Hailwatcher hesitates outside the entrance to ShadowClan camp, glancing up at the pale sky.

Roused from sleep immediately after his conversation with Slatestar, he groggily stumbles forward.

Through drooping eyes he examines every tuft of fur caught in the bramble tunnel's thorns and every greenleaf bloom and toadstool sprouting up from the ground.

Slatestar's words reverberate tirelessly through his mind, forcing his paws to remain on the ground despite his half-hearted willingness to enter.

Hailwatcher draws in a breath, coughing feebly to try and clear the lump in his throat, and wriggles into the bramble tunnel.

He examines the camp through fresh eyes upon entering, hoping to extract some meaning from his newfound responsibility.

Doubting seriously that anyone will respect him anyway, he shuffles closer to the heart of camp in search of Willowstar.

In his view the ShadowClan leader is an eccentric character, always up in the wee hours of the morning, though whether his punctuality stems from insomnia or discipline remains undecided.

Hailwatcher eventually spots Willowstar basking on a rock, accompanied by an amber-eyed silver tabby- ShadowClan's deputy- keeping watch over the camp.

Sighing through gritted teeth, Hailwatcher pads over to the pair of cats.

"Hello, Willowstar," he mews softly, taking care to dip his head.

"Hm? Oh- hello there," replies the ShadowClan leader curtly, folding his paws in front of him.

The silver tabby sitting next to Willowstar surveys the young medicine cat pointedly, neutral expression giving nothing away.

"Hello to you too, Slightclaw," Hailwatcher adds more quietly, shifting his balance from paw to paw.

Slightclaw simply stares back at Hailwatcher, flicking an ear.

''Salutations," replies the silver tabby in a bizarrely challenging tone.

"Anyways! Was your ceremony successful?" Willowstar gazes intently at Hailwatcher, green eyes flickering with vaguely artificial positivity.

"Yes, Willowstar...I'm Hailwatcher now."

Willowstar considers this for a moment before his expression shifts from curious to smile-adjacent.

Hailwatcher wonders if his ceremony going well is the only thing Willowstar cares about, but busies himself with shuffling around.

"Lovely, lovely...congratulations, Hailwatcher. Lovely name."

"Thank you." Hailwatcher's gaze wanders over to Slightclaw, who seems extremely disinterested in the conversation.

"Willowstar? Was there not a matter we needed to discuss with Hailwatcher? A rather...pressing one?" the silver tabby mews, glancing pointedly at his leader.

"Oh! Yes, yes," Willowstar replies, getting to his paws with a slight wobble.

"Do you mind if we have a bit of a- conference in the medicine den, Hailwatcher?"

Slightclaw rises from his seated posture, maintaining his trademark reticent composure.

"I...don't mind," Hailwatcher replies, eyeing the leader and deputy warily.

"Well then, Let's go!" trills Willowstar, carrying himself with an energy much too extravagant for this early in the morning.

Slightclaw, sporting a disinterested and lethargic expression, follows silently after.

Although him and Slightclaw aren't the best of friends, for a number of reasons, Hailwatcher feels a bit but not very bad for the ShadowClan deputy's lack of sleep.

Hailwatcher starts trotting toward the medicine den, anticipating his return to his haven, of sorts, but the excitement is dampened by Willlowstar and Slightclaw being right behind him.

Hailwatcher ducks under the hanging vines covering the entrance to the den, a small segmented cavern in the wall of the camp.

The first chamber, containing the herb stores and a ratty moss nest tucked in the corner, lies contoured by pale shadows.

A few seeds, fallen from the herb shelf, sprout directly beneath it.

Willowstar slips into the medicine den, shaking out his fur; Slightclaw follows after with an indecipherable shimmer in his eyes.

The ShadowClan deputy glances around in an ambiguous manner, perceptively scanning the cavern's interior.

"So, Hailwatcher," the ShadowClan leader mews, fluffy tail swishing behind him, "-we have something to tell you."

"Yes?" Hailwatcher prompts, dreading the inevitable answer.

Slightclaw alertedly flicks an ear backward, looking as if he's about to protest, but ultimately remains quiet.

"We have decided that you will not be receiving additional assistance from the other Clans' medicine cats."

Hailwatcher pauses, turning around to stare up at Willowstar.

"What? No!" he protests, bristling.

"Unfortunately, we cannot afford to be seen as vulnerable by the other Clans. Which means no more tutoring."

Willowstar's expression becomes stern.

Mildly annoyedbyWillowstar's attempt to patronize him, Hailwatcher presses.

"But I'm not fully trained yet-"

"Willowstar," Slightclaw chimes in, seeming rather serious, "-I urge you to reconsider. We cannot allow a kit to be responsible for the lives of an entire Clan. Especially not this...half-breed," the silver tabby hisses disdainfully.

Offended, Hailwatcher recoils.

"Don't call me that," he protests, although he finds the rest of Slightclaw's reasoning to be aligned with his current opinion.

"And why shouldn't I?" Slightclaw replies icily, a bit of smugness beginning to show in his expression.

"B-because it's rude?" Hailwatcher murmurs, starting to feel a bit stupid.

"It's true, though, is it not?" the deputy retorts.

"Well...yes, but-" Hailwatcher falters, staring down at his paws.

Despite knowing Slightclaw is at least somewhat correct, Hailwatcher can't help but wonder why the ShadowClan deputy still feels the need to be condescending.

"And, Willowstar," Slightclaw continues, turning to his leader, "-to introduce something you seem to have failed to consider...How do you think the Clan will take this? I don't believe they'd be too fond of your decision, and the Clan's verdict should be our guidance in making these kinds of determinations."

"Not now, Slightclaw," Willowstar interjects, sounding more serious than before.

"We have discussed this and I have made my decision."

After a long look at his leader, Slightclaw straightens.

"Hmph."

Feeling even smaller than before, Hailwatcher glances pleadingly up at his leader.

"Willowstar...I need more training..."

"I don't doubt that you do, but again, it'd be too risky a move for our political security," Willowstar mews grimly.

"So what do you suppose we do then, Willowstar? Let the kit play with leaves?"

Caught off guard by this interruption, Hailwatcher flinches and pricks an ear in the direction of an irritated Slightclaw.

"This is far too great a risk-"

"That is enough, Slightclaw," Willowstar hisses, an edge creeping into his wavering voice.

"My decision- my decision is final."

The ShadowClan leader's dusky brown fur bristles.

Hailwatcher cynically notes that Willowstar's composure and his words don't quite match.

Slightclaw again remains silent, glancing pointedly at Hailwatcher this time.

Hailwatcher flinches back a little, curling his feathered tail around his flanks.

"Very well, then," the ShadowClan deputy replies, expression shifting to pointed neutrality yet again.

Hailwatcher tries to get a good look at Willowstar's expression but the ShadowClan leader evasively turns away, seeming to purposely avoid looking at him.

Wishing that ShadowClan had a mediator for situations like this, he sighs hollowly.

"Is- is that all..?" Hailwatcher mumbles, stumbling over his paws as he gets up.

Willowstar nods, though appears very much uncertain.

"I believe so."

Slightclaw glances away, expression hard as stone.

Seeming a bit more jittery now, Willowstar clears his throat.

"Well, since this meeting is now over, you are both dismissed."

The ShadowClan leader glances around or a few heartbeats before quickly turning and pushing his way through the medicine den's entrance.

Slightclaw pauses before doing the same, locking a stern gaze onto Hailwatcher as he departs.

"Why does it just keep getting worse..?" the gray and white tom mumbles to himself, stumbling over to his nest and sinking down into it.

The stale moss retains a calming, familiar scent- that of Thornflight, Hailwatcher's predecessor and mentor.

As he lies awake, Hailwatcher stares at the stone ceiling of the medicine den and ponders Slatestar's words.

Though not without his doubts about StarClan's percieved infallibility, he decides to hesitantly take them at their word, if only for the sake of preserving his own life.

Feeling his eyelids getting heavier, Hailwatcher tries to keep himself awake to no avail.

The last thing he sees before he slips into sleep is a brief glimpse of a fissure in the ground from which a red glow emanates; by the time he recoils in surprise, darkness already consumes his vision.