chapter 2:
“We had an older brother” hawk began, “you mean you had another brother?” echo mewed in astonishment. “Yes, now if you will not interrupt me” hawk looked at echo sternly. Echo flattened her ears in embarrassment. “We had an older brother, and his name was Rabbitwhisker” “rabbitwhisker?” echo gave a hissing laughter. “Yup his name was rabbitwhisker” hawk sighed shaking her head with disappointment “he is the reason snake is the way he is” “what do you mean?” echo tilted her head in confusion. “When I was an apprentice of windclan, he was my mentor and one day me and my siblings were talking and just having fun, and then he walks up and I made a rude comment about him and I, I laughed at him and the others did to…” echo gasped in surprise hawk continued as her bones started to shake with fear and sadness. “and he usually took it as a joke, but I guess this time he was sick of it and so he towered over me and he told me to follow him and so I did” echo arched her eyebrow still listening as she groomed her fur “he led me to snake rocks and I knew it was wrong, I begged him for us to go back but he didn’t say a word, and then I heard a hiss behind me and I spun around but I saw nothing…” hawk’s eyes filled with fear of this memory “and when I looked back I didn’t see him, and then a heartbeat later I felt something grab my neck and I saw with horror that it was him and when I yowled for him to let me go he threw me at a tree and after that I knocked out, but when I woke up I didn’t see him and..and I felt my neck and ear bleeding, and then…” she flattened her ears as she spat with fear and her back was arched and her fur on end. “a-an adder bit my leg, and then as I was crying in pain, he came but he wasn’t trying to help instead he…he clawed my side…slowly.” Echo felt a shiver of fear down her spine as she pictured the dark tom trying to kill his own apprentice. Echo walked over and curled herself around her friend and brushed her muzzle on her cheek in comfort, “its ok, it’s all in the past now your safe, nothing and no one will harm you, I swear by starclan I will give my breath before they can put a paw on you” hawk smiled and laid down next to her purring softly.” thank you, for being my friend echo” Echo smiled then rasped, her tongue over hawks forehead then curled her tail around her and laid down. She perked up as she smelled scents, to many, she started to bristle. Hawk shot up immediately and her eyes became slits of prickling fear. The two she-cats dashed to the cave their pelts brushed together a few times. Snake, ice, moth, grey, and blaze all circled defending the cave as the kits, crow and soot all sheltered inside, shadowstrike stayed in the cave but was in a corner as he was grooming his pelt.