Love the Way You Lie
A/N: The story takes place directly after Night Whispers, or Ivypaw's first few training sessions after she realizes that the cats are just using her. I got a request to do a Ivypaw/Hawkfrost fic, so here it is! I wanted to make it different from all the others, though. I hope the switching POVs isn't too confusing.
"I- I'm sorry, Hawkfrost. It won't happen again."
Hawkfrost narrowed his icy blue eyes. Ivypaw was his best apprentice; she was stumbling more than ever lately. Every time he reminded her she would be a great warrior as a result of this training, it seemed to have even less of an effect on her than it had before.
He stepped forward, his scarred muzzle almost touching Ivypaw's, "You're acting like an unfocused kit, not the determined warrior you should be by now."
Was Ivypaw... trembling? Even when facing Thistleclaw, Hawkfrost had never seen his apprentice tremble. Or show any form of submission for that matter. To his dismay, Ivypaw didn't even shoot back a response; just nodded her head, not meeting his eyes.
Hawkfrost spat in frustration, "Go home; when you come back tomorrow, prove to me that I made the right decision choosing you for this honor."
He waited until Ivypaw's white tail slipped away out of sight into the bushes, before he dared to speak.
"Foxdung." Hawkfrost muttered to himself.
He turned away in disgust and padded away from the clearing. What would Tigerstar say? Ivypaw, the Dark Forest's best apprentice, couldn't master a simple leap-and-hold. She had been acting like, like...
Hawkfrost froze when it hit him. Sasha. His apprentice had been acting like Sasha. Pining, useless, lovesick, unfocused; yes, yes it all fit. Except the lovesick part. Unless...
The thought of Ivypaw being in love with him made Hawkfrost want to vomit. But it all made sense, and the only reason Sasha considered becoming loyal to RiverClan was her love for Tigerstar.
A plan began to form in Hawkfrost's mind; he would be doing the exact thing that he hated his mother and father for doing, but it could cost the Dark Forest a victory if he didn't do anything about Ivypaw. It might be a stretch, but it just might work.
There's still time to back down, you can still change the plan...
The words spun around and around in Hawkfrost's head as his apprentice padded toward him. He had never been in love before, and if his plan failed, then he may lose all respect the Dark Forest cats had for him.
Hawkfrost's expression was soft, his eyes less icy as he spoke, "Ivypaw, I'm... sorry about what happened last night. The truth is, you're an amazing fighter. And, I'd miss you if you stopped coming."
The words sounded so fake as they reached Hawkfrost's ears. He hoped they sounded more sincere to Ivypaw. Her face was unreadable for a few seconds, until she broke the silence.
"I... I had only hoped..." She cut herself off, catching her words before she could say something embarrassing.
"I wish you could spend your life in the Dark Forest forever." Hawkfrost reassured Ivypaw, "But it's almost daylight where you live, I can't keep you here..."
Ivypaw surprised him by cutting in, "I wish I could stay here, too." It was all Hawkfrost could do to stop his fur from bristling at the sincere look on his apprentice's face, "I don't want to ever wake up."
Hawkfrost's eyes lit up; it was working! "You can! You can stay with me forever." Hawkfrost briefly wondered if he was overplaying it, "If you abandon the Warrior Code; you'll be welcomed here if you do just that."
I'm doing it for Dovepaw, for Lionblaze, for Cinderpelt, for Jayfeather, for Firestar...
Ivypaw repeated the names over and over in her head. Why did she ever agree to spy like this? Why did she let it come to this?
"Of course." She responded with as much emotion as she could, trying not to look into Hawkfrost's eyes, "I'd do anything for you."
So the battle isn't the only reason Hawkfrost is training me... Ivypaw didn't want to live her life like this; buried in lies. Every word in this conversation seemed to make up a pawful of dirt, piling up on top of her and suffocating her.
She couldn't risk stopping it now; Hawkfrost was unpredictable. At the same time she couldn't risk going along with it; oh, why did Hawkfrost have to fall in love with her?
It did give Ivypaw a rush, thinking about how Hawkfrost wanted her. It was... different; otherwordly, almost. Ivypaw finally let herself gaze into Hawkfrost's bright blue eyes, and felt a new rush of emotion. Did she really love her mentor? He was supportive, loyal, handsome, and saw Ivypaw for who she was. Even though she didn't have any special powers like her sister, Hawkfrost still loved her. With him, Ivypaw realized, she could stop pretending to be someone she wasn't.
Or could she? She had agreed to spy for ThunderClan, which meant she couldn't be loyal to Hawkfrost. And she couldn't bear lying to Dovepaw, or Jayfeather, or any of the cats in her Clan, for that matter. How could she stop this without her ripping her heart in two?
"Hawkfrost... no one can know."
No, the plan couldn't fail now! He was so close. There was only one thing left to do...
"Ivypaw, I... I love you."
Those words; so... foreign. Then Hawkfrost realized how they sounded. How they seemed to echo around the trees; but they weren't restricting, it seemed more like a promise than something Hawkfrost was forcing himself to do.
He found himself looking into his apprentice's eyes. No, this couldn't be happening. He tried to remind himself of his anger toward his mother and father, tried to bring back the fiery hatred, but all that he found inside of him was warmth. Warmth and comfort, something he had only felt when he was with Mothwing. Could he really... love this cat?
"I don't know, Hawkfrost. I just don't know..." Hawkfrost's spirits fell. Ivypaw didn't love him...
No! That wasn't what he was concerned with... if he couldn't get Ivypaw to continue her visits, then he would never see her beautiful white pelt shining against the darkness of the forest...
Stop! Hawkfrost wanted to yowl in frustration. The plan was to keep Ivypaw loyal to the Dark Forest so they could destroy StarClan. Together. No, no not together. She was just a pawn in Tigerstar's plan... Tigerstar, who loved Sasha; he couldn't let what happened to Sasha happen to Ivypaw.
"It's okay," Hawkfrost padded toward his apprentice, but not close enough to let their fur brush, "No one will know. You don't have to give up the Warrior Code for me."
Hawkfrost caught himself; Ivypaw didn't know she was disobeying the Warrior Code! The whole point of this was to make her think she was helping her Clan, not plotting against it.
"That... that was the mistake I made, and that's why I'm here." Hawkfrost quickly thought up.
Ivypaw's dark blue eyes turned on him, "Thank you." Hawkfrost could hear a purr resonating from her throat, "But, it's not all bad. If you hadn't made that mistake, I would never have met you."
Hawkfrost swallowed the lump in his throat. How could he have let this happen? If was a stupid plan in the first place; how could he have been so mouse-brained?
Suddenly, Ivypaw leaped on top of Hawkfrost, unsheathing her claws, and held on.
She was purring as she whispered in his ear, "Let me make up last night's training session to you."