TAINTED LINE

"Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" (Proverbs 27:4)

Skypaw is determined to ignore the sense of betrayal that her father has left in his wake. But when she must face the consequences of his actions in the form of her own kin, she is left to carry his burden on her own shoulders.

Chapter Twelve

Disorientation was the best way to describe Skypaw's current feeling, as no other even came close. She had no knowledge of what was up or down, and her head spun whenever she tried to think. Her body was recklessly thrown about, completely at the mercy of the tree branch that still held her paw in place. With no traction, she couldn't even pull herself free.

Muffled shouts barely reached her ears, and she truly couldn't decipher whether they were actually real or all in her head. A pure panic had settled over her as she rolled about in the river, and the lack of air was only now becoming an immediate problem. When she slammed into some of the boulders underneath the water, she had taken the brunt of the blow, but when the branch holding her in place moved ahead, she only had a moment to react before it cracked against the stone.

The breath was finally knocked out of her when she heard and felt a sharp crack, sending tingles and a sharp-shooting pain up her leg. Faced with the agony that originated from her paw, she wasn't even able to acknowledge the freedom she now had, as the branch that previously seized her was now broken and being thrown down the river much quicker than she was.

She was now allowed independent movement, but the panic that gripped her now was situated on her inability to swim and the air that had since left her lungs. Without the ability to even try due to her injury, she was left to struggle blindly with one paw as her actions became extremely limited. The tingling sensation had now became a dull, numbing ache compared to the stone that had settled in her lungs.

Going entirely on instinct, she attempted to take a breath when she had neared the surface, but once again, the unpredictable river sucked her under once more and she was left choking from the water she ended up taking in.

Black spots overwhelmed her vision, and her convulsive movements finally came to a halt.

Sudden convulsions were what broke her from this state, and her head was forced forward as the water within her body was forced out. The movements were harsh and completely out of her control as her body took over with involuntary movements. Several times she tried to take a breath, and every time she was left with only a little bit of air before she was coughing once more.

Her lungs seemed to relish in the fresh air, as they kept on trying to take it in when her body was still trying so hard to keep things out. She felt herself getting light-headed once more, but her lungs kept pushing the water out, keeping her wide-awake for the entire experience. It felt as though she was drowning all over again.

Whipping her head around, she noticed a white blur beside her, and not a moment later felt a strong force strike her in the back. Instead of helping her—as what was probably intended—it only succeeded in her sucking in the water that her body had previously tried to dispel.

"Mouse-brain, leave her be." It barely registered with her when the white cat stepped away, giving her the space she most definitely needed.

Again, she took up the same rhythm of breathing in, coughing out. It happened again and again until finally, she could feel herself taking deeper, less ragged breaths as she finally appeared to have gained control of her movements. Her body quivered with the effort, but was by no secret grateful that it had gotten rid of what was causing her pain, and she thanked StarClan that her vision was slowly returning to normal.

Looking around, she noticed the river at her back and the willow trees stretching out in front of her. A couple fox-lengths away she spotted her brother looking quite shaken, and a shorter distance from him was Brackenpaw, who was having trouble hiding the concern in his eyes. The dragging silence was biting at her, and on instinct, she tried to pull herself to her feet, but was stopped quickly enough.

"I wouldn't try it if I were you," the voice spoke, and Skypaw couldn't help but feel it was familiar.

Soon enough, she found out why.

The tall, brown tabby tom complete with amber eyes was approaching her, with the movement and glaring cockiness of no other cat but Mosspaw. Her pulled in front of her, where he settled with his side to her face.

"You AspenClan cats don't know when to leave well enough alone. We try and leave you to your own business and you end up throwing yourself into a river," he laughed dryly, rolling his eyes. "I think I've earned an honest 'thank you' for my heroics. If I hadn't done what I did you might have been meeting with StarClan sooner than anticipated."

While an intelligent cat, the lack of coordination Skypaw currently had was not helping her to come to terms with what happened. While it might have seemed obvious, she wasn't putting the pieces together. "…Huh?"

Irritably flicking his tail, Mosspaw moved around her, effectively blocking her view of her friend and sibling. "Didn't look like drypaws over there were gonna do it. You gonna thank me for savin' you? Or should I throw you back in like a dead fish?"

Bewildered, Skypaw opened her mouth to reply, but was quickly cut off by Brackenpaw pushing Mosspaw away and taking his place next to her. "That wasn't necessary, Mosspaw," he said, voice low with irritation. "We all appreciate what you did. No need to get cocky about it."

"Cocky?" Mosspaw echoed incredulously, backing away a bit. "No, I wouldn't call it cockiness. I would call it risking myself to help a cat who would've drowned without me. Not to mention, a cat who isn't even my Clanmate."

"We were ready to help her," Snowpaw insisted, moving to stand with Brackenpaw. Skypaw noticed his hesitant eyes catch hers, but they were quick to land on Mosspaw once more. Although not a very confrontational cat, Snowpaw wasn't a nervous coward. He might have had a harder time hiding his emotions, but his words were almost always genuine. "We didn't get the chance to before you jumped in."

Skypaw felt her head begin to pound, no doubt brought on by physical exhaustion and the noise of the scuffle she was currently witness to. She let out a short breath, head moving downward as she tried to collect herself. The small action seemed to have broken the intense staring contest the toms were holding, as all three looked to her with varying degrees of concern.

She moved to lift her head once more, and the sound of approaching pawsteps splashing through the various puddles were what pushed her to finally look ahead. There in the distance, she could see Jaggedclaw at the lead, followed by Mudwhisker and three WillowClan cats. She couldn't find it in herself to identify them by name.

"Skypaw!" Jaggedclaw called out, his voice ringing in her ears as the group moved in closer. "Skypaw, are you alright?" He appeared too anxious to wait, as he then directed his attention on to the three other apprentices. "Is she?"

Brackenpaw looked ready to respond, but Mosspaw beat him to it. "She's fine," he said gruffly, looking at the warrior with the same expression as one warrior might look at another. "Half-drowned, but she's fine."

Jaggedclaw's expression was unreadable, but it quickly changed to concern when he looked back to his apprentice. Her eyes were wide as she observed him and Mudwhisker, feeling the need to collect herself before saying anything. His pressing gaze, however, did prompt her to try and reassure him. "It's okay, I'm fine," she said slowly, nodding to herself. It was as though she could feel the pressure of the waves pulling her down once more, with all eyes locked onto her. For extra measure, she added, "I'm okay."

It was quiet for a few moments before more cats joined the group, with a dark gray—almost black—tom and a pale brown tabby she-cat trotting over, followed by a younger cream and white tabby tom. Skypaw recognized the first cat as Adderstrike and the young tom as Birchpaw, but the she-cat was a mystery to her.

"She's okay?" Adderstrike asked, which only increased Skypaw's frustration at having to answer more than twice. She only gave a curt nod before looking back to her paws. She had yet to even stand, still shaken up by the experience. From the slight quiver in her paws, she knew that should she try to stand, her paws would most likely go out from under her. Now that the initial shock had worn off, she began to feel the soreness in her body… not the mention the pain that was centered in her paw.

Oblivious to her plight, the rest of the patrol seemed to be sizing each other up, with each side equal in terms of numbers. But the situation was less than ideal, and although tensions were still high, they were all still smart enough to avoid a fight.

"We were only checking the borders," Jaggedclaw explained.

"I should hope so," the she-cat said, ears flicking. "But I feel the need to point out that your hurry to cross the river was not justified."

"Really?" Mudwhisker spoke up. "We saw your patrol hanging around the border a little too often. Being cautious isn't a crime," he growled.

"We never did cross the border," Adderstrike said, directing a glare at Mudwhisker.

"We were checking the flooding," Birchpaw said, moving to stand beside Mosspaw. "It's gotten really bad these past few sunrises. We even had to move to a new camp."

"Birchpaw," the she-cat hissed under her breath, but it was clearly heard by the rest of the group.

Bewildered, Birchpaw looked around, and only then seemed to realize what he had done. Skypaw watched the panic spring to his eyes, but Adderstrike only responded with a short sigh. Mosspaw was a little more vocal, with a short growl escaping him to show his frustration.

"The water reached our camp just last night," Adderstrike explained. "We had to move to higher ground. We haven't checked this border as frequently because of the flooding, but now I know that it wouldn't be safe to be keep on checking until the water recedes."

"Big risk you're taking," Mudwhisker said curtly, shrugging his shoulders. "Not checking the borders."

Adderstrike acknowledged him with a cool glare. "Well, I didn't think an AspenClan cat was going to throw themselves into the river, but apparently I have been proven wrong."

Skypaw felt the urge to defend her actions, as they were not what he assumed them to be, but she could not find her voice to do so. Apparently, neither could her Clanmates, as they accepted silence as their reply. Skypaw did not want to be silent—but not for the reasons they might think. Her paw was now throbbing, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep it to herself.

"So what are you guys gonna do now?" Birchpaw asked, shuffling his paws.

Slightly confused and feeling increasingly anxious, Skypaw looked over at Brackenpaw, but his hard expression didn't offer any explanation as to what Birchpaw was talking about. "What do you mean?" she asked, wincing at the pain in her paw.

This time, Mosspaw was the first to respond. "Wow, you really must have hit your head. You're all on our land, with little to no way to get back to your own camp. You got a game plan? You might want to start thinkin' about that."

Jaggedclaw already looked to be in deep thought, and Skypaw was left to duck her head, hiding her look of pain that was becoming increasingly obvious the longer she laid there. It was only a matter of time before someone noticed.

"Skypaw, what's wrong?" Snowpaw asked, crouching beside his sister. Not only did she wear her emotions for everyone to see, but she also had a low tolerance for pain. Sure, adrenaline kept it from showing, but once she was safe and able to show it, it was almost impossible not to give some indication of her injuries.

"My paw… my paw hurts," she murmured, almost crying out when she moved it slightly. Wholly confused, she tried to think back as to how it might have happened. While her mind was fuzzy about a few things, it didn't take long for her to remember the experience; her paw had been stuck between the branches, and had hit the boulder down the stream, separating it from her. While the branch had simply split, she could vividly remember the crack she had heard beneath the water. Now she realized it didn't come from the branch.

Jaggedclaw had crouched beside her once more, and while he prompted her to do so, she couldn't extend her paw without pain shooting up her leg. He looked completely lost, and from the rest of the patrol's expressions, it didn't look like they were too familiar with what to do, either.

"It could be broken," the she-cat said, looking closer to examine it. "I'm not medicine cat, but there's a high chance. It's easier to bring her to Swallowtuft and Perchcloud to get some help."

"Is that really the only option right now?" Adderstrike hissed under his breath, although he wasn't very subtle as it was fairly easy to hear him. "Bringing these cats to our camp—the heart of our territory. Sounds like a big risk to me."

"As soon as you have a better idea feel free to suggest it," the pale tabby replied dryly, causing the tom to shake his head in response.

Skypaw felt her brother give her ear a quick lick—probably to reassure her—but the lack of a plan was making her anxious, and the longer they remained, the less she could ignore the obvious injury she had gained. She willed someone to say something, and thankfully Jaggedclaw seemed to be aware of her wishes, as he spoke for the group.

"We appreciate the help you are willing to offer. But our Clan could possibly be in danger with the flooding in our territory. We need to get back as soon as possible," he said.

The two WillowClan warriors shared a glance, while Birchpaw and Mosspaw only looked with interest—the former more than the latter.

"I know of a shorter way that might pose less of a problem…" the she-cat began, slowly turning from Adderstrike to Jaggedclaw. "…Although I'm not sure how far the water has spread. I can lead you there, but I can't promise anything. Adderstrike can take the apprentice back to our camp."

Skypaw attention had been split between the warriors, trying to take in exactly what they were saying, but when the suggestion that she go along with WillowClan cats back to their camp alone, she felt a fresh wave of fear come over her. Foxpaw had willingly gone into their camp, and that must have felt strange on its own. But she didn't have a choice here, and that's what made it all the more frightening.

"I can go with her," Brackenpaw said suddenly, his words taking a moment to fully register with Skypaw. Looking over to Snowpaw, she noted that he also had the same conflicted look on his face as the rest of her Clanmates.

Jaggedclaw almost looked ready to debate. But stuck in a tight spot where there truly weren't many options, Skypaw recognized that they had to take what was given. "Alright," he said, repeating it for good measure. "Alright. Mudwhisker and Snowpaw will come along with me and we'll find a way back to camp. We'll come to get you two as soon as we're able."

The only real relief coming out of this situation was that they weren't going to make her go alone. While they would definitely be the odd ones out, having a friend beside her would make things a bit easier… as easy as things could be with a group of cats who most certainly wouldn't appreciate having to help an enemy and possible threat to them.

Skypaw felt Brackenpaw's tail brush her side, keeping her from thinking about it for too long. A greater part of her took notice of Mosspaw on her other side, something that wasn't able to get past her. She couldn't see the tom being particularly helpful—physically, yes, but she didn't think his motive to help her would have been that high.

A rough nudge to her side proved her wrong however, and she felt her body begin to rise as he pushed against her, only just supported on the other side by Brackenpaw's slightly more cautious efforts. While not entirely even, she was able to be balanced between the two, and she slowly placed her paws against the damp earth.

It didn't feel comfortable, as her body was still in a certain state of shock, but within a few seconds she was able to stabilize her weight so that she wouldn't be totally reliant on the two cats. Normally, she might have tried to test her weight on an injured paw, but she had a pretty good idea of how severe it was just from her first reaction to it. Any small movement caused her pain; she didn't want to think of how it would feel to put her weight onto it.

"I'd say you should eat more," Mosspaw muttered, and curiosity made her glance at him. "You're not carryin' much weight. Not surprised you couldn't hold up yourself."

His "jokes" were obviously meant to annoy her, but she found it easier to just ignore him. It didn't hurt that her mind was occupied by her other concerns—one of which being the possible danger her Clan was in.

She watched with envy as her Clanmates padded after the WillowClan she-cat, her brother giving her a wistful look over his shoulder. He was certainly the clingier one between the two, but she was almost unable to hold back the urge to follow. It was born from habit and comfort. Right now, those were two things that didn't matter in the slightest.

"I want you three to keep close to me," Adderstrike said, nodding to her, Brackenpaw, and Mosspaw as the three other cats disappeared around the brush. Skypaw could hear the warning he was trying to convey, and she snapped her attention back to him. This wasn't their territory, and they sure weren't ready for any more surprises. "We need to keep a safe distance from the river. Birchpaw, scout ahead and make sure the path we came is clear."

There was more than a little hesitance on Birchpaw's part, but from the looks he gave her and Brackenpaw, it wasn't related to any concern over the rising waters. Finally, with an encouraging grunt from Adderstrike, he obliged and trotted ahead of the group, following in the same general direction as her Clanmates before veering off to the right of where they had gone.

Skypaw felt a sudden shiver run down her spine, and almost immediately the brush of Brackenpaw's fur against her side. "It's fine. We're fine. Stop worrying," he said, and she wasn't sure whether to reply or not. She wasn't even sure he understood what she was thinking—what she was worrying about. In truth, it was so many things at once that she couldn't pinpoint a single thing.

It was better to just settle with, "I know." It was easy.

"Unless you two want to be stuck out in the open for a while longer, I'd suggest we get movin'," Mosspaw grumbled impatiently, and Skypaw felt a bit of his frustration when he pushed against her shoulder with a bit more force than necessary.

"After you," Brackenpaw shot back and, while being cautious of moving too quickly, set the pace before the other apprentice, leaving Mosspaw to match it.

Her paws still felt shaky, but she could at least be grateful that they didn't carry all her weight. As strange as it might have sounded, she had her reasons other than being more than dead weight. Taking all control away from her was not something she wanted to experience again.

Not after the dark depths of the river had completely stripped her of that control once before.

Skypaw could only imagine how sore her body would have been if she hadn't been supported by Brackenpaw and Mosspaw. As they drew closer to the camp, time and time again she could feel her paws begin to drag. Not only that, but when they did leave the ground, she still managed to be held up by the two toms with little noticeable effort.

Maybe it was their stubborn pride, but it wasn't as easy for Skypaw to hide her discomfort. She noticed Brackenpaw wincing, as the job of carrying another weight was probably starting to get to him, and even Mosspaw was beginning to look a little put-off. It couldn't be told just by looking at his face, though. The brown tabby held an expression of pure indifference.

"We're close to the new camp," Adderstrike informed them, glancing over his shoulder. Birchpaw was now standing close to the warrior, and had every so often looked back to make sure that they were keeping up. It appeared as though the apprentice was more aware of his surroundings than Adderstrike; while the warrior led them in the direction they were supposed to be going, Birchpaw was the one making sure that they stayed away from anything that could trip them up and slow their progress.

Brackenpaw had already tripped twice, and under the extra weight, Mosspaw was having trouble as well-although he wouldn't admit it.

Skypaw never thought she would feel any sort of relief from the sight of a camp belonging to the enemy. It was a strange experience, but not one she was going to question. She helped as much as she could with walking by herself, but that was still proving to be difficult with the brush pulling at her side and the rain hitting her face.

It was when several strange scents hit her that she was taken away from her physical troubles and thrown into a panic at just where she was. Eyes followed her and her companions as they filed into the "camp," with Adderstrike and Birchpaw at the lead. She could especially feel curious gazes planted on her for obvious reasons, and was grateful that the pressure to speak was taken from her by the gray tabby that quickly approached them.

"Adderstrike, what's going on?" she asked, rain falling down her cheeks and dripping from her body.

Skypaw almost felt envious of how indifferent she was to it, compared to her and her own Clanmate. This was miserable weather, and she could only recall Adderstrike's sarcastic remark about not thinking an AspenClan cat would actually "throw themselves into the river."

The WillowClan cats were more in their element than anyone else, and it made her feel small compared to them.

"AspenClan patrol was near the border," he responded, and Skypaw was already preparing to hear the accusations directed at them for being so close to the border in the first place. To her surprise, however, he didn't speak a word of it. Instead, he put his attention on her. "She fell into the river. Turns out the water is rising in their territory. It wouldn't have done any good to try and bring her back to their medicine cat, so I told them that you could help."

"Making promises for other cats, eh?" the she-cat—most likely the medicine cat—responded, but Skypaw still managed to see a glint of amusement in her gaze.

That light was quickly masked when she turned to her, however, and Skypaw kept her own head down as the she-cat came closer, presumably to examine her. She could never have claimed to have had a close relationship with Bristlefur, but at least he was her Clanmate. She wouldn't have had to worry about him taking a look at any injury she had. Even the she-cat's gentler touch couldn't soothe her mind as much as her body.

"Some muscle strains, it seems, but none too serious. I'll have to take a look at that paw, though. I can't pass that off as something small until I see the extent of the damage," she said, and although it might have been obvious, Skypaw was surprised to find that the medicine cat was speaking to her. She had assumed that the words had just been spoken out loud or at the least, to Adderstrike.

Skypaw gave a short, quick nod to confirm that she understood, and the she-cat nodded in turn. "Alright. I don't have all of my usual supplies, but we can make-do. I'll see if we have any moss we can use for a nest and you two—" she said, tail flicking to Mosspaw and Brackenpaw. "—can bring her where I'm keeping my things." Turning her head, she made eye contact with the other apprentice in the group. "Birchpaw, you can help me out."

Things were happening at such a fast rate that Skypaw barely acknowledged Brackenpaw detaching from her side and moving to face her. She nearly jumped when she met his gaze, feeling as though she had missed something.

"Skypaw, I'm going to help Birchpaw with getting the moss," he said, and very quickly followed up in a quieter tone, "We'll figure something out. Get you fixed up, and then see if we can get word from Silentstar."

She already had her doubts of whether that was actually possible at the moment, and it showed. She let out a short sigh, but nodded nonetheless. Brackenpaw gave her a firm nod and with a small glance at Mosspaw, he turned and headed toward Birchpaw and the tabby she-cat.

The air between Skypaw and Mosspaw certainly wasn't content, and she could feel his muscles tense immediately after Brackenpaw had left them. She wasn't too oblivious that she couldn't recognize an anxious and frustrated cat, but now that her Clanmate had gone, it seemed like the best—and really, the only—opportunity she had to really say anything about his actions that day.

"…Thank you," she said slowly, just to make sure he heard her correctly. He turned to her, raising a brow. She couldn't really tell what he was thinking. Instead of pondering it over, she continued. "You didn't have to do it, but you did. And I appreciate it."

"What?" he chuckled softly, causing her fur to bristle slightly. "Are you thanking me for saving you or for helping you back to my camp?"

Good question. "I guess… maybe… both?" Her speech was less than perfect, and it was harder to determine just where she was planning to go with this show of thanks.

He let out another cool laugh, but this time something was off, and she could feel herself leaning away as he quickly did the same. The mumbling of his Clan around her and the piercing look he was giving her was something she couldn't shake off, and his words were nothing less of intimidating.

"I guess you could say you owe me," he growled softly. She didn't miss the threat in both his words and his gaze. She didn't excel in much—mostly because she didn't find the need to go above and beyond—but she read others. Whether or not she was right had yet to be seen. But from the shiver running down her spine and the narrowed-eyed glare she was certainly giving him, instinct seemed to be the best thing to put faith in.

Giving her one last look, his last statement was reminiscent of a whisper: "And I should hope that the debt will be paid."