Spiderpaw was awake in the middle of the night - again. This was no shock for him anymore, although he hadn't forced himself to stay awake tonight. He had woken up to a crinkle of the leaves at his paws, and he jolted up when he heard a faint voice call his name.
"Mouse dung!" the cat whispered. "Sorry Spiderpaw, I didn't mean to wake you up so fast."
Spiderpaw caught his breath, and after he got his breath back, he sat up and barely recognised Heronkit. "What are you doing here?"
"You said you wanted to talk to me, remember?"
Spiderpaw recalled his memories from the night before, and nodded when he remembered what he had wanted to talk to Heronkit about. "Yes, alright. Is the Clan asleep?"
"Just about midnight, so I'd say so," Heronkit meowed. "I meant to come and see you earlier, but Dustpaw and I got caught up with sharing stories, and I wanted to stay with him until he fell asleep."
Spiderpaw couldn't help think that was absolutely adorable, although he didn't dare tell the she-cat.
"Alright," he said, stretching himself up and letting breath escape him. "Let's go for a walk."
He followed Heronkit through the medicine cat den, quite impressed that the she-cat didn't stand on any of his herbs. He remembered Honeyflower telling him she would be taking an extra trip to the Moonpool tonight - although she didn't share the reason with Spiderpaw. He shrugged that off, respecting her privacy as a medicine cat.
He silently followed her through the thorn tunnel, looking around carefully to make sure nobody realised that he was leaving. Once he and Heronkit were out the other side, surrounded by the freezing air, he sat her down and looked her in the eyes.
"Heronkit, what's wrong?"
She lowered herself. "I'm not telling you this for any other reason other than the fact you're my medicine cat."
Spiderpaw nodded. He couldn't have expected anything kinder from the kit.
"But Briartail being my mentor," Heronkit meowed. She stopped for a moment, as if pulling herself together a little. "Doesn't she scare you?"
Spiderpaw was taken aback. "Scare me? She's my sister!"
Heronkit lowered her head.
"Why would you say such a thing?"
"Listen," Heronkit snapped. "You asked me why and I told you. I never had to explain."
Spiderpaw dipped his head. "I know Briartail better than any other cat does. A mentor and apprentice relationship is vital to good training."
Heronkit seemed to ignore the last part of what he had said. She scoffed. "You think you know Briartail? You're a funny one, Spiderpaw."
Her gaze turned to stone as she continued. "You know nothing."
For a moment, Spiderpaw thought he may had actually been dreaming. "Heronkit, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing is wrong with me Spiderpaw, you're acting delusional. Just listen to me when I say you don't know Briartail."
"Oh right," Spiderpaw retorted sarcastically. "And I suppose you know her better from your little journeys to the ancestors that you shouldn't be going on in the first place?"
Heronkit growled at him, and for a minute Spiderpaw thought her tiny claws had come out. "You have no idea!"
Spiderpaw was too shocked to say anything. Instead he sighed a huge breath to say he had given up, and pricked his ears to let Heronkit explain.
"Heronkit," he urged. "You've revealed too much now. There's got to be a reason you fear her, and as your medicine cat, and as her brother, I need to know."
Heronkit didn't look angered this time - instead she dipped her head and looked away, almost as if she was in shame.
"All I'll say is that they don't want me anymore, Spiderpaw."
Spiderpaw raised his eyebrows. "Who?"
"They don't need me. They have Briartail."
Spiderpaw was nearly sure that Heronkit was referring to the strange cats she had seen at the rockpile, but he wasn't certain.
"They taught me battle moves, techniques, but they don't pay as much of their time to me that they do to Briartail. In fact, they almost seem eager for me to leave before she does."
Spiderpaw bristled his fur. "You mean, you're still going to this place?"
Heronkit dragged her lips back. "At least they don't treat me like a kit!"
Spiderpaw sighed. "Do you know how exactly they treat Briartail different to you?"
"The moment Briartail pledged her loyalty to them," Heronkit meowed. "That's when they forgot about me."
"Pledged her loyalty?" Spiderpaw howled.
Heronkit shushed him angrily. "She doesn't let me go with her anymore. Something is wrong with her, and that's why I'm scared about being her apprentice Spiderpaw." She paused and drew a breath. "She's not well, and I don't know what to do! Echostar would never believe me!"
Spiderpaw didn't know what to say. He almost wasn't sure whether to trust the little she-cat, but he knew he was approaching a risk he had to take. For his sister.
"Let's go," Spiderpaw urged.
"W-What?" Heronkit stuttered. "We can't! They don't let me go!"
"This is in our hands, Heronkit. We need to find out what's going on. You need to trust me."
Spiderpaw looked deep into her eyes, that seemed to blaze with worry with every passing second.
"Do you trust me?"
Heronkit was shaking a little - there was no doubt about that. But she brushed her cheek against Spiderpaw's, closing her eyes. Spiderpaw could sense the fear through her pelt.
"I trust you," she meowed. "But StarClan grant we don't regret this..."