Return- Hawkfrost x Ivypool

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly in direct contrast to the image of the Dark Forest that still haunted Hawkfrost. Spottedleaf padded beside him, giving him concerned glances every few seconds.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" He finally asked her after she turned her head towards him again.

"You know why," she swiftly replied. "I don't think you're quite okay with what you did."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't help when you're disgusted at yourself and then Ivystar's most trusted warriors and medicine cats look at you like some sort of monster," Hawkfrost growled, refusing to face Spottedleaf.

Spottedleaf gave him a sympathetic look. "You can do this, Hawkfrost. Didn't you tell Ivystar that she was strong just last night? You are too."

"Sure I am," he grumbled. 

"You didn't have a choi-"

He whirled around to glare furiously at Spottedleaf before she could finish her sentence. "OF COURSE I HAD A CHOICE," he nearly roared. "AND I LET THEM DIE!"

"You didn't have a choice," Spottedleaf repeated. "And meow quietly, or all of ThunderClan will hear."

Hawkfrost took a deep breath. "Let's talk about... the gods."

"Right." Spottedleaf said. She waited a heartbeat before beginning, as if she was hoping that Hawkfrost would choose a different topic. "As you know, when I faded from StarClan, I joined the gods. All cats that fade from StarClan have a choice, you know. They can either disappear entirely, be reincarnated and never remember who they were until they rejoin StarClan, or they can become a god."

"Why would anyone not want to be a god?" Hawkfrost asked.

"Because some believe that they died leaving something important unfinished, or they truly do not wish to watch helplessly forever. I have heard many reasons from many different cats." Spottedleaf replied.

Hawkfrost thought for a moment. "What if an insignificant cat chooses to become a god?"

Anger blazed in Spottedleaf's eyes. "No cat is insignificant," she hissed before calming herself as if nothing had ever happened. "They might watch over something small, like a single cat, or bring messages to StarClan."

"Okay," Hawkfrost said. "Who has discovered the gods?"

"Bluestar, Moth Flight, Leafstar..."

Hawkfrost cut her off. "Who is Leafstar?"

Spottedleaf shrugged helplessly. "I'm afraid I do not know. But anyway, your father-"

"Please don't remind me that he's my kin," Hawkfrost sighed.

"Tigerstar, then, would not have been a god. He was forced into an eternal battle, growing weaker and weaker. Bringing him back from that place saved him. I doubt that he nor Brokenstar wishes to discuss it with the others."

"What if..." Hawkfrost trailed off when Lionblaze and Jayfeather came padding through the trees. They would probably call him crazy if they thought that he was talking to himself.

Spottedleaf took one look at Jayfeather and disappeared.

"Who were you talking to, Hawkfrost?" Jayfeather asked, the slightest hint of suspicion lingering in his mew.

"No one."

Lionblaze shrugged. "Oh well. I guess we're not going to get an answer out of you."

"Was that seriously that easy?" 

Jayfeather sighed. "We're not interested in that answer."

Hawkfrost was seriously considering the possibility that the brothers had rehearsed it when Lionblaze immediately said, "We want to know more about how you feel about murdering Hollyleaf."

"Didn't I already tell you?"

"That's not good enough!" Lionblaze growled. "Hollyleaf was our sister! You can't expect us to just forget about it all just because you gave a half-hearted apology!"

"Look, what else do you want?" Hawkfrost snapped. "I am sorry and I know that you don't want to trust me, and I understand that! I'd react the same way if some cat killed Mothwing! But I can't give you anything more than an apology, so unless you expect Hollyleaf to come down from StarClan, you just need to trust me!"

The two brothers paused. "He's not wrong," Jayfeather told Lionblaze.

"Can you ask her tonight?" Lionblaze meowed back. He received a nod in return.

"In the meantime," Jayfeather began. Hawkfrost gulped. What did Jayfeather want to do? 

Lionblaze stopped Jayfeather from finishing his sentence. "We could go hunting."

"Oh, good," Hawkfrost sighed. "But..."

"But what?" Asked Lionblaze and Jayfeather at the same time.

"It's been a while since I've been hunting," Hawkfrost admitted, feeling shame rising through his pelt.

Wicked delight surfaced on Lionblaze's expression. "That means I can teach both of you to hunt!"

Hawkfrost groaned. "Oh, great."

~~~~~~~

After a long, messy day full of failed stalking and Jayfeather lunging into trees, the three toms returned to camp. Ivystar took one look at them, sighed, and padded off, meowing, "Why do I even bother?"

Hawkfrost shook the leaves from his pelt, as did Jayfeather. Lionblaze was clean and unscathed, mostly because he had been doing the mentoring and not the actual hunting.

"At least I caught something," Hawkfrost told her as she walked away, flicking his tail towards a mouse on the fresh-kill pile.

She stopped and stared at the mouse before laughing. "It took you all day to catch that?" Her whiskers didn't stop twitching, especially when a hunting patrol came padding into the hollow, all four cats carrying two pieces of prey.

"The prey practically fell into our paws!" Tigersky boasted as she put her squirrel and bird on the pile. The rest of her patrol gave nods of agreement, placing their catches with hers.

Hawkfrost snorted indignantly. "I haven't hunted in moons! It's not my fault! Besides, it was mostly fish that I ate."

Lionblaze wrinkled his nose. "I still don't understand why RiverClan likes that vile stuff so much."

"Hey!" Hawkfrost protested. "It tastes good! You should try some!"

"I'll take your word for it, thanks."

Ivystar had turned around to face Hawkfrost fully. "Speaking of your weird RiverClan ways, do you even know how to fight like a ThunderClan cat? Or really anything, for that matter?"

"No," Hawkfrost admitted, shifting his paws.

"I'll figure something out," Ivystar told him. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Well... my sister."

Ivystar shook her head. "The Gathering will happen soon. She'll find out that you're back with the rest of the Clans."

"She's going to kill me," Hawkfrost groaned.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I missed my weekend update. So here's two chapters!