Warriors: A Shadow in the Light - Tainted Honey [Book Three]

Chapter Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN

HAZELWILLOW | SKYCLAN CAMP

Under Snowstar's and Whitehawk's intense stares made Hazelwillow want the ground to open up and swallow her. Blizzardshine was beside her, explaining to the leader and deputy what the problem was, but their eyes never actually left Hazelwillow to acknowledge Blizzardshine. If Blizzardshine noticed, she didn't say anything covering that.

    When Blizzardshine finished her long monologue, Whitehawk spoke first, light amber eyes flicking away from Hazelwillow, then back to her dark green eyes.

    "Were you not taught to fight in ThunderClan?" he queried.

    Blizzardshine answered for her. "No, she can fight, but she doesn't know any advanced moves. It's almost as if she didn't finish her apprenticeship!" the words were supposed to be teasing, but Hazelwillow looked down at her paws, breaking the staring contest with Snowstar. She never did - most likely. Her siblings still held the 'paw name, but that didn't give her any context how far they were into their training. What if she had been near the end? Or what if she had just started?

    No, I couldn't have just started. I remember lots of things. I had to be somewhere in the middle, not too new but not too advanced. Snowstar's voice drew Hazelwillow out of her thoughts.

    "Hazelwillow, is there something you're not telling us?" the old she-cat seemed to be suspicious of the tortoiseshell after Hazelwillow had dropped her gaze.

    Hazelwillow honestly wanted to be truthful with Snowstar and all of SkyClan, but her throat constricted when she thought about it. It was humiliating and private information only select cats knew.

    "No." Hazelwillow finally breathed, lifting her head. "What would I not be telling you?"

    "Why you have a warrior name?" Snowstar meowed. "Unless you were going easy on Blizzardshine?"

    Hazelwillow would've joked around with that last sentence, however Snowstar's tone was dark, not meant in a joking way at all.

    "Or why you came into camp for the first time with a loner?" Whitehawk offered.

    Hazelwillow prayed for the ground to actually swallow her up. "You really want to know?" she asked hesitantly, whiskers trembling.

    All three cats leaned toward her, nodding eagerly.

    "I know this may sound far-fetched. You guys might not believe me, but... I lost my memory." Before they could ask anything, she launched into her story. She kept out the part of Honeystar pushing her, because she didn't fully believe that herself. She didn't want false accusations thrown around. She simply said 'some cat' pushed her into the river when she explained that part of her story.

    Blizzardshine's jaw had fell to the ground at the end of her story. Snowstar's expression was unreadable, and Whitehawk's was full of curiosity and wonder.

    "If I had known..." Snowstar mumbled to herself, but she said nothing more.

    If you had known what? You would not have accepted me?! Terror rushed through her body. Would Snowstar kick her out now?

    "Are you going to tell the Clan?" Hazelwillow asked fearfully. She didn't want pitiful or scathing looks. Who knew how'd SkyClan react?

    "I don't see why I should hide it." Snowstar disregarded Hazelwillow's fear that was blatantly noticeable and rose to her paws. "Thank you for telling us, Hazelwillow. Just... don't worry. I'm not going to throw you out of my Clan, if you ever thought that. This is just a strange problem."

    Hazelwillow ducked her head, taking note of the leader's blank voice. "Of course," she whispered.

    "You two may go now, Whitehawk and I have some things to discuss." Snowstar meowed tersely. Blizzardshine and Hazelwillow shared a look and exited the den.

    Hazelwillow kept her head low, hoping Blizzardshine wouldn't bug her. She needed a break from her chatty mentor.

    A cold wind started ruffling Hazelwillow's fur. The sky today was full of white, low-hanging clouds that brought an awful shiver with them. She shot a glance at Blizzardshine, knowing her question would start the she-cat up.

    "Are those rain clouds?"

    Blizzardshine's eyes grew as round as the moon. "No, not at all!" the she-cat meowed, barely taking a breath to continue. "Those are snow clouds. White flakes fall from the sky. You... must've lost your memory after the first snow." Her voice faded a little with realization. She shot Hazelwillow a sympathetic look.

    Hazelwillow tried to not cringe away from the look. "I think so." Snow, snow, snow. Was it as cold as the wind? Sometimes rain was cold, but as of right now, she'd want rain instead of this awful wind. Her nose was going to freeze off.

    "You seem to be freezing." Blizzardshine noticed, moving her paws restlessly. "I know how to fix that!"

    "Sleep?" Hazelwillow asked hopefully.

    Blizzardshine faltered. "Well, uh, I guess that could work, but no! A run through the forest!" How was she so excited about the littlest things. Hazelwillow inwardly groaned, reluctant to go outside of camp.

    "The den is so much warmer..."

    "Once we get moving, we'll be warmer than the den idea." Blizzardshine promised. "Trust me."

    Hazelwillow raced after Blizzardshine before the long-legged she-cat went out of sight. Giving the ground powerful kicks, Hazelwillow eventually caught up, exhausted.

    "Aren't you warming up?" Blizzardshine's trill was nearly swept away by the howling wind.

    Hazelwillow didn't want to admit it, but she was buzzing with warmth. Perhaps this was better than being cooped up in the warriors den.

    While Hazelwillow was wrapped up in her thoughts, Blizzardshine stopped. Hazelwillow didn't notice until the last moment, but the two she-cats had already collided.

    "Ouch." Blizzardshine groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Watch where you're going." Her tone wasn't mad. Actually, there was a hint of amusement in it. "You're going to seriously kill some cat with your low awareness."

    "Sorry, I was too busy thinking." Hazelwillow meowed after removing her face from the cold dirt. She touched her nose, inspecting her paw. There was a speckle of blood, and soon enough the taste of blood trickled into her parted jaws.

    Blizzardshine eyed Hazelwillow's nose. "Let's get you back to camp. That bloody nose won't stop for a while."

    Hazelwillow nodded in agreement, wiping the steady stream of blood off with her paw, but more swiftly flowed out. Hazelwillow gave up and ran after Blizzardshine, trying her hardest to ignore the metallic taste in her mouth. Prey blood was nothing like this!

    It felt like the run back to camp was seasons long, but the pair finally made it, flanks heaving.

    Blizzardshine faced her, panting loudly. "I don't know if there's a treatment for bloody noses, but swing by the medicine cat den so Mintleaf can take a look at it."

    Hazelwillow nodded obediently, trying to remember where the medicine cat was. She sent Blizzardshine a questioning look, who quickly pointed her in the right direction.

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i know this wasnt clear, but this takes place a few days after her joining skyclan.

-artemis