𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚜 || 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 #1

Chapter Fifteen

"..Hailwatcher?"

"Hailwatcher!' Wake up!"

Hailwatcher stirs with a groan, reflexively jolting as pain rushes back to him.

"W-where am I? I'm-"

Forcing his eyes to focus, the small gray tom finds himself lying in a small puddle of drying blood on the medicine den floor.

Long, jagged slashes stretch up and down his body, each of them throbbing hard.

In front of him is Rosebush, who looks worriedly at him.

Hailwatcher freezes, sucking in a breath and willing his fluttering heartbeat to regulate.

"Rosebush...hi. Um, do you need something? For..the kits?" he whispers, trying to pretend as if his being unconscious in a pool of his own blood is a regular occurrence.

Rosebush nods hesitantly after a pause, glancing nervously behind her.

"..I...I'm leaving ShadowClan, Hailwatcher. With my kits. I...saw what happened to you...and I wanted to know if you'd come with me."

Hailwatcher's eyes widen and his mind begins to race..

"..Where were you thinking of going?" Hailwatcher whispers, stiffly flattening his throbbing ears.

He wonders if she knows about her brother's death or Slightstar's involvement in it.

"I don't know, just away from Slightstar...I can't let him raise my kits."

Hailwatcher struggles to pull himself up as quietly as possible; dried blood flakes off his flanks and falls to the ground like crimson snow.

Pain shoots through his body, though at this point he can take it without an utterance.

"I'll go."

Rosebush twitches an ear, supporting Hailwatcher's right side with her left as he staggers uncertainly.

"..Okay."

"We- we could try SkyClan. I know they wouldn't..make us go back," the small gray tom murmurs, trying to take a step forward and clenching his jaw from the resulting pain.

"Are you sure you can walk all that way? You..you need medical attention," Rosebush mews, glancing concernedly at Hailwatcher's injuries through glimmering blue eyes.

"..I'll be fine.."

The black-and-ginger queen looks unconvinced but appears to concede, supporting the young medicine cat and allowing him to limp out of the medicine den.

She scurries up to his side, twitching nervously; Hailwatcher realizes that she's as scared as he is.

"Follow me," Rosebush whispers, darting toward the camp entrance with remarkable silence.

The ShadowClan camp is cloaked in an inky darkness that thickly coats each den.

The small gray tom limps after Rosebush and meets her at the camp entrance; alongside her is Russetblaze, who crouches over the sleeping Silverkit and Squirrelkit.

The russet tabby tom glances up as Hailwatcher approaches, expression tempered with concern and horror.

"..So you decided to come," he murmurs, nearly inaudibly.

"That's brave of you."

Hailwatcher nods weakly in acknowledgement, glancing at Rosebush and waiting for her to explain Russetblaze's presence.

"Russetblaze agreed to help," she replies, lifting her son by his scruff.

Russetblaze nods and picks up Silverkit, who lets out a tiny coo.

Hailwatcher situates himself next to the russet tabby, finding that the burning pain in his body persists.

He hopes that he won't pass out from utter exhaustion, but feels that the adrenaline pumping through him will keep him awake for a while.

Rosebush shuffles toward the bramble tunnel, casting a glance backward before pushing her way in.

"Let's go."

Hailwatcher, Russetblaze, and Rosebush move through the pitch-black forest; Russetblaze slows down to help Hailwatcher over roots in the darkness.

"Are we going to cover our scents?" the small gray tom mumbles, stretching out one of his paws with a wince.

"I think it'd be best for us to do that once we reach the SkyClan border, so there won't be foreign scents in the territory," Russetblaze responds, his already quiet voice muffled because of Silverkit's scruff in his jaws.

Rosebush nods in agreement, glancing around.

He remembers that he hasn't been out of camp since Willowstar died, since the Moonpool meeting he'd forgotten about has probably already happened and Slightstar hasn't allowed him to go anywhere regardless.

He clings onto the hope that SkyClan will let them stay at least for a day or two, but knowing Beechfoot and Mossyspots, they'd probably be able to talk Featherstar into providing more permanent refuge if it came to that.

Hailwatcher feels bad for abandoning his Clan, but tries to reassure himself that leaving is the right decision.

The pain searing through his body throbs with every step, but the heat radiating from each laceration serves to comfort him a little.

"I think we're far enough away to talk," Russetblaze mumbles, flicking an ear.

"We're almost to SkyClan."

Hailwatcher heaves a sigh of relief, glancing around.

The densely-packed tall pines characteristic of ShadowClan territory have thinned out, and little trails of stones and roots replace the leaf litter and swampy undergrowth.

In the distance, deciduous trees loom; the chatter of birds echoes through the air.

"Do you think we're in the clear now?" Rosebush mews, pausing to tighten her grip on Squirrelkit's scruff.

"I think so," Russetblaze replies with a glance around.

"...You two should stop and cover your scents, and..I'm going to head back now so no one suspects anything."

Russetblaze beckons Hailwatcher over and places Silverkit on the ground in front of him.

The she-kit, bigger than what Halwatcher remembers, squeaks but doesn't wake up.

"You can carry her now, kid," the russet tabby murmurs, offering Hailwatcher a hesitant smile.

Nodding, Hailwatcher gently lifts Silverkit by her scruff.

"Thank you for everything," Rosebush mews, pressing her nose to Russetblaze's cheek.

"It's the least I can do," Russetblaze replies, giving the sleeping Squirrelkit a gentle lick on the head.

"Take care of my sister for me," the young queen adds, gaze angled downward.

"Be careful," the small gray tom mutters to Russetblaze, shifting a paw in the dirt.

"I will," the russet tabby mews with a faint smile; he gives one last nod before turning and slipping back off into the woods.

Rosebush glances forlornly after the russet tabby, sighing quietly to herself.

Hailwatcher hopes Russetblaze will be alright, especially with Slightstar's habit of late to dole out increasingly violent punishments.

Deep down, some naive part of him hopes that everything will be okay; he focuses on the horizon and starts forward with Rosebush further into SkyClan territory.