Hailwatcher lingers outside the medicine den, gaze flitting around camp before he picks up the leaf wrap sitting at his paws and staggers up.
His shoulder, treated two days earlier, throbs with just as intense of a pain as before.
Hailwatcher hazards an extra glance around- something that's become a habit lately- and shuffles up to the warriors' den.
He squeezes inside, inspecting the rather spacious interior, and tenses; his gaze flickers over Birchstorm's mate Bouncestem hunched at the very rear of the den.
The spotted brown she-cat looks nearly lifeless, green eyes dull and glassy.
Beside her is Sootwhisker, who smooths down her friend's messy fur with a concerned frown plastered across her face.
The slate-gray she-cat glances up, regarding Hailwatcher with a hesitant smile, and gets up to pad over to him; Bouncestem grumbles, burying her face in her paws.
"Hi," Sootwhisker mews to Hailwatcher, her long ears twitching every so often.
"Hello," he replies quietly; the small gray tom swears that something about her now looks familiar but fails to pinpoint what it is.
"You wanted me to give these to Bouncestem, right..?" the small gray tom mumbles, feeling rather uncomfortable with the way Sootwhisker is looking at him.
The slate-gray she-cat nods with a badly disguised grimace.
"..Yeah...she's- not doing too well..been trying to get her to eat but she won't listen to me."
"..I see," the young medicine replies, trying to be professional despite his reservations.
He carefully approaches Bouncestem, crouching down in front of her and using his nose to nudge the leaf wrap in her direction.
"Bouncestem?"
"Yes?" the spotted brown she-cat replies hoarsely, lifting her head with a strained grunt of effort.
"I brought you some herbs," Hailwatcher mews, undoing the bundle to reveal a neat pile of chamomile, sorrel, and thyme.
Bouncestem surveys the herbs through skeptical, half-lidded eyes before pushing the herb wrap away, shaking her head slowly from side to side.
"...Thanks for considering me, but..they're not going to help."
"B-but-"
Sootwhisker sighs, slipping past the young medicine cat to crouch beside her friend.
Feeling unfit to handle the situation, Hailwatcher draws back as the slate-gray she-cat nudges her friend's cheek.
"Bouncestem....You know you can't keep doing this to yourself. Birchstorm wouldn't-"
"Birchstorm's gone!" the spotted brown she-cat interjects, lurching forward with a pained sob and collapsing into a trembling heap in her nest.
Hailwatcher looks on, unsure of what to do; Sootwhisker curls herself around Bouncestem, murmuring softly to her and smoothing down her friend's prickling fur with gentle strokes.
"It's gonna be okay, Bouncestem," she murmurs, flicking an ear.
Stiffening awkwardly, Hailwatcher glances toward the den's entrance.
"..Should I go now..?"
Sootwhisker considers for a moment before nodding, curling her tail around Bouncestem's trembling figure.
"..You can. I think I've got it from here."
Hailwatcher simply nods in response, deciding to leave the leaf wrap where it is and pushing out of the warriors' den with a sigh.
Hailwatcher pauses outside the warriors' den, glancing around with a lingering nervousness in his movements.
A few fox-lengths away, the small gray tom sees Slightstar and Raggedfoot, ShadowClan's new deputy, sitting together and discussing among themselves; their conversation is inaudible from his current position but he can guess that it has something to do with him.
Hailwatcher, content to avoid both of them, moves to the fresh-kill pile but senses eyes burning into his back.
The young medicine cat quickly picks up a small frog for himself and trots back to the medicine den mouth, settling down.
He takes a bite of the frog, but its flesh turns cold and slimy in his mouth once he realizes that Slightstar is looking at him.
The silver tabby flicks his tail sharply, and coupled with the hard stare he gives Hailwatcher the gray tom realizes that the ShadowClan leader wants him for something.
Not keen on getting any nearer but finding that there isn't a favorable alternative, Hailwatcher tucks the frog into a corner in the medicine den and rises to his paws.
The small gray tom tentatively approaches Slightstar and Raggedfoot, keeping his gaze pointed downward; he feels his legs begin to tremble and presses his paws together on the ground.
"Good morning," he mumbles, shifting a hind paw in the dirt.
"Did you need me for..something?"
Slightstar clears his throat, prompting Hailwatcher to reluctantly glance upward.
"For once, yes," replies the ShadowClan leader snidely, sporting an unreadable expression.
Raggedfoot glances down at Hailwatcher and scowls.
The small gray tom forces himself to swallow and tries unsuccessfully to stop himself from trembling.
"Shellstar, Snowflash, and Ivyhawk of RiverClan will soon be arriving to discuss an alliance, and you will be allowed to sit in on the meeting," mews Slightstar.
Hailwatcher feels a wave of skepticism crash through him.
"Oh," he replies quietly, shrinking away from Raggedfoot when the cream and black tom sneers at him, "-well-"
"However," Slightstar continues, purposefully cutting the small gray tom off, "-you will remain quiet throughout the meeting unless you are spoken to."
Hailwatcher nods, still warily eyeing Raggedfoot.
"Yes, Slightstar.."
"Lovely," Slightstar mews, a threatening tone underscoring his response.
"I'm pleased that we've come to an..understanding," the silver tabby adds, flexing his claws for a split second.
Hailwatcher jumps away a little and both the leader and deputy smirk.
The young medicine cat glances up at the tree canopy to distract himself from the constricting sensation tightening his chest and throat.
Raggedfoot thoroughly surveys Hailwatcher's face and shoulder with a sneer.
"What happened to you?" he inquires, snickering a little.
Hailwatcher bristles, humiliated, and glances at Slightstar for permission to tell the truth; the silver tabby nods, subtly rolling his eyes.
"..I- tried to help Willowstar...and, um- ...yeah," he mumbles, shrinking into his pelt and casting a glance in Slightstar's direction.
The silver tabby's gaze flickers over the scarring lacerations on Hailwatcher's face, and he looks a bit smug.
Disregarding the dreadful notion that the ShadowClan leader feels satisfied with his suffering, the small gray tom nervously gives his chest fur a few licks.
Raggedfoot roughly jabs Hailwatcher's shoulder with an extended paw.
"Seems like that didn't work out too well for you," he taunts, eliciting a snicker from Slightstar; the young medicine cat draws back with a whimper, a throbbing pain shooting down his foreleg.
Fervently hoping that RiverClan will arrive soon if only to spare him from further embarrassment and injury, Hailwatcher sits stiffly between the ShadowClan leader and deputy and fidgets with a stray pebble.
A commotion rising up at the camp entrance catches Hailwatcher's attention; Slightstar and Raggedfoot rise to their paws and pad toward the origin of the noise.
The small gray tom breathes in deeply, relieved that the leader and deputy are gone.
He eventually follows, willing his trembling to subside, but it doesn't.
Approaching the cluster of cats gathered at the camp entrance, Hailwatcher finds Ivyhawk and ambles up to him.
The golden tabby looks extremely tired, as usual, and has a look of blatant exasperation on his striped face.
"Hey, Ivyhawk," Hailwatcher mews quietly, glancing up at the golden tabby.
Ivyhawk pricks an ear, his gaze landing on Hailwatcher.
"Oh, hey.."
The RiverClan medicine cat pauses, examining the small gray tom's face through narrowed green eyes.
"..You good?"
"Um- yeah," Hailwatcher lies in response, forcing a smile.
Ivyhawk looks concerned but concedes, shaking out his pelt; bits of leaf and reed shafts fall to the ground.
"..Alright then."
Hailwatcher eyes Shellstar talking quietly with Slightstar and Raggedfoot; RiverClan's deputy, Snowflash, stands beside her leader and appears to be pressed up against him.
"So...what have you been up to, Ivyhawk?" the small gray tom mews, trying to change the subject.
"I've been teaching a kit about the herbs that grow in our territory," Ivyhawk replies with an earnest chuckle.
"Looking into making her my apprentice in a few moons' time."
"That's nice," Hailwatcher replies, twitching an ear as he sees Slightstar motion toward both medicine cats.
"If you all would follow me," the silver tabby mews, flicking his tail toward the leader's den at the very back of camp.
Shellstar falls into line behind the ShadowClan leader with a nod, sneaking a glance at Hailwatcher and whispering something into Snowflash's ear.
Ivyhawk raises a brow, leaning in a bit closer.
"You sure you're okay?"
Hailwatcher nods vigorously, realizing only after the fact that he's starting to come off as a bit desperate.
"Yeah.."
Still unconvinced, Ivyhawk casts a skeptical glance in Slightstar's direction but says nothing further.
The six-cat group pauses at the entrance to Slightstar's den; the silver tabby pauses to let the RiverClan cats enter.
Hailwatcher tentatively steps closer after Raggedfoot, almost expecting to be told to leave, but to his surprise nothing is said.
Hailwatcher crouches down beside Ivyhawk, looking on as the golden tabby glances sidelong at Shellstar.
He feels the gaze of his own leader burning into his back and neglects to look Slightstar in the eyes.
"So, I'm aware that you've come today to discuss an alliance, Shellstar?" mews Slightstar.
The RiverClan leader nods, flicking a fluffy ear.
"Our reasoning is that since ThunderClan and SkyClan are growing more hostile with each other, an alliance such as the one we propose should serve to keep us out of their affairs."
Hailwatcher considers this for a moment, finding Shellstar's concerns to be a bit overblown.
"I see," Slightstar replies, unfazed by all the information.
"However, I would like to know what exactly we gain from having you on our side in the case where there is no escalated ThunderClan-SkyClan conflict."
"Ah! Yes," Shellstar mews, sounding as if he hadn't thought of what the ShadowClan leader mentioned.
"We can provide you with herbs from RiverClan territory every half-moon-"
"What?" Ivyhawk protests, bristling.
"We did not discuss this-"
"Quiet, Ivyhawk," chides Shellstar, swishing his fluffy tail.
Hailwatcher glances confusedly at Slightstar, who appears indifferent to the conflict.
"You can't just make up proposals without consulting m-"
"Ivyhawk," Snowflash interrupts, twitching an ear, '-just listen to Shellstar, alright? You can spare some of your leaves for ShadowClan."
"Precisely, Snowflash," the blue-gray tom mews, flashing a smarmy grin at his deputy.
"Are you kidding me?" the RiverClan medicine cat interjects.
Snowflash presses against Shellstar with an amused purr.
"Just give it up, Ivyhawk. After all, Shellstar's the one running the Clan. Not you."
"Yes," Shellstar adds, curling his tail around Snowflash, "-leave the decision-making to the important cats."
Snowflash presses her nose to her leader's cheek; Shellstar reciprocates by licking her ear.
Ivyhawk sighs harshly, a frustrated growl rumbling in his throat.
Confused, Hailwatcher glances over at Slightstar again and finds that the ShadowClan leader and Raggedfoot are sharing a put-off look.
The small gray tom mouths "Are they flirting?" to Ivyhawk, who responds only with a long sigh.
The same tired look comes back into the RiverClan medicine cat's eyes, and Hailwatcher begins to see why Ivyhawk behaves the way he does.
"...Kindly refrain from performing indecent deeds in my presence," Slightstar mews curtly, a disdainful grimace evident in his expression.
Hailwatcher scratches his ear with a hind paw, feeling as if things will soon get very awkward.
Shellstar clears his throat, gently prying Snowflash off him.
"My apologies."
"...Mhm," the ShadowClan leader replies, looking very unimpressed.
"Anyways, continue on with your proposal."
Shellstar nods, glaring at Ivyhawk for a heartbeat before turning back to Slightstar.
"As I was saying before I was interrupted," the RiverClan leader continues, "-we are willing to supplement your medicine stores. We can provide assistance in any endeavors ShadowClan wishes to undertake."
"What kind of endeavors?" Slightstar inquires, raising a brow.
"To keep it brief, anything ShadowClan desires, whether it's political leverage or warriors for a special patrol, we will provide," Shellstar replies, sounding serious for the first time since the start of the meeting.
Ivyhawk looks as if he wants to protest, but a smug look from Snowflash silences him.
Hailwatcher attempts to stretch out his left leg but stops short as it begins to throb.
Slightstar nods.
"Very well. We'll consider your proposal and get back to you regarding it before the next Gathering."
"I believe that is all."
Shellstar chuckles, dipping his head.
"Thank you very much."
The RiverClan leader rises to his paws, his long, fluffy fur rustling, and starts out of the den, glancing back to ensure Snowflash is following him.
Hailwatcher observes Ivyhawk glancing irritatedly after his leader before eventually trailing after; the golden tabby nods his goodbyes to the small gray tom.
Now alone with Slightstar and Raggedfoot in the leader's den, the young medicine cat edges toward the den's exit with a nervous chuckle.
"I'll..go now," he mumbles, tail-tip flicking from side to side.
Slightstar rolls his eyes, not responding; Raggedfoot looks similarly unimpressed and watches his friend proceed to sharpen his claws on a rock.
Uncertain of what to do, Hailwatcher sways nervously on his paws.
"D-do either of you...need anything?" the small gray tom adds, a hesitant tremor accenting his words.
"No, imbecile," Slightstar snaps, glaring at the medicine cat.
"Get out of my den."
Hailwatcher nods vigorously, a bit relieved at this response, and makes himself scarce as quickly as he can manage.
Suspicion regarding the true intentions behind RiverClan's visit plague Hailwatcher's mind; he pauses in front of the medicine den before pushing his way in.
Missing Willowstar now more than ever, Hailwatcher crouches under the herb shelf.
All he can see is Willowstar's helpless thrashing and the blood spilling out from his body; the tang of blood lingers in his mouth.
Hailwatcher feels himself becoming twitchy and feels the trembling in his limbs intensify until he can no longer keep his balance.
The little gray tom crumples into his nest underneath the herb shelf, disregarding the remains of the frog tossed in the medicine den's opposite corner, and tries to breathe deeply, though finds that his breaths only become shallower.
He tries not to think of what will happen when Slightstar has no use for him, and swears he can see blood staining the floor for a moment.
The young medicine cat curls into a shivering ball and curls his tail tightly around his face, his tremulous whispers stringing together into inaudible, desperate prayers.