Ohey.

Recap: Two days after the Gathering, Willowfall gets into an argument with Emberheart about Badgerkit. Willowfall goes to the docks to meet Blacktail, who is now deputy of RiverClan. He tells her that they can't meet anymore, which hurts Willowfall. She asks him if he's told anyone about Graystar and he says no. He leaves, and Willowfall feels overwhelmed with guilt and feels that killing Graystar was all for nothing, because she's practically lost both Blacktail and her kits. She jumps into the water in an attempt to drown herself in the same way that Graystar had died, and she blacks out. She opens her eyes to see Badgerkit, who talks to her and tells her that she has to keep living because she's important. He also says that someone who wanted him dead fed him the deathberries that killed him, but he's too scared to say who. Willowfall wakes up and drags herself to the shore, staying under the dock until morning.

Oh yeah, I also noticed that I kept making the mistake of calling Cedarpaw's mother Sparrowflight when it's actually Swallowflight. But I changed all those mistakes so it should be all good. Sorry! Swallowflight Swallowflight Swallowflight.

Chapter 5

Blood and Water

[Cedarpaw]

Seven moons earlier

It was a warm and beautiful day. Greenleaf was in the air, and the forests were lush and alive with color. Birds were chirping, squirrels were leaping from tree to tree, and the air tasted like flowers.

...

Through the pines ran a small, light brown kit, amber eyes huge as he nearly tripped on his own paws several times, jumping over roots and past rocks and logs. His surroundings were blurred, the sun in his eyes as he struggled to stay on his feet. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, and the steady drumming of his heart. He paused for just a minute to catch his breath, looking over his shoulder, so terrified that he was trembling, his thoughts all jumbled up in his head. But a second later, an image flashed through his mind, and he quickly kept going, not daring to look back again.

Moments later, he tripped on a small stick, sending him flying down a shallow slope, landing with a light thud into ShadowClan's camp. Wincing, he shakily staggered to his paws, looking around wildly. Cats were looking over at him, and a pretty tortoiseshell quickly made her way over, frowning, a look extreme worry on her face.

"Cedarkit," she breathed, lowering herself to his level. "Cedarkit, what were you doing out there, all alone? I told you that there are foxes!"

The kit was staring at his paws, quivering, ears flattened and eyes still wide from what he had just witnessed. He could barley even hear his mother.

"Cedarkit, what's wrong?" Swallowflight demanded hoarsely. "Please look at me..." She used her tail to lift her son's chin, and her leaf-green eyes met his amber ones. The kit stared at her for just a moment before he pushed forward, burying his face against his mother's chest. The she-cat wrapped her tail around him, pulling him closer, but the way he was acting scared her.

Two seconds later, a tom appeared at the top of the clearing, his light brown fur ruffled and amber eyes wide. He was panting, and he quickly took a few steps down the slope. Cedarkit pulled away from Swallowflight, lifting his head as he silently watched his father.

"Reedfur," the she-cat said, getting to her paws. "What's-"

"Waterkit is gone," he announced, looking around wildly. A few cats looked over, eyes wide in alarm as they gathered around to hear what he had to say. Before the shocked she-cat could reply, a voice boomed, "What do you mean, he's gone?"

Cedarkit looked over to watch as Minnowstar padded over to the group, eyes narrowed.

"I promised him I'd show him the forest today," the warrior murmured, shaking his head. "I saw a chipmunk, and I told him to stay where he was while I hunted it. I... The next minute, he was gone. I looked all around but I couldn't find him."

"Reedfur, there are foxes out there," Swallowflight gasped. "We need to find him now!"

Cedarkit sat quietly, listening to the uproar that his father had caused. Everyone was talking anxiously as Minnowstar tried to get them to calm down. The kit watched, looking at Reedfur- and the second he did, those flashbacks shot back through his mind from just minutes earlier. He knew that his father was lying. Cedarkit had seen what had happened with his own eyes. But he was too terrified to say a word. Nothing good would happen if he did. And who would believe him, anyway? A mere kit?

He could only thank StarClan that Reedfur didn't know that his son knew the truth.

"I'll send out two search parties immediately," Minnowstar called. "Reedfur, take Weaselfoot and Harestep and show them where you last were with Waterkit. Try to trace him from there. I will lead another search party in the opposite direction with Redwhisker and Emberheart. Everyone else, remain at camp and do not leave. I'm sure that Waterkit could not have gotten far."

The two parties went off into the sunlit woods, their voices soon disappearing. Cedarkit watched as his mother worriedly paced back and forth. He wanted to tell everyone that it wasn't worth the trouble, and that Waterkit was already dead. He shook his head softly, images of his brother flashing through his mind. He dragged himself over to the edge of the camp, sitting down as he stared at his paws before he clenched his eyes together.

"...Hey," came a high-pitched voice. The kit opened his eyes and lifted his head, seeing Olivekit standing across from him. Her head was tilted, a small frown on her face. "It's gonna be okay," she murmured, sitting down beside him. "I'm sure that Waterkit'll be alright!"

"No," Cedarkit whispered. "He isn't."

The she-kit stared at him, prodding him gently. "Don't think that way-"

"Olivekit," he squeaked, voice scratchy with emotion, "he's not okay."

"But how do you know?" protested the other, clearly putting forth a strong effort to comfort her friend. "You-"

"Dead," he whispered, looking out into the distance, eyes huge. "D-Dead." Olivekit didn't say anything else. She pushed herself closer to him, their pelts brushing, her tail resting on his.

They stayed that way until the search parties came back, announcing that Waterkit had been found killed by foxes.

Present Day

"...Hey," someone mewed quietly. The tom blinked a few times, lifting his head as the voice brought him back into reality. Standing across from him was Olivekit- or, Olivepaw. Her dark brown tabby pelt was flecked with snow, her pale green eyes full of what seemed like worry. She flicked her tail. "Briarclaw thought it would be a good idea for you to get out of this camp," she murmured. Cedarpaw watched her, an image of his mentor coming to mind. He hadn't gone training with him since Reedfur died.

Olivepaw frowned, looking away, perhaps just the slightest bit of shyness in her expression. "He's taking me, Frostpaw, and Emberheart on a patrol. We think you should come."

The tom looked out into the distance for a brief moment. It was midday and snowing lightly. Some cats were outside sharing tongues, but many were huddling in their dens for warmth. He slowly turned to the she-cat, who was looking at him hopefully, head tilted a bit. Sucking in a breath, Cedarpaw staggered to his feet, trembling slightly as he began to feel a bit dizzy the second he was up.

"Cedarpaw, have you eaten lately?" pressed Olivepaw the moment she noticed his condition. "You look a little... Do you want to eat, first?" The tom shook his head slightly, looking to the left to see that Briarclaw, Emberheart, and Frostpaw were already there, waiting for them.

"Alright," the she-cat murmured. "Let's go." She walked off, looking over her shoulder to make sure he was following. The small tom quickly padded behind her, completely ignoring his grumbling stomach.

The five cats walked up the shallow slope, making their way into the snowy forest, the wind chilling their spines. Emberheart was walking swiftly several taillengths in front of everyone else, occasionally sending back somewhat disdainful glances at the others- especially at Frostpaw, Cedarpaw noticed, who, speaking of which, was being particularly quiet. Perhaps she was still mad that she didn't get to go to the Gathering last week when Snowpaw had. Or maybe it was something else.

Briarclaw slowed down to Cedarpaw's speed so that he was walking beside his apprentice. He looked at him, slowly blinking his deep amber eyes.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly. "Is everything going alright?"

The apprentice glanced at him, knowing that he was at least trying. He gave a small nod in reply before looking back in front of him. He was blatantly aware that he was lying, but he didn't want to talk.

Briarclaw frowned, but after a moment, nodded. "Just tell me if you need anything, alright, Cedarpaw?" With that, he quickened his pace, approaching the front of the group and leaving his apprentice alone.

Olivepaw trotted up beside Cedarpaw, her tail flicking against his. He looked at her, his whiskers twitching, trying hard to smile but not sure if he was succeeding. But she gave a small smile back nonetheless. It made Cedarpaw feel a little better.

They were approaching the Twoleg path that separated ShadowClan from ThunderClan. Olivepaw looked a bit tense; maybe she was thinking of Honeystar's mysterious absence from the Gathering.

When they broke out through a few snowy bushes, Cedarpaw spotted a cat on the other side of the path- who, strangely enough, was by itself. It was a short-legged light brown tabby tom, his big amber eyes looking this way and that, widening in slight surprise when he spotted the ShadowClan patrol.

"Hi, Bumbleclaw," Briarclaw greeted kindly. "What are you doing out here by yourself?"

The former kittypet glanced at his paws as he shuffled them around, clearly trying to think of what to say. Cedarpaw watched him quietly.

"Actually," he murmured, "I... was wondering if I could speak to your medicine cat."

Emberheart pricked her ears at this, but before she could say anything, Briarclaw meowed, "Willowfall? Why?"

Bumbleclaw tilted his head, a frown on his face. "Well," he admitted, "someone in our camp is sick, and our medicine cat, Onespot, can't... He can't figure out what's wrong with them. I... was sent here to request that Willowfall come to our camp."

Briarclaw exchanged glances with the other cats before lifting his head.

"It's not my call, but I'm not sure that Minnowstar will let you take Willowfall there by herself. It's not that I don't believe your word, but Minnowstar... isn't the most trusting of cats."

Bumbleclaw flinched slightly, quickly glancing at his paws before awkwardly looking back up. "Honeystar doesn't want anyone other than Willowfall to come," he murmured. "She... wanted to keep this a secret."

"Who is it that's ill?" Briarclaw pressed. The kittypet shook his head slightly, letting out a sigh.

"I... I wasn't supposed to tell you..."

Briarclaw uneasily glanced at Emberheart, obviously not too sure what to do. However, the she-cat ignored his gaze and flicked her tail, her gaze dark.

"I guess you'd better come back to camp with us," the tom murmured. "We can see what Minnowstar thinks of all this."

Bumbleclaw frowned a little, and gave yet another sigh. "I guess," he murmured, straightening up. "Alright, then. I'll come with you."

The group made its way back into the pines, Briarclaw leading the way as he kept sending glances at the short ThunderClan warrior following after him. Cedarpaw was carefully watching Emberheart as he walked alongside Olivepaw, who kept looking at him. The small tom's head was beginning to pound; he felt light-headed, and with every step, the world seemed to be swaying. He told himself it was only because he hadn't eaten lately. There was nothing wrong with him. There was nothing wrong with him...

He stumbled to the side, pushing into Olivepaw, who sprang back in surprise.

"Careful, Cedarpaw," she breathed, staring at him as he regained his balance and struggled to keep walking. "Cedarpaw, what's wrong? You don't look so..."

The tom suddenly stopped in his tracks, the world around him blurring, the light beginning to fade as shadows began to appear from the ground, covering everything in black as they climbed up trees, blotted out the sky, and crept towards his paws. Alarmed, the tom stumbled back, eyes wide as the sound of running water entered his ears. He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, and when he opened them, a stream lay several taillengths in front of him, rushing through the black forest.

A second later, Cedarpaw saw red. Red, in... in the water. The clearness of the stream was quickly becoming blurred with a strange red thickness, and after a moment, an unbearably strong smell wafted past.

The smell of blood.

The tom let out a weak gasp, eyes huge as blood ran through the stream, splashing against the rocks, glistening in the invisible sun. And slowly, and quite against his will, his paws stepped forward, leading him to the bloodied water, legs trembling, fur fluffed up.

He carefully stepped onto the stones, craning his head, hesitantly looking down into the stream. He saw his reflection etched clearly against the surface, his amber eyes shining. But slowly, his face was changing and morphing; his fur was growing slightly longer, his head getting bigger, his eyes darker. And a second later, he let out another small gasp as he realized that staring back at him was his father.

He stepped backwards, tail straight up in the air. No. It... It wasn't possible. His father was dead.

Yet, as if to directly contradict his thoughts, a figure suddenly emerged from the stream, panting as its fur dripped with blood and water.

D... Dad...

Reedfur lifted his head, blood still running from the top of his head where he'd hit it before he'd drowned. He looked up at his son, suddenly pulling his lips back to show his teeth as his matching amber eyes narrowed and flashed with something like hatred. Cedarpaw stood, frozen in fear, as he watched the warrior pull himself from the stream, straightening up, fur dripping as he gazed at the apprentice, claws flexed.

It was only when he whispered the word "Cedarpaw" that the apprentice suddenly collapsed to the ground, everything around him going pitch black.

Yeah, sorry about that creepyass ending there.

Anyway, I love Cedarpaw, he's one of my favorites(: Cedarpaw plushies for everyone who reviews!(:

So yeah, I'm ssoo looking forward to winter break. Only three more days for me. daksdjfasfkj

Ps Jayfeather4ever, it like won't let me reply to your reviews or PM you, I'm not ignoring you, I swear! You are lovely(:

Till next time!

Pearl