Brightpaw stumbled through the forest, trying to follow her mentor's scent despite her nose and mouth being filled with blood. The pain was unlike anything she'd ever felt, and she couldn't see out of her left eye.

"B-Brightpaw?"

Brightpaw mewed in relief at her mentor's voice. She bounded towards him and stumbled, collapsing at his feet.

"Brightpaw? Brightpaw, what happened? Y-your face…" Lightningclaw's quiet mew quivered with fear.

"G-Gullstar…" Brightpaw meowed weakly. She was starting to feel faint and closed her eyes. No, eye.

"Great StarClan…" Lightningclaw sighed. He didn't sound surprised and Brightpaw didn't need to ask why.

"Brightpaw," Lightningclaw helped his apprentice to her paws. "I need to get you somewhere safe. We need to get you help."

Brightpaw got up to weak paws and leaned against Lightningclaw, the older cat taking her full weight.

"ThunderClan…" he mumbled.

"Thu-" Brightpaw was interrupted by a coughing fit, blood spattering on the forest floor and soaking into the fur on her chin.

"No, don't try to speak." Lightningclaw mewed soothingly. He carefully got himself under Brightpaw, standing up with the thin apprentice draped across his back. "ThunderClan is safe," Lightningclaw explained. "Shimmerstar will accept you. She will be afraid for you, she'll have Dawnflower heal you. You will live in ThunderClan."

They were almost to the border now. Brightpaw heard a monster pass by on the Thunderpath ahead.

"Lightningclaw," she rasped.

"No, don't speak. Save your breath."

"Lightningclaw, I'm expecting kits," Brightpaw shuddered as the words passed her tongue. She could nearly taste the poison carried with them.

Lightningclaw stopped abruptly. Brightpaw could feel him trembling.

"Gullstar." It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Brightpaw answered anyways.

Lightningclaw stood for a few more moments before shaking his head and continuing on. When they got to the Thunderpath, he turned and walked along it instead of racing across.

"Th-the-"

"I know. We're going to the tunnel."

Brightpaw nodded weakly and closed her eyes. She wavered in and out of consciousness until she was gently shook awake. Brightpaw groaned and coughed. The pain flared and she yowled.

"Shhh." She heard Lightningclaw's comforting voice as she was slipped off his back and down into a soft nest. "I've brought you to ThunderClan. Dawnflower is going to take care of you," Lightningclaw explained in a quiet mew as he settled down with her, wrapping himself around her body and grooming her. She didn't realize that he was working blood out of her matted fur so Dawnflower could see the extent of her injuries.

"I've never seen anything like this…" Brightpaw heard an unfamiliar mew. It must've been Dawnflower. She drifted off again as she was gently poked and prodded, then hissed in pain when something was pressed into her wounds.

"I know," Lightningclaw mewed into her ear. "I don't know what to do about her eye," she heard Dawnflower whisper to Lightningclaw. "I-I should consult with Ambersky-"

"No!" Lightningclaw mewed urgently. Brightpaw startled at the sound of his voice and yowled in pain again. "No," Lightningclaw repeated quietly. "He isn't allowed to help her… If he did…" Lightningclaw paused and looked down at Brightpaw. "Well… Let's just say, Brightpaw would've gotten off easy."

Dawnflower was silent, looking down at Brightpaw in fear.

"Starlingsong."

Lightningclaw looked up at Dawnflower's mew. "What?"

"Starlingsong," Dawnflower repeated. "H-he's been a medicine cat for seasons longer than me. I-I should go a-and…" Dawnflower trailed off and shook her head. "No, no, I have to stay with her. You, Lightningclaw. Go to RiverClan and speak to Starlingsong. If someone sees you, tell them I sent you. Tell them it's an emergency. Tell Starlingsong… Tell him this is something we've never seen before."

Lightningclaw nodded, shocked into silence. He got to his paws and looked down to Brightpaw. "She needs someone to comfort her…"

Dawnflower smiled sadly and nodded. "Yes. Go and send in Burningpaw."

Lightningclaw slipped out of the den, and a few moments later, a young orange tom pushed through the ferns. "Dawnflower, y-" his words died on his tongue when he saw Brightpaw. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. Even as Dawnflower explained his duty and helped him get comfortable in Brightpaw's nest, his eyes stayed locked on the she-cats limp body.

"Don't stare!" Dawnflower scolded. Burningpaw's gaze snapped up to the medicine cat, then lowered back to Brightpaw. He shook his head and rested his chin on her back, grooming her cheek and the back of her head. He purred softly, his body pressed close to hers so she would feel the soothing rumble.

Time passed in a haze of spilling blood and Dawnflower muttering under her breath. Burningpaw felt as if he was living in another world, one with him and Brightpaw, and the rumbling purr between them. Burningpaw could no longer tell who was purring; Brightpaw, himself, or possibly both of them?

Burningpaw was snapped out of his daze, startled by the sound of wailing. He looked to Brightpaw first, but she was silent. All that came from her was the faint rise and fall of her flank. Burningpaw looked to Dawnflower next, but it hadn't been from her, either. She was staring wide-eyed at the entrance to her den. Burningpaw followed her gaze and barely glimpsed the silver pelt before it was pressed close to him.

A silver tabby she-cat was crouched over Brightpaw, crying into her fur. Burningpaw stood and met Lightningclaw's gaze. He nodded to Burningpaw and the tom hesitated before settling back into the nest. The world of him and Brightpaw had been shattered, and there was no longer a comforting rumble to soothe either of them.

Burningpaw rested his head on Brightpaw's shoulder and watched a white tom stand with Dawnflower and Lightningclaw, the three whispering between them. When they came closer to Brightpaw's body, the white cat carrying a bundle of different herbs, he heard Dawnflower say, "I don't know what to do about her eye. I've been trying to stop the bleeding and prevent infection, but I don't know what to do about-"

The white tom swiped his tail past Dawnflower's muzzle, quieting her. He crouched down beside Brightpaw and set the herbs down, shuffling through them with his paw while he spoke. "I don't know if you can hear me, Brightpaw, but I want you to know what's going on if you can. I'm Starlingsong. I'm RiverClan's medicine cat. We're in ThunderClan now, with Dawnflower and Burningpaw, and your friends Lightningclaw and Silverheart. Brightpaw, something has happened to your eye. It's fallen out of your head, hanging on by some small strands of muscle. We're going to have to take it off, okay? I'm so sorry, but there's nothing we can do to save it."

The silver tabby- Silverheart- sobbed into Brightpaw's fur, pulling the small apprentice closer to her body. Brightpaw moaned when she was moved.

"Keep her still!" Dawnflower mewed sharply, her claws digging into the dirt. Burningpaw knew she was anxious, feeling useless in her own den. The she-cat started pacing around her den, muttering to herself.

Starlingsong silently prepared some herbs, spreading some kind of leaf mush into Brightpaw's eye socket. Burningpaw turned away, gagging.

"Burningpaw," the young tom looked to Starlingsong. "I need you to hold her head in place."

Burningpaw nodded slowly and moved his paws to her head. He hesitated for a long moment, until Starlingsong prompted him with a gentle, "go on," before he finally put his paws to her head. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths as he dug his claws into her cheeks, to get a solid grip.

"Don't let her head move," Starlingsong mewed. Burningpaw nodded and sunk his claws in deeper, drawing blood. He hoped it would be worth it to hurt her like this. He kept his eyes shut tight, so he didn't see what happened when he felt a heavy pull of Brightpaw's head, followed by a sharp snap. Brightpaw wailed in pain, her body writhing in the nest while Burningpaw held her head still. He felt lightheaded and sick to his stomach, holding Brightpaw tight until Dawnflower gently guided his paws away. He was afraid to open his eyes and see what had happened to her.

"Come, Burningpaw. Keep your eyes closed," Dawnflower mewed softly, guiding him from her den and out into the fresh night air. Burningpaw took one deep breath before turning and vomiting behind the ferns. Dawnflower sat beside him, running her tail up and down his spine. Eventually, Burningpaw looked to Dawnflower. "What did he do to her?" he rasped.

Dawnflower looked into Burningpaw's eyes for a few moments before looking up at the sky. "He took her eye," she whispered.

Burningpaw narrowed his eyes, contemplating her response. After a few moments, her words sunk in and Burningpaw heaved. "I know," Dawnflower sighed, looking back to Burningpaw. "I'm praying to StarClan that they don't take her so soon. She is young, and pure, and she does not deserve to die this way. She's barely had time to live." Burningpaw didn't have an answer.