A/N: Hello, all! I'm back with another chapter. Except this is a really short chapter; only 7 and a half pages! But even though it's short, it's pretty important. You'll find out why as you keep reading...

So! Redpaw and Graystripe will now be killed. Maybe. Possibly. 68% positive. But who knows? Me! I know! That's who!

Anyway, hope you all enjoy this! Please let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors.

Chapter 12

Mosspaw sighed, chomping down on a mouse. She cast a glance back to the entrance of the medicine den, but she stayed where she was by the fresh-kill pile. Jayfeather had finally forced her to go and grab some fresh-kill, telling her she'd wither away and die if she didn't, but he wouldn't let her back in while she ate.

Munching as quickly as she could, Mosspaw polished it off and started back towards the medicine den. Before she was halfway there, a sudden shriek coming from inside sounded.

Mosspaw never knew her legs could move so fast. They were so fast that they made her collide with a cat going the same way.

"Mosspaw?" Flamepaw mewed, struggling to get up. "What's going on? Was that Millie?"

Mosspaw ignored her brother and disentangled her legs from his. On her paws once more, she shot into the medicine den, Flamepaw and two other cats close behind her.

Bursting into the den, eyes wide and heart pounding, she looked around. It was dark inside, so it took a few heartbeats or her eyes to fully adjust. When they did, everything seemed perfectly normal . . . except for the way Millie was staring at Jayfeather. Well, she wasn't staring, more like glaring.

"How dare you say that?" Millie screeched at the medicine cat. "He could still be a warrior if he liked! Right, Graystripe?"

"Graystripe's awake?" Mosspaw mewed in surprise.

Flamepaw brushed past Mosspaw, heading to Millie's mate. Mosspaw followed, instantly realizing something was wrong with Graystripe. Something she hadn't noticed before when Graystripe had been lying unconscious on a nest.

His fur was ruffled. He still looked a bit dazed. But the worst of it was that his hind leg looked twisted into a very awkward and painful position.

Mosspaw glanced over at Flamepaw. "What's wrong with his leg?" she whispered, fully aware of the bristling she-cat behind her. And she understood why Millie was acting like this; by the sounds of it, Graystripe's leg was going to prevent him from being a warrior any longer. Mosspaw knew she'd be devastated if Redpaw couldn't be a warrior.

Flamepaw stayed silent as he leaned down and sniffed Graystripe's leg. He straightened up, looking thoughtful. When he finally explained, Mosspaw wished he had stayed silent.

"Well, when the wolf grabbed him, it looks like he did something to this leg." Flamepaw glanced over at Mosspaw, his eyes sad. "I think it's twisted beyond—"

"No! Don't say it!" Millie yowled, turning on Flamepaw. Mosspaw shook her head, scrambling out the way while trying to get the ringing noise out of her head. Millie wasn't doing anything but hurting every cat's ears! But could Mosspaw blame her?

Jayfeather sighed, his blue eyes closing momentarily. "Flamepaw's right, Millie. Graystripe needs all his limbs functioning properly in order to be able to fight and hunt."

"At least he's still alive!" Flamepaw mewed, dodging one of Millie's furious blows.

Mosspaw looked over at Redpaw, her worry for him mounting all over again. It was easy to imagine what Millie was going through. Graystripe had woken up, but Redpaw was still lying unconscious in his makeshift nest. How long was it possible for a cat to sleep?

Mosspaw sighed, moving closer to him and sitting down. She slowly trailed her tail along one of his tabby stripes, from the top of his shoulder down to his chest. As she neared his paw, he instinctively moved it to bat her tail away. It was only a slight movement, but Mosspaw detected it easily.

"Redpaw!" she exclaimed, crouching forward to nudge him gently with her nose. When she got no further response, she impatiently jabbed a paw into his belly. "Come on, you dormouse, wake up!" she mewed.

Redpaw jerked, his eyes opening to a slit. A quiet groan sounded from his throat, and he struggled to sit up. Flamepaw came over, and when Redpaw was fully straightened, he started looking the dark red apprentice over. Mosspaw waited nervously, kneading the ground with her claws.

After what seemed like ages, Flamepaw stood in front of Redpaw. "I think he's okay, Jayfeather," he told his mentor, and Jayfeather moved around Millie to join him.

"You gave us all quite a scare, Redpaw," Jayfeather meowed. At the confused and pained look on the dark red tabby's face, he explained, "You and Graystripe were bit down on by . . . something. I'm amazed that you're not hurt any more than you seem to be. Unfortunately, Graystripe got the worst of it," he added, glancing at the older warrior.

"You should probably stay away from apprentice duties at least one more day," he told Redpaw. "How do you feel?"

"Tired, and a bit dizzy," Redpaw murmured slowly. "But . . . otherwise, all right."

Mosspaw let out a relived purr.

"It would do you good to get some fresh air in the forest," Jayfeather assessed, after a moment. "Give yourself a chance to stretch your legs, after three days of being asleep. Mosspaw, would you go with him?" he added, his expression unreadable, but Mosspaw got the sense that he had missed nothing . . . and if possible, had even guessed a little more.

Mosspaw nodded, hiding her momentary sheepishness, and standing up as Redpaw rose slightly unsteadily to his legs, then followed her out of the medicine den. Once they were out in the clearing, a few cats, mostly the other apprentices, raced over to them.

"Redpaw! You're okay!" Bluepaw purred, nosing him happily. Birdpaw and Cinderheart joined them, and Amberpaw and Snowpaw stood nearby, looking on.

"Lionblaze is out on patrol right now, but I'm sure he'll be so relieved to hear that Redpaw is okay," Amberpaw meowed to Mosspaw. "We've missed you two at training," she added, nudging the smaller apprentice playfully.

"Sorry," Mosspaw muttered, still watching Redpaw. He was still being showered with affection.

After a few heartbeats had passed, Snowpaw glanced at Mosspaw. "You shouldn't have gone without eating while Redpaw was passed out. You've grown a bit thin."

Mosspaw looked over at him, surprised. In truth, she hadn't thought much about eating. And since she had recently eaten a mouse, she wasn't hungry at the moment.

"You weren't eating?" Redpaw asked, finally joining them. Mosspaw started, suddenly nervous at what she would say to him.

"I, uh . . . no . . ."

Amberpaw purred, nudging Snowpaw away. "We'll leave you two alone now." They trotted away, heading to find their mentors.

Mosspaw watched them leave, then turned to look back at Redpaw when he brushed his tail against her side. She most certainly hadn't eaten for a while. He'd have to stuff her.

"Let's get out of camp," Redpaw meowed, slowly but steadily making his way to the camp entrance. Mosspaw followed at his side, not wanting to leave him now that they were back together.

When they were well out of hearing range from the Clan, Redpaw sat down with a ragged sigh. Mosspaw joined him, basking in the warmth of her not-yet-mate. Leaning into him, she purred as Redpaw wrapped his tail around hers, giving her a swift lick on her ear.

"So why weren't you eating?" Redpaw asked, bringing up the awkward question that Mosspaw hardly knew the answer to.

"I guess I was just really worried about you," she muttered, looking in a different direction. "I forgot to eat. But I'm glad you're okay," she added, straightening up to gaze into his deep amber eyes.

"I'm glad I'm okay, too," Redpaw purred, nudging her playfully. "Just make sure you keep eating. If only for me," he added.

Mosspaw rolled her eyes. "Fine. But only for you," she purred teasingly. "And only if you promise to never leave me or scare me like that again."

"I don't know if I can promise that." Redpaw glanced around them. "Do you feel like we're being watched?"

"Maybe?" In truth, Mosspaw hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings. As she stared around, she wondered if Redpaw could sense something but she couldn't.

They didn't have long to wait before they found out that Redpaw's suspicions were correct. A cat emerged calmly from the undergrowth nearby, although his claws were unsheathed. It was Dewpaw.

Mosspaw stood up, her eyes growing wide in astonishment. "Dewpaw? Aren't you still being stuck in camp?" she asked, more confused than worried. It was true that he had his sharp daggers pointing out of his paws, but he would never harm a Clanmate. Right?

"Yes, unfortunately I am, Mosspaw," Dewpaw sighed, blinking at her with his calm amber eyes. "But there's no harm in sneaking out for some fresh air every now and then, is there? It's horribly boring staying inside camp all the time, wouldn't you agree?"

"What did you really come out here for?" Redpaw growled, the fur on his neck bristling. He got the feeling Dewpaw wasn't out for a friendly little stroll in the woods.

Dewpaw slowly turned his gaze onto the other tom. "Well, Redpaw, if you must know, I came here to become Mosspaw's mate."

"What?" Mosspaw shrieked, leaping back from him. "I'm not doing that!"

She had the sudden urge to try and call for help . . . she still hadn't figured out how to use her telepathic communication thing, but they weren't too far from camp . . . were they? It wasn't completely impossible to try and tell Flamepaw what was going on?

"No, not like that," Dewpaw mewed; his voice was eerily . . . inanely . . . calm. "You're just going to be my mate like you supposedly were being with Redpaw. When we're full warriors, then we can—"

"Hold on!" Redpaw interrupted, standing up. "That's not for you to decide. Ultimately, it's Mosspaw's last say on what she wants."

"Of course it's Mosspaw's decision," Dewpaw sniffed, glaring at Redpaw. "But I already decided for her. If you nicely back off and leave Mosspaw to me, then there won't be any trouble. But if you don't, then I'll just have to go and tell everyone that I caught two certain very young apprentices mating together."

Leave me to him? Who does he take me for?!

Mosspaw stared in shock at the words that had come out of the older apprentice's mouth. To her, what he had said was a bit taboo, at least for now. How could he have said those things? Why? What had she done . . . what had they done . . . to deserve . . . such . . . punish . . .

"Moss . . . !" was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

Redpaw rushed over to Mosspaw as she collapsed as fast as he could go, but he still felt weak from lying still and not eating anything for three days. Dewpaw reached her first and snarled at Redpaw, claws unsheathed and tail lashing, preventing him from coming closer.

"Stay away from Mosspaw from now on, Redpaw, if you know what's good for you," Dewpaw hissed. "And don't you dare tell any cat about this, or your life will be in danger . . . more so than it already was, my friend."

Redpaw tried to summon the energy to fight, but his body was exhausted. Fighting back a wave of nausea, he watched, blank with disbelief, as Dewpaw grasped Mosspaw's scruff in his jaws and started hauling her away back to camp. He was so shocked that he couldn't have moved if he tried.

As he stared blankly into the trees, he wondered why Dewpaw had done that. Why had he butted in their lives and ruined them, possibly forever? And by the sounds of it, they weren't allowed to tell any cat or be together, or he'd be killed.

He suddenly remembered that Dewpaw wasn't supposed to still be in camp. How would he explain what he was doing outside dragging Mosspaw? Redpaw slowly made his way back to camp, now curious of how Dewpaw would handle the situation.

A/N: ... Well, that wraps up that chapter. Thanks, ShoutFinder, for helping me make it a bit . . . well, slightly longer and better :D

What'd you all think? I know, I know, Dewpaw was a real jerk in here... And I haven't asked him, but I'm pretty sure it's only because he's Redpaw's rival. He's really not that bad of a kitty; promise.

There's one thing I personally don't get, though... Redpaw and Mosspaw are less than 7 moons old. Where in StarClan did they learn to act all lovey-dovey? I mean, really; they're so young!

Okay. I admit it; it's mostly my fault.

Stay tuned for chapter 13! Oooo it's going to be interesting! -coughcoughwolvescoughcough- Other than that, Flamepaw finds out about Dewpaw and what he had done the previous day, and offers to help! Not that there's much they can do about it, is there? And poor Graystripe... and... awesome! Breezepelt's back! And there's also a nice little surprise visit from a WindClan cat. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?

In the meantime while you're waiting, please review! I love reviews xD

And if you review, I'll give you your very own realistic toy songbird! (Of whatever kind you want)

By the way, Sonicstat27 and I are writing a new fanfic; it's called 'Facing Fears'. Please check it out when you get the chance, and thanks to all my faithful followers!