"Of course not," he huffed immediately, "Shule couldn't make friends if her life depended on it." He had never seen her get along with a cat who wasn't her relative. Some cats treated her with respect because of her position, but that power wasn't the same as friendship. He'd learned that one the hard way.

"You really don't care?" Stormreign shook his head slightly, looking back at Hakoda. He made things seem so simple, but Stormreign wasn't so sure. He had fled to NightClan to escape Shule; was he really going to throw it all away so easily now? He had rotted away for moons, he couldn't go back to their prison, he shouldn't take that risk. He wouldn't survive it.

"You don't care, but... I do. I have to. If she doesn't kill me, she'll put me in prison to finish my sentence, and I can't go back there. I'm not being overdramatic, I'm not trying to be difficult," he insisted, "I am dead serious." His intense gaze locked onto Hakoda. "I would do anything to stay out of there, even if it means giving you up. That's just how it is."

The affection that had left him feeling so warm and fuzzy was dissipating now. It always would. Lust and love were temporary, and they weren't worth the sentence. Prison might be temporary but it had a much later expiration date.

Nobody dealt with Shule. Stormreign knew that. He had tried to keep her in reign for moons, and failed; he couldn't even stop her from murdering Funk. Hakoda wouldn't be able to keep her in line either.

In that particular moment, he no longer cared.

Hakoda dazzled him just enough to lose his sensibility, and he put the issue to rest for the moment. When he was alone later, replaying this meeting in his mind, he would remember with full force how terrified he should be, but here, now, he was serene.

"Okay, you've made your point," he conceded, a slight smile playing across his lips. Stormreign watched him walk away for several long seconds before he remembered himself.

"If you would stop distracting me, I owe you a tour of the waterfalls."

"Do you even know where you're going?" Stormreign laughed, marveling at the change that had overcome Hakoda. The cat bouncing around in front of him was the opposite of what he had expected from the stoic, silent warrior he had blindfolded, but he couldn't say he minded the change. He leaned forward, stretching out his lanky hind legs before padding up to Hakoda's side and pointing up past him to the trail. There were many ways away from the falls, but that narrow track was the easiest way to cross over the top of the waterfall and climb up the grassy slopes on the other side that would lead to the splendid view he wanted to show him.

"We'll head up that way, and whoever reaches the top of the hill first wins. Try not to slip and fall into the river on the way there. Ready?" Stormreign grinned at him before taking a step back to give them both room to run. This would be a much easier task for him, and he was looking forward to it. "Three... two.... one.... go!"

The blue tom raced after him.

He had been in NightClan for several moons now, and he had crossed the waterfall enough times to know where the best paths were; he had shown one to Hakoda to keep things fair, but he still knew exactly where to place his paws without having to slow down to think about it. The terrain was his only advantage. While he had long legs for running, Stormreign rarely had a reason to push himself through a sprint, and he was used to long jogs instead.

But he wasn't going to give up that easily. Stormreign had a competitive streak, even if he usually masked it as playfulness. He darted up the path and turned neatly around the corner to face the waters.

He slowed down over the water, timing each leap with care. He could swim, but that didn't mean he wanted to take a dive right now, and the water on top of the falls was a stronger current than the rivers he was used to. It was better to take his time and keep his footing. He didn't look up until he had crossed, and then his heart sank in dismay.

"Hakoda, stop!" he hissed as loudly as he dared. They were too close to the camp now, he couldn't risk waking them up. He sprinted up the hill after the tom.

One second, the dark tom's silhouette was illuminated near the top of the hill; the next he was gone, and Stormreign blinked twice, unable to understand until he heard the splash of the tom plunging into the water. It was a long fall, and his fur stood on end just at the thought of the impact: it would sting, it would be freezing code, but he did not think it was hard enough to deal lasting damage. At least, he hoped it wasn't.

Stormreign veered down the hill and paced along the water's edge, anxiously skimming the darkness for a sign of Hakoda. He just needed to know which direction to swim in, where to start, but with every passing millisecond, he feared Hakoda was unconscious beneath the waves. "Come on, come on," he muttered, "show yourself..."

Moments ticked by, but the black tom didn't rise to the surface. As the last of the ripples from the splash dissipated the water seemed eerily still. Underneath the water, Darksonata lied limply blood floating upwards from where he had struck his head on the stones below. Luckily he wasn't to far from the shore line or very deep, but being unconscious meant that he couldn't get himself to the surface. His body slowly sinking and settling on the bottom  with the waves tugging at his long black coat. The only indication to his whereabouts the trickle of blood rising to the surface

Storemreign pulled himself from the water and leaned over Hakoda, his dripping whiskers brushing the tom's face as he anxiously listened for the sound of his breath. There was nothing; perhaps it was just a long pause beneath breaths, and so he waited, begging eyes trained on his enemy's face, for an inhale that he dreaded would never come.

Then Hakoda stirred, coughing up water, and Stormreign felt a surge of relief. He wasn't much for religion, the only gods he knew were cats that had elevated themselves to glorious heights, and saw their platform crumble beneath their feet; even the god of the sun had proved himself mortal when his disciple carved out his heart. And yet, as the warrior stirred beneath his paws, Stormreign found himself murmuring a fervent prayer of gratitude to any being that might be listening.

Win?

The blue tom stared down at Hakoda in disbelief. "He's breathing," he told Aspenstar from the corner of his mouth, "but I think he might have gone daft. Of course you didn't win," he added, louder. "It wasn't a drowning competition, was it? You ran up the wrong hill, you grand idiot."