𝚂𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚜 || 𝚂𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚜 #1

Chapter Thirteen

Hailwatcher's eyes flicker open; he finds himself alive, thankfully, but not quite in the right place.

Surrounding him is a deciduous forest with trees that stretch up toward the skies; above him, thunder rumbles and lightning dances through the air, obscured by dark clouds.

Trying to squint to focus the washed-out corners of his vision, Hailwatcher comes to the tentative conclusion that this may be a prophetic dream of sorts.

He rises to his paws and squints into the trees, unable to see details of the shadow-cloaked forest.

Something to him feels off- the trees stand crooked and the air holds a faint chill, though nothing else is disturbed by the cold.

The small gray tom's rudimentary train of thought is disrupted as he's thrown off his paws.

An earthquake vigorously shakes the ground; stones rattle and the sky itself seems to tremble.

A peculiar presence snakes its way around Hailwatcher's shoulders, weighing them down- he feels a presence resting on the very base of his neck.

"Thunder will shake the skies," a soft, raspy voice murmurs into the little gray tom's ear.

Overwhelmed and unsure of what to do, Hailwatcher remains still and begins dissecting this information in his mind, willing himself to think through this situation rationally.

The first thing he considers is the SkyClan-ThunderClan conflict; though not his battle to face directly, perhaps StarClan feels the need to warn him about it.

He begins to question the assumed good faith of StarClan's warnings, and wonders again if they simply like watching him suffer like everyone else seems to.

"Hello?" a tiny voice interjects. 

Bewildered, Hailwatcher stifles a yelp as his vision goes black and he feels his consciousness jolt back into his body.

The small gray tom shifts forward, mumbling sleepily to himself.

The kit persists, however, beginning to tap Hailwatcher's forehead with a tiny paw.

"Hello? Are you awake?"

Hailwatcher reluctantly opens his eyes, his paw passing over a new scar on his nose bridge as he lifts it to rub his face.

Standing before him is Squirrelkit, Slightstar's little son; a bit further away, his sister Silverkit stares scrutinizingly at the herb shelf.

The medicine den stands undisturbed, seedlings rustling in the faint breeze.

Growing lichen clings to the rock walls, gradually creeping up toward the ceiling.

"I am now," Hailwatcher replies, trying to make himself sound happier than he is.

Hoping the kits' presence isn't a trap like Fallowpaw's and Acornpaw's ended up being, Hailwatcher sucks in a breath.

"What are you two doing in here?" he adds, twitching an ear.

"Amberfur said we could come say hi," Squirrelkit mews matter-of-factly, his little fluffy tail curled in an arc above him.

"She said you were the med-i-cine cat."

Forcing out a chuckle, Hailwatcher glances around, trying to hide his nervousness from Squirrelkit.

The vine curtain at the medicine den's entrance quivers slightly, indicating to Hailwatcher that the kits haven't had time to get into the herbs and eat anything.

Silverkit neglects to speak and simply gives Hailwatcher a withering, unsettlingly familiar stare through dull green eyes.

"...Yep, that's me," he mumbles to Squirrelkit at last, feeling uncomfortable.