𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚜 || 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 #1

Chapter Nine

Hailwatcher trudges behind Willowstar and Slightclaw, mind abuzz with all sorts of dreadful thoughts.

Heather and dry grass crunch beneath the three cats' paws with every step, making a rather grating noise.

"You alright back there, Hailwatcher?" ShadowClan's leader mews.

"Are we walking too quickly?"

Slightclaw glances back with an eye roll, pressing forward with a bit of extra speed as if to spite the query.

Something about the way the silver tabby moves- calculately, as if counting every step- disturbs Hailwatcher in a way he can't quite describe.

"Oh- um- I'm fine...thank you for asking, though," the young medicine cat replies, not bothering to lie any further by offering up a fake smile.

The situation with Raggedfoot remains on his mind, as does the very suspicious nature of this trip.

"Alright then," Willowstar replies, sounding unconvinced, but he turns back around all the same.

Hailwatcher glances up at the red-tinged sky, watching rainclouds drift closer to the rising moon.

A few beads of rain trickle from the clouds and freckle the ground; Slightclaw lets out a hiss of frustration.

"It just had to rain," the ShadowClan deputy mutters through clenched teeth, narrowing his eyes.

Twitching an ear, Hailwatcher recalls that the silver tabby hates being wet.

Since the rain isn't coming down hard yet, Hailwatcher concludes that Slightclaw dislikes the idea of rain itself.

"Well- the rainwater nourishes the plants..and..stuff," the young medicine cat mumbles, not sure where he's going with this train of thought.

"I know that, imbecile," Slightclaw snarls in reply, looking over his shoulder to glare at Hailwatcher.

The small gray tom flinches and apologetically averts his gaze, letting out a quiet sigh.

A bit not not very relieved that Slightclaw is showing aspects of his regular rude self, Hailwatcher pushes on.

Despite it, though, the silver tabby's anticipatory body language unnerves Hailwatcher.

"Let's be nice to each other, alright?" Willowstar mews, raising a brow at Slightclaw.

The silver tabby replies with a harsh sigh, his striped tail flicking sharply behind him.

As the patrol falls back into silence, Hailwatcher tries to skirt away from what happened earlier in the day with Raggedfoot, but it keeps pushing back against his efforts.

The rain starts falling harder; Hailwatcher observes the water dripping down from his whiskers for a moment and then shakes out his pelt.

Trying to distract himself from Raggedfoot, Hailwatcher thinks of the information Quietwater had given him.

Maybe Willowstar could tell him something now that he knew a little bit.

"Willowstar..?" he murmurs, figuring out something to say in the following heartbeats of silence.

"Yes?" the dusky brown tom mews, pricking an ear.

"I- had a question...." the small gray tom mumbles, trying to talk over the thud of rain hitting the ground.

"Oh? What sort of question?" Willowstar replies, apprehension creeping into his tone.

"...About my mother," Hailwatcher mews quietly.