"If you say anything, I swear to the stars, Mothdapple, I will do the same thing to you as I did to Sparkfur, and you'll be be forced to leave everyone you love, everyone you know. You'll be clanless, and you'll die alone in some stinking hole. You won't go to StarClan or anything, because you died an outcast loner." Mothdapple couldn't breathe. Her eyes could only see the dead body, limp and the eyes were so blank.

      Adderface narrowed her eyes, waiting for a reply.

      "Mothdapple? Do you hear me?"

       She nodded quickly, gaze still unable to leave the corpse. The sound of shouts and rustling alerted them to the coming patrol, which burst in through brambles unceremoniously. Waspstar was at the head of the patrol, eyes wide and flanked by several cats. It was quiet. Mothdapple slowly raised her head from Swanclaw to Waspstar. The dark striped leader was frozen.

"Waspstar," Adderface started, a feigned fear and innocence smothered over her dainty features, but the leader flicked his tail sharply for silence.

"This isn't real," was all he whispered. "This can't be real...."

"Waspstar, we should go back to camp." A small blue-gray tom spoke up, gently giving the much larger cat a gentle nudge.

"She couldn't have done this... you, Mothdapple." He swung his broad muzzle to the cat in question. Her eyes widened. Adderface glared at her. "What happened? Did.. did Sparkfur do this?!" His voice was loud, full of grief. Mothdapple couldn't speak. If I say she did, I'll be lying, and that will hurt Waspstar more than anything. If I say she didn't, I'll be framed and probably killed. I can't say anything.

"TELL ME!" He cried, his eyes shutting, his voice shuttering. No cat was able to look at him. Mothdapple shut her eyes tight.

She didn't say anything. Adderface blinked slowly with interest.

"Waspstar, she's probably suffering from shock. You too," the blue tom murmured. The gingery-brown leader breathed heavily, and turned, tail dropping.

"Mothdapple, come with me, please. I need to treat you for shock," the small blue-gray tom meowed quietly, starting off after the leader who already left for the trek back to camp.

They walked in silence, Waspstar a few paces ahead, the blue-gray tom at her side. "I'm Asterfoot, by the way." Mothdapple nodded quickly, realizing this was one of the medicine cats of the clan.

"Yeah. Mothdapple."

      Silence again.

      "So, what.. what exactly happened?" Mothdapple swallowed. Swanclaw's dead eyes filled her memory again, as did Sparkfur's scream when she had been sprayed with blood, and Adderface's threat.

      "I don't know," she whispered.

      "It's okay," Asterfoot rumbled. He shook his head. "I don't believe Sparkfur would ever kill a cat without a very, very good reason."

       Mothdapple didn't reply. He was right. And yet Sparkfur still had to run. I wonder where she's going. I... I hope she finds a way to work this out. It's not like I can just go run after her. She frowned as they padded through the camp's entrance, and forced her eyes not to wonder to where Sparkfur's den was hidden.

      I can't run after her because... she thought a moment. I guess because I'm too selfish to.

      She took a breath in. She was back at last. The bush walls meant safety, the dens were home. Cats were crouched around in every nook and open sunny area, many of them with wide concerned eyes. Waspstar shouldered through to his den, scrambling up the oak tree into the opening without a word.

      "Hey, it's Mothdapple! Pipitfeather said she was there trying to stop Sparkfur from killing Swanclaw!" A younger cat spoke up. Mothdapple narrowed her eyes slightly. Pipitfeather... she was the one who told everyone Sparkfur had killed Swanclaw before it even happened. She's... she's in with Adderface. She's one of Adderface's 'lackeys,' as she called it. The brown spotted she-cat was standing among the gathered DrizzleClan, dramatically waving her tail.

"Mothdapple! Mothdapple, please, tell us all about what Sparkfur did! You must, you were there, you saw it all!" The golden patched she-cat ducked her head, her fur hot. Asterfoot stepped in front of her though, blocking her from Pipitfeather.

"Mothdapple's been through a lot today, she's going to be under observation in the medicine cat den. Please, leave her be for now." The warriors protested, but no cat moved to stop them from moving past toward the medicine cat den.

"She's going to be a Bramble Den Warrior now!" A cat cheered.

"She deserves it. It takes real courage to do whatever she had to do."

Does it though? I was the opposite of courageous. I was selfish. I got what I wanted.

"Mothdapple!" As soon as they entered the underground den, a soft gray and cream tortoiseshell was already there.

"Ivymist! I'm so glad to see you!" She rushed to her friend's side, touching her chin to her spine in a friendly gesture.

"I heard what happened, and I figured you'd be taken here. Bluedawn and Oattail are both really excited that you're back, they went hunting to catch you a welcome back gift!" Mothdapple purred at the thought of her friends. Though, she wondered, I wonder how it'll be now that I'm in the Bramble Den and they're still a den lower....

      "Thanks. All of you. I'd... I'd like to rest a little before we eat though. It's been a tiring day." Ivymist nodded quickly.

      "Yeah, of course!" She turned to leave.

      "Hey-- er... do you know Briarfrost...? Have you seen him around...?" Ivymist thought a moment before shrugging.

      "I remember him, but I haven't seen him. Why? Are you friends with him?" She flicked her tailtip.

      "No reason." The tortoiseshell gave an under nod, then left. Asterfoot came in a moment later with poppyseeds prepared on a broad oak leaf before leaving her in one of the mossy nests at the edge of the main den. She settled down, shutting her eyes.

      I guess I have what I want now. I'm back in camp. I can stay up late into the night chatting with friends, eat meals and sun in camp. I won't have to worry about not being protected by camp walls when I'm sleeping, and I can take prey from the prey-pile if I ever can't catch anything. I'm safe here. I'm home. But... it's not right. Sparkfur is on the run. A cat was killed. Adderface has me under her paw, and it's a bloody paw at that. What she's going to make me do, though....

      The sound of pawsteps drew her out of her thoughts, her eyes flashing open. The sweet scent that was sickeningly familiar.

      "Hello, Mothdapple. Don't get up, you've had such a tiring day." She sat down and began grooming her long-haired cheeks. The patched warrior glanced around. They were alone.

      "You lied. You said Sparkfur was in danger..!" She hissed lowly. The brown tabby and white she-cat looked down with half-closed eyes.

      "She was in danger. In danger of herself. See, Sparkfur has a persistent and self-righteous nature, and I can't have her doing the whole hero act in the middle of my big plans." Mothdapple turned her head away.

      "What kind of plans? Or are you lying about that?"

      "Please, why would I lie about something so obvious? I like you Mothdapple. You're ambitious, and you have this motivation that's pretty insane. You have basic fighting skills, and average on most other skills. Not the best at lying I've come to realize," she thought a moment, then shrugged. "I just won't put you in a position where you'll need to lie."

"What are you talking about?" Mothdapple sat up, eyes narrowed. Adderface breathed, a small smile.

      "Mothdapple. You're going to start working for me. You'll go on my border patrols--"

      "Border patrols? Border patrols don't matter, I've been on, like, three max since I became a warrior."

      "These aren't just any border patrol. I'm making changes in the Clans, and to do so, I've had to stir up a little trouble on the MarshClan border. This is mostly because in secret meetings I've had, their top cats aren't really on board with my ideas. Whatever." She flicked her tail with annoyance.

       "Wait, wait. What are you talking about? You've been sending out patrols to fight other Clans? There hasn't been any fighting between Clans seasons!"

      "Things are changing, Mothdapple. These patrols are made up of just cats loyal to me. Or cats who are being forced to be loyal. Whichever one you are wanting to be, you're under my command now." Mothdapple's eyes widened.

      "..What?"

      She sighed with annoyance.

      "You, Mothdapple, are going to fight on border patrols so that I can get what I want. If you want to get out of it, you can't. I think you know what I'm capable of."

      "Hang on-- you killed Swanclaw." She blinked.

      "To get rid of Sparkfur, yes."

      "You could've gotten rid of Sparkfur a number of ways. You could've killed her. You could've forced her out through fear. You could've gotten her on your side if you used the right tactics." The brown tabby looked thoughtful.

      "I'm glad to see you do have some technical thought."

      "Something I picked up from an annoying tabby we both know," she referenced Sparkfur.

"I think you can figure out why I did it the way I did it. Here's a whopping hint: I planned for you to be there." Mothdapple's fur was hot. Adderface sighed.

"I hope I can make this all up to you. I really don't want you to be angry with me. Please understand I just want your loyalty. In the end, you'll receive many more rewards than just Bramble Den ranking. You'll have even more than that." Mothdapple's brows creased with slight confusion. The brown tabby stood.

"Your first border patrols for me will be tomorrow. I've been planning it a few days, and it should be fairly easy. Mooseleg will be assigning you to the patrol tomorrow morning, so be up and ready." The sound of oncoming pawsteps sounded. Oattail, Bluedawn, and Ivymist. Don't hurt them! They don't need to be involved in this! Adderface cast a smirk, and stood. "And again, thank you for your bravery," she said loudly, with purpose, before turning and leaving the trio of prey-laden Cedar Den warriors stunned at the entrance.

This is bad.

F I G H T O R F L I G H T

//
An
I say fight or flight but we're up to three fights in a row so it's gotta be flight. Time for Keeping Up with the MarshClanians, aka a flight chapter.

Also sorry this is a bit of an info-dump chapter.