FLAMINGPAW
All around him, the stench of sickness and coming death rose. Blood washed around his ginger and white paws, staining them scarlet. He saw a light brown tabby pad towards him, her pale blue eyes shining. He bound towards her, tail held high to greet her. But Ivypaw vanished, and the blood grew deeper and deeper until his paws gave way and he was drowning in a pool of blood.
"No! Don't leave me!" Flamingpaw yowled, thrashing wildly. His claws scrabbled madly to reach the surface, but he found nothing to grip.
"I have to, Flamingpaw, we're out of feverfew! Wake up!" Opening terrified emerald eyes, he saw his snow-pelted mentor standing over him with curiousity in his dark blue and green eyes. Panting, Flamingpaw still felt the stickiness of blood stuck underneath his paws, but when he looked, nothing remained. His fur was clean, but he felt as if a warm liquid still stained his ginger fur. The ginger tabby still smelled sickness, but RiverClan was riddled with disease. It was to be expected.
"Erm, can I come with you?" The apprentice quickly improvised. Skyfire affectionately flicked his apprentice with his tail. "Of course," Skyfire purred gently. The two cats paddedswiftly out of their secluded den, nodding to the warrior Grayfur as they left the camp. Grayfur dipped his head in deepest respect. Flamingpaw's fur prickled in embarrassment. He knew that he was still an apprentice, and wasn't used to the reverance in which all cats treated medicine cats. But was he really worthy of that respect, anyways? He was breaking the warrior code to see Ivypaw. As Skyfire led Flamingpaw across the river, he felt as if he were nothing but a filthy traitor.
At Sunningrocks, a ThunderClan patrol was waiting, undoubtedly making sure that no cat would steal prey. The patrol consisted of Bearheart, Lionheart, Aspenleaf, Runningpaw, and Ivypaw. Flamingpaw stared hungrily at the light tabby, and saw her give him a shy smile. Runningpaw, Ivypaw's brother, waved his tail in greeting to the medicine cat apprentice, and Flamingpaw nodded in return. While Ivypaw looked more like her mother, Brightfur, with a light brown tabby pelt, Runningpaw was a perfect copy of his father Graystorm, his smoky gray tabby fur the same shade and his brown tabby paws the only sign that he was related to his mother and sister. It was obvious the two were kin, however, for the protective stance that Runningpaw stood in while standing next to his sibling was all too familiar to Flamingpaw.
Skyfire and Bearheart quickly chatted, and the patrol turned away, ready to scout the other borders of their territory. Flamingpaw didn't take his piercing green eyes off of her for a heartbeat. Ivypaw glanced over her shoulder once, and then disappeared behind her fellowThunderClanners. Skyfire gave Flamingpaw a curious look.
"Be careful of where you place your affections, Flamingpaw," Skyfire meowed in a light yet stern voice. His eyes, one green and the other blue, were narrowed with concern. "Remember your oaths. You are a medicine cat."
Flamingpaw gave him a skeptical "as-if" look. Twitching his tail irritably, he flattened the ginger fur prickling along his spine. He gave his mackeral tabby chest fur a couple of neat licks.
"I know. My heart knows this is the right path for me, as a medicine cat. Besides, she's ThunderClan, anyways. I know better than to start something with a squirrel-eater," He purred in amusement, but it made him feel sick inside. Skyfire gave him a doubtful look, but said nothing more as they returned home. Head spinning, he wondered how he had changed his mind so easily. Just a few moons ago he would have never done this, would have never even entertained the notion of falling in love, let alone with a ThunderClan cat. He didn't know. He did know better than to see Ivypaw, but, dread clutching his heart for some unexplained reason, Flamingpaw realized what it all came down to.
He was a traitor.
A/N: Short, I know, but it's prettttyyy crucial.
R&R please! I won't be posting until Friday due to final exams, butttttt...
On Friday night I'll post at least three chapters for this story and for my other one, Twitch.