The Sight/Chapter 19

==Chapter description==
:Longtail complains that Mousefur's coughing kept him awake half the night. Mousefur retorts that it's a wonder he could hear her over his snoring, and Jaypaw sighs. He is in the elder's den, and doesn't understand why the denmates bicker so much. Longtail's complaint is his only way of telling Jaypaw that he is worried for Mousefur. The apprentice tells him that he can't feel any swelling around her throat, but to make sure she eats the coltsfoot, as Leafpool says it will help ease her breathing. Mousefur grumbles that she doesn't need herbs, but Longtail urges them to take some anyway, since at least it means she'll eat something, as she hasn't ate since yesterday at sunhigh. Mousefur meows that she doesn't like taking prey when food is so scarce, as there are younger cats to feed, so her denmate tells her to eat the coltsfoot instead, if only to give him peace. Muttering crossly, Mousefur uses her tail to sweep the pile of shredded leaves toward her nest.
:Jaypaw sighs. Listening to the elders, he feels as if nothing has changed since his days with Brightheart, and after a quarter moon, he is very bored with herbs. He had to visit Stormfur and apply a honey-and-horsetail poultice to his shoulder again, as the warrior refused to rest, and the balm rubbed off very quickly. Leafpool appears at the entrance to the honeysuckle bush, and asks how Mousefur's throat is. Jaypaw answers that it feels fine, but would be easier to tell if she stopped complaining. Leafpool's irritation spikes the air, and she snaps that if he isn't polite, he should come back to the medicine den and help her tear up the tansy that Hollypaw brought yesterday. Jaypaw rolls his eyes, and thinks that he would burst if he spent another moment in the medicine den. Leafpool leads the way back to the den, her shoulders tense. Jaypaw follows her miserably, feeling a lecture brew inside her, and reluctantly noses his way through the brambles and sits down.
:Leafpool snaps that he drifts around like a dark cloud looking for someone to rain on, but Jaypaw complains that he is bored. Exasperation flashes from his mentor, and she says that anyone would think she had forced him to become her apprentice. Jaypaw agrees that she didn't force her, but she wanted it all along, and he asks if she is happy now. Leafpool hisses, asking if she sounds happy, and Jaypaw feels fury beneath her pelt. He wonders why she is so mad at him and can't understand that he expected more from his life than this. He snaps that it's okay for her, since she always wanted to be a medicine cat. She asks if he doesn't, and he mutters that it's his destiny, but he doesn't want it. Leafpool growls that he should deal with it.
:Jaypaw unhappily pads to the heap of tansy and begins to carelessly strip the leaves from the stems, leaving long strings of stalk attached. Leafpool sighs and sits beside him, wordlessly nipping the strips he had left. She is disappointed, and Jaypaw feels guilty, wishing he could explain his frustration, but knowing that whatever he says will only make it worse. He wonders what she would say if she knew how miserable he was to give up his dream of being a warrior for a life of sorting herbs and worrying about scratches and bellyaches. Stormfur enters the den, asking for Leafpool. Jaypaw smells the sour odor of the scratches on his shoulder, and guiltily remembers that he had forgotten to apply the new poultice. Leafpool demands to know if he treated Stormfur's scratch, and Jaypaw points out that she told him to come back here. She sighs that he's right, and says that she'll do the rest, as he should get some sleep before that night's travel to the Moonpool.
:Brightheart lies next to Cloudtail by the halfrock, washing herself. Jaypaw feels her hurt as he waits for Leafpool by the camp entrance. Firestar had promised that she could mentor Icekit or Foxkit when their turn came, but she hasn't gotten over the pain of losing Jaypaw as her apprentice yet. Leafpool surprises Jaypaw, who hadn't heard her approach, by meowing that staring at her won't make her forgive him. Jaypaw mews that she won't listen to him when he tries to talk to her, and she would change the subject or find an excuse to go somewhere else. Leafpool advises that she'll listen when she's ready, as she had to fight hard to prove to her Clanmates that she's as good as them and this must feel like a battle she lost. Jaypaw mews that he never meant to hurt her, and Leafpool meows that it takes some cats longer to see past their weaknesses clearly enough to appreciate their strengths, and until they do, they feel every hurt. Jaypaw feels that Leafpool is urging him to understand more than Brightheart's anger, but doesn't want to think about it now; he is eager to leave camp, and hasn't been father than the Sky Oak in days. He is impatient to go to the Moonpool. Leafpool must have sensed this, as she leads him through the thorn barrier.
:The night feels brittle with cold. Frost must have driven most creatures into hiding, and Jaypaw and Leafpool's pawsteps are the only movement disturbing the earth. As the near the WindClan border, Jaypaw is anxious if the other medicine cats think that a blind kit isn't fit to be one of them. He sniffs the air; it is tinged with the scent of ShadowClan and RiverClan and Leafpool observes that the others must be waiting. Jaypaw follows her out of the forest and onto open grass. He recognizes Willowpaw and Mothwing's scent from their visit to the hollow a moon ago, but the reek of the ShadowClan cat with them brings back memories of battle. Leafpool greets Mothwing, who purrs back. The ThunderClan she-cat asks if the frost is as bad in RiverClan territory as it is in ThunderClan, and Mothwing replies that they seem sheltered from the worst of it, but the elders are complaining of aching bones. Leafpool asks if they have enough poppy seed, to which Mothwing replies they do.
:Leafpool greets Littlecloud and asks if all is well with him. Jaypaw bristles, wondering how she could be so polite to her Clan's enemy so soon after ShadowClan's invasion. Littlecloud answers that it is, and asks if her Clanmates are recovering. Jaypaw searches his tone for triumph, but only hears concern. Leafpool reports that one wound is unhealed, and asks about him. Littlecloud answers that Oakfur is still limping and Leafpool advises wrapping his paw with comfrey each night when he sleeps, but Littlecloud confesses that he ran out. Leafpool meows that he should have come to them, but he responds that Blackstar won't let him. Leafpool promises to leave some at the border tomorrow morning. Jaypaw can't believe what he is hearing, and wonders if Firestar knows that Leafpool is helping ThunderClan's enemies.
:He feels Willowpaw's soft pelt brush his, and she quietly asks where Hollypaw is. Jaypaw thinks that she sounds disappointed, and flicks his tail. He hisses that Hollypaw found being a medicine cat to be so boring that she let her poor, useless brother do it instead. Willowpaw flinches, and Leafpool observes that she is getting to know her new apprentice. Jaypaw feels the gaze of all four cats burn his pelt as Leafpool introduces him as Jaypaw. Mothwing greets him, and Littlecloud asks how he likes being an apprentice. Jaypaw feels anxiety from her mentor, and knows that she's afraid he'll say it's boring, yet he replies that it's great. Leafpool sounds relieved and says that Jaypaw knows all the herbs already. Littlecloud is surprised and clearly impressed.
:A new scent catches Jaypaw by surprise. Another cat hurries toward them over the WindClan border. Littlecloud calls to Barkface, asking where Kestrelpaw is, and Barkface pants that he has whitecough. Leafpool hopes that it isn't bad, and Barkface replies that he's young and strong and will fight it off. He adds that he's making sure Kestrelpaw doesn't spread it around, as the Clans are vulnerable to sickness with scarce prey and empty bellies. Mothwing mews agreement. Littlecloud observes that the moon is rising, and Leafpool urges that they should hurry if they want to catch it in the Moonpool. Jaypaw follows the cats as they begin to climb to slope. Mothwing tells Willowpaw to walk with Jaypaw, since she's sure he'll have plenty of questions and Jaypaw bites back that he's already been there before as Willowpaw falls in beside him. She keeps a wary distance, making sure that her pelt doesn't brush his. She asks if Leafpool brought him here yet, but sounds as if she doesn't really want him to reply.
:Jaypaw is about to tell her that he traveled there alone when Willowpaw grabs his scruff without warning and drags him sideways. He struggles free from her grip and turns on her, lunging at her with unsheathed claws. Leafpool screeches at Jaypaw, asking what he is doing. Willowpaw wails that he almost fell down a rabbit hole and she was just trying to help him. Jaypaw lets go, shameful. He snaps that he didn't know, angry that she tried to help him since he isn't a kit. Leafpool orders that he apologizes at once, but Jaypaw retorts that he knew the hole was there. He had smelled rabbit and his paws had been well aware of the approaching dip. Leafpool hisses that it's no excuse and again tells him to apologize, and Jaypaw mutters that he's sorry. Willowpaw growls that it's okay, and she hopes that next time he falls in, padding ahead of him and flicking her tail past his nose. Leafpool tells Jaypaw to keep up, and he feels the flash of her angry gaze. He thinks that it's not his fault, as Willowpaw started it. He pads after the young she-cat, ignoring her trail of resentment.
:Barkface comments that the late frost damaged a lot of new leaves. Littlecloud agrees that he was looking forward to restocking, but says that it'll be another moon before the plants recover. Mothwing tells them that there are a couple sheltered spots in RiverClan territory where the herbs have escaped damage. Jaypaw strains to hear more, and wants to know the location of every plant that could be useful to his Clan, no matter what. He listens so hard that he doesn't hear the stream or notice the ground turn from grass to rock beneath his paws as they approach it. The freezing air turns the stone to ice, and suddenly his paws slip from under him.
:Willowpaw lunges toward him, then stops. She watches Jaypaw slither ungracefully onto his side and waits without saying a word as he, embarrassed, struggles to his paws. She pads on, not even slowing down as he limps after her, and Jaypaw feels admiration at her refusal to help. She doesn't offer him help as he scrambles up the steep ridge, but he can sense anxiety sparking from her as he hauls himself up. He is relieved that he made the climb before and knows the route well.
:Jaypaw pauses at the top, listening for the voices that guided him last time, but the only sound is the wind and the trickling of water as it echoes around the rocks. He pads down the stone to the Moonpool stopping when he feels cold water at the tips of his paws. The breath of the other cats warm the air as they ring the pool. Leafpool calls to StarClan and says that she brought her apprentice, Jaypaw, and hopes they accept him as they once accepted her. Jaypaw hears fur on stone as the cats settle down at the water's edge, and lays beside Leafpool, tucking his paws under his chest. He doesn't touch the water immediately, but instead listens to the other cat's breathing fall into the deep rhythm of sleep. Only then does close his eyes and lower his nose to the water.
:In an instant Jaypaw is in StarClan's hunting ground. He blinks, adjusting to the shock of sight. Trees soar around him, and he wonders if it looks like this to Willowpaw. The gray tabby pricks his ears, listening for her, curious if they share the same forest when they dream. He sniffs and searches for her scent, and it appears on the breeze. Jaypaw pads quietly toward her, keeping low, somehow aware that he is trespassing. She calls to Mudfur, and Jaypaw peers over an oak foot and sees Willowpaw gazing around a clearing. She is smaller than he had imagined, and her body is sleek and lithe, tabby markings delicate. A mottled tom pads out of the ferns and greets her. Jaypaw ducks down, and Willowpaw mews that it's good to see Mudfur. He compliments her on dealing with Dapplepaw's stomachache. Willowpaw anxiously asks if she was right to give her reassurance instead of herbs, and Mudfur praises that she got better on her own, and the herbs can be saved for a cat with great need. Jaypaw peers over the root again and sees that Willowpaw is happily flicking her tail and asking if he has news to share with RiverClan. He warns her to beware the Twolegs upstream, as their kits are trying to block the water that feeds the Clan. Willowpaw promises to warn Mothwing.
:Jaypaw wonders why Mudfur doesn't tell this to Mothwing himself. He wonders if the two cats argued, and is curious if he would only be sharing tongues with Willowpaw. The ThunderClan tom backs away from the oak tree, wondering what Mothwing is dreaming of, and he opens his nose to taste the air for her scent, but smells nothing. Willowpaw's scent disappears and he tries to draw Mothwing's scent to him, but nothing comes. He closes his eyes and allows the forest to slide from his consciousness. When he opens his eyes, the Moonpool shines far below and he can see the other cats still sleeping around the pool- including him. Mothwing breathes more heavily than the others, twitching.
:Jaypaw closes his eyes and focuses on her mind. He smells prey, and then water, and opens his eyes to find himself among reeds at the edge of a lake. Mothwing is a few tails ahead of him, stalking a frog. She pounces on it as it hops, then lets it go and watches it hop again, her whiskers twitching with amusement as it struggles clumsily among the reeds. A butterfly flutters above her head, and she springs up and grabs it, holding it close so that its wings tickle her nose. With a jolt, Jaypaw realizes that this is not StarClan's hunting grounds, but is the shore of the lake between ThunderClan and RiverClan; Mothwing is dreaming the ordinary dreams of any cat.
==Characters==
===Major===
===Minor===
===Mentioned===
==Important events==
==Notes and references==
fr:Vision/Chapitre 19
Category:Chapter subpages
Category:The Sight
Category:Power of Three arc