Perishing wish

Chapter 2

Flamepaw, panted as she finally caught up to the suddenly fast moving dusk patrol.

"What's wrong?" The ginger cat sighs exhaustedly.

"A rouge is what's wrong." Her mentor, Mothheart, answers seemingly worried.

"What is it doing here?" Falconstripe asks to no one in particular.
Flamepaw noticed the rouge lying down, and steadily got closer to the seemingly dead pure red body.

"It's breathing!" She yelped in surprise.

"The rouge is breathing?!" A pale gray tabby, Beeflower, exclaims, ears pinned flat and tail twitching in fear. "We need to bring it to the camp, or at least get the medicine cat out here!"

"But why though?" Dawnpaw complained, "All rouges do is steal prey and cause destruction within and around the clans."

"How do you know?" Flamepaw shot back rounding on her denmate, "We need to bring her to a medicine cat whether she is a rouge or not!"

Both of the apprentices started growling at each other with fur raised and tails lashing in anger.

Mothheart stepped in between them, giving both of them a very hard look of anger and disappointment.

"Both of you need to stop fighting for StarClan's sake." She mewed dangerously. "Maybe both of you should clean out the elder's nest."

They looked at the shaded black she-cat in horror. "Please don't let us do that!" They yell in unison, "Anything but that Mothheart!"

"Then both of you should have no trouble with carrying this rouge to the medicine cat."
"Ok!" Flamepaw said hurriedly, picking up the rouge.

"Dawnpaw, help me!"

"Coming!" Dawnpaw answered

It's almost as light as one of us Flamepaw realized as she positioned the rouge on her back.

The dusk patrol moved hurriedly across the thick forest towards the clan's camp, hidden by the ferns and brambles, underground, and rushed to the medicine cat den.

"Cedarpaw, Creekheart!" Dawnpaw called, "Where are you!"

Flamepaw heard claws scratching the stone and a sudden thump, she guessed that one of the cats got startled awake because of the muffled ow that followed.

"What's wrong?" Creekheart asks sleepily. He stared at the apprentices absently until his eyes strayed to the bloody body on their backs.

"Great StarClan!" The tom muttered. He ushered the two apprentices inside the den, and told them to place it down on one of the nests and trotted to a clef in the cave wall.

Creekheart's mew was muffled with herbs in his mouth when he said, "Go, I'll take it from here."

Flamepaw and Dawnpaw came out of the den, Flamepaw rather reluctantly.

"What do you think is going to happen to it?" Flamepaw said to no one in particular as they walked down the tunnel to the apprentice's cave.

"Don't know." Dawnpaw answered.
 
  Flamepaw stopped and looked at the tom with surprise at his answer.

  Seemingly taken aback by her reaction, he continued hurriedly, "Well no matter how much I dislike rouges, I don't think I could stand around and watch it die."

  They continued on towards the cave. Flamepaw was confused, both by his answer and the way that she was feeling. Why do I feel so embarrassed all of a sudden, she thought, it's almost like I like him.

  Dawnpaw and Flamepaw curled up in their nests that were hugging the wall, as far away from each other as they could.

  Will the rouge be ok? Flamepaw thought as she tried to sleep.

Maybe, just maybe, it will survive. was her last thought as she entered sleep.