Chapter 5

Hawkfrost paced anxiously along the WindClan border, glancing over his shoulder every so often to check for WindClan patrols. It wasn't like Leafpool to be so tardy—especially not now that she was so heavily pregnant. Leaf-bare was setting in, and the temperatures were dropping quickly. He hated that they had to meet so late in the night, but for the third time, Leafpool had refused his plea for her to leave with him. He was getting restless and frustrated, but he couldn't get his mate to budge even a mouse-length on the matter. It never failed though; all of his worries melted away as soon as he saw the pretty tabby waddling his way. Every time he managed to force himself to think that maybe—just maybe—things would be okay if they stayed.

"Hawkfrost?"

The dark tabby was immediately shaken from his thoughts at the sound of Leafpool's tired meow. "Leafpool!" He rushed across the border, obliviously the stream of chilled water as he pushed into the undergrowth and wrapped himself around the medicine cat. "I've been so worried, what took you so long?"

Leafpool purred gently, soothing Hawkfrost's nerves with a few gentle licks on his shoulder. "I just don't move as fast anymore." The RiverClan warrior knew there was more to it than that, but he didn't pry, he only pushed himself closer.

"If you say so," he muttered, leaning down to lick her ears. He was desperate to bring up the topic of leaving again, but knew better than to upset the queen, so he settled for sharing tongues with her, ever-aware of how tired she was. He lost track of time as she dozed off and on under his gentle care, amazed by how she still managed to take his breath away. It wasn't until the undergrowth started rustling fervently that the dark warrior grew alert again. He stood slowly, trying not to wake Leafpool as he stood over her.

"Hawkfrost!" The dark tabby growled deep in his chest as Squirrelflight erupted into the quiet clearing. "What are you doing to my sister?"

"Mind your own business," he snarled, unsheathing his claws.

"This is ThunderClan territory—anything that happens here is my business." Squirrelflight bared her teeth.

Hawkfrost felt Leafpool stirring beneath him. "H-Hawkfrost? What's…" Her warm amber eyes shot wide with distress when she saw Squirrelflight. "Squirrelflight? What are you doing here?" She scrambled to her paws. Hawkfrost felt a flicker of satisfaction at the shock in Squirrelflight's eyes when Leafpool stood steadfast at his side.

"That's what I should be asking you! Why's this RiverClan warrior here?" Squirrelflight lashed her tail.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Hawkfrost scraped his claws furiously against the cold ground as another ThunderClan cat emerged from the undergrowth. "How many ThunderClan cats need to be out of camp this late at night?" He hissed defiantly.

"None," he recognized Leafpool's mentor as she hobbled forward to stand beside Squirrelflight, her blue eyes blazing with fury. She didn't even glance at Hawkfrost, though, her livid gaze never left Leafpool. "So he's the father, then?"

"Father?" Squirrelflight echoed. Leafpool trembled at Hawkfrost's side, and he pressed his flank against hers.

"Yes," Cinderpelt meowed, her voice like splintering ice.

"N-no," Leafpool stammered. "You've got it all wrong!"

"I'm not stupid, Leafpool!" The calm in Cinderpelt's voice broke suddenly, and she lashed her tail as she stepped closer.

Hawkfrost thrust himself in front of Leafpool, pulling his lips back in a threatening sneer. "Take one step closer and I swear by StarClan-"

"Hawkfrost, no," Leafpool nudged him gently. "That's not necessary, Cinderpelt would never hurt me." He hesitated, his icy blue eyes burning into Leafpool's apologetic gaze. "You should go," she continued softly. Hawkfrost didn't budge.

"I'm not going to leave you here to face them alone." He insisted hotly.

"Please," she touched her muzzle to his, exhaling in a soft whisper, "I'll see you soon, I promise."

He stepped back, glaring at Squirrelflight and Cinderpelt in turn before finally dipping his head and turning back towards his own territory. Fury gave him wings as he thundered around the lake, his unsheathed claws leaving scours in the cold leaf-bare ground. If they harm a single hair on her pelt… He didn't need to finish the thought. When he made it back to RiverClan's camp, he went straight to Mothwing's den, where he paced beside the small stream.

Finally, the dappled she-cat yawned and rose, stretching slowly. "It's barely dawn, what are you so worked up about?"

Hawkfrost spun to face his sister, stepping closer to her before explaining in a hushed tone everything that had happened. It took everything he had not to swipe at the medicine cat when she rolled her eyes.

"Are you honestly surprised, Hawkfrost?" She raised a paw to stop his heated objection. "I told you—nothing good ever comes from relationships like these. What kind of medicine cat would Cinderpelt be if she couldn't tell that her own apprentice was expecting kits?"

"That's not the point." Hawkfrost growled. "They're never going to let her out of camp again. If she had just considered leaving with me…"

"Would that have solved everything?" Mothwing offered dryly. "If she had considered? No. Honestly, Hawkfrost, sometimes you're as wise as Leopardstar and sometimes I could swear you've got minnows swimming around in your head!"

"Who's got minnows in their head?" Mistyfoot looked thoroughly confused as she enter the small medicine clearing.

Hawkfrost lashed his tail. "No one. Is there something you need?"

"You," the blue-gray deputy answer simply. "You're on the dawn patrol today, remember?"

Well that's just fantastic. "Right." He shot Mothwing one last, icy glare before brushing past Mistyfoot and padding to the middle of the camp. It seemed that Blackclaw and Volepaw were already waiting for him. "Let's go," he growled as he passed them, leading them out and towards the WindClan border. He calmed significantly as they patrolled the border, enough that he managed to appreciate his Clan-mates' jabs at WindClan as they finished marking the border.

"You'll learn to appreciate being told to patrol the WindClan border," Blackclaw was joking with his apprentice. "It's just a morning stroll. We'll have plenty of time to hunt on the way back."

Hawkfrost opened his mouth to add a comment about turning their patrol into a hunt when a different scent—a sweet, familiar scent—reached him. When Blackclaw stiffened and narrowed his eyes, Hawkfrost realized it was too late to make a cover story and send his Clan-mates on ahead.

"Do you smell that?" The smoky black warrior flexed his claws.

Hawkfrost flicked his tail, motioning for silence. Slowly, he stalked forward, following the faint ThunderClan scent. He shouldered his way through some withered ferns, mixed feelings of fear and fury rising in his chest when he saw Leafpool crouching before him. She looked as if she had run there all the way from the old forest.

"Well, well," he growled. "What do we have here?"

Leafpool's amber gaze snapped up to meet his, a million emotions shimmering in their depths. There was a sort of muted excitement in them, nearly smothered by fear and a touch of urgency that told Hawkfrost that she was here to see him—and whatever the reason, it was serious.

"A ThunderClan spy?" Blacklaw hissed as he joined them.

Hawkfrost rolled his eyes. "Hardly," he muttered. "It's their medicine cat. Mothwing mentioned needing to speak with her."

"So should we bring her back to camp?" Volepaw piped up, blinking curiously at the exhausted she-cat.

"We may as well," Hawkfrost stepped forward, nudging Leafpool to her paws. Blackclaw nodded, turning and padding towards the camp. "Go on," Hawkfrost growled at Volepaw. "Tell Mothwing that Leafpool's here to see her." As the apprentice bounded away, Hawkfrost offered his shoulder to his mate. "What are you doing here?" He hissed under his breath.

"I had to see you," Leafpool murmured urgently. She was leaning heavily against him. "There's something I've got to tell you."

Hawkfrost lashed his tail. "And it's so important that you had to sprint all the way around the lake and into RiverClan territory—putting yourself in danger—to tell me?"

They were almost to the camp, and Hawkfrost slowed their pace, still seething as he waited for a response. Leafpool suddenly stopped, her gaze falling to the ground.

"Well?" The dark tabby demanded, turning to glare down at the tired she-cat. Try as he might, he couldn't keep his gaze as cold as he wanted as he noticed how rounded her flanks were. "Leafpool," he insisted, trying to stay stern.

Slowly, she brought her eyes up to meet his. She took a deep breath and murmured, so softly that Hawkfrost nearly couldn't hear, "I've decided to leave with you."

The fury instantly melted out of Hawkfrost's eyes, and his heart nearly stopped beating in his chest. "Leafpool," he exhaled softly. "Leafpool are you sure? What about ThunderClan?"

The tabby queen shook her head. "I'll explain everything later," she mewed. "For now, shouldn't we go see Mothwing?"

Hawkfrost shook his head. "No." He stepped forward, pressing his muzzle against hers. "No, we should leave now."

Leafpool blinked up at him. "Now? But don't you want to tell her goodbye?"

"No," the dark warrior muttered. "We shouldn't tell anyone, or they may try to stop us. Then we'll never get this chance again." He hesitated. "Did you tell anyone from ThunderClan?"

"No… After my fight with Squirrelflight and Cinderpelt I went to the Moonpool, then I came straight here to find you."

"Good," he rasped his tongue over her ear, trying to comfort the pretty medicine cat. "I know it's scary," he could see her paws trembling, and he pressed himself against her as he continued, "But I won't ever leave your side again. I'll protect you—and our kits."

"Oh, Hawkfrost…" Leafpool buried her face in the RiverClan warrior's thick fur. The dark tabby let her for a moment, then gave her an urgent nudge.

"We need to get going. We can follow the river out of RiverClan territory and decide what to do next from there." Hawkfrost touched his nose to her ear as she nodded a small agreement. "Thank-you, Leafpool," he murmured softly. "I promise you won't regret this."

The light brown tabby purred quietly. "I know I won't," she assured him.

As much as Hawkfrost would have liked to, he knew that they couldn't stand around talking all day. We need to get moving. Leafpool won't be able to travel very far today, and we need to get out of RiverClan territory before Blackclaw comes looking for us.

"Come on," he brushed his tail down her side, and the queen nodded, falling in step beside him as he began padding towards the edge of RiverClan's territory. They set a good pace, and though he could sense the hesitation in her snow white paws, Leafpool didn't even blink as they passed into the unexplored land behind RiverClan's territory. Hawkfrost felt all of his love for the medicine cat crash over him. How did I get so lucky? No cat deserves her, yet here she is beside me…

As the tabby thought, it didn't take long for Leafpool to slow down, and when the sun began to set, Hawkfrost stopped. "Look there," he pointed with his tail towards a beech tree growing alongside the river. Ferns grew around the roots and offered protection from the bitter leaf-bare wind. "Why don't we rest there tonight?"

Leafpool blinked the exhaustion from her eyes as she looked up at him. "Are you sure?" She asked skeptically. "We haven't covered very much distance…"

Hawkfrost purred in amusement. "Yes, I'm sure. I can tell that you're exhausted, Leafpool. Come on." He heard her sigh as she followed him to the welcoming shelter. He parted his jaws, inhaling deeply to check for any danger. Leafpool did the same before shaking her head.

"I can't smell anything dangerous," she meowed, her words followed immediately by a hue yawn.

"I can't either," the dark warrior confirmed. "But I do smell prey." He swiped his tongue around his lips. "I'll be right back."

It didn't take long for the RiverClan warrior to catch a nouse for each of them, and a plump water vole to share. He carried his catch back to the clump of ferns, where Leafpool had scraped together a nest of moss and reeds between the roots of the beech tree and under the shelter of the ferns.

"Those look fantastic," she purred warmly as Hawkfrost deposited the fresh-kill before her. She wasted no time tucking into one of the mice, polishing it off before Hawkfrost had even settled down beside her. The dark tabby felt his whiskers twitch in amusement.

"Don't eat too fast," he teased. "You're going to give yourself a stomach ache."

The medicine cat rolled her eyes. "Speak for yourself," she mewed playfully, though she ate her half of the vole more slowly. Another yawn escaped her lips as Hawkfrost finished the vole, and the warrior began grooming the pretty tabby's pelt. She purred contentedly, curling up against him as he continued. He could tell that she was slipping, his rhythmic grooming lulling her to sleep.

"Goodnight, Hawkfrost," Leafpool mumbled. "I love you."

Hawkfrost's heart filled with the same fire it had the first time he had ever heard her utter those three soft words, and warmth lingered in every hair of his pelt. "Goodnight, Leafpool." He rested his muzzle against hers, purring quietly when he realized she was already fast asleep. "I love you, too."

A/N: This chapter got a little mushy, buuuut... I hope you liked it anyway! ^.^ From here, there are a couple of things that could happen.

1: They live as rogues, name their kits accordingly, and never look back.

2: They give their kits Clan names, and found a Clan of their own, made of rogues and such.

3: They give their kits Clan names, and find the Tribe, who are fleeing from the rogues in the mountains, and turn them into a Clan.

Please, please, PLEASE help me decide! I've already got names and appearances for the kits, but I am seriously at a loss at where this story should go from here. Thank-you all so much for your time and support! I can't wait to see what you all think for the continuation of this story.