you are not unnoticed [c]

Tigershriek had been confused lately, more specifically about Harriertalon. She had been, well, watching him. Never approaching, just... watching. He hadn't wanted to be accusatory, but it was beginning to become quite obvious that she wanted something to do with him. He wasn't sure if she didn't like him, or did like him, or whatever was going on. It wasn't as if he were the smartest cat, he wasn't sure if there was something quite hidden behind her gazes at him, but he wanted to find out.

Golden eyes finally spotted her in camp, and he approached, distinctly trying to present as neutral as possible. "Harriertalon, can I talk to you?" He was straight to the point, long tail flicking at the tip. He would understand what this was about. He would.

Of all cats to approach Harriertalon first, Tigershriek was not the cat she would suspect to do so. She had just been on her way to follow her ever busy brother, Batswarm, out of camp, but she supposed that could wait: he had already disappeared. "...Of course, Tigershriek. What do you need?"

"You've been staring at me. A lot. Why? I mean I'm just confused, you can look at whatever you want, I just want to know why specifically me..?" Tigershriek trailed off, having begun speaking as soon as Harriertalon allowed him to. He felt much better for having finally gotten the question out of his system, however what worried him more would be her response. What would she say, what could she say. He could just be going insane! Then she'd probably tell Nightstar, and Nightstar wouldn't think as highly of him anymore... He just needed to stay focused.

"Have I...?" Tigershriek was correct that she had, in fact, been blatantly staring at him any chance she got the very moment she recognized the young warriors unusual closeness to Nightstar. "I'm sorry, Tigershriek. I hadn't meant to make you uncomfortable." The guilt that her voice held was not because she was truly sorry about being noticed. It was because she was about to lie through her teeth about the reason why she'd been staring. "It's just... Some cats think your relationship with Nightstar is a bit one sided? Like you're trying to curry favor with someone of power for other means."

It wasn't a show when she awkwardly looked down at her paws and back up into the toms golden eyes, though this time her eyes held no usual, naive warmth. "Why would they think that, Tigershriek?"

Tigershriek's eyes widened as Harriertalon spoke, retreating back with every new word. At first, he was upset, screwing his eyes shut for a moment, trying to send his screaming thoughts down into the void so he wouldn't become the rogue she so clearly thought he was. Then he was angry. Bristling slightly, the tom opened his eyes. Gone was the warmth from his clanmate. This was an accusation.

"So do you not trust me as a clanmate?" He snapped, "As a warrior of Shadowclan? You accuse me of playing, what, politics?" He drew closer again, rage burning deep in his chest, restraining himself from turning this into a shouting match. "He saved me. He is everything to me, because without him, I have practically nothing left. I don't want favor. You can have it, I just want him to not throw me out for being an outsider. To the Dark Forest with favor," He spat, looking towards the Jagged Rock for a moment, to where Nightstar likely was as they spoke.

"He is like a father to me. One of the only cats that ever gave a rat's tail about me. All I want is for him to accept me." His voice was lower now, more somber, like the rage had already burned out to reveal the hole within. "Hah. Why would they think that. Nobody cares, that's why. They see me trying to be loved, and all they think is 'bad, evil'." Narrow eyes boring holes into Harriertalon's, he spat a final time. "Satisfied?"

Satisfied? Not in the slightest. She was not good at manipulation like her mentor had been, and her trying had proved to make things far worse than this should have been. Harriertalon stepped back, the hardness in her gaze dissipating just as quick as it had come. It appears there was a mutual misunderstanding. "Rogue blood? Distrust you because you weren't born here...? Tigershriek, I was found at the bottom of the Deep Marsh by Leopardsun. I would be the very last cat to ever claim a cat untrustworthy based on lineage." Her eyes narrowed, tears welling. She hadn't meant to hit the tom where it hurt, and it made her feel like her insides were rotting. Had she not tried to be a cat she wasn't and try to manipulate the information out of him... "I just-

Just what? Was just trying to protect Nightstar? If he heard her say that, he wouldn't find it even the tiniest but amusing. "I wanted to make sure the cats close to him were there because they truly wanted to be. I don't want to not trust anyone, but Nightstar... Nightstar was the cat who taught me how the forest works. He took time even while injured, to make sure I didn't sit in fear of him when I watched him die and rise again in mere heartbeats. He cared to make me understand." And cared to share a slice of his own past with her. They share the same sentiments about StarClan, a bonding moment she would share with no other cat. "You just happened to be fresh to ShadowClan, and I," She sniffled, "Stepped in where I didn't belong. I'm sorry."

Forgiveness was not to be expected for how she approached the subject. Tigershriek's reaction was valid, and she deserved more than just a raised voice. She had unintentionally opened an already gaping wound that Tigershriek had festering.