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: Deal With the Devil

...

He hadn't noticed her yet. Brightfur flattened herself against the side of some overhanging plants, hidden amongst the dangling vegetation. She watched with narrowed eyes as Scrap gingerly padded inside, inching along her little hideaway to keep out of his line of sight. Her lip drew back to reveal a canine.

Is this a test? Brightfur wondered. She couldn't imagine StarClan willingly bringing Berry's murderer to her paws unless it was to see if she was better than Ravenwind. If she would look Scrap in the eye and find it in her to forgive him of the various things he'd done in the short time she'd known his name- taking advantage of her kindness, abandoning Hazelkit and Dewkit, and ripping out Parsnip's eye in a fit of rage.

StarClan wanted her to be better than this sort of thing. Above it.

Brightfur crouched, tail-tip twitching.

StarClan should know me better by now.

Almost as if to spite her, Scrap's face lit up with recognition at Willowthorn's pelt as it stretched across the dirt, trotting over with relief. "There you are. Thorn!" He gave her a solid shake. "Come on, Thorn. You've got everybody worried back at the lot."

Frustration surged through Brightfur as Willowthorn snorted and slowly sat up, blinking sleep from her eyes. She didn't dare risk the life of the young warrior for her revenge; nor her innocence, by making her witness it. Touche, StarClan. "Scrap? What're you doing here?"

"Me? You're the one who brought that bitch to our lot," he snorted. "You know she stole my kids, right? And I don't care how happy you say they are in that weird hick dump of yours- it's not like they know any better."

Willowthorn's ear flicked dismissively. She looked less than enthused by his insults. "Did you really wake me up to complain, Scrap?"

"I woke you up to warn you, Thorn. Smithy's not exactly happy to hear you're handing out herbs from his turf."

"Does Smithy even know what catmint does?" she asked.

"No, but he knows it's gotta be important if Brightfur is sneaking back here, and that's enough. Where is she, anyway?"

"Probably went to make dirt," Willowthorn said, and shrugged. "She had a long night. Exorcised this place and did a vigil. I'm not gonna question her."

"You realize how bullshit all that stuff is, right?"

"I'm not gonna argue about this stuff with you, okay? All I know for sure is that we found Berry's body, and she wanted to say goodbye, and-" Willowthorn paused, studying the sudden fear that entered Scrap's eyes. "What's that look for?"

"You... knew she went by Berry?" he replied.

"She told me. Us. It's complicated." She shifted from paw to paw, unsure. "She... told you she went by Berry?"

"She told me," he echoed, tail-tip twitching. "And then she... she tried to leave."

The roaring in Brightfur's ears lapsed into a perfect, beautiful silence, even as her hackles raised. She couldn't remember the last time she was this angry- not even when Ravenwind used her trap to poison Slatestar had it hit her in such a gutting way. Every inch of her pelt itched with fire, but her insides were cold as ice.

So, she thought, taking that pawstep out into the light. She watched, with something akin to amusement, as Willowthorn's eyes shrunk with surprise. This is what Ravenwind felt the day she threw Leafleg off the gorge. This, this raw anger- this is what had guided her paws against Flowerpaw, and prompted her to poison Puddle, and only the stars knew who else.

I get it now, Ravenwind, the echo between her ribs whispered. I get it.

Scrap, catching Willowthorn's eye, twisted his head around. The mere sight of her seemed to fill him with terror. "Bri- Brightfur! What're you-"

"I'm going to have to go home today," Brightfur meowed, voice flat. Scrap flinched back. "And I'm going to have to tell my mother her kit is dead."

"Brightfur..." Willowthorn warned.

She ignored it. "She never forgave my grandfather for sending her away, you know. I... don't think I ever quite did, either. When I was little, my brother died. He was the same color as her. My mother never said it, but she always held Berry a bit closer after that."

Willowthorn swallowed and tried again. "StarClan-"

"StarClan damned me the moment Flowerpaw's body washed up," Brightfur bit out, hurt by how the warrior quivered at her words. Fear? Is she afraid of me? "They left me to rot and told me I should be a better medicine cat for it. But I'm not. I'm bitter, and angry, and I keep my claws sharp." She fixed her gaze on Scrap. "Did you feel powerful, killing her?"

Scrap swallowed heavily and stumbled back a bit, unintentionally nudging Willowthorn. "I didn't- I didn't kill her," he meowed, trying to scoff. "I just saw her that night, you know? The night she- she left. I heard she left."

"I asked you a question," she said.

The dusty gray tom broke into a sprint, spine arched. Brightfur had expected him to flee sooner or later, and tackled Scrap with her claws outstretched. Her front leg caught around his paws, twisting him to the dirt floor. He yowled and rolled, dragging her underneath him. Claws dug into her shoulders as she tried to sink her teeth into his neck; her mouth made an empty clacking noise when Scrap pushed her away.

Brightfur righted herself with a grunt of effort. She licked her lips and felt stung he hadn't tried to fight. The thought he might be trying to soften his blows because she wasn't a grizzled loner made her blood boil. The medicine cat darted to the side, then around. Scrap fought to keep himself facing her, tying his legs in knots. His back foot touched a leaf and sliiiid, sending him into an awkward crouch. Brightfur leapt, sinking her teeth into the same spot Ravenwind had attacked her those moons ago in front of Berry. She felt perverse pleasure in the screech he gave as he buckled. Doesn't tickle, huh?

"Go right ahead," she panted, watching without moving as he sank his teeth into her arm. It hardly even registered. Brightfur set her paw on his muzzle and pressed down, watching his teeth go in deeper. "Go on. Taste the blood. Tell me if it reminds you of someone."

"Brightfur," Willowthorn pleaded. She sounded strung out. Had she been talking during their bout? Brightfur hadn't even heard. "Don't kill him, Brightfur. Please."

Brightfur frowned. "I'm not going to kill him." Death would be too kind.

"Well, that's good, I suppose." She slowly turned her head. It felt like moving through honey. Smithy sat at the entrance of the greenhouse, blinking, nonplussed, at her. "I didn't want to interrupt anything, but Scrap was gone for a while, so..."

She wrinkled her nose at him. Normally, having Smithy so close to her would make her anxious- it wasn't like she hadn't heard plenty of horror stories about the tom- but the adrenaline clogging her veins saw him only as another challenger. "You always keep murderers for company?"

"He's kind of a special case," Smity said, tail swishing languidly.

"Must be some special case. Did you know she was pregnant?"

"I did."

"Did you know they were yours?"

That gave the tom pause. "I'd... wondered," he admitted. "But I didn't have proof, either."

"She was only ever with you."

Smithy's face darkened for the briefest moment. "That's... something."

Brightfur regarded Scrap for a second. He trembled beneath their combined stares, eyes wide.

"I'll make you a deal," Brightfur meowed finally.

"Brightfur," Willowthorn hissed.

"Now, now," Smithy said, waving his paw. "Let the molly speak."

"I can teach you- or Clover, or whoever you want- about herbs. I'll show you everything I know." She bared a fang at Scrap. "But only if you punish rats like this one."

Smithy's face went from neutral to keenly interested. "And what would you have me do?" he rumbled. "Kill him? Banishment?"

"Smithy," Scrap squeaked, muffled around her fur.

"Shut it. You lost the right to speak here." He flicked the tip of his tail, and the gray tom lapsed into silence.

She reluctantly disengaged her paw from his muzzle. Brightfur took her foot from his mouth. The air hit the wound and she hissed with newfound pain as it bled. Yup, gonna be limping for a while. "I don't think that's up to me to choose," she answered slowly. Brightfur wanted to see what, exactly, Smithy would do for her. "They're your cats, aren't they?"

Smithy searched her eyes a moment. "Scrap. Come here."

Scrap flinched and crept to his side. The edge of his muzzle was stained with her blood. "You weren't serious about banning me, were you?" he asked, voice quivering.

"Of course not," he purred, nuzzling him affectionately. "We're brothers, aren't we?"

Scrap relaxed. "I was starting to think you forgot that."

"Never," Smithy promised. He looked to Brightfur and nodded. She stepped in front of Willowthorn, blocking her eyes.

And he sank his teeth into Scrap's throat.

Even then, even with that, Smithy seemed to exude a casualness to it all. Scrap gurgled and choked on blood as Smithy put a silver-white paw to his chest, braced, and pushed. Skin and fur tore away with numbing silence as Scrap fell to the dirt, mouth opening and closing. He dropped the chunk on top of his brother's eyes and watched him writhe those few valiant seconds before settling.

"I'm a tom of my word, medicine cat," he meowed, licking his lips of blood. "For your sake, you'd better be too. You wouldn't like it if I had to make an honest cat out of you."

Willowthorn shoved past Brightfur, green eyes wide with horror as she touched a shaking paw to Scrap's flank. The sting of regret bit into her- hadn't she, not long ago, been unwilling to risk her innocence? Were her morals really so easy to shatter?

You protected her just fine, something inside her said. Something cynical. You gave her more than you did Lionmask and Tigercloud.

"He's dead," she announced, shaking her head. Willowthorn looked lost. "You- you ripped his throat out. And you don't even look sad about it."

Smithy tsked and lightly licked her ear. "For a long time, I thought living was all about food. But then I met you, and I realized it was about so much more. It's about legacies. It's about leaving an impression." He smiled a little, sad. "He killed your half-siblings, and you don't look sad about that."

She pulled away, ears flat. "They weren't even born yet!"

"And with your help, many more will be born! Cats with me will grow old, and colds won't be life-or-death. No more humans taking us away in carriers. No more risk of being adopted out. That's worth so much more to me."

"You really are a horrible person," Willowthorn meowed, sounding broken.

"You're young," he replied. "You'll understand someday."

Slatestar didn't bat an eye when Brightfur and Willowthorn returned the next morning, clutching clumps of catmint in their maws, the medicine cat gimping heavily. Willowthorn set hers down at the gray molly's paws and wandered towards the warriors' den. Her gait was stumbling; a kit trying to find its mother. Maybe she was going to do just that, Brightfur thought. She didn't look forward to talking to Badgerthroat after this.

"What happened?" Slatestar asked once she left.

"Loners," she answered, wearily. "The ones that harassed Dewkit and Hazelkit's mother." Brightfur wasn't quite ready to explain the incident with Berry, and when she was Slatestar would be the second she told- only after Smokestripe. "They got into a fight with each other and we fled."

"Friends of your mentor?" she asked, with pointed meaning.

"No," Brightfur meowed, with a defeated tone. "Friends of mine."

"Are we at risk? Should we double patrols?"

Brightfur shook her head, trying not to think of the glow in Smithy's eyes. "I showed them not to mess with ShadowClan cats. They'll leave us alone."

Slatestar studied her features a moment. Brightfur didn't fool herself into thinking they were friends, but she was beginning to detect a change in the leader's demeanor toward her. It was less angry, and more pitying. Maybe Slatestar was finally beginning to realize that Brightfur wasn't exactly loyal to Ravenwind. Or maybe she had finally made some sort of peace with the bad piece of prey- though Brightfur didn't want to imagine what she'd say once she learned she was the one who poisoned it. Or maybe Brightfur was reading too deep into things again.

"Fine," she uttered, after a long pause. "Go get some sleep. And keep off that foot."

Now who's the medicine cat here? Brightfur dipped her head obediently. She had to bend her neck awkwardly to scoop up Willowthorn's clump of catmint under her chin; and Slatestar, for all her supposed worry, didn't offer to help.

The medicine den was quiet as she pushed her muzzle through. Ravenwind, perched in her nest as a loaf, cracked an amber eyelid. She snorted at the awkward crab-walk her apprentice had to do. "I was wondering if you were going to come back this time."

Brightfur spat the purple plant out with a grimace. "I just went to get some herbs, keep your tail on."

"Didn't know herbs could bite you like that."

She ignored the jab, hopping over to the stores. A quick once-over revealed that Ravenwind hadn't had any major visitors while she was away overnight. The moss patients hunkered on was cold and still smelling faintly of Addershine. The stores didn't look as if they'd been touched in any capacity. I hope Flowerstrike got his nightly dose of poppy seeds. His aches aren't exactly getting better. The only thing keeping the elder alive at this point was spite.

A black paw wrapped around her injured one, and Brightfur stilled. Ravenwind casually angled it back, studying her claws. "No blood. You washed them well."

"You don't honestly think I killed someone, do you?" she asked, a bit surprised.

Ravenwind shrugged and tucked her leg back under her. She didn't give an exact response. "Bite wound like that? I would've. I'll wrap it for you."

"I can do it myself."

"Sit down, Brightfur."

Brightfur sat down, rolling her eyes. Ravenwind studied the bite marks a moment before she began to clean the wound, scraping away remnants of catmint shreds and dirt. The lapping of her tongue was soothing. "I think this is the most I've seen you move in a moon."

"Ah, well. Can't stretch my legs without being accused of fifteen different things," she replied, but didn't seem too off-put about it. Brightfur was a tad pleased to see the molly in such a state- it was rare Ravenwind was in any sort of good mood. "Did Bristlepelt whine about me not being there?"

"He misses you," she said. Brightfur hesitated to go on, but it didn't feel right not to tell her. Not when she probably would never see Bristlepelt again. "He said he loves you."

Ravenwind let go of her paw and shuffled over to the stores. "Yes, yes, he says that often. He's such a drama queen. As if that bratty apprentice doesn't keep him enough company as it is."

"Are you... jealous?"

"Hardly." She lifted out two ruffled leaves, holding them up for her to see. "Raspberry leaves, for the pain. I know you won't let me feed you poppy."

Brightfur flinched, the fur on her hackles rising. Why does she always have to ruin the discussion? "Raspberry leaf is fine."

Ravenwind carefully wrapped the leaves around her foot with some cobwebs, winding around and around to keep them there. The tingle of the leaves made Brightfur feel on edge as her old mentor spoke. "That Dewkit looks like he'll be a good medicine cat. At first, I thought Willowthorn, but she's too much trouble. Dewkit is sweet."

"What do you care?" Brightfur snapped. "You aren't allowed to help me train him, remember?"

"We'll see."

"And even if you were, I don't need your permission to train someone."

"Don't you?" she asked. Ravenwind swept away the scraps and turned away from her. "You're enough trouble on your own. ShadowClan needs a stable, understanding medicine cat."

"Whatever," Brightfur meowed, staring at the wrapping. She didn't know how to feel about this helpful, wise Ravenwind, but she certainly didn't trust her.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! I had to juggle a few decisions with this chapter. I was originally planning on maybe having them circle back around to the parking lot. I was thinking maybe Brightfur would kill Scrap, then maybe a fluke car and she's commit some slapping on the corpse, and finally I found a way to work Smithy back into it properly. It also felt like a good middle ground where Brightfur is filled with fury, acting like the cat she fears most, but hasn't quite tipped into no return.

Next chapter is a lot more relaxed! New apprentice times a-coming. =)

-Mandaree1