Chapter 13

Hawkfrost

"Do we really need to climb that?" Ivypool asked him when she saw the mountain peak.
"Yes." he answered.
"How great." she murmured.
"Hey, if you fall, I'll catch you. Or if you don't have enough energy then I'll carry you. I don't care how, but you will surely survive this journey." Hawkfrost reassured her.

Ivypool gave him a surprised look. "O-Okay, thanks." she muttered.
The tom twitched an ear, signing that he heard her. "You should go first." he mewed.
"Shouldn't you go first? Then you can warn me if… if something is in the way…" Ivypool mewed.
"If you go in front of me then I see you, and can help you easier. Besides, other cats are waiting."

Ivypool muttered something, but did what he suggested. Her fur slightly brushed his when she walked past him, confusing the tom's thoughts again.

She took a careful step, but a few little stones rolled down, and she almost stumbled. Hawkfrost followed her.
"Watch out." he whispered to her.
"I'll try." she replied quietly.

A sunrise later they were still climbing. A ShadowClan apprentice walked in front of Ivypool.
"Hey. I'm Ivypool of RiverClan. Who are you?" the she-cat asked him friendly.
"I-I'm Smokepaw." the apprentice replied shyly. Oh no. He's the Smokepaw who fell down. Hawkfrost thought.

Russetfur turned around to him. "You shouldn't talk to these RiverClan warriors, Smokepaw!" she hissed. Then she turned back again.

Hawkfrost bit his lip. What if Ivypool tries to help him? She could fall too! He twitched his tail frustrated.

A strong breeze made him narrow his eyes. The silver she-cat in front of him flattened her ears and drew back, bumping into him. Her fur was soft, and Hawkfrost found himself closing his eyes and inhaling her scent. It was sweet, and somehow he longed for the silver tabby she-cat's closeness.

"S-Sorry!" Ivypool mewed, shaking him out of his thoughts. Suddenly he heard a desperate scream. A boulder cracked down, and Smokepaw could barely hold himself.

Russetfur tried to help him, but Ivypool was in the way. She snatched at him, but her paws rolled more rocks, and Smokepaw lost his grip. He fell.

The silver she-cat jumped too fast and intensive, she lurched. Hawkfrost bit her tail and dragged her back.

She hit the cliff, but she quickly got to her paws. Her eyes widened.
"He… he died?" she whispered, gazing at him like she didn't believe it.
"Yeah" he answered. The she-cat pouted and murmured something.

"We should go on. Cats behind us are waiting." he told her. Ivypool twitched an ear and continued to walk.

Ivypool

"Why are you so upset about that apprentice's death? He wasn't your clanmate." Hawkfrost mewed. Ivypool took a bite from the vole they were sharing.

"I don't care what Clan he was from. I don't like to witness death, especially when I could have saved him!"
"You didn't save him, and you couldn't do it, he would have fallen anyway. And complaining won't bring him back."
The she-cat growled at him as an answer.

Hawkfrost bent down to take a bite and Ivypool tried to push his head lower with a paw. He chuckled and let her do that, until his muzzle was a whisker-width away from the earth.

Ivypool tried to push him lower with two paws, but the tom only sneered. She could barely stop herself from biting his ear. Instead, she bit the vole's tail and pulled it to herself before Hawkfrost could take a bite.

"Hey!" he gave her a forceful clout on her ear. "Give it back!"
"No way! You will have to find someone else who is able to stand you!"

"Ha-ha-ha, very funny." Hawkfrost sounded annoyed. He pushed her aside. "Now let me eat something too!" he growled. Ivypool rolled her eyes.
"Mousebrained idiot." she murmured, loud enough for the tom to hear. He glared at her.
"Continue, and I'll sink my teeth into your throat, ThunderClan-crowfood!" he hissed.

"As you wish!" she growled, getting to her paws. The tom snarled, and rose to his full height too. He was taller than her, and Ivypool shivered, suddenly remembering he was much stronger.

"I never thought you wanted to end up like Hollyleaf." he growled menacingly.
"How do you know it's not you who will end up like her?" she hissed, unsheathing her claws. Her fur began to rise.
"We will see that!" Hawkfrost mewed tauntingly.

"What's going on here?" a voice asked. Squirrelpaw jumped next to her and narrowed her eyes. "Are you really so mad that you want to start a fight with your 'clanmate'? Maybe you could kill her too!" she snarled at Hawkfrost. He bared his teeth.

"That would be too hard to explain." he declared. Squirrelpaw's fur bristled.
"Get lost! Mind your own business, Squirrelpaw! This has nothing to do with you! It's our problem, mine and Hawkfrost's!" Ivypool hissed.
"It will be mine if he hurts you! We're kin!"
"Nobody cares! Get. Lost. Now." Hawkfrost growled, taking a step towards her.

"And what if I don't?" Squirrelpaw demanded.
"Ivypool? Hawkfrost? Squirrelpaw? What's the problem?" Stormfur appeared. Squirrelpaw answered immediately.
"They had an argument." she told him.

"And that's something that has nothing to do with you!" Hawkfrost added.
"He's right, Squirrelpaw. We should leave them alone." Stormfur mewed.
"Are you serious? You want to leave these hot-headed mousebrains alone? They will hurt each other!" the she-cat argued.

Stormfur narrowed his eyes. "How would you know? They're not your clanmates."
"Umm… bu-but I heard… I mean, I… I…" Squirrelpaw became silent.
"She already saw us argue before, when she was at the border. And since none of us wanted to be quiet…" Hawkfrost shrugged.

Stormfur blinked. "Alright. But I still don't know why a cat from an other clan should care about this." he mewed to the apprentice.
"I don't want any other cat dead… we already lost Feathertail and that ShadowClan apprentice…"she pouted.

Ivypool surpressed a growl. That lying crow-food! She glanced at Hawkfrost. He looked furious too, though she knew he was mad because of the two other cats. The tom turned his gaze to her, and their eyes met for a moment. Ivypool thought his expression changed when that happened, but they both looked quickly away.

Why don't they just leave us alone? Squirrelpaw and Stormfur have nothing to do with this!, she thought.
"Hawkfrost? I'm sorry for calling you a fishbrained idiot." she mewed. The tom blinked surprised at her, but he quickly knew what she wanted to do.
"Sorry for hurting you." he said.

Stromfur's ears pricked and Squirrelpaw's gaze was surprised. Before they could say anything, Hawkfrost walked past them, signing her to follow him. Ivypool made sure to give Squirrelpaw a glare as she walked past her.

"It's unbelieveable what this fox-breath is doing!" Hawkfrost growled. Ivypool hesitated.
"At least none of us is dead." she said.
"I already said that would be too hard to explain."
"I know. And I have enough of Squirrelpaw too!" she murmured.

"Was about time." the tom commented.
"Ha-ha-ha! Really funny." she repeated his words.
"I know." he told her with a smirk.

"And when you said I would need to find someone who could stand me, were you serious?" he asked hastily.
"I only said it because I was mad at you."
"Then we can still travel together?"
"Yeah, I guess." she mumbled.

Hawkfrost grinned. "Great." he mewed.

"Hawkfrost?"
"Hmm?"
"I wanted to ask if you ate anything from that vole." Ivypool mewed.
"I didn't eat anything this day." he replied like that wasn't anything strange.

"And are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah." the tom replied curtly. Ivypool rolled her eyes, growling angrily. Why couldn't he notice she was worried about him?
"No need to worry about me." he added when she growled.

The cats stopped. It was already dark, nobody wanted to risk climbing any further. Hawkfrost suddenly appeared at Ivypool's side.
"Hello. I only wanted to say good night." he mewed a little bit shyly. The she-cat blinked more times, then shuffled awkwardly with her paws.
"I… I wanted to ask if you would share a nest with me…?" she mewed quietly to him.

Hawkfrost's ears pricked and he seemed to be surprised. "Okay, if you want to." he said, narrowing his eyes.
"I only thought about what Mothwing said lately." she quickly explained. Did he narrow his eyes to hide his feelings, or to tell her she acted strangely?

Hawkfrost nodded. "It's okay."

Ivypool felt hot beneath her pelt when Hawkfrost lay down next to her. He licked his chest a few times, then his gaze fixed her. The she-cat gave him a confused look.
"Why do you always wait for me to fall asleep?" she asked.
"Because you need to do that first."
"Why would I?"
The tom growled annoyed.
"Because I snore so loud you couldn't sleep for the whole night!" he grumbled.
"Oh." she answered curtly. "And what if we… I don't know, talked? It's still a little bit early and I'm not that tired." she lied.

Even though she still didn't really trust the tom, she thought he could be her friend. Maybe. But Dovewing isn't here! Neither Whitewing, nor Blossomfall, nor Cinderheart, nor Birchfall, nor anyone else I could talk with! Squirrelpaw is annoying, and I don't really know what Brambleclaw's interests are. My family and my friends are gone! Moreover, now they are from a rival clan! The only one I can have a normal conversation with is Hawkfrost. We're clanmates, no one would suspect us if we spent time together.

Hawkfrost shrugged.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"Hmmm… for example, how would you name Squirrelpaw by her warriors ceremony?"
"Squirrelbrain. Isn't that obvious?" he grunted and the she-cat giggled.

"Okay, that was a good one." she admitted.
"What name would you give her?" he asked.
"Um… hmm… maybe Squirrelclaw."
"Squirrelclaw? That's a strange one." he commented.
"I think it's rather sarcastic. I mean, a squirrel's claws are small, and squirrels can only climb trees and run like a coward." she mewed.

Hawkfrost smiled at her. "That's true. Squirrelpaw's tongue is sharper than her claws are."
"How do you know, did you two already meet in battle?"
"No, but I've seen her fight. That was one of the worst experiences of my life!" he joked.

Hawkfrost narrowed his eyes. "Do you really hate her? She was your clanmate, after all…"
"She was my clanmate. You are my clanmate now."
"But she's your kin."
"She's from a rival clan."
"She's still your kin."
"Brambleclaw is your kin, and you don't really like each other."

The tom growled loudly. "That's not the same."
"It is. He's your kin. In fact, he's your brother."
"Half-brother."
"What's the difference? How am I related to Squirrelflight? My mother's father's mother is the sister of her father. I don't think that's a so close kinship like yours and Brambleclaws."

Hawkfrost hissed. "I don't care! Fine, you can hate Squirrelpaw if you want to, not my business anyways!"
"I didn't say anything bad! What did I do now that you're furious again?!"
The tom curled his lip and snarled.
"Brambleclaw." he simply answered.

"What's wrong with him?"
"Maybe that he's a traitor!" the tom hissed loudly, unsheathing his claws and digging them into the earth.
"Traitor?" Ivypool repeated. Instead of hissing too, she remained calm. "Why is he a traitor?" she asked him.

"He killed me."
"I know."
"How would you? You weren't there."
"I was."
"But I didn't mean… grr! Tell me Ivypool, why did you hate to go to the Dark Forest so much?"
"Maybe because you taught me how to kill my clanmates, lied to me, used me and-."

"And because…" Hawkfrost interrupted."…it was dark and stinking and… I'd rather not continue. Now, could you imagine being there year after year? And you can never ever leave." he asked her. Ivypool's eyes widened. She never thought of that before. Thinking about being forever in that place until she faded away made her feel sick.

"No." she whispered. Hawkfrost nodded.
"And what would you do with the cat or cats who sent you there?" he asked. Ivypool hesitated. Someone who sent her to that horrible place?

"What do you mean?"
Hawkfrost leaned closer.
"StarClan, the cat who killed you, the one who convinced you to do something that would guarantee you went to the Dark Forest…" he whispered.

Ivypool shut her eyes. What would I do? Could I do anything? Why should I do anything? she asked herself.
"So?" the tom asked.
"I don't know." she whispered. "I mean, I couldn't do anything, could I?"
"And what's up with revenge?" he pronounced the word as if it was a good thing.

"R-Revenge? I… I don't know."
"If you had been a Dark Forest cat, you'd know." he growled.
"But how does this connect to Brambleclaw?"
"I already said it was him who killed me. Now, I think you heard that I died 'mysteriously' in ThunderClan's territory."

"I think I heard something like that, yes."
"Well, I didn't die mysteriously. Brambleclaw killed me for the first time."
"Wha… What?!" Ivypool repeated.
"Do you understand now why I hate him so much? I trusted him, and then he got the idea to sink a stake into my throat." Hawkfrost growled. "Then he watched me bleed."

The she-cat stared at him shocked. She only noticed now that he leaned even more closer to her.
"But don't tell those mange-pelts I told you." he whispered. His whiskers slightly brushed her cheek and her ears burned with embarrassment.

They stared at each other for a long time. Their eyes met for a moment, but Ivypool looked quickly away.

"Shouldn't we sleep a little bit?" she asked quietly. Hawkfrost twitched an ear.
"Are you bored?"
"N-no, just tired." she stammered. The tom nodded.
"Okay."

Hawkfrost's POV

Ivypool pressed close against him and Hawkfrost stared at her.
"It's so cold." she whispered.
"Yeah." he muttered.

Suddenly she shivered.
"Still cold?" Hawkfrost asked and leaned close.
"N-no, it's just… still strange to be so close to you" she murmured.
"So close to me?" the tom repeated.

Ivypool stared at her paws. "Y-yeah, kind of."
"Aham. And being close to any other tom isn't strange?" he asked.
"Well, sometimes it is." she replied. "And could I sleep please? I'm tired." she muttered.

Hawkfrost wanted to growl, but then he only grumbled a 'yes'.

A/N (2014)

In this chapter Hawkfrost starts to like Ivypool, but she... she is attracted to him, but she doesn't let him (too) close. Except for that last part where they share a nest. Of course the 'it's cold' and 'Moth said bla bla bla' parts are only excuses to be close to the other. ^.^

In the last conversation Ivypool says it's strange to be so close to Hawkfrost, but that also could mean it's special. So when Hawkfrost asks if she's only feeling that way when she is close to him, she answers she had similar situations where she felt the same way. And Hawkfrost is jealous and angry, because 'why does she like someone else, too?!'. I mean Ivypool probably had some admirers in ThunderClan, e.g. Foxleap or Toadstep, idk.

A/N (2018)

Squirrelflight, on the behalf of 14 year old me, I apologize. I am more friendly with you in later chapters.