floating

~~~

WHEN VIOLETPAW WOKE UP AGAIN, she was in an unfamiliar den. Her head was groggy, her paws were freezing cold, and there was some weird, sticky poultice all over her fur. As soon as she parted her jaws, just for a yawn to try and wake herself up, she instantly became alert, for the scent of SkyClan flooded her tongue.

She jumped to her paws, instantly wincing as her head quickly started pounding at this sudden action. 

She was in a dark den. She was in a dark den in SkyClan's camp.

Immediately after coming to this realization, her brain snapped to Ravenpaw. What had they done with him? Had they killed him? Spirits, this was all her fault. Why did he follow her?

She opened her jaws despite the thudding feeling in her head, desperation clutching at her. "Rave-"

Before Violetpaw could finish calling out his name, however, a thick fluffy tail wrapped around her mouth, effectively shutting her up. Before she could even react, someone jumped on her, pushing her to the ground and pinning her there. 

Her mind instantly went into panic mode, and she started clawing wildly, until she heard a familiar voice hiss, "Ow, Violetpaw, stop, it's me."

An unmeasurable wave of relief washed over the white she-cat. He was alive, and this cat attacking her wasn't some random, vicious SkyClan warrior. But right on the heels of her relief was the anger that he'd knocked her over, so her twisting didn't lessen at all.

Rather, she gave him a few more good kicks until he finally muttered, "Alright, alright, point taken. But you have to stay down and stay quiet," before releasing her and climbing off. 

 Violetpaw glared daggers at Ravenpaw as the black tom backed away, to a good enough distance that she can fully see him. His pelt was crusted with dry blood, the tip of his ear torn. It seemed that SkyClan hadn't bothered to patch up his wounds like they did with Violetpaw, though he still looked to be in better shape than the white she-cat.

"They were trying to wake you up." Ravenpaw's voice was nothing more than a low whisper, answering Violetpaw's unasked question as to why SkyClan had bothered to heal her. "I told them that I didn't know who the Ghost Assassin was, only you did. That you'd done this investigation without Lilystar's knowing. So as long as they think you're still unconscious, we have time."

Violetpaw hissed in pain as she shifted, her head pounding. "So why haven't they killed you?"

Ravenpaw shrugged. "They figured that if they killed me, you wouldn't cooperate and tell them the Ghost Assassin's identity."

The white she-cat suddenly felt her breath hitch. He'd almost died because of her. What if SkyClan had decided that whether or not they kept him alive didn't matter at all? Ravenpaw would be in StarClan right now. 

Why did he follow her? He wasn't supposed to follow her. Violetpaw groaned, shoving her head into her paws. She'd been scared at first, but now, after seeing everyone suffer, she was more than willing to risk her own life for Blossomsky's. But not Ravenpaw's. 

The black tom crouched down beside her and flicked her ear with his tail. He seemed to be trying to cheer her up, or at least lighten this awful situation that they were in. "I tried telling them that maybe, if it was any other Clanmate with you, you'd be upset. However, it was me, and you wouldn't care. But they just didn't seem to go for it."

Violetpaw glanced up at him with a meek smile, batting at him weakly with a paw. "Oh, shut up. You're not funny."

He let it hit him, purposefully dodging too late. "See, you're trying to kill me right now. Should've just let SkyClan finish me."

She blinked. How could he be trying to make her laugh right now? Doesn't he understand that he almost actually died.

And very suddenly, her mood was sour again. 

"Stop joking about these things," Violetpaw grumbled, folding her ears to the back of her head. "You could really actually die."

"And you couldn't?"

"As of right now, I think I've got less of a chance than you," Violetpaw retorted. 

Ravenpaw raised an eyebrow. "Wait until they find out you don't know who the Ghost Assassin is."

"But I'm willing to risk my own life," the white she-cat hissed. "I didn't come searching for catmint without knowing about what they did to Featherpool. I knew that they could kill me, but it's worth a try."

"Yeah, and I knew that they could kill me too when I followed you," Ravenpaw replied with a shrug. "Hey, if a fight breaks out, you seriously think that you can take on all these SkyClan warriors by yourself? You'll need someone to hold them off while you run the catmint to Blossomsky."

Violetpaw didn't like that idea. "Or maybe you can bring the catmint home while I hold them off."

The black tom rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a mousebrain. I'm older than you, I've got more training than you."

"Yeah, but as we learned from the hunting expedition, your aim needs work. And frankly, aim seems pretty important during a fight. Imagine you try and hit a SkyClan cat but you hit a nearby tree instead."

"I'm not kidding, I'm serious," Ravenpaw meowed. "Just think about it. More cats will miss you if you die than if I die."

Violetpaw scoffed. "That's ridiculous. I think your parents would disagree."

"Yeah, but you've got your parents too. And your sister, Eaglepaw, Brightpaw-"

"You've got Brightpaw too," Violetpaw interrupted a little vehemently, trying not to let herself show too much of a reaction to Eaglepaw's name. "And plus, your mentor will miss you. Sunbounce hates me."

"He won't after you bring back the catmint to save his mother," Ravenpaw challenged. 

"Stop that. Everyone in ThunderClan will miss you," Violetpaw huffed. "For StarClan's sake, even I'll miss you." She wasn't sure why, but she felt her pelt heat up a little at those words, especially given the way Ravenpaw cocks his head in surprise as the response. "Now will you shut up? We're both getting out of here."

"Really?" the black tom drawls. "And you have a plan for that?"

"I will. I just need time to think, and-"

As she was speaking, the sound of dry bushes rustling rang in the background. Violetpaw didn't pay them much attention, but Ravenpaw's ears stood up, alert, and he quickly shoved the white she-cat's head downwards, interrupting her sentence. 

"Play dead," he whispered. It was the only warning she got before a shadow suddenly loomed from the den's narrow entrance, and Violetpaw quickly shut her eyes before the SkyClan warrior fully entered. 

"Is she awake, Ferndust?" This call sounded further, as though it came from outside the den. It was a voice that Violetpaw recognized; Snowbird, SkyClan's deputy.

Ferndust? Violetpaw felt her heart jump as she suddenly remembered the SkyClan warrior whom she'd met on her first day of being an apprentice. Ferndust, a heavy believer in the Ghost Assassin, and Ashbird's best friend.

There was a pause as Ferndust scanned Violetpaw's form. The white she-cat tried to hold still as much as she could. Then, she heard brown tabby's voice snap at Ravenpaw, "Is she awake?"

"Does she look it?" Ravenpaw answered, sharply and quickly.

"I heard voices talking in here."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Ferndust mewed, her voice tipping into wildly annoyed. 

"Well, what else do you want me to say? That I was talking to myself or that you were hearing voices in your head?"

A low growl came from Ferndust. Then, "I'd lose that attitude if I were you. You're in no position to be talking like this." 

Violetpaw heard the sound of paws crunching on frosty ground as the SkyClan warrior left, then Ferndust's low murmur to Snowbird, reporting that the white she-cat was still unconscious. Still, she didn't move until Ravenpaw tapped her, letting her know that the den was clear.

The white she-cat lifted her head, then gazed around the dark prisoner den they were in. They looked to be inside a hollow tree, with a narrow entrance that only allowed one cat past at a time. 

Slowly, slowly, as she looked around, Violetpaw's line of sight finally turned to Ravenpaw. As she met the black tom's questioning yellow eyes, she allowed her face to split into a smile. 

"I have a plan."

~~~

i totally forgot to announce this, but i wrote a little salt in the wound teaser in my book of stuff! it's about violetpaw, and whether she ends up with ravenpaw or eaglepaw. it's kind of a spoiler, but it's there if anyone's interested!

thank you for reading as always, and have an amazing day/night!

~ lily