Before Adderheart could even dream of saying anything, he heard a noise.

It was not a soft one for sure, otherwise, there would've been no possibility of him hearing it. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It rung out as an earsplitting yowl, one tinged and plagued by something like agony. It didn't sound feminine nor masculine, and it appeared to be muffled as if the cat or creature had been gagged by moss of some sort.

Pantherleap clearly heard it too, as his head jerked to the side, eyes sharpening at the sound.

"Did you hear that?" He asked tentatively, rising to his paws as his tail began to flick nervously against the ground. Sniffling, Adderheart nodded.

"It sounded like a scream... do you think the apprentices are in trouble?" He questioned softly.

"The apprentices?" Pantherleap turned around, head tipping as he studied the tom. "What happened to them?"

Adderheart watched as he seemed to amble away a bit and he quickly skimped after him. Anything to get away from the awful place that was now stained within his mind with tears and awful feelings. He never wanted to go back and hoped he'd never end up there by some awful, terrible 'miracle'.

He would plan to explain as he walked, not really willing to waste any time. As much as he hated thinking of it as a distraction from what had occurred to him, Pantherleap seemed to take it as one. Was it on purpose? Did the other tom take it as a distraction too? What if he actually didn't want to help? A pang of hurt spread through him. Why? He didn't know. He just shoved it away. He didn't want to think anymore. He wanted to explain, and actually continue with it.

"Nothing happened. They just began their mid-assessments today," he commented, swerving lightly around a tree. Pantherleap's pace was fairly even, with pawsteps and strides that were easy and careful.

"Without you?" He asked, not turning around. The warrior leaped nimbly over a small section of pine needles but Adderheart chose to just walk straight across them. He found it strange that some others leaped over areas where it might or could minorly pain them to walk. His ear twitched.

He replied, "Yes, without me... None of them spoke to me before either. Finchpaw, she was going to say something to me, but I suppose she didn't want to."

"When?" Pantherleap prompted, and the tom stopped in his tracks. His head tipped and his ears perked as if to try and relocate the sound. Adderheart had noticed that Pantherleap seemed to be shifting a lot of the focus onto his day and what had happened to him leading up to the incident.

Is he trying to figure out what happened to me before so he can see whether or not it was caused by him?

The thought felt strange in his mind like it was a forbidden one that he could never possibly conjure up. But somehow, he did. Everything felt strange, he soon realized. The trees around seemed to peer into his soul, picking apart his mind and his thoughts until little multicolored shreds were left.

And the sun above seemed to try to pick up these shreds, to put them back together with the soft and pleasant glue of a warm and kind sun, but it was impossible. The shreds were torn and shredded beyond recognition, something never to be fixed until a certain action or set of actions were to happen.

Yet in order to figure out what those actions were, the threads needed to be put back together. Only if the threads were wrapped and put back together did they spell out the answer. But in order for the threads to come together, the answer needed to come first... creating an endless, terrible cycle for the sufferer.

"Adderheart?" Pantherleap turned slightly to look at the tom, eyes questioning yet not rude in any sort of way. They weren't prying or sharp like the trees were, and a spark of gratitude lit up Adderheart for that. At this though, the threads seemed to tie together.

"Sorry, what? I missed that," Adderheart lied, and the words slipped right off his tongue with no issues at all.

Pantherleap muffled a sigh and then he turned once more, looking at the forest. "Never mind."

Confusion sparked deep within the pale-furred senior warrior and Adderheart carefully circled Pantherleap, standing in front of the tawny-pelted tom. He tipped his head curiously and studied him.

"What?" He prompted gently, nudging him.

"It's okay, we've just got to investigate what those sounds were," Pantherleap dismissed with a flick of his paw forming. He swiftly seemed to brush by the tom, fur touching, and Adderheart blinked, glancing after him. After a short pause, he quickly padded after the other tom. He couldn't fall behind again.

A light silence squeezed between the cats. It seemed to slowly encroach upon their minds, though not necessarily in a bad way. It only filled space, alike to a soft and fluffy blanket with all sorts of extra rainbow-colored tassels that could either get in the way or make things brighter and happier.

"Do you know where they are? Or where the sound was, if it was the apprentices?" Adderheart asked. The silence shattered instantly but he did not regret it.

"Not exactly sure," Pantherleap murmured, scenting the air as he lifted his muzzle upward. His ear twitched as if to try and help him figure out where it was. "Do you know?" He soon turned back to Adderheart with the question.

Adderheart scented the air, pricking his ears fiercely. He let the rest of the world fade away into a strange, comforting blackness by closing his dark gray eyes, focusing on the scent, smell, and sounds of the world around. If he could pinpoint where it was, maybe it could make the incident go away within his mind.

It was like a stain, but it was odorless and colored. It held a sharp brightness to it and it coated his entire mind like a strange vibrant film. No matter how hard he tried to let it fade away or slice away at it with monotonically shaded claws, it stood fiercely.

However, before he could determine any direction, another one of the screeches seemed to split the air. It was louder and more prominent than before, wobbly and uncertain through the strong air. Pantherleap quickly turned to face Adderheart, who opened his eyes and pointed at in the direction with his tail.

"That way," he mewed decisively, nodding as he watched Pantherleap sprint in the direction of the noise.

He was swift to launch after the tawny tom. His features wove and dove around the trees, springing upward and down at little patches of pine needles upon the ground or branches that hung too low. Not once did Pantherleap stop, though. Instead, he continued to run and run, ears pressed tightly to his skull in order to create less of a resistance.

Adderheart did the same. On purpose... perhaps. That was debatable. But it happened anyway. His figure seemed to fall into the same patterns as Pantherleap's. Even if he didn't mind stepping on the pine needles, it didn't matter. He sprung over them, slim form easily moving up and down. Although he probably would have ducked anyway, he did so in sync with Pantherleap.

Of course, the other tom couldn't notice it. He was too far ahead and he couldn't just turn around to survey how Adderheart was doing. He'd simply trip over his paws too many times, or perhaps lose balance, which in turn would cause Adderheart to do the same, actually. His dark eyes flashed with the thought that if Pantherleap tumbled to the ground, he would too.

Though, it didn't and wouldn't happen. Pantherleap's pace was even and his paws pounded systemically against the ground. He was a good runner, even if his figure was a little better built than Adderheart's was. His ears twitched, lightly rising, but the pale-furred tom quickly swept around a few more trees. Soon after, he made his way around a few bushes.

But the more they ran, the more an emotion rose within Adderheart's chest. He felt like they were going the wrong way. He felt like they were going in a direction that would simply allow them to go somewhere where they didn't know any sort of direction, where they had no landmarks to try and determine where they'd actually ended up...

Could he stop? Or could he get Pantherleap's attention? As he ran, Adderheart scented the air, catching a few familiar scents of cats from SageClan. They weren't too far. At least, not yet... his ear twitched fiercely once more and he stopped for a moment, huffing as he did so. He hadn't realized that he needed air, and he stood there for a few moments, huffing.

"Pantherleap!" He shouted, trying to raise his voice, though it felt like something had caused it to suddenly cut off. He cleared his throat loudly, stepping forward as he called out once more, "Pantherleap!"

The warrior, who had continued running, stopped up ahead, and he too took a break for a moment, puffing out little bits of air as he attempted to get his breathing under control. He turned around and then skimped swiftly back to Adderheart.

"What?" He asked breathlessly, shaking his head as if to clear himself of the issues with his breathing. It didn't appear to be too much of an issue, but he struggled for a bit.

"I don't think... we're going the right way," he said softly, sniffing.

"What? Then which way are we meant to go?" Pantherleap questioned, stepping around the area as he picked his way over and around random patches of pine needles. His tail flicked back and forth, nervousness clear within his features.

"I don't... know. Maybe we were imagining it. Because I don't hear it anymore," the warrior clarified quickly, looking to the tawny-furred senior warrior.

"Do cats imagine noises?" Pantherleap asked, muzzle twisting into a frown. His ear twitched fiercely back and forth.

"I don't know... maybe...?" Adderheart commented with a shrug. He watched as the warrior pounced at the base of a tree, clearly out of nervousness. Then, another sound split the air.

This time, it was fairly quiet once more. Instantly, Adderheart thought that they'd gone the wrong way because he no longer could determine what was being said. It sounded just like an apprentice's happy cheer, perhaps somewhat muffled by a clearing of trees. Though, it wasn't held back at all. The happiness and clear joy within the tone of the cat was ever present.

His ears pricked and he turned once more, swiveling around as if to try and locate the sound of the noise. Pantherleap exclaimed something unintelligibly, jerking his head quickly to the right as he narrowed his eyes in the direction of where the noise had been. A cold wind swirled around the group as if to sweep away the noise's location from their memories.

"There it is again!" Pantherleap exclaimed in a louder tone, pouncing to a random place in the clearing. "I told you, Adderheart. Come on, let's go!"

"Wait! We don't even know if it is related to the past noise! That one...was more pained, you know? This one seemed happier. At least... to me," he added swiftly, lifting a paw to draw it over his ear absently.

"Maybe the apprentices got done fighting," Pantherleap suggested, taking a few more pawsteps toward the noise's source. "Let's go!"

"Pantherleap, no!" Adderheart insisted. "We can't. I know it would've been more usual before if we had but this time it's just a happy exclamation. We can't just show up to the apprentice's mid-assessments with no explanation. We're meant to be hunting." Patrolling? I don't remember anymore. He thought with a lash of his tail.

The tawny warrior's face twisted into a frown as he shifted on his paws. He padded over to the other tom, eyes sharpening as he faced Adderheart. "But we have to. What if something's wrong?"

"What if something isn't wrong?" Adderheart challenged.

"Come on, Adderheart." His voice had flattened drastically and it seemed to take on more of a Cougarstar quality to it. The words he spoke were no longer a persistence, rather a command from a steely warrior. "I know that it has to be important."

Adderheart's ears pulled tightly to his skull. As much as he wanted to say yes, he knew that the tom was probably overreacting. He was probably pulling things from his... well, the situation from the patrol. Pantherleap could've been jumping to the worst conclusion... whatever happened on the last patrol. He probably didn't want anything to happen to the apprentices.

Which likely caused his extreme worry regarding the situation, now that Adderheart considered it a bit more. Pantherleap was a wary and cautious tom in normal situations, always ensuring that no cat could see past a carefully created wall. The tawny warrior was fairly well-thought-out, too. He was probably applying whatever had occurred on the last patrol to this one.

Or maybe worse, he wondered absently, ears twitching.

"Come on."

The words dropped through the air as if it was a rock landing upon a flat, calm expanse of water. He looked over to Adderheart, tail flicking sharply at the clearing nearby. Ripples clearly spread across his features as the pale-furred tom gave no response.

"Adderheart?" He prompted, padding forward tentatively. Though, his strong and firm appearance did not falter.

The tom was unwilling to say the words aloud, so he turned and let his tail flicker back and forth. Silently, he shook his head and took a few pawsteps away, muzzle wrinkling slightly. A burst of emotion lit up like a firework within Adderheart but he shoved it down. He needed to focus on leaving. Getting his point across. Not running for ages again because Pantherleap was concerned about something that didn't need it.

"What? Hello?" Pantherleap quickly skirted to stand in front of him and tipped his head brashly. "Adderheart? Come on, we have to go."

"No," he said softly, shaking his head once more as he turned around.

"You're coming with," the tom asserted, forcefully tugging on his tail with an outstretched paw. "You're coming with me, Adderheart."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are!" Pantherleap slammed a paw down, muzzle wrinkling into a frown and a small wave of sadness washed upon Adderheart. He didn't want to make Pantherleap upset. That was the last thing he wanted to do... but he also didn't want to go to investigate the noise.

"I don't want to," he mumbled once more, turning away as he pushed away another flame of emotion.

"Well, you're coming," insisted the tawny tom. "Come on, Adderheart. If you don't, then I'll... I'll..." he threatened, but his voice died off. He was clearly unable to conjure up a threat that would actually cause Adderheart to go with him.

"I'm not going, Pantherleap," Adderheart spoke, letting his voice raise slightly as he glanced over his shoulder. His tail brushed absently against the ground. "I don't want to."

"Why not?" He asked, once more tracing his path to stand in front of Adderheart.

"Stop, Pantherleap, I just want to go back. I don't want to go. I don't feel well. My head hurts." The lie slipped off his tongue easily, but it felt rough and uncomfortable in the soft, delicate air.

Pantherleap huffed. "So you only want to go back when you're in pain, huh? Won't push through it to ensure the safety of your Clanmates?"

"The safety of my Clanmates includes me," he hissed, glaring at Pantherleap. "Just let me go back, please."

"No," Pantherleap said, raising a paw to his chest. "I am dedicated to my Clan and I will ensure that you come with me to check up on the apprentices."

"You're being unreasonable!" Adderheart's voice rose once more, wavering as he shot an irritated look to the tom. "They're probably gone by now. We don't even know if that was them!"

"Head isn't in pain anymore, is it?" Pantherleap quipped, green eyes sharp.

Adderheart opened his muzzle, hurt at the words that the other tom had said. He's just angry. Just trying to get me to agree. He told himself sternly, hating how he instantly thought of a way to apologize. He didn't like being angry with Pantherleap.

He's... just frustrated, I guess, but I don't want him to be frustrated with me.

All of his issues with the other tawny tom melted away. Pantherleap was just frustrated, blinded by the irritation that he was experiencing. Adderheart shook his head, tail tip twitching.

"Pantherleap, I'm not going to argue with you. I don't want to go. My head does hurt, and I really just want to go back."

Pantherleap flicked his tail sharply. "Fine! I'll just go alone then." The tom whipped around and his tail fanned out, stalking off.

Adderheart felt a spark of fury at his actions but it melted almost instantly. He wanted the tom to go back with him but didn't know how to tug him back. The pale tom knew that there was almost no chance that Pantherleap would go back with a simple 'come on, Pantherleap'. It would just make it worse.

An idea popped into his head, and although he felt immediately felt guilty, he knew it had to work.

Without a word, Adderheart padded off to the edge of the clearing, and as he reached the edge, he paused. Flinching, he forced his paw to practically fold beneath his leg and a hushed exclamation fell from his jaws. That hadn't been on purpose, but he supposed it made it more believable.

Tumbling to the ground, the warrior grumbled something inaudibly and he looked over his shoulder. Pantherleap had turned around, head tipping as his figure slumped a bit.

"Are you okay?" His voice drifted tentatively across the clearing.

He gritted his teeth. "Yeah..." he forced out and stumbled forward, forcing his paw to collapse once more as he fell over, thumping against the ground with a low groan.

Pantherleap quickly skittered over, eyes dark as if he were concealing some sort of emotion. As he helped him up, his head shook back and forth rapidly. "Okay... Okay... I'm sorry. I'll help you back," he mumbled, hoisting Adderheart up. "Lean on me."

The pale-furred tom did as told, murmuring thanks to the tawny warrior, and the two cats headed back.