Rose was in her usual corner in the next alleyway, with the smell of sweet and spicy herbs perfuming the damp air. She was humming to herself, singing a little ditty as she sorted herbs, stuffing them into the cracks between the brick wall, muttering the name and quantity of her supply under her breath as she continued to sing.
"Hello Night," she mewed in a sing-song voice, greeting him without turning around. "I'm glad you're back! I was worried for your safety."
"Rose," Night interrupted her before she could carry on babbling.
The petite queen turned her head, whiskers twitching excitedly at the sight of him.
Rose was easily the most beloved and popular cat in the entire colony. Her long cream-colored coat was always perfectly groomed, and her blue eyes were always brimming with optimism. She was as kind as she was beautiful. If the rest of Hawk were rainclouds, Rose was the sun peeking out from behind the overcast.
It was no wonder, after the death of so many mothers and kittens, Oak didn't hesitate to declare Night and Rose pair-bonds immediately after her birth, two moons after the wreckage. If anything, his father probably wanted to see some of his kittens sooner than later.
"Rose, I need to see my father. To report on the mission. Soon." Night found himself struggling to form a coherent sentence, but Rose nodded in reply. "I can't go looking like I almost got my pelt clawed off. Can you... do something?"
"Oh Night," Rose chuckled, tilting her head. "I may be a Healer, but I'm not a miracle worker. I can give you medicine but you'll have to wait for any wounds you have to heal..."
Night growled impatiently, but he forced himself to swallow his disappointment.
Rose padded over to him and nosed his fur affectionately. "But really, though, my dearest," she purred softly. "I was worried about you."
Night shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry," he replied. "I'll try not to leave so suddenly next time. But you know how it is nowadays. They don't give you much warning before they send you off anymore."
Rose flicked her ears. "I know," she said simply. "Now, let's see what we have going on here..." She ran her gaze over him with a practiced eye. "Goodness, it looks like you got into quite a tussle. Does anything hurt?"
"No," Night replied truthfully.
Rose shook her head. "Well, just in case, take these." She slid over a leaf with multiple berries, dried grasses and leaves wrapped tightly in a bundle. "It's better to control the pain now than to try to get rid of it when it actually acts up."
Night nodded, but didn't eat the herbs immediately. He stared at his paws, wondering if he should tell her what's on his mind.
It was always difficult talking to Rose. Not because he disliked her, or because he didn't trust her. No. Night found Rose perfectly amicable. However, it was just... difficult to start a conversation. It was even harder to talk about serious things with her. Rose was always an innocent kitten in his eyes, even though she'd already completed her Healer examination moons ago and was a fully-functioning member of the colony. Night hated the feeling of bringing bad news to Rose. It felt like every bit was chipping away at her bright and cheery demeanor.
Maybe he was so desperate to keep her the way she was because literally nobody else in the colony could afford to be like that anymore.
Rose was parting his fur and nosing through and picking at that and humming, going through the usual inspection as Night let his mind wander. Then he heard her gasp. Her paw froze on top of the gash on his side.
"What?" Night asked half-heartedly, blinking away his thoughts and glancing at Rose quizzically.
"Night..." Rose sounded wary. She glanced up at him. Her blue eyes were solemn. "These wounds were made by a Hawk cat."
Night's ears were ringing. How on earth could she possibly know.
"What?" Night attempted to cover his shock as quickly as possible, feigning innocence.
"You can trust me," Rose mewed calmly. "And besides, there's no use lying to a Healer. We know everything." She let out a mrow of laughter.
Night's muscles tensed. "They weren't made by a Hawk cat. What could you possibly mean? My teammates wouldn't lay a paw on me..." he continued lying.
Rose looked exasperated. She parted the fur on his flank. "The wounds you have on your side are from a pair of claws that are long and thin. The score marks are incredibly precise," she pressed on. "The wound doesn't hurt for now because it's so thin that it barely bleeds, but it's cut deep enough to get to the bone. You're going to start complaining if it gets infected."
"I don't know what you mean," Night droned on, but he did. He was in trouble.
Rose's eyes narrowed, just the slightest. "Along the trajectory of the wound is chaffed skin. When the cat... We'll just say, any cat for now... managed to claw you, the underside of his paws was rough enough to skin your flesh." Night looked away. "Don't play dumb, Night. Everyone here, not just me, will be able to figure it out if they pay close enough attention. It's the first thing we learn as kittens. Altereds have needle claws with sandy pawpads and Originals have curved claws with soft pawpads—"
"Don't say that. Don't use those words. It's forbidden."
"It's the truth. It is what it is. I'm a Healer, not a storyteller," Rose retorted quickly. Her flank rose and fell with her quickened breathing. "Now tell me. Night, who did this to you?"
Night didn't bother to glance back at her. "Falcon," he muttered under his breath.
"Falcon?" Rose repeated, taking a step backwards. It wasn't easy to surprise her, but clearly this time he'd done it. "You mean... Your Vita? The... dead one?"
"That's the thing, okay?" Night hissed at her, whispering, making sure absolutely nobody around could hear them talking. "He's not dead." He exhaled, digging his claws into the cobblestone cracks. "He's living with the mountain cats. I don't know why or how. But he's alive."
Rose's blue eyes glistened with concern. "You don't want Oak to know."
"He'd order me to kill him! He'd think he was a traitor, a defector, right away." Glancing around quickly, Night forced himself to calm down and lower his voice. "We were sent on that mission to find Hawk fugitives in a particular Cliffside colony, called Mist. I guess there was reason to suspect there was something to look for there, at least..." He shook his head. "And it was true. I fought him. He was there."
Rose's whiskers quivered. "What are you going to do?" she asked him softly.
"I have to get him back," Night replied, a hard edge seeping into his voice. "He might be their prisoner. He might've been stuck there the whole time because of the fighting. I don't know... I have to at least talk to him."
"What are you going to tell your father?" Rose inquired, brushing her tailtip on his shoulder. She edged closer to him.
Night sighed. "Nothing for now," he decided firmly. "And Rose... Try not to say anything either. Especially to Moss. Falcon's going to remain unspoken of until I can be sure he wants to come back from the dead."