The tomcat turned slowly when he heard someone calling out to him. He could barely hear their voice through the ringing in his ears, and he curled a lip at the sensation. Scorchedwhisker’s disgruntled demeanor barely softened as he glanced at the new queen. He recognized her as one of the cats from the previous ceremonies, the ones that had been paired off with Littlecrow’s kin. His blue eyes searched the clearing, wondering if she had called out to her new partner. “Me?” He questioned with a raised brow. “I’m fine.” Scorchedwhisker said a bit to shortly. “Shouldn’t you be resting, or something?” Had she seen him struggling just now? It was nothing but a small dizzy spell... besides he hardly knew this she-cat, and he was certain that she had no idea who he was. The tom supposed he couldn’t fault her for being polite and asking after him, however. Even if it did strike him as odd

He wasn’t exactly used to others caring about whether he pushed himself too hard or not. The last cat to do that was his mother. But he hadn’t seen her for a few seasons now. Yet it was all Scorchedwhisker ever did. Push himself harder if it meant being useful to the clan. He didn’t go through that initiation process for nothing. “I’ll rest after I bring a larger catch back.” The tom said with a flick of his tail. “Since you have perfect vision, I’m sure you can see that the fresh-kill pile isn’t as stocked as it should be.” He mewed a bit gruffly. “So unless you want to eat nothing but dirt, I can’t exactly rest just yet. Unlike you, a pregnant she-cat, who should be resting. Or do you just hang out in the nursery for fun?”

Scorchedwhisker barely had time to blink as the queen’s mood continuously shifted. He looked over at her, his blue eyes wide as his words failed him for once. He wasn’t entirely sure what to say. She went from caring, too angry, too… mischievous? Whatever it was, it had happened so quickly that the tom hadn’t the time to process it all. “…Look, lady,” He finally said, curling his lip a bit out of habit when he saw her claws slide out of their sheaths. “You’re pregnant. Not much you can do, and by the look of you it looks like you haven’t eaten in days. Didn’t you just come out of prison? Maybe resting is the best thing to do. I ain’t coddling you, I’m just being logical…hey..!” Scorchedwhisker took a few steps back when she suddenly flicked him with her tail. “Go? Go where? Weren’t you just listening to me?”

He felt like a fish out of water. Scorchedwhisker just couldn’t keep up with this queen. He quickly closed his mouth when he felt it open slightly, as if he were waiting for the words to fall out. But there were no words. At least none that he could find. The tomcat looked around quickly, hoping that no one would see him walking out with a pregnant queen who should be resting. Wasn’t her mate that really big tom cat? Lionproud or something? Was this she-cat trying to get him killed? When he looked back towards her, she had already made it towards the mouth of the tunnel. Scorchedwhisker quickly moved towards her, his tail lashing in frustration. “Grumpy is nothing compared to what’ll happen to me if something happens to you out there, Pollendrone…” He hissed, exaggerating her name a bit as he half-heartedly glared at her. The quick movements caused another wave of vertigo to hit him, and he did his best to hide that fact. He was lucky that he didn’t start swaying on his paws. “One round of hunting, thats it. If you don’t catch anything the first time I’m taking you back here. Or do you want to see your massively large mate tear me into shreds?”

“Hey! Don’t just… great…” Scorchedwhisker growled as he watched her walk through the tunnel. The siamese tom looked back at the camp before he ran through the tunnel after her. She was really going to get him killed. When he finally got up to her he had to squeeze his eyes shut and take a deep breath. The warrior slowly opened his eyes, urging them to focus quickly as he looked back up at Pollendrone. Great, now he really was responsible for her. He practically gaped at her suggestion, the fur on his neck quickly bristling as she used his words against him. “No, you don’t have permission to stay out here…! You catch one thing, you go back to camp. You don’t catch anything, you go back to camp. That’s it. You are pregnant, or have you not realized that yet? You can’t do anything risky, and this is risky…!” Scorchedwhisker sat down, curling his tail around his paws as he let out an annoyed sigh. “And I didn’t say I wanted to catch something large, I wanted to catch more than those measly two mice I brought back.”

“Scorchedwhisker. Not grumpy, Scorchedwhisker, Pollendrone.” The tom grumbled, emphasizing her name once more. His blue eyes narrowed dangerously when she moved closer to him. It only made his fur bristle more, creating the illusion that Scorchedwhisker was twice the size he actually was. The lanky tom glared down at her, his yes darting back and forth between her eyes, and the foliage around them. He wasn’t used to cats being this close to him. Not since he left his mother in Moonclan. The pure discomfort he felt could be seen on his face as he slowly backed away from him. “You do know what personal space is right?” It was a low, but soft snarl as he finally focused on her face. “I’d appreciate it if-“ He found himself at a lost for words once more as Pollendrone actually poked his nose. Scorchedwhisker was dumbfounded by this she-cat again. He’d expect this behavior from Blissfulkit. But a grown cat? Were all she-cats like this? What did she think would happen with the simple gesture? She had certainly stunned him. Scorchedwhisker sat back on his haunches and slowly rubbed his nose with his paw as he stared down at it. “…hang on, you didn’t offer help, you just invited yourself. Go alone… are you trying to get me killed by your mate?”

He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding when she finally sat back and gave him his space. Scorchedwhisker allowed himself to relax only a little bit as he continued to watch her. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. The tom still didn’t consider it an offer, but he wasn’t going to continue arguing with her about that. He didn’t want to trigger anymore hormonal rampages. “Just letting you leave camp is doing something wrong.” Scorchedwhisker couldn’t help but add under his breath. He straightened up just a bit when her voice suddenly turned soft. Pollendrone’s entire demeanor seemed to change as she practically pleaded with him to let her join him on a second hunt. The cream colored tom looked her over for a moment, before he cast a quick glance back at the camp. He knew that those in the arranged marriages were forced to stay in the prison with their mates after the last ceremony, but he like most of the clan had no idea what went on in those caves. She did seem to enjoy being out in the sunlight and in the open air of the territory. Was he really that cruel that he would send her back? How often was she able to freely roam about the territory? Scorchedwhisker let out a small groan as he looked back at her, his whiskers teacher as he slumped down once more. “Fine, fine…” He said. “But you have to listen to what I say, for your own safety. And you can deal with Lionpride if he comes after my head, got it?”

Well, at least she seemed a bit happier now. Scorchedwhisker still had a bit of a bad feeling about all of this. A pregnant queen out and about trying to hunt… he wasn’t sure if Bloodystar would care too much, but he was positive that Lionpride would swipe his head right off. The siamese tom wasn’t exactly in the best of health either since he had started sacrificing his own meals for the queens and kits. Sometimes the elders, but they always got on his nerves. He would just have to be extra diligent now. “I’m going to hold you to that.” Scorchedwhisker grumbled. “No one in their right mind would mess with Lionpride…” The warrior didn’t pay much mind to her thanks. His only acknowledgment of it was a small, you’re welcome, that was said under his breath as he slowly stood back up to his paws. Scorchedwhisker tried his best not to recoil much as he saw her take another few steps closer to her, and couldn’t help but curl his lip a bit. “There’s nothing to be found it seems like. Can’t abuse their hiding spots or the few pools of water they find, and then you can’t get too close to the borders where they’re all running too. This Sun God better come back soon, or he won’t have any more loyal followers to kiss his paws.” He growled as he started walking ahead a few paces, but stopped for a minute to make sure that Pollendrone was following him.

Scorchedwhisker couldn't help but scoff at that. "Sorry, I don't think I share that optimism. Things are broken right now. Far to broken. It's just going to take one more tragedy or disaster before the clan dissolves into civil dissent, and then it'll be a war inside Sunclan. Loyalists versus dissenters, or whatever. The Sun God won't be able to fix that, if he comes back." The tom's tail lashed from side to side. He fully believed that it wouldn't be long before Sunclan destroyed itself. Scorchedwhisker knew better than to hope for some kind of silver lining in this entire situation. There was none to be found. He flicked his ears at her other question. "I don't know. I don't exactly keep track of it."