Appleleaf's Story

==Prologue==
“Appleleaf, can you tell us a story?”
Appleleaf opened her eyes to see three small kits sitting before her. “I tried to tell them not to wake you up,” meowed Mistfur. “They wouldn’t listen.”
“That’s all right,” Appleleaf assured her, sitting up and grooming scraps of moss out of her pelt. “I was barely asleep anyway. You wanted a story, you said?”
“Yes!” chirped one of the kits, Bramblekit, excitedly. “Something like how Snowstar became leader.”
“That one’s boring!” mewed another one of the kits, Palekit. “No, I want to hear the story of the great battle with ThunderClan.”
“There’s a different story that I want to hear,” came a quiet voice. Behind Bramblekit and Palekit – who were currently scuffling about on the floor of the elders’ den – sat a small gray she-kit; Appleleaf knew her name was Rainkit. Rainkit continued, “Sparrowtail mentioned something about you, and how SkyClan was almost lost.”
Appleleaf flicked her ears. That story. Fortunately the Clan cats had let her forget most of what she had done, but she wasn’t entirely surprised – Sparrowtail had enough reason to be upset, after all, since her mother had been killed. She knew the prickly brown she-cat had never forgiven her.
But then, what did she care what one cat thought of her? She’d served her Clan well, in the end, and it was thanks to her that SkyClan was even still around. She was an elder; whether or not any cat judged her for her past actions was essentially irrelevant at this point.
“Any particular reason why you want to hear this story?” she asked Rainkit.
Rainkit looked right at Appleleaf. “I want to be a medicine cat,” she stated plainly. “I figure I might as well know the history of the medicine cats in this Clan before I talk to Shadewhisker. After all, if you were involved with the problems SkyClan faced in the past –”
“Yes, I can see where you’re coming from,” Appleleaf interrupted, sighing heavily. “I’m not ashamed of the things that happened in my past, and I’ll share them with you.”
Rainkit kneaded the ground with her paws, looking alarmed. “Are you sure?” she asked quickly. “I mean, if it’s something that’s going to trouble you, I don’t want to know.”
“No,” Appleleaf responded, shaking her head. “Trust me, Rainkit, you’re fine. But I’m not sure that what I have to say is for all ears.” She looked pointedly at where Bramblekit and Palekit were still play-fighting.
“I’ll take care of them,” Mistfur put in with a glance at Appleleaf. She rose to her paws and headed toward the two kits. “I’ll tell them the stories they want to hear. Come on, kits,” she meowed, bundling them in front of her paws. “Do you want to hear the story of the great Skystar?”
The excited mews of the kits faded as they gradually crossed the clearing, and Appleleaf turned her attention back to Rainkit. “Where do you want me to start?” she asked.
“The beginning,” Rainkit replied simply. Appleleaf snorted.
“Well, obviously,” she muttered, smiling. “Well, for me the beginning would be during the greencough epidemic. But I think that in order to understand why what happened during that leaf-bare was as important as it was, I need to start further back. And you don’t know about the hostility ThunderClan had toward us, do you, Rainkit?”
Rainkit shook her head. “Sparrowtail said that they hated us once, that there were many problems, but she never explained. And they’re our friends now, aren’t they?”
“Not quite friends,” Appleleaf corrected her, twitching her whiskers. “But not enemies. If you want to know about the relationship between ThunderClan and SkyClan at the time, I’ll have to start earlier. Back when I was a kit, back when we’d just had a major battle. It’s one of my earliest memories.
==Chapter 1==
A wail went up through the SkyClan camp.
Applekit jerked her head up, fur bristling, as Amberwhisker suddenly departed from her side and left the den, Swallowfeather right behind her.
“What’s going on?” Applekit yowled, but no cat responded.
“They must be back from the ambush,” her brother, Copperkit, mewed, not bothering to open his eyes. “Remember? A patrol went to go ambush ThunderClan over the prey stealing. Or are you so forgetful that you’d forgotten?” he teased, opening his eyes slightly and grinning at Applekit.
Copperkit’s words stung, but Applekit ignored him. Instead she padded out of the den just in time to see Ripplestripe, the Clan deputy, carrying the dead body of a dark orange she-cat into the hollow.
“Oliveleaf!” A horrified cry sounded from the warriors’ den and Leopardtail bounded toward the body of her daughter, Birchleaf following close behind. The golden tabby she-cat buried her nose into the dead she-cat’s fur, sobbing audibly. Birchleaf padded forward to stand next to her and stroked his tail along his mate’s flank. His green eyes were dark with sorrow.
“How did this happen?” Amberwhisker asked Ripplestripe softly. The black-and-ginger tom had his head bowed, mourning the young she-cat.
“Ripplestripe,” came a voice from the other end of camp. The cats looked up to see Stormstar emerging from her den. Her eyes were blank as she crossed the camp to stand in front of her deputy. “How didthis happen? I sent a patrol to ambush ThunderClan and scare them from taking prey, not to fight so hard that one of our warriors dies.”
“I know, Stormstar,” Ripplestripe muttered, not looking up. “We weren’t going to. But ThunderClan had more on their minds than just prey-stealing. They had been waiting for us with a full force of warriors. They wanted to take some of our territory, so we were forced to defend ourselves.” He looked Stormstar straight in the eyes. “They were out for blood. We’re lucky only Oliveleaf was killed.”
Stormstar narrowed her eyes. “I thought Brownstar was more honorable than that.” Her tail began to lash. “There’s going to be a reckoning for this at the next Gathering.”
“I don’t think Brownstar was the one responsible.” Applekit looked in the direction of the voice to see a dark-colored tom padding up. His eyes were bright with sorrow, and blood stained his fur below a long slash on his flank, but his voice was steady and confident as he said, “Quickfoot was the one leading the attack. It’s questionable if Brownstar even knew what his warriors were planning to do to ours. Brownstar isn’t to blame.”
“But it is his fault, isn’t it?” Applekit whispered to Graykit, who had emerged from the nursery shortly before. “Quickfoot is still his deputy.” Graykit’s response was to nudge Applekit harshly.
“Shut up!”
“Whether or not he was,” Stormstar was saying, “it’s still worth mentioning at the next Gathering. Thanks anyway, Cloudynight.”
“We should go attack ThunderClan right now!” hissed a voice from across the clearing, startling Applekit. She recognized the speaker as Ravenflight, whom she knew was very aggressive. “They killed one of our warriors, for StarClan’s sake!”
“Yeah!” put in Mistpaw, her fur bristling and her eyes wild. “Shouldn’t we take revenge on them?”
“And risk more deaths?” Shrewstep put in softly. A lot of the cats turned to stare at him; Applekit realized that she’d never heard him speak at a Clan meeting before – and there had been a lot of those that she’d witnessed.
“Shrewstep’s right,” Stormstar agreed. “A patrol just got heavily injured, and one of our warriors died. I promise you all, Oliveleaf’s death will not go unpunished, but now is not the time to attack. First we need to let the injured warriors rest and figure out what Brownstar knows about this. There will be a reckoning, though. I can promise you that.” Stormstar’s eyes burned with anger as the Clan yowled their approval around her.
When the yowls quieted down, Stormstar looked around at the gathered cats again. “We need a hunting patrol,” she pointed out. “Who wants to lead it?
“I will,” Brightcloud offered immediately. Applekit wasn’t surprised – Brightcloud always seemed to want to lead the patrols. “I’ll find some cats and go hunt by the RiverClan border.”
Stormstar nodded. “Thanks.” Brightcloud padded away, murmuring to the other warriors, while Stormstar padded up to Oliveleaf’s body and sat down, head bowed.
“I don’t get it,” mewed one of Swallowfeather’s kits, Jaykit, who had sat down next to Applekit. “Why is everyone so upset? Deaths happen in battle, don’t they?”
Applekit was about to open her mouth to reply, but Snowpaw turned around and spoke first. “Not usually,” she explained. “Battles are meant to scare the other Clan or gain territory, not to result in death. It’s against the warrior code.”
“Which ThunderClan has proved they never follow,” grumbled Silverdawn. “First they steal prey, then they kill one of our warriors. They’re just pieces of fox-dung.”
Ignoring Silverdawn, Snowpaw went on, “Warriors aren’t trained to kill, only to injure. StarClan knows what Quickfoot was thinking when she commanded her patrol to fight so brutally!”
“Well, I’m going to be the greatest warrior!” mewed Graykit. “I’ll be so powerful not even Quickfoot can defeat me!”
“You’re too slow!” Copperkit – who had come out to see the commotion shortly before – put in. “I’ll be the greatest warrior, and I’ll prove it!” With that Copperkit leapt over Applekit’s head and tackled Graykit, and the two brothers began to wrestle.
Normally Applekit would have joined in the play-fighting – if they had let her, anyway. But now she couldn’t help but wince at the ferocity with which they struck one another, and she didn’t think she wanted to be involved anymore. Looking back at Oliveleaf’s body, she shuddered and thought to herself,I don’t want to end up killing any cat like that, or witnessing any cat die. I could never bring myself to do that to any cat. Seeing Leopardtail and Birchleaf, Oliveleaf’s parents, with grief raw in their eyes, and Pebblepaw and Larkpaw with their noses buried in their sister’s fur, seeing Ripplestripe looking upset over what had happened on the patrol, seeing her mother Amberwhisker – Oliveleaf’s former mentor – with her head bowed, Applekit knew that she could never inflict this kind of pain on any other cat, not even an enemy ThunderClan warrior.
I always wanted to be a warrior, even when I was only three moons old. But now… Now I’m not so sure.
==Chapter 2==
“Amberwhisker?”
“Yes, Applekit?” the light-colored she-cat meowed without opening her eyes. Applekit knew she hadn’t been asleep: shortly before, Copperkit and Graykit had been whispering about sneaking out and putting thorns in the apprentices’ bedding, only for Amberwhisker to surprise all three kits by saying, “Not as long as you’re still under my watch, you’re not.”
Applekit shuffled her paws on the ground. “Can I go over to Ferndapple’s den and help her with the injured cats?”
Amberwhisker opened her bright green eyes – eyes which every cat said Applekit had inherited – and raised her head, looking at Applekit. “You want to help the medicine cat?” She sounded faintly surprised.
Applekit nodded. “I don’t like seeing all the cats so hurt,” she explained. Lowering her voice, she added, “Maybe once I would have wanted to be a warrior, but now…”
Amberwhisker cut her off with a brisk nod. “I understand,” she responded. “Every cat goes through the phase where they seriously wonder about their role as a warrior. It’s natural. But if you want to go help Ferndapple, I suppose that’s better than sitting around here all day, right?” She grinned slightly. “Go ahead.”
Applekit could barely stop herself from leaping into the air with joy. Collecting her composure, she meowed, “Thank you, Amberwhisker!” and promptly pulled her way out from under the large bramble patch that sheltered the nursery.
The sun was bright and clear, shining down onto the SkyClan camp with such ferocity that Applekit had to stop and blink several times to get used to it. A chilly wind blew across the camp, making Applekit shiver. It was leaf-fall; all around SkyClan territory golden and red leaves were blowing from the trees to form a layer over the ground that crunched under every cat’s paws. Soon, Applekit knew, it would be leaf-bare: prey would be scarce, the threat of greencough would keep Ferndapple constantly busy, and snow would cover the camp, making it impossible to go anywhere without getting soaked in freezing flakes.
Or, at least, that’s what Amberwhisker had always said about leaf-bare. Applekit shuddered. She just had to hope that none of it was as serious as the golden-brown dappled she-cat implied.
Shaking her head to clear the dark thoughts, Applekit resumed her trot across the hollow. Ferndapple’s den was across the clearing, hidden in a corner of camp where cats rarely went at the edge of the hollow. The grass was taller and more sheltered in this area of camp, and ferns protected the area from wind and rain. Applekit had only been here once before – to see Copperkit when the golden-brown tabby had been playing too rough with Graykit and scratched his pelt on the brambles protecting the nursery. She hadn’t been in Ferndapple’s den proper, but she knew that the brown tabby kept her herbs safe by placing them under the ferns that protected the den. She headed for the den, only to stop as her father, Owlswoop, emerged from the warriors’ den and padded over to her.
“Where are you going?” he asked, his eyes friendly.
“To Ferndapple’s den,” Applekit replied simply. “I want to help treat the injured cats that are over there.” She wasn’t surprised when Owlswoop’s eyes widened in slight surprise.
“Really?” he asked, interested. “Amberwhisker said it was okay?” Applekit nodded. “All right, then. Be careful.” He bent down to lick Applekit on the head.
“I will,” Applekit purred. Owlswoop padded off without a reply and Applekit stared after him. Owlswoop didn’t often talk to his kits. Applekit knew he loved them, but if what Amberwhisker had told them about their father was any indication, he felt awkward around them and didn’t know how to talk to them. This was one of the first times Owlswoop had actually talked to her without her or Amberwhisker starting the conversation.
Feeling a little happier about herself, Applekit continued to cross the clearing to Ferndapple’s den.
“Ow! It hurts!” came a hiss from the den as Applekit approached.
“Yes, but it will stop hurting sooner if you’ll just stay still for me,” came the reply through gritted teeth. Nosing her way through the tall grass, Applekit saw Pebblepaw laying on his side in a bit of moss, his face contorted with pain. Ferndapple was firmly licking his wounds, and as she watched Pebblepaw squirmed again and let out a yelp. Ferndapple pulled back.
“Honestly, Pebblepaw, you’re almost a warrior,” she grumbled. “Warriors don’t complain when they get hurt. Or would you rather the wound get infected?”
Grimacing, Pebblepaw lay still, although Applekit could tell he was straining every muscle in his body to not flinch as Ferndapple went back to licking.
Neither cat had noticed her, so Applekit let out a small cough. Ferndapple paused mid-lick and looked up, eyes wide with surprise, before she realized who it was.
“Applekit,” she greeted the tortoiseshell kit. “What are you doing here? Did Copperkit fall into the brambles again?” Applekit shook her head.
“Nothing like that,” she replied. “I was just wondering if you needed any help treating the injured cats.”
Ferndapple took a moment to respond. Applekit knew she was taken aback by the offer. After all, she had never shown any interest in medicine before now. “That’s a very kind offer,” Ferndapple responded slowly. “And in fact I think there is something you can do. Distract Pebblepaw here while I finish applying this poultice to his scratches.”
Slightly disappointed that she wasn’t doing something more interesting, but at the same time grateful that Ferndapple had allowed her to help at all, Applekit padded over to the mottled brown-and-gray apprentice. Sitting down next to him, out of Ferndapple’s way, she asked, “How was the battle?”
“Really rough,” Pebblepaw responded, wincing slightly as Ferndapple resumed her licking. “ThunderClan weren’t playing nice. They were all-out attacking us. How do you think I got as many scratches as I did?” he boasted, with a slight superiority to his voice. Applekit sighed inwardly. Pebblepaw always liked to boast about how he was the best apprentice because he was so close to becoming a warrior. “I fought off a giant ThunderClan warrior! He tried to pin me down, but I was too quick for him. I slithered out from under his paws and jumped on his back.”
“That doesn’t sound like a story of getting scratches,” Applekit pointed out cheekily. Pebblepaw looked embarrassed.
“Well,” he admitted, “I didn’t escape before he managed to scratch me up a bit. But I did manage to get him in the end!”
“I’m sure you did,” Ferndapple muttered suddenly, startling Applekit. “That’s it, Pebblepaw, you’re all done. No – wait!” she hissed, as Pebblepaw got to his paws and turned back toward the camp. “I’d like you to stay here another night. We don’t want you getting into anything that might reopen those wounds.”
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Pebblepaw flopped back down on his side.
“I bet warriors don’t have to stay in the den another night,” he muttered to Applekit, looking upset. Applekit knew he hadn’t intended for Ferndapple to hear, but both cats were surprised when Ferndapple responded.
“For your information,” she said loudly, “Cloudynight is staying here another night. And so is Ripplestripe, for that matter. Warriors can suffer just as much damage as apprentices. The sooner you realize that, the better.”
Pebblepaw sighed heavily. Applekit couldn’t help but giggle. “You’re not a warrior yet,” she reminded him cheekily. Pebblepaw glared at Applekit so strongly that she stopped giggling and awkwardly turned to Ferndapple. “Is there anything else I can do?” she asked.
“Sure,” Ferndapple replied. “I need to check Ripplestripe’s wounds again. Do you want to come with me?”
Applekit’s tail shot straight up. “A-are you serious?” she stammered. Ferndapple rolled her eyes.
“I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t,” she pointed out. “Now come on. If you stop asking mouse-brained questions and follow me I might even let you help me apply a poultice.”
Applekit was too shocked to respond. Instead she just followed Ferndapple as the older brown she-cat padded back through the grasses to where the black-and-ginger tom was laying on his side, dozing. As Ferndapple and Applekit approached, he opened his eyes and lifted his head.
“Applekit?” he murmured, surprised. “Are you helping Ferndapple?” Applekit nodded.
“For right now, at least,” she explained. Ripplestripe didn’t say anything else; he simply closed his eyes and put his head back on his paws.
“He’s exhausted and upset,” Ferndapple whispered to Applekit. “It’d be best not to talk to him about the battle.” Louder, she added, “I’m here to put a poultice on to keep out infection.” Ripplestripe twitched his ears to show he had heard, and Ferndapple padded back to the herb store and returned a moment later carrying a bundle of leaves in her mouth. Spitting them out next to Applekit, she meowed, “Could you chew these up best you can? I’m going to check Ripplestripe over and figure out where I need to apply the herbs.” With that she padded over to Ripplestripe, leaving Applekit alone to chew up the herbs.
They had a foul, bitter taste to them, but Applekit continued chewing anyway. When it got to the point that her mouth was full of muck, she spat the mixture out, cringing at the taste. Ferndapple looked up.
“Looks good,” she meowed, nodding. “Do you want to apply it?”
“H-how?” Applekit asked nervously. She didn’t want to mess this up and end up responsible for the deputy’s death.
“It’s not a life-threatening thing,” Ferndapple assured her, clearly seeing her fright. “It’ll just keep out infection. Here, watch what I do.” She took some of the muck in her mouth and began to lick a long scratch on Ripplestripe’s flank firmly, letting the muck plaster itself over his fur. To his credit, Ripplestripe didn’t even flinch, though Applekit supposed he’d been through enough battles to know what the treatment felt like. When Ferndapple was done with the scratch, she turned back to Applekit. “Now you try,” she meowed. “Go for the scratch on his paw.”
Ripplestripe stuck his paw out as Applekit gathered up some of the foul-tasting muck in her mouth and moved closer to the deputy. She began to lick his wound rhythmically, shuddering at the feeling of the cut under her tongue but relieved that at least she could help him recover. When all the muck had come out of her mouth, she looked up at Ferndapple, who had been watching her.
“That was pretty good,” Ferndapple praised her, nodding. “You could have done it a little bit firmer, though. The leaf juice really needs to get into the wounds to help them heal.”
“Sorry!” Applekit squeaked. She was about to turn back to Ripplestripe when Ferndapple moved to her side and put a paw out to stop her.
“It’s fine, Applekit,” she meowed. “Don’t worry about doing it again. I’ll take care of it. I’m just letting you know for next time.” Applekit nodded, although she still felt slightly guilty. “I think that’s all we need to do for now,” Ferndapple told her. “You can go back to the nursery now.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. She felt strangely disappointed that there was nothing left for her to do. Ferndapple nodded.
“Yes,” she said softly. “I appreciate your help, but there’s nothing left to do here. Go back to Amberwhisker.”
Applekit nodded. “All right,” she responded, padding out of the den and back across the camp. Despite feeling disappointed that she couldn’t help any longer, she also felt very happy. Getting to help Pebblepaw and Ripplestripe was fun, she thought, and she wanted to come back and help tomorrow.
Ferndapple was right when she said there’d be a next time, she thought. I’m coming back, certainly. I think I want to be a medicine cat!
==Chapter  3==
The next few days saw Applekit consistently returning to Ferndapple’s den in the hopes of finding more things to do to help her out. Sorting herbs, making poultices – Ferndapple even let her apply treatment a few times. One by one, the three cats that were still in Ferndapple’s den – Pebblepaw, Cloudynight and Ripplestripe – recovered from their wounds and moved back into the camp, while the lesser wounds on the other cats that had been in the battle healed as well. Soon there were no cats left to treat, yet Applekit kept returning to Ferndapple’s den anyway out of pure interest.
“Any cat would think you want to be a medicine cat,” Copperkit had teased her.
“And what’s wrong with that?” Applekit had retorted indignantly.
“Oh, nothing,” Copperkit had mewed lightly, “if you want to spend all your time fussing over herbs and living among sick cats.”
“That’s exactly what I want,” Applekit had hissed back.
Applekit was sure of it now. For her entire life she had been positive she wanted to be a warrior – she’d play-fought with her brothers when they’d let her and she’d hunted leaves like the other kits had. She’d asked to learn battle moves from the apprentices and hunting skills from any warrior that happened to pass by the nursery. But ever since the fight with ThunderClan she hadn’t wanted to do any of those things – rather she was asking Ferndapple about herbs and remedies rather than fighting moves and hunting skills.
And that was just fine by her.
“Applekit, are you okay?” asked a voice, making Applekit jump. She had been so caught up in her medicine cat thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Swallowfeather’s kit Eaglekit standing beside her in the nursery. “You were staring off into space.”
“Yeah, I’m just fine. Just thinking,” Applekit responded. It was the truth. “Thinking about how I’m going to be a medicine cat instead of a warrior.”
Eaglekit’s ears flicked in surprise. He’d noticed Applekit’s frequent visits to the medicine cat's den, but Applekit knew he hadn’t thought that she was actually going to change her mind about becoming a warrior. “I thought you always wanted to be a warrior,” he said. “You always fought with Copperkit and Graykit.”
“I know,” Applekit replied, nodding. “But ever since the battle with ThunderClan I’ve decided I really don’t want to be involved in fighting constantly. I’d rather help the cats that have been fighting.”
Eaglekit nodded. “I suppose that makes sense,” he responded. “I’m going to miss you when I move to the apprentices’ den and you’re not there, though.”
Applekit smiled. “I’ll miss you too, Eaglekit,” she replied, leaning over and licking the smaller kit on the head. “Come see me sometimes, okay?”
Eaglekit purred. “I will,” he replied. Both cats turned toward the entrance to the nursery as Amberwhisker crawled back in. Copperkit and Graykit, who had been play-fighting – that’s all they do anymore, thought Applekit – instantly broke apart and ran up to greet her.
“Where did you go?” Graykit asked.
“I was talking to Stormstar,” Amberwhisker told them. “You three are six moons old, and I was talking about your apprentice ceremony. She agreed that we’re going to hold it tomorrow at sunhigh.”
Both Copperkit and Graykit let out excited mews, and Applekit couldn’t help feeling a rush of joy too. Tomorrow she would begin her actual apprenticeship to Ferndapple – living in the medicine cats’ den, learning the names of the herbs and where to find them. She couldn’t wait.
“Amberwhisker,” she began, suddenly nervous, “you did ask Stormstar about me being Ferndapple’s apprentice, right?” She was relieved when Amberwhisker nodded.
“She said she’d already talked to Ferndapple about that, and Ferndapple’s willing to take you on as an apprentice.”
Applekit grinned. “Great!” she meowed happily.
“So,” Eaglekit murmured, looking over at her, “by this time tomorrow you’ll be sleeping in Ferndapple’s den, right?”
“Yep!” Applekit responded, unable to contain her excitement. “I’ll be going to be learning the herbs, where to find them and collecting them.”
“Sounds kind of fun,” Eaglekit mewed, though Applekit could tell he had no interest in becoming a medicine cat. “Could I come with you when you become an apprentice?”
Applekit purred. “Maybe when you become an apprentice,” she responded, grinning. “But for now you have to stay in the nursery with Jaykit.”
Eaglekit growled, his ears flattening. “I’m big enough to be an apprentice! Aren’t I, Swallowfeather?” he asked, turning back to address his mother, who was busy talking to Amberwhisker. The blue-gray she-cat turned to look at her son.
“Not quite,” she meowed. “You’re still scrawny. A newly-named ThunderClan apprentice could shred you! And you know how high tensions with ThunderClan are right now. I don’t want my kit getting killed because he thinks he can fight.”
Applekit couldn’t help cringing. Swallowfeather had always been very straightforward and honest, even to her own kits. But to his credit Eaglekit didn’t seem to be offended; he simply rolled his eyes and turned back to Applekit.
“She’ll think I’m scrawny even when I’m a full-grown warrior,” he muttered, looking annoyed.
“You’re two moons younger than me,” Applekit pointed out cheekily, grinning. Eaglekit glared at her and flicked her with his tail. “But seriously, you’ll be an apprentice soon enough. If you want, you can ask Copperkit and Graykit for battle moves. I’m sure they’ll indulge.”
Eaglekit shrugged. “I might,” he replied, though Applekit knew he wasn’t going to. “I’ll find something, I’m sure.”
Applekit grinned. “You can always come visit me in Ferndapple’s den if you’re bored!” she pointed out. “I’m not going to be so busy all the time that I can’t at least talk to you.”
“All right,” Eaglekit mewed, looking a little happier. Looking past Applekit, he added, “It’s getting dark out. If you want to be ready for the ceremony tomorrow, you might want to go to sleep.”
Applekit didn’t feel tired in the slightest, but she figured Eaglekit had a point. She padded past Eaglekit to her nest in the corner of the nursery and lay down, resting her head on her paws. She was aware of Eaglekit pressed up against her as she drifted into sleep.
==Chapter 4==
“Let all the cats of SkyClan gather beneath the Talltree for a Clan meeting!”
Amberwhisker gasped. “That’s Stormstar, starting the meeting! Copperkit, come here – you look like you’ve just fallen into a thorn bush. Graykit, don’t go scuffing your fur up now! Applekit –”
“Amberwhisker,” meowed Swallowfeather from where she was sitting on the other side of the nursery with Eaglekit and Jaykit at her paws, “they look fine. Just let them go already, unless you want them to be late to their own apprentice ceremony!”
“Well, no, I –” Applekit didn’t hear the rest of what Amberwhisker was saying, because she found herself being bundled out of the nursery by Copperkit and Graykit, who were racing out, fur fluffed up with excitement. She tumbled out after them and, scrambling to her feet, chased them to the base of the Talltree. She skidded to a halt by the roots, looking up at the tree with wide eyes. Stormstar was staring down at the three of them with amusement in her eyes.
Oh, no, Applekit thought, don’t tell me I made a fool of myself right before my apprentice ceremony!
As the last members of SkyClan emerged from their dens, Stormstar raised her head and began to speak again.
“We are gathered here to make three kits in our Clan apprentices,” she announced. “Amberwhisker’s kits, Copperkit, Graykit and Applekit, have reached six moons and are now ready to participate in Clan life. Copperkit, step forward.”
As the golden-brown tabby stepped forward, tail held high with anticipation, Stormstar nimbly leapt down the branches of the thorn tree underneath which she made her den and padded forward to stand in front of Copperkit. “Copperkit,” she began, “from this day forward, you shall be known as Copperpaw.” The newly-named Copperpaw didn’t speak, but Applekit could have sworn she saw him wriggle with anticipation. “Your mentor will be Tawnyflower. I hope she passes all her loyalty on to you, and may she guide you until you are ready to take on a warrior name.”
A ginger-and-white tabby Applekit knew to be Tawnyflower padded forward from the crowd. Applekit knew she rarely spoke and was somewhat secretive, but Applekit had seen firsthand the examples of loyalty she had shown – after the battle with ThunderClan a quarter moon before, Tawnyflower had been on almost every border and hunting patrol she could possibly go on. She hadn’t often seen the ginger tabby show any emotion besides determination, but now her eyes were lit with barely-concealed excitement – she looked almost as happy to be named Copperpaw’s mentor as the tabby tom looked to be named an apprentice. She touched noses with Copperpaw, and the two cats withdrew into the crowd.
“Graykit, step forward.”
The smoky gray tabby padded forward, head and tail held high, to meet his leader. Applekit couldn’t help rolling her eyes: even during his apprentice ceremony her brother still had to act like he was better than every cat, even to her leader. She heard some light laughter around her; she figured the cats were laughing at Graykit’s arrogance. He’ll get better once he realizes the other apprentices are better than him, she figured.
“Graykit,” Stormstar meowed, her eyes light with amusement – she must have noticed Graykit’s smugness too, Applekit figured – “from this moment on you will be known as Graypaw.” Graypaw nodded slightly, his head still held high. “Until you have earned your warrior name, your mentor will be Cloudynight.”
Applekit couldn’t help being surprised. Cloudynight was a very soft-spoken warrior, a logical-minded cat who never let his emotions get the better of him – he was the only cat able to calm down his mate, the hot-headed Silverdawn. It seemed like an odd match – Graykit had always been battle-hungry and rash, the complete opposite of Cloudynight. Perhaps that’s the reason Stormstar chose him, she suddenly realized. To calm him down some.
Whatever the reason, Cloudynight was still her brother’s mentor now. The dark-colored tom stepped forward, blue eyes calm, and touched noses with Graypaw; both cats withdrew to stand by Tawnyflower and Copperpaw.
Suddenly nervous now that it was her turn, Applekit turned to Stormstar as Stormstar looked down at her in the same instant. “And finally, Applekit wishes to be a medicine cat apprentice.”
Murmurs went up through the Clan. No cat was actually surprised – Applekit knew that most of them had noticed the time she’d spent in Ferndapple’s den over the past quarter moon – but they were curious, Applekit figured.
“Ferndapple,” Stormstar continued, “do you believe that Applekit possesses the virtues necessary to learn the ways of medicine and StarClan?”
Applekit turned to where Stormstar was looking to see the mottled brown tabby emerge from the crowd to stand next to her. “She does, Stormstar,” Ferndapple meowed with a nod. Applekit was relieved – at least Ferndapple was accepting her!
“Do you wish to take Applekit as your apprentice?” Stormstar asked. Ferndapple nodded again.
“She will be a medicine cat the Clan can be proud of,” she agreed.
“In that case, Applekit, from this moment on you shall be known as Applepaw.” The new name sounded odd in Applekit’s – Applepaw’s – ears, but she figured she’d get used to it shortly. “Ferndapple, pass down all the skills you have with healing to Applepaw.”
Ferndapple nodded once more. “Of course.” She turned to Applepaw, who reached forward to touch her new mentor’s nose with her own. Ferndapple backed into the crowd, and Applepaw hastily followed.
“May these three apprentices prosper with StarClan’s blessing and become warriors – and a medicine cat – that their Clan can be proud of,” Stormstar finished. All the SkyClan warriors raised their voices to call out, “Copperpaw! Graypaw! Applepaw! Copperpaw! Graypaw! Applepaw!”
Feeling warm that the Clan was treating her so well, Applepaw turned to Ferndapple. “What are we going to do first?”
Ferndapple rolled her eyes and purred. “You’ve just been named my apprentice, and you’re already wondering what we’re doing? Ugh! Young cats these days,” she muttered mockingly, shaking her head from side to side. “No, I know you’re anxious to get started,” she said as Applepaw scuffed her paws in the grass, embarrassed. “You’ve already learned some of the basics of healing over the past few days, so I figured we’d start out by showing you SkyClan territory and where the herbs grow best. After all, a medicine cat has to know her way around the territory just as well as a warrior does!”
Applepaw purred. “Are we leaving now, then?”
Ferndapple thought for a second. “Let me talk to Tawnyflower and Cloudynight,” she finally said. “We could tag along with their patrol if they’re touring the territory too.” Leaving Applepaw by the roots of Stormstar’s tree, she padded over to where Applepaw’s brothers were talking to their mentors by the entrance of the camp.
“Congratulations,” meowed a soft voice behind Applepaw. Applepaw jumped and turned to see Amberwhisker a few tail-lengths away, her tail entwined with Owlswoop’s. “I think you’re going to be a great medicine cat.”
Applepaw couldn’t help purring again. She padded over to her parents, who were looking down at her with warmth.
“I thought this day would never come,” Amberwhisker pointed out. “I thought you and your brothers were destined to be kits forever.”
Owlswoop nudged her playfully and looked at her. “You weren’t a kit forever, were you?”
“No,” Amberwhisker admitted. “But it’s different when you have kits then when you are one. Ah, well,” she mewed, “at least now I get to go back to the warriors’ den. It’s been a long time since I last slept in there.”
Applepaw was about to agree, until she realized that she’d never be sleeping in the warriors’ den. She was going to be in the medicine cats’ den – her den, now, she supposed – until she either died or became an elder.
That’s the life I’ve committed myself to, she thought. I don’t want to change it.
“I think Ferndapple’s coming back to talk to you,” Owlswoop meowed, breaking Applepaw out of her thoughts. She turned around to see Ferndapple padding back toward her, and she ran up to meet her.
“Cloudynight is giving Graypaw some hunting practice,” Ferndapple explained, “and Tawnyflower is working on seeing what fighting skills Copperpaw already possesses. It looks like we’ll be touring the territory alone.”
“Oh.” Applepaw couldn’t help feeling disappointed. She had been looking forward to going on her first patrol as an apprentice with her brothers. I need to stop hoping they’ll be included, she thought. They’re warrior apprentices, and I’m a medicine cat apprentice. It’s doubtful I’ll ever get to do anything with them.
Not that it matters, of course. I’d much rather be a medicine cat than a warrior.
“Are you ready to go?” Ferndapple asked. Applepaw looked up at her in shock.
“What – now?” she asked incredulously.
Ferndapple shrugged. “Why not? Aren’t you the one that wanted to go out immediately anyway?”
“Yes – definitely!” Applepaw responded quickly, smiling. “I’m ready to go.” She turned and headed toward the edge of the hollow, pushing her way through the tall grasses to stand at the top of the hollow. The entirety of SkyClan territory stretched before her. Territory that she had, of course, never set paw on before. Ferndapple caught up to her and flicked her with her tail.
“Off to patrol the territory,” she meowed, smiling. And with that Ferndapple and Applepaw set off onto SkyClan territory for the first time in Applepaw’s life.
Herbs aren’t abundant on SkyClan territory,” Ferndapple meowed as she and Applepaw picked their way across the short, springy grass. “Most of the worthwhile herbs grow by the borders – watermint, coltsfoot, comfrey, horsetail, marigold and feverfew all grow well by the RiverClan border, while borage, dock and tansy are common by the ThunderClan border, where the forest is thick. The Twoleg nests at the other end of the territory are also a great source for sorrel and catmint – catmint is especially important, since it’s the best remedy for greencough.”
“Are there no herbs that grow on our territory?” Applepaw asked. She thought that SkyClan would never have made their home where they did if there were no herbs except at the borders with other Clans.
“There are,” Ferndapple explained as the two medicine cats picked their way through a patch of especially tall grass. “Goldenrod is abundant here, and lavender is common as well. In the leaf-fall it’s easy to find oak leaves, and there are various juniper bushes around the territory. We have the herbs we need to survive – they’re just often spaced out all around the territory.”
“What happens if the other Clans decide to steal some of the territory?”
Ferndapple was silent for a moment, not looking at Applepaw as the two she-cats continued across the short grass. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve always been at war with RiverClan,” she explained. “They think the entire river should belong to them since they’re the only ones with the expertise to swim and catch fish – I think we would have let them have it, except some of the best herbs grow in the places they want to take from us. They don’t realize just how scarce herbs are in our territory, and we’re not about to let them know. Anyway,” Ferndapple finished, stopping short next to Applepaw, “we shouldn’t be discussing a sensitive topic like this here. We’re approaching RiverClan territory.”
The two cats headed up over a small hill, and upon reaching the top Applepaw was able to see over a wide stretch of land – for at the bottom of the hill was the river that marked the border with RiverClan, beyond which Applepaw knew RiverClan territory was located. All around the stream there were thick clumps of growth, and Applepaw understood at once how precious this area was to SkyClan medicine cats – there were so many different types of plants that Applepaw hadn’t seen on their trek across SkyClan territory that suddenly the rest of the territory seemed bare in comparison.
“Like I said earlier,” Ferndapple continued, “a lot of herbs grow well here. Come on, let’s go see the plants.”
The two cats headed down the hill. Applepaw headed for a bush of white flowers that looked a little like daisies, but Ferndapple veered away, heading for a small patch of bright yellow flowers.
“Marigold,” she pointed out as Applepaw approached. “You can remember it because the flower is, well, gold. It’s good for stopping infection and helping heal stiff joints. Typically I find goldenrod to be better for treating wounds, but marigold has its uses.”
“Do you need me to collect some?” Applepaw asked. She wasn’t too thrilled by the idea – the big golden flowers looked like they’d choke her if she tried to take them in her mouth.
Ferndapple purred, clearly sensing Applepaw’s reluctance. “Not now,” she meowed. “We have good stocks of everything back in the camp. No, I just wanted to show you some of the most useful plants. Come on, I have more to show you.”
Leaving the golden flowers behind, Ferndapple turned to another clump of flowers, this time a clump of tall, leafy plants with light purple flowers. “This is watermint,” she explained to Applepaw. “As the name suggests, it grows well in wet areas, hence why it’s so thick here. Good for bellyache.”
“It smells really strong,” Applepaw commented, wrinkling up her nose. Ferndapple purred.
“It’s a minty smell,” she explained. “You’d better get used to it – it’s one of the best herbs for healing bellyache, and mint leaves and catmint smell minty too.”
Applepaw wasn’t exactly pleased by how odd these plants all smelled, but she figured she’d get used to it. “Come on,” Ferndapple meowed, flicking the tortoiseshell she-cat with her tail. “I have to show you some of the other herbs.”
---
By the time the sun was going down that night, the two she-cats had already covered most of the territory bordering RiverClan and ThunderClan. Applepaw couldn’t help feeling exhausted: she’d never been on such a long walk before, and trying to remember all the herbs was giving her a slight headache. I should take feverfew for that. Or was it tansy that was good for that? She shook her head. That was a lot to take in for my first day as a medicine cat apprentice!
Ferndapple looked over; Applepaw figured the mottled medicine cat had noticed her confusion. “It’ll come with time,” she soothed. “No medicine cat is perfect at remembering all the herbs right away. It comes with experience. I’ve had you working with me for the past quarter moon, but I was feeding you all of the things you need to know. Now that you’re a medicine cat apprentice you’re going to have to learn what the herbs are as well as how to use them. I’ll work through that with you, of course.”
Applepaw couldn’t help feeling relieved. “I thought I’d have to know all the herbs immediately,” she confessed. Ferndapple purred.
“Not immediately,” she meowed. “It’s a gradual thing. I just wanted to show you where all the best herbs grow for today, because I think you can remember that if nothing else. Tomorrow we’ll be working on identifying the different remedies and how to use them.”
“All right,” Applepaw meowed, nodding. That seemed a lot less demanding than going all over the territory finding certain herbs. After all, she’d already sorted leaves for Ferndapple before she was an apprentice – identifying the leaves she’d sorted should be easy, right?
Suddenly Ferndapple let out a hiss and shot forward. Startled, Applepaw stopped, and followed Ferndapple’s path to see a squirrel fleeing across the ground barely a tail-length in front of the medicine cat. The squirrel leapt for a tree and raced up, but with a terrific bound Ferndapple leapt up into a low-growing branch and sunk her claws into the squirrel, who had fled right into her paws. She quickly bit into its neck to stop its writhing and looked down at Applepaw, who was looking up at the medicine cat with awe.
Ferndapple purred as she lightly jumped down from the branch. She padded over to Applepaw and dropped the squirrel at her paws. “All medicine cats get lessons in hunting and fighting,” she pointed out. “And all SkyClan cats are able to jump, like I just did. I’m not expecting you to catch a squirrel like I just did, but I will be giving you warrior lessons at some point – just remember that.”
“All right,” Applepaw meowed, nodding. She wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of learning battle skills, but she figured it was probably necessary to her continued survival, if she were to end up in a battle.
“Do you want to take the squirrel back?” Ferndapple asked, nudging it toward Applepaw with one paw. Applepaw shook her head and backed away.
“You caught it,” she pointed out. “Not me.” Ferndapple smiled slightly, shook her head and, purring, picked up the squirrel in her jaws and continued back to the camp.
The sky had grown quite dark when Ferndapple and Applepaw approached the camp. Ferndapple shouldered her way through the tall grasses that surrounded the hollow, and Applepaw followed, the tall stems tickling her fur. When she emerged into the open a moment after Ferndapple had, she noticed Cloudynight crossing the camp, looking slightly annoyed, toward Ferndapple.
“There you are,” he meowed as he came within earshot. “Graypaw had some issues when we were doing battle training earlier.”
“I didn’t have issues!” Graypaw squealed, bounding over from the apprentices’ den. “You clawed me!” His fur was fluffed up and his lips were pulled back in anger.
“Because I told you to dodge my claws,” Cloudynight explained patiently. “You didn’t.” Graypaw’s only response was to hiss in annoyance. “Anyway,” Cloudynight continued, ignoring his apprentice, “he’s got some scratches along his side. I believe they stopped bleeding, but I think you should look at them anyway.”
“Yes,” Ferndapple agreed, nodding. “Come on, Graypaw, let’s go see the damage. You too, Applepaw – this could be good experience.” Both apprentices followed Ferndapple across the clearing, to the ferns under which she made her den. Upon arriving, Ferndapple instructed Graypaw to lick off his wounds, and beckoned Applepaw into her herb store in a particularly shaded spot of her den.
“Odds are the wound isn’t going to get infected,” she explained. “Cloudynight’s claws aren’t going to be overly dirty, and the scratches are probably not so deep that they will take a quarter moon to heal. No, I think all we need to do is put a poultice on to make it heal faster.”
Applepaw thought for a second. “Horsetail, perhaps?” she put in. She thought she remembered that horsetail was good for wounds. To her dismay, Ferndapple shook her head.
“Horsetail’s good for infection,” she corrected, “and for stopping the bleeding. All we want to do is make the wound heal faster. For that, goldenrod would be better.”
Right. Goldenrod was the best for healing wounds. Applepaw felt her face flush, embarrassed.
“Don’t worry about it,” Ferndapple meowed soothingly. “Herbs are difficult at first. You’ll get it, I promise.” Despite the reassurance, Applepaw couldn’t help feeling disappointed in herself. For a medicine cat apprentice, she wasn’t doing too well so far.
“It’ll come,” Ferndapple meowed lightly. “For now, do you want to apply the goldenrod to your brother’s scratches?”
Applepaw nodded. “All right,” she agreed. “Do you want me to chew up the goldenrod?”
Ferndapple shook her head. “I’ll do that,” she said. “Can you look at Graypaw’s scratches and see if he licked all the blood off?”
“I did,” muttered Graypaw as Applepaw moved over to her brother’s side and parted his fur with one paw, looking for the scratches Cloudynight had inflicted. She shuddered when she saw three scratches – long but not deep, fortunately – running down his flank. They looked to have stopped bleeding, and Graypaw seemed to have done a pretty good job of cleaning them himself, so Applepaw simply waited until Ferndapple was finished chewing up the goldenrod.
When she was, she moved over to Applepaw and spat out the chewed-up leaves at her paws. Applepaw bent down and licked up the muck, shuddering at the taste, and began to firmly lick it over Graypaw’s scratches.
The feeling didn’t seem to bother Graypaw; if anything, Applepaw noticed him relax as she applied the leaves. “Does that feel better?” Ferndapple asked when Applepaw had finished licking in the goldenrod.
“Yes,” Graypaw mewed, his eyes closed.
“All right, then,” Ferndapple said, nodding. “You can go back to the apprentices’ den, but be very careful not to rub your scratches on anything, and tell Cloudynight not to work you too hard tomorrow.”
“All right,” Graypaw agreed. Getting to his paws, he padded out of the den. He stopped near the entrance and turned to look at Applepaw. “Thanks, Applepaw,” he muttered before continuing across the clearing.
“He’s got to respect you now that you’re a medicine cat,” Ferndapple teased, nudging Applepaw. “Otherwise you’d just withhold treatment.”
Applepaw looked up at her mentor in alarm. “Really? Do medicine cats do that?” Ferndapple purred.
“No,” she meowed lightly. “Never. But he still does have to respect you. If medicine cats weren’t around, StarClan knows where we’d be! Anyway,” she continued, “I’d better show you where your nest is going to be.”
Applepaw nodded. “Okay.” She’d been so caught up in the events of that day that she’d actually forgotten she was now sleeping in the medicine cats’ den rather than the nursery. She followed Ferndapple to the entrance to the medicine cats’ den, where the ferns began to grow and arched over that section of the camp.
“Here,” Ferndapple mewed, pointing with her paw to a slight indentation among the base of the ferns. “If you’re right at the entrance to the den, you’ll be alerted anytime any cat comes over here. Under the ferns, you’re shaded from wind and rain, and the ground’s soft enough that you don’t even need to regularly collect moss!”
Applepaw smiled. “Works for me,” she meowed.
“All right, then,” Ferndapple agreed. “I’ll be going to sleep now. Good night, Applepaw.”
“Good night!” As Ferndapple padded back to her nest, Applepaw lay down in the little indentation that was her nest. She curled up and rested her head on her paws.
So that’s my first day as a medicine cat apprentice, she thought to herself just before she drifted off. I’m on my way to becoming SkyClan’s medicine cat.
A raindrop splashing onto Applepaw’s nose awoke her. She blinked open her weary eyes to see a light mist seeming to cover the ferns around her, and, listening, she realized she could hear the patter of raindrops all around her. Another raindrop fell onto her nose and, hissing with dislike, she stood and moved away from the spot where she had been sleeping, further into the ferns. She turned to lick down her fur before realizing, to her surprise, that it was hardly wet, only damp.
I guess that’s one of the advantages of these ferns, she thought to herself as she huddled beneath them. The ferns had been rubbing uncomfortably against her pelt when she moved around – she had always been a restless sleeper – but not getting wet in the rain was more important, she supposed.
This was the third sunrise since she had gone out with Ferndapple to tour SkyClan territory as an apprentice. Since then, they’d worked on memorizing some of the herbs that Ferndapple had in the store, and Ferndapple had shown her the rest of the herbs on SkyClan territory – the ones that could be found around the Twoleg nests at the far end of the territory and in the open places they hadn’t visited when they were looking at the ThunderClan and RiverClan borders. Applepaw still wasn’t doing a tremendous job of remembering the herbs, and while Ferndapple never said anything she could tell that the old brown she-cat wasn’t exactly happy at this – usually medicine cat apprentices could, at the very least, identify some basic herbs and their uses within the first few days, but Applepaw was failing at even that, leading her to wonder if she was even cut out to be a medicine cat.
I can do it eventually, she thought to herself, narrowing her eyes. I just need some time, that’s all. But even though such thoughts, though they should have boosted her confidence, did not stop her from feeling hollow inside and worthless as a medicine cat apprentice. She sighed and rested her head on her paws miserably, willing the rain to stop so she could go back to sleep in peace.
StarClan, however, was not so willing. Paws pattered on the wet across in the camp; the steps were uneven, as if the cat was limping. The pawsteps grew gradually louder and Applepaw realized they were heading for her den. She raised her head and looked toward the camp just as Shrewstep came into view, holding one paw off the ground and wincing visibly as he limped back toward Ferndapple.
“Something wrong?” Applepaw asked in alarm, getting to her paws. Shrewstep stopped and looked over at the tortoiseshell apprentice.
“I slipped on the wet grass while chasing a mouse,” he muttered. “Wrenched my claws pretty badly.”
Applepaw winced, imagining the brown tom’s pain. “I’ll go get Ferndapple,” she meowed. “You wait somewhere dry.” Without waiting to see if Shrewstep did as she asked, she trotted quickly back toward where Ferndapple slept against the wall of the hollow.
“Ferndapple,” she said as she approached, “Shrewstep wrenched his claws. He’s here now.”
Ferndapple blinked open two bleary amber eyes and looked at Applepaw. “What, you couldn’t wait for me to sleep a little longer before you woke me?” she muttered, half-joking. “I’ll be right there,” she added quickly upon seeing Applepaw flinch. “Don’t worry about it, Applepaw. Go keep Shrewstep company.” Without waiting for another order Applepaw nodded and left, going back to where Shrewstep had lay down with his paw out, eyes closed.
A few moments later the ferns rustled and Ferndapple padded toward them, carrying a bundle in her mouth. She placed the herbs down by her paws and moved in front of them quickly, blocking Applepaw’s view of them.
“I know I’ve taught you this,” she began. “What herb is the best for treating a wrenched claw?”
Despite knowing that the question was coming, Applepaw still hadn’t been able to remember which herb it was. She racked her brain, but all that she could remember was that it was some kind of root.
“… burdock root?” she suggested meekly. Ferndapple shook her head.
“Burdock root’s for rat bites,” she corrected. “It’s comfrey root.”
“Comfrey, comfrey, right,” Applepaw muttered. “I knew it was some root.”
Applepaw could have sworn she heard Ferndapple sigh. “Would you like to chew it up and apply it?” she prompted. Applepaw nodded and moved around Ferndapple to get at the comfrey root. Whilst Ferndapple talked to Shrewstep about his claw, Applepaw munched on the root, chewing up its tough exterior. She was determined to do a good job applying it, at the very least, after her failure to identify it earlier.
When the root had been sufficiently chewed, she made some noise – she couldn’t talk, since she had a bunch of root-muck in her mouth – to get both cats’ attention. She squirmed closer to Shrewstep and began to lick the poultice into the small brown tom’s claw. She heard Shrewstep sigh with relief as the root’s juices seeped in around his claw. She continued licking until the poultice was gone from her mouth, and then looked up at Ferndapple for approval. The brown she-cat nodded.
“Very good, Applepaw,” she praised. “Even if you can’t name the herb, you can at least apply it well.” Applepaw felt warm at the praise.
“Th-thank you, Ferndapple,” she stammered. Ferndapple smiled, her whiskers twitching.
“I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true,” she pointed out. Turning back to Shrewstep, she began to address the brown tom. “I think you’re good,” she meowed. “You can go back to the warriors’ den, at least. Just try to keep your claw still for a while, and certainly don’t go on any more hunting patrols. And try not to get the claw wet.” Ferndapple’s last statement reminded Applepaw that it was still raining: she’d grown so used to the gentle patter of raindrops around her that she’d tuned it out, and only now was she aware of the water falling all around her.
“All right,” Shrewstep agreed, his voice rising above the rain. “Thanks, Ferndapple, Applepaw.” With that he rose to his paws and limped unsteadily out of the den, his pelt getting quickly plastered with rain as he emerged into the open.
With Shrewstep out of earshot, Ferndapple sighed and turned to Applepaw.
“I’ve been wondering over the past few days if you’re fit to be a medicine cat,” she began. “You may have the wish to become a medicine cat, but that is useless if you can’t remember which herb does what. I’ve been wondering if you’re not meant to be a warrior instead.”
Applepaw didn’t reply; she knew what Ferndapple was going to say and she couldn’t argue if the old medicine cat felt that she didn’t have the skill necessary to be a medicine cat. She didn’t meet her mentor’s eyes as she waited for the old she-cat to continue.
“However,” Ferndapple went on, “you clearly have a natural talent for healing, and a sympathy for your patients which is necessary to becoming a medicine cat. I watched as you treated Shrewstep – you knew instinctively how much pressure to apply with your tongue to get the poultice in around his claw while not hurting him. That’s something some medicine cats can spend moons working on. You have the sensitivity to become a medicine cat – it’s the knowledge of herbs that you lack.”
Applepaw finally spoke to her mentor. “Does that mean I can’t be a medicine cat?” she asked timidly, looking up. “Are you going to talk to Stormstar to make me be a warrior apprentice instead?”
“No,” Ferndapple meowed. Applepaw went weak with relief. “As I said, you have the skill and sensitivity to become a medicine cat. It’s the ability to remember herbs that you lack. We’re just going to have to work that much harder to get the herbs in your head.”
“All right,” Applepaw agreed, nodding. She could barely stop herself from letting out a joyous yowl. “Thank you, Ferndapple.”
“Don’t think me,” Ferndapple replied, laughing slightly. Her ears twitched with amusement. “Just thank StarClan that they’re looking out for you. Anyway,” she continued, looking right at Applepaw, “you’ve done very well over the past few days for not remembering the herbs that well. I’m going to ask Stormstar if you can come to the Gathering tonight.”
Applepaw’s ears pricked and her tail shot up. “The Gathering?” she gasped, shocked. “B-but I’ve just become an apprentice!”
Ferndapple snorted and rolled her eyes. “Don’t you realize that most newly-made apprentices go to Gatherings?” she pointed out. “They go because the leader announces when new apprentices or warriors are made and it makes more sense for the apprentices and warriors to actually be there when their names are announced.”
“Oh.” Applepaw hadn’t known that; she had never been to a Gathering, after all. “So I am going?”
“Hopefully,” Ferndapple corrected her. “I still have to talk to Stormstar about it. But it should be fine. In fact,” she meowed, padding toward the entrance to the den, “I’ll do that now.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Applepaw asked, getting to her paws. Ferndapple stopped and thought for a heartbeat.
“No,” she meowed at last. “I had some other things I wanted to talk to Stormstar about anyway. Just stay within the camp.”
“All right,” Applepaw promised, as Ferndapple left the den and started crossing the hollow.
---
“Copperpaw and Graypaw are,” the mottled brown she-cat meowed, “but not you.”
Applepaw winced. “Why not? Does Stormstar think I’m a poor medicine cat so far?”
Ferndapple purred. “No,” she reassured, laughing slightly. “It’s that tensions are really high with ThunderClan right now, and we can’t be sure that the Clan that killed one of our warriors in cold blood will respect the truce, especially if this weather keeps up.” The rain had grown harder since Applepaw had woken up that morning; both medicine cats were huddled under the thickest part of the ferns to avoid getting wet. “I’m growing old, Applepaw, and if it were to come to a battle I’m not sure I could get away without injury. If you were to come along – you, who haven’t learned any battle skills yet – we might end up with both our medicine cats badly injured, which wouldn’t be good for the Clan. So Stormstar and I agreed that you’ll stay here so that SkyClan still has some cat with medicinal knowledge should I get injured.
Applepaw nodded. That made sense. She wasn’t necessarily happy about having to stay home from what could have been her first Gathering, but neither did she want to go and risk getting herself killed or badly injured.
“It should be fine,” Ferndapple meowed, “but we want to be safe. Anyway,” she meowed, padding back toward the herb store, “we have a long time before the Gathering. I was thinking we could try to work on memorizing some more herbs. All right?”
Applepaw mewed her agreement and followed Ferndapple back to the herb store. As Ferndapple quizzed her on the herbs, she did her best to put the Gathering out of her mind.
~Chapter Seven~
The morning after the Gathering, Applepaw was awoken by Stormstar’s cry ringing across the hollow. She raised her head sleepily off her paws and looked out at the camp, wondering what could possibly warrant a Clan meeting this early in the day.
“She’s probably going to talk about what happened at the Gathering last night.” Ferndapple’s voice startled Applepaw; she turned to see the mottled brown she-cat padding out toward the hollow. “After all, it concerns our Clan’s safety.”
Applepaw gasped. “Did ThunderClan try something?”
Ferndapple flicked her ears. “Well… no,” she meowed. “It’s… Come on, let’s hear it from Stormstar.” Without another word she turned and headed out toward the center of camp, and Applepaw had no choice but to scramble to her paws and chase after her.
Most of the Clan had already gathered below the Talltree as Applepaw and Ferndapple slipped into the crowd. Stormstar waited for the last few sleepy-eyed warriors to emerge from the warriors’ den before she spoke.
“I asked Brownstar about the prey-stealing at the Gathering last night, as some of you know,” the black-and-gray she-cat began. “Brownstar claimed to know nothing about it, nor how his warriors had killed Oliveleaf in the battle we just had.”
Yowls of anger went up around the clearing, almost drowning out Stormstar’s last few words.
“That’s a load of fox dung!” one cat – Silverdawn – screeched, her tail lashing angrily and her fur bushed up. “Quickfoot and her warriors were out to inflict as much damage on us as possible. Surely Brownstar knew what his deputy was up to?”
“Brownstar has always been a wise cat, Silverdawn,” Stormstar pointed out, undisturbed by her warriors’ anger. “If he felt like Quickfoot or any other cat was going against his wishes, he would punish them, even if their actions were beneficial to ThunderClan. I honestly don’t think he knew about how severe the battle was, but he promised to look into it after I mentioned it. The problem, however, was with the rest of the ThunderClan cats.”
Uneasy muttering spread through the camp. “What happened?” Applepaw whispered to Ferndapple. Ferndapple’s response was just to nudge her.
“Shh,” she meowed. “Wait for Stormstar to explain.”
“Brownstar wasn’t angry at my accusation,” Stormstar continued, “but I think all of you that were there noticed intense hostility from the other ThunderClan cats.”
“Too right,” Flamescar muttered. The dark reddish tom was looking grumpier than ever, lashing what was left of his tail angrily. “I nearly fought with a ThunderClan apprentice that thought it fit to stand up to me.”
“You wouldn’t have touched him,” Brackentail joked, nudging Flamescar. The light tabby always seemed to be capable of making jokes, even in the most serious situation. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly!”
“Try me,” Flamescar growled, but he was looking less grumpy, and there was an amused gleam in his eyes.
“Anyway,” Stormstar cut in, prompting both Brackentail and Flamescar to look up at their leader. “My point is, the ThunderClan cats were being extremely hostile toward us, except for Brownstar. I would hope that Brownstar can have enough control over his warriors to keep anything from happening, but if Cloudynight was correct in that Quickfoot was leading the most recent attack on our warriors, then we can’t trust that ThunderClan are going to leave us alone completely, even if Brownstar wants to. I am warning every cat to be careful around the ThunderClan border. All apprentices are forbidden to be there without at least one warrior, and I implore all warriors, please try to have another cat around when near the border. We don’t want to risk any one-sided battles or deaths – I think the most recent battle has proven that the ThunderClan cats have no respect for the life of our warriors and will gladly kill our cats.” Applepaw noticed Leopardtail wince a few tail-lengths away; the golden tabby still had not completely recovered from the death of her eldest daughter.
“To that end,” Stormstar continued, “I think at this point it’s worth making two new warriors. Pebblepaw, Larkpaw, step forward.”
Murmurs of surprise went up around the hollow, and Applepaw realized that no cat in the Clan had prepared for this ceremony. Applepaw caught a glimpse of Larkpaw nervously weaving her way through the crowd, and she realized that not even the two apprentices that were about to be made warriors were expecting it.
“I know this is impromptu,” Stormstar meowed, addressing Applepaw’s thoughts. “But I think SkyClan needs warriors more than ever. Pebblepaw certainly showed that he’s learned the ways of a warrior when he fought in the battle with ThunderClan, and Larkpaw’s been doing a lot to help the Clan since then. I think they’re both ready to take their warrior names. Wouldn’t you agree, Brightcloud, Mudstep?” The two mentors nodded their assent as Stormstar leapt down from the Talltree and padded up to Larkpaw and Pebblepaw.
Raising her head to the sky, the dark-colored leader called out, “I, Stormstar, leader of SkyClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of the warrior code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn.” Turning first to Pebblepaw, the SkyClan leader continued, “Pebblepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?”
There was no hesitation in the mottled tom’s voice as he clearly stated, “I do.”
“Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Pebblepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Pebblefall. StarClan honors your bravery and your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.” With that, Stormstar moved forward and rested her muzzle on the newly-named Pebblefall’s head, and he licked her shoulder in return. Stormstar moved away and turned to Larkpaw. “Larkpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life.”
Larkpaw’s assent was quieter than her brother’s, but still determined. “I do.”
“Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Larkpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Larkflight. StarClan honors your intelligence and your energy, and we welcome you as a full warrior of SkyClan.” Stormstar and Larkflight exchanged the same respectful gesture that the leader and Pebblefall had as the SkyClan cats began to chant the two warriors’ names. “Pebblefall! Larkflight! Pebblefall! Larkflight!”
“You can’t hold your vigil now,” Stormstar pointed out once the sound had died down, “unless you want to be here for an entire day. No, just find yourselves some spot to keep vigil when the sun starts to go down tonight. Until then, feel free to go about as normal – and make yourselves some nests in the warriors’ den. Don’t steal one of the senior warriors’ nests, though. They’ll be mad.”
Despite the uneasy feeling that had been present in the Clan ever since Stormstar had spoken about the Gathering, a few purrs of amusement went up around the camp, and Applepaw realized that, at least for the time being, Stormstar had soothed the Clan’s fears. The rest of the Clan was gathering around the two newly-named warriors to congratulate them, and Applepaw was wondering if she should join then when Ferndapple padded up to her.
“Well now,” Ferndapple meowed dryly, “that’s an interesting way to preface a warrior ceremony.”
Applepaw’s ears twitched in confusion. “Does that not normally happen?”
“Not really,” Ferndapple explained. “You know that apprentices usually undergo assessments before their warrior ceremonies. But even besides that, if they don’t have assessments, usually they’ve just done something worthwhile that proves their ability to be warriors. It’s been a quarter moon since the battle with ThunderClan. Stormstar’s only doing it so we can have more warriors at our disposal.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Applepaw asked, tilting her head.
“Yeah,” Ferndapple agreed. “It just doesn’t usually happen this way. Anyway,” she continued, “that’s not important. What is important is that I’d like to go over the most important battle remedies with you again. Come on; we’re going back to the den.”
As Applepaw followed her mentor back to the medicine cats’ den, she couldn’t help thinking about Ferndapple’s words, about the apparent threat that ThunderClan was posing. Well, whatever happens, we’ll survive, she decided. No matter what ThunderClan wants to do to us, we’re ready to fight back for the pride of SkyClan.
Weak sunlight shone down on the fields of SkyClan territory as Applepaw traipsed across them, scenting the air every few steps in the hopes of finding the herb she was looking for – dock. It grew best by the ThunderClan border, she knew; while Stormstar had decreed that no apprentice was to leave the camp without at least one warrior, Ferndapple had thought it safe for Applepaw to go alone, since ThunderClan wouldn’t be so cruel to attack a medicine cat, Ferndapple thought. She was still slightly nervous at being so close to the border by herself, but if Ferndapple thought it was okay, it should be fine – Ferndapple wouldn’t risk her apprentice’s life.
Wind blew from the ThunderClan territory, ruffling Applepaw’s fur and carrying with it the tangy scent of dock. Twitching her whiskers happily, she bounded forward toward the undergrowth that was clustered around the border. She sniffed among the various plants, searching out the scent of dock, and upon discovering its source, began to tear some of the leaves from the stem.
“What are you doing?” a hostile voice growled from in front of her. Applepaw looked up to see five ThunderClan cats standing on their side of the border, looking down at her angrily.
Applepaw set the dock leaves down slowly. Her heart was pounding with fear – these ThunderClan cats looked like they would attack her in a heartbeat – but she forced herself to be calm as she meowed, “I’m Applepaw, Ferndapple’s apprentice. I’m on my side of the border – I’m collecting dock leaves.”
“You know that if you take the leaves from the dock plants, it means dock can’t grow as well in this area, even on our side of the border?” snarled a light gray tabby tom. “You’re deliberately depriving ThunderClan of herbs!”
“I’m not!” Applepaw protested, taking a step back as the five ThunderClan cats advanced toward her. “We need dock leaves, so I’m collecting them. Mallowleaf would do the exact same thing!”
“And hurting ThunderClan in the process!” a small gray tabby she-cat – Applepaw guessed she was an apprentice – yowled. “It’s just as bad as prey-stealing!” Without waiting for Applepaw to respond she leaped at the tortoiseshell apprentice, bowling her over and hissing in her face. Applepaw writhed desperately and managed to escape from the apprentice’s grasp. Without looking back Applepaw hared off toward the SkyClan camp, forgetting the dock leaves entirely.
Pawsteps sounded behind her and she realized with horror that the patrol was pursuing her. “You’re not going to get away with stealing our herbs!” one of the cats screeched. It was all Applepaw could do to keep running.
Suddenly a bush nearby rustled and a small dark shape shot out, barreling into one of the cats pursuing her. Applepaw skidded to a halt and whipped around to see Eaglekit clawing at the apprentice that had attacked her earlier.
“Eaglekit!” she yowled, running back toward the patrol. “What in StarClan’s name are you doing here?”
“Helping you!” the little brown-and-white tabby yelled back as the apprentice swiped sharp claws down his side, causing him to let out a screech of pain.
“You let him go!” Applepaw howled, bowling the apprentice over. “Eaglekit, run!” she hissed as the apprentice slashed at her ear, ripping the skin and causing blood to flow down her ear and down the side of her head. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Eaglekit stagger to his paws and unsteadily limp away, only for one of the ThunderClan warriors to move toward him, claws outstretched. Applepaw saw no more as the ThunderClan apprentice sank her teeth into Applepaw’s front paw, causing Applepaw to yowl in fury and loosen her grip; the apprentice shot out from under her paws and turned, leaping for Applepaw.
This is hopeless, Applepaw thought. I’m outnumbered and outclassed, and certainly Eaglekit isn’t going to be able to do anything against this patrol. She flinched and screeched in pain as the ThunderClan apprentice began to slash at her chest, leaving long marks in her skin. A shadow fell over her and one of the ThunderClan warriors was at the apprentice’s side, quietly saying “Finish her, Ashpaw. Brownstar needn’t know about this. One step closer to achieving Quickfoot’s dream.”
A yowl went up and Applepaw closed her eyes and braced herself, preparing for the worst. But suddenly the weight on her body disappeared. Scrambling to her paws and opening her eyes, Applepaw saw Pebblefall slashing at the apprentice, while Brightcloud, Ripplestripe, Amberwhisker and Robinpaw attacked the other warriors…
Applepaw gasped. A SkyClan patrol! That yowl hadn’t been a ThunderClan warrior; it was Ripplestripe, instructing his patrol to charge into battle.
“Don’t stay here, Applepaw!” Pebblefall hissed as he tussled with Ashpaw. “Make sure Eaglekit’s okay. Leave the fighting to us.”
Nodding blankly, Applepaw limped away from Pebblefall and Ashpaw, over to where Eaglekit was slumped on the ground by Ripplestripe and a tortoiseshell ThunderClan warrior.
“Eaglekit!” Applepaw gasped as she approached him. He was alive – his pelt was rising and falling with breath – but his breath was shallow, and his pelt was red with blood. How dare they hurt a kit like this? Applepaw thought, anger rising in her throat. Those fox-hearts really don’t have any honor!
A screech caught her attention and she looked up to see Ripplestripe and Amberwhisker chasing two ThunderClan warriors back toward the border. Brightcloud had already chased off the warrior she had been grappling with and was leaping back to help Robinpaw fight off a warrior twice his size, while Pebblefall was pushing Ashpaw further back, toward the undergrowth.
Eaglekit let out a moan and Applepaw’s attention snapped back to the young tom. His breathing had grown even more shallow, and Applepaw realized he was going to need treatment very quickly if he was going to live. First we need to stop the bleeding, Ferndapple’s voice echoed in her mind. What can we use to stem the blood?
“Cobwebs,” she whispered. Louder, she called, “I need some cat to fetch me cobwebs!” Amberwhisker, who was just emerging from the undergrowth, promptly ducked back into the bushes and started rustling around in the leaves. “Make sure you stay on our side of the border!” Applepaw called, before turning back to her patient. “Eaglekit,” she meowed softly, “can you hear me?” Eaglekit’s only response was another moan. Applepaw’s heart was beginning to pound – surely the ThunderClan cats hadn’t hurt him badly enough to kill him? Then she remembered the ferocity with which Ashpaw had attacked her and her heart nearly stopped – they would have definitely killed Applepaw and Eaglekit had Ripplestripe’s patrol not arrived. They might have already killed one of us… “Just hold on, Eaglekit,” she begged. “Amberwhisker’s coming back with cobwebs. Then you’ll be better… Just hold on for a moment.” At a loss for something to do, she crouched down and began licking Eaglekit’s fur, hoping to clean the blood off. The taste it left in her mouth made her wince, but she continued licking, hoping it would help.
Then she was aware of a presence at her side and a familiar scent washed over her – Amberwhisker had returned. “You have the cobwebs?” Applepaw asked. Amberwhisker grunted – she couldn’t talk, Applepaw realized, for the cobwebs in her mouth. “The worst scratch is right here,” she told her mother, pointing with her paw to the scratch that Ashpaw had left on his flank. “Cover it up with the cobwebs and press down with your paws – not too hard, though.” Without a word Amberwhisker did as her daughter had instructed while Applepaw grabbed a pawful of cobwebs from the clump on Eaglekit’s side and held it to a different scratch on his head.
“Is there anything we can do?” a voice from above Applepaw inquired. She glanced up briefly to see Ripplestripe and Robinpaw standing above her.
“Actually, yes,” she replied, looking back down at Eaglekit. “Ripplestripe, go find Ferndapple and bring her here. It’s too risky to move Eaglekit back to camp like this. Robinpaw, find me…” She knew she needed some herbs to make into a poultice to give Eaglekit, but she couldn’t remember any that would help at the moment. “Find me…” She had been hoping that the name would come to her when she needed it most, but her mind was blanking, much to her aggravation.
There’s got to be some herb I remember that can heal wounds! she thought desperately, racking her brain. What herbs were around the ThunderClan border again? Borage, tansy, and…
“Dock!” she shouted, eyes widening. “I dropped a bunch of dock leaves over by the ThunderClan border – I was collecting them before the patrol jumped me. They’re big, tangy-smelling leaves, and there should be a collection of them by the border. Hurry!” Robinpaw rushed off toward the border and Applepaw turned her attention back to Eaglekit. To her relief, the scratch she was pressing cobweb to seemed to have stopped bleeding, so she started to check the rest of his body for wounds.
“This scratch on his flank his still bleeding,” Amberwhisker meowed worriedly. Applepaw looked over and saw with horror that her mother was right: the cobweb she was pressing to it was soaked with blood that didn’t seem to stop coming.
“Press harder,” she instructed. “That’s the biggest scratch he has. We need to get it to stop bleeding.” Leaving the golden-brown-and-white she-cat with that, Applepaw moved on to a bite wound on his back paw. The bleeding on this wound had already stopped, Applepaw realized, so she simply cleaned the wound and began nosing around through the kit’s fur.
“You’d better not die,” Applepaw hissed as she looked him over. “Not like this. Not if I can do anything about it.”
---
When Ripplestripe and Ferndapple appeared, racing across the moorland, Eaglekit had stopped bleeding. He was very weak, Applepaw knew, and definitely at risk of dying by this point, but hopefully the blood stopping was a good sign.
“Ripplestripe told me what happened,” Ferndapple meowed breathlessly, dropping a bundle of herbs beside the kit. “I see you’ve already stopped the bleeding, and used dock as a poultice. That’s good, although I would have preferred goldenrod.”
“There isn’t any around here,” Applepaw pointed out. “Dock was the best I could do.”
“Which is why I brought a bunch of herbs with me,” Ferndapple replied, nudging the bundle she had brought with a paw. “Start chewing up the goldenrod, if you will. Where are the worst wounds?”
Applepaw pointed with a paw to the slash on his flank and the scratch on his head as she grabbed some goldenrod and began chewing. Ferndapple inspected the wounds, occasionally mumbling to herself, before turning to Applepaw.
“Looks like you and Amberwhisker did a good job stopping the bleeding,” she meowed, nodding. “The dock leaves certainly helped, too. But we’re not done yet; we need to get the wounds to heal, lest he open them and risk losing even more blood. That’s what the goldenrod’s for.” Applepaw couldn’t respond, being that her mouth was full of goldenrod – which, she thought, was about ready. She spat it out and watched as Ferndapple began to take the mush and lick it firmly into the wounds. She could have sworn she heard Eaglekit sigh as the healing juices crept into his wound. She leaned over to take some of the goldenrod and help, but Ferndapple nudged her away, saying, “Let me take care of this. You’ve done a great job so far, but I want to be very careful with this.” Applepaw murmured agreement and sat back.
Finally Ferndapple leaned back, looking down at Eaglekit. “All right,” she meowed, “we’ve done all we can. Now we have to take him back to camp. Let me carry him; I don’t want any other cat to risk opening his wounds. That could be even worse at this point.” Without waiting for a response she ducked her head, picked up Eaglekit by his scruff, and slowly set off toward the camp, Eaglekit limp in her jaws.
~Chapter Nine~
As the ragged patrol drew nearer to the camp, they were greeted by Swallowfeather racing across the moorland toward them, Jaykit stumbling unsteadily after her.
“Eaglekit!” Swallowfeather gasped upon seeing Eaglekit, still hanging limp from Ferndapple’s mouth. “What in StarClan’s name happened to him?”
“ThunderClan happened,” Pebblefall muttered. “Look at this scratch they left on my side!” He glared angrily at a scratch running down his flank.
“I was collecting herbs by the ThunderClan border when a ThunderClan patrol jumped me,” Applepaw explained. Swallowfeather wasn’t looking at her at this point – she was padding alongside Ferndapple, looking nervously at Eaglekit, but she flicked her ears to show that she was listening to Applepaw. “They weren’t interested in sparing me just because I’m a medicine cat apprentice. Eaglekit must have been following me, because when the patrol was chasing me he jumped out and tried to fight them. The patrol would have killed both of us if Ripplestripe’s patrol hadn’t showed up.”
At that, Swallowfeather let out an annoyed hiss. “This is why kits don’t leave camp,” she muttered in annoyance. “The moors are too dangerous.”
The group was greeted at the entrance to the camp by Stormstar, whose green eyes were shocked and puzzled as she surveyed the large patrol.
“What –“ she began, only to be cut off by Ripplestripe veering toward her and wrapping his tail over her mouth.
“Not here,” he explained. “Follow us to Ferndapple’s den; we all need treatment.” Seeing the wisdom in her deputy’s words, Stormstar simply nodded and joined the patrol as they crossed the camp to Ferndapple’s den.
Upon arriving, Ferndapple set down the brown-and-white kit among the softest place in the ferns near her herb store. She looked up at Swallowfeather and Jaykit, who had followed the patrol to the den. “Find some moss, feathers, leaves, anything that will keep him warm and comfortable,” she instructed. “I’ve done all I can for him at the moment; we just need to ensure he doesn’t get sore from being in an uncomfortable spot. I would help you, but I still have to see to the rest of the patrol.” Nodding in understanding, Swallowfeather and Jaykit turned and headed back toward the camp. Applepaw turned to follow, but Amberwhisker padded over and stood in front of her, blocking her way.
Applepaw’s whiskers twitched. “I want to help,” she protested in annoyance, trying to edge around her mother, but Amberwhisker wouldn’t let her by.
“You’re hurt,” Amberwhisker pointed out. Applepaw stopped and looked into the she-cat’s green eyes to see worry deep within them. Applepaw blinked, suddenly feeling a throbbing pain in her chest and one of her paws. She looked down to see blood caked around slashes on her chest and bite marks on one of her paws. Thinking, she realized that she had actually limped all the way back to the SkyClan camp. “I guess you didn’t notice, since you were too concerned with Eaglekit,” Amberwhisker explained. “But Eaglekit’s fine now, and Ferndapple’s seeing to all of the cats that are injured. You’re one of them, Applepaw. Go let Ferndapple take a look at you.”
“I don’t feel hurt,” Applepaw protested, lashing her tail in slight annoyance. “I can still help find moss for Eaglekit or treat the injured cats.”
Amberwhisker sighed. “And you’d risk hurting yourself even worse in the process,” she explained patiently. “Don’t forget that I’ve been in more battles than you, and I know what is and isn’t good for an injured cat. Let’s go get Ferndapple to take a look at you.”
Too tired to argue, and secretly relieved that Amberwhisker was insisting so hard that she rest, Applepaw nodded blankly and turned, heading back toward where Ferndapple was treating Robinpaw. The dark tabby had a long scratch running down his flank, which Ferndapple was currently pressing a leaf poultice into.
“… we heard Applepaw yowling,” a voice was explaining as Applepaw and Amberwhisker drew closer to the patrol; Applepaw realized it was Ripplestripe, explaining the story to Stormstar. “We also heard the hisses and screeches of a number of cats we knew weren’t from SkyClan, and we figured Applepaw might be in trouble, so we went to investigate. Applepaw and Eaglekit were trying to fight off five ThunderClan cats.”
“I was trying to get away,” Applepaw added as she approached, sitting down next to Ripplestripe. The deputy had a scratch on the top of his head, and blood was still trickling down his face, but his eyes were bright nonetheless. “They wouldn’t let me without a fight, and certainly not Eaglekit.”
Stormstar shook her head sadly. “Brownstar’s not like this,” she insisted. “We’ve been friends since we were apprentices. I know he has more honor than this.”
Applepaw shifted her paws slightly, wincing as she accidentally put too much weight on her injured paw. “I don’t think this attack was planned by Brownstar either,” she put in. Both Stormstar and Ripplestripe turned to look at her. Feeling nervous now that both the Clan deputy and leader were listening to her, she continued, “Before the patrol showed up, one of the ThunderClan warriors said something interesting. A ThunderClan apprentice was attacking me, and the warrior told her to kill me, because – he said that Brownstar didn’t have to know, and it would be one step closer to fulfilling Quickfoot’s dream…”
Robinpaw, who had been quiet throughout the conversation, suddenly hissed in anger, ears flat back. His sudden reaction surprised Ferndapple, who muttered, “Hey, watch it! I’m trying to help you. Stay still.” Both Stormstar and Ripplestripe looked shocked, too, and behind her Applepaw could hear Amberwhisker growling in distaste.
“Did that actually happen?” Ripplestripe inquired, leaning slightly closer to Applepaw. “You’re sure that’s what you heard?”
“As sure as StarClan,” Applepaw affirmed, nodding. “I’m a medicine cat. What could I have to gain by turning the Clan against ThunderClan, Quickfoot specifically? That’s definitely what I heard, and I’m not lying.”
Stormstar and Ripplestripe exchanged a bewildered glance. “I guess that proves that Quickfoot’s got more power in her Clan than a deputy should,” Stormstar meowed hesitantly, “and that a good number of ThunderClan cats are following what she says. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brownstar is blind to the problems ThunderClan is causing for SkyClan and possibly the other Clans. We’re going to have to speak to him about it.”
“When? At the next Gathering?” Amberwhisker asked quietly.
“No,” Stormstar decided. “Tomorrow. I’m going to take a patrol over to ThunderClan’s camp and tell Brownstar what has happened here. He’s a wise leader; if SkyClan’s leader and medicine cats are claiming that something like this has happened, he’s not going to dismiss it. But we’re going to have to be very careful about what we say and do. Ripplestripe, once Ferndapple’s done treating all these cats, get her, Birchleaf, Brightcloud and Cloudynight and come to my den. We’re going to discuss what to do about ThunderClan.” When Ripplestripe nodded, Stormstar rose to her paws and padded off to the camp.
With Stormstar gone, Ripplestripe sank down onto the ground, sighing in relief. Applepaw did the same, and Amberwhisker found a place a few tail-lengths away and lay down, waiting for Ferndapple to finish treating Robinpaw and see to them.
The next morning, Applepaw opened her eyes to see a small, furry, brown-and-white face staring down at her quizzically. She blinked in shock before scrambling to her paws, fur fluffed up, before realizing it was Eaglekit.
“What are you doing?” she asked, turning around to lick her ruffled fur and hide her shock.
“Ferndapple’s asleep, and I was bored,” Eaglekit meowed simply. “I figured I’d come wait for you to wake up.”
“So you’re just going to sit there and wait for me to wake up?” Applepaw muttered. She couldn’t stay mad at the kit that had risked his life to help her fight ThunderClan, though, so she turned back to him, twitching her whiskers in amusement. “Just be glad I didn’t think you were a ThunderClan warrior after yesterday. Speaking of which, how are you feeling? You had some pretty nasty wounds.”
Eaglekit shuffled his paws. “I do hurt all over,” he admitted, not looking at Applepaw – Applepaw suspected he was embarrassed. “Those ThunderClan warriors were really strong.”
“Which is why you shouldn’t have fought them,” Applepaw growled, shaking her head. “Why did you do it, Eaglekit? No – better yet, why were you out on the moors anyway?”
Eaglekit looked down for a very long time before finally speaking. “I was following you,” he admitted quietly. “I wanted to help you collect herbs. When the ThunderClan patrol started chasing you, I knew I had to help you fight.” He broke off, looking up in alarm as Applepaw hissed, her ears flattening.
“You should have known they were no match for you!” she scolded. “You could have been killed!”
“So could you,” Eaglekit countered, looking down at his paws. “Two cats are better than one, right?”
“Not when one of those cats is a four-moon-old kit,” Applepaw pointed out. “I’m grateful that you thought you could help, but it was a stupid thing to do. You could have been killed.”
“But I wasn’t,” Eaglekit pointed out, missing the tortoiseshell’s point completely. “We’re both alive and well.”
Applepaw’s whiskers twitched in amusement. She couldn’t stay mad at him for long. “I don’t know about well,” she argued. “We’re both pretty badly hurt. I can still see the scratches in your fur.”
Eaglekit turned to look at his own pelt. “They’re healed, though,” he meowed. “I’ll be fine.”
Applepaw’s whiskers twitched again. “If you say so,” she said lightly. Both cats stopped and looked toward the camp as the ferns rustled and Stormstar and Ripplestripe came into view. Ripplestripe stopped upon noticing Applepaw and Eaglekit, while Stormstar continued toward Ferndapple’s den.
“You’re both awake,” Ripplestripe meowed, his eyes bright with relief. “Good.”
“We’re both fine, thanks to you,”Applepaw told him, dipping her head to the deputy. “Your patrol came to help at just the right time.”
“We wouldn’t let any of our cats fall to ThunderClan if there was something we could do to help,” Ripplestripe meowed, nodding. “It’s our duty as Clan cats to help one another. Anyway, I didn’t come here to discuss my role as deputy,” he pointed out. “We’re going to go talk to Brownstar, and we want you and Ferndapple to come with us. We need you to relate the story of what happened yesterday on the moors.”
“Can I come?” Eaglekit interrupted, bouncing over to Ripplestripe. “I was there too, remember?”
“Of course I remember,” Ripplestripe groaned, closing his eyes. “But we can’t take you with us. Not only would it likely risk opening your wounds again, but we don’t want to antagonize ThunderClan by implying that a SkyClan kit is speaking against them. No, it’s going to be the SkyClan leader and deputy, as well as Ferndapple and Applepaw. I’m sorry, Eaglekit.”
Despite feeling a twinge of guilt that she could go when Eaglekit couldn’t – and the dark tabby kit certainly looked as upset as if his world had just fallen around him – Applepaw couldn’t help feeling proud that she had been picked to join the patrol, when the other three cats were the most respected cats in SkyClan.
“We need you to explain what the ThunderClan warrior told you yesterday before my patrol showed up,” Ripplestripe explained. “That’s why. But we can’t stand here discussing it forever – come on; let’s go join Stormstar and Ferndapple. Eaglekit, I’m sure our medicine cat doesn’t want you bothering her apprentice; come with us so you can get back to your nest.”
Eaglekit let out a loud, pointed sigh but followed the two cats anyway as they headed back toward Ferndapple’s den. They were greeted a few pawsteps away from Ferndapple’s den by Stormstar and a very sleepy-looking Ferndapple themselves, who had apparently finished talking. Eaglekit slunk away, ears flat, and settled himself into his nest just inside Ferndapple’s den.
“We’re ready to go,” Stormstar explained to Ripplestripe and Applepaw. “It’s going to be just the four of us, since we don’t want to be appear as an attacking force by having any more warriors with us, even though their testimony might be useful. Applepaw, are you ready?” When Applepaw nodded, Stormstar padded past her and led the three cats out of the ferns around Ferndapple’s den, out into the camp, and to the entrance of the camp. A few cats looked up at the small patrol disinterestedly; Applepaw figured they already knew of Stormstar’s plans to talk to Brownstar.
“Stormstar appointed Brightcloud as deputy in her absence,” Ripplestripe whispered to Applepaw. “We’re not going to be gone long, but we just want to make the sure the camp is well protected by some cat in our absence, in case something happens.” Applepaw couldn’t help feeling apprehensive at the deputy’s words. The patrol was only going to talk to Brownstar – surely they weren’t at risk from ThunderClan cats?
“It’ll be fine,” Ferndapple put in, casting a sharp glare at Ripplestripe. “They wouldn’t dare attack a patrol containing two medicine cats.”
“They attacked me yesterday,” Applepaw muttered mutinously. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they did it again.”
“They’re not,” Ferndapple assured her. “Not if I’m there. ThunderClan, morally deficient as they may be, would never attack SkyClan’s elderly medicine cat. Now come on,” she meowed, quickening her pace as the cats set out of the camp entrance onto the moors. “Let’s catch up with Stormstar.”
The four cats headed across the moorland toward the ThunderClan border. The sun, not risen far above the horizon, shone weakly down onto the moors, doing little to warm Applepaw’s fluffed-up pelt. Leaf-fall had barely begun, but SkyClan always felt the cold before any other Clan, since the winds swept across the moors without ever being stopped by undergrowth, unlike in WindClan territory.
“I hope the wind doesn’t stay this strong,” Ferndapple muttered to Applepaw, her mouth close to Applepaw’s ear. “Cold winds bring cold weather, and we’re not ready to deal with a cough outbreak this early in the season.”
“But we have catmint, right?” Applepaw asked nervously.
“Yes,” Ferndapple responded, “but it’s still not a good idea to use it up before leaf-bare even begins.” Applepaw nodded in understanding.
By the time the patrol had reached the border between SkyClan and ThunderClan, the moors had warmed up a little bit, and the wind had died off slightly. The four cats pushed their way through the undergrowth until the border was just a few pawsteps in front of them, and then Stormstar and Ripplestripe sat down.
“Why don’t we just head to the ThunderClan camp?” Applepaw whispered to Ferndapple, who sat down beside her. “If they’re not going to attack a medicine cat…”
“Don’t forget, you weren’t even trespassing and you were attacked,” Ferndapple muttered back. “We don’t want to provoke them in any way whatsoever after what they did to you and Eaglekit. We’re waiting for a patrol.”
Slightly annoyed that they would have to wait, but not at all willing to argue with such a sound idea, Applepaw sat down next to Ferndapple.
It seemed like an entire day had passed by the time the bushes on the ThunderClan side of the border rustled and a white she-cat emerged with three other ThunderClan cats behind her. The white she-cat’s eyes narrowed as she surveyed the four SkyClan cats.
“What are you doing so close to the border, Stormstar?” she asked, glaring at the SkyClan leader with a barely-contained snarl in her voice. “Laying an ambush for us?”
“If we were laying an ambush for you,” Stormstar responded patiently, “we wouldn’t be sitting out in the open waiting for you to see us. No, we want to talk to Brownstar, and we need a patrol to escort us to your camp.”
At Stormstar’s words, the three cats behind the white she-cat all started hissing in outrage. The white she-cat turned and spat at them, “Shut up! I’m leading this patrol, not any of you!” Turning back to Stormstar once the hissing had quieted, she said, “Fine. Come back to the camp with us. But don’t try anything funny, or ThunderClan will be on your tails faster than you can say ‘mouse’.”
“We weren’t planning on it,” Ferndapple growled, fur fluffed up slightly in anger. The white she-cat glared at her but said nothing, and at a flick of her tail the ThunderClan cats split up and surrounded the patrol as the white she-cat led them back to camp like prisoners.
Applepaw had never set foot in the forest proper before, and she found herself often tripping over twigs and snagging her pelt on bushes that simply weren’t present on the open moors of SkyClan territory. The other three cats were less clumsy in the forest than she was, but she could tell by their flattened ears and lashing tails that they weren’t [i]comfortable[/i] per se here either.
Finally the scent of ThunderClan began to overwhelm Applepaw’s nose and she realized they must be approaching the camp. The four ThunderClan cats surrounding them herded them toward the side of a rocky, boulder-strewn valley leading down to a tangle of gorse bushes. Without hesitating, the ThunderClan cats began to pick their way down the valley, carefully placing their paws so as not to dislodge stones and cause a commotion. Narrowing her eyes, Applepaw followed, doing her best not to slip down the steep slope.
Finally all eight cats were at the bottom of the slope, and the ThunderClan cats surrounded the SkyClan patrol once more as they headed toward a prickly-looking gorse bush.
“What –“ Applepaw began, only to stop and stare and shock as the white she-cat leading them pushed her way through the gorse bush.
“There’s a tunnel,” one of the ThunderClan cats growled. “Come on; go through.” Stormstar went into the tunnel first, and Applepaw followed, wincing as the branches scraped against her fur. Upon emerging from the tunnel, she stood up, licking her ruffled fur as the other cats emerged behind her. Looking up after smoothing down her fur, Applepaw realized they were inside ThunderClan’s camp.
The camp was a clearing, sheltered by gorse and fern bushes and trees towering high over their heads. A large boulder sat at one side of the clearing, and a fallen tree blocked off one corner. The rest of the dens consisted of bushes. ThunderClan cats were sharing tongues all over the clearing, and they looked up at the SkyClan cats with unconcealed hostility.
“What’s this?” spat a voice; Applepaw turned to see a light brown tabby cat bounding toward them, eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Lightningfoot, how could you bring SkyClan cats into the heart of ThunderClan territory? And the SkyClan leader, to boot!”
“They want to see Brownstar, Quickfoot,” the white she-cat – Lightningfoot – responded. “I had no choice but to bring them here.”
Quickfoot spat in rage. “Fine, I’ll take them to Brownstar,” she meowed. “Lightningfoot, take your patrol and look through the territory. Make sure they’re not planning to ambush us.”
“Yes, Quickfoot,” Lightningfoot agreed, dipping her head. Without a word she bounded back through the gorse tunnel, the other three ThunderClan cats following behind her.
“Come on,” Quickfoot hissed, jerking her head. “We’re going to see Brownstar.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and padded across the clearing, heading toward the large boulder Applepaw had noticed earlier.
“Brownstar!” Quickfoot called as they approached the boulder – Applepaw saw that it was hollowed out, and the entrance was draped with lichen. “You have visitors. From SkyClan.”
“Send them in,” a voice called from behind the lichen, echoing eerily around the rock. Quickfoot stepped back as Stormstar led the SkyClan cats into the den.
A small, sandy room lay within the depths of the hollowed-out boulder. On some moss lay a mottled brown tom, who looked up with interest as the SkyClan cats entered.
“Stormstar,” he meowed, his eyes alight with surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“Forgive me for not waiting for a Gathering to speak with you,” Stormstar meowed, dipping her head. “But this is not something that can wait, nor is it something all Clans should hear about, for it involves ThunderClan personally.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Applepaw noticed a flash of movement, and saw Quickfoot sitting down at the side of the den. Alarm rose up within her. Quickfoot couldn’t be allowed to hear what Stormstar had to say!
“Stormstar,” she whispered, nudging her leader, “um…”
“What?” Stormstar growled, turning to face the medicine cat apprentice. “I’m doing this for your – oh…” She trailed off, having noticed Quickfoot at the side of the den. She turned back to the ThunderClan leader. “Brownstar,” she meowed very quietly, “what I have to say isn’t –“
“Er, yes,” Brownstar said hastily, cutting her off. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I must talk to my deputy…” He rose to his paws and padded over to Quickfoot. Gesturing with his tail, he drew Quickfoot away from the SkyClan cats and to the entrance to the den. He started talking to Quickfoot in a low tone of voice, low enough that Applepaw couldn’t make out any individual words. She swiveled her ears toward the two cats, hoping to hear what they were saying.
“… afraid they’re conspiring against us with SkyClan,” Brownstar was saying. “I wouldn’t be surprised if RiverClan cats crossed into our territory and attacked our camp, and the SkyClan cats here joined in. I want you to take a patrol over to the RiverClan border and make sure there’s no way RiverClan can attack us.”
Quickfoot let out a hiss. “You just want me gone,” she muttered. “I’m deputy of this Clan. Don’t I have a right to hear what the leader of an enemy Clan is saying to my leader? What if they attack you while I’m gone?”
“If they do, if they kill me, as the new leader of this Clan you have the right to go and fight the SkyClan cats. But for now, you’re my deputy, so please just follow my commands. I wouldn’t send you out on a patrol with four enemy cats in my den unless I felt that was the best idea. It’s just as important to check up on RiverClan, Quickfoot.”
Quickfoot was silent for several moments. “All right,” she meowed, leaving the den. Brownstar turned back to the SkyClan cats and padded over, sitting down in front of Stormstar.
“Now,” she said, “where were we?”
Stormstar took a deep breath. “I’m worried about the warriors of your Clan,” she began. “We’ve had an incident since the last Gathering that I feel needs to be brought to your attention. I brought my medicine cat apprentice, Applepaw, here, because she was directly involved in the incident. Applepaw, will you explain what happened?”
Applepaw froze. She was supposed to explain what had happened the day before to the leader of ThunderClan? What if she somehow incurred Brownstar’s wrath?
“Go on, Applepaw,” Ferndapple encouraged her quietly. “You’re the only one that can explain what happened.”
Swallowing nervously, Applepaw began to speak. “I was collecting herbs by the border yesterday,” she began. “I didn’t cross the border; I can promise you that. A ThunderClan patrol showed up and said that my collecting herbs around the border would make it more difficult for the same herbs to grow on their side of the border, so they chased me off. They didn’t stop because I was back on the moors, though; they pursued me over the moors and only stopped when a kit from my Clan showed up, deciding to fight them.”
“A kit?” Brownstar’s ears twitched. “You let a kit fight warriors?”
“What else could I do?” Applepaw challenged. “He fought on his own terms, and when he tried to run away, the ThunderClan cats wouldn’t let him leave.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Brownstar put in. “My cats wouldn’t hurt a kit.”
“Wouldn’t they?” Ferndapple asked quietly. “He’s hurt, and it’s not from one of our cats. If you don’t believe us, we can show him to you.”
Brownstar’s only response was to shake his head, muttering to himself.
“Anyway,” Applepaw continued, “I tried to fight off some of the ThunderClan cats, because I had to if I had any hope of keeping them from killing the kit or chasing us all the way to the SkyClan camp. I was battling an apprentice, and at one point she was attacking me furiously when one of the warriors appeared, and he said…” She trailed off, closing her eyes, “’Finish her, Ashpaw,’ he said. ‘Brownstar doesn’t need to know about this. One step closer to achieving Quickfoot’s dream.’”
Applepaw was cut off by a furious hiss from Brownstar. “My warriors would never say that! You’re not telling the truth.”
Applepaw opened her mouth to defend herself, but before she could Stormstar broke in in a low growl. “Brownstar,” she meowed softly, “you and I have been friends since we were apprentices. Would I come here with my deputy and medicine cats and tell you this story if I didn’t intend to tell you the truth? Would my medicine cats lie to you?”
Brownstar was silent.
“I don’t know what Quickfoot is intending to do, and I’m in no position to criticize your deputy,” Stormstar continued. “But it seems that she and other warriors are leading attacks on our Clan unfairly, attempting to meet some sort of goal for her. I don’t know if this has been going on with other Clans, and again that isn’t my business, but Quickfoot’s patrol killed our warrior Oliveleaf just before the Gathering, and yesterday the patrol would have killed our medicine cat apprentice and one of our kits, if Ripplestripe and his patrol hadn’t shown up in the nick of time. What you do about Quickfoot is your own business, but what I’m asking is to maybe keep a closer eye on how your warriors interact with other Clans – particularly our Clan – and maybe keep them from attacking our cats for doing normal things like collecting herbs. If we steal prey or attack your cats unfairly, that’s a reason to fight us, but our medicine cat apprentice should not be punished for collecting herbs.”
“I agree,” Brownstar meowed, nodding. “If the story happened the way you say it did, your medicine cat apprentice wasn’t doing anything wrong, and I know my cats would have been in the wrong. I’ll talk to them about the borders and when not to attack SkyClan cats. I’m not going to demote Quickfoot, though,” he added harshly. “She’s a good deputy to this Clan.”
“For your Clan, maybe, but not for us,” Ripplestripe growled. Stormstar glared at him sharply; the deputy stopped talking, flattening his ears.
“What you do with Quickfoot is your business,” she meowed pointedly. “But she seems to have some sort of vendetta against our Clan that’s not supported by you. All I ask is that you keep your cats from attacking ours unless they have a good reason for it.”
“That’s understandable,” Brownstar agreed. “If Emberfur was collecting herbs by the SkyClan border and your cats attacked him, I’d be just as upset. I’ll see what I can do about keeping my cats from attacking yours.”
“Thank you,” Stormstar meowed, dipping her head. “That’s all we came to talk about. We’ll be on our way, then.”
“I’ll have a patrol escort you to the border,” Brownstar told her, rising to his paws. “Is that fair?” When Stormstar nodded, Brownstar meowed, “Good,” and led the four cats back into the clearing. A tawny tom met the cats as they padded into the center of the clearing.
“Are these cats leaving?” asked the tom.
“Yes,” Brownstar meowed, nodding. “In fact, Kestrelfoot, you’re right on time. Can you get a patrol of cats and take the SkyClan cats back to the border?”
The tom – Kestrelfoot – dipped his head. “Of course, Brownstar.” Turning, he called out, “Hazelflower! Thrushsong! Come over here.” The two warriors he had called for padded over from a bush that Applepaw assumed was the warriors’ den and looked at Kestrelfoot. “We’re taking these SkyClan cats back to the border,” he explained. “Come on.” The three cats surrounded the patrol once more and headed for the gorse tunnel.
“Hunt on your way back, too,” Brownstar called as they disappeared into the tunnel. “We could use some more prey.”
The seven cats headed back through ThunderClan territory toward the border. The territory was no more forgiving for Applepaw as it had been when they had crossed it earlier that day: she was still tripping over twigs with almost every pawstep. The other SkyClan cats weren’t doing much better. In contrast, the ThunderClan warriors moved through the undergrowth with ease, stepping over every bit of debris and sliding steadily through every bush.
One benefit of ThunderClan, I guess, Applepaw thought, wrinkling her nose.StarClan knows I want to stay with SkyClan, though.
After a little while longer of walking, Applepaw finally felt wind blowing on her face, and began to see sky and grass through the trees. The breeze brought with it the scent of SkyClan – the scent of home.
When the cats reached the border, Applepaw was surprised to see that there were already SkyClan cats there. Flamescar, Brackentail, Mistpaw and Brightcloud were waiting by the border.
“We wanted to make sure you’d come back safe,” Brightcloud explained.
“Brightcloud did, anyway,” Mistpaw muttered. “Personally I just wanted to see how big and scary the ThunderClan cats were.” Applepaw heard a snort from her side and she turned to see a blue-gray ThunderClan tom shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
“We’re fine,” Stormstar told them, nodding, “and we’re coming back to camp now.” Turning back to Kestrelfoot, she added, “Thank you for the escort.” Kestrelfoot’s only response was a shrug. He and the other two ThunderClan cats turned and headed back into the undergrowth. Applepaw couldn’t help but notice that Ripplestripe was staring after them quizzically for a few moments before shrugging and turning back to Stormstar.
“Let’s go back to camp,” the black-and-gray she-cat meowed. The eight SkyClan cats turned and headed for the camp.
“You know, Applepaw,” Ferndapple meowed, falling in line with Applepaw, “you did a really good job healing Eaglekit on the spot yesterday.”
“I forgot which herbs to use, though,” Applepaw muttered mutinously, remembering how she had struggled to remember which herb would be best until finally remembering the dock. “I’m not good at knowing the herbs.”
“No,” Ferndapple agreed, making Applepaw wince. “But we can work on that. You did have a really great understanding of how much pressure to apply on Eaglekit’s wounds, though, and how to properly dress them. That’s something that even good medicine cats have to work on. You have that talent.”
“I do?” Applepaw questioned, looking up at Ferndapple. The mottled brown she-cat nodded, warmth in her amber eyes.
“Yes,” she affirmed. “At the beginning of your apprenticeship I was wondering if we wouldn’t have to make you a warrior apprentice instead, because I didn’t think you could be a very good medicine cat. But your treatment of Eaglekit yesterday showed that you do have the ability to treat cats well – it’s just the knowledge of herbs you lack. You’re not worthless. Because of that, I’m going to take you to the Moonstone at the half-moon, to show StarClan that I trust that you can be my apprentice.”
Applepaw was speechless. The Moonstone? She’d known that as a medicine cat apprentice she’d be going to the Moonstone, but somehow she hadn’t thought it’d be so soon, and certainly not with her past failures as a medicine cat. “I – Ferndapple – thank you!” she stammered out finally.
Ferndapple purred. “Of course,” she meowed warmly. “You’ve shown that you have what it takes to be a true medicine cat. Now come on,” she meowed, quickening her pace. “Let’s get back to camp.”
Category:Fanfictions