Birchpaw was the first to dash into camp, followed by Swallowpaw and Bumblepaw. Finchpaw raced in after them, calling something that fell upon ears that were not listening. The apprentices all ran toward to their den, seemingly discussing something for a few short moments. Birchpaw whipped around, the late sunhigh sun reflected in his gaze.

He skirted over to Freckletuft and the other mentors that had taken a slower approach toward the camp. Despite the original pace back to camp being rather fast, each of the mentors had slowed down eventually, Adderheart being the first to do so, for hunger gnawed incessantly at his belly and caused his actions to be slower than usual. Fernfall and Fluffyflame had struck a little conversation where Freckletuft had stayed silent, Adderheart choosing the same option.

"Can we have something to eat?" asked Birchpaw, head tipping a little bit with curiosity. Fluffyflame opened her jaws to answer, however the apprentice's belly grumbled. Adderheart glanced behind him to spot all three apprentices gathered at the entrance of their thorny den.

Freckletuft answered immediately, tail flicking decisively. "Yes. Share, though, and be sure to offer something to Willowdapple."

Birchpaw's expression brightened. "Of course!" Whipping around, Adderheart watched as the patched apprentice dashed off to share the news with the other apprentices. Within moments they all gave a silent cheer, headed toward the fresh-kill pile to choose something delectable.

Fernfall gave a dip of her head to each cat, not saying another word as she padded off. Freckletuft was swift to follow, head bobbing in a polite yet brisk motion, turning away. Fluffyflame dawdled, however, glancing sharply at Adderheart before spinning on his paw to hurriedly head off.

Well. Okay.

Adderheart, now alone, was glad to feel the familiar, gentle silence of introversion settle upon him. It was usual for the pale-furred senior warrior to be alone the majority of the day, and most of the time he preferred it to chatting idly with cats who did not care for his daily activities.

It wasn't too surprising that he was able to move toward the fresh-kill pile without being interrupted by many, even less surprising that he was able to choose a mouse without being interrupted. Strength had slowly drained from his features throughout the day, and it had likely caused some unforeseen issues during training.

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to skip my usual meal in the morning.

He speculated absently, settling nearby with the mouse. Dark gray gaze sweeping the camp, he shifted a little as if to find a more comfortable position, taking a bite. It had a strange twinge of coldness to it. It was most certainly leaf-fall now, for a crisp breeze seemed to continually dance and spiral through the camp, brushing up his pale creamy-brown pelt. The skies were pale blue, the nights cold and chilly.

But it was not time for leaf-bare just yet. Leaf-fall still had to run its course, cause a few chills, and only then could leaf-bare come. The prey would soon be dwindling, however, for in SageClan, the prey always seemed to leave far too early.

Streamfang emerged from the entrance of the camp and he shivered involuntarily. He'd almost forgotten their earlier conversations. He couldn't help but feel as though that was so long ago. It was as if moons and moons had passed...

Milkfrost and Vixenfeather.

It was only natural for his mind to jump onto the next thought that came to mind, and that, consequently, was the two missing elders. Had anyone seen them around? Adderheart couldn't recall if he'd scented them around, though was fairly sure nobody cared- nobody seemed to care.

His tail flicked sharply around his paws, fur fluffing up a bit more. Streamfang's dark amber gaze landed upon the tom for a few moments. Panic seemed to flit throughout her expression, though a stoic gleam soon took hold of her features.

Adderheart met her gaze, attempting to keep his own features simple. However, she broke eye contact, rapidly padding off. Worry creased his muzzle. Everyone seemed to be angry with him. Why? Was it because of what he'd said to Cougarstar, and the punishment to follow it...? Shouldn't the dens' cleanliness make up for it? Or did it not matter because he was forced to do it? He thought... he thought...

"...stop it!"

"No, I said that you needed to-"

"Stop-!"

The leader's den?

His gray gaze switched to the den. No other sound came from the den, besides a loud shuffling of paws, likely, or perhaps positions. Adderheart looked away. The camp was near empty, despite it now being a bit before sundown, besides Willowdapple, who was stretched outside of the nursery. As he glanced over her rounded form, the she-cat gave him a genuinely sweet smile, and she slipped back into the nursery.

Is everyone avoiding me?

Despair spiraled within him.

What did I do?

A cold silence laid down next to Adderheart, seeming to seep into his fur. The warrior slumped a bit against the ground, laying his head miserably upon his paws. Why was everyone so distant? Everyone was always distant in SageClan. Why? What had he done?

How could he fix it?

If he couldn't fix it, he'd just work harder. Harder until they respected him again. No, but that didn't work, because it wasn't like they disrespected him now. Right...? Nobody disliked him that much to disregard his opinions.

Well. Cougarstar. But he disregarded everyone's opinions, so that didn't count. Streamfang still appeared to be angry with him even their 'incident' had been a while back. Not that long, but long enough that it should be forgotten. And what had he done to Willowdapple?

He closed his eyes, sniffing a bit. Maybe the cold breeze that nipped at his pale brownish-creamy fur could whisk him away. Then he wouldn't have to deal with this entire situation that he didn't even know how to solve and he didn't even know what started it and he didn't want to be in it and he just wished that cats would be able to stop acting so guarded all the time even though he did the same and-

And, just at the right moment, Pantherleap emerged from the leader's den.

No, not emerged.

He was thrown from the den.

The large tom landed outside the den with a thump, a near-inaudible hiss sounding from the den. His breathing was heavy as he scrambled to his paws, pelt disordered. His expression was scattered and flashing as he hurriedly scanned the camp. He unsheathed and sheathed his claws rapidly, appearing to be in a state of panic. What happened?

Only one cat could throw a tom as big as Pantherleap.

And that tom was one equally as big as Pantherleap.

Cougarstar.

A deadly cold chill ran down Adderheart's spine as his head jerked upward to watch. Why? He couldn't think of any reason why. Why? Why? Why? To his surprise, however, Pantherleap lunged across the camp, limbs shaking. Instantly he settled down beside Adderheart, tail wrapping tightly around his lean form.

He couldn't ask. He wouldn't. It wasn't appropriate. Pantherleap was far higher than he on the scale within the Clan. Although, the other tom had to trust Adderheart at some level to sit beside him, right? If not, he would've just sprinted to the warrior's den. Likely, to avoid being spotted by other warriors. An unexpected pang of sympathy shook him as he glanced to Pantherleap tentatively.

"Are you okay?" The question hung in still air, and thankfully, Pantherleap's sharp intelligence was able to determine the fact that Adderheart had likely assumed what had occurred.

The reply was startling.

"Just... no, I mean- I'm okay, just in pain- ah... a bit." The reply was strained, as if he was holding something back, and the pale warrior wasn't really too surprised. Pantherleap was a large, tawny castle, with tall, thick walls, and it seemed as though they had doubled in this situation. An unexpected spiral of understanding coiled within Adderheart.

Adderheart gently nudged the last few bites of the mouse over, despite the grumbling of his belly.

"We can go to Coalbelly and Twilightcloud," offered the senior warrior politely, unsure of how to deal with the situation. His tail flickered absently behind him.

Pantherleap seemed to sink into the mouse quickly to fill his muzzle so he didn't have to speak any longer. "I don't think we can."

The brownish-cream warrior didn't want to push or harass Pantherleap, though he was still curious as to why they couldn't see Coalbelly and Twilightcloud. They could always lie and say that he'd tripped on patrol and that was the cause of his pains. Or, they could just say he'd... actually, no. That was probably the only thing that would work, for they couldn't say that Cougarstar had chucked his brother out of the den.

Pantherleap swallowed anxiously, stiffening beside Adderheart as the leader exited the den. His green gaze was a familiar burning blaze of rage, features and movements brusque in nature. The large tom passed by Pantherleap and sent him a blistering glare, one that could scorch an apprentice's confidence within moments. However, Pantherleap simply seemed to take a stronger pose.

The thick-furred tawny leader marched furiously out of the camp, tail whipping a storm behind him. Adderheart thought he could pick up the familiar snarl of the large leader as he stomped out, and soon after his departure, Pantherleap's posture slumped again.

They sat there for a while, not really speaking, however it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable for either tom, for a rather pleasant and soft silence had settled a pale blanket upon them. Adderheart curled his tail around his form, for it had flickered absently every now and then, though soon enough he had laid his head upon his paws. A moon rose into a darkened sky as Pantherleap did similarly.

The sun had long slipped beneath the horizon, its pale tones that had stretched far across the sky now dimmed to shadowy shades. Stars now peeked delicately from behind wispy and shadowed clouds, glimmering brightly upon the piney territory.

"I said to hurry up!"

Adderheart's ears pricked and he jerked up a bit.

I must've dozed off.

He glanced to the side of him, spotting Pantherleap still slumbering. His form rose and fell at a delicate, gentle pace, paws twitching every now and then as if he were in a dream.

"Wait, we should-"

"We can report it to Cougarstar!"

"Nobody's gonna be awake!"

What the-

Into the camp marched three cats, each of different brownish tones. Two green gazes followed by a dark blue one swept the camp, excitement bubbling within their colored depths. Scents of all kinds wreathed around them, curling tightly around their paws and following them. One, most notably, held the sharp, edged scent of something alike to blood.

Fox-dung.

Adderheart's paw knocked against Pantherleap's leg, inching a bit back into the barrier of the camp. Due to the fact it was a bunch of thistles and thorns, his pelt itched with the feeling of seemingly hundreds of sharp pricklings digging into his pelt.

Pantherleap, beside him, jolted awake, dark green gaze a jumbled mess of confusion as he looked around. After spotting Adderheart's motioning to follow, the tom practically shoved himself into a shadow that fell right atop both toms.

"Briargaze, you're bound to wake the camp!" called a soft, muddied brown tabby tom, particularly who went by the name of Mudstripe. Beside him, Beetlepath stared around at the camp as if expecting someone to leap out at them.

However, there was no way that Adderheart nor Pantherleap would move. Their light-colored pelts were already enough of a distraction.

"I'll be fine," purred the mentioned she-cat. The spotted warrior's tail whipped excitedly as she approached them. Mudstripe, who was Briargaze's brother, shifted a bit.

"We can tell him tomorrow," he offered. "Besides, he'll be angry if we wake him up."

He's not even in camp. Fox-dung. He can't be 'woken up' because then we'll have to explain.

"I want to tell him now!" Briargaze's expression morphed to a deep frown.

Beetlepath stayed silent, ears twitching as Mudstripe rolled his eyes. "Come on. He'll be angry! He doesn't care about the rogues enough to be woken up about them."

Rogues? A deadly cold shiver trailed down Adderheart's spine. Were the rogues back so soon? Were those scents from before actually the rogues? No, it couldn't be. It was early for that. It was barely leaf-bare!

"He's got to care," insisted the she-cat earnestly.

"He will," Beetlepath commented. "Just not right now. He wants to sleep, probably. We should go to him in the morning, and besides, we'll probably get our pelts clawed off."

Brairgaze snickered, but Beetlepath did not.

A rather thick silence settled upon the cats, three of which just sort of stood around for a few moments longer. None of them made an effort to leave or go to their dens or their nests.

When are they going to leave?

Adderheart couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in the silence. Some silences, like the one that had laid itself gently upon the two toms from before, were nice and pleasant. This one was not. His pelt prickled.

Pantherleap sniffed beside Adderheart and his heart leapt into his chest.

Had they heard?

Of course, Beetlepath, ever observant, glanced in their direction, but his attention was quickly drawn away.

"Come on, let's just get something to eat!" Briargaze's chirp broke the camp.

Beetlepath's gaze swept toward the she-cat and Mudstripe scoffed, hushing her softly. The three cats all padded over to her, spotting the mouse she had.

Adderheart held his breath. Would they finish this and then leave? He shifted and a thorn dug into his pelt. Swallowing the faint cry that rose within him, the pale-furred warrior closed his eyes for a moment.

Instantly, a swirling vortex of emotions overcame him. His belly churned anxiously as he inched around a bit more, as if expecting the emotions to go away. Instead, pain flared through his flank and he squeezed his eyes closed tighter.

All sorts of emotions surged within him again and his pelt fluffed up.

Adderheart, just stop. Nothing's wrong.

He felt a tail brush against his side and he looked over, dark gray eyes sharpening. What?

Pantherleap motioned soundlessly at the three cats. They seemed to be finishing up, for Briargaze's head was tilted toward the warrior's den. The she-cat's pelt was smoothed against her form.

They watched as Beetlepath carefully rose to his paws, headed for the warrior's den. The warrior swerved in, tail whisking as he disappeared into the den. Briargaze dove after him and Mudstripe followed, however the muddy-brown tom seemed to survey the clearing once more.

Mudstripe's tail tip flicked once, twice, three times, and finally he turned away and slipped into the warrior's den without another word.

Adderheart exhaled, letting go of a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding. Pantherleap slumped to the ground with relief and Adderheart quickly inched forward, away from the sharp brambles and thorns that dug into his pelt.

His throat felt dry, as if his voice was a river and a drought had tainted the world. He glanced to Pantherleap, who appeared to be exhausted. A frown deepened his expression. Adderheart approached the pale-furred tom carefully, lifting a paw. Nudging him gently, he studied his reaction.

Pantherleap's head jerked upward, and at the sight of the warrior, he relaxed a bit, however he still seemed on edge. Pulling himself away from the bramble wall, Adderheart noticed blood trickling down his back.

Concern flickered through him and he reached forward, planning to clean it. He couldn't just leave his injuries like that.

Pantherleap pulled away, seriousness lighting his green eyes. "D-don't," he croaked, voice strained.

Hurt flashed through Adderheart as he studied the warrior. "W-what?"

What is that meant to mean? Don't what? Clean his injury? Does he not want me to help? He just sat next to me throughout the entire thing. I thought that he was fine with me-

"Tomorrow. Patrol. Hunting."

Oh.

Adderheart's ears twitched and threatened to flatten but he forced them up, and noticeably Pantherleap's whiskers drooped as he pulled himself to his paws.

Pantherleap inched closer to Adderheart and whispered, "Be careful. We can plan it so that w-we go on the same-" his voice shriveled up for a moment and Adderheart's brows knitted. "S-same patrol, just don't wait forever. If we need we can always meet up at the... the..."

"Toward the middle of the territory?" murmured Adderheart questioningly, head tipping.

"Sure," breathed Pantherleap, head bobbing in a slight nod as he glanced away. "We can talk more later. Just... not now." The warrior glanced at the sky, where a shimmery moon rose high into a blanket of darkness.

Adderheart nodded understandingly. It was unlikely anyone was watching them, but they both needed sleep, especially after the whole experience with the three warriors. He couldn't believe they'd not noticed.

The warrior turned away and padded toward the warrior's den.

"Adderheart?"

He turned.

"Thanks."

Pantherleap's voice was simple, light and genuine as he spoke. It gently floated across the clearing, carried by pleasant though somewhat chilly winds, offering the warm words on a sharp platter of a leaf-fall breeze.

Adderheart's ear twitched and he offered a tiny smile. "Thank you, too."

The creamy-brown warrior looked at Pantherleap for a few moments longer, who met his gaze.

Then, he turned and carefully slipped into the warrior's den.