Chipmunk had always imagined the scenario of him meeting his father, even though the chance of it happening was ever so slightly. The imaginary life-changing moment took place in the crowded city of humans, but nothing could possibly take his eyes off the running figure of his father towards him. He had run through the dialogues of their possible conversation repetitively in his mind, coming up with smart comebacks in response to his years of abandonment. After he expressed his anger, Chipmunk would tell him that his life was lonely without his father and wanted him to stay, no matter what he did in the past which was so unforgivable.

   But never had he ever prepared for this.

   He felt exposed in this small cave as his father's bright green gaze landed on his small figure, searching for something. The small tom shifted nervously in the shadows, feeling uncomfortable with the silence that was filled inside the limited space. Glancing up into the pair of sharp green eyes that shimmered with something that Chipmunk did not understand, he never expected the first meeting to be... so awkward.

   "Falcon," Sika's calm voice broke the tense atmosphere as she continued, "Do you want to have a private talk with your son?"

   Blinking his eyes, Falconshadow shook his head slowly. He twitched his tail behind his back and introduced himself with a smile, "You may not know me but I am Falcon, who is also known as Falconshadow... and I am your father."

   "Um, nice to meet you, fa-Falcon," Chipmunk greeted his father but the word 'father' seemed to be stuck inside his throat. He found it... weird to actually use that word that had been buried in his mind for long.

   Falcon's smile hardened on his face. Instead of continuing the uncomfortable conversation, his glance shifted towards the taller she-cat behind Chipmunk. He questioned with a light tone, "Who is that cat? Your friend, son?"

   Chipmunk did not really understand how Falcon could throw the word 'son' around so easily when he could not even bring up the nerves to call Falcon 'father'. He nodded in response and introduced, "She is Rise, my friend. We were out on an adventure and we met Sika. Then, we were brought here."

   Falcon smiled warmly as Rise greeted him with a low voice that was hardly audible. He expressed his gratitude to Sika for bringing the two to meet him. Then, he returned to the conversation with a causal question and a friendly smile, "So, where is your home currently?"

   Feeling the weight of Rise's glance on his back, he tried to come up with the answer to Falcon's question. He technically had a home, but it was a home that contained too many sad memories for him to return.

   "You know, you can join us. We are the Outlaws. There is and always will be always a spot here for you," Falcon broke the awkward silence, "and your friend if you want to." He quickly added after taking a breath. His eyes stayed briefly on Rise, then looked right into Chipmunk's yellow ones. The depth in his green ones welcomed the small cat, showing affection towards Chipmunk who always wanted it.

   "The Outlaws?" Chipmunk could not help but wonder about the name choice. He knew outlaw meant a cat who had done something against the law... It certainly didn't sound like something good.

   "Oh," Falcon chuckled lightly, "The name was just a joke among us. Nothing special. We were just a casual group of cats who rejected the life of a clan cat and decided to make our own group."

   He earned a sharp glance from Sika but he continued, "Freedom was what we valued and any cat could join us," he walked towards Chipmunk then whispered lightly into his ears, "especially you, son."

   "R-really?" The offer seemed too good to be rejected. He always wanted a family who would be there for him and now that he was homeless, it sounded perfect.

   Falconshadow nodded with sincerity as he started pacing around the room, waiting for Chipmunk's response. When the tom started to accept the offer, a whisper played in the small tom's ears, "B-but wasn't him... the murderer of quite a lot of cats in PeakClan...?"

   Chipmunk turned his head to discover that Rise had already moved behind him, whispering into his ears. Her tail wrapped around his small shoulders, trying to offer comfort, but nothing could stop his spine from suppressing a shiver. Thoughts spinning around in his head once again, the shadows in the dark called. Waving those thoughts away in a blink of an eye, he inhaled deeply. 

   From how his father interacted with him in this meeting, he did not really seem like a cat who killed. Even though the scars in his broken heart told Chipmunk not to trust the others easily and he did not know how to handle another heartbreak again, he felt like Falconshadow had already gained his trust.

   "What did you just say to my son?" The tom raised his eyebrow with curiosity, his smile hardened instantly. Without waiting for a reply, he replied to himself, "Falconshadow is your typical scary serial killer in PeakClan, right?"

   The two smaller cats exchanged their glances in silence, not knowing what to reply. Suddenly, he felt the need to ask. Many cats had told him about his father's past, his identity as a murderer, but he found it hard to believe without hearing the truth directly out of Falconshadow's mouth. Bottling up the courage, Chipmunk asked with a shaky voice, "W-were you the murderer?"

   Falconshadow stopped pacing right in front of Chipmunk sharply without any warnings. He lowered his body until he could look into Chipmunk's widened eyes. The larger tom took a deep breath and whispered, "Chipmunk, do you think I was a murderer?"

   The question and the tone hit the small tom by surprise. Observing the scarred and fierce-looking tom standing in front of him, he would never imagine his father speaking like that. Suddenly, surrounded by the shadows, his father looked shorter and weaker, unlike the strong self that he appeared to be. His green eyes flashed with guilt and filled with words that he wanted but never said.

   "No, I don't think you were." Chipmunk whispered back. He could not explain the reason why he said that, whether it was because he was trying to reassure his father or speaking his real thoughts. He remembered how keen and consistent the cats in PeakClan were, trying to hunt him down and make him pay for his father's mistakes. Nothing seemed... right to him. Which side was truly the side that he should stand and fight for?

   Hearing his son's reply, Falconshadow smiled faintly as he murmured, "Good, keep it that way then."

   "But Falcon-" Sika's sweet voice cut through the thin air, showing a hint of warning, "Chipmunk deserved to know the truth."

   The tom held the weight of Sika's glance and snapped, "But I don't feel like sharing a story right now like those useless elders and that is the case."

   Although Falcon tried to keep his tone as casual as possible, the hint of hardness behind the words could not be ignored as easily. At least Chipmunk sensed it as his shoulders stayed stiffened.

   The yellow-eyed tom watched silently as Falcon walked towards the usual shady spot that he stayed in, the sound of his heavy pawsteps echoed in the cave. When he turned his back towards the three cats, tension and silence were stuffed into the cave. The sunlight brightened Chipmunk's vision and he spotted claw marks all over the stone walls, reflecting lights in different angles.

   Breathing heavily, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. He turned around, discovered that Rise and Sika were already waiting for him at the entrance of the cave.

   Paddling towards them, he found out that he was emotionally and physically exhausted from the tense conversation he just had with his father just now. His paws were sore from all the walking. All he wanted was food and a place for him to have a rest.

   "I guess- today is an eventful day. Wait till I let you two have a rest, eat some food, then we will do some exploring tomorrow? You can decide whether to join the Outlaws or not after knowing more about us." Sika tried to suggest with a cheerful tone, but Chipmunk knew that she was equally tired as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Rise giving him an unreadable look, before turning around and continuing.

   As dirt wrapped around his paws and darkness embraced his vision again when they ambled in the tunnel, he knew it crystal clear - The decision that he was about to make, whether accepting or denying the offer of joining the Outlaws, was going to change his life in a large scale. 

I know I am currently on hiatus, but nothing can stop me from posting my chapter immediately after writing it. This chapter is shorter than normal, about 1.5k words. For that, I apologize. This chapter is not as eventful comparing to the others and I promise, more chaotic things are coming up. 

Just a reminder that I have edited my past chapters. The storyline was changed for a slight bit and there would be more clues, so I really appreciate it if you can take a tiny bit of your time to reread the chapters.

Also, thank you for all of your endless support during this hard time. You have no idea how delighted I am whenever I see a comment and know that you enjoy my work. I probably won't reply to all the comments, but I will definitely read through them. I appreciate all the votes as well, they truly cheer me up a lot.

I will probably post an updated version of the allegiance soon, so stay tuned for that if you want to know more about the characters. If I make any mistakes in the book, please point out the mistake so I can correct them. It truly means a lot if you can help me out

Thanks again for your love towards this book and me.

Best wishes,
twilight