At moonhigh, Lavapaw padded to the river. "Hello, Lavapaw," Leafpaw said, "So you finally made it."
"Have you been waiting here every night?" Lavapaw asked.
"No," Leafpaw said, "Ok, yes. You said on that night though and you never actually came."
"Well, I kinda forgot," Lavapaw admitted.
"Forgot," Leafpaw said flatly.
"Ok!" Lavapaw mewed, "Do you want to know or not?"
"Yes." Leafpaw sighed.
"I have been having strange dreams," Lavapaw began.
"Yeah, you're amazing at that." Leafpaw mewed sarcastically.
"Are you going to listen?" Lavapaw asked.
"Yes," Leafpaw answered.
"A cat from StarClan came to me and told me she was going to teach me how to fight."
Just then, Clawpaw padded into the clearing, "Lavapaw? What are you doing here?"
Leafpaw glared at her, Not now! "We were talking about Nightshade,"
"Yeah," Lavapaw agreed, "We weren't talking about weird dreams or anything."
"Lavapaw," Leafpaw sighed.
"Weird dreams?" Clawpaw mused, "Can you describe them?"
"Well, I was in a dark forest, with tall trees blocking out every source of light," Lavapaw said, "There was some weird glowing mushroom."
"That sounds like poishroom," Leafpaw said, "I am going to become a medicine cat, so I would know."
"I thought so, the way you knew exactly what herbs were needed to heal my paw after the fox," Lavapaw didn't show any surprise, "What were they? Gollumreed and something?"
Clawpaw was super shocked, "Since when? And how did you know about this Lavapaw?"
"Weren't you paying attention?" Lavapaw asked, "It was so obvious!"
"Gollemreed?" Clawpaw asked.
"That was my pronunciation." Lavapaw sighed, "Do you only remember the unimportant stuff?"
"Maybe," Clawpaw answered, "But I remember… Umm. Ok, fair point."
"You must not go there again," Leafpaw reminded, "Poishroom can kill you in a moment. I will have to ask Icewhisker how to stop your dreams."
"I could just not sleep," Lavapaw mewed.
"No, you have to sleep," Clawpaw said.
"And anyway, how can a dream hurt me?" Lavapaw asked.
"I've already made up my mind," Leafpaw interrupted. Leafpaw padded back towards camp, leaving Lavapaw and Clawpaw at the river.
"Icewhisker?" Leafpaw called.
"Is that you, Leafpaw?" Icewhisker asked, "It's just past moonhigh."
"Yes," Leafpaw answered, "it's important."
"Well?" Icewhisker prompted.
"Lavapaw got a dream with poishrooms," Leafpaw explained, "We need to stop it from happening again."
"The Dark Forest," Icewhisker muttered, "I had a dream about them recently. They are the cats who were shunned from Starclan, because they were too evil."
"Well, can we stop it from happening?" Leafpaw asked.
"There is a way," Icewhisker answered, "I will get to you after the half-moon tomorrow night. I need to consult the other medicine cats. For now, make sure either you or Lavapaw stays awake. If Lavapaw starts getting wounds, wake her."
"Ok," Leafpaw mewed.
"Take these," Icewhisker added, pawing a bundle of herbs toward Leafpaw, "In case she gets hurt."
"Shouldn't I ask you?" Leafpaw asked.
"No, you have a great knowledge and memory of herbs. I trust you to care for your littermate without my help. I have been watching you." Icewhisker answered.
"Thanks," Leafpaw mewed. She returned to the den, finding Lavapaw and Clawpaw already there. Clawpaw was already dozing, while Lavapaw was washing.
"You can sleep now," she told Lavapaw, "You might end up in the dark forest, but I will wake you if you get hurt."
Lavapaw nodded, then curled up in her nest. Leafpaw gazed up at silverpelt, where StarClan cats lived. Icewhisker had told her some about Leafpool, who had been her friend and kept her secret - that she doesn't believe StarClan - when Icewhisker told her. Leafpaw didn't think that Icewhisker wasn't supposed to be a medicine cat because of that, instead, she thought Icewhisker was a great medicine cat and would love to learn from her. She unwrapped the bundle that Icewhisker had given her. Lavapaw twitched in her sleep, and a small scrape appeared on her shoulder. As Leafpaw healed it, more scratches appeared, so Leafpaw shook Lavapaw awake. When that didn't work, she pushed her into the lake.
Lavapaw awoke, stumbling, "Good news, I'm never going back there."
"What?" Leafpaw asked, "Why? What happened?"
"Darkstar figured out that I'm so completely useless at fighting, so she shoved me out of the Dark Forest faster than you could say 'mouse'" Lavapaw answered.
Leafpaw didn't know what to think about that, but she knew that Lavapaw needed her help. She settled down in her own nest, watching Lavapaw through the night. As the first light of dawn began to filter into the den, Leafpaw realized that she had not slept at all. She was exhausted, but she had kept Lavapaw safe from the dangers of the Dark Forest. She knew she would do whatever it took to protect her littermate, even if it meant sacrificing her sleep.
Lavapaw stirred in her nest, stretching her paws and yawning. "Did I sleep through the night?" she asked.
"Yes, you did," Leafpaw replied, her voice hoarse from exhaustion.
"Thanks for staying up with me," Lavapaw said, nuzzling her sister.
"Of course," Leafpaw said, returning the affection. "We'll get through this together."
"Hey!" Lavapaw said, "I didn't go to the Dark Forest that time!"
"Wait, what?" Leafpaw said, "We better tell Icewhisker."
"I'll go. You catch up on your sleep," Lavapaw said, padding towards Icewhisker's den, "Good morning Icewhisker!" She called.
Icewhisker padded out, "Good morning. I figured out how to stop the Dark Forest. You just need to make them kick you out."
"It seems like I already did," Lavapaw said.
Leafpaw closed her eyes and slept.