I Fell In Love With My Apprentice 2: Mocking Jay

Chapter 7: Runaway

A Poem by Moonfeather

I made some bad choices

They called me a monster

Justifying their sins

As they shove me under the earth

Who's the monster now?

Lilypool stepped over Greenclans border, feeling a sense of relief to be back in on Willowclan territory. It didn't last long, however, as Lilypool thought of something that hadn't crossed her mind until now.

"We probably left our scent all over the place," she hissed at Jaystorm and Talonstrike. "I completely forgot about that."

"There's not much we can do now, honestly," Talonstrike sighed heavily, looking down at the ground. "What's done is done."

"Maybe not," Jaystorm whispered, head tilted up to the sky. Lilypool looked up too, wondering what he was looking at.

"Oh!" she squeaked as a drop of water landed on her nose. More and more raindrops landed down on her, making her shiver.

"This will cover most of our scent," Talonstrike commented.

"What a stroke of luck," Jaystorm cried. "I would have thought we would have run out by now."

"It feels nice," Lilypool whispered, closing her eyes. She forgot all about Moonfeather and the day's recent events for a few heartbeats. "I hope it stays-"

She was cut off as a cat exploded from a bush.

Talonstrike shrieked at the top of his lungs and Jaystorm seemed to jump six feet into the air. Lilypool just stood rigid, staring with wide eyes.

Oh for Starclans sake what now?

It was Amberpelt, and she looked really freaked out. Her tail was sticking straight out and her ears were flat against her head. She glared at the three with narrowed eyes.

"Uh, hey," Jaystorm coughed awkwardly, obviously confused. "What's up?"

"Don't what's up me," Amberpelt hissed. "What the hell were you three doing in Greenclan?"

Lilypool was at a loss for words, so she looked over at Jaystorm to explain. Jaystorm was looking at her as if he wanted her to make something up.

"Distraction," Talonstrike mouthed the words to Lilypool, before intentionally slipping on some wet leaves. He rolled around in them, making a lot of noise in the process.

"I BROKE MY LEG," Talonstrike howled, scrambling around in the leaves and tossing them around. A leaf smacked Amberpelt in the face, and she growled with irritation.

"Stop being an idiot," she spat, smacking Talonstrike with a paw. "Your leg isn't broken, I heard you say the word 'distraction' before you fell over."

Again, no one spoke.

Talonstrike got up off the ground, looking embarrassed.

"You went to the tunnels, didn't you," Amberpelt whispered.

"Yeah," Lilypool blurted out at last, unable to take the awkwardness anymore. "We had to, Amberpelt. But it's okay… the rain will cover our tracks."

"Lilypool," Jaystorm hissed, shaking his head. "Shut up."

"Well, she knows we were there," Lilypool replied in exasperation. "We might as well just tell her."

"We can't," Talonstrike whispered angrily. "For god's sake, Lilypool."

"You three are hiding something," Amberpelt declared hotly. "And I'm not leaving until you tell me what it is."

"It's really a long story," Jaystorm mumbled, not meeting her eyes. "Can you just drop it?"

"No," Amberpelt hissed. "For one reason and one reason only. My apprentice saw you."

Lilypool gasped, and Jaystorm groaned.

"I forgot it was the day of the assessment," Jaystorm mumbled, shaking his head in disbelief. "Shit."

"Yeah," Amberpelt snapped. "And your daughter is probably back at camp telling everyone that she saw her dad and his idiot friends wandering back over the Greenclan border."

"Hey," Talonstrike said, insulted. "We're not idiots-"

"This is the most stressful day ever," Amberpelt groaned. "First, Moonfeather takes a stroll and doesn't come back. Second, I have to give an assessment to two apprentices at the same time. And now this! I don't know how much more I can take."

At the mention of Moonfeather, the tension rose considerably. Lilypool looked feverishly over at Jaystorm and Talonstrike, who were sharing an uneasy glance.

"What the heck was that look for?" Amberpelt hissed, stomping her paw on the ground. "For Starclans sake! I'm trying to help you, and I really don't like any of you so you should consider yourselves lucky. Give me one good reason not to go to Leafstar right now."

"Okay, we'll tell you," Jaystorm said after realizing there was no getting out of the situation. "I'm gonna start from the beginning. So I was walking through the forest with Moonfeather, you see, and he stops at a bush with death berries…"

Moonfeathers body twitched, laying on the cold rock surface. His mind was alive, spinning with anger and madness.

They bury me alive

They walk away like it never happened

They act like it was the goddamn will of Starclan

And they think I'm the one who's mad, ha!

Those three will get what they deserve

This is not my time to die

Moonfeather tried to mentally will his body to move, but it was no use. He couldn't even open his eyes, let alone stand up. He lay still imagining the world's death when a voice spoke.

"You must be new around here."

Who the hell was that, Moonfeather thought, wishing he could reply to the unknown voice. This sucks so bad.

"Whatcha doing?"

I'm having a pleasant hunting trip in rainbows and stars. What the freaking hell does it look like I'm doing?

"I can see you're struggling a bit there. I can see why, you took quite a fall earlier."

Shut up. Just shut up.

"You are not the first cat to fall here before," the voice continued, oblivious to Moonfeathers mutinous thoughts. "The last four I saw in these parts barely made it out alive."

Shut up shut up shut up

"I remember the darker one who wandered into my cave," the voice said, laughing as it talked. "Darkclaw was his name. I thought he was here forever, but he found his way just in time."

Wait… Darkclaw?

"Don't be too quick to give up," the voice insisted. "I may be able to help you in more ways than you may think."

"I can't believe it," Amberpelt whispered, staring off into the forest with dull eyes. "How could he… how could he kill Darkclaw?"

"He's mad," Jaystorm replied, trying to soothe her. "It's none of our faults."

Amberpelt didn't reply to this, but gave Lilypool a furious look. Lilypool knew exactly what it was for, and she hung her head miserably. This is all my fault… everything.

"Well, what's done is done," Amberpelt said grimly. But her eyes were shiny, and Lilypool could tell that she was terribly upset. "What are we going to tell the clan about Moonfeathers disappearance?"

"Well, everyone seems to think he wandered off," Lilypool said quietly, feeling horrible about herself. "We could just leave it at that."

"I'm sure Wolfkit and Foxkit will take that really well," Amberpelt replied, staring hatefully at Lilypool. "Where did dad go? Oh gee I don't know kits; I guess he just ran away."

"That's enough," Jaystorm growled, shooting an apologetic look at Lilypool. Lilypool didn't meet his eyes and stared down at the ground. They're going to be so confused and heartbroken… I hate myself right now.

"So what are you going to do if Petalpaw tells everyone what she saw?" Amberpelt asked. "What's your excuse for that?"

"How did her assessment go, by the way?" Jaystorm broke in suddenly. "Did she do well?"

"Perfect," Amberpelt snapped. "Now answer the question."

"We'll say I didn't notice the border scents," Lilypool offered, figuring the least she could do was take the fall. "I ran across it after a squirrel and Jaystorm and Talonstrike chased after me to get me out of there."

Everyone nodded solemnly, agreeing silently.

"Well, let's get back to camp," Amberpelt said at last, voice tired. "We don't want to miss the apprentice's warrior ceremony."