I do not own Warriors.

Okay! The next day! Then, after the first line-break-thingy, a moon!

Chapter Four

Forestleap's POV

I open my eyes weakly, and gaze around the medicine cat den. There were so many different smells. I just wanted to be back down with my fellow warriors, even go hunting.

Lilacbreeze pauses in her grooming to pad over to me and assess my healing. A few moments later, she sits down.

"Your physical wounds are almost fully healed. If you promise just to go on one border patrol, nothing else, and stay in camp being productive, I can let you out early. Tomorrow you can return to your regular duties."

I climb to my paws and dip my head.

"Thank you for everything." I whisper hoarsely. She rests her tail across my shoulders.

"There's no need to thank me." She said in a whisper, before she turned and went back to her washing.

I stretch my legs and stagger out of the den. I pad carefully down the side of the hollow. The black and white pelt of Ravenmoon hurries towards me.

"You're out early." She says with concern.

"Yes." I croak. I push past her and pad over to where Smokefog sat anxiously. I stand in front of him, and my green eyes lock with his yellow ones. I take a tentative step forward, and I do what I didn't know how much I wanted until I almost died.

I brush my cheek against his, and licks my ear, resting his tail across my shoulders.

"I love you, Smokefog." I whisper into his ear.

"I love you too." He whispers back.

I pad through the forest, all my senses alert. I hear a rustle and whip around, frantically looking for where the sound came from. A dark tom steps out of the bushes. I immediately see Serpent.

"Don't hurt me!" I wail. I crouch against the ground, petrified.

"Forestleap, it's just me." The voice of Smokefog sounds in my ears.

I open my eyes and look up, green eyes wide. Smokefog's yellow orbs swirl with anxiety.

"What's wrong?" He asks, worried. I shake my head and pelt towards camp, not wanting to bring back my bad memories.

I pad to the Fresh Kill pile, grabbing a small vole. My wounds ache, but the memories hurt worse.

The pain. The agony.

I wail like a lost kit. Sharpstar bounds down Highledge.

"What's wrong?" He asks, worry in his eyes. "Lilacbreeze!" He called.

Lilacbreeze appears, her light brown pelt glowing in the sunlight. She dismisses Sharpstar and begins to check me.

"Forestleap," She whispers. "You are going to have kits."

I pelt out of camp and into the forest, devastation filling me.

I sit by the lake, the setting sun reflecting on the shimmering water. I sigh.

Why is everything going wrong?

Thrushwave's scent wafts towards me, and I turn to face the silver tom. In his jaws, a scarlet-petaled rose hung. Scratches dapple his muzzle and paws. It was obvious that he had gone into the thorny bush to retrieve it for me. I swallow nervously. He sets the rose by my paws.

"Forestleap, when you went missing, I was so worried. I went out on every patrol to look for you. When you returned, it broke my heart to see you in so much pain and confusion." Pausing, he looks at his paws. Dread rises in me.

No!

"I know you've only though of me as your mentor and a friend for a long time now, but I think we should be what we know is right... Forestleap, will you be my mate?"

His voice echoes for a moment, and I gather my words.

"You deserve better!" I blurt out. "I mean, I'm hideous now, with all of my torn fur!"

Thrushwave looks confused. "Beauty doesn't matter. And don't worry about your fur, it will grow back."

"But I'm always going missing!" I shout, exasperated. "It would cause you a lot of worry!"

Thrushwave pads to my side and lays his tails across my shoulders. "I would do anything for you."

I step away and take a deep breath.

"Thrushwave, I really do appreciate everything you've done for me. Without you, I wouldn't be a warrior, or the cat I am now. And the rose, and the beautiful words..." I look into his hazel irises. They were filled with joy and sureness. And hope.

"But... I have a mate." Surprise and sadness shine in his eyes.

"He's Smokefog, isn't he?" He asks after a moment of painful silence, and I nod, guilt gnawing at my belly.

"Well, I'm happy for you." He rests his head on top of mine. "You've found who you love."

I nod and step back.

"I'm so sorry, really. If I didn't get trapped, things would have worked out so differently. I would've been with you. You... you would've been great to love. But my path isn't intertwined with yours in that way. Smokefog's is. But know that I'll always be your friend." With that, I turn and pad away.

I should be able to shed tears for him. But I can't. I want to cry for him, for all of that love I saw in his eyes.

But I can't shed one measly tear, for what he went through for me. I'm right. He deserves better.

I pad back to camp, pity filling my thoughts. Never have I felt so saddened.

I know I love Smokefog, and Thrushwave knows too. He knows that we're friends. So why do I feel so horrible inside?

Instantly, I pad down to where the black and white pelt of my mother stood out against the darkening camp. Her head turns towards me, and I tell her everything.

About The Tunnels of Torture.

About Smokefog.

About Thrushwave.

About the guilt of turning him down.

After I finish speaking, she nods, her green eyes seeming to open up to me.

"I had experiences like this once." Ravenmoon says fondly. "Two toms were padding after me. One, of course, was your father. And the other was a tom named Pricklepelt. Pricklepelt and I were the closest friends all through apprenticeship, but once we became Warriors, it began to become clear to me that I loved Adderflight. We decided to become mates, but one day, Pricklepelt had called me to a stream that we once called 'Our Stream' as apprentices. He asked me to be his mate. I told him that he would always be my friend, but that I have a mate. I felt the same way you do now. It's what you feel when you know you broke someone's heart." She sighs at the end.

"Ravenmoon?" I inquire. "What happened to Pricklepelt?"

Grief clouds her eyes. "He died saving me from a badger attack when I was expecting you." She pauses, her eyes closing. "Sometimes I wake up from nightmares of his death, and I feel the grief and the pain of breaking his heart once more."

Ravenmoon stops, and one single, salty, thick tear slides from her eye, slides down her cheek, and drops to the dusty ground. I lay my tail across her shoulders.

Fear fills me when I remember what Lilacbreeze told me.

"Ravenmoon," I pause. "I'm expecting kits."

She nods, like she already knew.

"Who's the lucky father?" Ravenmoon asks, her eyes brightening.

"I don't know."

Onto the next chapter!