𝚂𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 || 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 #2

Act One, Chapter One: [Wavepaw]

"And who's this kiddo?" the cream-furred tom inquires with a purr, gaze flickering over to Wavepaw.

"I'm Wavepaw!" the blue-gray she-cat replies proudly, bouncing in place.

"Great to meet you! I'm Beechfoot, and this is Hailwatcher," Beechfoot mews, glancing back at the gray and white tom with a twitch of his ear.

A little hesitation accompanied the older healer's movements, as if he seemed to remember something.

"..Hey," Hailwatcher murmurs; Wavepaw senses his tension growing more severe.

"Nice to meet you two," she replies politely, nodding to Hailwatcher.

"We're from SkyClan," Beechfoot adds, "-and we have another medicine cat, Mossyspots, but she didn't come today."

Wavepaw nods, trying not to stare at Hailwatcher- something felt strange about him.

Scars cross the gray tom's entire body, overlapping in some areas, and his ears were torn and nicked.

Tension pulsed from him in waves, intensifying as his eyes dart around the area.

Pushing down her curiosity, the apprentice glances up again as a light gray she-cat bounces up to her and Ivyhawk.

"Ivyhawk!" the she-cat mews, touching noses with the golden tabby.

"You're here! And- oh!"

The light gray she-cat notices Wavepaw and beams, stepping over to her with a purr.

"Is this who you've been telling us about all this time?"

"Uh...yep," Ivyhawk replies, twitching an ear.

"Wavepaw, this is Ashpaw. She's from ThunderClan."

"Hi!" Wavepaw purrs.

"Ivyhawk bragged a whole lot about you and how good of a medicine cat you're going to be," Ashpaw murmurs to the blue-gray apprentice, giggling.

Grinning mischeviously, Wavepaw glances up at the RiverClan medicine cat.

"Really?"

Ivyhawk mumbles something under his breath as a sarcastic reply, though it's unclear whether he intended for it to be audible.

"We're going to be best friends!" Ashpaw purrs, leaning forward to touch noses with Wavepaw.

"Awesome!"

"Let's sit down," Ivyhawk mumbles into his apprentice's ear.

Wavepaw beams at Ashpaw, padding after her mentor and sitting down beside him.

A black-and-white she-cat lingers in the corner, talking quietly with a pale tom.

Nearby, a golden tabby and a black tom speak quietly to each other.

Glancing around, Wavepaw finds that her focus is returning to Hailwatcher; the tension she perceived before comes rushing back as she begins scrutinizing his movements.

He was too far away to hear, but based on his murmuring to Beechfoot and his intermittent glances at the black-and-white she-cat, something seemed off.

The pale tom rises to his paws and slowly approaches Ivyhawk and Wavepaw, muttering a curse as he stubs his paw on a rock.

"Hey, Rabbitwhisker," Ivyhawk mews, gaze traveling down to the paw the feathery-furred tom was now favoring.

"Good evening," Rabbitwhisker replies curtly, twitching an ear.

"This is my new apprentice, Wavepaw," the golden tabby mews, curling his tail protectively around her.