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: Brightfur does actual medicine cat things

…

Parsnip didn't hesitate to take Brightfur and Clover right into the garden, quietly gesturing with her tail for them to wait. The kittypet dove into some bushes. Brightfur strained to ears to listen, but could only just make out a quiet murmuring.

"Momma," someone squeaked. "There's someone new here. I can smell them."

Clover seemed to have caught that, nodded for her to move forward. Brightfur leaned her head close to the loner. "I'll do what I can, but I'll need herbs."

"I'll see what I can do," she promised. "What do you need?"

She had to think about it. Brightfur didn't want to give away that she'd never faced burn wounds before. Clover and Parsnip clearly trusted her, enough so to sneak her into the Twolegplace, and she didn't want to break that. "Honey is good for soothing sore throats. Burnet for strength, which Mabel and the kits will need. Comfrey root is alright for burns, but I would like some goldenrod to go with it..." She caught the blank look on Clover's face and sighed. "Never mind. I'll look for the more complicated stuff later. Just see if you can find some honey and poppy seeds. Oh, and aloe vera, if you can find it."

Clover nodded and scrambled away, tail fluffed up to show her hurry. Brightfur sucked in a deep breath and followed the trail Parsnip had left in her wake, pushing through prickly branches and plants she didn't know the names of. These Twolegs collect plants like warriors collect prey! if only I knew which of these- if any- could help.

She broke into a small circle of flat dirt in the center; torn roots and leaves were scattered about in a messy display. Parsnip was nuzzling a molly unlike any kind Brightfur had ever seen before. Her pelt was a dusty cream, with a darker brownish black face, ears, paws, and tail. Wrapped around her neck was a white collar that stunk worse than mouse bile, stark against her fur. Her left ear was torn and oozing puss from a puffy red spot.

"This is Mabel," Parsnip said, catching her staring. "She's a purebred Siamese."

"I have no idea what that is." Brightfur padded up and dipped her head. "I'm Brightfur. I'm here to help."

Mabel blinked at her. The molly's eyes were glazed over with a mixture of fever, pain, and grief. "Oh. Okay." She gestured to her stomach with her tail. Pressed against her were two kittens- the first looked like her, only with long, thick fur. "This is Huey. Something is wrong with his eyes." She flicked the shoulder of the second, a pale gray tom with darker flecks. "And Dewey won't stop coughing."

"I'm okay," Dewey meowed. His voice sounded like it had been drug over gravel. "Huey's all burnt up. Momma won't even let us see Louie."

Mabel flinched and looked away.

Brightfur gently touched her paw to Huey's head. There were burns along the kitten's body- his side, his tail, his back paw- but worse of all was across his eyes, which were squeezed shut and leaking fluids. "Can you open your eyes at all?"

Huey tilted his head back. "A little, but I can't see much."

"But you can see?" she pressed.

"Little bit. Spooky shadows, mostly."

Brightfur accepted this with a nod. She leaned in close to Mabel's ear. "Sounds like his eyes are damaged."

"I figured that," Mabel snapped. "You said you were gonna help him."

"I'll do what I can, but I dunno how much better they'll get. It all depends on how badly they were injured."

Huey tilted his head to the side. "Am I gonna go blind?"

Brightfur swallowed a heavy pit in her throat. She'd had plenty of patients over the seasons, but never a kitten, and never one so badly hurt. And yet Huey seemed surprisingly calm in spite of that, something she assumed drew back to the adrenaline coursing through his little body. It was the only thing saving him from the pain. "It's... certainly possible."

"Okay." Huey got to work cleaning his side. "You smell funny. Are you gonna take us away?"

"What?"

"Housefolk take sick cats away," Mabel explained with a sort of weary resolve. "Sometimes they don't come back."

She forced her fur to lay flat. "I would never do something like that!"

"That's good," he replied. "I'd have to fight you then."

Dewey broke in. "He fought the fire for us. He'd fight you too!"

Brightfur, impressed, bowed her head respectfully. "A cat who can beat a fire isn't a cat I'm gonna mess with." The medicine cat shuffled over slightly, touching a paw to Dewey's back. "Now, cough for me."

He grimaced. "On purpose?"

"I just need to make sure there's nothing icky in your chest. Then I'll go get you something sweet to help with your throat. How's that sound?"

Dewey reluctantly sat up, letting Brightfur put a paw against his tiny chest. He let out a cough, another, and then he broke into a real fit, hacking and hacking until his limbs were shaking. He inhaled in small breaths, unable to suck in a deep, reassuring burst of oxygen. Brightfur winced and bent down to clean his face, praying that it was just a side effect that would eventually go away.

What if it doesn't? She stared at Dewey and Huey. One of them could barely breathe. The other could barely see. I don't think I can fix this.

A rustling of leaves was all the warning they had before Parsnip appeared, clenching a strange blue item in her teeth. "'M back!" she slurred, dropping it. "I cleaned out my food bowl for you, Mabel."

"You didn't have to do that," she said, sounding shocked. "That's your special bowl."

Parsnip ducked halfway back into the shrubs, dragging out another item with more difficulty. It was smaller than the bowl, but its odd shape made it hard to clutch in her teeth. "Here you go!" she chirped, nudging it over to Brightfur. "You said this would help, right?"

Brightfur cocked her head to the side.

"Whoops! Forgot you're not a house cat." Parsnip laughed at herself. The golden she-cat carefully hooked her teeth into the top of the object, laboriously biting at it. Brightfur glanced at Mabel, only to find the Siamese watching expectantly. The top came open with a loud pop! and the smell of honey overwhelmed Brightfur's senses. "It's not as good for them as wild honey is, but a little bit should help Dewey settle in, don't you think?"

"It smells... a bit off," she edged out, nose twitching.

"Housefolk make their own."

"Of course they do."

Parsnip tipped the item into her bowl, then pressed down on it with her paw. A spurt of thin honey oozed out. She let it coat a corner before pulling it out, trying in vain to close the top with her foot.

Brightfur draped her tail across Dewey's back. "Eat up, kiddo. It'll help you feel a little better."

The gray tom looked at her a moment, as if judging the sincerity of her words, before sticking his nose into the gooey substance. Huey toddled after him, the smell no doubt stronger for him than it was for Brightfur, and felt his way over the rim of the bowl. He landed muzzle-first in the honey, then backed up and started to lick.

"They're brave," she meowed to Mabel.

Mabel shrugged. "They shouldn't have to be."

Brightfur watched them, trying to digest the kittypet's words. They didn't have to be? Of course they did. All most kits knew was bravery, even if they showed it in different ways.

Bravery got her through that long vigil on the night Darkkit died. Bravery got Rainblaze and Barkfall through Puddle's death and the harsh Leaf-bare. Huey had fought tooth and nail to get out of that fire, and though his eyes had suffered, he still counted it as a win. Dewey had all but refused to be checked first. Louie had died, and somewhere, deep down, Brightfur got the feeling they knew- if nothing else, they knew he wasn't coming back- and they made jokes and laughed at the honey on their faces anyway. Kittens were the bravest creatures she'd ever had the honor of meeting.

"I don't know what all I can do," Brightfur said. "But I'd like to stay and try. If you'll have me, of course."

Mabel fixed her a look. For the first time, the ShadowClan molly noticed the striking blue in her eyes as she stared her down. "Keep my babies alive, Brightfur. Do that, and I'll let you do most anything."

Author's Note: New characters! Poor little kiddos have been through a lot.

-Mandaree1