Hi all! So plans have changed, I found out there are computers at Interlochen's library where I can post chapters! Which means I will be able to read your awesome reviews, and I'll be able to edit the chapters a bit before I post them.

Thank you to smartblueladybug, Mallowfeather of Earthclan, Catwriter11, Shayila, and Wyldclaw for the reviews! It means a lot to me, even something short makes me smile :)

You guys are gonna like this one, its a sweet bit with Dawnspirit that'll make all of you go 'awwww'

Chapter 14

Blood welled up against the mat of cobwebs, threatening to break the barrier, and Dawnspirit quickly pressed another one against the wound before the deep cut opened up again. She pressed her paw gently against it, the pressure helping the blood flow to slow down. She chewed up some more goldenrod and applied the poultice to the wound, the tangy taste stinging her mouth.

The chocolate brown fur was ruffled and messy from the battle, and Dawnspirit shivered as flashes of it came back to her. She knew she would never forget Maplepaw's young figure, simply lying there bleeding. The emptiness in the apprentice's eyes had frightened her, the look of death from a battle in one so young.

Shimmerpaw looked up at Dawnspirit, her dark brown eyes grateful. "Oww!" she cried suddenly, as the grey she-cat pulled a small thorn out of one of her cuts, which had somehow gotten lodged in there during the battle. "That hurt," Shimmerpaw mumbled, her brow wrinkled in annoyance.

Dawnspirit gave a quick nod, ignoring her patient's words, stepping back to review her work. "You can go now," she mewed. "You should be fine in about a day as long as you don't do anything to reopen those wounds."

Shimmerpaw grinned at her words and scampered out of the medicine cat den, joining Cougarpaw and Sparkpaw outside, both bubbling to hear about the fight. Dawnspirit sighed as she watched the two apprentices squealing in excitement as Shimmerpaw recounted how she had battled the young Riverclan tom, had fought him bravely and driven him out into the forest.

"One day they'll learn," she murmured sadly, turning away. "Battle is not such a glory, there may be only one winner, however both sides lose."

"Dawnspirit!" The wail came from the across the clearing, from the nursery. It was a pained and frantic cry, and she recognized its speaker as Poppygrass.

Dawnspirit snatched up some thyme and poppy seeds, sighing as she padded across the camp. She subconsciously glanced up at the trees, noticing that the leaves were beginning to redden. Leaffall was fast approaching and soon the cold winds would terrorize Shadowclan.

With a whimper of fear at the thought of a hard leaffall ruled by Crookedstar, Dawnspirit raced into the nursery. The queen lay on her nest, her eyes scrunched shut from pain. She moaned softly, her lashes fluttering.

"It hurts," she cried, noticing the medicine cat. "Dawnspirit it hurts so much!"

Dawnspirit stared nervously at the she-cat, slipping some thyme and a few of the poppy seeds into her mouth. "Don't worry," she mewed reassuringly. "The kits aren't coming yet, its just some cramps."

Poppygrass nodded in cold relief as the thyme began to take its affect. "Thank you," she murmured. "You're a good medicine cat, Dawnspirit. The only one who's had the courage to defy Crookedstar. For that I am grateful, perhaps you'll change Shadowclan and make it a safe home once my kits come."

Dawnspirit's eyes filled with tears at her heart wrenching words. "Poppygrass, I-" However the queen was already asleep, her chest rising softly. She smiled, shaking her head in mild amusement. "Thank you," she whispered, before leaving the nursery and scampering back across the camp into her den.

She sat down on the cold dirt, gazing around at the empty medicine cat den. What Poppygrass had said had warmed her, and she was now filled with more courage to stand up for Shadowclan, or perhaps stop the horror that was corrupting it.

"Dawnspirit?" Blueflower stood in the entrance to the den, her deep blue eyes sad yet also warm. "How was the battle?" Her tone conveyed her disapproval, just as Dawnspirit felt, however her words were plain, calm.

Dawnspirit sighed. "They were delivering killing bites," she said quietly. "Twigtail killed a Riverclan apprentice, a young one."

Blueflower didn't answer, her face showed her shock. She gave her shoulder a quick lick to disguise her anger, however her body still shook as she struggled to restrain her temper.

"Scratchfur tried to kill a warrior, Lightningheart." As Dawnspirit mentioned the tom she smiled, for her good deed had put her in a better mood. "I treated his wounds while the patrol was distracted. I saved his life."

Blueflower stared at Dawnspirit, her mouth slightly ajar. "You healed a Riverclan warrior during a fight? Did anyone see you?"

"No." Dawnspirit was troubled at there words, wondering why her actions upset Blueflower so much. "I did the right thing," she urged, trying to prove that she had not been in the wrong here. "He was so young, I did nothing to save his apprentice, the least I could do was keep him alive."

"Were there any other deaths?"

Dawnspirit paused, now troubled. "I don't know," she mumbled, suddenly thinking about all of those injured, nearly dead cats whom Lakewhisper and Lilypaw would have to treat all alone. She shuddered remembering Lightningheart's deep and drastic wounds. She shuddered, knowing that Riverclan wouldn't even have enough herbs to constantly be treating the injured cats, always be changing their cobwebs and adding more poultice to stop infections. "They'll need my help," she said suddenly, her impulse decision brightening her mood. "I have to go to Riverclan."

Blueflower stared. "You can't go!" she hissed, struggling to keep her voice down so that no one overheard. "What if you're caught? Imagine what Crookedstar would say if he found out that you're helping to heal the cats that Shadowclan attacked?"

"Blueflower, I have to go!" Dawnspirit's voice was now determined, her eyes calm and steely. "Its whats right, I'm a medicine cat and I have a duty to keep the peace of the clans. Starclan would never have approved of what Shadowclan did today."

"Alright." Blueflower's voice was sad, full of understanding and empathy, as if she hated the fact that her friend was correct. "Have you gotten any dreams from them?"

Dawnspirit didn't answer, her eyes pained at these words. She simply picked up a bundle of cobwebs and horsetail, looking back at Blueflower as she neared the entrance to her den. "I'll be back soon." With that, she slunk around her den and through the thicket, out into the forest. With a determined sigh, she began the trek, heading towards the river, her destination.

The water splashed up against the banks of the river, spraying Dawnspirit with cold droplets. She shivered in dislike, hating the stinking smell of fish which hung in the air. The wind pushed against her long pelt, lingering with a brisk chill which reminded her of the oncoming leaffall. With a deep breath, she leaped onto the first stepping stone, her claws scrabbling against the slick rock to keep her balance. She growled in annoyance, her body not suited for this task.

Dawnspirit glanced down at the rushing river, its clear, crystal current frightening her. "Stop it," she muttered to herself, pushing off her fear. "You're being ridiculous."

Bunching up her muscles, she jumped across the remaining stones, relaxing as soon as she leapt onto the bank. She raised her nose to the air and breathed in deeply, tensing as she scented Riverclan cats.

It was a patrol of four, their steps weary and eyes sad, however they stiffened as soon as they spotted the Shadowclan she-cat. A white tom with large grey splotches across his pelt, stepped forward, his fur bristling. "What are you doing on our territory? After what happened today, I should just kill you!"

Dawnspirit shrank back, his eyes widening in fear. She glanced quickly at the other three cats, her face pleading, hoping that they would understand her desperate cry. To her relief, a golden she-cat stepped forward, placing her tail on the tom's shoulder to hold him. "Floodclaw, you stupid tom," she mewed, rolling her eyes. "Its Dawnspirit, the Shadowclan medicine cat."

Floodclaw glared back at the she-cat, his gaze distrustful. "She's still from Shadowclan, Sweettail," he growled. He looked back at Dawnspirit. "Why are you here?"

Dawnspirit glanced gratefully at Sweettail, her eyes narrowed suspiciously, for the she-cat looked very familiar, very similar to someone she had just seen. However she wasn't about to question the good nature of the warrior who had probably just saved her from a painful beating. "I have herbs," she mewed, dropping the bundle at her paws. "I want to help Lakewhisper treat the cats."

Floodclaw laughed in disbelief, glancing back at the rest of the patrol as if to see if any of them could believe what they were hearing. "You want to help us? Shadowclan just viciously attacked us, killing two of our apprentices, and you expect me to believe that you want to help our medicine cat?"

Dawnspirit glared at the warrior, regaining her strong form, and standing up straighter. "I may be from Shadowclan, however I am also a medicine cat, and it is my obligation to help the other clans if they are being unfairly treated. I know that how my clan attacked you today was wrong and against the warrior code, and I apologize for them. This is the way that I can help make up for what they have done."

Sweettail smiled and nodded at her. "Follow me," she mewed, ignoring Floodclaw's glare. "I'll take you back to camp."

As they walked back, Sweettail came up into step with Dawnspirit. "He told me what happened."

Dawnspirit glanced at the she-cat, confused. "I'm sorry?" she asked, her eyes puzzled. "Who did?"

Sweettail gave a tiny laugh, looking down at her paws. "I'm Lightningheart's sister," she mewed, smiling sadly. "You saved his life, you have no idea how grateful I am to you."

Dawnspirit stared at Sweettail in surprise, now knowing why she had looked so familiar. "I did what I thought was right," she said calmly.

"Most cats would have left him there to die," the golden she-cat whispered, her eyes tearing up. "You talk as if doing the right thing is so easy, but its not. What you did, what you're doing right now, putting yourself at risk just to help others for the good, its not as common as you think."

Dawnspirit gazed into Sweettail's golden eyes, stunned by the kindness of what she said. The rest of the trip was taken in silence, and Dawnspirit took the chance to get a good look at the Riverclan territory. There were hardly any trees, something which made her feel unprotected and defenseless. Yet instead of trees, reeds covered the ground, beginning at the banks of the river. Even the ground was much different than the swamps of Shadowclan. It was pebbly and wet, but not easy to sink into.

As they began the end of their walk, Dawnspirit saw the reeds thicken in a circle, surrounding the camp and hiding it. She knew that if she had not been with the patrol, she would have missed it completely.

"We're here," Floodclaw called, glancing back at Dawnspirit, his gaze still distrustfuls.

Dawnspirit took a deep nervous breath as she walked into the camp, glancing around at the Riverclan cats. Her pelt burned as she felt many eyes on her. The stares from the warriors as she padded through the camp made her want to disappear, but she managed to keep her head high. She smiled as she caught Lilypaw's eye, the young she-cat grinning in relief at the sight of the medicine cat.

"I'm here to help," she mewed calmly, as she entered the medicine cat den, stuffy and hot from the many cats who lay on the feather and moss beds. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Dewpelt next to one of the Riverclan warrior, placing fresh cobwebs on his wounds. The Thunderclan she-cat dipped her head in respect, her eyes glowing with warmth.

Lakewhisper hid his surprise at her arrival, simply flicked his tail towards the corner of his den where a tom lay. "Can you go change his cobwebs and give him some poppy seeds?"

Dawnspirit gave a focused nod and walked over. She gave a startled giggle as she realized that the tom was Lightningheart. The warrior golden fur was now soaked with sweat and the black splotched on his pelt were slightly stained with blood. "Hello again," she mewed.

The tom raised his head slowly, a smile spreading across his face. "I guess I'm getting all the luck today," he purred, his voice happy.

Dawnspirit laughed, glowing at his words. "Don't worry," she whispered, peeling off the old cobwebs, and pressing new ones on. "You're going to be fine. I promise."

Wasn't that so sweet of Dawnspirit? :)

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