Warriors: Solemn Wishes (Warrior Cats Fan Story)

Chapter 23

Redwhisker smiled from the bushes as the leaders' energy with one another only continued to improve. His fur crawled with filth and unseen insects, but in the moment it felt like it was not even there, like it had been shaved entirely while watching the two leaders come to an agreement.

He wanted so badly to come out, to reveal himself and what he'd done and congratulate them on coming to an agreement. But he felt that that would almost for sure destroy the majesty of the moment. Come to think of it, with how trigger-happy Mazestar was, they would likely start accusing each other of setting everything up. At the very least they would feel like their allegiance was a manufactured farce, and begin quarreling again. Redwhisker refused to put such a precious, delicate moment at risk, and instead chose to merely spectate with warmth in his chest. They would never know he was the puppeteer, but that was fine by him. It was enough reward to witness the fruits of his labor unfold in front of him.

He knew, though, that he couldn't stay long, lest his scent drift to the she-cats' noses and make them antsy. So as they went deeper into diplomacy, he seeped backward into the foliage. There weren't many bushes further from the Moonpool, much less trees, but it was best to put some distance first before looping around the pool to go home. Well, to the Horseplace.

As he started maneuvering around, trying to make his paws as quiet as they realistically could get, he felt his wounds begin to sting, his fur begin to stink, every irritating part of his body start to irritate him again. First thing I do when I get back is taking a nice, long wash. He couldn't go to the lake to do it, because he'd get recognized and put in a world of trouble by a patrol; it was also too risky to stop and do it in the stream in case the leaders caught up to him and saw him there. There would be a lot of explaining to do then, no doubt, and then the alliance would fall apart at the hinges.

So he kept moving around the Moonpool slowly but surely, looking for the stream that he would follow back to the lake. His joints ached, longing and begging for a nice stretch and increased activity, but he ignored their pleas. I'll have plenty of time to relax once I'm back at Horseplace. The Horseplace itself didn't really have a lot of places to drink, but he knew a few buckets of cold, clear water were set out for the horses and the horselikes at times. And knowing the hooved animals didn't seem to consider him much of a threat, Redwhisker had confidence he would be able to bathe without trouble there as long as no Twolegs ran across him.

Redwhisker found the stream and began the long journey back to Clan territories. He smelled Metallicstar's scent from her ascent upstream, and during the entire downstream walk, the emotions he picked up from her smell were so odd and exhilarating that it made him wish he could meet the she-cat and begin to dissect the type of person she really was.

The first smells he could pick up on were rigidity and determination, both of which were not unexpected from her, especially since she had been on a trek to meet with a dangerous rival for an absolutely vital peace agreement. What was unexpected was an elusive world of emotions comprising of uncertainty, hopefulness, pessimism, irritation, disquietude, doubt, self-doubt, and many others that even Redwhisker's advanced canine nose couldn't put a name to. Juxtaposing emotions existed side by side in the cat in ways they weren't supposed to; emotions that seemed to contradict the very foundation of who Metallicstar was - or at least who Redwhisker knew her to be - floated about without shame.

He was not new to the world of scent; as a nose-savvy canine, Redwhisker had been able to pick up on whirlwinds of emotions from everyone he met throughout his life. But not even an individual as wild as Acorntail had ever seemed to have such a complex, self-refuting scent map as Metallicstar. Redwhisker was perplexed, and wondered if the fight had scratched his nose or something, because for a scent specialist, Metallicstar's absolute maze of contradictive smells was both breathtaking and deeply concerning. Redwhisker was sure he was the only one who knew this about her, being that no feline - or rodent like Acorntail - could hope to have the kind of nose his species did, to smell the kinds of things he smelled. He pinned his ears back, unsure how to think about this find.