Warriors: Clockwise

<------ Chapter Five ------>

"Yeah, sure," Hero grinned. "I'm just here for my patrol."

Russetfire flicked an ear, sitting up a little straighter. "Your patrol left here a while ago."

Hero's eyes widened. "What?" He asked in disbelief. White shadow was uncannily punctual. He always joined Hero on hunting trips and patrols. Hero hardly went anywhere without his friend. "That's impossible, Whiteshadow would have come to get me before it left."

The reddish she-cat growled something under her breath, hopping down from the perch and snarling at a small calico she-cat who approached her soon after. "You and your friend missed this morning's patrol. Jayflight and Sootfeather had to take your places, you better remember to thank them when they return," She snapped, padding past Hero with a swish of her tail. 

Whiteshadow missed a patrol. 

Whiteshadow never missed a patrol. 

"Look who finally showed up," Russetfire said sourly, and Hero turned to see Whiteshadow padding past her with a vole hanging from his jaws. He set it down for a moment and gave her a quick apology, and after a few words were exchanged, Russetfire nodded and continued on her way.

"Where were you?" Hero asked plainly, casting him an anxious glance.

Whiteshadow blinked at Hero as he approached him, laying the vole down at his paws. "Sorry, I was in a bad mood and I lost track of time. I brought this back for you as a peace offering," he began, nudging the vole a bit closer and smiling in a friendly manner. "I'm much better now." 

Hero paused for a moment and looked at him, but Whiteshadow's insistence quickly won him over. "Offer accepted," he purred, and Whiteshadow sighed in relief. "Just promise you'll tell me next time?"

Whiteshadow nodded gratefully. "I promise. Thanks."

The black and white tom turned to head over to where Russetfire was confronting a somewhat startled grey tom across camp, and Hero glanced down at the vole between his paws, and for a moment he saw it as the watch that he still wore around his neck as a token of sentimentality. "Whiteshadow?"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you'e okay? You can tell me if something's wrong," Hero offered, and yet again, Whiteshadow seemed to hesitate.

"I'm fine, Hero. Really," he assured, then continued on until he was out of earshot. Hero looked at the vole one last time, considering the circumstances that had occurred. Nothing good ever came from peace offerings. 

<———>

There was a sudden gasp, and Hero moaned in irritation as his eyes blinked open to the darkness of early morning. The steady ticking of the watch around Hero's neck was muffled from so many days in the wilderness, though he cleaned off any rust or debris routinely every night. He missed the constant ticking of the clocks in the workshop, as since he'd begun to sleep in the Warrior's den away from the sound, he found himself a much lighter sleeper.

As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the still sleeping shapes of his fellow clanmates, as well as the hunched figure of the tom in the nest beside him. Whiteshadow was trembling in the light of the dimly lit den, the fireflies in the three orbs that hung from the ceiling had gone completely still. Hero narrowed his eyes against the gloom, where Whiteshadow's quivering form stood outlined against the darkness, and carefully stepped closer to his friend. Aware of the silence of the den, Hero said not a word, and simply sat next to the tom, tail curled over his paws. Soon, dawn broke outside, and the pale blackness of the sky outside began to fade to dark blue.