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: Newleaf

...

Brightpaw, having spent her entire lifetime in the chill of Leaf-fall and Leaf-bare, found Newleaf to be a bit of a surprise. The typical cool air still clung to her yellow pelt, but the snow had begun to melt, leaving muddy puddles to play in. The warmth had brought more fresh-kill to the pile, which in turn left her Clanmates in much better moods. Even grumpy Badgerthroat had mellowed out a tad, spending her days playing with Maplekit in the clearing while Mossyear caught up on her rest.

But with more food came more paranoia, as Brightpaw soon found. Border patrols tended to come back with ruffled fur and complaints of ThunderClan scent. Alderstar had shrugged it off as the wind blowing smells over the Thunderpath, but not many warriors agreed. She soon found herself on many training practices, battling with her littermates. Today she watched as Berrypaw and Brackenpaw tussled, her brother squishing her sister to the boggy dirt.

"He's good at that," Hawkpaw meowed. The black and gray apprentice had decided to sit with her while Graypaw and Flamepaw practiced their front swipes together. "Maybe he could sit on the leaders until everyone surrenders!"

"It sure would be one way to end this," Brightpaw replied, tilting her head to the side. Unlike Brackenpaw, who was becoming taller and broader by the day, she had stayed scrawny and awkward. "I guess that's another plus to being a medicine cat. I won't ever have to worry about getting squished!"

Hawkpaw laughed, but it sounded a bit off. He scooched away slightly, pressing his tail close to his side. "Yeah."

Her ears flattened, looking away. The air had turned tense fast. Does Hawkpaw wish I was a warrior? It would make sense. They couldn't be as close as they would be as fellow warriors. Her duty to the Clan would always keep a wall between them. Brightpaw hesitantly licked his shoulder. "I could use some extra lessons. You never know when some uppity cat will try to fight me."

Hawkpaw's edginess melted away. He smiled at her warmly. "I'd be honored to be your tutor."

Brackenpaw padded up to them with his eyes shining and tail high. Berrypaw slunk behind him, sticking her tongue out. "Didja see me?"

"I did," she purred. Brackenpaw's mentor, Fallingfeather, had spent a lot of time mourning for Flowerpaw, sleeping into the afternoon, leaving her apprentice to find praise where he could get it. Brightpaw understood how lost that could make someone feel, and tried to support him. "Cats will know to run when they see your pelt!"

Briarspots came around to Berrypaw's side, nudging her shoulder. "You did pretty good yourself. But next time, you should try harder to slip out from under Brackenpaw, instead of going for brute force."

Berrypaw dipped her head, happily plopping down next to Brackenpaw to clean the dust out of her fur. "You hear that? It's only a matter of time before I squish you."

"If your dreams," he snorted.

Addershine nodded to Brightpaw. "Your turn to show us your stuff, kiddo."

She stood and walked towards the center of the clearing. Close behind was Brackenpaw, still high off his earlier victory. Arrogant fuzzball, she thought affectionately. Your pride's gonna be your downfall. "Is there anything in particular we should focus on?"

"Just do what feels natural," Briarspots replied, waving his tail. "And keep those claws tucked away. The last thing we need is Ravenwind pitching fits."

Brightpaw crouched, slowly circling around Brackenpaw. She noticed Mossyear and Newtfrost out of the corner of her eye, Rainpaw and Barkpaw close behind, but ignored them. Rainpaw grabbed Flamepaw by the ear and padded into some shrubbery, whilst Barkpaw congratulated Graypaw on his progress.

"He's alright, I guess," sighed Leafleg, having overheard.

"I don't really care what you think of him," Barkpaw sniffed, stepping in front of the smaller apprentice. "Everyone knows you're a terrible mentor, and Addershine is the one doing all the real teaching."

"Let's not fight, kids," the yellow tom broke in distractedly. "Brightpaw and Brackenpaw are about to duel."

Brackenpaw took that as his cue and pounced. Brightpaw darted away, bushing her pelt out to seem more intimidating than she actually was. I can't overpower him- I have to outrun him! The dark tabby went after her, biting down on her tail to slow her down. Brightpaw let out a yelp and fell, rolling onto her back. Brackenpaw tried to hop on top of her like he had Berrypaw, but she slammed her back paw into his jaw, sending him stumbling back.

Brightpaw leapt onto Brackenpaw's back, scrambling for purchase without her claws. He reared back, shaking her off. Brightpaw hit the ground and felt the air be knocked out of her. Teeth sunk into her back paw, dragging her. She struck out, jabbing his eye. Brackenpaw let go with her paw with a yowl.

"Enough!" Newtfrost cried. Brightpaw and Brackenpaw froze, worried they'd broken some rule, but the calico tom looked more displeased with himself than anyone else. "We need to borrow the training hollow for a bit. You all gotta clear out."

"We're on our final assessment!" Barkpaw chirped. Graypaw touched the black and white tom's ear with his nose as a congratulations. Brightpaw opened her mouth to ask (wasn't it a bit early for that?), but Mossyear gave her a stiff glare. The gray she-cat's stomach still hung low from her kitting, and she looked more than a little unhappy to be away from camp.

"Good for you two," Briarspots meowed. "Why don't we all split into hunting groups, then? If they've completed their hunting assessment, of course."

"We have." Rainpaw was padding out of the shrubs, Flamepaw's tail wrapped around her own. Brightpaw had never seen her brother so ecstatic before; an odd feat, seeing how Flamepaw was the second-happiest of her siblings, only beaten by Berrypaw. "We snagged some rats from the Carrionplace."

Hawkpaw brushed up against her as the warriors chatted. "You did great out there," he meowed. "You could be a pretty good warrior, you know."

"Maybe," she said, feeling a bit disappointed. She knew it was only because of Ravenwind's neglect that she spent so much time on fighting and hunting with the other apprentices, rather than memorizing, but she found she enjoyed it a lot. "But I'm a medicine cat, and that's that."

"You'll be a great medicine cat," Hawkpaw meowed immediately, but she saw something somber flash in his eyes as they padded away together.

"And you'll be a great warrior," she responded, meaning every word.

"I'm pretty sure Barkpaw is padding after Graypaw," Berrypaw meowed as Brightpaw chewed a bite of their shared starling. "They'd be a cute couple, wouldn't they? They could hang out and play with the kits all day."

Brightpaw swallowed. "You really have a thing for this, don't you?" she asked. "Crushes, I mean."

She shrugged her shoulders sheepishly. "I like it when my friends and kin are happy. If they find cats they wanna be extra super duper happy with, then what's not to love about that?"

"Do you want a mate someday?"

Berrypaw shrugged again. "No one in ShadowClan's caught my eye." The black molly leaned over. "Between you and me, I'm pretty sure Hawkpaw wants to pad after you."

"That's... sweet of him," Brightpaw meowed awkwardly, feeling herself grow warm. "But it wouldn't work, even if it did evolve into that sort of thing. I'm a medicine cat."

"You're more warrior than medicine cat," she pointed out, whiskers twitching. "I won't tell if you won't."

Brightpaw stared at her paws, unsure. Berrypaw watched her a moment longer, then bent over and gulped down the rest of their starling, realizing she'd overstepped a line.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey meet me at the Clanrock for a Clan meeting!"

Cats started slipping into the clearing. First and foremost came Rainpaw, Barkpaw, Newtfrost, and Mossyear, who all sat in their designated places. Slatestep escorted Fallingfeather out of the nursery; the black molly spent a lot of time there, and rumors said she was planning on retiring into it once Brackenpaw was made a warrior. Graypaw ducked his head as he approached Addershine, the yellow tom laving a lick between his ears. Smokestripe and Stonebreeze were crouched near each other, with Honeyflower coming up after them. Briarspots sprawled out next to the apprentices, all sitting in a slapdash herd. Badgerthroat, Flowerstrike, and Skyberry sat in a neat little row, Maplekit playing with Flowerstrike's tail. Leafleg sat by himself, watching Alderstar with a blank look.

"There you are." Ravenwind stomped over with a frustrated twitch of the tail. "Where have you been?"

Brightpaw flinched back. "Training?"

The medicine cat rolled her eyes. "I know that learning how to fight is important, but you just left with no warning!" she scolded. "I was worried you'd fallen into the river!"

I've always followed the other 'paws, she thought rebelliously, but didn't dare say. "Sorry, ma'am."

Ravenwind's face softened a little. She sighed. "I know you're worried about Hawkpaw," she meowed. "It's sweet of you. But you don't need to be- look."

She gestured with her tail. To Brightpaw's surprise, Duskspring was sitting at Alderstar's paws; a little weak from his Greencough, but his pelt was sleek and thick. "He's okay to go back to his duties?"

She nodded. "And so are you. Come sit with me?"

Brightpaw glanced at the other apprentices. Hawkpaw caught her eye and stood, waving to a free spot next to him with his tail. I'm a medicine cat. It's time I started acting like it. She nodded to her friend before following Ravenwind. Her mentor's no-nonsense air dampened her excitement for her friends.

"Barkpaw and Rainpaw," Alderstar rumbled, eyeing them. "Your mother, Puddle, was a rogue. There were some who thought us unwise to take her in. There were some who believed your blood would make you weaker. But you've proven them wrong time and time again, and any frog-brain who thinks otherwise will recieve the full fury of ShadowClan's might. Mossyear, is Barkpaw ready to be a warrior?"

Mossyear nodded. "He is, Alderstar."

"And Newtfrost? Is Rainpaw ready to be made a warrior?"

Newtfrost tilted his chin up slightly as he regarded the blue molly. "Anyone who thinks otherwise will face a set of claws as sharp as they are tactile."

"It's a yes or no question," Duskspring meowed, but his voice was so raspy Brightpaw doubted anyone else heard.

Alderstar's voice grew louder. "I, Alderstar, leader of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you in turn. Barkpaw, Rainpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Barkpaw meowed.

Rainpaw's ears were flat, but the sharp pride in her eyes was enough to convince most anyone of her sincerity. "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Barkpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Barkfall. StarClan honors your charisma and sense of community, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

Barkfall jumped with glee as he met up with Alderstar, getting nosed and licking the old tom's shoulder.

"Rainpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Rainblaze. StarClan honors your strength and ferocity, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ShadowClan."

The blue she-cat confidently padded up to him. Rainblaze turned to meet Flamepaw's eye before licking Alderstar's shoulder, as if reassuring herself of something.

"Barkfall! Rainblaze! Barkfall! Rainblaze!" ShadowClan chanted.

"Ravenwind?" Brightpaw prompted, watching the gathered group begin to scatter. "Why were they made warriors so young?"

"Hmm? Oh, that." Ravenwind didn't sound very concerned. "I brought the idea up to Alderstar, and he agreed. After all; new season, new warriors. It makes us look as strong as we actually are."

"But what if they're not ready for it?"

"Newtfrost and Mossyear seem to think they are," she meowed firmly. "Trust in your Clanmates to know what's right."

Author's Note: Congrats to Barkfall and Rainblaze! Have some mild angst between Hawkpaw and Brightpaw lol.

-Mandaree1