Spiderpaw crawled into the Warrior's den, panting and shaking as he made his way through.
There was barely enough light for him to make out his brother. Careful not to alert any of the other warriors, he made his way over and gently pressed himself against Aspenclaw's thick brown pelt.
"Please, wake up."
With a long grunt, Aspenclaw rolled around. His eyes gradually opened, and he faced Spiderpaw with a tiresome glare. "What?"
Spiderpaw heaved a sigh of panic, wishing Aspenclaw was awake enough to realise how stressed he was. "You have to get up," he whispered. "Briartail is hurt!"
"She's what?" Aspenclaw moaned. Spiderpaw was relieved he met his tone, keeping his voice low as he turned himself over and got to his thick paws. "Spiderpaw, why don't you wake the others?"
Spiderpaw leaned closer. "I can't. You just have to come with me. There are two cats that are very badly hurt."
Although Aspenclaw was still half asleep, he made his way towards the exit behind Spiderpaw. He lead him towards the medicine cat den where he had put Briartail down before treating her with several herbs.
"You seem awfully out of breath," Aspenclaw grunted.
"I'll explain everything later."
Spiderpaw swung the lichen of the medicine cat den backwards and let Aspenclaw go in. Spiderpaw felt his thick tail brush past him as his eyes widened and he ran in, just stopping himself besides his sister.
"Spiderpaw," he breathed. "What happened to her?"
"I told you, I'll explain everything. But Aspenclaw, look at me."
He took a pause, wondering for a second whether his brother would refuse.
"You need to travel with me to SunClan."
Aspenclaw stepped back. "You mean, now?"
Spiderpaw nodded. "Vinetail is in our land and he's just as hurt as Briartail. I've patched her up as much as I can, and she'll be fine - but we need to get him to the safety of Sedgepool. I don't want to risk him having an infection."
Aspenclaw nodded. "We have to get moving then."
Spiderpaw let out a sigh of relief and brushed his muzzle against his brother's cheek. "Thank you," he murmured.
"Who's going to watch over Briartail?" he questioned. "Do you realise how strong the scent of blood is? We don't want to attract a fox."
Spiderpaw froze. He realised that Aspenclaw was right.
"I don't know what to do," Spiderpaw admitted.
"Was there a border fight?" Aspenclaw questioned. "Why else would he be on our land?"
Spiderpaw dipped his head. "I don't know how to explain everything," he meowed. "If anyone asks, just tell them I woke up and followed the scent."
Aspenclaw narrowed his eyes. "There's something you're not telling me, Spiderpaw. So be grateful I trust you."
Spiderpaw looked to his paws. "All is going to be revealed in time," he murmured. And there was no letting go of that fact.
"Would you mind waking somebody up to that they can keep guard? That'll give me some time to squeeze some poppy seed into Briartail's mouth to prevent her from being sore tomorrow."
Aspenclaw nodded, and Spiderpaw watched as his brother disappeared from the den.
Spiderpaw scanned his supplies. He had trouble finding the seeds due to the scent, although he had sorted them recently. When he had found two seeds, he took out his paws and gently mashed them onto a leaf he kept on the ground for that exact purpose.
He didn't want the herb to be too thick. Briartail couldn't wake herself up, so Spiderpaw had to be careful with the consistency. Once he was assured, he gently picked up the herb with his paw and made his way over to where his sister was.
He could barely look at her for long. Gently, Spiderpaw pryed her mouth open and let the herb drip off his hand and into her mouth. He rubbed the excess onto the ground and turned around, hoping Honeyflower had refilled the wet moss. He patted his paws along the herbs and was relieved when he could feel water draining his paw. He scooped up some moss and gently turned back to his sister before releasing the smallest amount into her jaws, so the herb would be able to go down her gently.
He put the moss down and scanned over his sister's pelt to check the cobwebs had been applied well enough to stop the bleeding.
Then, his head turned and he saw Aspenclaw return with a white and brown cat behind him.
"Sorry we had to wake you, Ryepelt."
The tom said nothing. Spiderpaw watched in pain as he bounded over to his kit and pressed his muzzle into her fur. "No harm done," the senior warrior breathed. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention."
"Are you sure you're okay with guarding her?" Spiderpaw questioned. "We need to head off to get the other cat to his Clan."
"With my life," Ryepelt replied. He sat down next to Briartail and began gently cleaning her ear. "Now go safely," he meowed.
Spiderpaw turned around and picked up a mouthful of cobweb for the journey. Aspenclaw nudged him, beckoning to carry the herb for him, but Spiderpaw shook his head.
Just as they were about to break back into a run to help Vinetail, Ryepelt spoke again.
"Oh, and you both?"
Spiderpaw turned around quickly.
"You've been very brave tonight - both of you. I'm proud to have such cats as my kits."