Poisonberry's Vengence

Excuses

Bluehawk and Emeraldshatter

A fair warning, this chapter's going to be pretty long. A lot is happening, and there just wasn't a good place to segway into the next chapter! Enjoy! 

Frost covered Hopewilt's pelt, masking the blood that had dried there into a shimmery sheen of silver. Her entire body ached like she'd been thrown off of a cliff, and her mouth felt as if it was filled with sand. The wound over her eye had scabbed, but when she blinked, stabs of dull pain shot through it.

With a groan, she sat up and peered outside the bush where she'd apparently spent the whole night. The world was tinged with frost, and the air tingled with cold—a little taste of Snowfall season. Dawn had spread its flaming eye over the forest, and Hopewilt guessed that the first patrols of the morning had already set out.

Panic lit in her heart, as she realized that she was supposed to still be standing guard; there would be questions as to where she'd gone during the night, and Hopewilt doubted she could answer them. The memories of the night before were a haze of tears, blood, hate-filled words, blinding pain, and a bond that could never and would never be repaired.

Shaking off the frost and lingering heartache, she trotted out of the bush and sat down to carefully preen her fur back to its usual golden shine, but quickly gave up, as her muscles screamed in protest. Hopewilt sighed- She didn't want to return to her Clan. Nobody, even the tiniest kit or the most feeble elder could miss the giant scar that now marred her face.

I could tell the Clan... Tell them their dear, loyal, brave Bluehawk brutally attacked his sister. Tell them that I was nearly blinded. Tell them he's a traitor. But something caught her in the middle of her twisted fantasy. If he didn't hesitate to hurt me once, he won't hesitate to hurt me again. Just to keep the truth from coming out. Hopewilt contemplated her options for a minute. There didn't seem to be a happy ending. Expose him, cause so much turmoil for the Clan, and put herself in danger, or stay silent and live with it?

I'll decide once I get back, She thought with a flick of her stubby tail. Excuses can suffice for now.
                                                              ~❆~

As she drew closer to camp, Hopewilt began to hear voices. Quietly, she crept up and peeked over the lip of the cliff in front of the entrance. There, the Clan was gathered in front of Adderstar, as he talked. The air was filled with tension, and when Hopewilt stepped out into the crowd of cats, heads turned to stare at her.

Adderstar paused. "Hopewilt- Where were you this morning? You were supposed to be standing guard. And what happened to your face?" Hopewilt took a deep breath, the excuse she'd made up standing at the tip of her tongue. "Well, I thought I'd go out hunting just before dawn, and bring back something for the prey pile. But an owl caught me on the way back to its nest and attacked me. I fought it off and hid until I was sure it was gone. Then I came back..." She trailed off as her gaze caught Bluehawk's. He looked so smug, so cruel, so evil. Emeraldshatter was glued to his side as always, her plumy tail twined with his.

She swallowed hard and stared at the ground, heart pounding frantically with nonsensical panic. "And... Now I'm here."

"Well, then. You're a warrior now, but that doesn't mean you can run off and do whatever you want, whenever you want. After the meeting, go and see Frostedmoss for that scratch." He raised a paw to disperse the murmuring of the Clan and continued.

"As I was saying, tonight is the Gathering. For moons, EmberClan has been harassing us, taking our prey, attacking patrols, and jeering at us from behind their borders. Tonight, if we are not able to come to an agreement and make peace, there will be war by dawn." Hopewilt's eyes widened. War? I didn't think this had gone that far.