Twilightclan Writing

     "God, another corn field." Amberfang loudly complained, leaning her head against the window and stifling a yawn. "Where even are we? We've been driving through nothing but countryside for miles!"
     "Shut your yap and let me drive." Nettlehawk snapped, her grip on the steering wheel tightening ever so slightly. She only turned to look at the ginger-haired young woman riding shotgun beside her for a moment before putting her attention back on the road. Her wrinkled scowl creased with annoyance.
     In another seat close behind, Badgerheart crossed his powerful arms in frustration. "I told you all it was a terrible idea to let that old woman drive. Are you sure she isn't going senile?" Beside him, the map they had been using lay crumpled-up, rendered useless by them having long driven far off course. He had been back-seat driving for the past hour or so, up until Nettlehawk had taken up the steering wheel and refused to listen to a word he said.
     Nettlehawk huffed. "You're gaining on in years yourself, Badgerheart. I'm sure your mid-life crisis is just around the corner." She flipped her impressively long yet grayed hair back behind her in a ponytail. "You must have forgotten to have fun somewhere along the line."
     He winced a little at the jab, looking away and grabbing the map again to flatten it out and see if they were anywhere near getting back onto the original travel plan. No, of course not. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if all the detours Nettlehawk had taken had steered them into a whole other country!
     By Badgerheart's side, sitting on the floor, was Ivypaw, idly fiddling around with a switchblade in his hands. His face was totally emotionless and unreadable, a rather unnerving expression especially for a twelve-year-old. Internally, he was thankful for the wilderness survival skills he had been taught in his dreams - he had never thought about needing them, but on this long road trip they'd likely be useful if the car broke down - and with people like these driving it, he didn't doubt that it eventually would.
     The grating drone of radio static hummed in the RV as it had for quite a while, but in a break from what had become the norm it switched to the strumming of acoustic guitar, and some off-key singer with a Southern drawl singing about a bad break-up. It was still incredibly harsh and grainy from the bad signal, however.
     "I found a channel that works," Moonheart piped up, his short pale blond hair falling over his shoulders as he turned to Nettlehawk. "Is this alright?"
     Before the elderly woman could answer, Amberfang interrupted. "Oh hell, is that grainy country music really all you can get?" There was an exasperated look in her eyes. "There's no way I'm going to listen to that for the next three hours."
     Shadestar shook her head. "Amberfang, we all agreed that whoever was in charge of driving at the time gets final say on the radio." Despite not being all that much older than Amberfang, the black-haired woman had been in charge of organizing the road trip, and as such had came up with the rules. "Unless you'd like to drive, perhaps...?" There was a bit of a teasing, yet still strict tone to her voice as she finished.
     Amberfang slumped back into her seat, her hazel eyes idly gazing out the window once more. "I'll pass."
     "You'd best have been joking, Shadestar." Badgerheart practically growled, glaring at the aforementioned trip planner. "Amberfang doesn't even have a driver's license. She'd get us all pulled over or killed."
     She couldn't help but find Badgerheart's irritation a bit hilarious. "Of course I was joking. I'm not as foolish as you seem to think I am - why would I ever let Amberfang drive?"
     Sitting on the somewhat worn mattress in the back, Smokepatch flinched a little, for more reasons than one. It was true she hated listening to others be rude to her friend Amberfang... but she also was reminded of the car crash where she had disfigured the right half of her face. "You should probably move to the back next time we switch drivers, Amberfang. Badgerheart at least won't be breathing down your neck, then." she quietly reccommended to her friend.
     "That music's fine, Moonheart. Keep it playing." Nettlehawk crowed to Moonheart, just barely stopping herself from laughing.
     Amberfang groaned, slapping her arm rest. "Oh, come on! You're just trying to spite me, now." She turned over to Smokepatch, looking dejected. "Alright, yeah, I'll move to the back as soon as I can. The mattress is way comfier anyway."
     Moonheart glanced out the window quickly before deciding to ask Shadestar a question. "So... when do you think we'll be switching drivers, anyway? Nettlehawk's been driving for a while now..." He was polite as he asked, but his boredom was reflected in his pale blue eyes.
     She stretched her arms, leaning back on the mattress. "In the next fifteen minutes, or when we reach the next gas station. Whichever comes first." She idly fiddled with her moon-shaped pendant, feeling its cool metal in her palm. She regretted not having told them to switch drivers when they hit the last stop, but too late for that now.
     Smokepatch craned her head to look out the back window, seeing the red lamborghini driving behind them. "It'd better be soon. We had Slatestorm and Twistedpath in Shiningsoul's car for Nettlehawk's turn at the wheel, didn't we?" There was concern in her voice, but she ultimately was speaking in a rather dry tone. "They'll have all torn each other apart by the time everyone gets a chance to switch seats!"
     "Owlpaw's riding with them too." Moonheart pointed out.
     "You're joking. The poor kid'll have lost his mind from listening to those three bicker!" Nettlehawk scolded. "Have any of you any common sense?!"
     Amberfang chuckled slightly, practically lounging in her car seat. "Does this mean you'll stop driving early?"
     "I can tell what you're trying to do, youngster!" Youthful slyness shined in Nettlehawk's eyes. "You wish."
     Ivypaw and Badgerheart exchanged an exasperated glance, the imposing middle-aged man holding his wrinkled map in defeat and the slightly creepy preteen having stuffed his switchblade in his pocket before one of the more parental riders tried to make him get rid of it.
     Noisepaw's unneccessarily loud voice cut through the awkward silence and country music. "We're out of lemonade!"
     "The next stop can't come fast enough." Ivypaw said with a groan, falling backwards onto the mattress.
---
     The unpleasant atmosphere in Shiningsoul's car was so palpable Owlpaw felt almost as though he could reach out and touch it. The whole car was dead silent aside from Shiningsoul's music CDs playing the same playlists over and over, nobody bothering to touch the music player. Twistedpath, Slatestorm, and Shiningsoul had all sworn against talking to one another at the climax of the last argument they had since they had all been riding in the same car, and it seemed almost as if they had completely forgotten Owlpaw was with them too.
     The lack of any sound other than the repetitive songs and the sound of the car driving combined with the equally mind-numbing and repetitive sights of nigh-identical fields of corn and grass was almost maddening. "You need to start talking again," Owlpaw hesitantly but firmly said, breaking the not-quite-silence. "I... I can't take it anymore."
     Twistedpath and Slatestorm looked at one another uncomfortably, equally surprised.
     "Why would I ever want to talk to people like them, though?" Shiningsoul finally answered, his sentiments mirrored by the two women sharing the car. "They're so horrible and unbearable!"
     "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," Slatestorm snapped. "Don't you know what 'not interested' means? Because I'm not interested." She tightened her grip around her seatbelt, staring intensely out the window to avoid seeing Shiningsoul's face reflected in the interior mirror.
     Twistedpath looked over to Owlpaw, feeling apologetic but certainly not looking the part. "You were better off not provoking them again," she muttered, her intense brown eyes appearing tired. She squirmed in discomfort as Slatestorm shifted around in her seat - Slatestorm had been riding shotgun earlier, but after the second flirting-turned-argument she had climbed over the seat to get into the back, accidentally slamming her head into the roof of the car more than once.
     Owlpaw quickly regretted having said anything at all when Slatestorm and Shiningsoul began to volley insults at each other, with Shiningsoul sounding genuinely hurt but not seeing any fault in his ways, and Slatestorm just getting increasingly outraged at the way he acted.
     "All the other ladies love the way I act!"
     "Well, then they have awfully low standards!"
     "What if you just have cruelly high standards?"
     "I don't like unsolicited flirting!"
     "Don't you like hot guys?!"
     "Actually, I'd like to punch you in the face!"
     "That's just brutish of you!"
     "You could just shut up and stay shut up, and then I wouldn't say stuff like that!"
     "But y-"
     "Enough, both of you!" Twistedpath shouted over the noisy squabbling. She was satisfied somewhat by the fact that the two stopped, surprised by the outburst. "You're both incredibly petty, and you're making this road trip absolutely miserable. Shiningsoul, if you keep this up while driving, you're going to make us crash!"
     Slatestorm crossed her arms. "Alright, wise guys, so if you don't want us to argue and you don't want us to be quiet, what do you WANT us to do?"
     Owlpaw looked to Twistedpath for advice but received none, and his voice was reduced to barely being a squeak as put on the spot. "...nicely talk to one another like normal people?" It was a totally innocent request, but harder than it sounded.
     "How could I talk to Slatestorm like a regular person if she isn't like a regular person?" Shiningsoul whined, his golden-blond hair falling in his face. "She's one of the nastiest women I've ever talked to. Where other ladies would think I'm cool, she seems to think I'm obnoxious!"
     "Are you listening to this guy?! He thinks that because I'm a 'lady' means I should just let him dump all his poor pick-up lines on me!" Slatestorm snapped, nearly punching her seat before remembering how close Twistedpath was sitting to her.
     Owlpaw looked between the two, desperately trying to think of a solution. "Twistedpath, what do I do?" he quietly pleaded, not seeing a way out of this conundrum he had plunged himself into out of an innocent desire to see everyone in the car get along.
     "This is your problem." Twistedpath simply answered.
     "But- b-but... oh!" Owlpaw stopped in realization. "You're testing me, aren't you...?"
     When he received a nod from her in reply, he stopped to try and think of some sort of way to quell the arguments in a way that wouldn't culminate in an uncomfortable silence. The two had stopped talking to one another again, Owlpaw noted gratefully as it gave him time to think. Finally, an idea crept into his head - he whispered it to Twistedpath, and seeing her nod in approval, he decided to present it to the other two.
     "I think your problem, Shiningsoul... is that you keep looking at her as just a 'lady', even though she doesn't fit your specific idea of it." Owlpaw began, gaining more confidence as he continued. "So maybe you could try to not look at her as a lady, and instead talk to her like you would talk to someone who isn't one? You know, someone you wouldn't flirt with. And... Slatestorm, if he does this, you have to also treat it as a fresh start too, or else it won't really matter."
     Shiningsoul seemed hesitant. "That sounds a little bit strange, but..." He met Slatestorm's eyes through the interior mirror, and she looked hesitant too.
     "So we just talk to each other but disregard everything we know about each other?" she said, raising an eyebrow quizzically.
     "Have you got any better ideas?" Twistedpath pointed out in a flat tone of voice. "It's either that or go back to the way the car trip was before."
     Shiningsoul took a deep breath. "I'm willing to try it. Maybe we can work out our differences by ignoring them,"
     Owlpaw's eyes shined with hope and joy, beaming at Twistedpath.
     Twistedpath lost herself in her thoughts, wishing that it was that easy with herself and her sister.
---
     Shadestar breathed an audible sigh of deep relief when she spotted a gas station up ahead, and she could almost feel that the sentiment was shared by nearly everyone else sharing the RV. Heck, Amberfang actually sat up straight in her seat for once!
     In the back, Noisepaw was trying to figure out how to properly drink from a soda can without making a mess, in an effort to have something sweet to drink without any lemonade. They recoiled slightly when they tasted it. "It... stings!" It wasn't neccessarily a bad sting, but it still wasn't at all what they expected in a drink, even with the hissing sound the can had made when it was opened.
     "It's just fizz." Ivypaw remarked. "If it's too strong for you, then let me have it."
     Noisepaw didn't notice the veiled insult, but didn't care all too much anyway. "No... I'm thirsty, and it's not that bad, so I think I can finish the can." They took another sip, pausing again as the fizz of the drink struck them.
     Badgerheart gruffly sighed, looking over at Ivypaw. "You need to stop drinking that stuff. It'll rot out your teeth." Disappointment etched his features. "I thought I told you not to bring any with you so you'd take a break from soda."
     "I didn't bring any." Ivypaw calmly answered. "I picked some up at the last store we stopped at."
     Nettlehawk cackled with amusement. "You can't really argue with that one, Badgerheart! The kid got you good!" She turned the RV to pull into the parking lot of the gas station - it was pretty empty, but they were in a very rural place, even by country standards. "But really, you shouldn't drink that garbage."
     Badgerheart was internally fuming, but he kept his mouth shut. They had finally reached a stop, after all. "So, Shadestar, who's driving next?" he slowly and coolly asked, in a forced relaxed state. He wouldn't lose his temper over something as silly as soda.
     "I am." Shadestar answered, getting out of the RV and heading over to the driver's door. "I want us to get back on track, but I don't want to turn the whole way around and make the entire past half hour a total waste of time!"
     Badgerheart lowered his head, a dark look in his yellow-brown eyes. He was fully aware that last part was directed entirely at him.
     Nettlehawk hopped out of the front seat and got out of the RV, surprisingly agile for a woman of her age. "By the way, Shadestar, while you're here, you ought to refill the gas tank. We're about out!"
     "T...thank you, Nettlehawk." Shadestar replied awkwardly. "Anyhow, while we're here, anyone who wants to buy anything from the convenience store should get out of the car now."
     Getting out of the RV, Smokepatch looked over to Amberfang, who was in the process of getting comfortable on the mattress.
     "...Aren't you coming in?" Smokepatch asked.
     Amberfang yawned and stretched her arms. "Nah. Go on ahead. Just one thing, though - pick up a bag of candy or something while you're in there, for me. Please." She added the "please" as a bit of an afterthought. She handed a five dollar bill to Smokepatch to pay for the candy.
     "Well, if you don't come in, there's no promises you'll like the candy I get you!" Smokepatch warned playfully, taking the five dollar bill.
     Amberfang looked over to her and smiled. "Like you could find a candy I don't like."
     Nettlehawk grabbed her little purse, turning in the direction of the convenience store. "I'll be buying more lemonade, so at least one of the kids doesn't get addicted to soda." she stated matter-of-factly, though it wasn't like anyone was going to stop her anyway. Before she went in, however, Shiningsoul's car pulled into the parking lot.
     Shiningsoul and Slatestorm exited the car, chatting amiably. Behind them was Owlpaw and Twistedpath, grinning as if they were trying to hold themselves from bursting into laughter at the sight. Upon seeing them, Badgerheart's eyes looked almost as if they were going to pop out of his head, Shadestar had to look away to keep herself from laughing, and Smokepatch's mouth hung open in shock.
     Nettlehawk stepped over to Owlpaw and Twistedpath, her eyes shining with amusement. "So I see you got the two pettiest people on the planet to see what they had in common." She peeked over her shoulder back at the two as they walked into the store. "You'd best hope this friendship doesn't last, though, they'll probably be even harder to stand like this!" She headed over to the convenience store, walking inside without little more as a word to the two.
     Hesitantly, Moonheart looked over to Shadestar. "Can I sit shotgun this time?"
     "Huh? Oh, sure, Moonheart!" she answered, a little surprised at the question. "Go ahead."
     Noisepaw skipped over to the store, looking over at Ivypaw once. "Y'know, I always thought you were sorta creepy, but you're really not all that bad." They took another sip from the soda can, not flinching as much this time at the fizz. "Maybe you could show me what other kinds of soda are good sometime, if you know any!"
     "What an annoying kid," Ivypaw muttered to himself as he decided to stay in the RV, though truly more embarrassed than anything.
     The convenience store wasn't the most high-brow of places, to say the least. The floor tiles were stained from age, and the already-dim lighting was darkened further by one of the lightbulbs in the ceiling flickering occasionally. However, the place still had the feeling of pleasant but lonely homeliness typical to other stores of its kind. The cashier was a kind-looking young woman with curly pale blond hair, and she waved hello to all the others coming in.
     With a package of spicy cinnamon candies in one hand and a big bag of gummy bears in the other, Smokepatch took her purchases back out the the RV. "I got sweets like you asked!" She only showed the cinnamon candies at first, and Amberfang narrowed her eyes.
     "So you found the one kind of candy I can't handle, huh." she said in mock-anger.
     Smokepatch couldn't help giggling. "Just kidding!" She handed over the bag of gummy bears to Amberfang. "You'll be sharing those, right?"
     "Pfft, not even I could eat all these myself." She opened the bag and ate a couple, before looking back at the cinnamon candies. "Who's gonna get those, though?"
     "I don't really know-" Smokepatch began.
     "I can take them." Ivypaw simply said, pulling the cinnamon candies out of her hand. He opened the box and ate a couple. ...Way spicier than expected, to the point that tears began to well up in his eyes.
     Moonheart looked at the back seats, seeing the candies. "Oh, hey, are those cinnamon candies? Can I have som-" He was interrupted by Ivypaw wordlessly shoving the box into his hands. "Uh... alright, then." He ate some without so much as a reaction to the heat, with Smokepatch, Ivypaw, and even Amberfang watching in shock... and all of them at least a little bit impressed.
     Noisepaw had grabbed several different kinds of soda, shakily carrying them towards the counter while trying not to drop any. Nettlehawk quickly hurried over, grabbing a few cans labelled as beer out of their arms.
     "Not those ones." she said sternly, and Noisepaw didn't dare to question her.
     Setting the remaining cans on the counter and waiting as the cashier rung them up, they looked into their pocket to see if their saved allowance was enough to buy it - just barely enough, thankfully.
     "Is that everything?" the cashier asked after bagging the cans.
     Noisepaw shook their head. "Nope! Thank you, miss..." They paused to look at her name-tag. "...Peony! That's a pretty name!" They picked up the bag, still faltering a little under its weight, and headed back towards the outside.
     "Have a nice day!" she called over.
     "You have a nice day too, miss Peony!" they waved back before returning to the RV.
     As Noisepaw went back outside, Nettlehawk made her way over to the counter, ringing up and purchasing a gallon of lemonade. On the way out, she nearly bumped into an incredibly unkempt brown-haired man of roughly her age, nearly toppling him over. She found him vaguely familiar... oh, yes, she knew him.
     "Dustsong, wasn't it?" she said in vague surprise. "Age sure hasn't treated YOU well. You look like you were dragged through a landfill."
     He looked at her with an exhausted gaze. "I fell into a dumpster a few days ago." His voice was as tired as the rest of him. "You... you're Nettlehawk, right...?"
     She furrowed her brow in concern. "How on Earth did you manage that feat? ...So this is where you went after you ran out of town? You should come back sometime, if you have the chance." She pitied him, but there was nothing for her really to say. She went back to the RV, only glancing back over her shoulder at the bedraggled man once.
     "So, who's riding in the RV, and who's going in the lamborghini?" Twistedpath asked.
     Shadestar looked around. "Well, now that Slatestorm and Shiningsoul get along, Slatestorm can ride in the lamborghini, and... Amberfang and Ivypaw haven't had a turn in the lamborghini yet, either."
     Both Amberfang and Shiningsoul made a face - first at Shadestar, then at each other, but said nothing. The arguments could wait until they were on the road. Ivypaw didn't say a word - he didn't really care all too much, as everyone else in the car would likely forget he was there.
     Everyone hopped in their respective rides, ready to get back on their trip. But before they even pulled out of the lot, Shadestar looked over to Nettlehawk. "So, do you at least have any idea where we are right now?"
     The old woman smiled. "I put us on the road with the most attractions. Ten more minutes of driving, and we'll be seeing all sorts of neat things. Just you wait until you see the enormous weeping willow tree!" She turned over to Badgerheart with a teasing look. "'She must be going senile', eh?"
     Badgerheart turned away, not finding any value in picking a fight with the elderly lady. He looked at Moonheart, seeing the candy he was eating.
     "Do you want one?" Moonheart offered, a little confused.
     But Badgerheart shook his head. "I'll... I'll pass."
     Noisepaw jittered wildly on the mattress. "Guys! I just t-t-took a cup... and p-poured some of each of m-my soda flavors in it, a-and I can t-taste eternity!" Their eyes were wide, and they were clearly on a very severe caffeine buzz and sugar rush... at the same time.
     "Smokepatch, please make sure Noisepaw doesn't lose their mind back there." Shadestar called over her shoulder as she drove, and Smokepatch simply nodded, a little alarmed by how hyper the child was.
     "I'm sure you're all glad I stopped that kid from buying beer, too." Nettlehawk cut in, leaving that mental image to everyone else's imagination.
     Staring out the windshield at the sunset, Shadestar still felt tranquil. "Despite everything... I'm happy we decided to go on this road trip."
     Up on the roof of the car, there sat a brown-haired woman and a blond-haired man, whose bodies seemed translucent and shimmered like stars.
     "Yellowclaw, I feel happy for them. They're all having a great time." the brown-haired woman said wistfully, her ethereal voice threatened to be taken by the cool evening wind.
     Yellowclaw nodded his head, looking over at the setting sun. "I wish we could have been able to accompany them in the flesh, Robinstar."
     "As do I."