Day turned to night, night turned to day, and a moon had soon passed since Hero had become part of AshClan. His wounds had mostly healed, and his fur had grown back over the patched areas in his pelt. Much had transpired since the day he'd met Whiteshadow in the field, and since then, he'd begun to adapt to the Clan life; albeit with a bit of trouble.
While he had no trouble learning the rules and techniques of his new life, Hero was plagued by memories of his old one. He often though of his twoleg owner with fond remembrance, and felt an aching in his heart every time he did. But he pushed past his wistfulness, and even Thistlestar acknowledge his constant effort and determination.
Besides, Hero found Clan life to be quite fun. The group of cats followed a single set of rules, something that Hero had not often experienced in the city. Foxspring had tried to give him trouble occasionally, but a glare from Whiteshadow threw off every attempt; as well as saving him from a swift kick in the ribs from Hero. With every new obstacle, Whiteshadow was there by his side, ready to crack a joke or leap to his defense. Hero couldn't imagine what his new life would have been like if Whiteshadow hadn't taken him under his wing, and he found that he didn't much want to.
These were the thoughts that ran through Hero's head as he lay awake in his nest in the Warrior's den, listening to the soft inhale and exhale of the cats around him. Slatefur, one of the Clan's more senior Warriors, had been Hero's mentor for a short time when he had joined the Clan. Hero had learned quickly, and now he often stayed up late to review the reads he'd taken on his other clanmates.
Russetfire, the Deputy, wasn't much for fun and games. Based on the way she took control of much more than she knew she could handle, and what he'd picked up from Clan gossip, Hero soon found that she had been the mate of the previous deputy; until he was killed and she took his place.
Blossompath, a Clan elder, was a particularly interesting subject. She often told stories of epic tales, raging battles, and great Expeditions. Hero soon discovered that he was the only one who noticed that she'd been the gallant hero in most of her own tales, though she was too humble to reveal her triumph.
Hero was easily able to distinguish the characteristics of many cats in the Clans. But time and again, when he gazed upon Whiteshadow, he could tell nothing. He grinned and joked, and he performed every given task with practiced ease. Everyone loved Whiteshadow, simply because he was nothing but lovable. This is why it came as a surprise when that same night, Whiteshadow woke up suddenly, staring around the den in confusion.
"Whiteshadow?" Hero murmured quietly, at first smiling faintly as he stayed curled up in his nest, waiting for the tom to joke lightheartedly and go back to sleep. But no such response came, and Hero groaned as he turned to gaze upon the black and white tom. Whiteshadow's yellowish eyes met his green ones for a long moment, and then his whisker twitched in uncertainty. Frowning, Whiteshadow sank back into the nest, and Hero stared for another moment in concern, though not another word was spoken.
The sun rose the next morning, along with the foggy chill of Leaf-fall. One by one, cats emerged from their den, where Russetfire already sat on a low-hanging branch of the Oak, yowling orders to the dazed Warriors and Apprentices. Greykit and Stormkit bounded past Hero's paws, offering a cheery hello before racing towards the fresh-kill pile. Dawnheart smiled warmly in his direction from the Nursery, which Hero gladly returned before padding in the direction of the Great Oak's enormous trunk.
"Morning, Hero!" Nightwhisper chirped, and Hero mumbled a distracted response.
Many more greetings were uttered by the time Hero reached Russetfire, who glared at him in disdain. Despite his aloofness, Hero smiled in amusement. "You're late." Russetfire hissed.
"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.
"You're not okay, Whiteshadow." Hero murmured gently, and Whiteshadow's head shot up as he spoke.
"I'm fine!" Whiteshadow spat. "Mind your own business."
Hero blinked, taken aback by the sudden outburst. Soon anger began rising in his chest, and he had to will himself not to make some kind of retort. "I just want to help," Hero tried. "If there's something you aren't telling me-"
"Something I'm not telling you?" Whiteshadow growled, keeping his voice low. "What about what you're not telling me?!"
"What are you talking about? I-" Hero started, but Whiteshadow cut him off yet again, and Hero ground his teeth in frustration.
Whiteshadow spun to face him, and another cat stirred somewhere in the den. "How'd you get to that kit so quickly? How do you know everything about everyone before they even tell you? Why do you look at me like... like some puzzle that needs to be solved?"
Hero tried to reply, but he could't think of a good answer. He'd tried his hardest to keep his old life separate from his new one, and all it had resulted in was anger and confusion. Distracted from his original argument, Hero stood, and a sudden snarl rose from his throat. Whiteshadow's chest was heaving at the end of his rebuttal, and he turned and strode out of the warrior's den. A few more moments passed before Hero's anger fizzled out and he regained the strength to move, but by this time a few of the warriors had already been awoken by their argument.
"What's wrong?" Lilypool yawned, trudging towards him with tired movements.
"I don't know," Hero admitted, glancing at the she-cat over his shoulder. Watery light soon began to flood into the den, stirring any cat who hadn't awoken already. Lilypool frowned at his tone, but Hero had already walked past her and out into the clearing. The earth rose sharply around the sides of the camp, where the roots of the Withered Oak had eroded the soil and made a vast, sloping pit in the earth. Dew rested on the soft tufts of grass, gleaming in the early morning sunlight, and the breathtaking beauty of the camp overwhelmed every cat who glanced upon it. But as he'd suspected, Whiteshadow was nowhere in sight, and somehow it made the magnificent view seem empty.
Hero pondered the exchange all morning, but didn't see or hear from Whiteshadow for the rest of the morning. Somehow, it felt as if everything were moving past him, and the AshClan cats seemed to sense his aloofness after a short while. Russetfire, who seemed even more bitter than usual, sent him out on two hunting patrols before sunrise to make up for missing the previous day's patrol. He'd found it hard to remain focused during both, but the two field mice and crow he'd returned with seemed satisfactory to the deputy. After dropping all three catches off at the nursery for the queens and kits, Hero chose a small hare from the fresh-kill pile and went to find his friend.
"Morning, Hero," Jayflight interrupted his search, blinking a pair of impossibly blue eyes. "I took a patrol for you yesterday, and came here to witness your show of gratitude."
Hero rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks," he huffed sarcastically.
"Close enough," Jayflight lilted. "Hey, you seen Whiteshadow around recently?"
"Actually, no." Hero replied, casting the grey and white mottled she-cat a questioning glance.
"Thought so," she remarked, "Well, he's in the leader's den right now. If you need him." She finished with a flourish of her tail, and then strutted off towards the path that led out of camp, where a she-cat named Cherryshade appeared to be waiting for her.
Hero seemed almost entertained by her spontaneous style of conversation, but something else soon caught his attention. He turned towards the trunk of the tree, where he saw two nearly identical cats speaking to each other as they exited the Leader's den; a hollowed out cavern inside the tree itself. He trotted towards it, expression creased with concern when he glimpsed the confusion painted across Whiteshadow's features. Thistlestar, who stood across from him, seemed obdurate to the outcome of their conversation.
With a swift leap, Hero leapt from the ground and dug his claws into the bark of a low hanging tree branch, pulling himself onto the surface. Thistlestar observed his progress as he cleared another two branches and finally reached the platform, a few large wooden boards supported by two smaller branches outside of the opening. Whiteshadow seemed to almost stare through him for a moment, but before Hero could open his mouth to interrupt, Whiteshadow stalked past him and began to descend the branches of the tree.
"Whiteshadow, wait-" Hero began, but Thistlestar rested her tail on his shoulder to stop him from going after his friend. "I'm sorry, we had a bit of a falling out this morning," Hero mumbled, but Thistlestar shook her head.
"His current state is no fault of yours," she explained, and Hero looked at her in surprise. Thistlestar exhaled, gesturing towards the entrance to her den. "Come inside, and I'll explain as best I can."
Hero nodded forlornly, and followed her into the hollow of the tree. It was surprisingly spacious and well-lit by the same firefly orbs as all of the other dens, and Hero quickly realized that he'd never been inside the Leader's den before. Another cat sat inside, a brown tom with perfectly symmetrical white markings on his paws. Harestripe was the Clan's medicine cat, and had supposedly been the one to treat Hero's wounds, though he had mostly been attended to by his apprentice; a previously rogue tan she-cat by the name of Fawnpaw who seemed far too mature for her age.
"Normally I wouldn't include you in such a private matter, but you're Whiteshadow's closest friend and I was personally hoping you could talk some sense into him," Thistlestar meowed, seating herself near Harestripe, and tapping the space next to her with her tail. Hero sat as instructed, and Harestripe cleared his throat, giving Thistestar a 'You didn't consult me on this' glare. She only returned a sharper one. "Please remember that this is only for your ears."
Hero nodded, curious as to what the matter was, and Harestripe just sighed.
"Whiteshadow came to me just now to tell me that he's been given a message. Harestripe was able to interpret it as a prophecy from StarClan, but Whiteshadow isn't being very open about it. Harestripe, if you could explain the grounds of this prophecy to our friend?" Thistlestar looked at the smaller tom inquiringly at the end of her statement, who nodded begrudgingly.
"Last night, Whiteshadow was visited by a StarClan cat, who delivered him a very urgent message," Harestripe began in an undertone, glancing about the den as if he thought someone was listening in on them. His ears flicked backward and his tone quieted as he continued on, with Thistlestar nodding at every few intervals. "He told us...that the Clans were in danger, and that the only one who could save us resided in the city. He made it clear that he was the only one who could complete this task-"
"-and insisted that he do it alone," Thistlestar murmured, and Harestripe dipped his head slightly in agreement with the Leader's words. "I understand that this may seem like a narrow-minded decision to make, but I cannot allow Whiteshadow to go off on some wild journey based off of vaguely stated information he received in a dream."
Harestripe guffawed at her last remark, seeming almost offended. "StarClan are our noble ancestors, if they have given us a warning then it must be so."
Hero held his tongue out of politeness, about to object to the tom's statement, but Thistlestar spoke the words crossing his mind even better than he could. "Whiteshadow was not even sure of the urgency of this mission himself. I will not send a renowned warrior and my son blindly into the city alone, and that is the end of this discussion."
Harestripe but back his next response, and instead dipped his head to the leader. "I respect your choice, but a biased decision on this matter could very well lead to the death of many cats if we are not careful."
Thistlestar flicked her tail to dismiss him, and Harestripe sunk into somewhat of an apologetic bow before he left the den. Thistlestar then looked at Hero, who had stayed all but silent during their exchange. "Do you care for Whiteshadow's well-being?" she asked, and Hero nodded without hesitation.
"He's my best friend," Hero informed her, seeming proud of the title. Thistlestar smiled faintly, slowly rising to her paws.
"Good," she meowed, "Then promise me you'll do all you can to protect him."
Hero looked at her for a moment, realizing that Harestripe's words rang true to the leader. This heartfelt request was not made by a noble leader, but a caring mother anxious for her son. "Of course," Hero responded, and Thistlestar flicked her tail in thanks.
Thistlestar then straightened herself, and all traces of the previous sad smile disappeared. "You are dismissed."
Dusk arrived quickly, and as night fell, Hero found himself sitting awake yet again in the warrior's den, waiting for the dusk patrol to return. Whiteshadow's nest remained empty. A pretty brown she-cat ducked through he entrance to the den, padding in Hero's direction, though Lilypool's visage did not lift his spirits as it usually did. The she-cat didn't generally speak to him willingly, but much like every other AshClan cat, she'd do just about anything for Whiteshadow. Hero waited expectantly.
"The patrol's back," Lilypool began, her tone even, though Hero's fur bristled apprehensively. "He wasn't with them. Whiteshadow's been gone since moonrise."
That are a cliffhanger.
~Frost