Mothfall shifted in her nest. She cracked open her eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the morning sunlight filtering in through the den. The smell of dust and herbs made her nose wrinkle; glancing around, she realized she was in the medicine den, not in her own nest. Outside the den she could hear cats talking. Was she imagining things, or did they sound panicked?

Mothfall tried to stand up, but immediately gasped and sank back into her nest. Stars, her entire body hurt. Her paws throbbed, and she had to choke back a cry of pain. She forced herself to roll onto her side, hoping that kicking her legs out will help increase blood flow and ease her pain. As she held herself still, biting her tongue to keep from moaning, her memory started to trickle back: leading Berrystar to the medicine den, collapsing, and her fade to blackness. She licked her lips, making a face at the bitter taste on her tongue. Ambereye must have given her poppy seeds.

She glanced up as a shadow blocked the entrance of the den and Ambereye pushed his way in. He stopped when he made eye contact with her, blinking in surprise. "Oh, you're awake."

"Have I been out for long?"

"After you passed out, you were out for the better part of a day and a half." Ambereye eyed her. "You overworked yourself until your body literally couldn't take any more."

Mothfall grunted. "I feel pretty bad."

"I can't imagine why you thought this was a good idea." Ambereye rolled his eyes, but he moved over to his herb storage, pawing through his stores. He pressed two poppyseeds into his paw and hopped over to Mothfall. "I would have thought halting your training as an apprentice would have been lesson enough."

"Maybe I was being mousebrained," Mothfall sighed. "Those horrible things that everycat was saying about me… I just thought that if I showed the Clan how hard I was willing to work for them, they'd stop being so mad."

"You're right, that was mousebrained," Ambereye mewed. "I hope you've learned your lesson."

"I promise to listen when you tell me to take a break," Mothfall panted. Ambereye grunted, but held his paw out, she lapped up the seeds eagerly.

"I have to go now," he told her, touching his nose to her ear. "By some miracle, tou don't seem to have greencough. Still, I think you should stay in here until you can walk on your own, so I can make sure you don't do anything mousebrained."

"Where are you going?"

"Checking on our patients," Ambereye mewed. "We haven't had any new cases in several days. With luck, we're approaching the end of this infection."

"But…?" Mothfall prompted, when he lingered.

"But," Ambereye mewed, "Shiningeyes isn't getting any better, and though Briarstreak's fever is down, her cough is getting worse. I have to resign myself to the fact that at least one cat isn't going to make it through."

"No!" hissed Mothfall. She tried to rise to her paws, but they gave out underneath her, and she fell back to the floor, which was spinning all around her. "We can't give up."

"I'm not giving up," Ambereye assured her. "You encouraged me to keep fighting. And in fact, your insistence that Berrystar not go to the gathering, and realizing that she was sick, undoubtably saved us from spreading the infection around even more. You've saved lives, Mothfall. But the best thing you can do for your Clan right now is rest. You're in no shape to help any cat right now."

Mothfall tried to protest, but the poppy seeds were starting to kick in, and all that came out was a drawn-out mewl.

Ambereye pressed his nose between her ears. "Rest up. I'll be back soon."

She nodded, too fuzzy-headed to protest, and allowed sleep to take her once more.

By the time Mothfall woke up again, the late afternoon sun was casting its glow on the camp. She could see the golden glow peaking through the medicine den entrance. She stretched out a paw, testing its strength, but immediately winced and pulled it close again. Still hurt.

She noticed Ambereye grooming himself on the other side of the den. She purred. "I thought we were supposed to go swimming, not lick ourself."

The golden-brown tom looked guilty when he saw her watching. "I always clean my paws before dealing with my patients," he mewed. "But to be honest, I haven't had the time to go for a swim." He straightened out, examining her closely. "How are you feeling?"

"Still in pain," she grunted.

"It might take a few days before you feel better," he mewed.

She flicked her ear. "How's Shiningeyes and Briarstreak?"

"About the same as yesterday, and the day before."

Mothfall hummed. Ambereye stepped closer, eyeing her. "You look like you're scheming."

"What would you say if I said you should go swimming right now? And that you should take me with you?"

He flicked his ear, eyes flickering with surprise. "What?"

"It's something I learned from a RiverClan cat. Their elders don't have joint pain because they swim so much. I've tried it, and it works."

Ambereye grunted. "Interesting."

"Will you take me with you?"

Amebereye tilted his head to the side, considering her. "I have to take care of the sick cats."

"Just for a short while," Mothfall begged. "It'll be good for you to have a break. I can't get there on my own. We can tell everycat where we're going so they know where to find us."

"Why me? Why not any other cat?"

Mothfall held her head. "I'm not sure anycat else likes me enough to take me."

Ambereye purred. "I think you'd be surprised. But maybe you're right, and a little break is what I need. I'll let Berrystar know and we'll be on our way."

It took a mixture of limping along on three (or sometimes two) legs, plenty of breaks, and hope, but eventually the two made it down to the lakeshore. Ambereye stopped at the water's edge, but Mothfall slithered in, sighing as the water enveloped her up to her neck. The cool water soothed her inflamed joints, and as she started to paddle forward, she felt her pain gradually lessen.

Ambereye purred from his spot on the shore. "You look like a RiverClan cat."

"Maybe I am," Mothfall purred. She broke off as she remembered Creekfur and Mousepaw. If things had been different, could she and her littermates have been Creekfur's kits? How different would her life have been? Would she still have her disorder? Could Smokeheart have been convinced to stay if he had shared a border with his mate?

She shook her head, clearing it. "You should join me," she purred, paddling closer to shore.

Ambereye stepped back. "No, thank you."

"Next time, then."

Ambereye laughed. He toed his way back to the waterline and washed his paws, working the water up his body with little splashes. As he cleaned himself, Mothfall floated in the water, enjoying the lack of tension in her body.

Ambereye stood up, nose twitching. "I think I smell something," he mewed. "There's catmint nearby."

"Really?" Mothfall tried to raise her head above the water, opening her mouth to search for any smell other than lake scent.

"I'll be back soon, alright?" Ambereye mosied down the shoreline, nose twitching. "I'm just going to poke my nose around and see if I can find it."

Mothfall blinked as he left. He was probably just imagining things. If there was any catmint left on ShadowClan territory, they would have found it by now.

She was about to turn back around when a breeze hit Mothfall's face, and her eyes widened as a familiar, sweet smell hit her nose. Ambereye had been right! There was catmint nearby! But where?

She paddled in a circle, trying to triangulate the smell. It wasn't until her paws scraped the ground that she realized how far onto RiverClan territory she had strayed. She pushed back, glancing around for any passing cats, and sighed when she saw she hadn't been caught.

She turned around, planning to tell Ambereye that RiverClan had catmint, and he needed to ask Breezedapple if they could spare any, when the wind shifted direction at just the right angle to send a wave of catmint-scent in her direction. Her mouth watering, she hesitated, and glanced back at the shore.

With a scent that strong, they clearly had enough to spare. And with Seedshade and Shiningeyes as sick as they are, every heartbeat counts. Her fur was so wet that she wouldn't leave any ShadowClan scent behind. Surely it wouldn't be a crime to take some? It was against the code, sure, but if it ultimately meant she could save some of her Clanmates' lives, then it was worth it.

She crept forward, keeping her ears perked as she slid onto the shore and towards the catmint-scent. As the marshy reeds closed in around her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Though she hated to feel so enclosed after moons of her own empty pine forest, the cover would keep her bright ginger fur hidden. She crawled forward, and with step she winced, fearing the yowls of alarm that would mean somecat had spotted her. But as no yowls came, she gained confidence and started to move as quickly as her aching paws would allow.

She broke through the reeds, gasping as rows of plants stretched out before her. Catmint! There was more than she could have even hoped for! Without hesitation, she leaned forward, snapping off stems at the base. When she'd gathered as much as she dared, she gathered the stalks into a pile. She was about to pick them up and head back the way she came when she smelled another scent, one that she hadn't noticed at first, over the overwhelming stink of catmint.

Cats.

"Hello?"

Mothfall whirled around (and winced, as pain flared in her paws), fur bristling. "I can explain! I—" She broke off as she realized that the stranger wasn't a stranger at all. "Mousepaw?"

The skinny brown tom raised his head, blinking as he recognized her. "It's Mousewhisper, now."

"Oh, um. Congratulations."

Mousewhisper crept forward, his large ears pressed flat against his head. "What are you doing on RiverClan territory?"

Mothfall's mind whirled as she struggled to come up with a response. "I, uh…"

"Hello."

The reeds rustled as a sleek white molly with silver stripes pushed her way through. Mothfall shivered as she met the molly's icy gaze. "Creekfur?"

The silver-striped molly whisked her tail along her son's side. "I'll take care of this, love. You go back to hunting."

The brown tabby tom ducked his head. He started to turn around, then paused. "What if Petalgaze asks where you are?"

Creekfur glanced in Mothfall's direction. "Tell her that I had promised Breezedapple I would check up on the catmint for them."

"Okay." He swept his gaze over Mothfall one last time. "It was nice to see you again, I guess." He bounded off, and Mothfall lost him as the reeds closed in on him, covering his path.

Creekfur cleared her throat, and as Mothfall met her gaze, she winced at the pain in her eyes. "What are you doing?"

With a pang, Mothfall realized how this must seem. A cat from a different Clan, fur wet to hide her scent, with a pile of catmint at her paws? "Creekfur, this isn't what it looks like—"

"It looks like you're taking RiverClan's catmint without permission." Creekfur's mew fell flat.

"I guess it is what it looks like," Mothfall hedged, "But it's for a good reason! ShadowClan cats are dying."

"So are RiverClan cats," Creekfur mewed.

Mothfall whirled for something, anything to say to make this situation better. The mental image of Mousewhisper, with his all-too familiar yellow eyes and large ears, flashed in her mind. "He's my half-sibling, you know," she mewed quietly.

Creekfur flicked her ear. "I know that. So?"

"So, we're kin, almost." She remembered how, just heartbeats ago, she had pictured her life as Creekfur's kit in RiverClan instead of Wildstep's kit in ShadowClan. Did she ever wonder that, too? Did she care? She had to. She must.

But Creekfur only stared blankly. "You should have thought about that before you left FunClan."

Mothfall shuffled her paws. "Does that mean Shortstone told you…?"

"That you're leaving FunClan? She didn't have to. I knew when you didn't show up. She told everycat that you would be back soon, and I wanted to believe her. But I had my doubts, and you just proved them right. I don't blame Shortstone for not wanting us to mourn your loss. It would have been undeserved."

Mothfall flinched.

Creekfur's gaze softened, and her mew grew gentle, even sympathetic. "If you had only asked. Breezedapple wanted to offer it to ShadowClan ages ago, but Dewstar refused, saying they didn't want to risk hurting Berrystar's pride." She shook her head. "Dapplecall and I gave every FunClan cat as much catmint as they wanted at the last FunClan gathering. If you had come, you would have gotten some, too."

Mothfall's heart shattered. She'd thought she'd done what's best for her Clan, by stopping her FunClan gatherings. What if she had she doomed them all? Shiningeyes and Willowgaze wouldn't have had to sacrifice their catmint shares if Mothfall had gotten more for the Clan days ago. She flinched, unsure of what she could possibly say that would make Creekfur feel better. "I'm sorry."

Creekfur grunted. "Come on. I'm taking you back to the border. Take your catmint and let's go."

Too stunned to protest, Mothfall grabbed her catmint and followed Creekfur towards the border. The silver-striped molly stopped when Mothfall limped and fell behind, but never offered to help. Mothfall didn't ask.

When they reached the border, where the reeds faded away to grass, Creekfur pulled to a stop. She glanced towards ShadowClan. "Listen Mothfall, I know you think you're doing something brave and heroic for your Clan—"

"I am."

"I understand that's what you believe." Creekfur's expression hardened. "But don't you ever, ever pull a stunt like that again. I have to put my own family first. And if you're not FunClan, you're not a part of my family. Understand?"

Mothfall swallowed. "I understand."

"Good." Creekfur grunted. "The next time I catch you trespassing, I won't be so forgiving."

"Mothfall!"

As she turned towards the new voice, her heart wrenched as she saw the golden-brown pelt of Ambereye loping towards them.

"I'm sorry I took so long, I—" Ambereye slowed as he realized Mothfall wasn't alone. "Hello! What's this?" his nose twitched. Ambereye stepped forward, tail quivering. "Is that catmint?"

She eyed Creekfur; her relationship with Ambereye had been tenuous as is, and she didn't need to ruin it with the admission that she had trespassed onto RiverClan territory. Even if she had gotten through unnoticed, she had planned to tell Ambereye she found the catmint on ShadowClan's side of the border.

Creekfur grunted. "It sure is. Breezedapple found a whole bunch of it this morning. Told me to pass it along to ShadowClan if I saw a patrol. So here you go."

Ambereye blinked. "Are you sure you can spare so much?"

"Breezedapple insisted." Creekfur nosed it forward. "Don't worry about us. We have plenty to spare. Healthy neighbors mean a healthy Clan, right?"

Ambereye hesitated, then dipped his head. "You're right, of course. Thank you, Creekfur." He picked up the catmint and backed up, motioning with a jerk of his head for Mothfall to follow.

Mothfall shuffled her paws as Creekfur stared emotionlessly onward. "Thank you for not ratting me out," she murmured. "I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you."

"You can make it up to me by never pulling a stunt like this again," Creekfur mewed, her voice flat. "We had a trust, and you betrayed that trust. I'm only doing this because healthy neighbors means a healthy Clan."

Mothfall watched as the silver-striped molly disappeared into the reeds before limping after Ambereye. She shivered, but it wasn't because of her wet fur.

The two cats continued in companiable silence until they were almost back at camp. Mothfall heard the uneven thudding paws before she saw Shortleg racing towards them, their tail bushed out in fear. "Ambereye! Thank goodness you're back." As they skid to a stop, Mothfall stiffened at how badly they were trembling.

"What is it?" she asked for Ambereye, who couldn't speak with his mouth full of catmint.

"It's Shiningeyes," Shortleg panted. "I think… I think it's their time."