Hola, amigos.

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I'll skip my excuses and just get on with the story.

Recap: After Cedarpaw passes out while on a patrol, the group brings him back to ShadowClan. Bumbleclaw, a warrior from ThunderClan, comes with them, and asks Minnowstar if Willowfall can accompany him to ThunderClan to treat a sick patient. Willowfall can't go, however, because she needs to take care of Cedarpaw, so she decides to send Frostpaw in her place. She goes with him to ThunderClan to find out that the sick patient is Honeystar, and that this was the reason she wasn't at the Gathering. When the leader starts having trouble breathing, Frostpaw gives her coltsfoot, realizing afterwards that she'd never been taught what coltsfoot did. She and ThunderClan's medicine cat, Onespot, leave the den by Honeystar's request. Sagewhisker goes into talk to her, and comes out announcing that the leader had died, and that she had passed on her power to Bumbleclaw, instead of her. Furious, Sagewhisker leaves ShadowClan, along with three others who don't want to be ruled by Bumbleclaw. Frostpaw goes home and thinks about what happened.

Ope, that was a long recap.

Chapter 7

Please

[Olivepaw]

Night had fallen over ShadowClan, covering everything in a cold silence. It was snowing steadily now, and inside the medicine den, Olivepaw had to suppress a shiver as she sat up rigidly. Her eyes were half-closed in fatigue, but she couldn't let herself fall asleep.

At her paws lay Cedarpaw, sprawled out on his side, his sides rising and falling unevenly as he trembled a bit in the cold. Though his eyes were closed, they were clenched together, mouth open and teeth bared just slightly as if he were having a nightmare. He hadn't woken up since he'd passed out that afternoon.

The dark brown tabby she-cat let out a shaky sigh, jumping a bit when she heard a voice behind her.

"You should really get some rest."

She lifted her head, seeing Willowfall standing facing her several taillengths away, blue eyes shining in the darkness.

Olivepaw let out a sigh, turning her gaze back to the unconscious tom.

"I just... I don't want anything to happen to him."

"That's why I'm here," the medicine cat replied with a flick of the tail, her expression neutral. "It's not doing you any good to lose sleep in this cold. He'll be fine; don't worry."

The apprentice frowned, silently watching Cedarpaw as his paw twitched. She didn't say anything.

"You really care about him, don't you?" came Willowfall's low murmur. Olivepaw blinked slowly, lifting her head.

"...He doesn't have anyone," she said quietly. "All his life, cats have distanced themselves from him. And now that his father's dead, even Swallowflight, his own mother, has. Nobody understands him..." She broke off, looking away. "Maybe I don't, either. Most of the time, I have no idea at all as to what's going on in his head. It's strange; I feel like he's my best friend, but at the same time, I know absolutely nothing about him." She shook her head softly, gazing back at the medicine cat. "But I'm still here for him. I want him to be okay."

Willowfall looked away, eyes narrowed slightly. "He will be," she murmured. "...He'll be fine. I promise."

. . . . .

Olivepaw's eyes shot open, her heart pounding as she lifted her head.

She was in the medicine den, curled up beside Cedarpaw. She must have fallen asleep. It was still night, everything around her completely silent. She let out a breath, her thoughts clouding. She'd had a dream, and she'd felt as if it were important. But when she tried to remember what had happened, all she could visualize was the outline of a black cat.

She looked at Cedarpaw in the darkness. It seemed as though his breathing was becoming normal again, yet he still hadn't woken up. The she-cat sighed, getting up to her paws, suddenly not feeling tired.

Glancing around, she blinked a few times when she realized that Willowfall wasn't anywhere in the den. Flicking an ear, she pushed through the bramble entrance and outside.

The snowfall had been reduced to a light flurry, and now the clouds were growing thinner, revealing the sky in some places. The egg-shaped moon shone down as Olivepaw looked around, shivering in the cold. Everyone was asleep, except for Icewhisker and Briarclaw, who were tiredly guarding the camp. The apprentice narrowed her eyes just a bit, trying to find Willowfall. She wasn't in the clearing.

Lowering herself to the ground, she watched the two warriors on the opposite side of the camp. They seemed to be talking to each other and not paying much else any attention. Biting her lip, she quickly darted around to the back of the medicine den before scampering up the shallow slope, bounding through the snow and into the forest.

Olivepaw silently walked through the woods, the tall shadows of pine trees suddenly seeming unfamiliar to her. Part of her asked her where she was going, and why, but her mind was quite blank and she simply followed where her paws were taking her. She'd never been out here at night, alone. An owl suddenly flew by, starting the apprentice as it shrieked and vanished into the branches of a tall pine, a few feathers falling and landing in the snow around her.

Soon, she heard water gurgling, and, narrowing her eyes, she could faintly see the stream in the darkness. She soundlessly approached it and stepped onto a snowy rock, lowering her head and looking into the water. The light of the moon just barely hit it, and she could see her head outlined against the sky. It calmed her, somehow, and she found that she was just faintly smiling.

Then, she pricked hear ears, hearing pawsteps behind her. They were soft at first, but they grew louder and louder as they sped up. Someone was running towards her.

Eyes wide, she whipped her head around, and after two seconds, a shape leapt from the undergrowth, breathing heavily, wide amber eyes glowing in the darkness as it darted for her.

The cat suddenly leaped forward, eyes ablaze as it let out a loud snarl, claws flexed. Olivepaw widened her eyes, and in the dim moonlight, she immediately recognized the face of...

...Cedarpaw?

She instinctively clenched her eyes shut, bracing herself for the attack, holding her breath.

...Nothing.

She let out a shaky sigh, reluctantly opening her eyes.

...No one.

Olivepaw frowned, heart pounding as she wildly glanced around. Hadn't that been Cedarpaw, just now? It had been. She was sure of it.

"Cedarpaw?" she called out in a hoarse whisper, fur prickling in alarm. "Cedarpaw, are you...?" The only response was the sound of wind rustling against the branches.

Taking a small step back, her back paw suddenly slipped off the rock and into the icy cold water. Olivepaw flinched, quickly regaining her balance as she looked over her shoulder into the stream. An image of Reedfur flashed through her mind- he had slipped and drowned in this same stream.

Letting out a trembling breath, she carefully leaped over the water and onto the other side, where she kept going, her head now spinning, her heart pounding. What was going on? She swallowed, her throat feeling dry. Part of her told her to go back to camp, but another part was convinced that if she kept walking, she'd make some sort of discovery or uncover some secret that everyone knew but her.

So she kept going, blatantly aware that she was shivering not only because of the cold, but because of the vision that had been burned into her mind of Cedarpaw appearing from the darkness. Maybe she was going crazy.

She was getting closer to the RiverClan border; she could smell it. She didn't how how she'd ended up there, but she didn't really care.

She suddenly came to a halt, ears pricked and tail raised. She heard... voices. Nearby, cats were talking. She couldn't tell how many, but she lowered herself to the ground, cautiously making her way through the snow and into the direction of the noise. Pressing up against the trunk of a pine tree, she glanced around it.

Two shadows were standing face to face, their fur blowing gently in the breeze, blue and green eyes glowing in the moonlight. Olivepaw narrowed her eyes, but she couldn't tell who it was. She bit her lip, waiting for them to speak.

"...Why did you bring me out here?" one of them was saying. The apprentice's eyes widened slightly; it was unmistakably the voice of Willowfall. So this is where the medicine cat had disappeared to. A twinge of anger nagged at Olivepaw; how could she leave a patient in the den? What if his conditions were to worsen? She tried not to think about the fact that she, too, had left.

She dismissed her thoughts and leaned forward a bit, listening.

"You know why," the other voice replied with a low, sharp growl. Olivepaw flicked an ear; was that Emberheart?

"Confronting me about the same issue over and over, every day, is not going to change anything," Willowfall muttered back. The apprentice frowned; what were they talking about?

"He'll never come back, I know," Emberheart retorted. "But do you know what my mother used to say to me, Willowfall...?" When the medicine cat didn't reply, she continued: "What goes around will always come back around."

"What are you trying to say?" mewed Willowfall. Olivepaw detected just a bit of wariness in her voice.

"I know about your kits," came the sharp growl. She paused before continuing, her voice suddenly smooth; "Wouldn't it be a shame if they were to face the same 'accidental' death as Badgerkit...?"

Olivepaw's eyes widened. Had she heard correctly? That Willowfall had...?

"How dare you threaten them," the medicine cat suddenly snarled, taking a small step forward. Emberheart held her ground, a very soft chuckle erupting from her throat.

"And tell me, Willowfall- what can a medicine cat do? You can't do anything to me. Speaking of which," she purred, leaning forward, "how come we haven't heard any omens or prophecies from you since last Leafbare?" She shook her head softly; "It seems odd how seemingly little connection you've had with StarClan, lately." She grinned, her white teeth glinting in the faint light. "What exactly did you do to drive them away...?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Willowfall growled, her voice scratchy and slightly hesitant.

"It must be something," Emberheart calmly responded. "Might it have to do with the fact that, on the night of Badgerkit's death, you left camp and-"

"Stop!" the medicine cat hissed, ears flattened. "You don't know what you're talking about. You're acting as if you know something about me, but you don't know anything about me. Nothing."

Emberheart lashed her tail, the corner of her mouth rising up into a small smirk.

"That's not true," she mewed evenly. "I know that if you're anything like me, and anything like any other mother, then you would do anything to protect your kits."

Willowfall fell silent. Olivepaw watched, eyes wide, breathing nearly stopped as the medicine cat lowered her head.

"...What do you want?" she finally heard her ask in a soft murmur, voice quavering a bit. "What do you want...?"

The ginger warrior's eyes flashed as she swiftly licked a paw.

"I want you to leave ShadowClan."

Olivepaw let out a small gasp, but quickly closed her mouth, shrinking further back behind the tree.

"Are you crazy?" breathed Willowfall after a moment. "I can't leave, I'm the medicine cat! I take care of the Clan! I don't even have an apprentice who could take my place-"

"There'll be one," Emberheart replied calmly, without much interest. "Trust me, there'll be one."

"You're crazy," the light gray cat murmured. "You're crazy-"

"But what's more crazy?" Emberheart purred, eyes flashing darkly. "Me, or the fact that you would let your kits die by not doing as I say...?"

"I'm not afraid of you," Willowfall growled. "You can't do anything to them-"

"Really?" the warrior pressed with mock surprise. "I think that I can. And I think damn well that I'd get away with it, too."

"You wouldn't," the medicine cat whispered, now sounding desperate rather than angry. "What happened with Badgerkit was a mistake. What would he think if he knew that you'd taken innocent lives-"

"What do you know about my son?" Emberheart hissed, claws flexed. Olivepaw let out a shaky breath, pressing against the snow-covered tree. It was too late to run, now. They'd hear her.

"I know that I saw him the night I tried to drown myself," Willowfall growled back. "I saw his ghost. And he doesn't blame me for what happened to him. He was the one who told me I had to keep living!"

"You think I believe that for a second?" Emberheart growled, now pulling her lips back into a snarl. "It's your fault he's dead! You misdiagnosed him! You murdered my son!"

Not even a second passed before the ginger she-cat had suddenly launched herself for the other, claws flexed, teeth glinting under the moon, snow clinging to their pelts. She landed on top of the medicine cat, shoving her to the ground against the frozen dirt, bringing up a paw to strike with. But Willowfall desperately thrashed around, kicking out her back legs and sending Emberheart stumbling backwards, off balance.

Olivepaw watched, frozen, part of her telling that she had to do something to stop them from fighting. But her paws wouldn't move. They seemed to have stuck to the icy ground, just like the dead leaves that lay beneath the layer of snow. She watched the fight with some sort of sick fascination as Emberheart brought her claws along Willowfall's flank, sending drops of blood splattering into the snow.

Willowfall reeled back, blindly lashing out a strike, hitting the ginger cat's muzzle. The warrior hissed in pain and ran forward, but the medicine cat dodged to the side. For a cat who hadn't had proper warrior training, she seemed to be doing alright.

Emberheart soon had her on the ground again, this time pinning her by the shoulders, pulling her lips back as she began to lower her head. Olivepaw's eyes widened, and she immediately clenched them shut, bracing herself.

A few moments later, a cry pierced the air, but it was short-lived and was immediately cut off.

Olivepaw's eyes flew open, her heart pounding wildly against her chest. Oh, StarClan, she thought. Oh StarClan. Willowfall's dead. Emberheart killed her.

But when she looked closer, she instead saw the long-furred shape of the medicine cat, panting, her back turned to the apprentice. She was standing over a lump in the snow. Emberheart.

Blood was seeping from the side of the ginger warrior's head. She wasn't moving. In a daze, Olivepaw spotted a small rock jutting from the ground. It was spotted with dark patches of blood. She let out a shaky breath, stumbling backwards. It seemed that she could finally move her legs, again. Had Emberheart's head been struck against that rock? The warrior still lay motionless. Her sides weren't heaving.

She was dead.

Emberheart was dead.

Olivepaw's thoughts were immediately broken off when Willowfall suddenly turned around, looking right into the apprentice's direction. The smaller cat's eyes grew huge, and without even thinking, she turned and began to run.

She could barely see and seemed to have lost all sense of direction as she darted through the trees. Panting, she tried to find her way back to the camp, but everything looked the same and she didn't know which way to go. A harsh wind swept by, freezing her to the bone as she heard only her own breathing and beating heart.

She paused for a moment, glancing back for just an instant. It was silent.

Swallowing, she flattened her ears; Willowfall didn't appear.

Letting out a deep sigh, she continued to scamper through the darkness, trembling. Moments later, the sound of water rushed through her ears; she was approaching the stream.

Her breathing loud in her ears, she saw the blurred image of the water in front of her. Her mind racing, she leaped into the air when she got close as she attempted to get to the other side.

However, her frantic state made her miscalculate the length of the jump, and within a heartbeat, she suddenly felt ice cold water all around her, her body hitting against hard rocks, the world spinning.

She let out a gasp, quickly staggering to her paws; the current wasn't fast enough to whisk her away. Shivering, and now dripping wet, she glanced around, wincing as her limbs throbbed from the impact.

Sucking in a breath, she took a step forward, attempting to get out of the water; however, she felt the rocks slip beneath her paws, and half a second later, she was falling, landing with a light splash back into the current. She felt her head hit hard against a rock, sending waves of pain coursing through her body. The next second, everything was gone.

. . . . .

Olivepaw blinked open her eyes; they stayed half-closed. Flicking an ear, she tried to figure out where she was; she was lying in a bed of cold moss, the back of her head throbbing painfully. She tried to remember what had happened, how she'd ended up here, but her mind was blank.

The sun was just beginning to rise; a dim yellow light poured in from the hole in the roof of the medicine den. With a bit of effort, the she-cat managed to lift her head to look around; Cedarpaw still lay in his own nest, his sides rising and falling shallowly. He hadn't woken up, yet.

"How are you feeling?" a quiet voice suddenly murmured. The apprentice looked up to see Willowfall standing before her, her blue eyes shining. And at that moment, everything that had happened that night came back to her, and with a frightening realization she became aware of the fact that she was lying in front of the cat who had just murdered Emberheart.

When she didn't speak, the medicine cat continued.

"I found you in the stream," she explained quietly, looking away, tail twitching uncomfortably. "I was out looking for a certain kind of root for Cedarpaw and I found you there. You hit your head against a rock. You were unconscious. You're lucky to be alive."

Olivepaw stared at her, nonplussed. Willowfall didn't know that the apprentice had seen what had happened. Something sparked in the medicine cat's eyes.

"What were you doing out there by yourself, anyway?"

Olivepaw swallowed, closing her eyes.

"I couldn't sleep," she muttered.

"Don't ever leave camp by yourself again," the older cat replied sharply. "It's dangerous. You could have died."

Like Emberheart? Olivepaw wanted to say, but she knew better.

"Anyway, you'd better rest here for a while," Willowfall murmured. "I'm going to go see if there's any food. You stay here."

The light gray she-cat flicked her tail, and without another word, slipped through the entrance and vanished into the morning light.

Olivepaw let out a shaky breath, opening her eyes. Every muscle in her body felt sore and bruised. She looked over at Cedarpaw, sleeping several taillengths away. Biting her lip, the she-cat managed to stagger to her paws; trembling, she took a few small steps over to where the tom lay and collapsed by his side.

Shaking, she lay her head on his back, clenching her eyes shut.

"Please wake up, Cedarpaw," she whispered. "...Please."

Ja. I don't really have anything to say.

Please review! You'll get a Badgerkit plushie? (:

Till next time,

Pearly