What if Alderheart had a mate

#### ***Author's note:***

*This is mostly non-canon. Please don't edit unless I give you permission. Also Most of the character's are created by me but if you want to add your character just put it in the comments and I will most likely put it in the story somehow. I am sorry if it is shallow or undetailed. Thank you and enjoy.*

***By: Snowheart the medicine cat***

#### ***Blurb:***

*Read the exciting tale of Alderheart and Snowheart. Yes they are mentor and apprentice. Yes the warrior code says medicine cats aren't supposed to have mates. And finally, Yes this tale is a brand-new angle of a forbidden-romance. Have fun reading the rich details and fun plot. If you are younger than 8 I wouldn't suggest reading but if not it is great for you.*

#### ***Prologue:***

*Alderheart was sorting the herbs in the Thunderclan medicine cat den around Mid-day when Rainpaw an apprentice came rushing up to him " I was visiting Crystalfeather when she started kitting. Please come." I had already raced over to the herb store. I grabbed a couple raspberry leaves then went to the nursery where I could hear Crystalfeather moaning in pain. Rainpaw murmured to her " It’s ok mom Alderheart is here he will take care of you." I told her to get moss then soak it in the stream outside of camp. I gave Crystalfeather the leaves. She lapped them up. We had gathered a pile of smooth sticks for kitting's in the nursery. I got one then told Crystalfeather it to bite. I felt her stomach with my paw and told her "There are three kits. It will be hard but you can do it." I felt bad for Crystalfeather. Her mate who was my best friend had died a bit after they found out they were having kits. I told her " Push hard on the count of three." She nodded "1 2 3!" A tiny sac slipped out into the nest. I licked of the membrane and told her "It's a she-cat!" Then at sunset there was three kits. The firstborn was a little white and blue she-cat. She had a little mark on her forehead looked like a snowflake. The first tom was light brown and the last one was a cream and light brown tom. Crystalfeather said tiredly " I will name them when they open their eyes." As they suckled she fell asleep. I slipped out of the nursery and told the clan as the bright half-moon shone above us " There are 2 toms and a she-cat. Crystalfeather is sleeping now so don't disturb her." With that I went into the medicine cat den. It was a bit sad sleeping alone. Jayfeather had died when yellowcough broke out. We didn't have enough lungwort and he refused to treat himself. The other cats got better but Jayfeather died. There wasn't a meeting tonight because some of the cats were still fighting sickness so we canceled it.*

##### ***2 moons later...***

*The kits had opened their eyes and Crystalfeather named them. The she-cat was Snowkit because her pelt was mostly white and on her forehead you could clearly see a snowflake. The light brown tom with green eyes was Thunderkit because he went off in a thunderstorm and came back perfectly safe and he wasn’t scared of it. The last tom was named Goldkit because he had golden eyes and a light yellow pelt. I think Snowkit would be a good medicine cat. Goldkit and Thunderkit got whitecough and shortly after died. They weren't strong enough. Snowkit was devastated. Then a moon later Crystalfeather died in a border skirmish while on patrol. Because of this Snowkit started sleeping in the medicine cat den she couldn't be in the nursery. It made her too sad being alone . After another moon she started helping out in the medicine cat den. Then before Snowkit turned 6 moons I asked her if she wanted to be my apprentice. She said excitedly “Yes please!” After that she went to play with her half sister Rainpaw, I walked up to Stonestar the current leader of Thunderclan and told him that Snowkit had agreed to be my apprentice. He nodded*

#### ***Chapter 1:***

*My half-sister Rainpaw took me out of the nursery. Stonestar had called a meeting for my apprentice ceremony. He had called "Let all cats old enough to catch their on prey come to the Highledge for a clan meeting. He now said "Snowkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your medicine cat name, you will be known as Snowpaw. Your mentor will be Alderheart. I hope Alderheart will pass down all he knows on to you.” He turned to Alderheart who was standing next to him. “Alderheart, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from both Jayfeather and Leafpool, and you have shown yourself to be kind and swift-minded. You will be the mentor of Snowpaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." We touched noses as the clan yowled "Snowpaw, Snowpaw, Snowpaw!" Rainpaw and my other friend Sunpaw ran up to me and nuzzled me affectionately. Alderheart said " You better go and rest before the meeting tonight." Rainpaw said " Me and Sunpaw have made your nest already." We padded into the medicine den and Rainpaw curled up next to me in my nest with me. She licked by ear gently and we fell asleep together. It had only felt like a few moments before I felt a gentle paw prodding me in the side. I groggily opened my eyes and struggled up. It was Alderheart. He said " I figured you might want a little bit of time to prepare before we leave." He saw me looking around in confusion and added "Rainpaw is out in the clearing. Go and eat, then when it is time to leave I will call you." I nuzzled him quickly then rushed outside. Rainpaw purred "Finally! You're awake. Robinpaw caught a couple of fish in the river. I saved one for you." She sat next to me as I started eating after I thanked her. I offered her some but she said "You have it. I ate earlier and you didn't." I finished and we started grooming each other. Finally me and Rainpaw finished grooming each other and we were watching the sun set when Alderheart called me. I told Rainpaw "I will tell her what happened later." She purred then Alderheart said " Come on Snowpaw! If we don't leave now we will be late." With that I ran off into the tunnel with him into the forest. When we got to the border with Windclan he stopped. " We will cross here but we will go slower. We are granted safe travel but Windclan has been a bit aggressive, so we aren't taking any risk." As we set of into Windclan territory I felt kind of scared. As we neared a slope I heard a cat yowl “Wait for us!” Me and Alderheart turned around to see cats racing towards us from across the moor. The light gray she-cat with green eyes asked “Alderheart, who is this?” He replied “Greentail this is my new apprentice Snowpaw.” She smiled at me the introduced the other cats behind her. " This is Iceleap and Shellpaw from Windclan." The white and brown and the brown she-cats smiled at me " And these are Honeytail of Skyclan and Starshine and Flurrypaw of Riverclan." The light yellow cat in the back purred and the Cream colored tom nodded solemnly at me after a smaller light gray she-cat meowed “Hello.” Together we climbed up the path. Honeytail had to help me in a few spots though. At last we reached the top and there was a small pool reflecting the stars. I gasped in astonishment. Iceleap purred in amusement then said "It is truly incredible when you first see it. It still kind of takes my breath away." The medicine cats took their places around the pool then looked at Alderheart. He meowed "Snowpaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?" I replied "It is." He responded "Then come forward. Members of StarClan, I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will." Alderheart told me to dip my nose in the water and close my eyes. The water felt cold against my small nose but I closed my eyes. Then everything went black.*

#### ***Chapter 2***

***I opened my eyes to find myself in a grassy meadow. Then a small, lithe, snowy-white she-cat with black spots and blue eyes approached me. I backed away and accidentally hit a tree. She purred in amusement "It is ok. I am not going to harm you. My name is Brambleberry. I was the Riverclan medicine cat long before you were born, I have come to welcome you as a medicine cat apprentice." I nodded then said "Where are we Brambleberry?" She replied calmly "This is one of Starclan's many meadows." After she finished she sniffed the air with her strikingly pink nose and said "Someone is coming." A strong, lean dark ginger she-cat with brilliant forest-green eyes and a squirrel-like tail came bounding up to us. "Brambleberry is Firestar telling the truth about Alderheart finally being blessed with a apprentice? Or is he just joking again?" She demanded. Brambleberry purred then stepped aside so the strange cat could see me. Her green eyes shone with excitement. " Hi I am Squirrelflight and Alderheart is my son." I said "I am his apprentice Snowpaw. It is nice to meet you. He speaks most highly of you and his father when he tells me stories." Brambleberry said " I will help you in your training from time to time." With that the grassy meadow faded into blackness.***

*I heard Alderheart whisper gently to me "Snowpaw wake up it's time to go." I unsteadily got to my feet and walked over to him. I told him "I dreamed with StarClan." He whispered " Tell me what happened when we get home. Ok." I nodded. he curled his tail around me and we walked towards the medicine cats. Greentail said when we approached "Before when I was a warrior I had a mate but I had to give him up. He had son with someone else. Actually his mate died a couple days ago." She shot a weird glance over to Alderheart and he uncurled him tail from around. Flurrypaw said to me " I will see you at the gathering ok?" I meowed "Ok!" Then she and Starshine went off into Windclan's moors. Greentail and Honeytail mewed a goodbye then Shellpaw, Alderheart, Iceleap and Me went out of the moonpool. As we were almost to the border Iceleap and Shellpaw said "Goodbye!" Then they went bounding towards a shallow dip in the ground. I was exhausted and after we crossed the border Alderheart was letting me lean on him. He said "The journey is hard at first but it gets easier." After what seemed like forever we reached the Thunderclan camp. He lead me inside the medicine cat den then I curled up in my nest and fell asleep. When I woke up it was almost sun-high. Alderheart looked up from sorting herbs and said "Hi Snowpaw. Go and eat then I will teach you some herbs." I nodded then slipped out the den. Robinpaw and Rainpaw were sharing a thrush and a squirrel and they waved me over to join them. I went over to them. Rainpaw said "Hey Snowpaw. You can have some of my squirrel. I am about to go hunting anyways." I purred my thanks, then settled down to eat. After I finished I walked over to the medicine den. He had laid out a few herbs. He said " We are going to go over some basic herbs today." When I nodded he pointed his paw towards the first bundle of leaves. He said " These are borage leaves. They bring down fever and when given to nursing queens who don't have enough milk. This is burdock root. It is mainly for rat bites but it could also be used for infected paws...….." And the lesson went on. We repeated this process for several days until I had memorized all the basic herbs. One day Stonestar called a clan meeting. We walked out of the den together. Stonestar said " It is time for the making of warriors. Littlepaw, Rainpaw, Robinpaw, Starpaw come forward. I, Stonestar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warriors in their turn. Littlepaw, Rainpaw, Robinpaw, Starpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" They responded together "Yes." Stonestar continued " Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Littlepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Littleheart. StarClan honors your Bravery and Cleverness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan. Rainpaw I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you will be known as Rainpelt. StarClan honors your thoughtfulness and intelligence , and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan. Robinpaw, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you will be known as Robinlake. StarClan honors your protectiveness and kindness, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan. Starpaw, I give you your warrior name. From this moment on you will be known as Starleaf. StarClan honors your honesty and energy, and we welcome you as a full warrior of Thunderclan." We cheered "Littleheart, Rainpelt, Robinlake, Starleaf!" I rushed up to the newly named Rainpelt with Sunpaw. I told her " Great job." She purred in response. Sunpaw looked downcast. Rainpaw no Rainpelt said "Sunpaw your assessment is in 2 moons. You started after me." I nodded in agreement. After Rainpelt and the other new warriors settled down to sit vigil. As the moon started creping up the sky. I walked into my den. Alderheart meowed quietly "Snowpaw you are freezing come and share my nest." I whispered "Thanks." Then settled down next to him. He curled around me then started grooming me. I fell asleep to his gentle touch.*

#### ***Chapter 3***

The rising sun woke Alderheart and me up. But in front of us was Greentail eyes dark with suspicion. Alderheart scrambled out from the nest. He quickly said "Greentail what are you doing here at the crack of dawn?" She replied "I came to ask you something. First though, what in the world are you doing in a nest with Snowpaw. You are going to get her hurt. Some of us haven't forgotten what happened before." I broke in "I am sorry for interrupting you but last night it was cold and I had been outside for awhile with my sister because she was sitting vigil. Alderheart was trying to help me get warm that's all." Her eyes were blazing with fury but she said calmly "I need catmint. Greencough has broken out and I don't have enough in my territory. I quickly scurred over to the herb store and picked out half the bundle and carried back to her. Alderheart meowed his voice cold "Greentail take the catmint and go." He walked out the den waving his tail to signal Greentail to follow. She followed him out. When they were gone I sneaked out. I walked over to where they were talking and hid in some strong smelling ferns. Greentail was talking " You know better than anyone that medicine cats aren't supposed to have a mate. Your mentors are an example. When Leafpool had Jayfeather and his siblings she broke the code. I know better than anyone that it is bad. You need to get over her before she gets hurt for your mistake." He responded angrily " Do you think I don't know that. But she is important to me. She lost everyone except her sister and me. I had to be there when no one else was. I care to much about her to let her do that." Greentail stalked away. I stayed where I was. Then the worst thing happened. The wind changed blowing my scent over to him. He sighed "Snowpaw come out. I know you are there. I walked out from the ferns. He asked in a resigned voice "How much did you hear Snowpaw?" I meowed quietly "Everything I think." He meowed "Greentail was wrong when she said that I haven't gotten over you. I will always love you Snowpaw, from the bottom of my heart. I will always protect you. But I know we can't be mates, It wouldn't be fair for you. I want you to always know that." I nodded and purred in response. He wrapped his tail around me and said "Now let's get back to camp. I want to teach you traveling herbs." With that we walked back to camp. He had put out several more bundle of herbs. I recognized one to be chamomile. He said " These herbs are traveling herbs. They help cats going on long journeys fight hunger and it gives them strength. They are sorrel, daisy, chamomile, and burnet. Remember their smells and how they look." I nodded and started inspecting them. He said "While you are doing that I will go out collecting herbs. Ok?" I nodded and started sorting the herbs into the right piles. The moon I walked out of the den to where Rainpelt and Sunpaw were sitting. Sunpaw turned to me and said excitedly "They are letting me take my warrior assessment Tomorrow because my mentor thinks I am ready." I said purring "That's great Sunpaw!" After I finished Alderheart came in the barrier. He said " Snowpaw get some rest before we leave." I had completely forgotten about the half-moon meeting. I followed him to the den and settled down in my nest. I quickly fell asleep. I dreamt of an older version of me with three kits next to me. One was Dark ginger like Alderheart, another was white and gray, and one looked like Rainpelt except with emerald green eyes like my brother Thunderkit. I continued looking at them. But then Brambleberry came out of a forest that was on my left. She said "This could be the end of you or your greatest hope. Make your choices wisely Snowpaw.' Then everything faded into darkness. I woke up shivering. Alderheart was at my side in a instant.