"Dipperflight." The dark tabby in question snapped to attention. A cold sun-high wind gusted across RiverClan camp, ruffling his pelt. The clan's eyes were on him, and Daisystar was before him, the pale golden-ginger and white deputy at the leader's side.

       "..yes..?" His voice cracked out, a little over a whisper. Rushfrost had just explained it. ThunderClan hostility at the Sunningrocks border, demanding to for Dipperflight to be released. Saying they'd come claw unsheathed to the camp the next day at sunset if not.

       "It's up to you," Daisystar repeated. Dipperflight had zoned out moments earlier, his mind racing. I won't let any of these cats die at Fennelstorm's claws. Not Foxpaw or Ravenpaw, not Hazelstream or Stormcall, not Rushfrost, not Daisystar, not Sagecloud.... his eyes turned to the gray tabby. The tom's brown gaze was wide and focused on him.

        "I'll go. It's... it was so nice of you guys to let me stay with you. To heal. I'm... I'm sorry I ate your prey...," he mumbled, looking to his paws. Stormcall let out a weak laugh which wavered.

       "It's okay Dipperflight," Hazelstream meowed gently, the large tom gently stepping from the crowd of gathered cats to rub the side of his face against his black striped shoulder.

       "I'll go out with the sunset patrol to tell the ThunderClan that we'll bring you tomorrow at sunhigh, if you'd like." Rushfrost' voice was quiet, his eyes deep in thought. Dipperflight nodded stiffly.

      "Yeah... yeah. Thanks, Rushfrost," he croaked in response. The meeting broke up slowly then, cats drifting back to whatever they had been doing, though quieter and with an eye on their guest.

"Dipperflight...," he turned. Foxpaw stood, a few paces away, his eyes large and ears back. "Are you leaving...?" Dipperflight nervously looked to Sagecloud, who usually was always there to swoop in and help the apprentices when they weren't at their best. The gray tabby was off in the distance, quietly speaking to Stormcall and Hazelstream, the former's golden eyes sharp with an unknown expression.

"I... yeah. I have to." He moved toward the ginger apprentice, sitting down.

"But if you don't want to leave... why leave? We don't want you to leave! Well, maybe Troutface does, but that's only because he doesn't trust anyone." His head tipped to the side as his thought process trailed off.

"Sometimes you have to do what you don't want to," the dark tabby replied softly. Foxpaw thought for a moment before giving a small reluctant nod.

"Yeah," he whispered. The sun settled behind a darkened cloud, casting whispers of light down into the chilled camp. "What was ThunderClan like?" He asked quietly. "I've talked to Ravenpaw about it, theorizing. Probably lots of brambles. I've seen it from the other side of the river, it seems too dark. Scary." He added he last part, raising his brows.

"Oh... it's..." Dipperflight sighed as he thought. "It's nice and cool in greenleaf when it's been too long since it last rained. It shines gold on a sunny leaf-fall day. Leaf-bare is, well.. bare. Snow covers everything and sometimes you don't see the thorn bushes. Dawnwhisker, my friend, she always somehow manages to step on one during the first snowfall of every leaf-bare. She's usually trying to scrounge a vole up when she does though, so Heatherberry never minds plucking them out because she brings actual prey back." He purred quietly. "New-leaf is beautiful." He was silent for a moment.

"You should stick around in RiverClan, you'll get see what it's like here!" Foxpaw chirped. "I don't know what Leaf-Bare is like yet, so we'll get to see it together! Everyone tells me about snow, and the river gets so cold that it becomes solid sometimes. That's why I have to learn to hunt birds. Oh, Dipperflight! You should teach me how to hunt birds! You hunt birds in ThunderClan, right?" He jumped up with excitement. The dark tabby swished his dark tabby banded tail.

"Maybe," he murmured. Foxpaw circled the white chested tom brightly. I probably won't be here much longer. By the end of the day tomorrow I'll probably be dead. 

"If you had gotten here in Greenleaf, or even New-Leaf, we could've taught you to swim! If we were to teach you now you'd hate water forever because it's so cold! Sagecloud told me how he taught Troutface to swim back when he was an apprentice and Troutface first came." Dipperflight tipped his head to the side and the young cat stopped in his tracks. "Sagecloud doesn't like when we talk about others, but Troutface was a kittypet." The apprentice shrugged. "Nobody really cares except for Troutface, though."

      "Is that why he doesn't like me?" Dipperflight twitched his whiskers, and Focpaw nodded.

      "Probably."

      "Foxpaw, come look at this fish! Ravenpaw says he caught but I doubt it!" A small black she-cat apprentice called from across the camp, standing next to a defiant looking Ravenpaw and a large carp.

       "Oh, WOW!" Foxpaw shouted back, his face bright. He started off before pausing. "See you later, Dipperflight? You won't leave without saying goodbye?" He blinked widely. Dipperflight swallowed before giving a stiff nod.

"I'd never," he murmured. The young tabby purred and sprung away to his peers, the ThunderClan watching him. He turned his gaze to Sagecloud, Hazelstream, and Stormcall, who were staring at him as well. He lowered his head wearily. Hazelstream mouthed something inaudible and Sagecloud waved his tail, beckoning him over. Dipperflight slowly made his way across the island over to the three toms laying in a large patch of flattened sedges, the tall grasses woven tightly for comfort.

      "So, you're going back to ThunderClan tomorrow...," Hazelstream sighed, giving a weak smile. Dipperflight blinked, sitting down next to Sagecloud.

      "You're not excited." Stormcall notes, golden eyes glittering softly with curiosity. Dipperflight shrugged lightly. He hadn't really told anybody about Fennelstorm, save for Daisystar in a sort of way. It's for their safety. For my safety.

        "I'm hoping it'll be better when I get back." He admitted vaguely. "But.. knowing... or-- er... possibly, maybe.. it won't be." He looked to his paws, but he looked over quickly as he felt Sagecloud rub the top of his head to just below Dipperflight's jaw.

      "You can always come back," he murmured. Dipperflight's fur grew hot slightly, he looked back down as the gray tabby pulled away.

       "Yeah, Daisystar accepts you, you're like one of us to them!" Stormcall meowed brightly. Sagecloud blinked awakwardly before flicking his tail tip.

       "We'll make sure Troutface isn't a wasp-head if you come back, too. Sorry about him. Rushfrost and I have always made sure he's busy, though, this past half-moon; we kind of knew he was going to be like this...," the gray tom laughed lightly, slightly embarrassed.

      "It wasn't a problem, it really was... sort of..." he cut himself off. Normal. It was normal. "Yeah." I'm going to be going back to that. Back to Fennelstorm. His heart didn't feel any faster, but a dread was growing in his belly. I feel... sick about it. Like a horrible anxiety. I'm.. scared. I guess. It's a different scared than usual. It's not an intimidating cat scared, it's more of a... worry. What's Fennelstorm going to say or do? What's Dawnwhisker going to think? The other warriors?

       "I should go make Troutface apologize," Stormcall thought out loud.

      "Stormcall, it's fine. Honestly." Dipperflight waved his tail slightly, but the small black and white tom was already on his paws.

      "Too late, I've already made up my mind. He's out by Daisystar's Den, isn't he? Or is he... he's in the warriors den I think." Stormcall began trotting off across the island toward the reed-woven den was.

       "Wait, Stormcall you can't just wake him up to go--!" Hazelstream was on his paws quickly, trotting after his short mate.

Sagecloud purred softly, and Dipperflight shifted so that he was facing just the gray tom. He noticed when he purred, he didn't just purr with a smile, he purred with his full face. His eyes closed and head tipped slightly to the side. Sagecloud slowly opened his eyes, amber-brown, sort of like the sky on a foggy dawn.

"I didn't want to ask in front of Hazelstream and Stormcall.. but are you ready? I know ThunderClan is ready, and StarClan knows Troutmask is ready, but are you ready to go?" He quirked his head to the side.

"....I'm scared," he finally whispered. Sagecloud thought for a moment.

"I would offer advice, but I can't really think of anything. I don't know what happened. I'd say... not to be afraid but," he looked to the ground as he spoke, but his eyes rose to the dark tabby. "Some things really are scary." Dipperflight have a small nod in slight understanding.

"It's like-- it's like I'm going to be sick. But I know I'm not going to be. It's horrible. Gnawing." He shook his head slowly as he spoke, his eyes closing. He felt Sagecloud press his nose to where his leg met his paw, a gentle, humble gesture, and he opened his eyes.

"My mother left. When I was a kit, she left. She had a huge web of lies, and a cat from another clan knew them. They told them all. My mother disappeared in the middle of the night then. It was a horrible, waking up and calling out for her. Nowhere to be found," the RiverClan tom swallowed, uncomfortable, and took a deep breath. "Five moons later, I'm an apprentice and I go to my first gathering ever. She was there." His muscles tensed, and he dared not meet the eye of Dipperflight. "I called to her, 'Heronmist, Heronmist it's me--' but then I saw it. She was.. expecting another cat's kits."

       Heronmist-- Daisystar said that was the name of their mate.. Sagecloud is the cat they were talking about. The cat who they thought was their son.

      "I understand that horrible feeling. It's sick, horrible feeling. You can't do anything about it except keep going, it'll be over, you'll get through it. There will be a tomorrow." He took in a deep breath and looked up to the thick-furred Dipperflight. "I swear, Dipperflight, if you're ever not safe, come back." 

       Dipperflight didn't know what to say. I can't just... he can't know that I know.

       "I.. yeah. I will. I'm sorry-- I'm sorry about your mom."

        "Don't be sorry. There's nothing you could've done about it." The gray tom straightened up, smoothing down a ruffled bit of fur on his chest. "I have a hunting patrol I have to be on. We're leaving pretty soon, but if you need me, I could ask Rookchaser to cover for me." Dipperflight shook his head.

       "No, thanks." He smiled softly, and Sagecloud stood, stretching low to the ground, his belly fur brushing the soft earth.

       "You should grab something to eat. It's one of your last chances to get to eat a fish..!" He purred, joking. Dipperflight made a face, and Sagecloud bounded away with a laugh to where a small gathering group of cats were preparing to leave. Dipperflight watched him depart, his own thoughts returning.

       It's okay to be scared. It's okay to be scared. He thought over and over. I am. I'm so scared. I don't know what's coming. I don't know if Fennelstorm will be waiting for me, I don't know if he'll be happy or upset or angry. I don't know if my clan knows about what he did.

      I don't want to leave these cats. But I have to.

//
AN
I hard-core slipped and fell in the school parking lot today and ripped a hole in the knee of my khakis I'm so mad I really liked this pair. Maybe if I get blood poisoning, though, I won't have to go to school on Monday. That would be nice.

Sorry for the info dump I had to get it out because it's now or never. Better planning was needed on the character history aspects of writing. Also every other part of writing.