Chapter 8

Qzil - Yeah, that chapter seemed really short, didn't it? Somehow, it was actually the second-longest, though. The longest was chapter 2.

Paige Cullen - Jacob's Stalker - XD, yeah, Nightpaw's pretty awesome. An abnormally happy apprentice one second, rebellious and evillish the next.

Shadowed Horizon - Her eyes were dark blue originally, like Ashfur's. Did I change them without realizing it or something? O.o

Crazy Flamie - Yeah, Nightcloud's pretty cool. I used to hate her for ruining CrowxLeaf and being all evil to Leafpool, but then I realized she was just defending her right as Crowfeather's mate, and I started liking her more.

Foxstar24 - Yeah, Nightpaw is definitely going to be the evil apprentice, since they haven't had any evil she-cats in the series.

AliKatNyah - Don't worry, Leafpool isn't going to die. She's going to escape from evil Brambley.

…-Thanks! That's what I'm trying to do.

"Leafpool, I'm going to collect herbs!"

The medicine cat looked up from her herb-sorting at the voice of the medicine cat apprentice, who had received his full name the night before. He was now named Kestrelwing. She nodded briefly, before returning to the delicate procedure of separating the herbs into different piles.

Blackpaw had gotten much better overnight. He had recovered from the shock of his fall, and he had reported that the pain in his stomach had lessened considerably. He was now sitting up in his mossy nest, watching Leafpool with interest.

"Leafpool," the young apprentice meowed suddenly. "What's it like to be a medicine cat?"

The she-cat looked up at him and blinked in surprise.

"Well," she meowed thoughtfully. "It's quite fulfilling. Instead of hurting cats, like a warrior, you help them to heal. You can help your Clanmates overcome other, more personal problems as well. And there's the connection with StarClan… Why do you ask?"

The black tom didn't answer. Instead, he stared up at her with wide, sympathetic eyes and meowed, "I'm going to miss you, Leafpool."

Leafpool felt as if she had been clawed across the face at the reminder of her "conversation" with Bramblestar. She sighed, a forlorn look appearing in her eyes.

"I'm going to miss you, too, Blackpaw. At least I'll be free of tyrants like Bramblestar in StarClan," she meowed. She flicked him across the ear affectionately with her tail. "Life now is so different than it was when Firestar was alive."

Grief surged through Leafpool at the thought of her dead father, the noble leader of ThunderClan, saviour of the Clans. She missed him and Squirrelflight more than ever now.

"My kits! My kits are gone!"

The medicine cat was startled out of her brief anguish by the loud yowl of Whitewing. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the pitiful mewling of kits sounded near the back of the den. Her eyes widened, and she rushed deeper into the cave. The tiny forms of Pinekit and Maplekit lay in a mossy nest, the two of them curled up tightly against each other.

"Leafpool, have you seen-?" came a male voice from the entrance of the den. She whipped around to see Birchfall, the kits' father (A/N - I had to change the father because Thornclaw is Whitewing's uncle) staring over her shoulder with wide, suspicious eyes. Blackpaw was watching her too, but his eyes weren't apprehensive. Instead, they were narrowed with an odd understanding.

"What is wrong with you?" Birchfall spat. It was clear he thought Leafpool had stolen the kits. After all, in this dark time, it wasn't that hard to believe.

"Birchfall, I can explain," Leafpool began hurriedly. The angry tom said nothing. Instead, he brushed past her and picked up both kits by the scruff. Shooting her one last glare, he padded stiff-legged out of the den.

"I found them," the she-cat heard him cry. Whitewing yowled in relief and rushed over to her mate and kits, nuzzling them affectionately. Birchfall murmured something in her ear, and her eyes suddenly hardened.

Leafpool padded hesitantly out of the medicine cat den, her ears flattened against her head. Many cats were gathered around the couple now, and they all glared at her as she approached.

Bramblestar pushed his way through the mob, a triumphant smirk planted on his face. He gave the tabby she-cat a malicious smile and turned to face his Clan. Leafpool stared at him, her claws unsheathing at the sudden surge of hatred for the tom. He had put the two kits at the back of her den to make it seem like she had taken them from their mother.

"It is very obvious to see that Leafpool has stolen Whitewing's kits. I don't why she would do something as sick and twisted as that, but I do know that there is only one penalty for the thieving of kits." Bramblestar paused dramatically.

"Death."

Many of Bramblestar's supporters yowled in agreement Both Whitewing and Birchfall, who both plainly expressed their hatred for the leader's cruel ways, did the same. Leafpool winced.

As if on some silent signal, Ashfur and Owlwhisker began to prowl towards her, their eyes narrowed, a sneer on their faces. Leafpool began to back up, terror bubbling up inside her. She had to get away - somehow, she had to get away.

Suddenly, her tail brushed up against the wall of thorns that was the entrance to her den, and her fear rose, welling up in her throat and threatening to choke her. Nearly every cat in the Clan was egging Ashfur and Owlwhisker on now, their yowls rising into a wild chant. Only four cats had not joined them - Sandstorm, Brightheart, Kestrelwing, and Crowfeather stood together on the outside of the crowd, their eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

The two warriors were getting closer now. The only way to escape was to go through them… Leafpool's eyes widened. That was it! Go through them!

The medicine cat took a deep breath, bracing herself. Suddenly, she shot forward, rushing past Ashfur, Owlwhisker and the startled crowd.

"Get her!" she heard Bramblestar yowl furiously in the background. Her heart was going wild in her chest, her lungs tearing at her chest in her search for air. Every heartbeat, every pounding note of her paws on the ground, seemed like an eternity. Finally, she reached the camp exit.

Leafpool pushed her way through the thorn barrier and barrelled through the trees at a speed she hadn't known she possessed. But the threat was over now. Her former Clanmates had fallen back once she had left camp.

She didn't stop until she had reached the new HawkClan border, the stream that had once separated ThunderClan and WindClan. Hawkstar's Clan had won the border fight three sunrises ago.

The she-cat barely noticed the cold as she splashed through the trickling water to the HawkClan side. Where could she go? She obviously couldn't go to the mountains -they were too far away for only one cat - and she didn't even consider joining HawkClan. What about horseplace?

When Bramblestar and Hawkstar had taken over the Clans, they had killed Smoky and Floss, saying that the two kittypets didn't belong anywhere near their warriors. The barn would be empty now.

Taking a shaky breath, Leafpool stepped out onto the moor, letting the wind ruffle her fur and refresh her senses after her near-death experience and her perilous run. She swerved closer to the lakeside, watching carefully for enemy patrols. She didn't want to be caught on her own, with the two Clans at war like this.

By the time the horseplace came into sight, the sun was high in the sky, it's rays burning relentlessly into her fur. It was only the beginning of newleaf, but the air was already considerably warmer than it had been a few days before.

Once she was safely past the border, Leafpool began to run as fast as she could toward the barn. She was still slightly tired by her previous run, though, so her pace wasn't as quick as she would have liked. The sweet scent of hay and horses wafted from the Twoleg nest into her nostrils, and as she finally burst through the large doorway, she breathed it in deeply.

Suddenly, a loud yowl sounded from behind a hay-bale and a large gray shape leaped out, bowling her over into the straw. Leafpool gasped in pain as the dry, prickly plants poked into her fur. She flipped herself over, ready to fight the creature, but it was already on her, cuffing her head and battering at her body with sheathed paws.

The she-cat began to struggle, her eyes closed against the strong blows. Even though medicine cats learned how to fight, her muscles were weaker than most wild cats,' and she had never been in a real squabble before.

She cracked her eyelids open slightly, trying to see her opponent, and gasped in shock at the face that met her.

"Stormfur?"

OOC: Mwahahahahaha, cliffy! I know I still took quite a long time to update, but it was a shorter time than usual, and this is the longest chapter yet, so don't kill me!