Chapter 2- Wilted Rose

"CaveClan, ATTACK!"

The loud battle- cry woke Mintkit up. Screeches and yowls filled the air, the sound of unsheathed claws slashing and screams of pain and terror.

Silverkit bounded over from his nest. His mother was vacant, leaving all of her kits alone in the moss. "What's going on?" he whispered, scared.

"No idea!" Mintkit flattened her ears.

"Let's go see what it is!" Silverkit mewed determinedly.

The five kits sprinted to the nursery entrance. As they ran, Mintkit noticed that all the nests were empty of queens, and only kits were there. What had happened that forced the queens to leave their precious children?

They soon found out.

One of the youngest warriors, Owlfoot, was standing in the nursery entrance, blocking the way out. He had not yet noticed the kits: instead he was looking around wildly, claws unsheathed and tail twitching nervously. "Hey, Owlfoot!" Mintkit called.

He swung round in alarm, ears pricked up, then relaxed when he saw the group of kits. He looked slightly embarrassed that he had been so terrified of them. "Yes?"

"What is going on!?" Silverkit demanded.

"Where's mama?" Spiritkit wailed.

"Relax, kits! I don't know if I can tell you, but all you need to know is that there's been a small problem, and your mamas will be here soon, okay?" Owlfoot tried to keep his tone calm and kind. But Mintkit wasn't fooled. She knew by the sounds that there must be some sort of fight going on outside, and all the warriors thought that kits were too immature to know what was going on. She huffed crossly.

"A problem? Can we help?" Blackkit, Silverkit's brother, mewed.

"Pleeeeeease! I'm the best at helping!" Oceankit pleaded, putting on an innocent and cute face.

Owlfoot sighed. It was very hard to resist those wide eyes- puppy eyes, but somehow he managed it. "Look, kits- if I tell you, I'll be in big trouble, and you don't want me to be in trouble, do you?"

"Of course not!" Oceankit meowed indignantly.

The warrior's eyes turned sympathetic. "I'm sorry, but you need to go back to your nests, or I'll be clawed to death by your mothers!"

Blackkit looked horrified. "Mama would never do that!"

"Guys... you should listen to Owlfoot," Mintkit said quietly, finally daring to speak in front of a warrior.

Owlfoot gave her a small smile, and ruffled her fur. "There's a good kit!" he said cheerily. "Now, why don't you all follow Mintkit to your nests?"

The kits growled, stamped and sighed, but rather reluctantly they followed Mintkit to the back of the nursery cave.

Although her mother was a horrible brat, Mintkit still worried for her safety. She remembered the voice that woke her up- CaveClan, attack! So it must be another CaveClan raid.

CaveClan had been attacking MountainClan camp for a while now. She thought it must be out of desperation, fear and hate, because they were the smallest Clan, and they were growing weaker by the day. It was quite stupid to attack such a giant Clan, but they did it in the hope that they would defeat them somehow, which always failed. The two Clans were bitter enemies, always picking fights.

While the bloodcurdling cries continued, Mintkit could not sleep that night, for she had the terrible fear that someone, somewhere, was going to die.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Rosebloom was sleeping peacefully in her cosy moss nest lined with the softest, fluffiest hawk chick feathers. She dreamed of an endless field of herbs, where the beautiful scents of flowers surrounded her. All of a sudden, a cry cut through the air, and the meadow disappeared. At the exact same moment Mintkit jolted awake, she snapped out of the dream world.

"CaveClan, attack!"

Not another one! It meant that she would be treating cats for days, all with horrible wounds, and some may possibly die. They were running low on marigold, too, so she would have to ask her apprentice Blossomshoot to get some more.

Suddenly, Wrenfeather came running in, smacking straight into Rosebloom. The brown warrior hissed, unsheathing her claws, then she realised it was only the medicine cat. "Sorry!" she yelped.

Rosebloom smiled warmly. "No worries! How can I help?"

Wrenfeather's eyes widened. "Cliffstar sent me and Owlfoot to guard dens."

"Ahhh, I see!" she sighed. "Well, don't mind me. I'll be sorting herbs..." she gestured to the massive pile of herbs that were all mixed up like odd socks.

She picked through the herbs, freshly collected from Blossomshoot's morning walk. Thyme... she placed it carefully on a pile hidden in a gap in the rocks. Mint... chamomile... coltsfoot... it would take ages to go through everything. Maybe she would get her apprentice to do it later.

A loud screech made her look up. Wrenfeather fell to the ground, her eyes alight with pain. The attacker, a black, shadowy tom, merely laughed, and sunk his fangs into her neck.

Rosebloom dived at the tom, claws outstretched. She took him by surprise, and he was knocked away, rolling into the pile of herbs. "Run, Wrenfeather, run!" she ordered.

The black tom quickly got up and pounced on the medicine cat. Within seconds she found herself pinned to the stone floor in a tight grip. Merciless black abyss- like eyes stared down at her. "Shadowstalker!" she gasped. He lunged for her neck, and she only just managed to shift away from gleaming fangs. "You dare attack a medicine cat?" she hissed.

"Your death will make no difference," he said stiffly.

Rosebloom laughed, because she knew this was a lie. "Really, Shadow? Do all those memories in the past mean nothing to you? Or are you so heartless that you have forgotten? Think again!"

He narrowed his eyes. "You mean nothing to me anymore!" he bared his fangs and sunk them into her neck.

The medicine cat gasped- she hadn't expected his attack. She rolled around desperately, kicking at his belly, eyes glazed over in fear and pain, but there was no escaping death this time. Blood stained the smooth, stone floor, and then it was everywhere, on her fur, on Shadowstalker's claws. Her blood.

The weight was lifted off her. Shadowstalker was sitting up, watching her coldly as she died in front of him. Black spots clouded her vision, she felt weak, and pain like fire seared through her body. She writhed in agony, wanting it all to be over, to greet StarClan and never feel pain again. "Help..." she choked out the words to her attacker.

He stood there, no hint of emotion on his face, then he turned round and padded out of the den without looking back. His betrayal hurt more than her wound in Rosebloom's mind.

As everything started to fade away, a calm sense of forgiveness washed over her, as she thought of a tiny red tortoisehell kit left behind, a shining ruby that lit the way to StarClan.