Disclaimer: I don't own the Warriors 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: Leap of Faith

...

A Warrior at Heart- I actually don't have any set ages with Brightpaw and her sibs, but I do know they're closing in on one year. Rainblaze is like a year-and-a-half. Which, yeah, looking back, is kind of iffy in the warrior cats world age-wise. Crap.

Lulurocks01- oh, trust me, I do the same thing lol. I look up cats on google images to remember pelt colors and use the random name generator until I get something I like. The only cat I usually have ironed out design-and-name-wise is the MC.

...

Duskspring's recovery proved to be temporary. The gray tom worked hard to make up for lost time in the medicine den, pushing himself more and more, until finally he had to return once again, sick and weak. Watching their deputy deteriorate hadn't done much for ShadowClan's overall mood; cats slunk around camp with their heads low, as if expecting to be reprimanded for not being clear on what patrol they were on. Alderstar took over for Duskspring, but no one could deny that the leader was getting slower and slower in his old age. A new deputy needed to be picked, and soon.

Worst effected of all was Hawkpaw. The apprentice and his brother were nearing their final assessment, but with his mentor ill for most of said apprenticeship, Hawkpaw's learning had been slapdash as best. Brightpaw spent numerous nights helping her friend practice whatever he needed. There was little she could do during the day; Ravenwind's earlier neglect seemed almost like a fever dream now. The medicine cat watched her every moment, shoving more herb names into Brightpaw's head than she could handle.

Not all, thankfully, was sad and dour. Maplepaw stood quite proudly by Smokestripe's side as she returned to camp every night, holding fresh-kill or scratches from battle training. She was almost always smiling.

It's not just Hawkpaw, Brightpaw realized one day, flicking away a buzzing fly. Rainblaze and Flamepaw were talking quietly across camp, tails intertwined. The blue molly's belly had begun to grow with their litter. Brackenpaw, Flamepaw, and Berrypaw are close to being made warriors too.

Ravenwind noticed where she was looking and sprawled out beside her. "Growing up is always so sudden, isn't it?"

Brightpaw swallowed. "Yes, ma'am."

"No more ma'ams. You're practically an adult yourself." The black she-cat's tail twitched into a sort of question mark shape as she examined her 'paw. "You're very strong. Must have been all that battle training."

She looked herself over. Brightpaw was still spindly and awkward to look at, with long legs and big ears, but there was no doubting that what meat she did have on her bones was almost all muscle. She wasn't Maplepaw by any means, but she was solid. "Thanks?"

"It's a good thing. ShadowClan is as much a Clan of strength as it is wits." Ravenwind stretched herself out. "Speaking of such, I'm going on a little secret excursion tomorrow. It's not technically allowed, but it's important I go." She fixed her with that fiery stare that never failed to make Brightpaw vaguely uncomfortable. "Will you join me?"

Brightpaw shifted onto her other side, putting a little more space between them. "What kind of technically not allowed?"

"That late frost ruined our catmint supply," she explained with a shrug. "But Bristlepelt told me all about a nice batch he's got. Plenty to spare, really. So I thought I'd slip over and snag a few."

She hesitated. "Isn't that... against the warrior code? And the medicine cat code?"

"Bristlepelt and I have an understanding," Ravenwind meowed. "He doesn't mind sharing in the warm moons if I share in the colder ones. No Clan is struck harder in Leaf-bare than WindClan, after all. I hate to cross borders like some rogue, but Duskspring needs the catmint to get better." The black she-cat nodded to Rainblaze, crunching through a mouse. "Greencough hits the queens and kits as hard as it does the elders, you know."

Worry flowed through Brightpaw at the insinuation, claws digging into the crumbly dirt. Rainblaze was young and strong, but the kits would be too feeble to fight it. Her little nephews and nieces, left to such a horrible fate? Brightpaw couldn't even consider it. "Okay, Ravenwind. I'm in."

Ravenwind's amber eyes lit up with joy. "You're going to be an amazing medicine cat, Brightpaw. I just know it."

The sun had yet to rise when Ravenwind nudged her awake, urging her to fill her belly before the other cats got to the pile. Brightpaw felt a bit bad about grabbing an extra vole, but slipping all the way to WindClan and back was no easy feat; it was going to be a long day, with no hunting breaks.

To her surprise, the medicine didn't seem to be in a big rush. She waited until Alderstar assigned patrols before getting to her paws with a long sigh. "This is the hardest part of my job," she mused, gesturing to her to follow. "Let's collect our escort and head out."

Brightpaw blinked at her. "Escort?"

"Of course," Ravenwind replied. "You might be fit for a scuffle, but I'm getting gray in the muzzle. Besides. If Leafleg wants to be deputy so badly, I say it's about time I got to know him a little better."

Brightpaw's heart began to sank as they padded out of camp. Stealing some catmint was a horrible thing in and of itself- but she could rise to the occasion, to protect her Clanmates. She remembered, all too clearly, the horrible things Ravenwind had said about Leafleg when she was a kit. What if she tries to provoke him into starting a battle?

Leafleg was lounging on some sunny stones when they found him, snoring loud enough to scare away prey. Ravenwind studied him a moment, taking in his lackadaisical features, before finally snatching a loose branch with her jaw and jabbing his side with it.

He idly batted it away, eyes opening. "Wassat?"

"I hope we're not interrupting any important training," she said dryly, kicking the stick aside.

Leafleg sat down to scratch his chin. "Addershine grabbed the little twerp before I even got up," he admitted. "What's up?"

Ravenwind glanced around to make sure they were alone, lowering her voice. "Alderstar has asked us to go on a little mission. A special, secret mission."

Mission? Brightpaw stared at her mentor, baffled. If her grandfather had asked Ravenwind to go, why had she made a big deal about breaking the rules the night before?

The warrior perked up, eyes gleaming. "A mission, huh?"

"We must retrieve some catmint from WindClan." Ravenwind nodded solemnly. "I was hoping a young, strapping lad such at yourself could help these feeble old bones across the Thunderpath a few times. What do you say?"

She sounds like a queen convincing a kit they're fighting an army when they bat at grass blades.

Regardless, Leafleg seemed sold, eagerly surging forward to stand next to Ravenwind, chest puffed out. "It'd be an honor."

They went further up the territory first, crossing into Fourtrees. They pauses to allow Leafleg the chance to snag a finch. Ravenwind watched him eat with a strange intensity that Brightpaw chalked up to her hating to wait. The trio moved on, eventually hitting the rolling moorlands Brightpaw got to see when they went for their half-moon Gathering. They were much different in the daytime. The tall grasses swayed under the breeze like water, heavy with splotches of purple from the heather. Brightpaw could make out rabbits in the distance, but they could see her as well, watching warily with one eye as they slowly hopped towards their borrows.

"It really is disgusting, isn't it?" Leafleg meowed, staring out over the land. "Cats weren't made to live like this."

"They're odd," replied Ravenwind, breaking into a brisk trot. "Come'on, now. The sooner we get going, the sooner we can leave."

WindClan proved to be almost featureless to the eye. Yellow and green grass stretched as far as the sky, littered with rabbit holes, but otherwise all was still. Ravenwind gestured to a large, smooth stone in the distance, proclaiming it to be Outlook Rock. She wasn't certain why it was special enough to get a name, but she did know that Bristlepelt seemed oddly fond of it.

They kept moving until the sounds of rushing water made it almost impossible to think, then went on some more. The land cut away sharply, giving way to rocks and water below. Brightpaw didn't think even a Twoleg could survive swimming in the churning waves.

"This is the gorge," Ravenwind explained, her voice rendered almost to a whisper over the noise. "It borders RiverClan. Catmint enjoys a steady source of water."

Sure enough, they soon found an area filled almost to the brim with catmint. Brightpaw struggled to keep her awe in check, not wanting to seem too childish. "I don't think I've ever seen so much in my life."

The medicine cat grunted. "We're lucky. The gorge is a gift and a curse for WindClan. It keeps the catmint well stocked, but too much rain or a big enough wave can destroy it in a heartbeat. Brightpaw, you take the far end. I don't want you slipping in."

Brightpaw dipped her head, knowing it was useless to argue that she would be careful, and got to work.

"Alderstar's bound to make me deputy after this!" exclaimed Leafleg, between pulling up plants in an unnecessarily rough manner. "A secret mission!"

"Anything is possible." Ravenwind pushed all the loose leaves into a pile, then looked for a grass blade to tie them up with. "Tell me, Leafleg. Why do you think you've earned the role? You've barely had done anything for Graypaw. You ran from a battle instead of protecting your injured Clanmates. You blindly followed me into enemy territory on the whim of another because the word mission was attached to it. How does any of that make you a good candidate?"

Leafleg stiffened. "It's not really a mission?" The shock in his voice made Brightpaw feel bad for him. Even after all this time, he still doesn't know how Ravenwind works. "I... I broke the code?"

Ravenwind straightened to her full (and rather meager) height, tail straight. "Answer me, Leafleg."

"I could be a great deputy! A great leader! They'd remember the name Leafstar for seasons!" he hissed, shoving his muzzle in her face. "You just wait. Then you'll see."

"I'd rather not," Ravenwind rumbled.

Brightpaw waited for a response while she finished tying her bundle, but none came. Leafleg must be too angry to speak. She turned to tell Ravenwind she was done, only to find the medicine cat alone at the edge of the gorge. "Where'd he go?"

"I smell WindClan cats coming," she meowed in lieu of a proper response. "Let's go, before we get in trouble."

They didn't speak the whole way home. Brightpaw itched with questions, hating the catmint that prohibited her to speak. A small, niggling thought wouldn't quite leave her be, and she wanted to dispel it in any way possible. It can't be. She wouldn't. Would she? No one in camp seemed too perturbed about their lengthy absence. Brightpaw waved her tail in a cheerful greeting as she followed Ravenwind into her den, ignoring the tsunami building in her mind. Just because she didn't like him doesn't mean...

(It would occur to her, later, that she'd used past tense; the fact of it was, she'd known from the moment she looked back.)

They were in the middle of sorting the loot into proper piles when Graypaw poked his head in, sheepishly holding a leaf in his jowls.

"Can't find Leafleg?" Brightpaw asked. She must've sounded normal, because the apprentice didn't question her keenness- Brightpaw had always been terrible at guessing these things. "He's-"

"Hard to say," Ravenwind interrupted gently, without looking up from her work. "Brightpaw and I have been herb-hunting all day. You know how Leafleg gets about plants. Asking him to help is like asking a badger to hunt with you."

Graypaw dipped his head in silent thanks and crawled out.

Brightpaw stared at her, floored. We were with him all day!

"What?" Her tail kinked. "I wasn't about to tell him we were in enemy territory. Poor thing is so sensitive- he'd be worried sick."

Understanding clicked in her mind. The sandy yellow molly slowly turned away from Ravenwind, bending over the catmint with a glassy stare. She'd known Ravenwind all her life, she reflected. The medicine cat had brought her into the world. Had attempted to comfort her with Darkkit died. Had shared a small part of her past with her. Brightpaw thought she'd had a good grasp of her motives and moods by now.

But it made sense. Why else would Flowerpaw show her the night Ravenwind came to ShadowClan, and the brutal murder of Nightclaw, if it didn't relate to her death in some way? Brightpaw had no prophecies to her name- and, as far as she knew, neither did Ravenwind.

Stars help me. I'm two whisker-lengths away from a murderer.

Author's Note: Nice deductive thinking there, Brightpaw.

-Mandaree1