Upon arriving at the camp, there seemed to be something off.

It was as if someone had stolen all the comfortability of a camp and replaced it with knives, with blood, with everything that one would associate with... well, bad things. Adderheart didn't like it but couldn't pinpoint it, and had no way to rid himself of it.

However, along the journey, his head began to hurt more and more, and it was not helped by the fact that the sun was now able to slant directly into his eyes. It was the cause of all pain. Not only was seeing difficult, due to the fact that sun now seemed to be everywhere, his head felt like it was to explode.

The warrior paused at the entrance, letting a paw rise to his head to feel the bump, and he jumped a bit. It had not shrunk at all, rather it had grown, but instead of upward, it seemed to have been spread outward.

He couldn't really go to the healers for it at all. If Willowdapple happened to be visiting, she'd have a fit. Probably throw him out of the den if she could, if she wanted to... his ears twitched, threatening to flatten. He knew he needed and wanted medical attention for the bump now the headache that was surfacing.

No matter how hard he tried to push it away, or even just let it be, it seemed to get worse and worse. It felt like it was pressing against the edges of his head, threatening to implode within any moment.

Why did I have to do that? He grumbled something inaudibly alongside the thought, placing his paw back on the ground. The world lightly spun around him, running in circles, giggling loudly at his injury.

Carefully, he slipped into camp, but the sight and smell wasn't something he was expecting.

Upon the highrock sat Cougarstar, pointedly staring down at the Clan. His tail whipped back and forth, gaze a mist of daggers. Most cats were gathered, fur either bristling or strangely smooth, and the audible sound of shuffling from the medicine cat's den could be heard from anywhere within the clearing.

The smell was strange, to say the least. It was somewhat clean, yet it was tainted by a metallic, horrific scent that came rushing back to the warrior with extreme force. The air, clean and crisp with fury, was tainted by none other than blood, and it caused an icy shiver to inch its way down the tom's spine.

"Be more careful around the borders," the leader ordered, eyes swiping around sharply as if picking out any cats that would disagree with him. "Nobody is to be injured as badly as that patrol."

What?

Quickly, Adderheart pulled himself to the wall of camp, pressing against it as to disguise himself. There was no way he was about to be yelled at in front of the entire Clan. The thought of an excuse popped into his head and he was reminded that he'd done no hunting at all.

Because of him! The warrior's dark gray eyes switched up to focus on the leader, who appeared to be growing angrier. At first, he didn't seem so upset, just mildly irritated if anything. Yet, now, it appeared to morph to a more prominent fury.

"Rogues are becoming more and more of a problem and I do not appreciate everyone just blowing it off for nothing," he announced. "Many of us seem to just be ignoring the clear signs that rogues are not just another passing issue."

It's too early for rogues... there couldn't have been another encounter... right?

"It is early, but that does not mean everyone just gets to slack off!" The tawny leader's voice rose sharply. "In fact, everyone should be more on alert. If we show them that we will not back down, then it's possible they'll leave us alone. No cat should be off alert!"

You're the only one who seems to be ignoring it!

A small, whitish-brown she-cat carefully rose beside him. Tinydust, he knew, without even seeing the she-cat in full. He didn't need to. He knew her movements and her voice, too:

"Come on, you've explained well enough."

Her soft, gentle, yet coaxing words drifted delicately toward the leader, floating on an unworn racetrack, soon to be traveled again and again until it was broken and decrepit.

"No," he snapped, "I don't want to."

"Come on, Cougarstar, I—"

He turned to her, glowering, furious, raging even at her. He didn't want to go, clearly. The tawny tom snarled something inaudibly before slamming a paw down on the ground. Tinydust's voice dropped drastically before the tom lifted a paw.

She went still, and the leader simply swiped his paw underneath her leg.

Her figure seemed to collapse instantly, body falling to the ground as she rolled straight off the highrock and onto the ground, where her form became splayed.

Cougarstar let out a furious screech and launched himself off the rock, and at this time everyone had rushed forward, off to crowd the she-cat. Adderheart, seeing his chance, quickly ran up and squeezed himself in a random spot in the crowd.

All around cats whispered, hissed, muttered, screamed— everything. Everyone was trying to see if the little she-cat was okay, if Cougarstar had accidentally harmed her, if everything was going to be okay.

Sootdawn was at the front, prodding the she-cat fiercely. "Tinydust? Tinydust?" She turned to hiss something at Cougarstar, but Bearpatch barreled through the rest of the cats.

"Mother!" He exclaimed, tail whipping and slapping a few cats in the face, all of which grumbled and reared back, though they were quick to lean forward.

"Get out of the way!" Sootdawn raised her voice, whipping around to stare furiously at a few warriors, namely Beetlepath, who had rushed up to the front. "You're in the way!"

"Tinydust, I said this would happen!" hissed Cougarstar, watching as the healers swept out.

"What happened?" Twilightcloud demanded, pushing past the crowd to get to the front. As she reached the scene, her mouth dropped open to a gasp, and she whipped around, bounding across the clearing toward the healer's den.

Coalbelly was quick to replace the healer and the dark-furred she-cat worked quickly. She crouched to the ground, managing to slide Tinydust onto her back, and she swiftly waddled away.

Cougarstar watched, his eyes a storm of wrath. However, he said nothing else and simply turned around, entering his den with his tail whipping behind him.

Adderheart watched as a few cats ran after the healer and after a quick decision he followed, rapidly shaking his head as if to clear his mind. How had it all happened so fast, and how was it over now?

Everyone seemed dazed. It was as if nobody really believed in had occurred in the first place. Had it been their imagination? Had everyone simultaneously imagined it at the same time, with the same events following it?

Somehow it was well-known that Cougarstar was vicious, but not that vicious.

Yet, they all knew it would simply be passed as an accident, even though they all knew it wasn't. Adderheart noted the looks on the cats' faces. Mostly nervous or scared, some inquisitive or curious, though of course tension still tainted the air like blood.

Blood.

The tom was reminded of the patrol earlier and couldn't help but wonder who exactly had been on that patrol. Perhaps the apprentices and their mentors had caught the rogues on accident. But wouldn't there have been much more of a fuss with younger cats?

His ear twitched as he watched the camp stumble about. Nobody knew what to do. It had never really been a possibility for anyone, clearly. The brown tabby pelt of Runningfoot approached the spot where Tinydust had fallen and spotted a speck or two of blood, causing him to rear backward with disgust and horror.

Of course, this drew the attention of the majority of the cats within the camp, including Russetpelt, Antwhisper, Poppyfur... most of the middle-aged warriors. The majority seemed to back away with a hiss after a few moments, however, some stuck around, including Antwhisper and Poppyfur. The latter pranced over the blood, grinning widely as if she didn't understand.

Birdwish was quick to sprint over and lead the she-cat away, murmuring softly to her as a few onlookers shared confused looks. It was as if Poppyfur didn't exactly understand what had occurred— perhaps she'd missed the entire thing completely and just thought it to be some old, crusty blood upon the ground?

However, a sharp call split the clearing.

"Adderheart, Tinydust wants to see you."

The voice was Cougarstar's.

What?

Suppressing a shiver, he rose to his paws, figure stiff. Padding across the clearing was not a pleasant activity. Not ever, of course, but it was much, much worse now. It felt like everyone's gazes had been suddenly and harshly glued to his pale pelt, and he quickly sped up, weaving into the healer's den.

He spotted Tinydust. Her fur was wet and she shivered every few moments. Had she been forced awake with cold water...?

"Pantherleap wants t-to talk with y-you," she whispered, teeth chattering.

His ears pricked as he turned. What was Pantherleap doing in the healer's den? The warrior gazed around, noting the offshoot nearby. It appeared to be clogged with a scent, one that would happen to be blood, and a horrible stone of cold terror dropped into his belly.

Pantherleap was on the patrol.

Swallowing anxiously, the tom made his way through the offshoot, and as soon as he knew he was out of the view of the other cats within the den, his ears pinned tightly to his skull. Eyes flashing, he swiftly wove through the offshoot. It felt like it was so long, like a tall tree turned sideways and he was walking through the trunk.

Finally, he came upon a small area, with moss and a few leaves dotted around. Within the makeshift nest that was settled in the middle was a familiar face.

"Pantherleap!" He exclaimed, and the warrior looked up, eyes curious. However, they sharpened, and Adderheart flinched. Suddenly, he didn't know what to say.

He'd been planning to say something. About the patrol, no, maybe, he didn't know, not anymore. All the information seemed to have instantly drained out of his brain, out of his mind, replaced with stupid white fluff that filled his senses and clogged the well-worn tracks within his head. What was I going to say?

"What's... the bump on your head...?" Pantherleap asked, reaching a paw upward to lightly swipe at Adderheart's forehead. "It looks... painful."

Adderheart studied the tawny tom for a few moments. He still seemed to be suffering from a sort of forgetfulness, or perhaps some issue with his speech that caused him to pause. Pantherleap appeared to be in a strange daze if anything. It was as if the warrior was surrounded by a white fluff, similar to the one within his head.

"Nothing, nothing," he mumbled with a flick of his tail in a dismissive manner, sitting down next to Pantherleap. "I heard about... the, the patrol," he said, uncertainly. "What happened?"

Pantherleap tucked his paws underneath his form and he sighed softly. "It... there were rogues." His tone was soft, airy, and it was nothing like the tinge of metallic blood that stained the air. "I didn't recognize any of them, and none of them looked like Carmin... A couple she-cats, some toms. They were... skilled. Very skilled. One seemed to be following some of the others around..."

"...like mentors," Adderheart finished, turning to stare at Pantherleap. "The rogues are training their young? What are we meant to do?"

Pantherleap shrugged slowly, tipping his head a bit. "I don't... know." An odd spark lit in Adderheart's chest, but he smothered it. Too strange. It would distract him.

"Did they have a leader?"

"Didn't seem... like it."

"How many she-cats?"

"Don't remember."

"Toms?"

"...the same."

Adderheart's ear twitched absently, a blink soon following. "Who else was on the patrol?"

"I'm... not allowed to... say."

"What? Who said that? Who set that rule?"

He's not telling me things in favor of listening to the 'rules' set up by some random cat.

Pantherleap buried his head in his paws, rapidly shaking his skull back and forth. The muffled reply came a few moments after the original movement, and the tone was almost, well, broken.

"...guess."

Cougarstar.

The pale-furred warrior rose to his paws, fury causing his fur to spike instantly. He couldn't believe it. Cougarstar was being the worst leader to ever exist. Ever! He couldn't control his Clan's borders and when he tried he blamed it on the Clan itself. No, no. It could never be his fault. Not like it was reasonable for cats to make mistakes or anything!

Pantherleap looked up and his expression was dazed as if he had been brainwashed or something stupid like that. Stupid. Everything is stupid! The words rang in Adderheart's head and he saw Pantherleap's mouth moving as if he was attempting to speak, but he didn't hear anything.

It didn't matter. At least, at that moment it didn't. To any other, it likely would have. Well, if any cat in this Clan had a scrap of consideration for others! I'm surprised everyone rushed forward like that, with Tinydust. He slammed a paw down on the ground but he couldn't hear the thump that followed. And Cougarstar won't even get a StarClan-forsaken punishment for it because there's no balance of power in this stupid Clan!

Nobody can fix it because he won't let up his power! He's the problem! The pale-furred warrior shook his head tersely and rapidly from side to side as if attempting to allow the world to dissipate around him. His vision seemed to disappear, replaced with a strange brightness that allowed bits of shadow around him, and he stumbled backward, opening his jaws as if to yowl, yet nothing escaped him.

Rage clamped a heavy paw upon the pale-furred warrior, followed by the rush of blood in his ears. Cougarstar couldn't even admit to the fact that he'd made errors within his leadership and even better he wouldn't even fix them! He could. He most certainly could fix them yet he didn't. What kind of leader doesn't fix issues? And how come nobody cares about them, either?!

What kind of leader makes stupid, stupid rules and then refuses to fix them? How come he's the one everyone likes? Does anyone like him? Does anyone even like him? Adderheart's lips drew back in a snarl at no cat in particular and he stumbled backward, bristling tail whipping upward as he studied Pantherleap. The tawny tom's head was tipped and his mouth moved slowly.

It was like Pantherleap was simply a dove. Pleasant, soft, attempting to fix whatever he could for he knew that anger did nothing. Experience, perhaps, taught him that, but he was attempting to help an eagle with curved, hooked talons and a merciless jaw. White feathers against edged talons did nothing, really, but the dove still tried.

And suddenly the world melted away for the eagle.

The blood rushing within his ears disappeared and his fur smoothed down. All of the thoughts within his head seemed to dissipate within an instant, ears pricking slowly. He blinked once, twice, three times, and finally, Pantherleap's voice registered.

"...your head...?"

Adderheart rapidly shook his head and found it to be spinning. Well, his head wasn't spinning. The world was. Everything seemed... wrong. Pantherleap looked concerned, confused, worried, all sorts of things, yet his figure had a sort of cascading shadow. It draped delicately around his head and seemed to curl around his neck, pulling tighter and tighter.

The minimal light within the den gleamed and shimmered brighter as he stopped shaking his head. In front of him, and in a weird hazy state, he watched as Pantherleap lightly patted the ground with his tail in a rather shadowed spot of the den. It appeared even darker than it actually was to Adderheart, and unsteadily he managed his way over.

"Was it... your head?" The question echoed softly within Adderheart's senses and he shrugged, lifting a paw to haphazardly place it over his muzzle as if to block out the world around him. With a small sniffle, the pale warrior glanced to Pantherleap. His head had begun to hurt again, and more and more he worried that the strange white light with the loss of his senses would return.

The pain within his head suddenly escalated and he shuffled closer to Pantherleap.

"My head hurts..." The mumble escaped Adderheart's muzzle after a few moments and the broader-structured warrior inched closer to Adderheart and wrapped his tail around the pale-furred tom. Both of them seemed to inch back into the shadows where they were hidden from prying eyes or furious glances.

"It's okay..." whispered Pantherleap. "We'll... wake up tomorrow morning. And... it'll be okay again."

Upon the pale tom's features rose a light frown but he seemed to dismiss it. Carefully, he laid his head on his paws and shifted all the closer to Pantherleap. His heart swelled and he mindlessly shoved away a few thoughts of which he did not like. A pleasant warmth surrounded him and after a few moments had passed, he heard the soft and rhythmic breathing of Pantherleap.

Soon enough he fell into a similar slumber.