Lillypaw tore at the moorland ground, frustrated.  Where had all of the watermint gone?  Pebblefur had specifically told her to find as much watermint as she could get, and now it was all gone?  She sighed, annoyed beyond belief.  If she went back without anything, what would Pebblefur say?  Since the day that Lillypaw had decided to become a medicine cat, Pebblefur had made it very clear that if you couldn't handle the work, you would never complete your training as a WindClan medicince cat.  It looked like Lillypaw's time was just about up.

Just as she lifted her head and began to turn back, she caught a whiff of a RiverClan cat.  Mouse-brains! she thought harshly, No one steals from WindClan and gets away with it!  She began to race after the fast-fading scent, her tail streaming behind her and her ivory fur fluffed up to beat off the cold.  Her paws squashed into th quaggy ground, but she ignored it and bound through the area.

As she slowed, she spotted the cat.  The silvery tom was pelting away, looking small enough ot be an apprentice.  Lillypaw dashed after him, tackling him when he got close enough.

"Runningpaw?" Lillypaw asked, he rvoice high with surprise.

"Lillypaw?" Runningpaw squeaked in turn, his voice high with surprise as well.

Runningpaw was the medicine cat apprentice in RiverClan.

"Why did you steal the watermint?" asked Lillypaw, her voice suddenly harsh and cold.

Runningpaw winced.  "I...  well..."

"You could have just asked," she said scathingly.

"Silverminnow made me!" yowled Runningpaw, squirming under Lillypaw's weight.

"What?" she gasped, appalled.  Medicine cats were allowed to go into other's territories, but not to steal.

Runningpaw bowed his head, ashamed.  "I have to go," he mumbled.

"Not without giving me back that watermint," scoffed Lillypaw.  As Runningpaw's eyes filled with fear, she quickly amened, "You can take one piece, but only one."

"Oh, thank you!" Runningpaw cried as Lillpaw stepped gingerly off of him.  He put all but one stalk of the healing herb at her feet, licked her cheek in a gesture of thanks, and then ran off.

Lillypaw heaved a sigh, and then went to go tell Pebblefur the news.

Lillypaw stiffened at the sound of voices.  She whirled back around and followed her nose to the border, hurriedly dropping the watermint by a rock.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice ripe with hostility as two cats came into view.  She gasped as she realized on ehad stars in her fur.

(( -cough- So does Lynxpaw. XD ))

Lynxpaw smiled. "Just observing, not stealing. Merely pas.sing through," he said gently.