the plan

~~~

"YOU'RE NOT SERIOUS." Ravenpaw's face was etched with disbelief, as though he were expecting her to say 'I'm kidding' any moment now. "That's your plan?"

Violetpaw met his eyes firmly, lifting her muzzle. "I came here for catmint, and I'm not leaving without it. There must be catmint in the medicine den, so-"

"So your great idea is to pretend to be so injured that they move you to the medicine den for care?" Ravenpaw hissed. "I'm sorry, correct me if I'm wrong, but being in the medicine den will put you under Yellowleaf's constant surveillance, won't it? And since you're actually conscious now-"

"I'll stay really, really still," Violetpaw mewed, lashing her tail. "I'll be fine!"

"And what about food, hm?" Ravenpaw gestured to the bird bones piled in the corner of their den. "They'll toss us a small wren every day, but if you're in the medicine den and supposedly unconscious, they won't feed you."

This was a concern Violetpaw hadn't thought about, and she twitched her tail-tip anxiously. "Fine, we'll go moonhigh of the day they bring me over."

Still, Ravenpaw didn't look happy with the plan. "Violetpaw, if they find out you've been faking, not to mention that you don't actually know who the Ghost Assassin is, they'll kill you."

The white she-cat ignored him. "Once it's moonhigh, wait until the guards are distracted, then climb up this tree that we're in."

Ravenpaw scoffed. "They're SkyClan cats. One could assume that being up in trees is their specialty. It's like running into the lake if you're being chased by RiverClan."

"No, the trees will be the last place they check because it's their specialty," Violetpaw meowed. "They won't think to look there, because they would think you're not mousebrained enough to put yourself in a position where you're so easily caught."

"Whereas in reality..." Ravenpaw grumbled. 

"Plus, maybe you can hide in the branches somewhere," the white apprentice suggested. "Your pelt's black, and it will be night. It'll be easier for you."

Ravenpaw considered this plan with a look of great disapproval on his face. Finally, he spoke. "Okay, then what about you?"

"I..." Violetpaw trailed off. "I'll figure it out."

"Oh, sure." The black tom rolled his eyes. "That sounds promising."

Violetpaw ignored him. "Once you get out of here, run. Run to camp, get help. I'll be right behind you."

Ravenpaw twitched his tail-tip. "You want me to leave you here with a Clan full of vengeful, hostile warriors? What happens if something goes wrong? You're much more injured than I am, there's no way you'll be able to get away."

"Well, once they notice you're missing, then I'll have a chance to sneak out," Violetpaw replied defensively. "It'll be fine!"

Ravenpaw narrowed his eyes. "Great StarClan, Violetpaw, you're so stupid sometimes. That is possibly the worst plan I've ever heard-"

He cut himself off suddenly, ears twitching, and Violetpaw quickly ducked down. She still wasn't as good as Ravenpaw at recognizing the signs of a SkyClan warrior approaching, but Ravenpaw's actions made it obvious enough.

"Here." This cat was Sorrelpaw, her voice echoing through the hollow tree trunk as she tossed a piece of prey in. 

It was a wren again, Violetpaw could tell by the smell. She was beginning to grow sick of its scent; even after it had been consumed, its bones remained poorly buried at the corner of the den, and so the smell of wren seemed to be here always. That scent, combined with the overwhelming stress that she and Ravenpaw could die, was starting to make her nauseous.  

"Thanks," Ravenpaw replied.

Now came the standard question every SkyClan cat asked when they delivered prey.

"Is she still out?"

Violetpaw lay there unmoving on the ground, her heart pounding anxiously. Say it! she urged the black tom silently in her mind. Tell Sorrelpaw I need to be moved into the medicine den. Say it!

She could tell Ravenpaw was debating back and forth by the way he paused. Finally, he spoke. "No."

"Really?" Sorrelpaw's voice came with an air of challenge. "Why the hesitation?"

"No hesitation," Ravenpaw answered smoothly. "It's only that one of your warriors checked in on us only a few minutes ago, and Violetpaw was unconscious then. I just don't understand how you're mousebrained enough to think that would've changed."

A low growl came from the den's entrance. "Watch it," Sorrelpaw snapped. "Violetpaw should be awake by now, shouldn't she?"

Say it! Violetpaw thought, growing desperate now. Ravenpaw, come on.

Still, the black tom didn't abide to her wishes. "It's only been a few days, Sorrelpaw. Redsky almost choked and clawed her to death, for StarClan's sake."

"Fine," Sorrelpaw grumbled, "whatever."

As soon as she left, Violetpaw's eyes snapped open, and her pale green gaze instantly turned to glare sharply at Ravenpaw, who had padded over to the den's entrance to retrieve the wren. "Why didn't you go through with the plan?"

"Go through with the plan?" He scoffed, dropping the bird at the white she-cat's paws. "There is no plan! You don't even have all the details yet."

"I do," she hissed. "We could be halfway to escape right now if you'd just told Sorrelpaw to move me to the medicine den-"

"Stop," Ravenpaw grumbled, rolling his eyes. "You'd be halfway to death right now if I had followed your plan. Now shut up and here"- he nosed the wren closer to Violetpaw, who fought the urge to gag at its smell -"eat."

The white she-cat made a face and pushed it away. "No, thanks."

"Why? Are you doing this because you're mad? Because you're not punishing me. I'm perfectly happy to have the whole wren to myself, you know."

"No, it's just-" Violetpaw broke off, wrinkling her nose. "That scent's going to make me throw up. It just screams SkyClan. I can't stand it."

As she said those words, the white she-cat felt her pelt heating with embarrassment as she looked away from Ravenpaw, and instead faced the wall firmly. They were in a life or death situation, and here she was complaining about prey preference like a kit! 

Still, Ravenpaw didn't scold her. All he did was fall silent for a moment. "Oh."

A pause, then Violetpaw heard the sound of the bird tearing behind her. Then, something thudded next to her. Slowly, she turned around to see that Ravenpaw had tossed her the wren's middle, keeping the wings for himself.

"Here, I know it still smells the same, but it's less of a bird now." He shrugged, his stare pinned on his paws. He seemed to be having trouble meeting her eyes. "Less SkyClan."

Slowly but surely, a grateful smile started spreading onto Violetpaw's face. Who knew Ravenpaw could actually be nice?

She turned away instantly so that Ravenpaw couldn't see her smile, but there was no need; the black tom was still staring downwards, waiting for her reply. So she gave it to him, quietly and once she made sure that there was no show of her previous grin. "Thank you."

It was only then that Ravenpaw finally looked up and gave her a small nod. Though his neutral expression didn't change, his eyes seemed to sparkle just a little bit more.

Violetpaw leaned down to take a bite of the wren, trying to take shallow breaths. She didn't realize until she was about halfway done that Ravenpaw had given her the bigger and better piece.