Pineheart could hear the others as they finally shuffled awake in the depths of the abandoned badger den. Faint rays of sunlight bathed the grassy meadow, warming his dark fur. The vibrant shine heralded a new dawn.
Frostfeather had woken him up early. She claimed that she had had a strange dream about StarClan. She said they had shown her that they had traveled in the right direction. "Hopefully that means we don't have too far to travel," he murmured as soft pawsteps started to advance towards them.
Brokensong's head poked from the burrow's entrance. Her one good eye still twitched with tiredness. "Why are you guys up so early?" she asked.
Pineheart chuckled and shook his head. "Frostfeather hates to sleep in. I'm sure if she did, her tail might explode." Frostfeather snorted and jabbed him with an outstretched paw.
"You shouldn't tease your littermate," Elkleap's deep voice grumbled as he padded passed Brokensong and out into the open.
Pineheart rolled his eyes. I'll tease her all I want... he thought mutinously. As the others started to wake and stumble from the darkness of the den, Frostfeather beckoned Brokensong over with a wave of her tail.
Pineheart retreated a few paw steps, but remained close as Brokensong joined them. "Is something wrong?" she inquired. She searched the siblings' expression with her copper tinted eye.
"No, no there's nothing wrong," Frostfeather assured her, "I had a dream!"
Brokensong sank back on her haunches. "A dream? What sort of dream?"
Frostfeather took a short breath before she began. "I had opened my eyes, back up in the meadow. But I could smell so many cats! And when I ran to catch up to them..." she fell silent for a moment before she continued, "I couldn't believe my eyes! It was StarClan!"
Brokensong's mouth fell open in shock, her eye grew wide. "StarClan? They came to you?" Her voice trembled with emotion at the mention of their ancestors.
"Yes, they visited me... I think they wanted to tell me that we are going the right way." She stopped as she realized that Brokensong literally shivered with joy.
"Oh! Oh, this is great news!" she rejoiced, "we have to tell the others!"
Pineheart briefly touched his muzzle to Frostfeather's shoulder. "At least StarClan is speaking to someone," he muttered.
She closed her eyes and inhaled the warmth of his scent. As she opened them, she shook out her fur and trotted over to join Brokensong and the others.
Pineheart watched her go. He still wasn't sure how he felt, that his sister seemed to be closer to StarClan than to him. But hopefully their rift would not last. He took a moment before he followed, his head lowered as he came to sit behind her.
"Starclan shared with me in a dream," Frostfeather had begun to retell, "they were showing me which way we should go!" Pineheart could see the other cats' eyes as they glistened with wonder while she continued. "They told me to follow the setting sun, in the direction of the sea."
"What's the sea?" Lionpaw squeaked, her pelt spiked like a pile of pine needles.
Frostfeather shook her head. "I am not sure. But if we follow the sun, we should find it eventually."
Elkleap shouldered forward and turned to address his companions. His tail flicked with absolute excitement. "I think we should leave as soon as we can! Now that we know which way to go, we should arrive to our new home in no time at all!"
Pineheart nodded in agreement, there was no sense in sticking around for too long. But there was one small mew of disagreement. It was from Dewdrop.
"Smallfire is still unwell," she fretted, "I think a small patrol should go looking for herbs before we leave."
Brokensong let out a gusty sigh. Her pelt already began to prickle with irritation. "I told you... we could look for herbs when we get to a forest!"
Dewdrop's eyes sparkled with anger as she stomped up to Brokensong. "I know you don't care about BreezeClan blood, so why don't you just say it! You'd rather Smallfire die!" Pineheart stifled a gasp.
Brokensong recoiled. "How can you say that! I was the one who helped Foxstreak deliver Smallfire! Of course I want him to live!"
"Well he won't live without herbs," Dewdrop snarled stubbornly. Her ears lowered, flat against her skull. It almost looked like a fight was about to erupt.
"Fine! Take a warrior with you to look for herbs. But as soon as you return, we are leaving!" Brokensong shouted. Pineheart stared in an astonished silence at the exchange between the two medicine cats. He had never seen Brokensong so upset. The one-eyed medicine cat paced away, her tail flicking.
"Hey, you," Dewdrop's silky voice called. Pineheart turned his attention towards her and noticed she must have meant him. She was looking straight at him, her eyes like daggers.
"Errr... my name is Pineheart," he mumbled.
"Yes, yes. I know your name," she grunted as she slunk towards him. "I want you to help me and Smallfire look for herbs." Her tone felt restrained, like forced through clenched jaws.
"Shouldn't Smallfire be resting?" he asked, confused. The young warrior hadn't even the energy to eat. Let alone to go wander in search of herbs.
"No, he should come with us. That way I can give him the herbs as soon as we find them. Brokensong already made it quite clear how much of a hurry we are in," she grumbled in reply. That makes sense, I suppose.
Pineheart shot a glance towards Smallifre, who had slumped in a nearby patch of flattened grass. His fur was unkempt and he stank of fever and sickness. He padded over, his tail flicked nervously as he neared. "Hey, Smallfire... Dewdrop wants us to go look for herbs now," he meowed as he bent down to nuzzle his friend's forehead.
At his touch, Smallfire shrank back with a hiss. "Don't touch me!" he yowled. Pineheart felt his heart sink. Smallfire really did need herbs if he was going to keep going.
"Come on, we are going to find you some herbs. They'll make you feel better, I promise," Pineheart pleaded. He felt relief wash over him as Smallfire stood up on shaky paws.
He led the frail orange and white tom as Dewdrop beckoned him into the thick grasses. The silver and white medicine cat trotted quick through the stems. In her haste, she left Pineheart and Smallfire to walk by themselves.
"Did you hear what Frostfeather said? About StarClan?" Pineheart asked Smallfire, his voice low. He leaned in so his fur barely caressed Smallfire's flank, not even a mouse length between them. He could hear the excited meows of the others fade behind them as they padded further and further away.
"Yeah, I heard," he snorted, "but it doesn't matter anyways."
"Why doesn't it matter?" Pineheart asked, his voice shrank to a whisper.
"Dewdrop's been talking with me... telling me all these crazy things..." his voice shook with the effort it took him to speak. "She told me how we should be enemies. That I'm a BreezeClan warrior."
Pineheart's jaw dropped with disbelief. "Do you believe her?" he countered, "our mothers were best friends... we were practically littermates!" Why would Dewdrop say such things?!
Smallfire let out a small wail. His eyes were glazed with confusion. "She... she told me... I need to make BreezeClan proud. She told me..." Suddenly, Smallfire collapsed to the ground. Pineheart felt frozen with panic as he watched Smallfire begin to wreathe on the grass in front of him.
"Dewdrop! Dewdrop, help!" he yowled. But the shifty medicine cat did not reappear.
"Pineheart!" Smallfire gasped, his eyes wild as he looked up at his friend. "You need to run! Get out of here!"
"But I can't leave you," Pineheart sobbed, "I'm sure she just found the herbs! You need to hold on!" Yes, Dewdrop will come with the herbs and you'll feel much better!
"Oh, no sweet Pineheart. I didn't find the herbs," Dewdrop's mew drifted towards him from a few paces away. "Smallfire is infected! And now, he is going to make BreezeClan proud by killing you!"
Pineheart twirled around to try and find where exactly her voice had come from. "No! Smallfire would never hurt me!" he snarled, "and he isn't infected! He is just sick..." But what else could it possibly be? No... he can't be infected!
Pineheart's brave words died on his tongue as Smallfire started to lift himself to his paws. His eyes widened as he met Smallfire's gaze. His normal, yellow irises were stained a blood red, something Pineheart could recall all too well. That's how Nightvolt looked when he killed Shimmerpaw! Smallfire's limbs were taught with tension as he stared at Pineheart. Sanity fought to keep control but Pineheart could tell his will was all but diminished.
"I told you to run," he coughed. His sides heaved as he fought for air. A thin stream of blood dripped from his jaws.
"No, Smallfire. Don't do this," he wailed as he took a step back. But he felt his haunches meet solid fur as Dewdrop pushed him into the dirt.
"Let me go!" he screeched.
Dewdrop's muzzle came close to his ear, her breath stank of crow food. "No one will save you now," she hissed. But Pineheart had shifted his attention back to Smallfire. The tom had turned, his red stained eyes fixed on Dewdrop.
With a snarl, he launched himself forward and pushed her off of Pineheart. Quick as a snake, Pineheart leaped up and turned to help his den mate. What he saw was enough to slam his muscles to an instant halt. Smallfire had Dewdrop's throat in a death grip, blood gushed from the sides of his mouth. Pineheart could see the strength in his jaw as he bit into her as hard as he could. Why is this happening again, he thought in frantic bewilderment.
Dewdrop's limbs had grown limp. Her eyes glazed over as her blood oozed into the dirt. "Why?" Pineheart whimpered.
Smallfire opened his mouth to let Dewdrop's lifeless body fall to the ground. "She had to die," Smallfire insisted, "and now, I have to die too."
Pineheart's whiskers quivered with sadness. "I can't lose you too," he choked. His heart slammed painfully in his chest. "We were supposed to find a new home, and be happy... you were going to get herbs to treat your sickness. We would have been safe!" How foolish was I to think we would be ok, he thought.
"That was never going to happen for me," Smallfire chuckled, "I knew the moment that wolf bit me back at the old camp, my fate was sealed." Smallfire lifted a paw to expose an angry, red gouge in his chest. "But you have to kill me, quick. I don't know how much longer I can keep control."
Pineheart opened his mouth, ready to object. But no words came. He stepped forward to bury his muzzle in Smallfire's neck fur. "I'll never forget you," he mumbled, his voice quivered with a fresh surge of grief.
"Ugh, I can't... I can't..." Smallfire flinched back and shook his head. A soft snarl escaped his parted jaws, his eyes glazed as he turned back towards Pineheart.
Goodbye, Smallfire... Pineheart leaped forward and pushed him into the ground. Without any time to react, Pineheart dug his teeth into his neck. He had to hold back an intense force to gag as Smallfire's throat opened and poured thick blood into his mouth. He could feel Smallfire's body start to grow heavy as his head rolled back onto the grass.
"StarClan," Smallfire gurgled as blood trickled from his mouth, "that's my home, now..."
Pineheart took a step back as he heard the last breath escape Smallfire's ravaged body. It felt like his mind couldn't even understand what happened. He sat there for some time before any of the others came for him. It was Elkleap.
"Great StarClan, what happened?!" he exclaimed. Pineheart tore his gaze away from Smallfire's lifeless body to look up at his Clanmate.
"He... he... he attacked Dewdrop," he stammered, still overcome with shock and grief.
Elkleap closed his eyes and bowed his head. "He must have been infected..." he murmured, "help me carry him and Dewdrop back to the others."
Pineheart gently took Smallfire's scruff in his mouth as he followed Elkleap back to their Clanmates. But how was he going to explain what Smallfire had told him?