"Spiderpaw?"
Spiderpaw's eyes moved slightly as the voices around him muffled.
"Spiderpaw!"
The medicine cat jolted up, his hair standing up with shock. He turned his head and slowly let his eyes adjust, and heaved out panic when he realized he had fallen asleep treating Briartail.
Honeyflower was standing over him, her tail lashing behind her golden pelt. "Wake up."
Spiderpaw sat up quickly and brushed his ear. He could tell Honeyflower's mood had fallen from the last time they had conversed. Briartail sat to his side, and when Spiderpaw met her gaze, he noticed that what he got in return was slightly less friendly.
"I need you to tell me how this all happened," Honeyflower spoke quickly.
"Honeyflower," Briartail meowed weakly. "I told you, I can't remember."
Spiderpaw was relieved that his sister looked comfortable, although he felt sick from the wounds that were upon her. Now that the light was better, he could see the cobwebs he had applied to most of the wounds.
Honeyflower met Spiderpaw's gaze with concern, although she didn't look pleased.
Spiderpaw wasn't sure what to say. Did Briartail know he saw what had happened?
"Spiderpaw, are you going to tell me?"
Spiderpaw let his eyes adjust to Honeyflower's stern stare. "I smelled blood," he meowed. "I followed the trail and I found Briartail."
Honeyflower didn't budge. "You smell like the moor."
Spiderpaw shifted. "Vinetail was there too - he - he was injured."
"How badly?" Honeyflower questioned.
"Injures enough," Spiderpaw retorted anxiously. "I took him back to the moor and alerted Sedgepool."
"You went to the moor by yourself in the night? Do you realize how dangerous that is?"
Before Honeyflower could become louder, Spiderpaw spoke again. "Aspenclaw came with me," he meowed. "We went up there together."
Honeyflower nodded. "So there was a border fight?"
Briartail flexed out her claws. "I don't remember!"
"There might have been," Spiderpaw meowed. "But if so, Briartail was only doing her duty to perform as a warrior, defending from trespassers.
Honeyflower was quiet for a moment. "Stay here while I alert Echostar," she meowed.
Spiderpaw watched as the large golden she-cat turned around and made her way out of the den. The minute she left, Briartail turned to him, her voice like thunder.
"How did you find me?" She scowled.
"I told Honeyflower, I followed the blood I smelled."
Briartail scoffed. "You followed right out of camp?"
"Yes!" Spiderpaw retorted. He narrowed his eyes, looking downwards. He wasn't sure what to say next.
To his relief, Briartail sighed. "Thank you for taking care of me," she meowed.
Spiderpaw flicked his ear. "Of course," he meowed. He took a pause.
"Why did you go there again?"
Briartail scowled, knowing that Spiderpaw must have picked her up from the Rockpile. She said nothing, but just as the silence was about to kick in, Honeyflower entered with Echostar by her side.
"A border fight?" The sandy she-cat meowed.
Briartail nodded anxiously, as if she was worried anyone knew the truth. "I think so."
"Honeyflower told me you couldn't remember," Echostar stated.
"Might have been shock," Spiderpaw lied.
Echostar nodded. "Thank you for defending, Briartail," she meowed. "But why were you up anyway?"
Briartail shrugged. "Just wanted to go for a walk.
Honeyflower and Echostar shared a glare for a moment, and Spiderpaw could feel the tension increasing. But Echostar turned around. "I appreciate you alerting me," she spoke, turning around and walking outside of the den.
Spiderpaw watched as the medicine cat turned to him. "I'd like to have a word with you tonight on the way to the half moon meeting, Spiderpaw."
"A word?" Spiderpaw blurted. "What?"
Honeyflower beckoned to Spiderpaw that he was free to go. He didn't want to stick around, so he just obeyed Honeyflower and made his way out of the den.
The sun was rising, and Spiderpaw was nowhere near fully rested. But nevertheless, he made his way out and turned towards the apprentice den. He wanted to check up on Heronkit and make sure she had made her way back.
Spiderpaw made his way across the camp, quite pleased to not be in a rush for once.
Once the apprentice den was in front of him, he peered inside. To his relief, behind the leaves, he could see both Dustpaw and Heronkit conversing. He quickly made his way inside.
"Good morning," he spoke, careful not to bring up the topic in front of Dustpaw. "Have you eaten yet?"
Dustpaw nodded. "Ryepelt said I could eat the sparrow I caught last night," he bragged.
"I haven't eaten," Heronkit meowed. "Want to share something?"
Spiderpaw nodded.
"I'm going to go and see Ryepelt," he beamed, trotting quickly out of the den and off to find his mentor. Spiderpaw waited patiently for Heronkit, and when she heaved herself up, Spiderpaw lead the way towards the fresh kill pile.
Only minutes later, Spiderpaw dragged out two voles from the pile. He held them in his jaws and lead Heronkit off to a secluded area in the corner of the camp. Once they arrived, Spiderpaw sat in the shade and dropped one of the pieces by Heronkit's paws.
"About last night," Spiderpaw murmured.
Heronkit nodded. "I got back okay," she meowed. "Eventually. I'll explain everything - but how is Briartail?"
"I took her to the medicine cat den," he meowed. "I treated her, and then Aspenclaw and I took Vinetail up to SunClan."
Heronkit's tail flicked. "You did that all in one night?"
Spiderpaw nodded tiresomely. "Surprisingly. Anyway, so what happened after I woke up?"
"The first thing I'll say is you would've thanked Redshade. She managed to hide you before Briartail had seen you. You took a few minutes to fade out after you had passed out."
Spiderpaw nodded. He didn't know he could fade out. "What else happened?"
Heronkit looked down at her prey, brushing the piece away a little. "A lot of battles," she meowed. "I saw cats I'd never seen before."
Spiderpaw's eyes widened. "Like what?"
"They were shadows," Heronkit meowed. "Just Like Redshade. I never realised how many there were," she murmured. "Of course I'd seen some before, but not so many. They were gathered around, they started watching as the blood was pouring out."
Spiderpaw nodded, and his stomach curled so much he wasn't sure about his meal either. "That's sadistic," he commented.
"I saw Briartail and Vinetail converse in the battlefield, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Perhaps he was taunting her."
Spiderpaw nodded. "I'm just so confused as to how he knows about the Dark Forest. Do you think Briartail's told him?" he repeated.
Heronkit didn't gesture. "If they didn't get along that fiercely, I can't see why she would have done."
Spiderpaw nodded. "We just have to find a way to get Briartail to stop training there - for the good of her."