Blood-red light leaked through the clouds, streaking across the dimming sky. The humidity of the day into the night, though a cooler breeze attempted to put the warmth out.

Smokepaw sat, head lowered, as she carefully watched the medicine den. The High Willow covered most of it in a curtain of green tendrils, but the dark apprentice sat at the entrance, sunset light bathing her pelt.

"You gonna sit there or come in?" She whipped around at the voice. Kiwipaw stood behind her, several long, green stemmed, gold flowers in her mouth.

"Oh, I--" Kiwipaw flicked her tail, walking in, looking back with expectant eyes. Smokepaw stood, following in. The den was dark where sunlight wasn't able to streak through, and several moss nests were made in the massive roots of the tree. The four cats from the patrol lay, a few medicine cats working around them. Laurelstep sat at the edge of the den in the darkness, his light blue-pink eyes wide as he watched. Smokepaw glanced from the patients to Laurelstep then back.

"We could use some help washing off our patients, we've cleaned enough mud off, but they could use another rinse." Sandleaf meowed from where she sat at Nightfreeze's side. Smokepaw gave a stiff nod, eyes wide, and Laurelstep sprung to his paws.

"I can help," he meowed quickly. Sandleaf shook her head.

"You can't control water, and I don't think you'll want to lick mud off. It tastes worse than herbs," the dilute calico reasoned, but he pushed forward.

"I don't mind," the white tom padded to Thymeclaw's side, his eyes lingering over the head wound.

"It's not as bad as it looks...?" Smokepaw offered, lightly approaching the white tom. He shook his head.

"Sandleaf says he'll get better. But just... look at him. He was awake earlier, but he was so tired." Laurelstep pressed his nose into the tom's fur. Most of the mud had been removed from the cat's pelt by someone when treatment had first started, but still it was tinged with darkness. Smokepaw breathed, summoning water that resided several foxlengths away, just outside of camp's walls.

"ThunderClan did this to them," Sandleaf muttered, checking a cobweb wrap on Nightfreeze's lower back.

"We should send a patrol to fight them." Smokepaw growled, eyes carefully watching where she moved the water. She weaved the small stream of clear liquid through the tom's fur, letting it pick up dirt particles, and not leaving a single wet strand of hair behind. Gradually, the fur no longer looked like a mess of mucky and clean hair, but a uniform white. His tail gradually became his recognizable bright ginger, and his face and eyes were cleared of stains.

"Fighting them might not be the best idea right now, as tempting as it sounds." Laurelstep's voice was quiet, and he gently groomed his mate's fur even after it had already been cleaned.

"Why? They attacked our patrol, they could've killed Thymeclaw." Laurelstep winced, resting his chin on Thymelclaw's shoulder.

"We can't just fight all of ThunderClan. It could result in even more injuries and death. Miststar will probably decide diplomacy, that's the smarter path," he closed his eyes as he spoke, and Smokepaw moved onto cleaning the black and white pelt of Collieheart.

"Collieheart was bit by a poisonous warrior, look here on his shoulder. It was a weaker poison, so an easy heal" Kiwipaw shoved her way next to Smokepaw as the shaded apprentice guided the water. You're too close, go away. She sent a few droplets of water on the medicine cat apprentice's nose as a warning to get back. The gray marbled tabby sneezed, and narrowed her eyes in annoyance, padding back to what she had been doing.

"I was going to have Thymeclaw spar with you tomorrow night when we trained," the albinistic warrior curled up behind her explained.

"Yeah? I guess you'll have to get someone else to fight me now. Or we could just hang out in the medicine den." Smokepaw glanced over her shoulder, pulling a missed clod of dirt out of Collieheart's ear fur.

"No, I'll find someone. Maybe Kalepaw? He's going to be a warrior soon--"

"StarClan, anyone but Kalepaw." Smokepaw groaned, finally getting a particularly stuck chunk of mud off of the black and white poisoned warrior's belly fur. She could remember at least two training sessions with the tom and shivered at the memory of the last session she had had with him.

"Hit her again." Rosecall growled, icy gaze following Smokepaw. The gray apprentice's eyes were wide, kit fluff still rimming her face, her full adult coat not even grown in all the way. Blood dripped from various scratches and cuts, and her chest heaved.

"Rosecall, this is too much. I'm stopping--"

"No. Hit her again." Collieheart grimaced, eyes hard with pain, though not a single scratch marred his pelt. Smokepaw grounded her paws, trying to focus. Her head throbbed from slipping and falling, and her paws ached from the cold.

Around her, water scattered in puddles, rose up in pillars of ice. Then, without warning, a shard of ice came flying. No. Not again. I can't-- I can't take another hit, it hurts-- She cried out, her claws unsheathed and dug into the earth, and shut her eyes as tight as she could. The ground shook a bit, and then a massive wave rose from the river, pale foam frothing, and smashed down around her. She, and a circle of grass around her were saved from the crash, water flooding the whole clearing and a fox-length around it. As soon as the water hit, it retreated back to the riverbed, leaving a few unlucky fish behind.

      It was quiet. Rosecall didn't yell for another hit, Collieheart didn't protest against it. Smokepaw slowly opened her eyes. Both warriors were drenched. Collieheart weakly got to his paws, and Rosecall watched Smokepaw from the ground.

"That's it, Rosecall, I'm not training any of your apprentices ever again. Never, ever. That's messed up what you're doing to her."

"No, it's not. Look at that... power. We didn't know she could summon something that great alone, she didn't even know she could do that. I was trying to see if she had some kind of hidden ice power that could be unlocked through stress, but this... this is much better." Collieheart curled his lip in disgust, his usual bright and positive compose completely gone.

"You need to stop before you drown her, and drown with her."

"Smokepaw, make sure you're careful around their bandaging. The cobwebs aren't good at keeping water out." Sandleaf warned, eyebrows raised.

"I guess you should use something good at keeping water out then," she covered up her mistake with a smart comment. Sandleaf growled in response.

"Finish up and leave," she flicked her tail, disappearing to where the other medicine cats were gathered on the other side of the tree.

"Fine by me, I wasn't planning on sticking around this depressing pit," she replied with snark, even though Sandleaf had left. Her gaze caught Laurelstep's and she looked away quickly.

It wasn't until nearly moonhigh when she made it back to her nest; some elders had needed fresh water and were too tired to fetch it themselves, and of course needed help scratching itches while she was at it. She picked her way through legs and tails strewn across the walk-ways of the reed-sheltered apprentice den. Of course, her own nest was far in the back, being the oldest and least social apprentice had gotten her a nest away from the others.

"Are you just now getting done with apprentice duties?" A whisper made her pause just before reaching her moss bed. Smokepaw looked down, and a black she-cat sat up in her nest as she spoke. Her amber eyes were tired, her usually sleek fur ruffled and sticking out in a few places.

"Yeah, sorry to wake you Eelpaw." Smokepaw settled in her nest, a taillength away from the dark coated cat.

"No it's okay. You're on sunrise patrol, too, aren't you? I can take your place, if you want." She gave a side smile, pulling her tail close to herself and ducking her head.

Smokepaw curled up right, closing her eyes.

"Rosecall would claw my tail off if she knew I gave my patrol away to another apprentice. She'd say I'm giving away opportunities to grow. I say I'm giving away an opportunity to be tired." The dark she-cat sighed, and Eelpaw tipped her head, laying back down.

"Rosecall pushes you really hard. A lot harder than my mentor or Kalepaw's mentor push," she referenced her brother, who slept a mouse-length from her side.

"Mm."

"Do you think, if you had a choice, would you want to be so much better than everyone?" Eelpaw asked, setting her head down in her paws. I don't know. I honestly don't know. I would hate to not be so intertwined with water, and I also can't really see myself not being exceptional at everything. But at the same time... what if I was like the others?

"I try not to think about it," Smokepaw sighed, and Eelpaw was silent for a few heartbeats.

"...Goodnight, Smokepaw." Smokepaw waited a few moments before replying.

"..Yeah."