He LoVeS me...? He LoVeS me N;;O;;T~~

[stripe]

Stripe padded along the river, Sorrowpaw close behind him.
"I don't care who he is..." Sorrowpaw hissed, "I don't want to talk to him. I don't even now who Shadow-whats-his-face is!"
"Be nice to him," Stripe begged, "It's very important that you be nice to him... Can you do that?"
Sorrow looked down, pausing in thought.
"You're... the only person who ever gave me a chance...." he finally replied, "You're my only friend... and friends don't let each other down!"
He smiled, and Stripe did the same.
"That's the Sorrow I know!" Stripe laughed, "A true pal!"
"Will we be friends forever?" Sorrowpaw asked, tilting his head to one side.
"Of course we will be!" Stripe promised, "I'll personaly make sure of that! You're the only one who understands me! You're... By best and only friend..."
"What bout Shadow-whatzit?" Sorrowpaw asked, his eyes narrowing as he glared over at Shadowstalker.
"He's not a friend..." Stripe explained, "He's... a, um...." The tabby blushed beneath his fur. He never actually thought of Shadowstalker as a friend. He had always thought of the black tom as someone to possibly... love?

[Shadow being a lazy ass xD]

Shadowstalker sat on his favorite spot on the river; he normally came here every day... When he was supposed to be hunting for his so called Clan. To be honest, the black tom didn't really know what to call them anymore. He certainly didn't think of this place as home, nor did he think that he was supposed to. The trama that he had endured wasn't much compared to some, but it was enough to make him think that he was hated by the world, therefore he had turned his back on the world. He was at fault, because he thought that the world had turned their backs on him. The murderous being kicked a stone into the running water, tempted to just jump in and be tossed and turned like a limp ragdoll just to see where the river would take him. To death, the paradise, to hell, to ruin. No matter where this river could possible take him, it was better than here. He placed a paw over the edge, the ground fading into water. Shadowstalker shuddered and pulled back, his natural instinct of being a cat to stay away from water. He let out a quick huff of breath, flicking the water off of his fur. He placed his paw back on the bank, determined to keep it dry from now on.
"I must be crazy." He shook his head laughing, a small smile on his face. But if one were to look closely they would notice that he wasn't simply smile; the smile was full of horrible sadness. Pain and desperation to be heard. The horrible want of somebody coming to him and asking him what was wrong even though he was putting up an act.
Though he wasn't one to know it, but Shadowstalker was simply a lonely soul.

[stripe]

"Shadowstalker, Cuppycake!" Stripe squealed, running over to the black tom. Sorrowpaw followed, staring up at the other Warrior.
"Hello, I'm Sorrowpaw!" the apprentice meowed

[§hadow]

Shadowstalker let out a small mrrow at the sound of his name being spoken the way it was by the insane tabby tom.
Following him was a small apprentice; in fact, the apprentice looked more of a kit than really able to be trained. If trained, it definately wouldn't be proper. "Stripe," Shadowstalker mused, his tail waving backand forth. The murderous cat dipped his head respectfully. To look at Shadowstalker and actually think something was wrong with him seemed literally impossible... But when one were to look inside of his soul all they would see is madness.
"It's nice to meet you, Sorrowpaw." He dipped his head to the apprentice, wanting to make him feel just like a warrior though he was still being trained. "I'm Shadowstalker, a warrior of MoonClan."

[stripe]

"I know who you are, brat," Sorrowpaw sneered, staring up at Shadowstalker with one pupil filling up most of his eye and the other barely bigger than a fly.
"Sorrowpaw! I told you to be nice!" Stripe hissed his striped-face turning one of his favorit shades of pink. He glanced franticly over at Shadowstalker, watching for a reaction.
"What?" Sorrowpaw asked, eyes wide with surprise, "If he's not going to love you because of what I say, then-"
He was cut off by Stripe.
"SHUT UP! NO! YOU HEARD NOTHING!" the tabby wailed, shaking his head violently and buring it in his paw. This didn't go as planned.

[§hadow]

Shadowstalker lookedd at the two of them before sighing and starting to stand. To be honest, he really just wasn't listening to what they were saying and when Stripe started yelling, he didn't really care.
"Hey, Stripe," Shadowstalker began to mumble, staring into the water. "You ever wonder what if feels like to be a river? Or to be in a river? Going with the water? Don't you ever wonder where the water goes to?" He started to walk off, following the current. "Are you scared of the water, Stripe? Are you scared of drowning? Are you scared of your death?" Shadowstalker turned suddenly, a strange smile on his face. It stretched wide and his eyes were wide with insanity. "I've decided not to be scared of anything. Death is only a state of mind. Do you know where Hell is? It's inside of your head."
He looked at the ground for a second. His shoulders started to shake with slight laughter. His stance almost fell over to the side but he caught himself by swaying heavily to each side. His laughter got louder and he looked up, pupils small little slits, sharp teeth being shown throughout his smile.
"Stripe," Even though he was still smiling, he was asking in complete sadness. "Do you think I've lost my mind?"[/blockquote]

[stripe]

Stripe frowned. He looked sad for once in his misserable life. This wasn't the Shadowstalker he remembered. This wasn't the intellegent tom he fell in love with. This wasn't the Warrior he wanted to comfort.
"Shadowstalker, what happened to you?" he asked, his yellow eyes floading with tears. He didn't want the only person he cared about to fall victim to the same fate he had.
"He became like us!" Sorrowpaw hissed, "I knew I wouldn't like him!"
"Shadow... I wanted to tell you...." Stripe meowed, "...SOmething important......"

[§hadow]

blockquote]"This world... Is nothing but made up lies and stories to keep us afloat in our lives. Do you not understand the seriousness of these lies? They keep everything from us! Every little piece of information they have stored up they keep locked away from the rest of us making us live in this false reality, forcing us to believe we actually are something in this world. We are nothing compared to the others... Nothing at all, Stripe, Sorrowpaw." Shadowstalker looked at the ground, actually beginning to get an expression of fear upon his face. His black fur was standing up straight and his form shuddered a little.
"Death is the only way out... We can't fight it anymore... But I don't want to die. When I die, I'm going to take the whole forest down with me. I will kill every last one of them because of what they have done to me. They left me all alone and I will not put up for it. And you..." Shadowstalker suddenly walked over to Stripe, his anger making it look like he was towering over the scrawny warrior before him.
"You left me alone just as everybody else. You were never there to keep me from this point of pure insanity. Now look what has happened." He whipped away, looming over back to the river bank, his eyes following the river. "I am nothing, and so are you both." Shadowstalker's claws dug into the bank, his eyes closing for a moment as the sadness ripped through his hollow chest.
"Stripe," He asked, looking up with blue eyes that were pools of the sadness that was dewlling inside of him. "Should I jump in the river?" He began to laugh after his question.[/blockquote]

[stripe]

Stripe felt like crying as each of Shadowstalker's words were like daggers in his heart. You left me alone... You were never there..." He looked down, attempting to hide his tears. Then he heard the black tom's question. Should I jump in the river?[/b]
"No!" Stripe shrieked, jumping, "You can't, Shadow, I love you!"
Sorrowpaw rolled his eyes, "Well, now your secrete's out,."
Stripe ignored him, still meowing at Shadowstalker, "I love you! I wanted to tell you but I was afraid you would reject me! I even adopted Sorrowpaw because he didn't have any parents and I thought... We could.... Be like his new parents?"
"Daddy!" Sorrowpaw chirped, laughter hidden in his purple eyes.

[§hadow]

Shadowstalker's eyes widened at the comment about being loved. That brought him back a little.

"Shadow, no matter what happens to me, just remember that both me and your father will always love you. And even though this Leaf Bare is harsh... We'll get through it together as a family. I don't want you to worry about anything, okay?"
Shadow nodded, smiling happily, nodding once. "Yes, mama!"

Shadowstalker got to his paws again, looking down at the ground, his paws silent as they hit the ground. The black tom walked past the warrior, their shoulder fur brushing. When he turned his head to look up at the brown cat, his expression was grave. His eyes were emotionless and dark, his mouth a horrid frown.
"You idiot." He spoke lowly, harshly. "You don't know what love is." Shadowstalker scolded, beginning to walk on towards the forest, despite the pleas for him to come back from Stripe.
Nor do I. The greenery engulfed him and he slipped into the forest.

[stripe]

Stripe stared after Shadowstalker, his heart shattering into little tiny pieces just like when he discovered Darkflower dead. He looked down, flexing his claws and grinding his teeth.
"Fine!" he shouted after the black warrior, "Walk away, just like you always do! Leace us all behind! I don't care anymore!"
Sorrowpaw watched as Shadowstalker walked into the woods. Nobody hurts my friends, he snarled in his head. Suddenly, he sprang to his paws and dashed after him, his metal-reenforced claws unsheathed.
"Sorrowpaw!" Stripe called out, running after the apprentice, "No! Come back!"
The apprentice ran until he caught up with Shadowstalker.
"Bastard!" he called out at him, "Stripe adopted me just to make you happy! You're his world! And then you turn and tell him that he doesn't know what love is! Well, he does know, and he also know's that he loves you!"

[§hadow]

Shadowstalker started to laugh at the way the apprentice was talking.
"Listen to me you dumbfounded idiot, you seem to be farther beyond the brink of insanity than I. You will not tell me how to feel. The black tom ordered, staring with dead, blue eyes.
"You are nothing to me." He snarled, starting to walk away again. "You can't hurt me." He muttered again, starting to walk away once more, not wanting to even talk to him anymore. "You disgust me." Shadowstalker rolled his eyes.
"Love is simply a state of mind that ceases to exist in cats like us. We're too far off into the abyss to see the light of love. And even so," Shadowstalker spoke dully. "I wouldn't love him or anybody."