The scent of herbs shook Ravenpaw from his deep sleep and he twitched a bit. He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't. His eyelids were too heavy. He could hear what was going on though.
"Is he going to be all right?" asked a familiar voice. Fireheart.
Ravenpaw waited, but there was no response.
"Is he going to be all right?" Fireheart repeated.
"It would be a pity for my apprentice to die, so close to being a warrior." With a sickening pang, Ravenpaw recognized it to be Tigerclaw's voice.
"He…" the voice rasped. It was their medicine cat, Yellowfang. "…may make it. I've done what I can. He is in StarClan's paws now."
"Ravenpaw! Ravenpaw, please, wake up!" Ravenpaw would have smiled if his lips hadn't felt so heavy. It was Graystripe's voice. Despite his feelings last night, it was nice to know his friends still cared about him.
"This is all my fault," Tigerclaw meowed, false sorrow in his voice, "If only I hadn't told him to go after that rabbit."
Until then, Ravenpaw's arrival in Yellowfang's den had been a blur to him. Now he realized: Tigerclaw had done this on purpose, to get rid of him!
Ravenpaw lay still for a moment as a choking pain engulfed him. From his throat. He wheezed to get air, his green eyes flairing open with alarm when no air came to him. He wheezed more, and finally spat up blood. He panted for a moment to get more air, then sank to the floor. He could feel Fireheart's warm fur pressed against one of his sides, and Graystripe's long fur on the other. "You can lick this, Ravenpaw, come on… You'll be fine," One of them whispered to him. He was too weak now to tell.
"Fireheart, Graystripe," he whispered weakly, "thanks for being my… friends. For trust-" he stopped, and spit up more blood, pain filling his body. "For trusting me, when no one else would. I'll… miss you guys."
"No, Ravenpaw! Wake up! Wake up Ravenpaw!" Before he could figure out who had spoken, he blacked out again.
