Chapter Seven: Forbidden

I am trying to update more, but I probably won't. This will be the last chapter for awhile! Be prepared for a new fanfic though!


The scent of mouse filled the silver tabby's nose, and she woke with a start. Mouse? No fish? Dragonmist shook her head, her vision clearing. She yawned widely, showing white teeth. Tigerlily was sitting a few fox-lengths away, eating a mouse, which she could scent and guessed due to its musty stench. It smelled of the abandoned barn where the Gatherings were held. The she-cat stretched, padding over to her mentor, her paws silent against the dusty floor.

Her stomach rumbled, giving her away. Tigerlily smiled, "Hungry?" she nudged the half-eaten mouse over to Dragonmist, "It's honestly not that bad." The apprentice nodded, sitting down next to her mentor. Dragonmist touched its fur, surprisingly soft, and sniffed it.

"Alright." She snapped it up; it tastes like carp, but meatier…

"Was it very bad?" Tigerlily asked, tilting her brown tabby head to the side.

Dragonmist shook her head, licking her lips, "It tasted a little like carp."

The brown she-cat nodded, getting to her paws, shaking her pelt. "I'm going to go and collect some herbs." Her gaze flickered over to the supply, "We're growing low on marigold, coltsfoot, and we need more tansy." That was true. More than a few cats had gotten a cough as the cold weather approached. The fox set had many smaller burrows inside, so they had plenty of areas for the patients to go.

Dragonmist nodded, eyes narrowing as her gaze followed the medicine cat until she was out of camp. She noticed many cats coming in with prey, more than expected for a patrol. Petalstar was one of them, clutching a scraped-up rabbit. The patrol had a few injuries, but as Dragonmist surveyed them, most of the wounds were minor. She hurried back into the den, grabbing a few withered marigold leaves, along with some goldenrod.

Hurrying down to the patrol, she heard Petalstar explaining what had happened with Reedwhisker, "…SwiftClan chased this rabbit right into our paws, a few fox-lengths on our territory. They said it was theirs, but it was rightfully ours. An apprentice ran over –from their side, of course, and we had a border skirmish. Sandstar apologized after, and they left. I found it strange." The black she-cat met Dragonmist's gaze, nodding at the sight of the herbs and the black she-cat turned around.

Petalstar yowled to the patrol, "Line up in front of Dragonmist! She will treat your wounds."

Dragonmist nodded at Oceangaze, having already made a poultice of goldenrod and marigold, and rubbed a bit on the pretty she-cat's injuries. Sandpetal was next, and nodded at Dragonmist. The medicine cat apprentice treated her injuries, and then Spiderpaw's. After awhile, she finally got through the patrol. Petalstar insisted on being treated last. The small poultice had been used up, and Dragonmist sighed.

Where is Tigerlily? She wondered, her paws smelling like herbs. She approached the small stream of water at the edge of camp, washing her feet.

"Hey." Birdpaw mewed, walking towards her. Dragonmist saw her reflection. Heronpaw followed behind his littermate, acknowledging the medicine-cat apprentice.

Dragonmist replied, "Hey. How's training going?" Heronpaw shrugged, obviously uncomfortable with the older she-cat; she was just a few moons older than the two.

Birdpaw rolled her eyes at her brother, "Ignore Heronpaw. He's just grumpy because he wasn't on the patrol; he says he would've ripped SwiftClan to shreds. Training's going fine, Dragonmist. Stonetail says I'll have my assessment soon!" The silvery she-cat purred, happy for her friend. She licked Birdpaw's shoulder, while Heronpaw snorted.

"Please. I heard Greythorn talking to Stonetail, and he said that he was glad not to have you!" The tom growled, voice rising. Dragonmist noticed that the apprentice wasn't eating well, his ribs showing faintly underneath his thick golden-brown pelt. Only a medicine cat would notice these things, she thought. Her eyes flickered over to Mosswing, who was approaching. The she-cat was heavy with kits, and this would be her second litter. Heronpaw and Birdpaw had been her first. Dragonmist recalled back memories of the nursery, its warm, milky scent, and the squealing of the other kits.

Darkwave, Mosswing's mate, was following the she-cat. Dragonmist barely stifled a purr, as she heard him fussing over her. Heronpaw got to his paws, and padded towards his parents. Birdpaw bounced over, nuzzling her mother. Heronpaw was chatting to his father.

Dragonmist turned her head away, not wanting to intrude on this moment. It was nearly sun-high, and Tigerlily still wasn't back. What's taking her so long? She remembered the last time she had left early, and returned late in the evening. Shoulders hunched, Dragonmist slipped out of camp.

Once she was out of the camp, the silver cat followed Tigerlily, which insisted of crossing many large streams. Her mentor had tried not to leave a trail, it seemed, which the apprentice found strange. "What does she have to hide?" Dragonmist wondered out loud, before trudging on, finding a few broken bits of reed now and then that told her that her mentor had come that way.

She felt more suspicious as she realized that Tigerlily's trail led towards SwiftClan's border. Her uneasiness turned her stomach, and the day seemed gloomier now. Why?... Dragonmist sighed, stopping to lap at a stream, her throat dry. Tigerlily had seemed so loyal to the Clan, but she was loyal to her mentor. She couldn't possibly confront Petalstar and talk about Tigerlily; she hadn't found evidence yet anyways.

Dragonmist remember when Tigerlily had returned from the Gathering late, her expression flushed and her fur slicked down. Her expression had been the same as of what had happened a quart-moon ago. Loud rustling followed by purrs sounded nearby, and the tabby froze, water droplets dripping from her chin.

Ears pricked, the she-cat didn't move, waiting to see if that was her imagination. Mews sounded from a clump of heather, hushed. Dragonmist crept towards it, her green-gold eyes finding a thick clump of heather and ivy, darting underneath of it. Her belly-fur touched the gritty grass, and Dragonmist lowered her head, her eyes widening in surprise.

Tigerlily was sharing tongues with a SwiftClan warrior, a small squirrel between them. Tigerlily's tail laced with his. The apprentice gagged, and ducked out, silently. Her eyes were still wide, and she ran. Dragonmist didn't care where she would go, as long as she remained in the territory.

Finally, she stopped, slumping down by a stream. She looked at the sky for help. What will I do? She saw the faint outline of a cat, followed by the scent of the nursery and a clear, unfamiliar smell.

"Do what your heart tells you..." An achingly familiar mew sounded in her ear, and as she whipped her head around to see whom they were,they were gone. Applefall? Dragonmist looked at the sky again, formulating a plan. She had to be at camp before Tigerlily, so the she-cat set off, swallowing a lump in her throat, pain stabbing at her heart. Mother, I need help... The silver she-cat looked at the rising form of Silverpelt again, closing her eyes for a brief moment, suddenly exhausted.