Trust

[arina]

(( Sorry!))

[sweetiepie993]

Hawkstar eyes blinked open silently, he had slept in quite long enough. The leader was not used to sleeping quite so much and he took his time stretching his bundled limbs. His tawny, brown, and golden pelt rippled as he shook his body, shaking the dead fur from his coat.
Hawkstar rasped his chest a few times, making sure he looked presentable. Though he noticed his ribs barely escaping through his fur. The Tom sighed. 'This is going to be a long bare-leaf.' He thought to himself. FInally he exited his den, setting his paws down on the earth silently. His all seeing eyes gazed around him, there seemed to be no one here really. Landing on Duskhaze. Reading his expression, he determined something was wrong. With a sigh, he padded over to the gray tom.

"Duskhaze." He gave a nod of respect then rested on his haunches. The leader did not really intend on having the warrior confide in him, but he was curious. As a leader, not many of the warriors considered him their friend.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>Duskhaze listened to her harsh words, flinching. While they were true, he wouldn't choose Shellpaw over Rainstorm, and just as he was going to say that, she raced away. Reacting on raw instinct, he bristled, his amber eyes narrowing slightly, to cover his pain. His heart was filled with anguish, and it felt like the edges were icing over again, a snowstorm going on inside the pounding heart that held his love.

"Wait!" He meowed after Rainstorm, but Hawkstar came over and sat beside him. He couldn't ignore the leader's piercing gaze, and he turned to reply hastily, "I... need to speak to Rainstorm in private? I'll tell you about it later." Hurrying to catch up to Rainstorm, he said loud enough for her to hear but soft enough that no others should have been able to, "I never meant to hurt you. I had to do it, I had to find my brother... but I didn't leave you behind because I wanted to be with Shellpaw. I would die if you ever got hurt, I would not be able to bear living if you were injured. The fighting was horrible... I couldn't have risked it because... I love you, too."

He finished with tears in his amber eyes. It was so much to bear... he skidded to a halt and turned, clambering up a tree. He had always been raised around the trees, and as he pressed himself to the trunk, he felt that same security he always had when he was around the towering plants; when first his family disappeared, he spent almost all his time nearby the goliath trees in JungleClan's territory.</sub>

[oblivion]

Rainstorm hesitated and her eyes widened in surprise as she heard Duskhaze. Out of all the responses she had expected to get, that had not been one of them. Strong feelings of guilt consumed her. How could she have doubted him and even have gone to the point of blaming him for everything? Shaking the negative thoughts away, she rushed after the one she held most dearly in her heart.

"Duskhaze, wait!" The she-cat skidded to a halt next to the tree. "I'm sorry about what I said before. But.. I-It's true. I thought you had left me for good. I felt betrayed..." There was a pained expression on her face and she had to pause to look away. However, when she turned to gaze back up at Duskhaze, her eyes were filled with a stronger emotion. "It doesn't matter though. I feel the same way as you, and nothing will ever change that. I just wanted you to know that." Rainstorm gave the tom a long look before slowly walking away. Oddly enough, her body felt lighter. It was as if a great weight had been lifted from her. Which in a way, it had.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>Duskhaze listened, and the tears went away just as quickly as they had come. She did care? This meant that all this anger was because she felt betrayed... and in a way she had. The gray warrior still felt guilt to have left her behind and made her feel like he didn't care. How could I have done that? Still, Demon and his vicious cats... I know she's a warrior and can take care of herself, but what if... just for a moment, one cat got through our defense and to her...

His whole being recoiled at what might happen, what could have happened, and he tried to ignore that and focus on the present, for it was done and over with, and the Demon Gang had been broken up. He jumped down out of the tree, and pressed himself to her side, blinking and saying, "I'm so happy that I'm not chasing adventure without you anymore." He sped off in the other direction, ready to think about things for a while.

Stopping under a huge oak, he easily scaled the broad trunk and sat at the very top, for the branches were very broad. Twitching his tail, he thought of all that had just been exchanged.</sub>

[oblivion]

Rainstorm purred softly as she felt him press against her. "I'm just glad you're back." She murmured. And it was true, for she was filled with relief. The she-cat wanted to say more, but the gray tom had already left in the other direction.

With a disappointed flick of her tail, she slowly walked away. He probably needed time to recollect all of his thoughts, just as she did. She decided to head back to the den. The day's events had made her fairly tired and she needed time to think some things over.

[Honorable Riri]

One-eye woke up and stretched. Today was a new day. A new day to show JungleClan senior warriors were as important as new warriors. He was far from becoming elder material, as he was only 60 moons, or 5 years. He purred as he walked out into the warm sun. It was chilly, but the sun made it a whole lot warmer.

[arina]

Shellpaw limped into the camp, heading in the oppisite direction of the medicne cat den. Instead, she headed towards her secrect tree. The apprentice winced as she manovered her injured leg to fit under the tree. "What have I gotten myself into?" she mumbled as she recalled the MountianClan cat.

[» &Göldιê™; «]

<sub>Amber eyes peered out from the sheltered branches of the tall maple. Duskhaze sat regally on a branch, his dark-gray tail curled around it. Sheathing and unsheathing his claws seemed to relieve his tension a little, but did not help a lot. Maybe I should actually make use of myself, the gray warrior thought, and decided to go hunt. Springing out of the tree, he padded along the ground, trotting in the direction of the stream that coursed through JungleClan territory.

Padding through the forest, nostalgia took root. He glanced around, but the forest seemed anything but active. Not a creature stirred. Blinking a couple of times, Duskhaze had almost decided to return to the camp when he spotted a hollow tree near the stream with soft moss and lichen growing inside. A wave of exhaustion swept through him as he realized he hadn't slept since before he and Shellpaw had left to find Demon, and he padded eagerly over to it. A nice, quiet place where I can sleep and not think about any of the mess I've made.

Stepping into it, he looked up; holes lined the inside of the tree, which was obviously dead, but completely hollow. Shafts of light broke into the darkness of the trunk, and Duskhaze felt a peace sweep over him that he had not felt in a long time. Curling up, the tree was comfortably soft due to the moss, and would yield sleep easily to the tom. The dark-gray warrior lay with his tailtip to his nose, his ears still alert for danger. Slowly allowing his amber eyes to close, he drifted off into the serenity of merciful sleep.

When he awoke what seemed only a few moments later, he emerged from the tree, and it seemed as though he hadn't slept at all. Looking around, there was something that he couldn't quite put a paw on that was different about the stream. And then he realized that the surface wasn't shimmering with sunlight but glittering with starlight. Swinging his head up as a new, sweet scent enveloped him, he saw someone he thought he would never see again. "Mother?" Duskhaze meowed reverently.

The long-haired white she-cat purred. Her sky-blue eyes betrayed Frostlight's warmth for her kit, but she did not step towards him. "Mother!" Duskhaze called, and attempted to ford the stream to greet her, but Frostlight motioned with her tail for him to stay. Confused, he stopped, willing to listen to what the white cat said, even through death. It looked as though starlight was clinging to her fur, Duskhaze observed.

"Duskhaze, you have been selected by StarClan to recieve a message. I cannot bestow the knowledge upon you now, but you must travel to Bluefalls at midnight on the new moon. You will undertake a journey, laid before you by StarClan." Turning, Frostlight was leaving. "Wait!" Duskhaze called, trying to pad back over to her, and she gave him one last loving look before disappearing. Duskhaze stopped, sad to see her go, and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, his pulled his head up, and realized he was back in the hollow tree. Looking around, he gave his dark-gray pelt a couple of quick licks to calm himself. Bluefalls, at midnight on the new moon. I will be there. Padding out of the tree, he felt re-energized, and sped back through the forest to the tree he had been at before. Clambering up, he sat down, feeling renewed and very much excited at the prophecy. I will be there.</sub>

[arina]

Shellpaw decided that it was time to tell Hawkstar what had happened. ' I'd better find Duskhaze. ' she thought. She struggled out from under the tree, wincing as her leg raked a thorn. She spotted Duskhaze and was about to go get him when he darted out of the camp. 'H-he left!!' she thought angrly. There was no way she was doing this alone. She decided that if she was carefull, she could sneak to her den then wait for Duskhaze to get back.

[Honorable Riri]

One-eye went out of camp, going on a solo hunting patrol. "Gee, I hope the prey is better." He rasped. He purred and padded out of camp.