerks his head up. “Bryce,” he says in disbelief, “what are you doing here?” His eyes don’t even dim in the darkness of his prison den (more like an underground tunnel); they shine brighter than ever.

“I asked if I could visit,” I confess, “and I guess they said yes.”

“So they didn’t say yes,” Terran sums up as I slip into his prison and close the screen behind me. His blue eyes glitter with worry and amusement. “You shouldn’t risk it for me.”

I flash a tiny smile. “They can’t even see me in this darkness.”

Terran sits up carefully and I notice the brambles trapping him. He reaches out with his tail and brushes some dirt off my pelt. “You stand out more than ever to me,” he says softly.

I flush but I hope the darkness covers it up. “I’ll get you out,” I mutter, “you shouldn’t be hidden away like a Viper.”

“That’s what I am,” Terran reminds me, “I may have rescued you and Shadeflower, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be a spy planted in the Coalition.”

I sag. “But you’re not.”

Terran gazes at me with his sky-blue eyes, so warm and sincere. “Do you believe that?”

My breath catches in my throat and I search his gaze for his meaning. He wants to know if I trust him, if I truly believe he’s no longer loyal to the Vipers.

“I don’t know,” I whisper, “I want to.”

Terran gives a sad smile. “I want to reassure you that I have no ties with the Vipers but I can’t. I can’t prove my innocence.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I say firmly. “But…why did you save me?”

Terran lifts a paw slightly, as if he wanted to caress my face but lowers it immediately. “I don’t know,” he bites his lip, “it just occurred to me you had nothing to do with the Vipers and I didn’t understand why they wanted you. I was…drawn to you and I wanted to save you from the despair you had.”

“And Karina agreed?”

“She cares more about my safety and if she didn’t come along I probably would have gotten us all killed.”

“Nice to know.”

Terran gives a low chuckle. “You should visit Karina once in awhile,” he tells me, “tell her how I’m doing. That’ll soothe her a bit while we’re still here.”

I give him a sour look. “Karina? I’m not sure she likes me enough for me to visit her, even to just update her of your wellbeing.”

“She doesn’t hate you,” Terran tips his head, “she’s just defensive of who she loves. She saw you as a cat who was putting me in danger as I was always defying Viper rules for you.”

“I’ll see,” I give him a grin. Before I can turn away, Terran reaches out with his tail tentatively. I stare at it for a moment before wrapping my pure black one around his gray-white one.

Linked together.

“I’m sorry if you can’t watch my sisters as much as I want you to; Feathershine and Nightshadow – my friends – want to do that instead of letting you out of your prison.” I apologize, unwinding my tail from his.

Terran just shakes his head and smiles. “I think you’ll find a way to make up for that.”

I give him a ghost of a smile.

“I think I will.”

~

To keep my promise, I visit Karina next. Her golden eyes glow in the tunnels. “What do you want?” She grumbles.

“Terran’s doing okay,” I inform her, “he wanted me to tell you that.”

She peers at me with those fierce eyes. “He better be fine,” she mutters, “I will not tolerate anyone touching a hair on my brother. If he comes out with a single scratch on his pelt, I’m going to murder this entire camp.”

“Nice to know,” I move for the entrance, “that’s all I had to tell you.”

Karina sits up abruptly. “Keep my brother safe for me,” she looks vulnerable for a second and then her armor is back up, “that’s the best you can do since he saved your life.”

I nod. “I’d do it for him anyways.”

~

“Attack me,” Nightshadow crouches in front of me and I frown.

“I can’t just do that.”

“When the Vipers came to take your sisters, did you fight them?” Nightshadow points out. I nod. “Exactly. Okay, Applepaw, lie down behind me. Pretend that’s one of your sisters and--”

It hits a little too hard. I let out a little gasp of pain and lunge for Nightshadow, who barely manages to dodge my attack. I end up tackling Applepaw, who hadn’t even gotten to lie down yet.

“Okay, okay! You saved me!” Applepaw yelps as we go tumbling. Nightshadow gives a low laugh and I untangle myself from the amber apprentice.

“Maybe you should teach me moves before I end up tackling a tree or something.”

“I am not a tree!” Applepaw rolls her eyes from where she stands.

“I wasn’t even talking about you!” I twitch my whiskers, “I meant in general I’ll probably end up tackling a tree instead of actually making contact with my opponent.”

“Very true,” Feathershine purrs from where she is watching us.

I pretend to pout at her and Nightshadow bowls me over. “You lose again, Bryce,” he laughs, the sound lighting up my spirits immediately. He lets me up and Applepaw raises a paw.

“Can I fight next? I bet I can beat you!”

Nightshadow reluctantly agrees to his apprentice. “But remember Bryce doesn’t know much about our fighting yet.”

Applepaw promptly ignores him and pulls a few maneuvers on me. You can guess who won that round.

I lay flat on my back, bruised and done. “I think next time you decide to train me, you should teach me real moves,” I pull myself up, “not baby moves that Applepaw already knows.”

Feathershine snorts. “Then you should never get advice from Nightshadow.”

“I’m the one with the apprentice!” the black tom yelps, “I don’t get your point.”

His girlfriend just laughs and the two of them go to the side to have a conversation. Applepaw rolls her eyes and nudges me. “Let’s go hunting.”

~

''“Bryce, Ruby is bullying Emerald again!” Jewel tugs on my tail, “Can you go tell Ruby to stop?” ''

''I nuzzle her head. “Of course I will.” ''

''I enter the shack and see Ruby and Emerald wrestling. Ruby is doing the usual, using her strength to overcome Emerald. The orange tabby seems to enjoy watching the little gray she-cat squirm under her. ''

''“Play nice, Ruby,” I remind my sister. ''

''She stops pummeling Emerald with her tiny paws. “But Emerald doesn’t mind.” ''

''I glance at my other sister, whose bright green eyes shine in the dimness of the shack. She doesn’t really respond to my unspoken question. I don’t except her to. She hates it when Ruby gets mad at her so she goes along with what the amber she-cat wants. “Just play nice,” I sigh. ''

''“Okay,” Ruby helps Emerald up and the two scamper to the corner where they whisper to each other excitedly. I smile a bit at their close friendship. ''

''“Do you want to go play with them?” I ask Jewel. The little black she-cat just shakes her head. It’s funny how similar we are. Jewel could almost pass as my twin if she were my age and her eyes were green. Her blue eyes glitter with intelligence. ''

''“I want to stay with you.” ''

''I purr and lick her head. “Alright, let’s go sort the prey and you can get first pick.” ''

Jewel purrs with me and together we pad back outside.

~

Hunting goes well. Applepaw and I run into her siblings and with a half-spoken apology, Applepaw runs off, leaving me with the two mice she caught.

Sighing affectionately, I pick up her prey and add it with mine before padding back to camp.

The yawning opening towards the prison gives me a sharp reminder of Terran and his imprisonment.

I make a silent promise to visit soon.

My sisters greet me jubilantly and I purr slightly when I see Terran himself inside my den, soothing my sisters. He gives me a small smile before the warriors escort him back out.

“How was your day?” I touch my nose to my sisters, “Anything fun?”

Their responses lift my heart.

The End.