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: Is that? Proper consequences? In THIS story?

...

thunderstar7676 (May 29th)- Aww, thanks so much! I appreciate it a lot!

...

Something heavy and distinctly stocky rammed Brightfur's side, knocking her to the ground. The wind left her in a wheeze as Ravenwind stood above her, her amber eyes almost sickeningly bright and gleaming. She saw fire, bloodlust, and betrayal in those orbs- as if Brightfur was the truly cruel one in this scenario.

"How could you?" she whispered.

Brightfur lifted her head up. She was trembling. "I didn't! I swear I didn't!"

Slatestar shoved her way between them, hackles rising. "Ravenwind!"

"What?" she snarled. "What do you expect me to say? She's tainted this kit against me- and for what? Some argument we had moons ago? It's despicable, Slatestar."

"Attacking a Clanmate is dishonorable, Ravenwind. And, besides; you're scaring the kits." The gray molly nodded towards Dewkit and Hazelkit, the former of whom looked ready to sink into the floor, eyes wide. Hazelkit was fluffed up like a pinecone. "Briarspots, see if anyone in camp will be willing to look after these two- if only until we're done talking."

Briarspots dipped his head. "What do I tell them, ma'am?"

"That they're ShadowClan kits, and that's that."

"And if they ask why you have both medicine cats in your den?"

Slatestar met his eyes and firmly shook her head.

"Yes, ma'am." Briarspots bent down to collect Dewkit. "Come on, kiddos. Let's get you somewhere less scary."

"I'm not scared!" Hazelkit squeaked.

"Yeah, well, I sure am." The deputy let Dewkit curl into his back fur as he took up the blind tom. "Maybe you can protect me, huh?"

An awkward silence hung in the air as the three mollies watched Briarspots lead the kits out of the leader's den and into ShadowClan's heart. The part of Brightfur not panicking was worried how they'd be accepted. It was almost unheard of to accept outsiders into a Clan- and, when they did, it was paramount their names be changed and their pasts ignored. It had happened to Ravenwind, and that had only hurt her more and more, warping her into the twisted medicine cat she was now.

It wasn't fair. Brightfur knew that. But she also knew they couldn't go anywhere else. Not until they got a bit bigger, anyway.

Soft fur was against her side, making her jump. Slatestar gently helped her to her paws, then calmly padded forward and settled in on her nest. "Start talking."

Taken aback by the gesture, Brightfur dumbly stared at the gray molly. She didn't think anyone had helped her up when Ravenwind lost her temper before.

Ravenwind's nose wrinkled. She was clearly unimpressed. "It happened seasons ago, now. How am I supposed to remember all the details?"

Slatestar narrowed her eyes. "Tell me what you do remember."

"The gorge," Brightfur blurted out, surprising herself. "We- we took him to the gorge. To get some watermint."

"Catmint," Ravenwind corrected, sounding almost absentminded. She let out a long sigh. "Look. We were low on catmint. Duskspring was sick. Bristlepelt and I have a deal to share herbs- medicine cat stuff. I needed an escort, and since Leafleg was being a shoddy mentor to Grayfeather, I didn't think much of asking him to come with."

Slatestar had looked carefully neutral before. Now her brow was creased with a mixture of confusion and confliction. "You snuck into WindClan territory? All three of you?"

"It's not sneaking if you're invited, ma'am."

"And no one saw you?"

"No one we saw back." Ravenwind shrugged. "It's not like WindClan has ample places to hide and eavesdrop, so I doubt we missed an enemy warrior."

Slatestar stared at the black cat a moment longer. The wheels in her brain were turning, but in what direction they didn't know. She looked at Brightfur. "And?"

Brightfur stiffened. Cold water rushed down her spine as she looked blankly at the leader. What do I say? Outing Ravenwind could go in two directions- either the leader believed her, or she took one look at this sniffling, anxious mess of a cat and decided she had no idea what she was talking about. Either way, she was easily within pouncing reach of her mentor, who Brightfur knew would happily rake her claws through her flesh for snitching.

"He, uh..." She swallowed. "I- I didn't see, Slatestar. I was picking catmint. Then, I turned around and- nothing."

"I didn't see him fall, either. We figured he'd gone without us and left," added Ravenwind, smiling just a little. "You see? It was just a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" Slatestar snorted. "Ravenwind, you kept this between the two of you this long and I'm not supposed to assume something sinister happened?"

"We did sneak into another Clan's territory."

"Don't twist my words around." Her eyes flickered to the side and back again. "I seem to recall it was you who gave me that crow as well."

"Bad luck," she dismissed.

"Back luck that cost me two lives." Slatestar's tail lashed. "Do you have any idea how frustrating it was to die of the same illness twice?"

Ravenwind opened her mouth to retort, then clearly thought better of it. "I can't tell you what to think, ma'am. But I've been here longer than you've been alive. I've spent seasons after seasons in this Clan, tending to wounds and sickness and other grisly things Clan cats get their claws into- and you've seen how close I pad with StarClan. You have no reason to doubt my loyalty to ShadowClan."

Yeah, but being loyal isn't the same thing as being good.

The ShadowClan leader stared her medicine cat down. It occurred to Brightfur that this was a situation Slatestar probably didn't have any clue on how to handle- a medicine cat was to be the leader's closest associate. Their mouthpiece to StarClan. Not a potential killer. There weren't enough seasons of watching a leader to have that answer close to their heart.

Finally, she spoke. "I can't banish both of you. You're necessary." Brightfur began to shake harder. Being banished hadn't even occurred to her. I can't leave Mabel's kittens alone here! "But I can seriously limit the impact you have on the Clan."

"Slatestar, I think-"

"I don't care what you think," she replied, baring her sharp teeth. "As soon as a kit presents themselves as ready, Ravenwind, you will retire. And Brightfur- once they're trained, regardless of your health, you will follow. You must never be alone with each other or a third party, and when you go to Gatherings you must sit alone. I wouldn't even allow that if I could help it, but the other Clans won't know of this. You will live, teach, and die in anonymity. Do I make myself clear?"

Ravenwind took a step forward, claws sliding out. "But- but I speak to StarClan! They've given me their blessing!"

"Good for them," she meowed. "You don't have mine. And, unless Leafleg himself comes down and sets things straight, you never will."

Ears flat, the black molly let out a low hiss. Brightfur didn't think she'd been openly rejected like this in some time- if ever. "You'll regret this, Slatestar." Ravenwind whirled around and stomped away, ramming Brightfur's shoulder as she passed. "Just you wait."

Brightfur watched her go, then hesitated to do the same. "Slatestar?"

"I know, Brightfur," she grunted, looking older than she ever had before. "I know."

The sunlight hit her funny as she stumbled into the clearing, numb and baffled. ShadowClan was bustling again, Briarspots leading hunting patrols out in an attempt to settle things down after the drama.

The bright cream of Hazelkit caught her attention almost instantly. The blind tom was stretched on his back paws, feeling the burly muzzle of Maplenose with awe. "You're so big! You must've eaten soooo many vitamin treats!"

"I was just born this way," she purred, laving a lick across his head. "But I'll get you so many 'vitamin treats' that you'll be even bigger, if you like."

Beside her was Grayfeather, his long gray pelt well-groomed and smooth. Between his front paws was Dewkit, looking just as nervous, getting cleaned with sure strokes. Hawkflower leaned against his side and smiled. "It's okay, buddy. We'll take care of you."

Brightfur watched a moment longer before slinking away.

Author's Note: Get wreckt old lady akmdcldlcs

Truth be told I wrote this a solid week ago and just got lazy about uploading lol.

-Mandaree1