Her tensed shoulders drooped with disbelief when Rockpaw muttered something to Silentbird, not taking his eyes off of a patch of grass nearby. The black she-cat glanced at him, waves of surprise dancing off of her pelt. She nodded slowly and muttered a reply.

Blossompaw couldn't hold it anymore - the anger sparked at the tips of her long, thin fur - and she exclaimed, "Rockpaw! How can you break the Warrior Code like that? You know meeting with a cat from another Clan is against the Warrior Code! StarClan gave us the Warrior Code to follow! Without it, we're just a bunch of rogues! What would Owlstar and Scarclaw think? They'd be ashamed that you're going against the Warrior Code like that! If they-"

Rockpaw whipped around and flashed out an unsheathed paw, it skimmed Blossompaw's whiskers, not touching her muzzle, but it came close enough to shock her into silence. As she stared at him, dumbstruck, he growled, "I don't give a whisker about your sacred Warrior Code! And I don't care what those badger-noses think of me! All you do all day, is going around, yapping in your mousey voice, 'StarClan this, Warrior Code that', and 'Oh, what would Owlstar say, yadda yadda blah'! I. Don't. Care. So shut your fox-trap and leave me be! I've had enough of your whining and demanding. I don't care about breaking the Warrior Code, so just shut up!"

A heartbeat later, Blossompaw felt a rush of wind pass her flank, and she stumbled sideways, collapsing on her left flank. As quickly as she could, she staggered to her paws and turned to see Rockpaw's spindly tail disappearing over the rise of the hill.

"Wait! Rockpaw! Don't-" Blossompaw called after him, only to break off as a violent bought of coughing hit her chest. She felt traces of blood flow against her tongue, and she choked on her wavering breath.

The sound on a swishing tail caught her attention and she turned. Immediately, and with a hint of shame, she remembered what the argument was about. Silentbird glared at her and bared her teeth slightly, narrowing her eyes.

"Proud of yourself, fox-heart?" she asked with a hiss.

"I-I- but I-" Blossompaw began, stammering.

"No, wait, let me guess, 'I was just trying to help him, so he doesn't hurt himself'. Well, dream on, mouse-brain. No part of Rockpaw will want your help after what you did to him."

"But he was breaking the Warrior-" Blossompaw started.

"You know, he was right about you..." the enemy she-cat muttered loudly.

Blossompaw froze and whispered, "A-about what?"

"You... Such a nosy little cleanpaw! Telling on him at every chance you get!" Silentbird exclaimed scornfully.

"No, I don't, I..." Blossompaw paused, trying to regain her breath to normal, and asked quietly, "What about your parents?"

Silentbird looked shocked at the sudden change of topic. "What about them?" she demanded.

"I-if they knew, they would be ashamed of you! Meeting a cat from another Clan. Isn't y-your mother Pheasantstar?" Blossompaw inquired, trying to act as if she wasn't intimidated by the much larger she-cat.

Silentbird scoffed, "No! My mother's Branchbelly. And no- she wouldn't be 'ashamed'."

"How do you know?" Blossompaw pressed on.

"Well, first off, I don't need to tell you. But secondly, I will, just so you shut your mouth. Mustygrass - my aunt - said it would be nice if I 'bonded with a cat from another Clan'. So, I am." Silentbird explained bluntly.

Blossompaw gaped at her, "So your own aunt told you to break the Warrior Code?"

"Well..." Silentbird paused, glancing at her paws, before shaking her head and snarling, "Of course not! It's not like we're mates or anything! We're just training together."

"That's even worse!" Blossompaw meowed urgently, her tail flicked with irritation.

"Shut up!" Silentbird growled and jumped at Blossompaw. The black cat's paws hit Blossompaw's neck, and she fell back, pain rippling in her already sore throat. Silentbird stood on top of her, breathing heavily with rage. After a few moments of a heated stare down, Silentbird leaped off and bounded away.

Stunned, Blossompaw just laid there on her back, her pelt stinging in multiple places. She winced as she rolled over and stood up shakily. Her mind filled with flashing images, disappearing and being replaced heartbeat after heartbeat. All the way back over the hill, the images swirled in her head, like monsters roaring in an unending line of chaos. She barely noticed as see stepped on a strand of bramble and pierced her paw pad. Her head ached ferociously, and she couldn't open her eyes without being submerged in the whirlwind of memories and thoughts.

I just want to end this! She though, distressed and fur shaking, Why do I have to feel like this? What's wrong with me...?

"Nothing," a tiny, half-familiar voice whispered in her ear.

She froze and trod on another tendril of bramble, feeling the pain in both hurt paws. She whisked around, tripping and landing on her hindquarters. Blossompaw searched the undergrowth, sensing a chill creeping up her spine.

"H-hello...?" she asked to the seemingly empty woods.

A few moments past, and Blossompaw got up hesitantly, swishing her tail out of the spiky tendrils. She padded the rest of the way to camp with the images in her head slowing down, and pain easing its strong grip on her head. Finally, when she was only a tree-length from the entrance tunnel, at the edge of a small clearing of bushes, one picture stuck frozen in her head.

Reality and memory merged, and Blossompaw saw a distorted image of a red and black body laying at her paws, the trees around the small clearing bending back to form a bigger one. Blood soaked into the dust and powdered up into the air, a bit like steam from morning due. The illusion shimmered out of Blossompaw's vision, and churning darkness covered it instead.

Once again, she heard Marigoldpaw speak the unnerving words:

"When the lake's banks begin to dry, a new evil will arise, from the darkest bowels it shall strike, until the five put it out with a crashing wave..."

The prophecy echoed in her head until the words flew away like butterflies on the breeze. The darkness unfurled and cleared itself. Blossompaw sighed and trotted through the bushes, willing for it to just be a dream. She wished for her to wake up as a normal kit, ready to be apprenticed without a prophecy handing over her head.

Oh, why, StarClan? What is so incredibly important about me that you give an apprentice a prophecy...? What could I possibly do?

She let her ears relax and her thoughts wondered to Rockpaw, as she sensed his smell on a frond of bracken nearby. She shook her head and started reciting herbs to take her mind off of it.

Herbs!

Blossompaw suddenly remembered Crystalwing's request for more sage. The fawn she-cat turned and retraced her steps as fast as she could back towards the patch of ferns. She grudgingly reminded herself that there must be some closer, but she couldn't waste anymore time.
With barely a whisker-worth of breath in her lungs, she found the small, pale green shrub. Carefully, Blossompaw nipped a few stems from the bottom, as Crystalwing had taught her.

'The more herbs you have, the safer you are.'

She left enough for the plant to grow properly, and hurried back towards camp, crisscrossing the scent trails once again.

So. Much. Running. She thought, paws flying over the ground. Must keep. Huff. Running. She forced herself onwards. Don't. Give. Up. Come on! She finally came to the edge of the trees, legs trembling with limitless exhaustion. She tried to stand straight andd unwavering as she padded through the tunnel and into camp.

Word Count: 1315
Meh, I have writer's block. No inspiration-

Anyways, hope you like it!
TYSM for 1K veiws!

Oh, and, Happy Halloween!