Disclaimer: I don't own the Warrior Cats series!

Title: Red Pearls

Summary: Brightfur just wanted to be a medicine cat. Her mentor, Ravenwind, has very different ideas on what that means- for her and for ShadowClan. With Ravenwind controlling her every move and more than willing to kill to keep it that way, Brightfur will need more than just luck to live to tell the tale.

Chapter Title: Rainy Days

...

The steady pitter-patter of raindrops was a familiar sound during Newleaf in ShadowClan, making the already moist ground boggy and unpleasant to the paw. Brightkit was grateful for the somewhat dryness of the nursery, and that she was young enough that she didn't have to go anywhere, unlike Rainpaw and Barkpaw, who she'd overheard complaining as they slipped out of the apprentices' den for the first time.

Brightkit, Brackenkit, Flamekit, and Berrykit all watched as the storm rumbled on. They were too young to be used to the sound of it quite yet, making it almost impossible for them to sleep through, save for Darkkit. Brightkit snuck a jealous glance at her smallest brother. He sleeps through everything!

"Excuse me," Stonebreeze coughed, sticking his head into the nursery. The warrior was too wet to think of moving in further. "Smokepaw, it's time for some battle training."

Smokepaw stretched and sat up, dipping her head. "Okay. Let me get someone to watch over the kits real quick."

"Aww, mama," Flamekit said, frowning in a pout. "Can't you stay with us?"

She wound her tail under his chin. "'Fraid not, kiddo. Stonebreeze is teaching me to be a big warrior. Besides; you're all old enough to spend a little time without me."

"Even Darkkit?" Brackenkit asked. The black tom still hadn't stirred.

Smokepaw winced and looked away. "Let your brother sleep and he should be fine."

"Mind your mother, kits," Stonebreeze butted in. "She's given up a lot to raise you."

"Hush!" the dark molly's ears pinned back. "I wanted kits, so I had kits. It's as simple as that."

Her mentor blinked at her, surprised by her tone, then stepped back so she could slip into the damp clearing. Stonebreeze made no further attempts to talk to them, stiffly watching Smokepaw as she slipped into the Clanrock. The apprentice soon returned with Alderstar, the tabby smiling ear to ear.

Berrykit's eyes got very wide. "Is Alderstar gonna kittensit us?"

"Sure am!" the leader chirped. Even at this distance, Brightkit could hear him purring. "I've been meaning to spend time with you all. You're my kin, after all."

"We are?" Brackenkit breathed. He looked positively ecstatic. "We're the luckiest kits in ShadowClan!"

"Yup," Alderstar meowed, plopping down where Smokepaw usually relaxed. "Lucky."

Alderstar proved to be a slow-moving, calm warrior, who didn't do much. He cleaned them almost incessantly, then fell into a doze. When Berrykit asked him for a badger ride he obliged, then rolled onto his back with a content sigh, letting them all crawl through his belly fur like fleas. Eventually, when they had all wore themselves out, the kittens settled against their grandfather.

"Sorry about Darkkit," Brightkit murmured into his scruff. "He's a lazy lump."

Alderstar frowned. "Oh, honey, it's not like that."

The pale ginger blinked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Your brother is very ill, Brightkit," Alderstar meowed. He reached a fluffy paw out to pull her closer. "It happens sometimes. In big litters."

"Is he gonna be okay?"

He slowly shook his head. "It's not very likely."

Brightkit swallowed a wave of fear. "Is he gonna die?"

Alderstar didn't reply.

She stumbled out from under her grandfather's paw and fell on her back. Brightkit rolled onto her side and then her feet. Alderstar didn't stop her as she ran right out into the rain, slipping a little on the mud. I gotta talk to Ravenwind, she decided on the fly. She's a medicine cat. She can help Darkkit.

"Hey, Brightkit!" Briarpaw called, having just returned from a solo hunt. Clutched in his jaws was a small rabbit. "I caught this right after it went over the border," he explained as he neared, whiskers twitching in a friendly manner. "Those rabbit-munchers'll be so angry when they smell the blood!"

Brightkit tipped her head to the side. "But, by catching a rabbit... doesn't that make us rabbit-munchers?"

"Eh, I'll eat it myself. It's a small price to pay." He shrugged, flicking an ear dismissively. "What's up with you?"

Chatting with the apprentice had calmed her slightly- Briarpaw wasn't someone she was overly familiar with, but he seemed well-meaning enough- but the reminder of her quest had her bristling all over again. "I need to talk to Ravenwind!"

The tortoiseshell became a little wary. "Oh, her."

His tone of voice made her ears flatten. "Is that wrong?"

"No, no," he said. "She's just a bit off, is all. I think she forgets that not everyone works on the same basis as she does." Briarpaw nosed her head. "Just don't be too surprised if she doesn't give you the answers you're hoping for."

"I won't be," Brightkit promised solemnly. Briarpaw picked up the soggy fresh-kill and padded off to eat his meal, sending her a farewell flick of his tail. The light ginger she-cat continued on her journey to the den hidden behind some ferns at the bottom of the Clanrock. The reek of herbs blended with the damp air, making the air pungent and heavy as she poked her nose inside.

She found Ravenwind with her paw in a hole, pulling out some tiny red berries. She tapped her claws, counting them one-by-one, then rolled them back inside without a word. Her face was intensely focused, like it was the most somber of all medicine cat duties. Brightkit opened her mouth to try and catch a whiff, but it was all so overwhelming she didn't have the slightest idea what the herb might be. "Ravenwind?"

The black molly jumped. She straightened, one paw still in the air. "Oh. Hello, Brightkit. How may I help you?"

"You know my name?" she asked, surprised.

"Of course I do," Ravenwind replied. "I helped your mother give birth to you, and I keep watch over you and your littermates. It's part of my job."

"Oh. Well..." Brightkit took a few bold steps forward. "You're doing your job wrong!"

The medicine cat grew very still. Her eyes opened just a fraction wider, studying her tiny body, then shifted into a half-closed, almost sleepy state. "Is that so?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Well, I apologize. I'll bring you all some prey later." She covered the hole with a big leaf she seemed to keep for that particular purpose. "That would be a decent place to start."

"I don't want your prey!" she snapped. "I want you to make Darkkit better!"

Ravenwind seemed floored yet again, though this time she was much quicker to recover. "Better?"

"He's sick!"

"No, he's not," she disagreed. "He's just weak. It happens, sometimes. And it's very unfortunate, but it's just part of life."

Brightkit quivered a little. If the medicine cat couldn't help Darkkit, who could? "Isn't there something you can do?"

Ravenwind sighed and patted the spot next to her. "Sit." She did, and found a black tail wrapping around her side. "Your mother had a big litter, and she had you pretty young for a ShadowClan cat. Not to mention that the grief she must've felt when Birchpaw died would have caused stress on you all when you were in her belly. Darkkit's development suffered because of that."

"Can he get better?"

"It's possible, but not probable," she meowed. "Darkkit will be welcomed in StarClan. It's really the best we can hope for him- the best bad ending, if that makes sense."

Brightkit felt something inside her rebel against the idea, but she also really, truly didn't want to have this discussion anymore. Instead, she bent over a little and gestured to the covered hole. "What are those things? I've never seen them before."

Ravenwind crouched a little, as if divulging a great secret, but she didn't seem perturbed to tell her. "They're red pearls."

"What's a pearl?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted. "It's a term a kittypet used, once, that I always liked."

"What do they do?"

Ravenwind's eyes glittered. "They can do all sorts of things. Secret, medicine cat things. Perhaps I'll show you when you're older."

Author's Note: Hey, a proper Ravenwind introduction! About time! I actually had no real intentions to name-drop this 'fic before this very moment (it was just a neat name to me) but, hey, why not.

-Mandaree1