"Too slow, Stormpaw!"

Lichenpaw raced ahead of me, his tail whipping out behind him. It was close enough to grab if we weren't sprinting like a pack of dogs was behind us. Technically, there was- our mentors were angry enough to qualify. I picked up the pace at that, imagining I could feel the hot breath of a real dog at my hind paws, and came nose-to-nose with my opponent.

I sprinted harder, trying to beat the tom.

Then a huge wall of rough bark met me in the muzzle, and I passed out on the warm ground.

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*

"Hey! She's awake!" The mew of my father jolted me out of my dreamless sleep.

"My head.." I muttered, laying it back down again and wrapping my paws over my muzzle.

"That's normal," Asterflower, the medicine cat, assured me. His apprentice ran over as well.

"Why did you run into the tree?" Larchpaw asked, looking a little bit embarrased to be asking it.

I sighed. "We were racing. Me and Lichenpaw. I got lost in thought for a moment and I woke up here."

"But that.." He leaned over to check with his mentor, and when Asterflower gave a tiny, strained nod, worry overtook my senses.

"What?" I demanded, more than a few hints of fear in my voice.

"Nothing," they both answered briskly. Larchpaw looked me over quickly to check my injuries and then mewed, "you can go now."

I opened my maw to protest but I was quickly shoved outside the den by Asterflower. I bit my lip angrily and walked away, still feeling dizzy.

"Hey," a cheerful mew erupted from behind me. Lichenpaw. I turned around to greet the tom.

"Hi," I responded back, feeling less than up to chatting.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out and hunt again? And, you know, actually 'hunt' this time." Lichenpaw laughed and heatbutted my shoulder playfully. I grinned, too, and nudged him back.

"Let's do it." I imagined sinking my claws into a soft body, letting all my anger out..

What in StarClan was wrong with me? 

I shook off the violent feeling, hoping it wouldn't come back, and trotted out of camp beside him.

As we walked through the forest, multiple scents flew past our noses, but Lichenpaw- who was in the lead- didn't stop. Odd, considering one of them was rabbit. They were rarer than other prey out in the forest, normally residing in GreenClan's mossy woodland. Too much vegetation. I shook out my fur, still puzzled.

Eventually the tom in front of me stopped and I looked around tentatively. We had reached our destination- a wide clearing with some moss scattered here and there. Lichenpaw sniffed the air. I didn't understand what he was getting at. There was no undergrowth to hide us from our prey, not even a whisker.

That was when he leaped at me.

Claws unsheathed, he tore hard at my unsuspecting muzzle, fur flying out everywhere. There was a glint in his eyes that wasn't there before. It was insanity. But my denmate wasn't stopping. He kept tearing, clawing, biting.. Great StarClan! That hurt!

I roared and surged upwards, throwing the other apprentice away from me, blood spattering the sandy colored ground. He spat onto it angrily and leaped again, but this time I was ready. I raked his belly fur as he mistimed his leap, soaring way too high above my head to get a blow in. Lichenpaw landed awkwardly, but the experienced tom quickly regained balance. He went down into a perfect crouch, tail down as if he could alert any prey. Pfft. As if there was any left.

Oh, wait. Me.

I was the one who leaped this time, aiming to land on his broad shoulders and get in a few good blows. He skidded out of the way just before I landed, dirt and green earth spraying everywhere. Snarling, Lichenpaw flew at me again, landing square on my back and digging his teeth in hard. I yowled, trying to fight him off, but he clung on, sinking his claws in.

With newfound rage I bucked, anger and pain and horror lighting my gaze, until I went limp with exhaustion. Why? It was a good question. I thought we were just going on a hunt for the Clan, but this.. It was unthinkable. Unimaginable. I didn't recall doing anything that made me deserve to die.

Lichenpaw slid off my back, showing his bloodstained teeth. The taste of copper still sang on my tongue as well. He took a step forward and I shuddered, closing my eyes. But the pain didn't come.

I opened one halfway, still bracing myself, to find him looking at me horrified. He opened his scarlet mouth to say something but choked on his words. After a moment he managed to get out, "Stormpaw.. what..."

Puzzled, I threw him a pain-filled glance. You made this mess, fox-heart! Why in StarClan would you feel sad now?

But the look he gave me made me get up and ask him, "Don't you remember?"

Lichenpaw blinked.

I gestured with my muzzle toward the blood that had stained the ground and my silver fur. "You brought me here to hunt and then viciously attacked me."

He looked at me, worry showing in his green hues. "I-I blacked out, Stormpaw. I don't remember any of this."

My aching muscles went rigid. He doesn't remember? But that couldn't be possible. He needed to see Asterflower.

"Let's go get you to the medicine den," I said at last, annoyed by his impatient twitching. "And me, too." I limped slowly in the direction. By the pitter-patter of paws behind me, I could tell Lichenpaw was doing the same. A relief. I almost wanted him to go first, in case he blacked out again. But in the end I resolved to simply quicken my pace.

As we entered camp and muted gasps were heard around us, I realized with a jolt that I hadn't come up with a story we both agreed on. Lichenpaw and I exchanged guilty glances.

Thistlestar appeared from Talltree, looking down at us with horror. But to my surprise, she didn't ask what had happened, simply flicked her tail for both of us to go to the medicine den. Once reaching it I collapsed into a mossy nest, heaving. The long walk had left me exhausted.

Asterflower called from the herb storage, "Stormpaw? Lichenpaw? Do I smell blood?"

We sighed in unison. "Yeah, you do," I answered. He came out from the storage, bits of green mush all over him.

"Great StarClan! Stormpaw, what happened to you? And Lichenpaw, too!"

"It's.. complicated," Lichenpaw replied. Asterflower's tail twitched. He clearly wasn't satisfied.

"I blacked out!" The brown apprentice blurted. Our medicine cat went rigid and started muttering something under his breath. I only caught a few words-

"..another one.. StarClan, why..."

My ears pricked involuntarily, straining to hear more. But the tom had fallen silent.

"Alright then. Let's get you patched up," Asterflower mewed briskly, vanishing into the herb store. He appeared moments later holding a strong-smelling leaf bundle, in which he unrolled and plastered thick green mush over our cuts and bites. It stung like fire, but I was glad to have the pain relieved so quickly. He also wrapped every wound with cobweb and ordered us to stay off warrior duties for the next moon or two. He had to give the 'okay' before we went back, at least.

As I limped back towards the apprentice's den everything grew silent, but there was no unwounded witnesses to explain the story. I collapsed into my own nest, weary but thoughtful.

Just what was Asterflower hiding from the Clan?

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Sorry about the wait. I announced this chapter would be released a looooong time ago.