Flamepaw froze as she and Mothwing locked eyes, and in a moment, her heart was bursting with excitement. Never had she been so excited to see the calico she-cat in her life!
"Flamepaw?" Mothwing gasped, her eyes widened with the same excitement and confusion. "What are you doing way out here?"
"Oh, it was terrible, Mothwing!" Flamepaw exclaimed. "Barkpaw and I accidentally fell asleep on the forest while...um, hunting, and when we returned, the entire clan had disappeared! So we joined Tigerstripe, Dusty, and Kr—" She paused, the cold reality of Krait's death hitting her. "Tigerstripe and Dusty. Tigerstripe was looking for a black cat named Jetfur, and Dusty was on the search for his kits. And just recently we were attacked by hunters, but this wolf saved us," she said, gesturing to Lupin.
Mothwing glanced at the injured wolf, bewildered for a moment, before turning back to Flamepaw. She let out a long sigh and sat back down, her eyes fixed on Flamepaw's.
"Is that so?" she wondered quietly.
Both Flamepaw and Barkpaw nodded slowly.
"Well," she continued, "it just so happens that I know where the clan is."
Both Flamepaw and Barkpaw exchanged looks of excitement, and Flamepaw's face spread into a wide smile. Her heart beat rapidly, and she leapt up and down.
"YOU DO?! WHERE ARE THEY?!" she exclaimed, desperately wanting to see all her clanmates again. Oh, it would be so great to have Dusktail mentor her again and to have her mother greet her each morning and to curl up in the apprentice den with Barkpaw at night.
The medicine cat sighed, and Flamepaw immediately knew the news could not be good.
"It all happened so suddenly," she began. "The same night you and Barkpaw were in the woods, this mucky colored tom who called himself 'Swampstar,' I believe." She paused, then nodded. "Yes, yes, it was Swampstar. He came with many of his clanmates to our clan. At first, we believed it to be the whole clan because there were so many, but apparently this was only a portion of his clan.
"Swampstar had begun a new clan named SwampClan, and though he seemed to have many members with him, he desired more. We were easily outnumbered, and he demanded that Goldstar and the rest of RiverClan join his clan. Goldstar, StarClan praise her, obviously refused. But then he mentioned how his clan was going to be killed because of...some other clan. I forgot the name. Of course, Goldstar still refused, claiming that it was none of RiverClan's business and that he should deal with his own problems.
"But then Swampstar really hit her hard. He said he would kill each and every cat, including her, if she did not come. And he was serious, Flamepaw. I could see the wild look in his eyes. Goldstar had no choice but to accept, and we were whisked away by SwampClan," Mothwing explained.
Both Flamepaw and Barkpaw sat for a moment, dumbfounded, when Flamepaw suddenly cried out, exasperated.
"NO!" she gasped, seeing how unfair it all was. "SHE JOINED AN EVIL CLAN?!" Flamepaw shook her head vigorously, furious at Goldstar, even though she knew the she-cat had made the right choice.
"I AM NOT JOINING AN EVIL CLAN!" she declared.
She felt Barkpaw lightly touch his tail to her shoulder, and slowly she settled down.
"That's exactly what I thought," Mothwing agreed. "I tried to sneak away, but a patrol caught me. They started chasing me, and I eventually managed to outrun them. And then, I ran into you."
Flamepaw smiled weakly, glad to have Mothwing here, but the clan's fate was still swarming through her head.
Mothwing then turned toward Lupin and gasped, as if she had not noticed him earlier.
"Oh, StarClan! What a sight!" she exclaimed. "I mean, no offense, but you look terrible!"
"He was shot by some hunters," Breeze explained. "He is badly injured, and I don't know how we can move him and my newborn pups." Her eyes then widened suddenly. "Oh, I forgot to name them!"
Mothwing whirled around to the white wolf, exclaiming, "You had puppies?! Oh, dear. Are they all right?"
Breeze nodded. "Perfectly fine," she explained, glancing down at the sleeping pups. "The hunters did not bother me at all. Holly and Rose here protected me."
Rose and Holly both nodded and stood proudly, puffing out their fluffy chests.
"Go on and name them!" Rose barked.
Breeze smiled. "Well, all right," she said, turning her gaze to Lupin.
Lupin smiled weakly in response. "Go ahead, Breeze. Name them."
Breeze smiled, glancing down at one of the larger pups, a white male. "This will be Blizzard," she decided. She then turned to the other white pup, a female. "And this will be Cloud." She then turned her gaze toward the largest female wolf with timber markings. "This will be Dapple." She turned her gaze to another female wolf with timber markings, those her markings were a bit more red-like. "And this will be Squirrel."
Lastly, she turned her gaze to a male pup that resembled Lupin the best. She grinned, and then slowly said, "And this will be...Seven." Beside her, both Rose and Holly whimpered, and Flamepaw glanced around in confusion, wondering what they were so torn up about.
"Seven? What an interesting name," Mothwing remarked. She then went over to Lupin and immediately began inspecting his wound.
"This looks bad," she admitted, coming closer to get a better look. "What is that? A rock?" she asked, confused.
"I believe the two-legs called it a bullet," he explained.
"Well, whatever you call it, it must come out," Mothwing said. She gently grabbed the bullet between her sharp teeth and yanked it out, causing Lupin to let a loud yowl. His yowl was so loud, one of his sleeping pups awoke and began to whimper quietly. He immediately began licking his wound, wincing at the pain.
Mothwing spat the object out and immediately turned toward the others.
"I need something to heal this wound!" she exclaimed. Flamepaw watched as she glanced around furiously. Then, the calico she-cat's eyes fell on a patch of yellow flowers, and she shouted, "Yes!"
"Marigold?" Flamepaw wondered, remembering how she had been forced to fetch it for Goldstar and Snowheart's wounds.
"No," Mothwing sighed, approaching the flowers. "It would be nice though. I guess tormentil will have to do." Leaning down toward the flowers, she pulled out a few and ripped the roots off. Meanwhile, Lupin was still sighing in pain.
Mothwing began chewing up the roots. Both Flamepaw and Barkpaw watched in curiosity. It always amazed Flamepaw how Mothwing worked so diligently as a medicine cat.
Why had I once desired for her to become a warrior with me? she thought, watching Mothwing work.
As soon as the roots were chewed up, Mothwing came back over to Lupin. Slowly, she began applying the paste to his wound, spreading it very carefully. Flamepaw watched as Lupin winced as Mothwing applied the remedy. He let out a low growl.
Flamepaw froze, suddenly frightened Lupin would lash out at Mothwing and attack her. But his growl immediately faded, and she relaxed again. Still, she wondered if hanging with these foxes and dogs truly was the best choice...
The medicine cat had hesitated a bit at Lupin's unexpected growl, but she finished her work, stepping away and grinning slightly.
"There," she announced. "Now all I need is something to cover this." She paused and thought for a moment. "Like cobweb."
Flamepaw watched as the calico sighed and lowered her head, shaking it slowly. "Now would be the time for that to fall out of the sky."
Lupin growled, obviously still in pain.
"Oh, hush," Mothwing snapped at him. Flamepaw was taken aback at Mothwing's ability to talk to the wolf with such authority. He could easily break her neck in a heartbeat.
"Let's see," Mothwing spoke, beginning to pace back and forth. "They are usually found in small places, preferably in nooks and crannies. Oh, I better go get some!"
Flamepaw, seeing an opportunity to help, stepped forward.
"I can help you find some, Mothwing."
"That would be lovely, Flamepaw. Thank you," she replied.
Barkpaw placed his tail on Flamepaw's shoulder.
"Are you sure you want to be alone out there?" he asked. "It seems Swampstar is after Mothwing, and if they find you..." His eyes shone with deep concern.
"I'll be fine," Flamepaw assured him. "You can stay here and watch the others. Will you stay safe here too?"
"I will," Barkpaw promised. "Please be safe. I know Mothwing is a very good medicine cat, but if anything happened to you."
"I'll be back before you know it," Flamepaw told him, nuzzling him slightly. He let out a low purr, and then she broke away.
"See you soon," she promised, bounding away with Mothwing deeper into the forest.