It seemed that moons had passed before the first injured cat came in, ears back and mouth agape in a silent yowl. I had seen this before; shock, probably caused from a badger attack or something along the lines of that.
As the cat, whose name I do not recall, anxiously told her story(something about foxes near the border taking down a patrol), I could think of nothing but Firepaw. The cat finished, exasperated, so I gave her some poppy seeds and patched up her wound with cobwebs. And the silence kicked in.
It wound around the fresh herbs, making me think even more about the bursting ball of red fur. Soon I found myself out in the middle of camp, dazed and drunken by the fresh-kill pile. I had no idea what I was doing, though something told me I was waiting for Firepaw. It was then that I saw his flaming pelt matched by Sandpaw's more subtle ginger that I felt myself flaming.
How dare he! He loved me, and he knew it. I resisted every urge to stalk over and attack the two of them. I blinked a few times, catching my mistakes guiltily. /You're a medicine cat...you can't do this.../
But every muscle in my body was aching for the lovely apprentice. Frowning, I saw Firepaw go limp and Sandpaw come pelting over to me, her eyes big and scared. Her expression matched my own, and for a moment it was like waves of understanding were connecting us. Our eyes met, and she quickly gave me a friendly lick on the back of the ear. My heart fluttered in my chest; she knew I loved him!
I nodded solemly and darted through the returning patrols, my ears back and my claws unsheathed. It was a reaction, I suuppose. I certainly wouldn't attack anyone if that is what it came to. Buyt something inside me knew that I was ready to fight, or to shoo off Graypaw.
I looked besides me, only to see the ginger pelt of Sandpaw darting besides me. OUr paces matched, and for a moment, it was as if love itself was driving us on. We finally reached Firepaw, our energy boundless. I checked for wounds. but there were none to be found. Turning to Sandpaw and Graypaw, I blinked.
"What happened?"
"We don't know. He wandered off and then.." Graypaw's voice faded off, staring at his limp friend who was stretched out on the ground.
"We found him like this." Sandpaw finished, her eyes as forlorn as Graypaw's. "It was our fault." they seemed to meow in unison, each head dropping in the greatest shame I have ever seen. I turned towards them, my eyes flashing.
"Deathberries."