"You're fine," Larkheart mewed. Marigoldpaw lowered her paw. "Just take it easy on them. I'm not sure what you were thinking, running around like that, but there's no lasting damage."

Marigoldpaw sighed internally. For two days, at least, she'd had an excuse to not leave her den. She had it to herself, after all, now that Lightcloud and Darkstorm were warriors.

Squirrelwhisker barged their way into Marigoldpaw's thoughts. "Then you can go on a border patrol," she mewed. "Right, Larkheart?"

"That should be fine," he agreed. "Just, as I said, take it easy for a couple more days."

"Good. Come on, Marigoldpaw," Squirrelwhisker mewed. "We don't want to keep the others waiting."

Marigoldpaw looked at Larkheart for help but he only stared back at her, expressionless. "It'll be good for you," he mewed. Marigoldpaw felt anger and frustration tug at her paws. There was no getting out of it, then. As she followed Squirrelwhisker out of the medicine den, she looked back at where the apprentice den was, longing pulling a sigh from her throat.

"You'll be back in it before you know it," Squirrelwhisker mewed briskly. The frustration Marigoldpaw felt only grew. Whatever sympathy or pity Squirrelwhisker had held for their apprentice now seemed long gone. A part of Marigoldpaw knew that life went on and she should be moving on too, doing her best and trying to make Hawthornpelt proud.. And the other part of her never wanted to do anything but lay in her nest ever again.

Grayface, Reedpelt, and Stormtail were the other warriors on the border patrol. They looked impatient to start the patrol, shuffling their paws and glancing out across the territory. Squirrelwhisker murmured an apology that the other three accepted with various gestures, and then they set off, climbing down the ridged slope that led off the plateau.

Marigoldpaw lagged behind, pretending it was because her paws were still sore. Her mentor glanced back at her every now and then, but Marigoldpaw didn't deign to make eye contact. She heard Squirrelwhisker sigh once, a short, annoyed sound.

They'd been walking for awhile when Marigoldpaw noticed where they were. The Caveclan border? Something besides anger itched at her paws. This was the way she'd run two sunrises ago, when she'd met Oriolepaw.

Not that it mattered. It was just another part of the territory. Nothing special, even if it was a flatter area, and even if it was where Cliffclan met Caveclan.

"Keep up, Marigoldpaw," Squirrelwhisker barked, and Marigoldpaw looked up to find she was lagging behind. She hissed under her breath and increased her speed a little to catch up. Squirrelwhisker's eyes narrowed in an emotion she couldn't identify.

Not that she cared. It didn't matter. Squirrelwhisker could think whatever they wanted. Marigoldpaw lowered her head to set it against the wind, and kept walking.

The wind carried whispers to her, like it had been for some time now. Marigoldpaw, it breathed, swirling around her. Though it blew towards her, she felt her paws tugged forward. Marigoldpaw.

"There it is," Grayface mewed, drowning out the wind's voice, but it didn't stay quiet for long.

Marigoldpaw, it insisted. Marigold.

Grayface made a noise of confusion and the group of warriors stopped. Marigold. Her paws shuffled. "What's that, then?" Grayface mewed, and Marigoldpaw leaned to look around him. The wind hissed, louder, Marigold.

Marigold.

"Marigoldpaw!"

And suddenly she knew it wasn't the wind. Marigoldpaw started running, swerving around her clanmates towards what they were all looking at. Four Caveclan cats, just past the border. Three of them blended together, leaning against one another. "Marigoldpaw!" she heard again, the sound desperate, and behind her, more incredulous, "Marigoldpaw?"

She didn't stop, even when Stormtail yowled for her to, even when she heard Squirrelwhisker behind her.

"Marigoldpaw!" Oriolepaw cried again, the sound trailing off in despair. Marigoldpaw leapt across the border, vaguely hearing outraged gasps behind her, and skidded to a stop in front of the Caveclan cats.

Two cats supported Oriolepaw in between them. A third stood to the side, anxiety written across her whole body. Marigoldpaw didn't pay much attention to them, just stepped closer to her Caveclan friend- was she a friend? Her heart pounded in her throat, and she felt sick at how scared Oriolepaw had sounded.

"Oriolepaw?" she mewed. Her friend lifted her head, and Marigoldpaw recognized the look in her eyes. She'd seen the same look only two days ago, but it hadn't been as bad then. The blankness dulled her eyes but didn't cover up how tense and frightened Oriolepaw was.

"Marigoldpaw," Oriolepaw whispered. The fear in her voice made Marigoldpaw tense.

"Can you help her?" the gray molly at Oriolepaw's side whispered. "She's trapped and we can't wake her up. You're Marigoldpaw, aren't you? Please."

Marigoldpaw stared at her for a moment and then turned back to Oriolepaw. She swallowed heavily. What could she do? The only thing she'd done last time was say- "Wake up," she mewed, hoping. "Oriolepaw, wake up."

For a moment everything was still and silent; even the murmuring of the border patrol behind her went quiet. The only sound was the ragged sound of Oriolepaw taking a breath. Her eyes blinked furiously, and she slowly sank down on her paws until she was laying in the dust.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Marigoldpaw, thank you," she repeated, and Marigoldpaw couldn't help but move forward again until she was covering Oriolepaw in an embrace. She felt her friend trembling under her, fierce tremors that shook them both.

"Thank you," the cats accompanying Oriolepaw mewed one after another. Marigoldpaw flicked her tail in acknowledgement but didn't move, not until Oriolepaw had stilled.

"You're the only one who can do that," Oriolepaw mewed. Her voice was flat and sounded far away. "You're the only one I can hear when I'm in the water."

"I'm glad I can help you," Marigoldpaw mewed. It sounded lame even to her, but Oriolepaw cracked a smile anyway. When she shifted, Marigoldpaw pulled away, stepping back awkwardly. "Um, sorry for crossing the border," she said, suddenly nervous. "I- Goodbye." She paused for a moment to look at Oriolepaw. A silent agreement passed between them and they touched noses briefly.

Then Marigoldpaw was hurrying back across the border. Her pelt prickled from the stares she could feel, both from the Caveclan cats and from her own clanmates. She glanced back at Oriolepaw. Her friend hadn't moved yet. She gazed at Marigoldpaw with tired eyes, hiding something Marigoldpaw couldn't quite decipher.

"What was that about?" Squirrelwhisker mewed when she was back across the border. "What were you thinking?" Their mew slowly grew furious. "I will be telling Brightstar about this, Marigoldpaw. You should know better than that."

"I don't care," Marigoldpaw mewed frankly. "She needed my help. You heard her. She called for me." She blinked at Squirrelwhisker's stunned face and flicked her tail. She took a moment to look at the faces of her other three clanmates, a varying range of disgruntlement and confusion, and then left, paws set towards the Cliffclan camp.

They didn't follow her, though she could hear Squirrelwhisker's furious growl. Let them be mad, Marigoldpaw thought, finding that she didn't care at all, not even one measly little bit.

/

Oriolepaw only stood up when Marigoldpaw was out of sight. Her legs were surprisingly steady.

"Are you okay, little bird?" Astertail mewed carefully.

"Fine," Oriolepaw mewed. "Thank you for helping me here. I'm sorry I worried you."

"I'm sorry," Darkgaze mewed. Oriolepaw's ears and then her whole head swiveled around, She was shocked to see the devastated look on her mother's face. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. You tried to tell me and.." Oriolepaw butted her in the shoulder with the top of her head.

"I didn't tell anyone," she mewed. "I.. It seemed so impossible but.."

"We're glad you're okay, Oriolepaw," Fawntail mewed. Her mentor looked tired, still with an edge of worry to her features. "But I do wish you would have talked to us about it."

Sure, Oriolepaw thought. Guess what, Fawntail? I can see the future when I dream, and sometimes even outside of that. She sighed. "I'm sorry," she mewed, deciding that was a safe answer. "It's okay now," she added.

"How do you know it won't happen again?" Darkgaze asked. She pressed her pelt against Oriolepaw's. On her other side, Astertail licked the top of her head.

"It won't. I'll be fine for a few days." She knew that. Darkgaze nodded slowly.

"If you're sure, baby," she mewed. "Let's get you back to camp, okay? You need real sleep."

Oriolepaw couldn't disagree with that. She felt dead on her paws. The sleep hadn't been real sleep, after all. Her mothers moved to support her on either side again, but Oriolepaw shook her head and they relented. They let her set the pace back to camp, and she kept them at a nice speed, just fast enough.

She had to get plenty of rest, after all. She had to return back here tomorrow.