Kiss of Mercy

OOC: Just me and Bloom at first, other people can join a bit later after Redpaw bites the dust.

IC: Sparrowleaf was standing out in the river again.

It wasn't healthy to stress and hate so much. She knew that better than anyone. Still, she couldn't help but stand her every day since the battle, whenever she could take a break, and just stand in the water and stare. Stare at the rocks, the trees, the prey just across the river. That territory had been theirs not too long ago, and it'd been stolen.

She crouched in the shallows, her auburn tabby pelt blending in perfectly with the reeds and stones. The water would wash away her scent, and the wind faced away from her. Sparrowleaf could scent them as they approached. ThunderClan. Sometimes she wished she was a warrior, whenever she saw them pass by the river. Then at least she'd be strong enough to tear them to shreds...

Helpless. She was helpless. She couldn't fight back, she couldn't even threaten them. All she could do was stare and feel the fury burning inside her chest, and that made her feel even angrier. It wasn't fair. If there was justice in this world, StarClan would just strike them all dead...

But there wasn't any justice. She could only just crouch there and watch, and wait, and listen.

OOC: I'm gonna use colors so everyone knows who is talkin.

IC: "C'mon, Redpaw!" Soaringpaw bounded onto a rock, then jumped onto another one and another one. "You can't catch me," he teased as he dodged out of the way from his brother. Redpaw, however, was not in the mood to play.

"Soaringpaw, stop that! We are apprentices, not kits. We came out to hunt, so lets do that." Redpaw leaped off the rocks and landed on the soft, moist earth below him. The red-furred apprentice padded up to the sandy river bank and looked into the water, staring at his reflection. For a moment, he saw his face, then the next he saw Nightpaw's face. Readpaw lurched back out of fear and looked at his reflection again. It was his own reflection. Giving a sigh of relief, Redpaw turned around to his brother. Instead of seeing his brother, he saw Nightpaw standing on the rocks. He gave a yell of fear and fell back, landing partially into the river. Redpaw looked back up and instead of seeing Nightpaw, he saw his brother. I keep seeing this Riverclan...or, rather, Starclan apprentice. Maybe it's a sign from them to tell my brother about what I did. 

Just two apprentices. Sparrowleaf relaxed, but didn't move up from her crouch to reveal herself. By the way they were goofing off, there probably weren't any other warriors nearby... So carefree. It was a struggle to keep her anger contained. Like kits. My Clanmate's dead because of those rocks. And how many other RiverClan cats had died because of ThunderClan greed? They played on, blissfully oblivious, with the ginger apprentice slipping partially back into the river.

She should've just turned back or went on picking herbs. Instead she just continued to stare, lost in thought. StarClan, just give me a sign... They can't just get away with all this.

Soaringpaw hopped off the rocks when his brother fell partially into the river. "Are you okay, Redpaw?" he asked, helping the tom up. "I didn't mean to scare you or anything...I don't even now how that would've scared you. I was just standing on the rocks and..." Soaringpaw was cut off by Redpaw.

"Soaringpaw, I need to tell you something important," Redpaw said sternly as he shook water from his pelt. He sat down and took a deep breath. "Soaringpaw, I was at the battle against Riverclan and...I killed a Riverclan apprentice. I didn't mean to, but...I'm a murderer, Soaringpaw. I killed a Riverclan cat." Redpaw bowed his head in shame and waited for a response, any response from Soaringpaw.

Her breath caught in her throat, and it was like icy claws gripped her heart.

There's no way.

This was who killed Nightpaw? Who killed Rainfall's kit? All her hate, all her fury, it all blazed up in her chest like fire, and it took all of her will not to bound out from the reeds and kill the apprentice right then and there. Even if she did, could she beat two apprentices in a fight? She was a healer, not a fighter. There wasn't anything she could do.

But she knew his name now. Sparrowleaf knew what he looked like, and she had other weapons beside claws and teeth... Was this the sign she prayed for? They had always said her father was a just warrior, who wouldn't flinch away from any challenge in order to do the right thing. Nightpaw would never get his warrior name, never grow up, never find love or have kits of his own, and his murderer walked free in ThunderClan, walking and hunting all over RiverClan's rightful territory. She couldn't let him get away.

But what could she do besides watch?

A mix of fear and shock coated Soaringpaw's face as Redpaw told him what happened. He took a big swallow and opened his now dry mouth to talk. "Brother, I'm sure you didn't mean it. It was an accident, I understand. Let's just forget that this ever happened, okay? Let's play a game to cheer you up!" Soaringpaw stood up and placed his paw on Redpaw's shoulder. "Tag, your it!" He raced away, down the Riverbank, running away from Sparrowleaf where she hid, unnoticed.

Redpaw nodded sadly at his brother's words, and when Soaringpaw tagged him, he rolled his eyes but played along and got up. Redpaw chased after the brown tabby apprentice. "I'll get you, Soaringpaw! I'll get..." The tom's paw struck something hard, causing him to topple to the ground. Redpaw cried out in pain, his paw twisted and a huge gash on his side from falling on the sharp rock. "Soaringpaw, get help," he yelled, side burning and leg stinging in an unbearable pain.

Soaringpaw laughed as he was chased by Redpaw, but when he heard a huge thunk and wails, Soaringpaw flashed around and stared wide-eyed at Redpaw. Blood came from the apprentice's cut and his leg was obviously broken and twisted backwards. "Redpaw! Don't worry, I'll get the medicine cat!" The tabby raced away at full speed, leaving his brother with an angry cat who remained unseen.

I...

She hadn't felt this disgusted before, at anything or anyone. The way the other apprentice just shrugged it off, the way they just continued to play tag like kits. An accident. An accident. Sparrowleaf had found Nightpaw with his throat ripped out. There was no accident. This Redpaw knew what he was doing. How many times had ThunderClan attacked just these past few moons? How much would her Clanmates suffer because of ThunderClan greed and bloodlust? Nightpaw had died and ThunderClan would just continue to attack, and attack, and attack, until one of them were destroyed.

That was how it was with rogues.

Sparrowleaf watched with wide, fiery eyes as the apprentice toppled to the ground, his leg twisted. The other one fled in a hurry, and she realized she was alone.

This was too much of a coincidence. This was the sign she had prayed for. She knew what to do now, and she was done sitting and watching.

The medicine cat rose from the reeds and waded through the shallows to the other side, her steps slow and measured, a new fire burning in her heart.

"Stay right there, don't move," she said when she reached him, pausing in her tracks on the pebbly shore. "Your leg is badly twisted. You'll make it worse if you try to squirm. Just relax. I'm a medicine cat, I can help you." Sparrowleaf looked up, heart pounding in her chest, searching for the herb. Her stores, or what was left of them, were all the way back in camp, but she knew the leaf grew here. The flower liked moist areas best.

She found it. It was a tall green stalk with bell-shaped violet flowers, growing out from the rocks on the bank of the river. A beautiful plant to be sure, but it wasn't the petals that interested her. Sparrowleaf rushed forward and pulled it up by the root, careful not to bite down on the stalk. The medicine cat turned back and laid the flower before him, pawing out five black seeds.

Foxglove. It'd be traceless. Even Nightfire wouldn't be able to tell what happened.

"These are poppy seeds. They'll help ease the pain and slow your heart down."

Sparrowleaf took a deep breath and waited until Redpaw lapped them up from the stones.

Once he did, he wouldn't be able to move his limbs, cold would wash over him, and his heart would just give out. She only dared to speak once she was sure he'd swallowed each and every one of them.

"Give Nightpaw my regards."

The pain kept coming. Redpaw tried to get up, but that only made it worse. He growled, but continued to squirm. Stay right there, don't move. When the she-cat's voice came, Redpaw struggled to turn his head. He recognized her from the battle at sunningrocks. How long was she there? Redpaw thought. "Please do it quick," he pushed out of his moth in pain. When Sparrowleaf brought back the "poppy seeds", he wasn't hesitant to gulp them down. "Thank you so m..." suddenly, he couldn't move. He tried to talk, but was frozen. Only growls came out. Give Nightpaw my regards. Redpaw's eyes widened as coldness grew over his body. No, Starclan! Don't do this! I still have a life to live! I said I was sorry for killing Nightpaw! The red-furred tom's eyes went foggy and his chest stopped moving up and down. Redpaw was dead, gone forever. Another young apprentice, killed.

She watched with a face of stone as his voice gave out, as the poison seized his muscles, as the life faded from his eyes. He was dead. Nightpaw's murderer was dead. The apprentice was dead. Sparrowleaf looked up to the trees, parting her mouth for any scent of ThunderClan. None. The other one still hadn't returned yet.

The medicine cat turned her gaze to the sky, to where StarClan must have been watching over her. Was this what you wanted? Yes, it had to be. She was sure. A cold feeling washed over her as she bent down to pick up the flower, dropping it into the water and letting it float away downstream where no ThunderClan cat would ever find it. Sparrowleaf had found justice. This is just a taste, ThunderClan.

Sparrowleaf hopped into the river and swam to the other side, heart pounding in her chest, and disappeared into the reeds. His body could be left for crowfood for all she cared.

Duskfall was a part of the hunting patrol that left in the morning to bring in food for the clan. With the recent influx of kits, it was important that food supplies remained steady and high. Queens needed to eat to produce milk, and soon these kits would grow into apprentices that could hunt, but still not as well as their warrior counterparts.

The brown tom had left his adopted sons to wander near the new territory of Sunningrocks, now assured no Riverclan cat would cross their borders again. After all, it had been two moons since the battle. After catching a sparrow and mouse, he decided to check up on them.

"Redpaw? Soaringpaw?" He called out, padding through the bushes onto the clearing of rocks. He looked around, sniffing the air, scenting blood. Cat blood.

"Redpaw!" He yowled when he saw his son's lying against the stone so still. There was something wrong about how he barely movement, only the wind stirring his fur. Duskfall raced towards the body, frantically looking to see where the wound was. It was a cut across his flank and a twisted paw. But nothing that should be fatal, there wasn't enough blood. He didn't need the knowledge of a medicine cat to know this, he'd fought in battles before where he'd bled out more.

But nonetheless his kit was dead. Perhaps it was a head wound, dangerous but unseen. But an irrational part of him feared that perhaps it was the work of a Riverclan cat. He could scent one here, but for all he knew it could have been the scent of a passing Riverclan patrol. He had nothing but a gut feeling of dread that he sent his son to his grave.

With a paw, he shut his son's eyes and licked his son's flank clean of blood so that he looked presentable. Just as he did when he became an apprentice. It broke his heart to see Redpaw dead before his time, but he fought through it. His son needed to be taken back to camp, where the rest of the clan would mourn him.

Grabbing him by the scruff, Duskfall dragged his son home. His heart tearing at every step.