Okay, so this is an entry for Jeffery Dahmer's story, The Challenge. Go check it out!

I cried when it ended like it just- (T-T) please just go read it

This short story is about Heronwing and Seedpaw-yes I am aware that she died.
But what happened if she didn't? It's mostly aimed on Heronwing, who has no Fanfiction's in my knowledge.

#SHOW SOME LOVE FOR HERON

cough okay sorry cough

"Love recognizes no barriers.

It jumps hurdles, leaps fences,

penetrates walls to arrive at

its full destination of hope."

- Maya Angelou

The dark furred tom lashed his tail silently in the air as he perched over the creek. Small minnows swam through eh currents, oblivious that they were about to become the latest recruit to RiverClan's fresh-kill pile. His shadow fell upon the ferns behind him and even the thin whiskers that he twitched didn't give him away. In a flash, he hooked his claws and scooped two minnows out of the water and onto the grass. With a swift nip to their throats, he purred with the joy of success.

With the fish dangling from his jaws, he pounced through the undergrowth on the route to the camp. The forest was quiet so the trip was much more serene than he liked it; he enjoyed the calls of the robins and the whispers in the breeze. Letting out a small sigh, he pushed his way through the camp entrance.

"Heronwing, you've come just in time."

The tom raised his gaze towards the smoky blue she-cat that was padding towards him. Spitting out his catches into the fresh-kill pile, he flicked his tail respectfully to his leader. Mistystar's blue eyes were grave as he met her gaze. She spoke softly, "Would you mind escorting Willowshine to ThunderClan? They're the closest of all the Clans to us and we are in desperate need for catmint for our sick patients. Perchpaw is barely able to eat the trout we gave her..."

Heronwing nodded, "Of course! I don't want anyone to get worse."

"Alright, off we go then," Willowshine's voice rang.

He turned his head towards the medicine cat who was joining them, her mouth was full of borage leaves, some falling to the ground like snowflakes. Helping her gather them, she explained through the herb, "I heard that ThunderClan has been having a large amount of queens. So I thought that perhaps I could trade these for the catmint." They set off towards the shore, where the boundaries of the territory didn't exist.

The sun was still perched high in the sky while they walked towards the distant boundaries. As it was when he was hunting, the air was calm and peaceful. The small puddles of water from the lake fell like rain onto his dark paws and he shook the droplets off with a flick of his paw. Wilowshine was quiet throughout the trip, her face emotionless besides showing hints of maybe, anticipation? Heronwing could see by her micro-expressions how much she wanted to return to her sick clanmates. The medicine cat's fur twitched like crazy and every now and then she would glance back at the route they had made.

It must have taken forever for her by the time they reached ThunderClan. The black and gray tom watched wondrously at the dense oak trees and large bushes that the felines lived in. Why they preferred such nature, he didn't know. Their territory was more noisy, the caws of sparrows shooting through the treetops and the scrapes of other animals lurking in the ferns and roots. Heronwing suddenly let out a squeak as a sharp feeling penetrated his paw.

He lifted it up, peering at the item that attacked his pad. Letting out a huff of irritation, he clenched his fangs onto the thorn. Blood seeped out of the wound that it made and he halfheartedly lapped away to try and cleanse the cut. When he was satisfied with the paw, he set it down and pressed down on it for good measure.

"What are you doing here?"

Heronwing glanced at the head of the current patrol that was approaching them; a gray tabby tom with dark amber eyes. Before the warrior could speak, Willowshine cut in front of him, her tail lashing along her legs. "We mean no harm, I assure you. I came to speak with Bramblestar and Jayfeather," she meowed before gesturing towards the cat who was accompanying her, "He is merely my escort here. Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you take us both to your camp?"

The gray tabby was still hesitant, but after a whisper from a tortoiseshell, he shrugged and whisked them along. Heronwing padded along with the group, feeling slightly annoyed by the circle they formed around him and the medicine cat. His fur bristled as they headed towards the thorn tunnel that he identified as the entrance to their home. Multiple felines shot them a look of curiosity as they entered the gorge where they lived in.

Heronwing resented himself for doing so, but his gaze searched for the pale ginger apprentice he had met at the Gathering. The rocky clearing was scattered with different pelts but he couldn't spot the she-cat. He felt a pang of disappointment when he had to follow Willowshine into the healer's den. He hoped the dark tabby hadn't noticed his sudden change in mood, for her green eyes wavered as he passed her into the herb-smelling room.

Setting down the borage leaves that he had clung to, his neck fur suddenly raised in surprise as a familiar cat waved her tail to him.

"Seedpaw?" he coughed, " What are you doing here?"

The ginger apprentice snapped, "I live here, mouse-brain."

"That's not what I-"

She purred, "I almost drowned in the river so I'm still kind of weak. My sister managed to save me before I swallowed too much water."

Heronwing winced at the thought of being sucked underneath the surface with no idea of how to go back up. All RiverClan members learned to swim from the time they were kits, so the amount of deaths from drowning was zero. Reluctantly, he wondered out loud, "Are you almost a warrior?" Seedpaw shook her head vertically, a look of excitement plastered on her pale face. She told him how she had passed her first two assessments and was just waiting to recover for her last test.

"My sister, Lilyheart, had her ceremony just a few days ago," the she-cat mewed, seeming to glow in pride for her littermate.

Before he could respond, a slash of pain cut through his paw. He barely had time to think before he turned it over. The thorn wound was swelling tremendously and pale yellow substance surrounded it like clouds. Muttering, he said, "Willowshine..."

The she-cat bounded over, her expression becoming concerned almost immediately. "Jayfeather...we have a serious thorn infection..."

A silver tabby tom joined them, his nose sniffing the air, for his pale blue eyes were blind. "Yes. I'll fetch the marigold and cobweb. It looks like it's going to bleed soon."

Willowshine meowed, "We won't be able to go back to camp with his paw like that. Would it be trouble if he stayed until he's better? By the time we reach RiverClan...I don't think I would be able to fix it." Jayfeather nodded, which made Heronwing cower in dismay. He had promised to play with the kits and help the apprentices with their training. And now, he was stuck staying in another civilization's grounds, so he was probably going to get dirty looks from the felines in the camp.

Great.

Haha sorry for the horrible ending of this chapter.

I've been working on this for about two hours because I'm such a perfectionist. XD

Hope you like it! Please read and review!