As Hawkshadow and Jet returned to camp with their prey, Hawkshadow noticed that Stonepelt was already up on his paws. She quickly padded up to the grey warrior, and dipped her head in respect, "How are you doing?"
"My head hurts a little, but I am going to be fine. Maplefoot said this cat named Jet saved me from drowning." Stonepelt answered, smiling a little.
"Oh yeah." Hawkshadow looked at Jet who was walking around the camp in confusion. Their best guess why he was doing that was because he didn't know where to put down his fresh-kill.
"I would rather have drowned. "Stonepelt teased, chuckling a bit. The two warriors nodded at each other, and Hawkshadow walked towards the fresh-kill pile, and dropped off her squirrel. Not even looking at clueless Jet, she walked towards Swallowpaw. "How's your training?"
"It's not that bad. It's just a little lonely." Swallowpaw shrugged.
"I can hunt with you sometime if that's what you want." Hawkshadow insisted, staring at Swallowpaw's blue eyes.
"That's really kind of you, Hawkshadow, but I don't want you to waste your time for me. Thunderclan needs your help. I'll be fine by myself. Whitekit and Violetkit will soon become apprentices. I won't be alone for that long." Swallowpaw replied with a soft voice. He shook his head at her, looking a bit depressed.
"If you need me, just tell me." Hawkshadow explained, and she walked off towards the entrance of the camp. She inhaled a large breath of fresh air, and padded into the forest, ready to hunt once again. She looked back to see Jet talking to Whitekit and Violetkit, their mother glaring at Jet from the Nursery. Hawkshadow walked deeper into the forest and towards the halfbridge. She was wondering about what Cedarclaw had said about the cats looking off into Thunderclan territory. She remembered that she was attacked by Stormpaw near the twoleg path, and was deemed a warrior by Tailstar and Cedarclaw for her bravery of driving off a Shadowclan cat. She obtained a headache as she thought of how Tailstar and Cedarclaw were proud of something Hawkshadow hasn't done. Hawkshadow sighed deeply, and padded closer and closer to the halfbridge. As she neared the halflbridge, she saw a black tom walking across the twoleg path. It was Nightpaw.
Nightpaw looked at Hawkshadow, but didn't step onto Thunderclan territory. "Hello, Hawkpaw! How is Thunderclan?"
Hawkshadow walked up to the twoleg path, but didn't fully place her paws onto the sandy path. "Who's Hawkpaw?"
Nightpaw tilted his head in confusion, but then nodded in agreement, "You became a warrior! That's great! I did as well! My warrior name is Nightwhisker. What's yours?" Nightpaw grinned happily.
"I am Hawkshadow. And do you know this ginger tom in Thunderclan?"
Nightwhisker pondered for a moment. He then stared at Hawkshadow's yellow eyes, "He was one of the cats that came to rescue you from Stormpaw, right?"
Hawkshadow nodded, "He got his warrior name. His new name is Foxheart."
"Congratulations to him! Stormpaw received his warrior name, too. His name is now Stormfire." Nightwhisker meowed happily. He turned around to make sure no Shadowclan cat has been hearing their conversation.
"I see." Hawkshadow replied blankly. She felt an urge to claw Stormfire's muzzle after their battle near the twoleg path. She said nothing else as she stared at Nightwhisker, giving a clue for him to start up another conversation.
"How are all the dawn patrols going? It seems heavily packed with warriors. It's like Tailstar hasn't left any guards back at your camp." Nightwhisker asked, changing the subject.
"Nutbeam, Foxheart, and I are usually left to guard the camp with the apprentice, kits, queens, and elders." Hawkshadow answered, looking up into the trees.
"Apprentice? Does that mean there's only one?" Nightwhisker asked in astonishment.
"Yeah…The apprentice is Swallowpaw. He has to do all the apprentice jobs with no help. I insist on helping him, but he doesn't want me to." Hawkshadow answered, her voice extremely low.
"Let him do what he wants to do. Perhaps he wants to show the warriors that he can fulfill the apprentice jobs all by himself so he can become a warrior quicker." Nightwhisker explained, dipping his head slowly. "Give him some time."
"Do you think so?" Hawkshadow's eyes glittered in admiration, "You're pretty sweet for a warrior from Shadowclan. She licked his shoulder in affection.
Nightwhisker chuckled, and then gently pawed at her head. She happily meowed back, and Nightwhisker frowned, "I wish I was born in Thunderclan instead of Shadowclan. I have to live with Owlstar as my father and Stormfire as my brother. The only family member that is actually nice to me is my mother, Threeclaws."
"Don't worry, Nightwhisker. I'm sure they will respect you someday. Just stay strong, and become the best warrior of Shadowclan." Hawkshadow mewed happily.
"Promise me you'll do the same thing as well, ok?" Nightwhisker pleaded, his bright eyes twinkling.
"There's no doubt about that." Hawkshadow replied, flicking her tail back and forth. She turned her head around, and then looked up at the sky, "I better get back to camp. Thank you so much for the advice. I hope Swallowpaw will be alright." She looked at Nightwhisker once again, and then padded off towards the Thunderclan camp.
"Don't get yourself killed!" Nightwhisker mewed. He watched her walk off into the shadows, not thinking once about his own clan. As Hawkshadow disappeared into the yellow, red, and green bushes that signaled the coming of Leaf-fall. He turned towards the Shadowclan camp, and padded off into the fir trees that covered all of his clan's territory.
Meanwhile, as Hawkshadow was padding closer and closer to the entrance to camp, she caught sight of Jet and Echowing practicing their battle moves together. They were in sync with each other, and they moved gracefully across the forest floor. Hawkshadow couldn't believe what was going on.They were happily laughing and telling jokes to each other. It was obvious that they were starting to like each other. But, Hawkshadow thought, Echowing's mate is Stonepelt. What is she doing falling in love with Jet?
As Echowing's ears started to turn towards Hawkshadow, the black and white warrior silently sprinted away from them. She raced back to camp, nearly tripping over the cliff because of how fast she was running. She took a deep breath in and walked towards the Elder's Den where Swallowpaw was cleaning out Flamestone's fur. The first cat she met was Stonepelt. She stopped in her tracks, wondering if she should say anything about Echowing and Jet. "H-Hi, Stonepelt."
Stonepelt turned his head towards her in worry. "Are you okay, Hawkshadow? You seem different than the last time we talked. What's up?"
"It's nothing, Stonepelt. I'm just tired." Hawkshadow lied, letting her head hang.
Stonepelt slowly nodded, wondering why Hawkshadow did that, "It's almost supper. Perhaps you should go and hunt for some more fresh-kill. We don't want anyone starving tonight." He padded off into the forest to catch some prey. He met Echowing on the way, and they licked each other's shoulders. But, Echowing didn't seem pleased with the affection her mate was giving her.
Hawkshadow turned her head away from the two warriors, and walked towards Swallowpaw who was spreading mouse bile on Flamestone's fur. She could clearly hear him struggling not to lick his paws clean of the mouse bile. "How's it going here?"
Swallowpaw jumped into the air a little, almost smacking Flamestone right in the muzzle with the mouse bile. "Hi, Hawkshadow! I heard there's a new warrior in camp. His name is Jet, right?"
Hawkshadow nodded, "I don't really trust him. He was once a loner, and he has been trying to bond with Echowing a little too much."
"Maybe he's just trying to be friendly." Swallowpaw suggested, pawing the last of the mouse bile onto Flamestone's fur to get rid of the annoying tick that was angering the honorable elder.
"Perhaps you're right, but I think he wants her to be his mate." Hawkshadow replied in worry.
Swallowpaw and Flamestone's eyes widened. "But what kind of cat would want to be in love with a cat like him? I bet he doesn't even know how to hunt correctly." Swallowpaw growled.
"I saw him walking back and forth from the fresh-kill pile to the forest with no fresh-kill! Apparently, he's still used to the amount of food he catches every day. I guess Tailstar needs warriors badly." Flamestone explained, his head low and his ears pricked up.
"Maybe Tailstar thinks that she can use him as a decoy in battles. After all, a plump loner like him doesn't stand a chance against Shadowclan warriors." Oaksong meowed as he approached the Elder's Den. He sat down on his own nest and then began thoroughly cleaning his front paws.
"But Tailstar isn't like that. And Jet is a good hunter. I saw him hunt like a forest-born warrior. All he needs is some training, and he will be ready to serve the clan like a true Thunderclan warrior." Hawkshadow explained, her ears pulled back.
"It sounds reasonable, Hawkshadow, but I don't think anyone has faith in Jet." Swallowpaw mewed.
"He's probably going to run away from the clan in a few days. He'll run off back to the horseplace where Cedarclaw said he lived." Flamestone added, getting up to wash his legs in the lake to get rid of the mouse bile. Swallowpaw followed him, his paws careful not to get any bile on the den or anything that is valuable to Thunderclan.
"Maybe he'll even take Echowing!" Oaksong teased happily. He yawned softly, and then let his head drop onto his nest. He then curled into a little ball for an afternoon nap.
That's what I'm afraid of, Hawkshadow thought in worry. She sighed deeply, and then walked out of the Elder's Den. She watched Swallowpaw and Flamestone walk off into the forest, and then she walked off into the forest as well. She wondered what would happen to Thunderclan now…Now that a loner has been accepted into Thunderclan.