Everlasting Love (Stormwind)

(Yeah, that's fine!)

Willowheart touched noses with her mentor, eyes bright and sparkling.

Lightning winced, her ears flattening.

"Then from this moment forward, Willowpaw, in honor of your loyalty and eagerness to assist those in need, you will be known as Willowheart (is this ok?)." Silverwish purred softly as she glanced over at her former apprentice for the first time since starting the ceremony, leaning in to touch noses as the ceremony called for.

"Well, we'll learn more about that when we get you back to camp." Cloud began to leave the way, glancing crossly over his shoulder at her. "you're lucky Sun and Ripple are friends of mine, or I'd have disciplined you myself right here right now."

"I-I do," Willowpaw said after a moment to gather herself, staring at her mentor.

Lightning shook her head.

Silverwish allowed herself a happy purr as Willowpaw froze up. "Willowpaw, do you promise to uphold the medicine cat code and to faithfully serve your clan in your capacity as a healer and a spiritual guide?"

Cloud stopped, pretending to be stunned while he could hardly keep from licking his lips deliciously in reality. "...Did they hurt you?" He finally asked.

Willowpaw's eyes widened in stunned surprise, the young she-cat stilling.

"...I ran into a LoveClan patrol," Lightning muttered.

"Well, what happened to you then? You don't look hurt." Cloud growled impatiently.

Silverwish smiled warmly over at Willowpaw before glancing up to Silverpelt. Surely whatever it was Starclan had to say could wait a few extra heartbeats. As she looked up, searching the stars for her mentor's, she began to speak once more. "I, Silverwish, medicine cat of Loveclan, call upon my ancestors to look down onto Willowpaw, my apprentice. She has trained for many moons to learn how to serve her clan as a medicine cat, and with your blessing she will serve her clan for many moons."

Silverwish had taught Willowpaw this ceremony, so by now it should be clear to the apprentice what was happening, and the medicine cat watched her apprentice out of the corner of her eye for her reaction.

"No," Lightning muttered, bracing herself for the lecture she knew was coming, whether from Cloud or her father.

Willowpaw paused and blinked at her mentor, tilting her head to the side.

Cloud trotted up to the female, hiding how he actually felt for a heartbeat by mewing "Are you hurt?"

Finally, the pair arrived at their clearing, out of which a single, giant oak tree stretched towards the sky. As Willowpaw would know by now, the way to dream with Starclan was to fall asleep in the branches of the tree. However, Silverwish stopped her first. "Before we do that, one thing."

Lightning cringed and looked down, pinning her ears back.

Willowpaw looked even more worried at this, quickening her pace slightly.

Silverwish's face darkened as they walked. "That's the problem. What I saw was darkness, but I could hear yowls and screeches of war and pain. I need to know more." Silverwish had her suspicions on what the vision had been foretelling, but she had to be sure before she could advise her clan.

Finally Lightning's scent got fresh, and Cloud lifted his head to spot the rogue. "Lightning!" Cloud called, his intense eyes looking into hers for a moment as he regarded the source of the day's major annoyance.

Willowpaw hurried after her mentor, looking worried. "What was it about?"

Lightning knew she was pampered, but she hadn't been aware that she had been this much that she was having trouble tracking her scent trail. Scowling, she made a mental note to get more training.

Silverwish began to trot out at a brisk pace, making a beeline for their destination as soon as the apprentice joined her outside the medicine den. "Willowpaw," the she-cat began with a huff, "I was in Rainstar's den and I had an extremely troubling vision. This is why we have to go so soon."

Cloud continued to follow Lightning's scent. foolish girl, the tom growled, a newly born kitten could track her. He hoped that a predator hadn't gotten to the female, because that would only cause even more of a distraction from the effort to buildup to the incoming war with Loveclan.

Willowpaw frowned at her impatience, but padded over to her, ready to go.

Lightning caught a trace and tried to follow it, scowling as it proved difficult.

Cloud picked up on Lightning's scent before long, following its meandering path slowly.

"Lets go," Silverwish murmured, clearly quite worked up as she sat at the entrance to the medicine den, the gray tabby's tail flicking impatiently.

Willowpaw lapped up her herbs, swiping her tongue around her jaws to get rid of the bitter taste with a grimace.

Lightning grimaced and started to sniff around, searching for her scent trail so that she could maybe follow it back.

Silverwish quickly helped Willowpaw prepare their traveling herbs, which she didn't even bother to bundle, simply pushing a pile over to her apprentice while she lapped up the other.

Cloud's eyes scanned the clearing, having assigned every one one of the rogues a slice of the territory. He decided that he would now go to the border himself. Perhaps she was there.

Willowpaw startled badly, jumping nearly a foot in the air in surprise when Silverwish came barreling into the den without any warning. "S-Silverwish?" She questioned her mentor hesitantly, worriedly. She'd never seen her this uncollected before. Still, she hurried around to get ready for the trip.

Lightning backed away from the border until she was certain she was safe enough to turn her back, then did so, determined to go back to camp now. She halted when she realized she didn't know the way back, though, and winced. "Father is going to kill me...," she muttered despondently.

Back at the rogue camp, Cloud and a few others were coordinating the efforts to find Lightning. Sun was obviously distraught at the disappearance of his only kitten, even if she had grown a fair amount by now. Still, the tom grumbled softly to himself. This was exactly the kind of distraction they needed to avoid.

Besides that, their training had been progressing well. He'd used the killing of Bear to instill in the rogues a fear of the Warriors, making them believe that the clan killed without reason, and taught his cats to kill out of 'self-defense.' Of course, the majority would lose their cool so quickly in the heat of battle that every attack would appear as if it were a killing blow, which would prompt his rogues to murder out of fear for their own lives.

Silverwish finally returned to earth a few moments later, glancing over at Rainstar. "Willowpaw and I are leaving to converse with Starclan, now..." the medicine cat didn't hesitate to allow her leader to object, turning tail and dashing out of the leader's den. She thundered into the medicine den, barely stopping herself from tripping over her prone apprentice. "Willowpaw, we're leaving for the Clearing of the Moon, immediately."

"Silverwish? Silverwish!" Rainstar sounded alarmed.

Lightning bristled indignantly, glowering at their fading backs.

As they made their way back to camp, Streamfire frowned, pondering on the fact that Lightning looked far too much like Ripple and Sun for her to be happy.

"You couldn't smell it?" Duststorm tilted his head and narrowed his eyes in disbelief, which Sterlingflight rebuked with a glare at the senior warrior.

"Either way," the spotted gray tom mewed curtly, "please remind your camp that they are not to cross the borders we agreed upon two moons ago. Continuing to claim our territory, or hunt in it, will be met with far less understanding than I'm granting you currently." The deputy stood with a flourish, mewing a final "Happy hunting" over his shoulder as he goaded his patrol back towards Loveclan's camp.

Silverwish seemed totally zoned out all of a sudden, her pupils shrinking relative to her to the rest of her amber eyes. She began to tremble softly, as if having some sort of terrifying out-of-body experience.

Lightning scoffed. "I didn't even know I was this close to the border," she said flatly, sounding distinctly wary though less so what with Sterlingflight's obvious indication that he wasn't going to attack.

Rainstar blinked at Silverwish in curiosity and slight worry when she noticed her gaze darken. "Is something wrong?"

"Were you the one that placed the marker on our side of the border?" Sterlingflight asked evenly, sitting down in an attempt to show that he had no intention of charging over the border to attack.

"That's always good." Silverwish replied. Her gaze seemed to darken as she remembered something from the previous night.

Oakfoot paced around in the warrior's den idly, occasionally growling to himself.

Rainstar tilted her head thoughtfully. "Not usually. We try to keep our relationship separate from our work. It's difficult, but doable."

Lightning didn't respond, eyeing them warily as she started to back away. She hadn't know she'd come this close to the border.

Streamfire made a slightly choked sound when she recognized familiar things about Lightning, realizing with slightly stunned horror that this she-cat was her half-sister.

Sterlingflight glared sternly across the border, though his gaze wavered a bit when he saw the traces of two familiar rogues in the other cat's body. Regaining his composure after a moment, he ventured "Are you doing alright over there?"

Duststorm watched silently, though he flexed his claws into the ground as he waited anxiously.

Silverwish chortled with laughter at the image of her brother coated in mud, undoubtedly having seen something similar happen to him in her lifetime. Smiling, Silverwish purred "Now here's a good question. Is it strange being in a leader/deputy relationship with him at the same time as being romantically involved?"

Lightning froze at the sound of his voice and hurriedly scrambled to her paws, turning wide yellow eyes to the four Clan cats. Now that their view of her was no longer obstructed, for those that had known Ripple and Sun, they could see both of them in her, like her eyes, which were identical to Sun's.

Rainstar made an amused sound. "Once, he tripped over a small rock and fell face-first into a mud puddle."