𝚂𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚂𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 || 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 #2

Chapter Seven: [Wavepaw]

Wavepaw pads through RiverClan camp, pausing tentatively at the mouth of Shellstar's den.

Hushed whispers echo from inside, increasing the blue-gray apprentice's nervousness.

"Papa? You called for me?" Wavepaw mews at last, stepping nervously closer to the den's mouth.

She hears a shuffle; a few heartbeats later Shellstar pokes his head out from inside, smiling in a slightly disconcerting manner.

It was a familiar expression, one that signified to Wavepaw that she was soon to endure an uncomfortable and frustrating conversation.

"Hello, Wavepaw, " Shellstar mews, stepping a pace out of his den and looking down at his daughter through amber eyes that glimmer with pride.

"Hi...Papa," Wavepaw mumbles, shifting uncomfortably.

If she were to be honest, Wavepaw would admit that she hated talking to her father, if only because everything was blown up into a fight between him and her mother.

She wished that they would just act like normal, good parents sometimes, but at least she had Ivyhawk.

"We have something very important to discuss with you, if you'll come inside," the RiverClan leader mews, beckoning with his tail toward the gaping mouth of the leader's den.

His slightly reassuring expression betrayed he'd caught on to his daughter's apprehension, but Wavepaw still advances with a tinge of nervousness; after all, who else was included in 'we'?

The blue-gray apprentice shuffles reluctantly into the hollow log, biting back a curse once she sees Snowflash sprawled out near the back, purring blissfully.

Shellstar follows after his daughter, settling down beside Snowflash and allowing her to smooth down his ruffled pelt.

The leader and deputy exchange smitten looks and purrs all the while, and Wavepaw sighs, curling her tail tightly around herself.

"So, Papa...what did you want to talk to me about?" Wavepaw inquires, trying unsuccessfully to look away as Shellstar and Snowflash start nuzzling each other.

The concept of two cats being this close to each other- let alone her own father and a cat that wasn't her mother- made Wavepaw uncomfortable, but Shellstar and Snowflash's insistence on being as sappy as possible made it so much worse.

"Ah! Yes. I wanted to tell you, Wavepaw," the RiverClan leader mews, pausing to curl around his deputy, "-that we understand how hard things have been for you in the family recently."

"Uh-huh," Wavepaw replies absently, feeling suspicious at the lack of tension in her father's movements- maybe Snowflash and her advances were messing it up, but she'd expected him to at least feel something whilst addressing such a touchy subject.

"Our family was split into two halves, in a way, and I don't want to make you take sides. You're free to favor your mother- or me- or favor no one at all."

"...Okay."

"Snowflash, darling, would you tell Wavepaw what you wanted to say?" Shellstar coos.

"Of course," the white she-cat replies softly, caressing the side of the RiverClan leader's face with a paw.

Wavepaw, nauseous, feels compelled to bolt out of the den, but clenches her jaw and remains seated.

"All I wanted to say, Wavepaw, is that even though I'm not Fallowtail, obviously, you can consider me a mother of sorts if you would like."

Wavepaw lets out a hum of surprise, eyeing the RiverClan deputy warily.

"Um...thanks, I guess."

"But yes, that's all we had to say," Shellstar finishes, tipping his head and glancing down at his daughter.