𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚜 || 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 #1

Chapter Eleven

Shying away, Hailwatcher forces himself to say the words.

"..I...was hoping you'd tell me a little bit about your ceremony..?"

Slightstar sighs harshly, appearing to concede, but a disconcerting sparkle in his eye starts to make Hailwatcher nervous.

"Very well," he replies, much to the young medicine cat's surprise.

"It went rather pleasantly for the most part..though there was some... hostility, the lot of cowards gave me the lives and it was over with."

Underwhelmed by the terse reply, Hailwatcher flicks his tail tip.

"..Did you..um..did you see my mother? ..Rainsong?"

Slightstar tenses, his amber gaze hardening.

"I did see her," he replies at last, regaining a condescending air that Hailwatcher finds infuriatingly familiar.

"Since it's laughably obvious that you want information about her, I will state for the last time that I will not stir up memories from that point in time."

Disappointed but not surprised, the young medicine cat draws away, glancing out at the field.

"And if it's mentioned again," the silver tabby continues, lifting a paw and flexing long, sharp claws, "-I feel as if what you'll receive in return is fairly..obvious."

"I understand," Hailwatcher mumbles quickly, flinching away with a shudder.

Starting to feel more and more like he's being toyed with, Hailwatcher swallows down his dissatisfaction.

"Good," the ShadowClan leader replies, scanning Hailwatcher's expression with a subtle smirk.

A silence falls upon the two ShadowClan cats as they continue walking; the grass makes a wet squelch.

Hailwatcher falls back into his own thoughts, trying to stave off the dread liable to overwhelm his mind.

-=-

Slightstar and Hailwatcher stop at the entrance to ShadowClan camp; the former pushes his way in first, striped tail swishing behind him.

Hailwatcher follows apprehensively, forcing in a breath and squeezing his way in behind the silver tabby.

They both emerge on the other side; the Clan quickly forms a ragtag circle around them, pushing forward to express their confusion.

Hailwatcher spots Acornwish and Fallowhop among the gathered cats, as well as Rosebush, Robinear, and Kestrelwing, regrettably.

"You're back!"

"Where's Willowstar?"

"What's happening?"

Slightstar straightens, amber gaze scanning the crowd, and clears his throat.

"Do calm down, everyone. I'll call a meeting."

The silver tabby pauses to nudge his mate's ear before bounding off toward Tallpine and pulling himself up.

Hailwatcher slips through the crowd, regarding Acornwish's concerned expression with a grimace, and crouches down in front of the medicine den, waiting with dread for Slightstar to begin speaking.

"Hello, everyone," the silver tabby mews, not bothering to sound the meeting call since the Clan had made their way toward him of their own accord.

"As all of you can clearly see," he continues, "-Willowstar is not among the returning patrol."

"On the way to the Moonpool, we were attacked by a rather vicious pack of foxes and Willowstar bore the brunt of the attack."

Hailwatcher grumbles in pain as he shifts on his stomach, annoyed by the blatant lying.