Lilypaw let out a groan as she forced her eyes open, blinking around slowly as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Her head was pounding and her body felt as though it had been lit on fire, crushed by a Twoleg monster, and trampled by a pack of badgers all at once. Biting back a cry of pain, she sat up in her nest as the medicine den finally came into focus.

"Goosefeather? Featherwhisker?" she called out. "Anyone? Are you there?"

There was a small rustling noise as Featherwhisker emerged from the back of the den, a bundle of herbs in his jaws. It looked as though he had just finished sorting out his stocks. When he saw Lilypaw sitting up in her nest, his eyes widened and he bounded over to her.

"Lilypaw! Thank StarClan," the pale gray medicine cat apprentice meowed, setting the herbs down on the ground. "How are your wounds feeling?"

Wounds...that's right, Lilypaw thought, finally remembering what had happened. Out loud, she replied, "I've felt better, honestly. But they don't hurt nearly as much as before."

Featherwhisker nodded sympathetically. "You're lucky that Bluefur arrived when she did. If she had been any later, it's likely you wouldn't have survived."

Lilypaw shuddered slightly at the revelation that she had been only heartbeats from being slaughtered. Timing really was everything. She imagined what her death would have done to her family and a pang of guilt shot through her. The white-furred molly brushed it off, however, reminding herself that the blame belonged to Thistlepaw alone. If he hadn't tried to trick her, she would have heeded his warning the first time.

"How long have I been out?" she asked curiously.

"Almost three days," Featherwhisker informed her grimly. "Your parents, Bluefur, and Snowfur have all come to visit you at least five times. They're all worried sick about you."

Three days? That can't be right! Lilypaw thought in horror. Stupid piece of fox dung, Thistlepaw. This is all his fault. Why can't he ever just mind his own business?

Of course, she was well aware of the fact that the spiky-furred apprentice wasn't responsible for the dog being there in the first place, but that didn't change anything in her eyes. The fact remained that it was his constant pranks that had caused her to ignore his warning the one time it was actually real. Briefly, Lilypaw wondered if Thistlepaw had been giving her so many false alarms so that she would get hurt, but she quickly tried to brush off the idea. Even though they didn't like each other, surely he wouldn't try to get her killed.

That didn't mean she was going to let him get away with what he had done, though.

Meowing a quick word of thanks to Featherwhisker, Lilypaw jumped to her paws and raced out of the medicine den. Scanning the camp, she spotted Thistlepaw about to take a squirrel from the fresh-kill pile. The gray and white tom's back was turned toward her, so he hadn't realized she was there.

Perfect, she thought. Running full speed toward her denmate, she screeched, "HEY, YOU!"

Thistlepaw spun around, nearly dropping his squirrel. "Lilypaw! I, uh–"

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, MESSING UP MY HUNT AND THEN GETTING ME ATTACKED BY A DOG? I'M GOING TO RIP YOU APART AND FEED YOUR REMAINS TO THE SQUIRRELS AND THE ADDERS AT SNAKEROCKS!" Lilypaw shrieked at him, not even caring about all the stares she was attracting as she proceeded to unleash a barrage of front paw blows on Thistlepaw's head. She glanced over at the fresh-kill pile, only to realize it was empty. "AND YOU TOOK THE LAST PIECE OF FRESH-KILL? THAT'S IT, YOU PIECE OF FOX DUNG, NO MERCY FOR YOU!"

The gray and white apprentice cowered slightly. "I-I'm sorry! But it was really just a coincidence!"

She glared at him. "If you think I'll let you get away with this, you're an idiot!" she spat as she continued to pound her paw against his forehead. "Don't you dare try to get anyone to save you! Not if you call yourself a warrior!"

"Lilypaw! You're awake!"

All of Lilypaw's anger immediately vanished at the sound of her mother's voice. Quickly, she jumped off of Thistlepaw and raced over to where Moonflower was approaching her with Sunfall, Bluefur, and Snowfur. Purring, she pressed her head against the silver tabby's shoulder and felt her mother lick her ears fondly.

"Hi, everyone!" she meowed happily.

"How are you feeling? Do your wounds still hurt?" Moonflower asked, checking over Lilypaw's body. "I hope you haven't been exerting too much energy. Rest is the first step to recovery, you know."

"Of course," Lilypaw agreed, glancing over to where Thistlepaw was still lying on the ground.

Bluefur followed her gaze. "What were you doing to him?" she asked, her voice tinged with amusement.

"Nothing, Bluefur," Lilypaw replied innocently. "Whatever are you trying to suggest? I know how to behave."

Her sister rolled her eyes. "Of course, you do," she meowed, tapping her tail against the younger molly's shoulder. "I expect nothing less of you."

"Anyway, what did I miss while I was in the medicine den?" Lilypaw asked, deciding to change the subject.

"Not much, really," Snowfur told her. "Pinestar punished Thistlepaw for pranking you, but other than that, nothing too interesting has happened."

"How are Sweetpaw and Rosepaw doing?" the white-furred apprentice asked.

"Rosepaw is fully recovered now, but Sweetpaw is still sick," Bluefur informed her, a sad glint in her eyes. "It doesn't look good for her. Poppydawn hardly ever leaves her side anymore."

Lilypaw nodded sadly, glancing over to the apprentices' den. From the sound of it, unless a miracle happened, the tortoiseshell apprentice would be joining their warrior ancestors soon. She just didn't understand. Sweetpaw had eaten the same mouse that had made Bluefur and Rosepaw sick; why was she suffering so much more than them? Not that she wanted her sister or her friend to die, of course, but it just didn't make sense.

Sensing her unhappiness, Moonflower touched her nose to her cheek. "Don't worry," she murmured gently. "Featherwhisker will do everything he can in order to make sure she's okay."

"I know," Lilypaw agreed quietly.

"Come on, let's get something to eat," Bluefur meowed, draping her tail over her shoulder.

Lilypaw perked up immediately at that. "Sure," she agreed cheerfully.

She turned and marched back over to where Thistlepaw was still lying on the ground, the squirrel sitting a few paces away, forgotten. Without looking at her denmate, Lilypaw snatched up the squirrel and started carrying it back over to where her family was waiting. As soon as she did, Thistlepaw sat up, an indignant look on his face.

"Hey!" he protested. "I was going to eat that!"

"Too bad," Lilypaw replied, not even bothering to look back.

Thistlepaw chased after her. "But I'm hungry! I haven't eaten since this morning!"

"Oh, I do beg your pardon," she hissed, turning to glare at the spiky-furred tom. He recoiled slightly. "But I haven't eaten in three days. After all, I've been unconscious in the medicine den–which you should remember, considering it was mostly your fault."

"Come on, can't I have that squirrel?" Lilypaw fought back a snort of laughter at the whining note in Thistlepaw's voice. "I did take it first, you know. Besides, Adderfang is leading a hunting patrol. They'll be back soon with more prey."

"Not good enough," she replied indifferently.

"But–"

"Nope!"

"Why can't–"

"No can do," Lilypaw cut him off again, before pausing as an idea flashed in her mind. She smirked slightly as she added, "However, because I'm a kind and forgiving cat, I will give you one chance to make up for your sins in exchange for giving you this squirrel."

Thistlepaw eyed her warily. "So if I do something for you, you'll let me have the squirrel?" he clarified.

"Yes," she answered, nodding.

Her denmate hesitated for a few heartbeats before letting out a sigh. "Deal. So what do you want me to do for you?"

"Well," Lilypaw replied slowly, allowing an evil smirk to spread over her face. "The fresh-kill pile does look rather empty, don't you think?"

Later that evening, Lilypaw walked back into the camp with her head and tail held high. She was followed more slowly by Thistlepaw, who kept stumbling over the massive load of prey she had forced him to carry back home for her. As she padded into the camp, Bluefur and Snowfur waved their tails and bounded over to greet her.

"Where have you two been all day?" Snowfur asked.

"I made Thistlepaw take back all of our prey by himself as punishment for pranking me and stealing the last piece of fresh-kill," Lilypaw informed her older sister proudly.

Bluefur snorted with laughter. "I wish I knew how you came up with these ideas."

"Unfortunately, my dear sister, my intellect and creativity are far too great for you to comprehend," Lilypaw meowed in a mock haughty voice. Turning back to Thistlepaw, she called out, "Hey, don't forget you still need to take back the rest of the prey that you couldn't carry too."

In response, Thistlepaw promptly face-planted on the ground and let out a loud, long-suffering groan.

Well, I think we can safely say that Lilypaw is back.

Thanks for reading!

-TheShadowedWarrior