AN: Sorry it's been so long! I was on vacation, then we lost internet, so...I'm going to try to post as many as I can before school starts up again, which will be when I'll be slower again... :3
"Frail lilies will blow down the strong wood, leaving a crystalline wave of destruction."
The words were whispered to Woodpaw in the dead of night. She walked a dead-looking forest, seeing no sign of life except for the multiple eyes staring back at her.
"What? What does that mean? Wh-Where am I? Get me out!"
"Not yet." A single cat stepped out from the underbrush. Bright orange and incredibly large, covered in more battle scars than you could count.
"Scratch!" Woodpaw tried to scurry away but found herself frozen. Her heart beat faster than she could remember it ever doing.
"Yes, of course. Listen, you needn't worry about the words that were spoken to you."
"But-"
"Don't listen. If you plan on doing so, you'd might as well die now." He walked forward enough to trail a claw down her side.
"I won't, I won't listen, I promise, Scratch!"
"Good. Keep up with your training. And..." Scratch began to fade away but remained long enough to say, "Stay away from that medicine cat."
Woodpaw awoke with a slight scream, to find herself in the medicine den. Willowbreeze, a gray she-cat with eyes like Jadepaw's, stood near her mashing a mixture of herbs with her paw.
"Any idea how you got sliced?" She said softly, rubbing it onto Woodpaw's side.
"Sliced?" Only now did Woodpaw realize the stinging pain in her side. She swiveled her head to look and there was, indeed, a long gash down her side. Scratch could hurt her, even if he was dead? The thought terrified her.
"I- I don't know. " She lied. It was hard, with someone as kind as Willowbreeze. She wanted to spill it all out like she did with Jadepaw, but she didn't.
"Well, keep the fighting practice to a minimum for a little while, okay? We don't want the wound to reopen." Willowbreeze finished and began to walk out of the den. "Jadepaw's bringing you some fresh-kill. I'll be out collecting herbs. Stay here for a while."
Woodpaw nodded as she walked away, resting her head on her paws. Jadepaw walked in after a minute or two, carrying two mice. He dropped one near her head and sat close to her. "What really happened?" He said automatically.
Woodpaw frowned. "Scratch."
He nodded, nudging the mouse towards her. "Eat." He had almost finished his mouse by the time Woodpaw even began, and when he did finish, he began to sort herbs that had been disrupted by Woodpaw's frantic tail.
"Calm down. It's because you show fear. Don't be afraid to tell him that you won't listen to his words."
"But I am afraid!"
"Swallow it!" Jadepaw snapped. "He's going to keep attacking you if you don't say no," He looked at her sternly, showing real concern. "You're stronger than that!"
Woodpaw was taken aback. Why was he suddenly being so mean?
"He's going to keep hurting you. I don't want that." Jadepaw calmed, though his tail still flicked. "Don't let him take you over. Don't let him make you...one of him." He pushed some herb into her mouth, forced her to swallow. Immediately she felt sleepy. "Dream, Woodpaw. Without him."
