Dear Purpisso,

Your comment on how late it is, updating at five pm, made me laugh so hard. You think five pm is late? I update around one am in the morning sometimes. I fell asleep just now and it's about nine thirty here and I am just about to eat dinner. You are hilarious.

Sincerely,

-Lilith

(Comment!)

I was tired after the hunting patrol, but not tired enough to go see a couple of my friends.

"Goldenpool, Daisyleaf." I greeted them, walking through the ferns into the medicine cat's den.

"Good to see you, Thymepaw!" Goldenpool enthusiastically greeted me, giving me a lick between the ears. Ever since the day we met, even though at the time I was a kit and she was an apprentice, we were best friends. I know Twigpaw didn't really take the time to know Daisyleaf or Goldenpool, but I sure did.

"You too, old friend." I replied before yawning.

"Well, I was going to ask you two to collect some herbs for me, but if you're too tired to do so…"

"No, Daisyleaf. I'm not too tired yet." I lied. I needed to spend some time with Goldenpool.

"Okay, then. Goldenpool, I need a couple cloves of marigold, some juniper berries, some broom, coltsfoot, watermint…you may have to take several trips for this."

"No, it's okay." I reassure her. She nods and finishes rattling off the list of herbs we needed, and then Goldenpool and I walked out of the den.

"What do we need again?" I asked her, since I hadn't heard a word of it.

"Marigold, juniper berries, broom, coltsfoot, watermint, chamomile, comfrey, and goldenrod."

"How many trips do you think we need to take?"

"Two if we can cram four types of herbs in our mouths. Think we can do that?"

"Sure. I might have to settle for three, but you can do four." I said, and she laughed.

We slipped into silence as we walked out the entrance together. The swamp was warm today, and I could hear the sounds of birds chattering, water rushing nearby, and fish leaping in the stream. As I followed Goldenpool, the sounds of water grew louder, until we were next to a small, bubbling brook.

"We should start here. Look for little clumps of long grass that smell like mint and have a little white bulb on each stalk." She said, and we began scouring the earth around us.

"Like this?" I asked, leaning forward to sniff a clump.

"Hold on." She moved me out of the way to lean forward and nibble a leaf. "Yep, that's it. I can taste the mint."

As I leaned down to sever the watermint, she turned and started looking for some more herbs. She had her back to me when I looked up, sniffing at some herbs near a bush. She didn't see the pair of yellow eyes on the other side of the brook, the creamy-furred paw with brown splotches that emerged. I tried to tell the newcomer that now wasn't the time, but Goldenpool noticed anyway.

"Petalpaw!" She cheered, dropping the herbs in her mouth so she could rush across the brook to the rogue apprentice.

I glared at the she-cat over Goldenpool's head, but inwardly I was happy to see her. I hadn't seen her in moons, ever since that night many moons ago. I wanted to ask her so many questions: what happened after she escaped? Where did she live now? Could she support herself? But I couldn't, since that would give the fact that I helped Petalpaw escape.

"What are you doing here? We thought you were dead!" I say, my voice containing the perfect amount of shock to fool Goldenpool.

"Not now. Where is Twigpaw?" The apprentice asked, trying to see around me as if he would be waiting there, watching us.

"Uh…can I talk to you in private?" I asked, and she nodded.

We walked until we were out of earshot. I shot a glance over Petalpaw's shoulder to check and see if Goldenpool was still at the same place, and she was, collecting more herbs. Then I glanced at Petalpaw.

"Where is he? What is it?" She asked, reading my face.

"Twigpaw and Ashclaw…they were exiled out of the clan a moon ago."

"They were?" She asked, eyes widening. "Then I don't have much time. Tell me everything that happened since I left."

So I did, going over the battle with ThunderClan, the loss of Ivoryheart, all of it. She stood there quietly, gasping in all the right places. The words fell easily from my mouth, and it became easy to tell her everything.

When I was done, her face was grim. "I'm too late. Do you know where Twigpaw is now?"

"Not ever since he left, no." I admit, confused. "Too late for what?"

"Stoneheart. Has he been acting differently lately?" She asked, and I nodded.

"What does Stoneheart have to do with anything?" I asked, still confused.

"Do you remember the story of Tigerstar?"

I did, so I nodded. "Well, you see, I'm afraid that Stoneheart is the next Tigerstar."

She let that sink in. My mind could barely understand her words.

Then I laughed. "Really? Stoneheart? Stoneheart is the next Tigerstar?" I asked.

"I know it sounds ridiculous but yes. Why do you think that Twigpaw helped me all those moons ago?" She said fiercely.

It was ridiculous. I didn't want to believe it, but somehow, her words made sense. It could be possible, I guess. But the chances of Stoneheart being the next Tigerstar was…unlikely. Too low to be believable, really.

But to put her at ease, I nodded as if I understood. "It makes sense, I guess."

"Listen: what you need to do is either get Twigpaw back or take his place. Somebody needs to get in Stoneheart's way again. And if you can't find Twigpaw, you need to do it yourself. Understand?"

I nodded, swallowing. The situation seemed much more serious than I ever dreamed. "Good." Petalpaw said, and then turned to the bushes.

"Where are you going?" I asked, surprised.

"I have to go. I would love to stay, but I don't know what might happen if I do. You understand what you must do, though?"

"I do." I lied.

"Good. Maybe we'll meet up again." She said, and then as quickly as she came, she vanished.

I watched the spot where she had disappeared from for a moment before rushing back to Goldenpool. She had a small herb pile on the bank of the brook, growing as she placed another clump of herbs on top. "Where's Petalpaw?" She asked.

"She left. I think somebody needs her or something." I lied.

"Oh. Well, I think I found all the herbs." She said, and my heart seemed to deflate. My real purpose to be alone with her was to ask her about prophetic dreams, to tell her about the mysterious white she-cat. But then Petalpaw came.

"Okay. Come on: let's get back to camp." I say, snagging as many herbs as I could in my mouth before following her towards the camp.

So I guess Thymepaw needs a bit of a push to understand Stoneheart. In the beginning, she does not know of how ambitious Stoneheart really is. But that's about to change.

Comment!

-Lilith