MoonClan's ambitious story/(1): The First Four Leaders/3

## Part 3: Birchcreek's Selflessness

### Chapter 33: Right Hind Leg

It was a few days after he woke up and Birchcreek still had to stay in the medicine cat's den for some time. Rainpaw seemed to be happy that she could have her warrior littermate in the den for the time being he had to heal, though. Birchcreek thought it was pretty weird to have both his apprentice and warrior/medicine cat ceremonies before her, since he was younger than her. But Petuniaheart, Shadowclaw, Rainpaw, Mountainpaw or another apprentice or warrior had to carry his right hind leg around, otherwise he couldn't walk. Mostly Rainpaw did it, though, since Petuniaheart still had to train Mountainpaw and Shadowclaw still had to fulfill important warrior duties. But they still helped in their free time.

Birchcreek sighed. He couldn't put pressure on the leg at all otherwise he would wince in pain and fall over immediately, which would definitely be more detrimental. Even while sitting, he had to outstretch the leg on a rock that was higher than his heart was, and Lilypool and Rainpaw had to attach a stiff branch to it by wrapping flexible branches around it so it wouldn't move. It was pretty uncomfortable just sitting like this, and he tried to shake his leg just a little so it wouldn't get too lax. He remembered the carefree days as Birchkit where he could run everywhere he wanted to. He had taken that for granted, before and he sighed again, longing for that time. Birchcreek didn't blame himself, though. He knew why he had to do it. He couldn't see the rocks from where he was up on the cliff, since it was almost a tree-length down. He figured the water cushioned his fall, otherwise his leg would probably have sustained more damage. But he needed to save two of his close friends, one of which was his mentor's son and his maternal cousin, and the other was just as important to the Clan, especially to Shadowclaw, Icemoon, Petalkit and Pinetail.

He thought about Whitestripe and Swanpaw who were still sleeping. It was a little over a quarter-moon after it happened, and he worried if they would wake up soon. Almost all of their abrasions were pretty much healed thanks to Lilypool and Rainpaw's wonderful expertise (with Primrosepaw trying to assist, too), but it seemed like most of their rear bones were broken from the fall, especially their tail bones, since they also hit the rocks under the water, but with probably more force and less cushioning. Unlike him whom only the right hind leg got struck by a rock at extremely high force after landing in the water. The medicine cats said that they weren't sure what to do about the bones except try to straighten them out and keep them in one place, so the bones could hopefully fuse back to their normal state. Lilypool told Birchcreek that his ankle was impacted the most, which made sense to him since the ankle is most likely to get broken from falls.

Petalkit, Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit seemed to be confused what happened to Whitestripe, Swanpaw and Birchcreek since they suddenly disappeared for some time. Even though Petalkit was old enough to leave the nursery, she didn't enter the medicine cat's den. The newest kits, Dustkit and Oakkit didn't seem to notice at all, however, probably because they were too young to remember them exactly.

He wondered what would happen in the future, however. Everyone else was still trying to recover from the AdderClan attack. Snowstar, Sealbranch and some other important warriors were still seriously discussing about what to do with AdderClan, since this was their first official battle with them after the Battle of Moonstar's Death. They were questioning what Fangstar's patrol was doing there, and how he even got there without SnowClan noticing. *I also asked Fangstar that, too,* Birchcreek remembered, when he was still considered an apprentice. But of course, Fangstar wouldn't spill such information to a MoonClan cat like *him.* He sighed for the third time, since he had no answer to that, or what AdderClan's goals were. All he could worry about was for the betterment of the three of them, the ones who got the most injured, the ones who even fell into comas. He also noticed that Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw still looked traumatized from the creek battle, since they were still so young, of course, only nine moons old. And Blazesky, Maplestripe, Peonyclaw, Sealbranch and Rainpaw all still looked grim about it even now, especially Blazesky and Peonyclaw, of course, whose son probably wouldn't wake up anytime soon. Birchcreek briefly wondered about Stonetooth who was shocked about it happening, but he figured that it wouldn't matter now what she thought. *Most likely guilty for going on the patrol,* he figured.

All of Whitestripe, Swanpaw and Birchcreek's kin and their friends were all still exceptionally worried for them, however. Applefall, Nightnose and Nutclaw were all worried for them, too, especially the unconscious cats. And Nutclaw was extra worried because Swanpaw was his apprentice. The other senior warriors were also especially tense.

The dark brown warrior sighed into his paws for the fourth time now. Sighing about his current situation was the best he could do, since everyone was still too distressed about what horrors could occur in the future to talk to him, except to ask him if he was okay. Birchcreek silently prayed to StarClan that AdderClan would hold off attacking until they at least healed fully, but he secretly hoped they would hold off for even longer, like they did for almost ten moons after the Battle of Moonstar's Death (and for the time of Snowstar's reign). He didn't want any more bad stuff to happen, because the depressive period that happened was already enough for a lot of cats, especially Shadowclaw, Icemoon and Swanpaw, and including himself. The depressive period seemed to have been lengthened even more from this terrible incident.

The sun was at its peak, which meant that late morning patrols would be coming back soon, especially hunting patrols. Birchcreek, of course, had the most priority, but so did Whitestripe and Swanpaw. Even if they couldn't eat anything, the medicine cats tried to trickle some crushed prey into their mouths, similarly to what they did when giving herbs to Mousekit before she died. Other Clanmates usually gave prey to Birchcreek at the usual eating times without him even asking, which was a good thing for him as he knew they were trying to help him out. A few cats like Peonyclaw, Shadowclaw, Quailclaw and Mountainpaw even left some prey in front of his nest so he could eat on his own time, like when he woke up at nighttime. He could still wait for the hunting patrols to come back, though, so he decided to wait.

A few minutes later, Rainpaw and Primrosepaw entered the den with squirrels each. Of course, they kindly gave them to Birchcreek and sat in the same moss bed. Rainpaw was also holding herbs until she put it down on the floor of the den.

"Hey, Birchcreek," greeted Primrosepaw normally, much to Birchcreek's relief.

"Hey as well," said Rainpaw in the same tone.

*At least they don't look worried anymore, at least for the time being,* thought Birchcreek calmly. "Hey, Rainpaw and Primrosepaw," he replied. "Is everything all right?"

Primrosepaw nodded. "Yes, because... Hailstream, Rainpaw... and I went to the... Rocky Passageway... forest to hunt."

"Yep, and I gathered more herbs! I also taught Primrosepaw more of what herbs to gather!" Rainpaw said excitedly. But then her face fell. "Because you know..." Primrosepaw also looked sad.

Birchcreek just nodded slowly, but he tried to smile positively. "I appreciate your efforts, both of you. And I'm still okay, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm also worried about Whitestripe and Swanpaw," Rainpaw said anxiously.

Primrosepaw nodded in reply. "Me too! I'm just... trying to help out. You know, try to... be more useful... when Lilypool... and Rainpaw are... too busy to... tend to a lot... of sick and injured... cats!"

Rainpaw and Birchcreek both nodded with appreciation. Rainpaw exclaimed, "I am glad *you're* here, Primrosepaw! At least you can pass us herbs and place cobwebs on cats!" She flicked her tail. "I wonder how Lilypool even managed when *I* was around! Because it feels like even *two* medicine cats would be crushed under all this load of work!"

Birchcreek shrugged. "I know medicine cats are hard-working for that reason. There are a ton of warriors to hunt and fight, but not a lot to tend to cats. Of course we know about basic medicine, but we have no clue about what poultices to use, or that much about cat anatomy."

Primrosepaw nodded and smiled. "I know. That is why... I wanted to learn... too! So that... I can be a... better Clanmate... and warrior... overall!"

"I'm glad, too! With the Clan growing bigger than before, we definitely need some help!" Rainpaw exclaimed gleefully.

"The Clan growing bigger now could be one of the natural reasons why one medicine cat was enough before," suggested Birchcreek.

Rainpaw nodded in agreement. "I am pretty sure, too. But with all these new kits, especially Dustkit and Oakkit, and new *apprentices,* like Thymepaw, Robinpaw and Soarpaw, and soon Lilackit and Jumpkit, it seems to be a lot bigger than before!"

"I know that, too. There *were* a few cats that died, like Lionrain, Blackfur and Moonstar," Birchcreek added, not wanting to mention Falconblue, Goldenlily or Mousekit, of course, "but there were a lot of cats who were born afterwards."

"I guess so, but... who were Lionrain... and Blackfur ex...actly, any...ways?" Primrosepaw asked inquisitively.

"Lionrain was Berrypaw's father who died just sometime after she was born," Birchcreek explained in a mentor-like way, "and Blackfur was Robinpaw and Soarpaw's father who died sometime after *you* were born."

"Oh," replied Primrosepaw quietly. "So a moon be...fore they were born."

"Yes, sadly," Rainpaw said, although she didn't look that sad, but neither was Birchcreek since they didn't know them that well. "Both died from infections from wounds during minor battles."

"Did you know... them? Or at least... Blackfur?" Primrosepaw asked.

"Well, only Blackfur a little bit. He didn't come to the nursery *that* often to see Heronwing," explained Rainpaw. "Maybe other older cats know them better, like Shadowclaw, Icemoon and Quailclaw. I *do* know that Blackfur was the son of an elder named Redear. Lionrain's parents, Laketail and Streamclaw, are also still alive, but they're elders, too."

"Okay, I guess," replied Primrosepaw. "Any...ways, do you think... that there should be... *another* medi...cine cat? Like perhaps... Birdkit?"

Rainpaw seemed to be thinking about it and Birchcreek was, too. MoonClan was less worried about Birdkit now than when she was born, as they saw Birdkit was able to do a lot of what she liked without any detrimental effects, similarly to Swanpaw and Primrosepaw, as they were also mute or reflexively-disabled. Their mothers, Goldenlily and Rosepetal, were the most worried for their daughters, until they saw that Swanpaw had little issues with making friends despite her muteness and was able to work around speech-related warrior duties using her intelligence and by mastering her physical prowess, and Primrosepaw had good intelligence to make up for her slowness, not to mention she had good training from Quailclaw and Hailstream, with Sealbranch helping out, too. Birchcreek was glad that his niece was also getting better with her condition, as she could do a lot already.

However, it still didn't look like she could become a warrior since she was still having trouble getting an immediate, accurate understanding of her surroundings, since her processing time was still slow. MoonClan wondered if her response time was also slow, as it usually looked like she acknowledged what cats said and did in the period of a few seconds, but it took her just a couple more seconds to respond in words or movement. She could probably ambush a prey that was hopefully sitting in the same spot for more than a few seconds, but a few seconds was easily enough time for her to get slashed by a warrior, and even get pinned and killed without her being able to do anything when she realized. Even as a medicine cat, she had to be guarded by other warriors and be careful in battle as warriors could still try to attack her while she was treating cats, and she wouldn't be able to dodge in time. He thought about Primrosepaw who had a similar condition, but Quailclaw and Hailstream had taught her how to work around it. They told her not to be on the offensive since that could carry risks such as not being prepared to attack or dodge, and she could freeze if she moved too quickly to attack. On the defensive, however, she could at least be in the right position to leap out of the way and prepare for the next attack. Of course, getting attacked from behind was always a possibility, but if she stayed with other cats like Rainpaw, they could alert her in time.

However, Birdkit wouldn't even be able to see what's going on or hear those warnings in time, much less dodge. And if she were on the offensive, she would definitely keep missing the opponent, unless her Clanmates helped her by pinning down the warrior for her to attack. But that would probably not be useful to the battle at all. The Clan thought the only good way she could be a good Clanmate was being a medicine cat, since cats that had to be treated were usually in one place, and the process usually went slowly. They were still worried about how she would fare in medical emergencies or in battle, however, since those usually needed quick response time since cats could get serious injuries. But they reasoned that Lilypool or Rainpaw could handle the emergencies, while Birdkit could treat the cats with minor injuries on the sidelines. And of course, other cats could be watchful guards for her during battle.

"Probably," replied Rainpaw worriedly. "But... will Birdkit be able to succeed?"

Primrosepaw looked sad. "I hope so. I have... a lot of hope... for her and I'm... pretty close to her... because we have si...milar condi...tions! I have slow re...flexes, while Birdkit... has slow processing... time. Probably res...ponse time, too."

"I hope so, too," said Birchcreek hopefully. "She should be able to learn medicine and treat cats, since she seems to be very bright." He smiled at Primrosepaw. "Like you, Primrosepaw."

Primrosepaw smiled back. "I know... so. She likes to be out...going and also has... interesting i...deas, too! I know she... will do a great job... at her work!"

Rainpaw smiled, too. "I hope so, too. I am confident she'll be the best medicine cat, especially under *our* training!" She grinned at that.

"Primrosepaw! *Where are you?* We need to eat!" someone called out. It sounded like Rosepetal.

"Okay! I was just... meeting Birchcreek!" Primrosepaw called out to her.

"I think you should eat, after all, we were out for a while!" Rainpaw told the younger apprentice humorously.

"So should you," Primrosepaw replied in the same way. "You *are...* the medicine... cat, right? You need all that... energy for... your mental duties!"

"Well, I agree with that," added Birchcreek. "You already gave me some prey, right?"

"Yep, in fact... *I* caught it!" Primrosepaw said, her eyes twinkling with pride.

Birchcreek smiled even more. "That's wonderful, then."

Rainpaw nodded exuberantly. "I agree! And of course, I'm going to eat soon, but I need to stay back here for some time. I can wait, you know!"

Primrosepaw shrugged. "Fine, I guess. I will... go and eat, then. There must be plen...ty of prey in the... pile now, since other cats... must have come back. I will... wait for you!" She started walking out, but then she slowly turned towards Birchcreek and said, "Oh, yeah, see you... soon, Birchcreek!"

"You, too," Birchcreek replied courteously.

Primrosepaw smiled at him, then left to go to the prey pile which was just a couple of fox-lengths across the medicine cat's den.

"Rainpaw, shouldn't you also eat? Or do you want someone to bring it to you?" Birchcreek asked his littermate humorously.

"Well, that's because I have some *important* stuff to do," Rainpaw answered with a little amusing haughtiness. However, there was a hint of worry in her voice.

"Like what?" Birchcreek inquired concerningly. He tried to stretch his three unharmed legs a little since they were starting to get cramped and tingly.

"You know, the usual medicine cat work," Rainpaw replied seriously.

Birchcreek just nodded in reply since he knew that medicine cats had a lot of work to do. Since Rainpaw had gathered herbs, she would have to sort them now, and that was probably tough to do. Birchcreek didn't want to invalidate it and instead wanted to be more understanding, as he remembered that he had made a big deal out of nothing with Whitestripe and unnecessarily dragged his friends into it. He also remembered he had looked at Primrosepaw in confusion after she was rescued from her fall as he had no recollection of her leaving, but he didn't realize how Primrosepaw was feeling, and that she was uncomfortable and embarrassed from everyone doing so, which caused her to be disappointed with everyone for a few days. And when he asked Quailclaw those questions, he didn't realize why Primrosepaw had gotten sad until he realized that she was probably jealous of them playing but she was too shy to join in, plus her condition, whereas he was only worried about her somehow wandering off again, when she would obviously have been traumatized from her fall. Of course, he had apologized to her afterwards. And he remembered when Rainpaw and Primrosepaw broke the news to him of the former's dreams of being a medicine cat. He was shocked, of course, since he always envisioned them standing next to each other, becoming warrior apprentices. He was also confused why she wouldn't tell him something like this before, especially since Rainpaw had been acting slyly about breaking the news.

But after those two incidents, now Birchcreek wanted to be patient and understanding of everyone, most definitely of Rainpaw. But also especially ones who had wavering loyalty like Stonetooth, and probably Goldenlily. So he tried to be calm and walk away so he could try to accept it, instead of getting annoyed or sad like he would have normally before. But of course, he knew that he had a limit to his patience, and the depressive period had taken a toll on him. He was also shocked when Moonstar died, but the shock didn't last for as long as the depressive period's did, and it wasn't as intense. And learning about Swiftclaw made him feel frustrated and annoyed at the fact that Swiftclaw had done this at all despite sticking tightly to the warrior code. The feelings sort of reminded him of what he felt when he fought with Whitestripe and a few other times as a kit, as he thought he had been wronged somehow. He had also felt a little guilty for making Primrosepaw feel that way, even if he hadn't done much. Birchcreek thought it might have to do with him having a strong sense of justice. He was also overwhelmed at the fact that he was the only one who knew about it other than the perpetrators themselves, as far as he knew. But he wasn't sure if anyone else knew about it, so it was only him.

But Birchcreek was pretty sure he was doing a good job of being patient and understanding already, and he was trying to be more bright and outgoing like he used to be by chatting with his Clanmates about various things and being positive about his injury. He figured that his new sense of positivity must be from the new sense of usefulness he was feeling now, especially from basking in the positive attention he was getting from his heroic act.

While he was thinking about all of this, Rainpaw suddenly broke him out of his thoughts when she said, "Hey, what are *you* thinking about, anyways? Don't you *also* have some squirrels to chow down?" She laughed, as her playful attitude had come back. It didn't seem like she was doing any work, though.

Birchcreek realized from all this talk, he had barely touched *his* prey, either. He just smiled and replied, "Well, you know I used to sit at the prey pile a lot, too, right? I usually never touched the prey."

"Yeah, but that was different," Rainpaw murmured in a monotone way, which was the flip of her previous attitude. "I know you were worried about the wellbeing of MoonClan. And I know you wanted to do something, but of course, you didn't know medicine, and you didn't know much about Stonetooth. It explains why you acted the way you did when saving these two." Her gaze went towards the two unconscious cats, Whitestripe and Swanpaw.

Birchcreek was a little surprised at her seriousness, but a lot more surprised when she basically explained how he felt throughout the depressive period. It was almost as if she could read his mind. *We* are *littermates, though,* he thought spiritually, remembering all the times they spent together. They had quite similar personalities and they were the type to always invite others to play or chat with them. And they had similar ideas about everything. Birchcreek also knew Rainpaw was as worried he was during the period, since, of course, she was hit much harder due to being a medicine cat, since the two deaths were medicine-related.

"And as for me... well, I know you did a great job, in saving them. I wouldn't have gotten there in time, after all, especially since I was holding these herbs," Rainpaw continued, smiling in what seemed to be an exhausted way. But then she frowned. "But after you also collapsed on top of them, I had to save you three quickly. You see, I had jumped soon after you did, after asking Blazesky where the safest place to jump was, since I also wanted to save them from dying from their injuries. Even though cobwebs don't dissolve in water, I was easily losing grip of them while trying to hold my breath and swim. I was much farther from where *you* jumped, since of course, I jumped in a safe place, while you jumped closer to them."

Birchcreek just nodded slowly and looked down at his paws. "Well, I wasn't even thinking about rocks underneath the water. I was just thinking about saving them somehow."

Rainpaw just nodded. "I know that, but I'm glad and grateful to StarClan you weren't too injured that you couldn't save them. Or even *yourself!* Otherwise..." She shivered at the thought.

Birchcreek just frowned at that and felt a little worried about what would have happened otherwise. He would have definitely drowned if he got too injured to swim, and realized how fearless he had been when he had jumped. He was just grateful everything went for the better, even if he got injured from doing so.

"And then, luckily I managed to save you three with my herbs! Because you were breeding profusely!" the medicine cat apprentice continued worriedly.

Birchcreek winced a little at that. He had no recollection what had happened when he blacked out, and the memories after he fell into the water were foggy, too. But he had clearly remembered Moonstar appearing to him and being proud of him.

"Afterwards, even when we took you up, Lilypool and I had to treat you! I was the most worried, of course, you're my littermate after all, and you were seriously injured!" Rainpaw wailed, stretching her front legs out on the ground and scratching the floor in distress. "I felt like I was going to get stressed out so much that I fainted for a moon! I felt like I might have aged from stress!"

Birchcreek winced even more at what she said, but for a different reason. He was concerned about his littermate's wellbeing, who had never been in such a big emergency consisting of more than one cat before. Perhaps not even Lilypool had been in one before as far as he knew, since he hadn't heard of such big things happening in the history of MoonClan. He hadn't even been thinking what would have happened if he had died. Since the two deaths had already wracked the Clan so much, he figured three more deaths would have been permanently traumatizing for everyone. "I'm sorry about that," he said quietly.

Rainpaw just stared at him anxiously. "I know you were just trying to be brave, but *I even-even had dreams about continuously being in StarClan for the entire time you were asleep!"*

Birchcreek blinked in realization when she said that last part. *Wait... what?* he wondered in surprise, remembering that he had also been continuously dreaming about being in StarClan, too. He had thought that he was dead for that reason, especially since Moonstar was there before he blacked out, until he randomly woke up sometime later and realized he was back in MoonClan camp. "Really?" he inquired in confusion.

*"Yes! It was so worrying because I thought it was a sign that one of you had died!"* Rainpaw yowled in distress, but Birchcreek was pretty sure she wasn't angry at him or anything. He knew that she was just trying to let out her sadness and frustration from the entire depressive period.

"Oh... well, I also had dreams about that, too," Birchcreek replied slowly, trying to somehow make her feel better by connecting with her. "While I was still sleeping."

His sister stopped looking worried, but looked utterly confused at him instead. *"Really...?* Like... wandering around in StarClan?"

Birchcreek nodded. "Yes, and hunting there as well."

Rainpaw stared at him for a moment before replying, "I was also somehow hunting, even though I was a medicine cat. I wasn't doing the *best,* but I was still catching some prey." Then her eyes widened. "Wait, so did we have the exact same dreams at the exact same time?"

Birchcreek shrugged. "I don't know, I'm not sure what it is, exactly." He thought it might have mostly been spiritual.

"Do you think we got them from being so worried? Plus the fact that we're littermates *and* heroes?" Rainpaw tried to reason.

"Perhaps. I guess StarClan was proud of us. Moonstar *did* come to me looking proud of me before I fainted."

"Probably." She still seemed to be thinking about it. Then she looked surprised again. *"Wait, our late grandmother, Moonstar, came to you before you fainted?"*

"Well, yes. I am pretty sure it meant that StarClan approved of my actions. Maybe it meant that they were going to give me a good reward or destiny in return."

"How interesting!" The bluish-black apprentice grinned. "That means StarClan was blessing us!" But then she frowned again. "However, it didn't feel like that to me for some reason."

Birchcreek frowned, too. "I also thought I was dead from those dreams." Rainpaw just shrugged at that, however. He was still pondering the exact reason why he had the same continuous dream as his older littermate. But then he remembered something important from his fulfilling, exciting and relaxing days of kithood with his littermate.

*"Hey, Birchkit, guess what, I had a dream last night about chasing a rabbit!" Rainkit told him excitedly.*

*"Really? So did I!" Birchkit replied in ebullient surprise.*

*"Wait, really? At the same time? Last night?" his sister inquired with the same kind of surprise.*

*"Yes! I can't believe you did, too!"*

*"That's amazing, fascinating and cool all at the same time!"*

They had a similar conversation when they talked about their dreams of chasing butterflies. It was very interesting to them since it almost seemed like a StarClan coincidence. But they figured it was just because they were littermates. But now, listening to what his sister was saying, he wondered if it had something more to do with them being littermates. Or even more than that, since he had never seen other littermates with the same kind of phenomenon, like Whitestripe and Stonetooth who only talked to each other and their mother in kithood and still stuck together despite being in different Clans or Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw whose bond was as close and inseparable as the former two, even though Dandelionpaw had talked to a few other kits as a kit, but almost always her sister. He was pretty sure no one else had this phenomenon otherwise they might have talked about it before. But he decided to mention it to Rainpaw. "Do you remember when we were kits, and we talked about two dreams we had were the same?"

Rainpaw looked surprised at that, and looked like she was trying hard to recall that memory, until her eyes lit up. *"Oh, yes! I do!"* she squealed enthusiastically. "I remember the good old days!" She grinned from ear to ear. "It was so fun and fascinating, especially when I was with you!"

Birchcreek grinned, too, and looked up at the ceiling, reminiscing over his early life. He didn't think any of those good memories would have to do with the present other than making him feel better when pondering over it. But now, he wondered if it had some importance relating to this weird phenomenon.

"Do you think that's related to this? Or could it be a coincidence?" Rainpaw asked inquisitively.

"Perhaps either one," replied Birchcreek pensively. "I honestly have no idea."

His sister shrugged. "Probably. It's pretty peculiar, though. I don't know if these two are related. This one feels more important than the ones in kithood, though..."

Birchcreek thought so, too, since wandering around in StarClan seemed to be more spiritual and symbolic of something than merely chasing a hare or a butterfly. But of course, he couldn't be sure of anything related to StarClan, since they *did* have a mysterious and ambiguous nature after all. He decided to suggest, "Maybe if it happens again, we can try to figure out more about it."

Rainpaw nodded. "I suppose so."

Birchcreek nodded back and wondered about it. He thought it *could* be a coincidence because as far as he knew, they both had either a StarClan-related role or situation, plus they both saved other cats which would definitely get StarClan's approval. And when they were kits, they usually played the same things, so they could have dreamt the same things as well.

"Aren't you going to eat anyways?" he asked her, redirecting the conversation to right before Primrosepaw left.

Rainpaw stared at him for a moment, most likely still thinking about the previous topic, until she shrugged. "Well, maybe. I do feel thinking a lot made me hungrier," she said humorously.

"Me, too," her brother replied back in the same tone. Then he came up with a great idea. "If you want, we could share."

Rainpaw shrugged again, but this time with happiness. "I suppose so! Primrosepaw has gotten a *lot* better at catching squirrels, you see! Climbing was a bit hard for her to master at first, but of course, she was taught by Hailstream before to find low lying branches and bushes to climb up to bypass her freezing, and then of course, she went into pounce mode as she was taught by Quailclaw to do, and then she managed to do it!" Her eyes twinkled brightly as she was saying this.

"That's really amazing," commented Birchcreek genuinely, as he took a bite from one of the very squirrels Rainpaw was talking about how Primrosepaw caught.

They continued talking about Primrosepaw's amazing skills until they each finished a squirrel of hers.

"This was a pretty interesting chat, hehe," Rainpaw jested. Then she got up and straightened herself out. "Well, now, I'm not going to leave the den, obviously, someone needs to sort these herbs!" She simply smiled about that. But then her expression became neutral and said, "But I might not be able to chat as much while doing so."

Birchcreek just smiled and nodded. "Well, that's fine. Us warriors need to be quiet for catching prey, too. And we can't really chat while we're fighting or on border patrol, either, except when intimidating our opponents."

Rainpaw just nodded and smiled back at him. Then she wordlessly went into the herb area and started inspecting which herbs to sort.

Birchcreek looked at her for a moment before turning his gaze towards the two unconscious cats. He wondered if anything spiritual had to do with Whitestripe or Swanpaw, since the entire situation was indirectly caused by them falling off. He had seen Moonstar before he blacked out that time, dreamt about being in StarClan while being in a coma and it turned out his littermate dreamt the same as him, despite not being in a coma like him. They also talked about Primrosepaw's amazing progress despite her disability. But the shared dreams were still a puzzling thing for both of them. He wasn't sure if he or Rainpaw should tell anyone else like Lilypool or Snowstar, since they most likely didn't have this phenomenon and were therefore unrelated.

Then he looked at his two front paws, then turned his head to look at his right hind leg. It still needed to heal, of course. But from all this chatter, he nearly forgot about it, which he figured was a good thing. He wanted to hope for better things after all. He wondered if the shared StarClan dream with his littermate had some spiritual, hopeful significance to it, which is why he got it.

Birchcreek looked at his two unconscious friends again. *Whitestripe and Swanpaw... hopefully you wake up soon, too,* he thought optimistically. *With all the hope of MoonClan and StarClan, including mine... I hope you will wake up soon.*

### Chapter 34: A New Normal

"Am I doing good?" Thymepaw asked his mentor warily, trying to pounce on her.

"Yes, you are," Violetrain said encouragingly. "Just think about where I might be going. Most likely I might pounce on you, but I might go somewhere else when it's necessary."

Flameeye, Spottedpaw and Birchcreek were watching Thymepaw and Violetrain in a grassy patch used for fighting training. Birchcreek was still limping, and although he didn't need any help like he used to when he first woke up, he still wasn't fit to do warrior duties. However, Snowstar and Sealbranch said that he could still try to assist other *younger* apprentices with non-physical training, which Spottedpaw, Primrosepaw, Dandelionpaw, Robinpaw, Soarpaw and Thymepaw were excited about. Birchcreek thought the situation was weird, because the only cats who usually assisted with non-physical training were pregnant queens. Even nursing queens did a *little* physical training. But he guessed that severely injured cats like him would also only be able to do just that and decided to do it. He still wanted to be useful in the Clan, even while he was healing. Birchcreek felt a little bit awkward being praised as a hero and all, since everyone was giving him higher priority than ever before, but he decided to roll with it since it was good attention, very much unlike Stonetooth's case. For a moment, he got a little nostalgic for the times when nearly all of his friends were apprentices, from Shadowclaw to Dandelionpaw, since it seemed like there were much less apprentices now, and soon Mountainpaw and Berrypaw would become warriors. But he knew that things had to go forward. Also, that period was very excruciating for everyone as well, especially for those two.

He wondered when Whitestripe and Swanpaw would wake up, though, as they were sleeping in the medicine cat's den for a half-moon now. He worried about Swanpaw especially because she was still an apprentice, and he wondered if she would have to become a warrior after the normal time, quite the opposite of himself, and similarly to Spottedpaw who became an apprentice at seven moons. Birchcreek remembered that their bones had nearly shattered, so it would probably take more time for them to wake up and recover. He hoped by now most of the bones fused back to what they used to be normally, but he wasn't sure about the tail bones since they seemed to be nearly shattered.

Flameeye was still supporting Violetrain and Thymepaw since the latter was his nephew. After Spottedpaw and him finished training, they both decided to assist them. They were also happy that Birchcreek was here, too, since all four were extremely fond of him. Even if Whitestripe and Swanpaw weren't related to them, they were still their Clanmates. Also, Whitestripe was Violetrain's younger brother, and Swanpaw was Shadowclaw and Icemoon's younger sister.

Spottedpaw remembered when she became an apprentice, when she came to the Clan many moons ago, when her Twoleg family came back to the Mountains. It was very exciting for her, especially since Appleberry, her mother, recommended MoonClan to be a good Clan to join, even better than SnowClan. And her ideas were correct. Spottedpaw wondered if she would be able to tell anyone about her backstory, however, since it was probably more extraordinary than everyone else's, and might be incriminating according to the warrior code. She thought that Flameeye would be a good first choice, though. Being very shy and aloof, but kind and friendly, too, she figured he would be the perfect confidant as he wouldn't be the type to spill any secrets of hers. Especially since they were mentor and apprentice. However, Spottedpaw felt like she felt something more towards him, as her heart usually fluttered with joy whenever she was around him, and even more when they trained. She admired him a lot for all his good qualities, and it didn't seem like he had any negative ones, unlike *Stonetooth.* She wondered what it could be, but she briefly thought it could be the love that Icemoon loved Whitestripe with. She also thought about Quailclaw and Primrosepaw. Quailclaw was a lot like Flameeye, as they both rarely liked to gossip or partake in drama. Training and playing was more of their style since they were pretty quiet. Spottedpaw wondered if Primrosepaw also liked that about Quailclaw, even if she wasn't necessarily in love with him.

She looked at Thymepaw excitedly, as she wanted to cheer the newest apprentice on, who was also her mentor's nephew. Thymepaw seemed to have a more boisterous type of energy than his uncle, similarly to Peonyclaw, Whitestripe, Lilackit and Jumpkit. She also thought of Stonetooth but she didn't want to relate anyone in any way to her, since that gray she-cat felt like too much a disgrace. Spottedpaw lived as a kittypet for most of the time she remembered, but even *she* wouldn't have done such a thing, even without knowing the warrior code. But she was still fond of Thymepaw, as he seemed like he had a lot of potential, and he was very determined and dominating, too. For a moment, she worried about who his father might be, but then she decided it might just be a kittypet. *I guess that would make him only one-eighths Clan cat, then,* she thought, amazed by the variety of cats in MoonClan. She would give a tail and a whisker to bet that SnowClan and AdderClan didn't even have close to this much variety, and she silently chuckled at that.

"Okay, now try to see if you can pounce on me and stay on me," Violetrain suggested thoughtfully. "This trick can be useful in battle against foxes and big cats."

"Okay," Thymepaw replied, focused, and tried to look for an opening.

*"You can do it!"* Spottedpaw cheered, and added, "Flameeye taught me that you need to make sure that the opponent is off-guard!"

Birchcreek nodded. "I learned that from Peonyclaw, too, obviously, her being the expert of physical training experts. Since Violetrain is her daughter, I think she inherited that, too." Flameeye nodded at both their statements.

Thymepaw brightened at those two statements, and tried to look for a way to get Violetrain off-guard. Violetrain attempted to pounce on Thymepaw, but he jumped out of the way in time and onto a small rock. Then he tried to look in a different direction from Violetrain, but still seemed to have her in the corner of his eye.

Thymepaw then tried to pounce on Violetrain. His mentor jumped out of the way and tried to move to the left to get a good opening. Then she tried to pounce on him, but Thymepaw managed to dodge. Then he tried to pounce on Violetrain again, but this time she couldn't get out of the way in time. Then he tried to scratch her neck and stay on top of her. Violetrain tried to kick him off by zig-zagging and shaking her body. Birchcreek thought Violetrain's actions were similar to the foxes Whitestripe, Shadowclaw and Swanpaw had to deal with, so he decided to point it out.

"Whitestripe, Shadowclaw and Swanpaw also had to hold onto a fox as well," he said positively.

Flameeye, Spottedpaw and Thymepaw nodded. Violetrain seemed to remember that Whitestripe and Swanpaw were still unconscious, but she was a bit relieved that no one else remembered them for the time being.

Then Thymepaw clawed her more until Violetrain finally kicked him off. Then she swiftly turned around and tried to slash him, but he dodged and tried to jump on her again. Then his mentor tried to swipe him while he was in the air since she had no time to dodge, and Thymepaw nearly missed, but he managed to hang onto her pelt. Violetrain easily shook him off by flipping around, though.

Then she explained to her apprentice, "Swiping someone who's in the air is a good way to stun them and make them lose velocity."

"Also, their weak spots are usually exposed while in the air," Flameeye added. Thymepaw nodded and tried to watch out for Violetrain again.

They continued training for some time until they decided to take a snack break. Flameeye and Thymepaw brought a squirrel and a shrew to Birchcreek from the prey pile, and got some mice for themselves. The dark brown young warrior thanked his cousin and *his* nephew and decided to eat his shrew first. Violetrain and Spottedpaw got some shrews, too.

Thymepaw asked Violetrain hopefully, "Did I do good?"

"Of course you did," his mentor replied reassuringly. "You learned some new things today. That's an important part of apprenticehood!"

"Don't forget, you've been unofficially training a little with Violetrain as a kit!" Spottedpaw pointed out and chuckled.

Birchcreek then thought about Dustkit and Oakkit. They were obviously a half-moon old now. Sometime after he woke up from his sleep and saw them in the nursery, he was alarmed at their size, since they were nearly a quarter-moon old.

Now Dustkit and Oakkit were even bigger and able to play with the older kits. His nephew and nieces, Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit, were also old enough to leave the nursery by themselves, as they were two moons old now and already weaned from Sandleap, too. Birchcreek thought about Whitestripe and Swanpaw again and how much they might have missed out so far. Whitestripe might not have cared about kits that much, but he seemed to be more interested in his nephew and niece than any other kit. *I guess he could mentor them if he had the chance,* Birchcreek figured.

Then Birchcreek noticed Quailclaw and Primrosepaw and Shadowclaw and Dandelionpaw talking to each other, and they all seemed to be discussing Dustkit and Oakkit.

"I like that Dustkit likes to be funny," Shadowclaw said mirthfully. "Just like Birdkit, Dandelionpaw and me!" Dandelionpaw smiled.

"And Rainpaw and... Spottedpaw, too?" Primrosepaw mentioned with mock seriousness, raising an eyebrow. "Don't forget Swan...paw and Mountainpaw... and Waterkit and Flower...kit!"

"Them, too, obviously." Shadowclaw replied apologetically. "And Quailclaw and Birchcreek in their own ways!"

Quailclaw subtly smiled. "Well, I do like to banter sometimes, when I feel like talking to someone. Birchcreek does so, too."

Primrosepaw beamed at Quailclaw with understanding. "I know you like... quality time by... yourself! I do, too! But I also... like to talk to others... when I am feeling like... it, too!"

Birchcreek smiled at his brother and the younger apprentice. He knew that Quailclaw was more calm and sensible than most cats were, much like Primrosepaw, not being easily brought down by hardships. His four older sisters (including Rainpaw) were also like this, too. In fact, his parents, uncles and grandparents had these qualities, too, which was why he figured his siblings and him all inherited these qualities. His paternal cousins, Flameeye and Redwater were also like this, too.

"I do, too! But Dustkit likes to chat with other cats, even *grown-up,* a lot!" Dandelionpaw exclaimed with wonder. "I wonder if he spends a second not talking to anyone, except when he needs to sleep! Even his sister, Oakkit, can't seem to keep up!"

"Pretty interesting that he's comfortable bantering with senior warriors and kits alike," Shadowclaw replied. Then he smirked, tilted his head and added sarcastically, "Reminds me of someone, don't you think?"

"I can remember very vividly, Shadowclaw," Quailclaw responded genuinely. "You and Icemoon talked to a lot of the senior warriors due to the lack of kits in the nursery. I think Applefall also did that, too, when there were no kits except for Heronwing who was soon becoming an apprentice, until Sealbranch, Sandleap and Hailstream were born."

"I can definitely see who inherited what from who, then," Dandelionpaw joked. "I wonder if Dustkit will also be mature like her, too, talking to senior warriors more than he does his kit friends?"

"I suppose so. But... what about Flameeye... and Redwater and... Nightnose and Nutclaw?" Primrosepaw asked in confusion. Dandelionpaw seemed to wonder, too.

Flameeye perked up upon hearing his name, and wondered what they were talking about. Birchcreek was interested to see what Shadowclaw or Quailclaw had to say.

"I am pretty sure they told us that they were given to the Clan by their kittypet mothers, Rain Drop and Anna, respectively, when they were weaned, so two moons old," Shadowclaw explained in a mentor-like tone. "So the trio of sisters were born before they came to the Clan."

"Well, we *did* come a moon after they were born," Flameeye explained in the same tone, since he was pretty much used to talking formally ever since he became a mentor anyways. Violetrain, Spottedpaw and Thymepaw started to pay more attention to their conversation now.

The other four were pleasantly surprised to see that they were listening in. "That's true," replied Shadowclaw brightly. "I think Applefall was no longer alone at that point!"

"That's great!" said Spottedpaw, remembering the brief history her mentor gave her about himself and the cats around his age group. "I do suppose she was alone, having to wait for so long for other kits to come."

"Yep, and Violetrain and Fireclaw were born the next moon," Shadowclaw continued, looking at Violetrain who nodded. Then he cheekily grinned and teased, "And guess what happened afterwards? They got to know Sandleap and Violetrain as kits a *little* too-"

"Oh, would you stop that," Violetrain mockingly sighed. "We definitely were *not* mates as kits."

"I *would* agree," added Birchcreek after finishing his shrew. "Most cats get crushes during apprenticehood." Violetrain nodded in agreement with him.

Birchcreek thought it was true because Icemoon barely paid attention to Whitestripe as kits, mainly due to the separation Whitestripe wanted from other kits, but only a moon after they became apprentices (and friends, he remembered) did she start taking interest. He also noticed that Primrosepaw seemed to admire Quailclaw more as an apprentice than as a kit, but he figured that was mostly just appreciation for his help. Mountainpaw and Berrypaw's bond was also tighter for these last seven and a half moons than as kits. But most of the other apprentices such as Shadowclaw, Quailclaw, Whitestripe, Stonetooth (well, not until her last quarter-moon of apprenticehood, anyways), Rainpaw (of course), Swanpaw, Dandelionpaw, Robinpaw, Soarpaw and him didn't seem to have any crushes, and he wasn't sure about any older cats, of course, and not that they would tell him either. Birchcreek wondered if Thymepaw would have any crushes on any apprentice, but decided he was probably still too young to think about that since it didn't seem like he had any.

Spottedpaw thought she could agree with him about that. She had no interest in any other tom as a kit, even though there were a few in the Kittypet Place. But after getting apprenticed to Flameeye... *Well... he's interesting,* she thought. Spottedpaw wondered if she was indeed falling in love with him and felt a bit awkward about it. *Well, Flameeye doesn't seem to be interested in any cat other than Thymepaw and me, but that's probably because we're his nephew and apprentice,* she thought woefully. *He* would *be pretty embarrassed if I told him, since he's probably not looking for mates.*

Flameeye wondered about what Birchcreek said, too. He had no crushes as a kit, and not as an apprentice, either. He only started thinking about mates as a warrior, but in a methodical and less passionate approach, so he figured it might be different for different cats. Since he was mostly calm, quiet and very obedient, he thought a strong-willed, light-hearted and leader-like she-cat would have been best for him, like Sealbranch, but he thought it would be awkward for their fathers since they were paternal cousins. He thought of other cats who could fit the role, but oddly enough, he could only think of one cat, which was his apprentice.

Thymepaw just looked fascinated about the history of his mother, uncle and mentor and their families. He was born ten moons after Shadowclaw, Icemoon and Quailclaw after all, so he was definitely much younger than the cats in his mother, uncle and mentor's age group, and would probably want to know their relationship with the others. Much like how a moon ago, Birchcreek, Birchpaw at the time, and the other apprentices wanted to know about Shadowclaw, Icemoon and Quailclaw's relationship to Whitestripe and Stonetooth. However, he remembered his unconscious friends and was sad about what happened to Whitestripe and Swanpaw and worried about Stonetooth's actions.

"Hey, but who knows, right? We haven't *seen* you as kits, right?" Shadowclaw joked teasingly.

"We were *not* mates, you know," Violetrain groaned.

"I can agree," added Flameeye calmly.

"I don't have any mates, either," said Thymepaw. "I don't think Lilackit and Jumpkit do, either."

"If that's the case, then what about Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit? And Dustkit and Oakkit?" Dandelionpaw asked amusingly.

Violetrain's eyes shined at the mention of her niece and nephew. Birchcreek also smiled at the mention of those five kits.

Violetrain replied, "I think they might have some crushes, too! Especially Dustkit, maybe with Flowerkit!" and she laughed at that.

Spottedpaw beamed. "Flowerkit and Dustkit *are* pretty friendly, indeed!" Even though they weren't blood-related to her, she still adored them as kits.

"So are the other kits," pointed out Birchcreek. "It can go any way, you know! Or the older kits and Thymepaw might also have crushes on each other, too." He then took a bite from his squirrel. He wondered what pairings would occur in the future. Pairing kits seemed pretty peculiar to him since anything could happen, of course. No one probably knew Icemoon would have interest in Whitestripe as kits.

Thymepaw snorted at his mother's cousin. "I am pretty sure I won't have a crush until I become a warrior."

Flameeye secretly smiled at that, since it reminded him of himself.

"Dustkit *is* as talkative as Shadowclaw, though. But Shadowclaw didn't have any crushes, right?" Quailclaw said good-naturedly.

Shadowclaw seemed to be a bit embarrassed at that. "Well, not really?" His eyes went over the medicine cat's den for a moment, but returned back to Quailclaw.

"Who knows if he had... a crush or not?" Primrosepaw pointed out amusingly.

Shadowclaw shrugged. "If I did, you'd never know!" Then he started to laugh menacingly.

"I'm going to bet... Rainpaw," Primrosepaw replied and smiled.

Shadowclaw stopped laughing and stared in surprise at Primrosepaw for a moment.

"You're the closest in age... right?" Primrosepaw continued teasingly. Birchcreek noticed that she obviously ignored Stonetooth, but that was probably fine.

"Oh, is this true, Shadowclaw?" Spottedpaw asked coyly.

"Of course not," said Shadowclaw with mock annoyance. "She was going to be a medicine cat apprentice, anyways!"

"Also, that would be awkward," said Birchcreek matter-of-factly. He thought it would have been weird if Shadowclaw were interested in his littermate. But he guessed that wouldn't have mattered since like Shadowclaw said, Rainpaw was becoming a medicine cat apprentice anyways.

"Oh, really?" Dandelionpaw replied sarcastically to Birchcreek, raising an eyebrow. "And apparently no other cats having crushes or acting lovey-dovey is awkward?"

"Well, it's pretty weird to talk about shipping Rainpaw since she's my littermate and she's going to be a medicine cat," Birchcreek replied.

Violetrain smiled. "I am glad you don't think other cats being mates is awkward, though, Birchcreek."

Birchcreek just smiled in response.

"Well, if Dustkit were like Shadowclaw, then," Quailclaw said, redirecting it back to Dustkit, "Then he wouldn't have any crushes, either."

"That's probably fine," Violetrain said in reply, probably relieved.

"What about Applefall?" Dandelionpaw asked, probably directed towards Flameeye and Violetrain.

"Applefall, Nutclaw, Violetrain and Fireclaw used to chat as apprentices," said Flameeye normally. "And Applefall and Nutclaw were mostly friendly since Applefall's mother, Daisyfoot, was Nutclaw's mentor. But I doubt they were being lovey-dovey." From what he remembered, they mostly talked about Clan life while the four of them were together. But Applefall and Nutclaw who were good friends, when they were by themselves, usually talked to each other about sophisticated topics such as other Clans and important things happening, almost like himself and Redwater.

Violetrain stared at Flameeye for a moment, probably for mentioning her, and added, "Yeah, we usually talked about *normal* things. And Applefall and Nutclaw *were friendly."*

"Probably why they decided to become mates with you two," Shadowclaw joked and guffawed at that. Spottedpaw couldn't help smirking, and so did Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw. Flameeye and Thymepaw just shrugged, though, and Violetrain just groaned in response. Flameeye noticed Thymepaw wasn't really interested about love gossip, but instead about training and fighting, much like Whitestripe.

Then Quailclaw said, "Well, I suppose Dustkit might be a mix of Applefall and Fireclaw, then."

"I suppose that makes sense," Birchcreek agreed. He guessed his brother and him had the same thoughts.

Then Sealbranch and Hailstream walked towards them together, looking very cheerful.

"Oh, hey, Sealbranch and Hailstream!" greeted Violetrain. "We were discussing about Dustkit and apprentice crushes!"

"That's cool, I guess," Sealbranch replied. Then she asked brightly, "Hey, Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw, do you want to do double training like we usually do?"

Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw both nodded excitedly. Quailclaw also beamed, most likely at the mention of Primrosepaw training. Birchcreek thought, *Well, Hailstream and him usually get excited when they think about training Primrosepaw. I guess they like mentoring a lot, just like Violetrain. And I guess Quailclaw has good memories of training her.*

"I am still glad our mentors are sisters *and* littermates, and *we're* sisters and littermates, too!" Dandelionpaw said exuberantly.

"Me... too! It is *very...* interesting!" replied Primrosepaw happily. "That way... we are *even...* closer!"

Sealbranch and Hailstream smiled even more and nodded. Quailclaw was still beaming, but he also added, "I am glad you all are in sync. I also remember doing light training with Primrosepaw when she was a kit."

Primrosepaw looked gratefully at Quailclaw. "I remem...ber, too! I sup...pose we were in sync... too!"

Quailclaw nodded happily. "I am pretty sure that's true." Dandelionpaw smiled at both of them genuinely.

Shadowclaw looked happily between the unofficial mentor and apprentice. Surprisingly, he didn't tease them about being lovey-dovey or anything, but instead he asked genuinely, "Quailclaw, you're such a good mentor, especially to Primrosepaw, did you think about having any apprentices yet?"

Quailclaw shook his head. "Not really, because I want to have most of the time to help out Primrosepaw until she becomes a warrior. Even afterwards, I can still help her."

Suddenly, a smirk tugged on Shadowclaw's lips, but it seemed like he was trying to fight it. "Really? What about afterwards?"

Spottedpaw knew why he was smirking. *It's not a far stretch to ship them together.*

"I can become Waterkit or Flowerkit's mentor," Quailclaw simply replied. "I guess Birdkit would become Lilypool's apprentice anyways."

Primrosepaw smiled. "Well, I'm also... technically... being mentored... by Rainpaw and Lily...pool!"

"That's a lot of mentors you have, Primrosepaw," joked Dandelionpaw. Primrosepaw just shrugged, still smiling.

Shadowclaw grinned. "That's true! But I guess when you become a warrior, Primrosepaw, you'll only have Rainpaw and Lilypool... right? And *sometimes* Quailclaw?"

"I guess so! But... I can still train... with them," replied Primrosepaw genuinely.

"Alright, so are we going?" asked Sealbranch hopefully.

"Quailclaw, you can come with us, too!" Hailstream suggested excitedly.

Birchcreek smiled. "I suppose that makes *three* siblings, then."

"Too bad we're not littermates," said Hailstream. "But at least we are all similar to each other!" She smiled at Quailclaw.

Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw seemed to be excited about Quailclaw coming. "I also want a great mentor to come with us!" said Dandelionpaw. "You really *did* help Primrosepaw!" Primrosepaw beamed even more at that.

Shadowclaw smirked. "I suppose so. Primrosepaw can surely *benefit a lot!"* Spottedpaw and Dandelionpaw also smirked at the subtext.

Then Spottedpaw got an idea. "Hey, Thymepaw, Violetrain, do you want to go?"

Violetrain seemed to be thinking. "Is it hunting?"

"Of course!" Sealbranch answered. "We need some more prey for this growing Clan." A few cats chuckled at that.

"I guess I can go," said Thymepaw normally. "I like to train more than gossiping anyways."

"How Whitestripe of you," Violetrain said, chuckling.

Birchcreek smiled. "I can *sort* of share the same sentiment. I am okay with anyone being mates, so I prefer to train."

"Oh, but we're trying to push them *together,"* said Dandelionpaw jokingly.

"So the Clan can grow even more!" Spottedpaw joked. Everyone laughed at that.

"Okay, I think we can go, too!" Violetrain said excitedly.

"That's great! Have fun, all of you!" Shadowclaw said happily.

"I wish that to you, too," said Birchcreek thoughtfully. "And be safe."

Then Thymepaw got sad for a moment, and his uncle and Birchcreek noticed his expression.

"Well, I wish Birchcreek could come," Thymepaw said forlornly.

Everyone seemed to get a bit sad about that.

"I wish so, too," said Dandelionpaw wistfully. "He *is* a pretty good hunter."

"Also, he's our men...tors' brother," Primrosepaw added sadly. "And... he saved Whitestripe... and Swanpaw."

"That's true. I wonder when they'll wake up, anyways," Shadowclaw sighed.

Flameeye and Spottedpaw were also sad for Birchcreek since his leg was broken, and they worried for Whitestripe and Swanpaw, too. When they first came back to the Clan, everyone was worried that they might die. And even worse, Birchcreek's sacrifice would be in vain. But now, at least Lilypool and Rainpaw got them to a point where they wouldn't die, but they didn't want them to be paralyzed or anything, either.

Birchcreek didn't want them to think about that, though, so he said, "I'd rather have this broken leg for a moon than for Whitestripe and Swanpaw to die, you know. And you don't have to worry about me, Thymepaw, or anyone else." He didn't know if Whitestripe or Swanpaw would wake up right now, though.

"I know. I'm so glad you saved them!" said Violetrain graciously.

*"I'm eternally grateful!"* Shadowclaw exclaimed, nearly tearing up.

"Me too! I'm not sure what we would have done *otherwise!"* Dandelionpaw exclaimed tearfully, too.

"I'm grateful, too," said Quailclaw appreciatively. "Especially since you were brave and selfless enough to try and save your Clanmates at the expense of yourself."

Sealbranch, Hailstream, Flameeye, Spottedpaw, Primrosepaw and Thymepaw nodded in agreement.

Birchcreek just smiled at everyone, especially at Quailclaw. He didn't think he was being brave and selfless before that happened since it felt like he was doing nothing useful to help in the depressive period, and didn't think much of it after the creek fall. He wasn't thinking about bravery or selflessness at that moment, either. But after all the compliments he got relating to his deed, he thought it was probably true.

"Well, you're welcome all of you," Birchcreek decided to reply positively. "I am okay with not doing duties for a moon. But you still can, so I guess you can leave for hunting patrol now."

"Alright, I hope you heal fully, Birchcreek," Sealbranch said empathetically. The other cats nodded.

"I hope so, too," Hailstream added, getting ready to leave.

"Well, me too," Violetrain said, also getting ready to leave.

"Me too, and bye... I guess!" Primrosepaw said excitedly.

"See you soon!" Dandelionpaw added.

Everyone else said farewell to each other, especially Birchcreek. However, Violetrain, Quailclaw and Thymepaw looked worriedly at him, probably at the fact he'd have to stay idle for some time longer. But he decided to just smile back at them.

As everyone was leaving, Shadowclaw also seemed to be worried for Birchcreek and whispered, "Are you *actually* okay?"

Birchcreek nodded reassuringly. "Of course I am. I am still okay not doing anything. I still saved them and I'm helping out apprentices, didn't I? So I don't feel useless."

Shadowclaw nodded, however skeptically. Flameeye and Spottedpaw both nodded in agreement with him, though.

"By the way, do you want to talk about Snowstar?" Birchcreek continued, nearly finished with his squirrel.

Flameeye and Shadowclaw's eyes lit up at the mention of their former mentor. Of course, he was a great mentor. Flameeye had him when he was just Snowpool, while Shadowclaw, for a vast majority of his apprentice time, had him as Snowstar. But nonetheless he had the same mentoring techniques when he was mentoring both.

"I *love* Snowstar," replied Shadowclaw excitedly. "He taught me everything I needed to know as an apprentice. I'm proud that he's the leader. Even while being so busy for the vast majority of my training, he still found enough time to mentor me."

Flameeye smiled, too. "He's also very calm in tough situations, which fits the energy of Moonstar and MoonClan."

Spottedpaw beamed as well. "I am glad that he was your mentors, too! He's also a very nice leader since he was warm and forthcoming to me when I joined! I heard he also had the same attitude to Flipsnow and Peonyclaw! He even gave me a great prefix!"

Birchcreek smiled for his father, remembering that discussion of who should be the next leader after Moonstar and her deputy, Falconblue, both died. "I know he's amazing. No wonder the near entirety of MoonClan voted for him. I know he'll also give you a good suffix, too, Spottedpaw."

All of them looked happy about what he said, much to the dark brown warrior's joy.

He remembered the times when Snowstar, back when he was just Snowpool for the first half of Birchcreek's kithood, when he was just Birchkit. He only remembered one moon worth of it, so he didn't remember him mentoring Flameeye very well, he only remembered Flameeye and Redwater's warrior ceremony, but it was a pretty interesting time when his father was just a normal warrior, not even a deputy, and therefore had a lot of off time to see his kits. Sure, Snowpool had to mentor Shadowclaw, Shadowpaw at the time, in the last quarter-moon of his normal warriorhood, but he still got to see his kits since Shadowpaw and Quailclaw, Quailpaw at the time, still wanted to see their family members and the other kits at the same time. Then for the next half of Birchkit's kithood, his father was the leader, therefore having the title of a leader's son, while he was still a kit. And Birchkit didn't get a lot of time to see him either.

They continued talking about Snowstar for some time until it was time for the other three to do their obligatory warrior duties. For Spottedpaw, it meant hunting training with Flameeye.

"Well," started Shadowclaw bouncily, "that was a good chat about him!"

"I agree," said Flameeye happily. "We still miss him as our mentor."

"Yeah, I agree, too," Spottedpaw said in the same tone. "He's very great! Anyways, I think we should be leaving for warrior duties and such."

Birchcreek nodded and greeted them farewell. Shadowclaw looked a little sadly at him, but he just smiled and nodded in response.

Flameeye and Spottedpaw were also a little bit sad that the first moon of Birchcreek's warriorhood was when he was injured while other cats usually got to enjoy the benefits of their warriorhood. They knew why he was promoted to warriorhood, but they still hoped that he would heal soon. Then all three left to hunt.

Birchcreek watched them leave and wondered about himself. *Am I really okay?* he wondered. He remembered when he was still an apprentice and kit, and he was still perfectly fine. Now, his first memories of being a warrior were him being injured. He wondered if Snowstar and Peonyclaw could still have waited for him to heal and become fourteen moons, since the warrior reward wasn't that enticing while one was injured and could do nothing. *Except not worry about future trainings or warrior exams,* Birchcreek remembered. But he still figured they could have still made him a warrior once he healed without him doing the trainings or exams. He could also mentor younger apprentices, but he was pretty sure he could still do that as a senior apprentice. Mountainpaw and Berrypaw might have also appreciated it as well being with their apprentice friend. And maybe Whitestripe and Swanpaw would have seen his warrior ceremony.

Birchcreek finished his squirrel fully and tried to limp back to the medicine cat's den. He remembered getting a cut on his forehead by Stonetooth before Whitestripe and Swanpaw fell. But compared to the pain of nearly breaking his leg into many bits, the cut was nothing compared to it. He wasn't sure if the cobwebs fell off when he leaped into the water, but when he woke up, he saw it was perfectly healed. There was only a minor scar now. The slash that hit the tips of his ears was also gone, too, and perfectly healed. *Well, it* was *already a few days when I woke up,* he figured.

Birchcreek looked at the two unconscious cats in the den. Him being injured seemed like the new normal now. And so was Whitestripe and Swanpaw being unconscious. He desperately hoped to StarClan that they would wake up soon. *Please, StarClan, please. I pray to you. You have enough power to do so, previously having been the Miracle ancestors. You have a lot of power, right? Please, StarClan, make things right.*

He remembered Moonstar meeting him as a StarClan spirit right before he blacked out. He didn't think about it much before, even though he mentioned it to Rainpaw once, but now he wondered if Moonstar healed him somehow, or if they healed the other two cats. *I hope so. I hope we continue to heal. Soon, StarClan, things should be fine. Please, everything should be alright soon. Soon everything will be alright.*

### Chapter 35: Serendipitous Surprise

Whitestripe saw nothing. Neither did Swanpaw. It felt like they were floating in the mist of StarClan for eternity, and they thought they could see their dead Clanmates, especially Goldenlily, again. But now, there was a strange sensation, almost as if they were entering into another world. They had no idea what it was, but they were scared to go there.

Until suddenly, they saw the dim light, and later, the gray ceiling of a den. Whitestripe was the first one who woke up since he got rescued first. He had no recollection of what happened after that fox-dung warrior Windwing threw him off the cliff. He had no desire to scream because he knew he would fall onto the rocks anyways. But surprisingly, after his rear and tail smashed into the rocks of the shallow part of the water near the cliff, other than him instantly passing out, his paternal grandmother, Moonstar, had come up to him and smiled, almost as if she were saying, "Whitestripe, you have proved yourself to be a great warrior already." He had no idea what it meant, if she were taking him to StarClan, or instead healing his wounds.

Swanpaw hadn't realized she was on the direct edge of the cliff until, of course, she noticed her front paws landed on air. But it was too late as she toppled off and onto the rocks directly onto the rocks near the cliff. She fell rear-first as she remembered, but the last thing she remembered after falling was her mother, Goldenlily, warmly smiling at her. Swanpaw could only smile back as she thought her mother had come back as she blacked out almost instantly. It was the second time she had seen her, and that too, in a comforting manner, and it comforted her to know Goldenlily was always watching her. But she didn't realize that she hadn't died until she saw that they were inside of a den.

They couldn't move their hips or their tail at all, as it felt stiff. But to their utter surprise, they saw Birchpaw there with his right hind leg wrapped in a branch. Birchpaw was watching them wake up in utter shock for a few seconds before looking utterly relieved.

"Birchpaw! You're here?" Whitestripe said happily. Swanpaw nodded cheerfully as well. But suddenly, Birchpaw's expression became a little sad.

"Um... well, I'm not Birchpaw anymore," he said.

The two fallen cats stared at him for a while before wondering if a moon had already passed since their fall, which meant that Swanpaw, Mountainpaw and Berrypaw would also become warriors in a quarter-moon, or perhaps right now. But Swanpaw felt despondent at the fact that she might not be a warrior at her right time due to being unconscious for so long.

But then Birchpaw replied, "Well, the thing is, I saved you by helping you up. I jumped into the water, but my hind leg nearly broke, but somehow, I still pushed you out before you could drown. You were out for a half-moon, while I woke up in three days. And now I'm Birchcreek."

Whitestripe and Swanpaw couldn't be more shocked, half at the part where he saved them and got injured himself and the other half at only a half-moon passing.

"So-so, you saved us, and became a warrior a half-moon early? Due to your deed?" Whitestripe asked almost breathily. It was the first time Birchcreek and Swanpaw saw him speak so much in shock, as even with Stonetooth, he seemed to be confident about it. But of course, it was very shocking and almost traumatic for him and Swanpaw, and of course Birchcreek, since they nearly died and got almost severely injured that they were asleep for so long. Swanpaw had been saved by Birchcreek once before while Whitestripe had never been saved by anyone before, but it was still so equally shocking for both of them in such a life-threatening situation, and they felt so far removed from it since they didn't remember any of that part.

Birchcreek nodded. "I actually became a warrior a half-moon ago, after I woke up, so a full moon early. I thought about stalling my ceremony until the normal time since I wouldn't be able to do anything in my first moon of warriorhood anyway, and also so that you could see it, but at the same time I wanted our Clan to feel proud of me and experience the taste of warriorhood sooner. Rainpaw also saved you by jumping into the water and administering emergency medicine to all three of us after we passed out, so she was also considered a hero. But she didn't want to become a medicine cat just yet until you were fully healed."

Swanpaw tried to move, but she felt immense pain in her rear and tail. She felt almost helpless because she thought she couldn't even gesture properly, since front paws and head movements and expressions didn't fully convey every single sign, as for some she had to move. She could move her hind legs and feet unlike perhaps Birchcreek with his right, but her hips and most of her tail felt like they would collapse if she even moved her legs a whisker. At least Whitestripe and Birchcreek could still speak even while being stuck in one place, but Swanpaw would be very limited to one spot. And worst of all, her warriorhood would definitely be delayed, unlike Birchcreek, since she didn't necessarily save anyone. Swanpaw tried to ask Birchcreek if he got to skip his warrior exams since it looked like he was too injured to do them anyways by moving her paws in a pouncing motion and then shrugging, but she wasn't sure if they would understand since usually, she would move her entire body forward in a pouncing motion to indicate hunting and fighting.

It took Whitestripe and Birchcreek a minute or two to understand what she was saying, but Birchcreek wasn't sure if he should talk more about his reward. He knew Swanpaw was feeling down about this because, after all, warriorhood was her passion, and sitting in one place would be utterly terrible for her. Plus, she would have to delay her warriorhood for a little while before she recovered. He figured MoonClan would probably give her a break and not delay it too much unlike AdderClan and SnowClan, but he was still worried that Swanpaw would not be with Mountainpaw and Berrypaw who became apprentices along with her. Birchcreek heard that Snowstar was planning to make Mountainpaw and Berrypaw were going to be warriors quarter-moon early to go along with other warriors, especially Birchcreek who became one a moon before they would, but he wasn't sure about Swanpaw. He didn't want Swanpaw to feel jealous of him as he really wanted to be considerate of others, and he was rethinking if he should have become a warrior a whole moon early. Even so, Mountainpaw, Berrypaw and him might have still become warriors before she did since Birchcreek wasn't as injured as Whitestripe or her.

"They said that I didn't have to and that my bravery and selflessness was enough," Birchcreek decided to say.

Whitestripe and Swanpaw were still staring at him in shock, which made him feel a bit embarrassed and sad for them, since they had such good skills and dreams. But at the same time, Birchcreek was wholly relieved that they woke up. After all, he was praying for this the entire time and so was the rest of MoonClan. He was so grateful that StarClan had finally shined their miracles on them again, as it was perhaps a miracle in itself that three young cats survived nearly drowning and breaking their bones. He fully hoped that they would be fully functional again, even if not completely heal.

"Birchcreek, who are you talking to?" Rainpaw suddenly called from outside the den, but none of them had to say anything as she entered, and her eyes also widened in shock. *"Whitestripe and Swanpaw! You're finally awake!"* she yowled in utter delight, and that immediately alerted everyone else in MoonClan. Birchcreek realized that all the patrols must have come back since it was now close to evening, especially the cats who he was talking to just earlier in the day.

All of Whitestripe and Swanpaw's kin, including their cousins, rushed in and so did a few other cats like Primrosepaw, Dandelionpaw and Lilypool, all looking so surprised and delighted and relieved.

*"Whitestripe! Are you okay?!"* exclaimed Peonyclaw in the same tone as Rainpaw. Birchcreek knew that it must have been hard for her with her son being injured, even if they weren't on great terms before. But he felt that now, their relationship would be fully repaired, and even get better after this.

*"I was almost dead for the entire half-moon!"* Icemoon shrieked forlornly.

*"So was I! I couldn't bear to lose* another *sister!"* Shadowclaw added in the same tone.

*"I couldn't believe it either since I saw it, but I'm so glad you're awake!"* Dandelionpaw exclaimed.

"Are you fully okay?" asked Lilypool mostly in relief, but the injured cats could also sense a bit of worry in her tone. "I mean, we know that was very traumatizing for everyone including you. Maybe more for the rest of us since you three seemed to handle it fine."

*"I agree!"* said Thymepaw sadly. "My mentor felt sick after seeing you three so injured, and so did I, and we couldn't train that much!"

*"I was also shocked! After all, you were my mate's apprentice and cousin!"* Nightnose also exclaimed.

Petalkit also happened to be here, and she also looked shocked. *"I didn't realize you were hurt! Otherwise, I would have tried to help!"*

Rainpaw looked at Petalkit and said reassuringly, "You didn't know, and you couldn't do anything, so don't blame yourself!"

Petalkit still seemed shocked and forlorn about it, however. "Birchcreek's my foster siblings' uncle, though, Whitestripe's my friends, Dustkit and Oakkit's uncle and Swanpaw's obviously my sister!"

Whitestripe and Swanpaw were a little shocked at when Petalkit might have figured out that Sandleap and Nightnose weren't her biological parents, but Goldenlily was instead. They figured Shadowclaw, Icemoon or Primrosepaw might have told her, though. But Whitestripe was also worried about his nephew and niece and if they would even know if he even existed at all. It felt so strange to have so much time skip by, since a half-moon was definitely a lot of time when it came to young warriors and senior apprentices, as lots of things surely happened in that time. But they knew everyone else was still mourning, so perhaps not that much had happened, except for of course, Birchcreek's warrior ceremony.

"I felt so bad that I was the one who told her to go, and I'm also her mentor! I was worried that she wouldn't wake up!" Nutclaw added, also forlorn.

"I was also fee...ling depressed!" lamented Primrosepaw. "I felt better af...ter Birchcreek woke... up, but I still had... a heavy heart about you... two, Whitestripe and Swan...paw, until you woke up... too!"

"I am also relieved that they woke up," added Quailclaw. "After all, they are important members of the Clan, as is everyone else."

Whitestripe and Swanpaw already realized that they were in the medicine cat's den since there were a ton of herbs, and their wounds were mostly treated, and their hips and tail were in cobwebs and held still by sticks. It felt weird not being able to move their tails at all, since it seemed like they were severely damaged. But they were just happy to be alive, just like everyone else was.

"Yes, of course, I'm glad, too," Whitestripe said lightheartedly, and Swanpaw nodded, doing a thumbs-up at herself.

"Yeah, you don't need to remember the past anymore," reassured Birchcreek. "Now that the future is surely going to be better after this, I surely hope."

"Um, did Birchcreek tell you about his early warrior ceremony?" Mountainpaw asked nervously. "I felt a little bad that you didn't get to witness it."

"No, it's fine, since Birchcreek did a great thing, and yes, he did tell us about his and Rainpaw's savior status," Whitestripe said quickly, and Swanpaw nodded since they had already processed this information.

"Wow, that's great! I am very proud of Rainpaw, too! I want to be a medicine cat just like her!" they heard Birdkit say, and the two fallen cats were also surprised that Birdkit was here, until they realized that Sandleap's kits must have gotten to the age of two moons already, so she could leave the nursery now. Everyone smiled at her words, especially Rainpaw and Lilypool.

"I'm extraordinarily glad, too!" Rainpaw exclaimed happily. "Now MoonClan can finally get to live in peace!"

"I really hope so, too, because these things are very tragic for everyone in the Clan!" said Flipsnow, who had been empathetic for her sister's tragedy, and previously, her former apprentice, Sandleap, and *her* mate, Nightnose's tragedies.

"I know. Now hopefully, only better things happen after this," agreed Birchcreek. "We should all be hopeful to the future, and that we can achieve more in our lives, and become stronger from all of these experiences."

The entire Clan also agreed, looking very relieved and perhaps finally starting to heal their emotional wounds inflicted from all of these catastrophic disasters now, especially the ones who had personal trauma like Shadowclaw and Icemoon, and also Whitestripe and Swnapaw themselves. But Swanpaw was still lamenting that she couldn't communicate as properly as before, because to her, her body was her language as her mouth did not serve that function for her. She still hoped that she could still be understood by the rest of the Clan even in her stuck state, since most of them could still understand her with only her front paws, head and expressions. Swanpaw was also worried about her warriorhood, as she really didn't want to be left behind. She felt that she would have to come to terms with this sooner or later, but at the same time she worried that she would become hopeless if she did. *I* really *want to be independent,* she thought, remembering that she would have to be strong after going through what most cats never did, including her lifelong, incurable condition of being mute. It wasn't that bad as what the other three she-cats with conditions go through as she had now observed, but it would definitely bar her from a lot of leader-like roles, including perhaps mentorhood, since a lot of mentoring goes with telling information about the Clans. After going through two deaths, she didn't want to have to face more trouble. She was comforted that Goldenlily had greeted her and she also got to see a few glimpses of Mousekit and even her dead littermate, Vinekit, but she was not fully assuaged yet.

Swanpaw waved her paws to get everyone's attention, then pointed to herself and tried to do pouncing movements again, then shrugged. A few more cats had entered the den when she asked that, including Snowstar.

Whitestripe and Birchcreek already understood her question was similar to the one from earlier, so they looked a bit disappointed. "Um, I don't know if your warrior ceremony would be delayed," said Birchcreek unfortunately. He looked at his father for an answer, who also looked sad. The rest of the Clan also looked sad for Swanpaw, especially her mentor, Nutclaw, as he was the one who told her to go in the first place, and the one who was supposed to train her.

"I am not really sure," sighed Snowstar. "I don't know when you would be fully healed, so I can't really say. All I hope, and the rest of MoonClan hope, is that you fully heal first."

Swanpaw just nodded, still looking downhearted about it. Birchcreek decided to say something to comfort her, "Don't worry, Swanpaw. Once you become a warrior, you'll be the most celebrated warrior in MoonClan for your deeds and troubles." Swanpaw just nodded again, perhaps feeling a little better.

"I was a bit surprised you three managed to handle your physical wounds so well emotionally," Mountainpaw said in a more positive light. "I probably wouldn't have done it so well."

"Perhaps it's because physical wounds are a part of warriorhood," Birchcreek said thoughtfully.

"Don't forget, warriors always handle their own stress well!" Whitestripe added also thoughtfully. "But with others, it's much more painful."

"Due to empathy, right?" Dandelionpaw said, looking quite relieved.

"That's quite true," Petuniaheart replied, looking warmly at the three of them. "We all fear for others more than we do ourselves, due to that connection. We can count on ourselves to try to be okay, but we are very much worried for others as we don't know how they would take it."

"Sometimes, guilt plays a part, too, if you feel you might have done something that might have set those events into motion that inflicted those wounds," Hailstream added, looking a little proud of her littermate's apprentice and her mentor's daughter for surviving, but of course, the most at her younger sister and brother. The three injured cats also remembered that she wanted her apprentice, Primrosepaw, to go, too, just like Nutclaw.

Sandleap nodded. "I was also feeling despair over my apprentice, since I spent so many moons training him, and over my brother since I often visited my mother and him and Rainpaw and Quailclaw in the nursery. And also for Swanpaw, my other Clanmate, as I also have many connected relationships with her, too."

The positivity was filling up everyone's hearts, as even though they were talking about reception of emotional pain and empathy, talking about it and sharing their experiences was making them better and more understanding of each other, and plus, they felt like that they were now past the worst, and even the bad.

"I wonder, how did we even stay alive if we were out for so long, anyways?" Whitestripe asked, confused, and Swanpaw was relieved that he asked that question since she had it, too, but she probably wouldn't have been able to convey it properly.

"We had to feed you prey and herbs by crushing it, and we also had to toss and turn you manually so that your muscles wouldn't become stiff or degenerate," Rainpaw said, still feeling a little sad. Swanpaw frowned, as that awfully reminded her of Mousekit before she died.

Whitestripe decided not to think about Mousekit and instead about the positives. "Well, I am very glad you did, otherwise we wouldn't have survived afterwards."

"I'm also glad, because you both are my uncle's and mother's apprentices!" Birdkit said cheerfully right after Whitestripe finished. Everybody smiled at that again, especially Sandleap, Nutclaw, Whitestripe and Swanpaw. The three injured cats were glad that Birdkit was able to get some words in by what she might have been thinking was interrupting, because otherwise in large group discussions or gatherings like this, she would have hardly been able to get a word in since everyone would always have something to fill in the silence before she would be finished.

"And Birchcreek is obviously our youngest uncle!" Flowerkit added excitedly.

"And he's only eleven moons older than us, like our youngest aunt, just like what Sandleap said was *her* and our older uncles and aunts' distance from them!" Waterkit said thoughtfully. The conversation was definitely very heartwarming now, which MoonClan definitely needed and appreciated in these excruciatingly testing times. Birchcreek knew that he was a half-moon older than that, but the estimation was fine so that way the comparison could fit.

Their mother chuckled. "Well, isn't that interesting? We were senior apprentices when your grandmother, Petuniaheart, gave birth to them, and Birchcreek and Rainpaw were, too!"

"That makes them the youngest uncle and aunt in the Clan!" Violetrain said happily, and Petuniaheart, Nightnose and Nutclaw nodded at that.

"Unless..." Icemoon started, looking coyly at Whitestripe. Shadowclaw, Rainpaw, Swanpaw, Spottedpaw, Primrosepaw, Dandelionpaw all started smirking, getting the hint. Birchcreek just smiled as he genuinely wanted them to be together and add more happiness to the Clan. He was pretty sure Whitestripe couldn't mate right now, but when he healed, he would hopefully be able to do so.

"Come on, Icemoon, you want Petalkit to be an aunt as a kit?" Whitestripe said with mock annoyance. *These cats* do *very much like this topic,* he thought, amused.

"That would be even more interesting," Petalkit mewed humorously. Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit also seemed to be looking forward to that as they smiled, too.

"Better start now so we can make history again! Petalkit's already three moons old!" Lilackit added in the same vein.

"Lilackit? You joined in, too?" Thymekit asked curiously. Whitestripe, Birchcreek and Swanpaw were also surprised as they didn't think Lilackit was that type as it looked like she had a sharp warrior's mindset. But the former first and latter last figured that might have changed in the last half-moon.

"She's just cheering on her future mentor," joked Shadowclaw. *I guess Lilackit won the Mossball dare,* Whitestripe figured.

"No, I just like to see history and greatness and firsts happen!" Lilackit exclaimed thoughtfully. "Maybe I can get to mentor their kits if they have them now! Mentoring your mentor's kits is always a good deed and payback!"

"You are very weird, Lilackit," added Jumpkit amusingly. A few cats also chuckled at Lilackit's ideas, especially the jokers of the Clan, and other cats smiled.

"I have to agree with your brother, I'm afraid," Whitestripe added. "That *is very* weird!"

"I would also want to mentor my future mentor's kits!" Waterkit exclaimed, too.

"Which is?" Petalkit asked.

"Quailclaw, obviously!" Waterkit replied. Quailclaw and Primrosepaw smiled at that, but Shadowclaw, Rainpaw, Swanpaw and Dandelionpaw found a deeper meaning to that.

"I know Primrosepaw is friendly with you, too, Waterkit, so it would be the best for you!" Dandelionpaw bantered.

Swanpaw nodded exaggeratedly and did a thumbs-up and Shadowclaw and Rainpaw grinned at that. *I also want to become an aunt, since the idea seems like a very cool thing in MoonClan,* thought Swanpaw mirthfully. She was grateful that she had such things in her life to help her move on from her personal terrible tragedies. *And I also want to fulfill Primrosepaw and Quailclaw's connection, and have Dandelionpaw be with my brother, too!*

"I'm glad that you're in your normal moods, too, now, Whitestripe and Swanpaw," Birchcreek said before his brother, Whitestripe and Primrosepaw could get embarrassed any further in front of the entire Clan, especially the former first. Even if he wanted them to mate, he thought that it was better for them to not be teased, at least in front of most of their elders, even their parents who were supportive of it. *I hope that it comes true, however, just like the rest of our dreams and hopes,* he thought positively.

Whitestripe was relieved that his cousin finally stopped the conversation from going down into the rabbit hole of love gossip, as it felt weird to partake in, not being interested in Icemoon anyways. *These mouse-brains won't stop until we do it, won't they?* he thought with joking resignation. *But, maybe even afterwards, as you never know with them.*

"We're *all* glad!" Sealbranch said to her brother. "When you three become fully healed, we promise that we'll get the most surplus of food and herbs for the entire MoonClan!" Snowstar and Petuniaheart nodded, agreeing with their daughter.

"And Lilypool and I will *definitely* help! Don't you *all* worry!" Rainpaw added exuberantly as well.

MoonClan definitely looked jubilant at that. The hopes had never reached so high before, even when they were in a long period of sleep previously, and still not completely convalesced, but the stars in the sky would surely help with that. The Clan had faith that soon, everything will eventually be all right, as long as they had high hopes for it, and in StarClan's blessings and miracles, having previously been the Miracle ancestors.

The entire Clan continued their unofficial gathering to banter and joke with the three injured cats, and with Sandleap's kits as well, as it was their first time leaving the nursery, so it was very exciting for them. This day marked one of the most relieving days of their lives, and perhaps one of the most special ones, too, as they didn't often have such large fun gatherings even while being MoonClan, and definitely not other Clans, either.

And the three injured cats felt finally at peace with their relevant emotional and physical troubles, not at all realizing they were even hurt, having completely rained off the trauma of whatever fateful events had ever happened to them, and indirectly MoonClan.

### Chapter 36: Insult to Injury

Whitestripe, Birchcreek and Swanpaw were sitting in the medicine cat's den as usual. Or at least, it became usual. It was just a few days after the former first and latter last woke up, and all were feeling pretty bored since they couldn't do anything useful. Three moons had passed since Goldenlily's death, two since Mousekit's and one since Stonetooth's defection, so it seemed like the Clan, Goldenlily's kits, Whitestripe, and Birchcreek himself were pretty much past that, much to Birchcreek's relief. He definitely did not want to think about any trouble, much less accidentally invite any.

Birchcreek was still limping, and although he didn't need any help like he used to when he first woke up, he still wasn't fit to do warrior duties. And Whitestripe and Swanpaw still needed to rest, of course, since they could barely walk around. There wasn't any improvement with their tails, either, which got impacted the hardest from their falls. Nutclaw and Swanpaw were still disappointed that she couldn't become a warrior yet, since she was getting closer to the fourteen-moon mark, and so were most of the other cats. But Swanpaw was definitely in no condition to do any warrior activities, much less train or do the exams. She was still grateful she could move her front paws and her head to communicate, since she had fallen on her rear.

Lilypool and Rainpaw were still looking over them, and Rainpaw wanted to make sure to watch them for most of the time so they could tell her about any issues they had. And right now, she was just sorting the herbs Lilypool brought.

Interestingly, Whitestripe and Swanpaw told Rainpaw and Birchcreek about their vision of Moonstar and Goldenlily after they passed out, and of course, Rainpaw and Birchcreek recognized that as the former saw her, too. They had all figured that it must have been a sign that StarClan saved them.

Then Shadowclaw and Icemoon came to the medicine cat's den with two plump rabbits each. Since the three of them were severely injured, they had the same feeding priority as queens, elders and kits, as the warrior code dictated. They needed to eat well to heal quickly, after all.

"Hey, Whitestripe, Birchcreek, Rainpaw and Swanpaw!" Shadowclaw called out gleefully. "Here's some juicy rabbits!" He looked at Birchcreek first then at Rainpaw, which probably meant that he was secretly grateful to them for saving Whitestripe and Swanpaw.

"And of course," Icemoon started, batting her eyes seductively at Whitestripe, "these rabbits are only for-"

"Oh please, enough with the favoritism," groaned the black and white striped warrior humorously. "I would rather someone else more needy eat it than me."

"But you need good nutrition!" Icemoon persisted joyfully. "You know that good warriors need good diets!"

Swanpaw winked at Whitestripe mockingly, which probably meant, *Take the hint.* Whitestripe shot a mock annoyed look in her direction.

"Yup! Besides, you can at least take one rabbit that she caught, right?" Shadowclaw added. Whitestripe just shrugged and took one.

Rainpaw groaned with mock hunger, "Oh, thank you, because I was nearly going to eat the herbs myself!" She chose one of Shadowclaw's rabbits.

"There *is* a prey pile," Birchcreek pointed out humorously. "Not very far away from the medicine cat den." He took Shadowclaw's other rabbit.

Shadowclaw smirked at both littermates. "You are very welcome, Rainpaw! And I agree with Birchcreek. You can simply walk there, you know!"

"Well..." Rainpaw smirked back. "I was just being a bit *lazy.* Even medicine cats need to relax!"

"Relaxing while sorting herbs?" Shadowclaw pointed out. "That is a whole new form of relaxation, then!"

"I am pretty sure even *I* could sort herbs while relaxing, Shadowclaw," Whitestripe told him amusingly.

After taking the last rabbit which was Icemoon's, Swanpaw gave him a look that most likely meant, *Oh, really?* Then she put her toe on her chin with mock curiousity.

"Oh, really? *Mental* fatigue anyone?" Icemoon mocked him in a friendly way. "Even *I* would be tired from sorting herbs!"

"Maybe she means *physical* relaxation?" Birchcreek suggested thoughtfully. "Except she was in this den all day, so I doubt she needs to relax."

"Yep, but I am already relaxing!" Rainpaw replied, chuckling.

Icemoon laughed, too. "I suppose this means we can relax with you, too! Because Shadowclaw and I *really* need it." Shadowclaw nodded.

"That's great!" Rainpaw exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

Swanpaw smirked and winked at Icemoon this time, and Birchcreek was pretty sure it meant *Good luck!* Icemoon grinned at Swanpaw in response to that, then looked seductively at Whitestripe. It was common knowledge for everyone in the Clan that Icemoon clearly liked Whitestripe too much, similarly to how Sandleap and Nightnose were with each other. Birchcreek thought that was okay since he was looking forward to more love in the Clan, as that equaled positivity, which was what they desperately needed right now. He wondered what he could do to contribute to the positivity, other than being a hero, that was. He figured his outgoing personality should make up for it, though. Even if he didn't talk about mate gossip, there were plenty of other positive things to talk about.

Whitestripe made a mock bored expression. "Fine for you, then. I guess I will relax between Shadowclaw and Birchcreek, then. You can relax between Swanpaw and Rainpaw."

"Oh, *really?* That's too far away, don't you *think?"* Icemoon replied humorously, tilting her head. "Perhaps the *front* is better?"

Swanpaw sighed exaggeratedly at Whitestripe, which made him groan, "Okay, maybe you can sit at the far end, and I will sit at the opposite far end."

Swanpaw sighed even more if that were possible, which made Shadowclaw remark, "Oh, but Swanpaw doesn't think so at all, *Whitestripe."*

*"So?* Why should that matter to *me?"* Whitestripe replied good-naturedly.

"We can all just sit in a circle, you know," Birchcreek proposed helpfully. "And Whitestripe and Icemoon can be across each other."

"Yeah, but not good enough," Whitestripe replied, looking at Birchcreek, amused. "Too close."

"You mean too *far!"* Rainpaw exclaimed and laughed delightfully.

"I agree with Rainpaw," Icemoon added. "We won't be close enough to talk to each other."

"Sound can travel *pretty* far," Birchcreek added in good fun.

Swanpaw just pointed at Whitestripe and started laughing with amusement, and it looked Shadowclaw decided to join in, too.

Whitestripe groaned very loudly, "Oh, seriously, if only I can ship Swanpaw with someone. Maybe *Shadowclaw,* if they weren't siblings."

Swanpaw shook her head and kept laughing at him. Shadowclaw agreed, "Oh, please, not my *sister!"*

"Perhaps we can ship Swanpaw with... Mountainpaw. They usually gossip about love," Rainpaw suggested humorously. Birchcreek wondered about that, since he remembered Mountainpaw usually hung out with Berrypaw alone a lot more than he did with Swanpaw alone.

Swanpaw shook her head again and put her paw on her forehead with mock annoyance.

"Oh yeah, they do. That would be *very* good!" Icemoon agreed, nearly bouncing up and down.

"I *do* want more cousin's kits!" Whitestripe added, too.

"And I want nephews and nieces, too!" Shadowclaw added. "I want to be an uncle *really* soon, you know!"

"And remember! More queens equals more kits? More queens to *birth?"* Rainpaw also added.

Swanpaw just blew a raspberry at all of them and pointed at Whitestripe and Icemoon at the same time. Then she put the toes that were pointing at them together and made exaggerated kissing movements.

*"That's it!* Swanpaw is *too* lovey-dovey," Whitestripe groaned with mock annoyance. "I bet that's the *only* thing she thinks about."

Icemoon exclaimed delightfully, "So? That is good if she ships cats together!"

Swanpaw just pointed at everyone else, did a thumbs-up and nodded. Then she pointed to herself, did a thumbs-down and shook her head, which probably meant *Only about* other *cats. Not myself!*

"Right, you only exclude yourself," Shadowclaw replied. "How medicine-cat-minded. Except you should also get a mate, too!"

Birchcreek smiled at the entire conversation. It was pretty interesting to listen to them banter. He wondered who Swanpaw's mate could be, as cats could get mates who were years older or younger, as long as they were of mating age. He figured that Swanpaw mostly hung out with him and Mountainpaw, though, so they had the closest relationship to her. She also usually hung out with Quailclaw and Whitestripe, but he thought they might have been taken by Primrosepaw and Icemoon, as funny as it sounded to him. He briefly remembered the conversation before the creek fall, but he decided that shouldn't stop them from gossiping.

Swanpaw shook her head at her brother and pointed to Whitestripe and Icemoon again.

Then Sealbranch came into the den and everyone stopped teasing each other for a moment. She smiled at the atmosphere in the room, but her eyes seemed to have some sadness in it for some reason. Birchcreek was worried about that but he decided to ignore it for now.

"Hey, everyone, how are you doing?" Sealbranch asked informally. "Especially Whitestripe, Swanpaw and Birchcreek?"

"We're perfectly okay," said Birchcreek nonchalantly. Swanpaw nodded in agreement.

"I suppose so, too, but I still feel numb in the torso," Whitestripe said, a little distraught.

Rainpaw frowned sadly. "I wish I could do more to help. I wish there was spiritual healing."

"I know StarClan is already doing so much to help," said Birchcreek spiritually. "I am pretty sure they saved us last time, remember?"

"I remember you mentioned that you and Whitestripe saw Moonstar," said Shadowclaw quietly. "And *you* saw Goldenlily, Swanpaw."

Swanpaw nodded at that and stared at the ceiling, probably thinking about StarClan and their mother. Shadowclaw and Icemoon followed her gaze, too. Birchcreek remembered that Shadowclaw and Swanpaw *had* seen Goldenlily after Mousekit died, and she even spoke to them, causing them to faint. But the creek fall was the second time that Swanpaw saw her.

Sealbranch just nodded wistfully, but it looked like she had more to say about it.

"I guess Birchcreek is right," said Rainpaw optimistically. "At least no one died! And I'm going to make sure no one dies! I'm going to make sure you heal as soon as possible! And Lilypool, too!" She beamed at that.

Shadowclaw, Birchcreek and Swanpaw all smiled at that, but Sealbranch, Icemoon and Whitestripe just nodded.

"I wouldn't want to go to the elders' den, either," Birchcreek said quietly.

A few cats winced at that, however. "I wouldn't want to go there so young, either," Sealbranch said sadly. "At least no one went there that young so far."

"Me too," said Shadowclaw forlornly. "I hope there's no permanent damage that it would happen."

"I'm going to make sure to heal fully, too," Whitestripe said hopefully, too. "Even if it takes a moon." Swanpaw nodded exuberantly, too.

"That's the spirit!" Icemoon exclaimed joyfully, grinning widely. Whitestripe just subtly smiled in response.

Birchcreek nodded and looked around at the den that he spent a half-moon in so far. It started feeling familiar for him and quite cozy as well, since it was his new home. Plus, he was now much closer to his littermate than ever before, since they never slept in the same den again after his apprentice ceremony, until now. After all, that was his dream as a kit, for them to be together, and it made him feel more warmer and spiritual, now that he could talk to her most of the time. But he knew he couldn't stay here after he healed since there would have to be space for future injured cats. *It would feel very strange to go to the spacious warrior den after I heal,* he thought. He thought his situation was quite unlike most warriors would ever have to go through, one part of it being that he moved out of the apprentices' den into the medicine cats' den instead of his designated den. Well, he figured some other apprentices might have gotten injured before they became warriors and stayed in the den, but of course, usually not for this long.

Sealbranch just nodded again, but there was still some sadness in her expression. *Does it have to do with AdderClan?* Birchcreek wondered, and he genuinely hoped not. But his suspicions were confirmed when Sealbranch said, "Anyways, I really don't want to have to tell you this information, considering what happened that fateful half-moon ago, but..."

All the other cats in the den frowned at the prospect that she might say something else tragic, after all the hope they worked hard to bolster for these past few days.

"Is it very terrible?" Icemoon asked worriedly. "Does it have to do with that stupid she-dung?" Whitestripe frowned at her this time, of course.

Sealbranch sighed. "Not specifically. It has to do with *AdderClan*."

Immediately the atmosphere became tense. *AdderClan?* Birchcreek thought with shock. *What had happened now?* He knew that the peaceful period couldn't last forever, even if it lasted for several moons like previously. His other Clanmates had the same question, too.

"I'm afraid to say that a skirmish happened on the MoonClan-AdderClan border of Rabbit Residence," Sealbranch continued despondently. "I am extremely glad that no one on our side got hurt enough that they had to enter this den, however, which is the most important." The cats were still worried. "But I think with the Fallen Two Battle, tensions between us and them heavily increased after that, which is why they were trying to sneak onto our side."

Birchcreek remembered that the creek battle had been named so due to the circumstances that had occured with Whitestripe and Swanpaw. But he recalled that Mountainpaw, Berrypaw, Primrosepaw, Dandelionpaw and their mentors were sent on that border patrol, including Sealbranch, of course. He was very much uncomfortable at four cats from the tragic border patrol being on this one, too, two being his young apprentice friends and another being their father.

"What happened to Petuniaheart, Mountainpaw and the others?" Rainpaw also asked her sister worriedly.

"They're telling Snowstar, of course," Sealbranch replied. "Though Snowstar isn't sure of what to do about it because he thinks that a battle may soon be inevitable at this point."

"Not that you could convince AdderClan to not fight anyways," Whitestripe snorted.

Icemoon flicked her tail. "*I agree!* Every cat in that Clan only wants *war!"* she yowled. Again, Whitestripe looked uncomfortable at that. Swanpaw shot her a concerning look to not bring up Stonetooth even indirectly for the sake of Whitestripe, which Icemoon seemed to acknowledge but at the same time didn't care. Birchcreek knew that Swanpaw hated Stonetooth too, for obvious reasons, but he was glad she at least cared about Whitestripe and the rest of MoonClan's wellbeing. He figured Icemoon simply wasn't over her rivalry yet.

"So what are *you* going to do, Sealbranch, being the deputy?" Birchcreek inquired.

"I'm not sure, either. I'm afraid that I will have to prepare the Clan for a battle soon," she said, looking down.

"At least no one got hurt, right?" Shadowclaw said, also looking worried. "At least it wasn't that terrible as..." He didn't have to continue as they already knew.

"I don't know if it will cause any problems, however," the older bluish-gray she-cat sighed.

Swanpaw waved her arms to get everyone's attention, then made her arm slither like a snake and shrugged.

"At least we inflicted some cuts on AdderClan's warriors," replied Sealbranch positively. "Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw were still traumatized from the previous fight so they didn't do anything, which is still fine, but the rest of us managed to do so. I doubt that hunting patrol consisted of strong warriors, anyways."

"What exactly happened, anyways?" Birchcreek asked, a little confused about the entire situation. Like Sealbranch, he wasn't sure if their victory was a good thing.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Shadowclaw lamented, looking at his injured sister. "I am curious about it, too, but at the same time, I don't think so!"

The deputy of MoonClan just sighed. "Well, it started off as a normal patrol, of course, but then suddenly, a few seemingly inexperienced warriors or apprentices crossed the territory, saw us and thought we were on *their* territory, since the line is obscure anyways. There were no warriors that were on the creek patrol, thankfully, but it quickly got hectic as they wanted to fight us. Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw hid because they didn't want to have to face them again, but of course, we had to defend ourselves."

"Did Mountainpaw and Berrypaw also fight?" Icemoon asked in the same tone as her littermate.

"Yes, and they did a good job, being experienced senior apprentices, and they were also skillful enough not to be hit," Sealbranch said in a praising manner.

"I'm just glad they didn't have to see the face of that dung-eating deputy," Whitestripe growled, and it looked like Shadowclaw's two sisters fully agreed with him by their expressions.

Rainpaw nodded. "Well, Mountainpaw saw him only once with Birchcreek, but not in a violent manner, thankfully! So I'm glad, too! I just wish there was a medicine cat when that happened, but since no one got hurt, I guess it's not *that* bad?"

"Unfortunately, we don't have a surplus of medicine cats for that," Sealbranch started wistfully, until it looked like she suddenly got an idea, "unless of course, our niece becomes one!"

Rainpaw and Birchcreek beamed at that, and so did Shadowclaw, Icemoon and Swanpaw.

"I know, right? I plan to start teaching her a few things, just like with Primrosepaw!" Rainpaw exclaimed, grinning. "Oh, maybe Primrosepaw can help me mentor her, too! Then she'll have three wonderful mentors!"

Birchcreek remembered that joke about Primrosepaw having multiple mentors, and he thought it was interesting if she had multiple apprentices, too. *But wait,* he suddenly thought. *Would Primrosepaw get an official apprentice?* Since a lot of warrior training went along with the heavy physical things, it would be nigh-impossible for her to teach with her freezing reflexes, so he was worried that the leaders would not want to burden her with those extra duties. But at the same time, he figured Birdkit was a perfect choice as an unofficial apprentice since they had very similar conditions.

Sealbranch nodded. "I would be glad, too, if we had three medicine cats sharing all the work. That means we could send two out on patrol and leave one at camp." She didn't say it explicitly, but the cats already knew that Birdkit was the one who would have to stay at camp due to her condition.

"I'll also be glad as well, so that way we'll be rest assured," Icemoon said confidently. But then she frowned again. "But I am *very* worried that so many apprentices already had to see their faces, Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw twice!"

"I know, right?" Shadowclaw added, also frowning. "Us three, including Quailclaw, weren't in any battles yet, but all of you did! Not that I would want to even see one, though!"

"To be fair, we got very unlucky," said Birchcreek cautiously. "You just coincidentally didn't see one."

"Maybe it's because StarClan knew we aren't strong enough to handle more than what we already had!" Shadowclaw said, looking forlornly at Swanpaw, who widened her eyes at him, probably at what he said. "But Swanpaw, of course, went through a lot and still persevered through it all!" he continued proudly.

Swanpaw nodded and smiled back, but she also pointed to him and did a thumbs-up.

"I agree with Swanpaw, you are also very strong for surviving through all those things, especially your warrior exams," said Birchcreek, also with a smile.

Shadowclaw just nodded, still seeming skeptical about that, and Birchcreek decided to let it go since after all, like Snowstar had said during his ceremony, one of his great virtues was humility.

"So, did everyone in MoonClan dodge their slashes? Were all of those warriors inexperienced or weak?" Rainpaw questioned.

"Mountainpaw and Berrypaw only got minor bruises, and Maplestripe and Petuniaheart and I just got thrown over a couple of times," her sister replied. "And thankfully, Hailstream, Primrosepaw and Dandelionpaw didn't get hurt. Hailstream was just trying to protect the two sisters so that no AdderClan warrior or apprentice could get to them. The AdderClan border patrol's slashes were very minimal compared to some of the stronger ones I had seen. I wonder what Fangstar would think at his easy defeat."

"I feel like I should have probably helped, though," sighed Birchcreek. He remembered the feelings he had before his daring attempt at saving lives. *Uselessness*. *That I couldn't help at all.*

His Clanmates looked sad at that, especially Whitestripe and Swanpaw since they couldn't, either.

"Don't worry, you don't always have to feel the brunt of battles on yourself," reassured Rainpaw. "I mean, we can be there to help for you, and of course, you're already learning medicine from watching me sort and gather and treat you, obviously!"

"That's true," Birchcreek said smiling. "We *are* unconsciously learning from you and Lilypool."

"I suppose it can help me in emergencies which is good," agreed Whitestripe.

Swanpaw nodded and pretended to put a cobweb on her arm.

Rainpaw nodded at her exuberantly. "Yeah, you can do that too, if I'm not there!"

"We can also help you train Birdkit, if we learn enough," added Birchcreek.

"Don't forget spending time away from a *certain* warrior," joked Whitestripe, looking directly away from Icemoon.

"Don't worry, I will help, too!" said Icemoon coyly. Shadowclaw and Swanpaw both nodded and smirked at that. Birchcreek thought it was peculiar that Whitestripe purposely brought back the cats to this topic of being mates with Icemoon in a humorous manner when he would usually try to avoid it. But then he remembered that he usually entertained this topic in almost every situation, even when it claimed to pique him, so he wondered why that was so. *Maybe my sister's apprentice finally got lovestruck, too,* Birchcreek thought humorously. He figured that might have also happened to his other maternal cousins, including Stonetooth, and his sister, Sandleap, and that it may as well happen with his brother and Primrosepaw.

"I promise that I will book sessions with Birdkit with you and Icemoon alone together!" Rainpaw guffawed and winked. "Just make sure Birdkit doesn't see you doing anything out of the ordinary, alright?" It seemed like it was so funny that the three older children of Goldenlily finally snorted hard in laughter and Sealbranch, Whitestripe and Birchcreek beamed.

"Right, as if I am such an unprofessional warrior," replied Whitestripe normally. Then he looked at Icemoon, who just looked back at him seductively. "I cannot say the same for Icemoon, however."

"I remember teasing my direct younger littermate and Nightnose the same way before they also became mates," Sealbranch said, still beaming. "So I'm glad that you're still carrying on the tradition. So keep up the good work, and good luck!" She glanced between her cousin and Icemoon before smiling and leaving.

"I am *very* sure what Sealbranch meant by those statements," Shadowclaw said impishly, grinning at his friend.

"You must have definitely bribed her, didn't you?" Whitestripe sighed. "Otherwise I doubt she would normally say that."

"With what? Mice? You know that deputies aren't kits!" Shadowclaw laughed.

"Sort of, but by doing extra *hunting."*

Swanpaw gestured for Whitestripe and Icemoon to go together and laughed as well. Icemoon grinned at her siblings as well.

"To be fair, deputies are cats, too. Maybe she just likes it as much as you," Birchcreek decided to add, also smiling.

"Yeah, maybe, but first, Shadowclaw and Icemoon, are your stomachs not rumbling after hunting for so long?" the tabby tom asked seriously.

"Well, yeah, the prey pile is literally just a walking distance!" Rainpaw added, grinning even more than Shadowclaw. Birchcreek smiled at her clever reference to earlier in their banter.

"Now that you mentioned it, I suddenly remember," Shadowclaw said, pretending to be disappointed.

"I also realized that I had to eat, unfortunately," Icemoon started also a bit disappointed, but then she suddenly got an idea. "But we can always eat together in the den!"

"Now, I feel Lilypool will have qualms about that, Icemoon," Whitestripe replied.

"And why would she? She's probably the most friendliest medicine cat! After Rainpaw, obviously."

"Because the den is so cozy that you can't make any meaningful moves in it." Shadowclaw, Icemoon, Rainpaw and Swanpaw all wheezed in laughter again.

"You know, you make up such clever remarks, Whitestripe, I have no idea how to rebut them, kind of like Birchcreek and Rainpaw," Shadowclaw joked, still trying to catch his breath.

"It's simply an important skill to learn as a MoonClan warrior. After all, MoonClan warriors need to know how to be peaceful."

Birchcreek nodded. "That's typical of SnowClan, but still fits."

Whitestripe nodded at him. "So, then, littermates with almost polar opposite fur colors, will you go and fulfill your needs?"

"Oh, I sure will, including the emotional ones," Icemoon replied and winked. The shippers smiled, while Whitestripe just shrugged in reply.

"I won't see you there, but fine," he said with mock disinterest, and Shadowclaw and Icemoon left laughing.

Rainpaw and Swanpaw were still laughing for Whitestripe, so Birchcreek decided to ask, "I was actually surprised that you were playing along with them, Whitestripe." He noticed that Whitestripe started becoming more of a jokey type of personality, more than he had ever seen him before, and he wondered if it had to do with Stonetooth's departure. *I guess the stress of his littermate was wearing down on him all these moons, but when he finally let it all out, he finally became more lighthearted.* He did remember seeing Whitestripe talking excitedly with Quailclaw and Primrosepaw just the day after his fight with Peonyclaw.

Whitestripe just smiled. "It's the best way to distract them away from me, obviously. You might think that's ironic, but trust me, they will be so wrapped up in their gossipy fun that they will actually lose all their energy afterwards to try to attempt any more moves towards me."

"You know, I think you fit the perfect description of Lilackit's dream mentor," Birchcreek joked, smiling back. "You are also very weird, you know." Birchcreek was glad that he also lightened up after his StarClan-worthy deed, and all the burden of the previous two moons had finally been shed in the form of a new confidence, hope and gratitude. And of course, a new, positive change in the Clan.

"Good for me, then, to get an apprentice at only sixteen moons old, kind of like Rosepetal, Sandleap and Nightnose."

"I hope I get one at the same age, if there are any suitors."

Rainpaw genuinely smiled. "Well, Petalkit's becoming an apprentice when we're sixteen and a half moons, so perhaps you can try being her mentor?"

Swanpaw also smiled genuinely and did a thumbs-up, since of course, she was extremely fond of Birchcreek after he saved her and Whitestripe.

Birchcreek smiled back at his three denmates who he had stayed with for quite a while now and nodded. He knew that he would be looking forward to better moments to come. But somewhere in his mind, the thoughts of the recent border skirmish still swirled around. He couldn't help be worried that sometime, somehow, there would be much more tension to come. After coming face to face with them again, Birchcreek wanted to have more time to heal, and not have to open those emotional scars again. MoonClan's wounds had bled so much already, and they were almost losing grip of themselves. *Only after I woke up did the healing process begin.*

Birchcreek knew he couldn't ignore such a terrible thing, but for now, he simply wanted to push it back, since he was too injured to do much about it, anyways. But he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that something would terribly go wrong soon, even in just a few moons. *StarClan, keep us safe. StarClan, help us recover and keep hope.* It was the only thing he could rely on after seeing his friends go through so much, and he had felt it on himself, not only being very empathetic, but also knowing the drastic secrets of his mentor and his friends' mother. *StarClan, please keep us safe. StarClan, please keep us happy, at least for now.*

### Chapter 37: Thymepaw & Birdkit

Thymepaw left the apprentices' den and looked up at the sunlight of the early morning. As always, he was looking forward to training with Violetrain. He recalled his kithood to be an excellent one, regardless of the dire problems of the Clan that had happened during late at that time, including witnessing Goldenlily and Mousekit's deaths and Birdkit's peculiar birth. And he wanted his apprenticehood to be just as excellent, even if the three injured cats had fallen in a day after his apprentice ceremony.

The young apprentice glanced at the medicine cats' den and wondered if Lilypool, Whitestripe, Rainpaw, Birchcreek or Swanpaw had woken up yet. Every Clanmate was important to him, especially one who had saved others like Birchcreek. Birchcreek and Rainpaw were also his mother's much younger cousins, by twelve moons. It was ironic to him because they were only seven moons older than him, so he was much closer in age to them, similar to the age between his mentor and Fireclaw and Shadowclaw and Icemoon, and between Whitestripe and Robinpaw and Soarpaw.

Thymepaw went up to the prey pile and thought about eating, but he decided he wanted to hunt first. But since he was too young to leave camp by himself, even at day, and it was still dawn, he needed to wait for his mentor to wake up. So in the meantime, he decided to visit the nursery and see if anyone was awake since queens and kits typically didn't need to follow the schedule of warriors and apprentices.

Surprisingly, he saw Birdkit awake in bed next to her parents and siblings, including Petalkit. He felt pride for the younger kit as she was still ever optimistic and determined about life despite her condition and played and joked with others in a way that almost no one thought about her condition even if they had to wait for her to respond, similar to Swanpaw and Primrosepaw, and was also ready to take on the hard task of medicine. Apparently, she had said that being a warrior would be harder than being a medicine cat even if she had no condition. So MoonClan was glad she wouldn't be at all sad about not being able to be a proper warrior anyways.

Of course, Birdkit didn't react to his presence until a few seconds had passed. “Hey, psst, Thymepaw, is anyone else awake? I've been laying here for an hour and still couldn't fall back asleep!”

“No, it's just me. But you can still leave with me if you want, there's no rule that you can't,” Thymepaw replied.

Birdkit looked at the ceiling, then frowned at him. “Yeah, but my parents and Shadowclaw and Primrosepaw don't want me to leave by myself, especially at night or even dawn!”

Thymepaw also frowned, and remembered that Birdkit somehow escaped the nursery at only a half-moon old while everyone else was sleeping and Primrosepaw couldn't catch her due to her reflexes. *That was definitely not pretty.* “It might have been because of... you know.”

Birdkit sighed into her paws. “That happened when I was young.”

Thymepaw smirked. “You're still young. I mean, you're still a kit.”

The she-kit smiled back. “So are you. You're only three-quarter-moon an apprentice, otherwise you were just like me!”

“Yeah, but still. I can catch my own mice now.”

“I wonder why Redwater let you go out with your uncle, anyways? You were also the same age as me!” she abruptly asked, looking at the sky.

“Maybe she trusted me with him. I don't want to rub it in or anything, so no offense, but I was also careful to stick with him at all times and not even leave his touch, much less his sight.”

She played with the moss of her bed. “I promise I won't do that, either.”

“You can always go with me, not outside of camp, of course. Even I can't do that yet, especially not at dawn.”

Birdkit continued playing with the moss until her eyes lit up. “Really? That's great! Because there's nothing fun to do in here when they're all sleeping!”

Thymepaw remembered when Primrosepaw had told him and Lilackit and Jumpkit her story while she was still a kit, and she had said that she had felt the same thing which was why she decided to explore. “Well, try not to escape camp again, because Primrosepaw told you why, right?”

His kit friend scratched the floor. “She said that since she was too shy to talk to other cats other than her mother and sister and also because she had slow reflexes, she wanted to have fun by herself.”

“Yep, so I am pretty sure your parents and Shadowclaw and Primrosepaw want you to understand the moral of her story,” the yellow tom-apprentice tried to say politely, trying to reassure her. “I'm sure they want you to have fun, too.”

“I know it's not because of my condition, but still,” Birdkit replied. But her eyes lit up again. “But anyways, let's go out! I wouldn't want my family or denmates to be irritated! And I'm also hungry!”

Thymepaw nodded, and they both left the nursery together. “If you look at the sky, you'll see it's very beautiful.”

Birdkit went to the prey pile and picked out a thrush. “I know right? The pink and yellow colors remind me of you, Swanpaw, Primrosepaw and Flowerkit! And of course, my grandmother.”

Thymepaw nodded and sat next to the prey pile. He remembered when he was trying to play with Birdkit when they were younger and that he, Lilackit and Jumpkit had gotten a little annoyed at her for not being able to keep up. He really didn't want to be annoyed at Birdkit since he already knew her condition and he wanted to be a good Clanmate and let her play, but at the same time, he wanted to be able to play the games perfectly. Thymepaw also remembered Waterkit and Flowerkit were shocked to hear that their littermate had a life-changing condition, and Birdkit herself was shocked to hear that most cats didn't see things the same way she did and she had previously been wondering why cats were acting slightly weird around her and not around anyone else.

Then Birdkit looked at him and asked, “Why aren't you picking one out?”

Thymepaw just smiled. “You know queens, kits, elders and injured eat before warriors and apprentices. Oh, and medicine cats can also eat before.”

“Even younger ones?”

“You have to get used to the routine once you become a warrior apprentice since you're going to be a warrior for most of the rest of your life, especially if you're a tom or don't have any kits and don't retire.”

She wolfed down her thrush and continued, “Well, that's a bit weird for me if I can't eat whenever I want. I like to eat lots of food!”

“Birds, especially, right?” Thymepaw chuckled.

Birdkit beamed. “That's my name!”

“No wonder you think being a medicine cat is easier.”

“I am great at memorizing facts, not as much moves, you know. I would do much better in mental challenges than physical, as ironic as that might sound. In fact, I'm thinking about learning early, just like Rainpaw and Primrosepaw and you!”

Thymepaw nodded. “I'm glad for you, too.”

Birdkit continued, “You know, I was wondering, if MoonClan's supposed to be peaceful, why are there more medicine cats in the other Clans and not as many here? There was only three so far, and one died!”

“I don't know, but my best guess is that MoonClan cats like to mate.”

Birdkit played with the soil, then smirked. “Really? That sounds boring.”

“I totally agree, the only reason I became a warrior was to hunt for my Clan, just like Whitestripe. Other cats, however...” Thymepaw pretended to be annoyed, but he smiled. “Well, based on how much they gossip, it shows how much they're interested in it.”

“Also like Birchcreek and Rainpaw, right? We're like both of them! And Lilackit, too! Maybe Oakkit?”

“Yeah, obviously them, too. It's kind of interesting that we're second cousins.”

“Yeah, our maternal grandfathers are brothers! It's very interesting that we're both related to Snowstar!”

“You're also related to Moonstar on the maternal line.”

“Yeah, her, too! I wonder what she was like, because she died way before I was born.”

“Well, same for me, but the warriors said that she was mostly calm and reserved like Snowstar.”

“That's interesting, was she like how Mountainpaw and Primrosepaw and Whitestripe and Petalkit used to be?”

Thymepaw suddenly remembered Stonetooth. He had no idea if Birdkit remembered her that much since she was only one moon old when that traitor left. *Well, that traitor was also just like that.* He figured Petalkit might remember her somewhat, being a moon older, but he didn't know. “Robinpaw and Soarpaw were also shy but they became better. Berrypaw *does* talk to me a lot, though, even though she is very quiet to others. Swanpaw was probably not that talkative, being mute, but she was open to everyone, though.”

“I noticed that you usually talk an awful lot with her, so I can see that.”

Thymepaw knew she meant Berrypaw. “I think Petuniaheart and Blazesky were also shy as kits, and maybe Moonstar, too. I think Snowstar was more outgoing but mellowed with age.”

Birdkit picked out a sparrow while he was talking and said, “That's *great!* But Dustkit and Shadowclaw and Dandelionpaw and Rainpaw and Birchcreek and the rest of us kits, including you, were very talkative!”

“I know, which was probably why everyone liked me, especially Berrypaw and Mountainpaw.”

“I especially like you, too, and so do Waterkit and Flowerkit and Petalkit and Lilackit and Jumpkit! You are very interesting!”

Thymepaw smiled at that, as he knew MoonClan adored him, especially his only uncle, Flameeye, and of course, Mountainpaw and Berrypaw. “That's true. But are you seriously going to eat another bird?”

Birdkit was already finished with her sparrow when she replied victoriously, “Already did!” Thymepaw just sighed, but in a good way, since he knew they had a vast surplus anyways, being so close to green-leaf.

Then coincidentally, he saw a few cats starting to wake up in the apprentices' den, and two of them were his older friends.

“Thymepaw and Birdkit? You're *awake?”* Mountainpaw exclaimed when he saw them. Berrypaw also smiled at both of them.

“It's dawn, not night, so yep,” Thymepaw replied with a smile. “Speaking of which, is Violetrain still sleeping? We really need to hunt.”

“Feeling hungry, eh? So do I,” his friend chuckled.

“Guess what, I already ate *two* birds!” Birdkit exclaimed.

Mountainpaw smiled at his mentor's granddaughter. “Looks like someone's a foodie!”

“So are you, you know,” Thymepaw also chuckled.

“As a kit, though. Not that much as an apprentice for obvious reasons.”

“I am glad that we can hunt together, though!” Berrypaw said happily. Mountainpaw and Thymepaw smiled at that.

“That is why I will be a medicine cat, so I can eat whenever I want!” Birdkit replied smugly.

“Sure, but you know you will have to learn so much, right?” Mountainpaw replied to her.

Birdkit looked at the prey pile longingly again. “As if that's bad! That's *wonderful!”*

“Already awake, young cats?” Spottedpaw quipped, also padding to the prey pile.

“Yep, but I think Birdkit's going to take another,” Thymepaw replied humorously, looking at his younger friend. *She is sure a lively cat, just like her siblings and parents and uncles and aunts.*

“Yes, I'm *already awake!”* Birdkit yipped. Then she looked at her older friend mischievously. “And that's perfectly fine, *right?”*

“Obviously, since we will hunt and demonstrate my awesome skills!” Then Thymepaw looked at the other three apprentices. “But speaking of which, since you three are senior apprentices, I can go with you right?”

The older apprentices' eyes sparkled. “Why wouldn't we? We're your friends after all,” Spottedpaw said with a smile.

“Good luck with your awesome skills! While in the meantime, I will be honing mine!” Birdkit quipped back with a wink.

“Good luck!” Mountainpaw, Spottedpaw and Thymepaw said at the same time, while Berrypaw just smiled.

“Where should we go?” Berrypaw asked.

Mountainpaw replied, “Perhaps nearby, since it's still dawn, so that way we can easily alert the camp if...” He frowned, and so did Berrypaw.

“I heard about that battle a few days ago,” Thymepaw whispered so that Birdkit couldn't hear. *Birdkit shouldn't have to worry about things completely out of her control.* “I know that it was terrible considering what had happened. I wish I could have helped, but I'm so new and even younger than Robinpaw and Soarpaw.”

“I know. I wish Petalkit, Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit didn't have to see Birchcreek, Whitestripe and Swanpaw like that,” Mountainpaw whispered back sadly. Thymepaw knew that the four of them were shocked to see the three when they all explored the medicine cat's den together, but they had quickly accepted it since they were too young to understand the terrible effects of their injuries.

Spottedpaw also frowned. “I'm just glad you didn't get injured, though, thank *StarClan!”*

“We should probably go now,” Thymepaw said quickly so that they didn't talk about it. It was painful for him because he wished he could have slashed all their faces hard enough for them to remember even as elders. *But I should keep training until I can do that. For MoonClan.* He bolstered his confidence enough to go out on his first patrol without his mentor. Even if it was with older apprentices, two who were just a quarter-moon away from warriorhood and the third quite experienced enough already.

Birdkit seemed to hear the part of their conversation where Mountainpaw mentioned her as she said with a smile, “Don't worry, I already figured out that Birchcreek needed to save them and Whitestripe and Swanpaw needed to fight for our Clan. I want to be more like them, in a medicine-cat sense, of course!”

The older cats smiled at her optimism about the entire situation and Thymepaw figured he didn't need to hide everything bad from her after all. *She is probably the best kit, and also cat, I have ever seen.*

“I'm glad, too, but let's not waste moonlight!” Spottedpaw said, beaming even more. “Let's go into the forest! And Birdkit, don't forget to tell Snowstar that we left!”

The other three apprentices nodded and so did Birdkit while eating yet another thrush, and the party went into a nearby forest in the direction of Rabbit Residence.

“Do you want to hunt birds?” Mountainpaw asked his younger apprentice friend.

*Most likely in the spirit of Birdkit,* Thymepaw figured positively. But he frowned since he didn't get the hang of that yet. “I usually stumble while trying to catch them, so no.”

Spottedpaw reassured her mentor's nephew, “Don't worry, we can show you how to do it! We just need to wait for birds to come out since it's almost day.”

“We can hunt mice while waiting,” suggested Berrypaw quietly.

“I can do that!” Thymepaw said confidently. He scanned the area for any burrows that mice might come out of or escape into. Then he heard a almost imperceptible sound of leaves rustling. He turned in that direction and looked for it, and saw a small, long tail poking out. Thymepaw knew that it was trying to hide, but its slight movements had given it away. He very carefully went into position so it wouldn't try to run, and pounced on it.

The mouse almost got away, but Thymepaw managed to hold his paws on it and swiped it, and it died. His fellow apprentices smiled at him in pride.

“You did excellent!” Mountainpaw exclaimed.

“Yes, you managed to do it!” Spottedpaw added cheerfully.

Berrypaw simply nodded, but she was still proud of him. Thymepaw took in the praise confidently and buried his mouse. *Squirrels,* he suddenly remembered. *Are they awake?* “Are squirrels there at dawn?”

“Not typically on the ground or even on the trees, but yes,” Mountainpaw replied. “But you would have to climb to find them.”

Thymepaw frowned at that, but he nodded. “Well, the sun is rising, so there might be some birds now.”

Spottedpaw perked up her ears. “True, and I think I hear one!”

The other apprentices also listened for it and true enough, they heard some chirping in the distance.

“Should we go to it?” the young apprentice asked.

Mountainpaw looked in the direction of the chirping. “Maybe after we're finished hunting mice, since it seems to be a little while away.”

Thymepaw simply nodded, and tried to look for more. After catching another mouse and Mountainpaw, Berrypaw and Spottedpaw caught three each, Thymepaw got curious about something, since he noticed Berrypaw was sticking closer to him and Mountainpaw. “Berrypaw, are you friendly with Spottedpaw?” Thymepaw whisper-asked her.

“Yes, since we're close in age,” Berrypaw whispered back. “But not as much as with you and Thymepaw. And Orchidmoon and Maplestripe, obviously.”

“I had been wondering why, though,” Thymepaw continued.

“Well, we can always chat in camp, so dig up your mice!” Mountainpaw instructed while already doing so. *Is he feeling uncomfortable talking about it in front of Spottedpaw?* Thymepaw wondered.

“I suppose,” the younger apprentice replied and looked for his mice.

Then Spottedpaw joined them with her three mice and announced, “Well, this was a plentiful haul! We can feed all the kits with this!”

*“Excluding* Birdkit, right?” Thymepaw joked.

Mountainpaw and Spottedpaw smirked while Berrypaw just smiled. “We won't need to give her any, don't worry!” Mountainpaw replied.

Thymepaw pretended to look relieved, then found his mice and dug them up.

#### Small while later

After they returned to camp, they found the camp awake and lively, and a lot of cats looked at them, especially their mentors, Violetrain, Maplestripe, Petuniaheart and Flameeye.

Then Birdkit, still at the prey pile along with the rest of her family, also noticed them and exclaimed, “Guess what! I told the Clan about you leaving!”

Her mother joked, “After leaving the nursery and then coming back? How sneaky!”

“She *was* with Thymepaw, though!” Flowerkit said. “But I guess she came back after he left?”

“I'm just glad Birdkit is smart in a lot of ways,” their father replied with a glint of pride.

“Well, I *was* hungry!” Birdkit mewed. Then she looked appreciatively at him. “And thanks, Nightnose!”

“Well, of course, but just wake me me or Nightnose next time so that we can know where you are, alright?” Sandleap replied caringly. “We promise we won't be irritated.” Birdkit just nodded while playing with a mossball.

*Well, she* is *a mischievous kit,* Thymepaw thought, recalling that it was Birdkit's idea to explore every den, including the leader's den and medicine cats' den, and that she also somehow sneaked in two small birds in her part of the bed without anyone noticing so that she didn't have to leave her bed to eat. *She also ate a few juniper berries while on her exploration mission before Rainpaw and I caught her.* He smirked at the memory.

Redwater and her apprentice, Soarpaw, were about to leave through the entrance, until they noticed the former's son and the older three apprentices. “Hello, Thymepaw, Mountainpaw, Berrypaw and Soarpaw, we were just about to leave,” Redwater greeted.

The older apprentices greeted her back, though Soarpaw stayed silent, looking down shyly. Afterwards, Spottedpaw rushed to the prey pile and deposited her prey, then playfully asked Birdkit how many more birds she ate after they left.

“That's good, I hope StarClan makes everything go well,” Thymepaw replied to his mother, then looked at Soarpaw. “And Soarpaw, how's your training?” Since Soarpaw was only two moons older than him and also his mother's apprentice, he felt more closeness to her than other cats, and he really wanted to befriend her. He wondered how Icemoon, Quailclaw and Mountainpaw managed to do it, but he figured he could do it too being outgoing and friendly just like how he did with Berrypaw, similar to Birchcreek.

Soarpaw just said without looking up, “It's fine, I guess.” *I guess she just needs to finish her training, and maybe then she can be more comfortable with me,* Thymepaw thought.

“I guess we should deposit our prey now,” Berrypaw said quietly, and Mountainpaw and Thymepaw nodded. Their mentors, including Flameeye, also joined them at the prey pile, and Thymepaw noticed that Birdkit had somehow disappeared.

“Since you already hunted, I guess we can do fighting training,” Flameeye told Spottedpaw. Then he smiled at Thymepaw and said, “Also, that's good that you did your duties, Thymepaw. Birdkit told us, of course, including Snowstar.” Thymepaw smiled at the praise, then picked out a rabbit.

“Yeah, we can do fighting training instead, Thymepaw,” agreed Violetrain happily. “And likewise, great job, even if you went while we were sleeping! Since you went with them. But of course, you can rest if you want.”

“No, I would like to train, being an aspiring warrior,” Thymepaw replied confidently. “After I eat, obviously.”

Berrypaw also asked her mentor if they could train, and Maplestripe nodded. “We should make sure to get you prepared for your warrior exams, obviously.”

“You also did that for Violetrain, right?” Thymepaw asked excitedly.

Maplestripe, Violetrain and Berrypaw all smiled. “Well, of course he did! And he did a very good job, along with Littleclaw with Fireclaw!” Violetrain replied.

“It's pretty interesting that your mentor's mentor is *my* mentor,” Berrypaw joked.

“I know! Generation differences, I guess. Also I guess Snowstar wanted to make sure she was ready,” Thymepaw replied.

“Don't forget your mother's mentor is mine!” Mountainpaw added. Thymepaw smiled at that, too.

Petuniaheart smiled at her apprentice and her mate's great-nephew, then said, “That *is* interesting to have so many interconnected relationships. And of course, Mountainpaw, like Maplestripe with Berrypaw, we have to prep you for your exams, since they're only in a quarter-moon.”

“I obviously know, so let's do it!” Mountainpaw replied excitedly.

“How is it like almost being a warrior?” the younger apprentice questioned curiously.

“It's *great!”* But then he frowned, definitely remembering Swanpaw. “I hope Swanpaw heals quickly enough to become a warrior with us, or at least very soon after us.”

Petuniaheart, Maplestripe, Flameeye, Violetrain and Spottedpaw looked a little sad, especially the former first and Violetrain, since their immediate family member was also injured. “I hope so, too,” Petuniaheart said solemnly. But then in a happier tone, “Well, we should be training now!”

The three older apprentices nodded and went with their mentors to a clearing. *I wish I could join my friends in warriorhood already.* The yellow tom-apprentice really wished that he could be able to fight back properly against the dangers against the Clan, especially with what had happened a few days ago.

Then Rainpaw, Birchcreek and Primrosepaw came out of the medicine cat's den looking for something, or rather, *someone*. “Where did that boisterous kit go? She scattered a few juniper berries!” Rainpaw asked humorously.

“She might have eaten one, in fact,” Birchcreek added, still limping. Thymepaw secretly hoped that his mischevious friend's uncle would heal soon.

“I think she likes... the taste too much,” Primrosepaw replied with a smile. Even though Primrosepaw was only three moons older than him, she seemed to be a lot better of a warrior and leader than him. *I guess due to age differences.*

“Well, you can't deny they are great!” Rainpaw laughed. Thymepaw felt glad that both her and her brother saved the other two and Birchcreek himself.

“I think she's hiding in the nursery,” the younger apprentice suggested. “She usually hides there, ironically.”

The three older cats nodded, then called out for Birdkit in the nursery.

Violetrain smiled. “I hope she doesn't do that as an apprentice! After all, we're trusting her with the herbs!”

“Haha, don't worry, with me as her mentor, she'll be extra vigilant not to!” Rainpaw chuckled.

*Since I know Birdkit the best, I should help,* Thymepaw figured. He entered the nursery and looked around, and saw Waterkit and Flowerkit playing Mossball with Dustkit and Oakkit while Petalkit was just watching them. He had taken it upon himself to tell Dustkit and Oakkit about their uncle and Birchcreek and Swanpaw, especially Whitestripe and Swanpaw since they couldn't visit the nursery yet. MoonClan appreciated it, especially Peonyclaw, his mentor, Fireclaw, Shadowclaw and Icemoon. So far, Dustkit and Oakkit had a good idea of them and what they looked like, but he had yet to tell them about their personalities. But he wanted to try his very best to inform them. He did not want to say anything about Stonetooth, of course, and neither did any of the other cats, including Whitestripe himself. Being six moons older than them since he became an apprentice the day after they were born, similarly to his mentor's younger brother to his mentor's mentor's daughters, and perhaps Robinpaw and Soarpaw to Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit except with a half-moon addition, he thought he might be wise enough to teach them in their eyes.

Flowerkit was the first one to notice them and she looked excitedly at Thymepaw, almost in a idolizing way. “Hey, Thymepaw! And Birchcreek and Rainpaw and Primrosepaw! We're playing Catch!”

Applefall smiled at him. “Ready to tell Dustkit and Oakkit more stories, Thymepaw?” she asked. Fireclaw, who was visiting his kits before he went out on patrol nodded, smiling as well.

“I want to learn more about the legendary Birchcreek and Rainpaw!” their son exclaimed happily. “Birchcreek's also our paternal grandmother's apprentice and grandfather's nephew!”

“Well, the legendary Birchcreek and Rainpaw are right here!” Birchcreek announced, limping in while also smiling. The kits all looked excitedly at him when he entered.

“Sure, Birchcreek, Rainpaw and I can tell you more, but first, where's Birdkit?” Thymepaw asked cheerfully. “She went into the medicine cat's den, I'm pretty sure.”

“Is that true?” Sandleap asked, amused. “I have to admit, I'm also curious where she went.”

“I promise I was just trying to feed you!” Birdkit exclaimed before anyone had to say anything. She came out of a moss pile, somehow.

“She told me that, too!” Waterkit chuckled.

“Really? I already administered them, but okay, that's perfectly okay!” their aunt replied proudly. “Except, of course, if you actually were trying to feed yourself!” A few cats chuckled.

“Well, I wanted to give them more!” Birdkit abruptly said with a smile. “After all, they should heal!” She paused for a moment, probably to listen to Rainpaw's second statement, then continued, “I was just trying to sniff them if they were the correct ones!”

Thymepaw just smirked. “You can do that without touching them, I'm pretty sure.”

“I have to agree with that, definitely!” Rainpaw added.

“Well, being a medicine cat is interesting, so I should learn!” Birdkit replied cheerfully.

Primrosepaw's eyes sparkled. “I can help Rainpaw and... Lilypool teach you!”

“After all, I should be one of the best in the Clan!” Birdkit continued. Then she replied to Primrosepaw, “That's great! We can both learn together! Where is Lilypool anyways?”

“Don't you remember? She went on patrol with Orchidmoon, Nutclaw, Heronwing and Rosepetal!” replied Petalkit politely.

Violetrain entered the nursery and looked at her nephew and niece proudly, then looked at Birdkit. “Well, then, Birdkit, will you take on the honor of being a medicine cat?”

“I was hiding, *remember?”* Birdkit replied to her foster sister humorously. Then she looked at Violetrain and replied, “Well, obviously! As long as I can get to *heal!”*

“Birdkit's just like Lilackit! She is very weird!” Waterkit said, looking slyly at his littermate.

“That is good, though! Weird cats are funnier, like Shadowclaw!” Flowerkit exclaimed.

“I obviously know that!” Waterkit replied with a laugh.

“Okay, but is Thymepaw going to tell us more about the four cats now?” Dustkit asked no one in particular.

Thymepaw looked at his mentor, who just shrugged. “Well, I have to train, but once I finish, I'll get right back to you,” he promised them.

Dustkit and Oakkit looked slightly disappointed, but they nodded. Birchcreek reassured them, “Don't worry, I can always tell you in the meantime, along with other cats like Rainpaw and Primrosepaw.” The two youngest kits looked more excited and intrigued at that.

But then Dustkit looked at Birchcreek directly and replied, “That's great, but I'm sorry if we were ill omens for your fall. I promise we didn't want it.” Oakkit nodded sadly.

The other cats in the nursery looked sadly at them. “It wasn't your fault,” Sandleap consoled them.

“Yeah, you weren't ill omens, it was just lack of luck,” Fireclaw added reassuringly.

“We didn't know that fateful day that the encounter would be tragic, either,” Birchcreek told his former mentor's grandchildren in the same way. “It was simply supposed to be a *SnowClan* border patrol.” Thymepaw knew that the AdderClan border patrol was ironically not attacked that day.

“Yeah, you had nothing... to do with their... issues,” Primrosepaw said, too.

“I also know that my apprentice ceremony wasn't an ill omen, either. It was supposed to be a defense against the odds,” added Thymepaw thoughtfully. “So you don't have to be sad about your births.” The other cats in the nursery nodded at that and a few smiled at his wisdom, and Dustkit and Oakkit looked a little relieved.

Thymepaw then looked at Violetrain again who nodded this time and they both left the nursery. Then Thymepaw remembered what he wanted to do during hunting. “Well, actually, I want to learn to catch birds.”

Violetrain smiled. “Well, that's what I was going to teach you originally! So sure!”

Thymepaw also smiled and they both left to go into the forest. As he remembered, he perked his ears up to listen for any bird calls, and so did his mentor. Then they heard several birds chirping in the distance.

“Do you hear that?” Violetrain whispered, and he nodded. “We should try to see where it is coming from.”

Thymepaw nodded again, and tried to hear where it was. He realized it was coming from the direction of the sun. “It's over there!” He pointed in that direction.

Violetrain nodded. “That's good, now we should follow it.”

They both padded quietly to the east and found a few sparrows on the same tree chirping to each other. *Okay, so this is it,* Thymepaw sighed silently. *The part where I usually stumble.* He was okay at climbing, but while trying to pounce on a not-so-thick branch, he usually lost his balance.

“Okay, try to make sure your balance is perfect, so that you won't stumble,” instructed Violetrain, demonstrating on an adjacent tree. Thymepaw watched her do it so easily, and he felt some doubt that he wouldn't be able to do it, especially not in the perfect way she was doing it. *No, I need to overcome it to be a better warrior.*

His mentor climbed the tree a bit more. “Also make sure to hide behind leaves so that way they can't see you and stay still until you get an opportunity.”

The sparrows were still calling to each other, not noticing her, until she went into pouncing position and made a giant pounce at them. Thymepaw was amazed at the fact she managed to catch one sparrow in her mouth and swipe another. *I suppose she inherited Peonyclaw's skills like Birchcreek said.*

All the other sparrows quickly flocked away, but the one that got swiped fell off the tree, and Thymepaw decided to catch it before it could fly. Violetrain made a graceful leap down from the tree with the bird still in her mouth and she put it down.

“How did you *do* that?” her apprentice asked in amazement.

Violetrain smirked. “That was actually pretty lucky. The chances of that happening are usually low, so I guess we can thank StarClan for that.” Then she looked encouragingly at Thymepaw. “You can do it, too, if you try hard enough.”

Thymepaw looked down, worried that he might fail again. “Is it actually *as* easy as you make it look?”

“Well, I can answer that with an anecdote of my own,” Violetrain replied thoughtfully. “You see, Fireclaw, Firepaw at the time, and his mentor, Littleclaw, used to go with me and Maplestripe sometimes as double training, since that is usually the case with littermates. Of course, this was before you were born, but also before Shadowclaw and Icemoon and Quailclaw, too! Since we were new apprentices just like you, of course. We were trying to catch birds, but we kept failing and and one time, Firepaw nearly broke his leg from falling from a great height! Peonyclaw was a little mad at Littleclaw and Maplestripe, but Firepaw managed to heal. But we were wondering how our mentors did it, and after that fall, we were disheartened. It was leaf-bare as well, which definitely didn't help. Until suddenly, we managed to find finches in an open area on the ground, and we managed to catch them without having to climb a tree!”

Thymepaw was surprised at her story, but he realized that most warriors just simply learned how to do it, as much as they should try.

“Oh, and it was also smart of you to catch that sparrow before it could fly away,” his mentor added proudly. Thymepaw nodded, also feeling proud for *something* at least.

“Anyway, let's bury these birds and go search for more,” she continued, and her apprentice nodded. After burying the birds, they went a little deeper into the forest. Thymepaw was looking up at the branches for any signs of birds, but he was also making sure to look down once in a while to check for any dangers or obstacles. Then he suddenly spotted a robin on a open patch of ground, probably looking for worms.

His mentor also noticed it and they both stopped. Violetrain smirked again, probably at the coincidence of the situation and her tale, then gestured for him to go on. Thymepaw silently nodded and tried to pad very quietly towards it. The robin didn't notice him since it was faced away from him and looking on the ground where there were small holes, most likely worm tunnels. The apprentice made sure to stay completely silent and not touch any leaves. But he also didn't want it to fly away since it looked like the robin wasn't finding any worms. So he tried to quicken the pace just a little. Then when he figured that he got close enough, he went into pouncing position. *I sincerely pray to StarClan that this will be my first bird, and that I will be proud to say that I caught my first bird which is Robinpaw's namesake at only six and three-quarter moons.* Then he made the giant leap towards it.

The robin noticed him and almost escaped, but Thymepaw managed to snag it by his claws. The robin chirped very loudly and tried to scratch him with its talons, but Thymepaw decided to swipe it so that it would stop moving. When the robin stopped struggling, Thymepaw inspected it to make sure it was dead, and then blinked a few times to see if it was actually real. *I did it. I* finally *caught a robin. My first bird. I finally caught something else other than mice!* He couldn't help smiling at his victory and achievement that he was finally able to catch a bigger type of prey. *And also Birdkit's favorite and namesake, obviously.*

Violetrain came closer and grinned at him, which made him feel even better about himself. “Wow, StarClan gave you a miracle! That tale really helped, didn't it?”

Thymepaw nodded, still looking at the bird. He was glad that he could finally help the Clan in a bigger way. “I am extremely glad, too. Should we take this back?”

“I guess so, but why don't you try hunting one more? It can just be a mouse, since other birds might harder to catch for you. Just so that we can bring back four pieces of prey,” his mentor replied, looking in the direction of camp.

The apprentice nodded and looked for one more mouse. He saw a very tiny mouse speeding frantically through the clearing, though Thymepaw thought it might be too small to even feed a kit. Then he saw a much bigger mouse following that mouse at the same speed. *What are they running from*? Thymepaw wondered, until an eagle suddenly swooped into view with its talons out trying to catch the bigger mouse. Violetrain spotted it and tried to pounce on the eagle before it could fly away.

Thymepaw watched wide-eyed at his mentor trying to fight it off, but he hoped she could succeed. The eagle was about to catch the mouse, but it noticed Violetrain about to scratch it and it flew upwards instantly. Thymepaw spotted the bigger mouse running away and immediately tried to pounce on it. He felt it underneath his paws and immediately bit into it.

“Oh well, it went into the sky, but I can't catch it from below it, anyways,” Violetrain simply commented about the eagle while he was catching it, before seeing her apprentice catch the mouse.

“Yes, but we got the mouse at least, which is good enough,” Thymepaw replied.

His mentor nodded. “That's great! As for me, eagles are *very* hard to catch from the ground, so I'm not surprised. For our warrior exams, we did it from the trees, and the eagles were on a lower branch from us.”

“I have to catch an eagle for *mine* as well, right?”

She nodded again. “Of course, and I need to help you get there. Luckily we still have seven more moons to go!”

“Sadly a quarter-moon more than that, but great!” Thymepaw looked back in the direction of camp.

“Anyways, let's dig up our prey!” Violetrain said cheerfully, walking back to the place where she buried her birds. Her apprentice did the same with his robin.

While walking back to camp, Thymepaw was still extremely cheerful over his victory. He was so excited to tell Mountainpaw, Berrypaw, Lilackit, Jumpkit, and Petalkit, Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit, his closest friends. He wanted to tell Primrosepaw, Dandelionpaw, Robinpaw and Soarpaw as well, and perhaps also Whitestripe, Birchcreek and Swanpaw, though he wasn't sure if they were finished with their duties, or if he was close enough in friendship to them. *Well, I guess Birchcreek was the most equivalent in personality to me as kits, so we must understand each other the best.*

#### Short while later

When they got back, Snowstar, also his great-uncle, spotted them and simply smiled. Violetrain and Thymepaw smiled back and deposited their prey in the pile. The young apprentice saw three of his friends, Mountainpaw, Berrypaw and Birdkit, and his mother and her apprentice there and they all seemed to notice the robin. Thymepaw decided to tell them about it before they could ask if it was his catch. Of course, all five looked proud of him.

“Wow, you finally did it!” Mountainpaw was the first one to respond, looking joyful.

*“Great job!* I knew you can catch birds for me!” Birdkit replied, smirking all the way.

“I am also proud of you, Thymepaw,” Redwater added, smiling as well.

Berrypaw and Soarpaw didn't say anything as usual, but they beamed at him. Thymepaw appreciated the praise from all of them, but he was thinking about Soarpaw's reaction and if it meant that she in fact, *did* want to be friends with him, and that she was just a bit shy before. *Well, I want to befriend her, too, and everyone else, of course, but especially her, being my mother's first apprentice, so great for me!*

Thymepaw nodded at all of them, the sky seeming to soar above him in his pride. “Thanks all of you! I'm very proud of myself, too!”

“Yep, he did a wonderfully amazing job!” Violetrain added with a smile, taking a mouse.

“Can *I* taste it? I usually never got to taste your prey,” Birdkit asked excitedly.

“Sure, since you've been hooked on your namesakes ever since your first bite of prey, anyways,” Thymepaw joked, and Mountainpaw chuckled in response to that, though his mother, Berrypaw and Soarpaw also smiled at that.

Birdkit beamed, and took a bite of the robin. Then she exclaimed, “It tastes *great!”* much to Thymepaw's joy.

Thymepaw smiled. “I *obviously* knew you would.”

“I would also like to taste for quite *obvious* reasons,” Mountainpaw chuckled.

*“Only* a *little,”* the she-kit replied mischievously.

“Don’t be greedy!” Violetrain joked. “Alright, Thymepaw, I’ll go and visit Dustkit and Oakkit now! See you later!” she said while leaving.

Thymepaw nodded, then started reminiscing about his kithood, especially with the optimistic though disconnected Birdkit. When she was born, he was already four moons old, so he became an apprentice by the time she would start fully remembering things anyways. He remembered the times he had gotten a little irritated with the fact Birdkit couldn’t play properly as her senses were always delayed by a few seconds, making quick physical play, especially between kits, impossible.

*I doubt she cares that she had a hard time integrating into our games, but I should probably apologize, anyway,* Thymepaw thought. The previous kit with a similar condition, Primrosepaw, didn’t normally play with him since she was too shy, but despite her being three moons older, he had still wanted to play with her. *Would having tolerance of Primrosepaw helped me to have tolerance of Birdkit?*

“Hey, Birdkit, I just wanted to say, sorry if I did anything to hinder you from having a good time with us,” Thymepaw whispered to her softly.

Birdkit just grinned. “Don’t worry at all, I still enjoyed it even if things were weird for me!”

The apprentice smiled. *Of course Birdkit would not care and simply shrug it off.* Then he remembered Soarpaw, looking shyly at the prey pile. *I hope she will be willing to talk with us now.*

So he whispered to her, “Hey, Soarpaw, I know Redwater is a good mentor.”

Soarpaw sheepishly nodded. “Yes, she is.”

“What kind of training did you do?” asked Thymepaw inquisitively.

She still stared at the prey pile. “I guess hunting, then fighting.”

“Soarpaw, I know you’re also going to be a great warrior!” Mountainpaw added happily, and the younger she-apprentice smiled.

“I like Soarpaw for being a great apprentice and Clanmate!” Birdkit exclaimed.

Thymepaw added, “Yeah, the Clan knows you and Robinpaw will do well. You both have my mother and Mountainpaw’s mother as mentors!”

Soarpaw smiled and nodded sheepishly, but didn’t say anything. *I guess she’s warming up more.*

Redwater smiled. “I guess you can talk while I visit the nursery to see Birdkit’s mother, too, so goodbye!” She also left while Birdkit beamed at that.

“Sandleap is cool,” Soarpaw said softly.

“I also think she’s cool, which is why she mentored Whitestripe,” Thymepaw replied humorously.

“That is why I love Sandleap!” Birdkit grinned.

Thymepaw nodded and was about to respond to Soarpaw, but then Berrypaw looked at him in a peculiar way. *Is it because they’re both shy?* he wondered. He knew she had many similarities with the shy littermates, one being that their fathers, Lionrain and Blackfur respectively, had died when they were too young or not yet born. Thymepaw didn’t have a father, but at the same time, he didn’t care since he could always be a good Clan member without one. And Berrypaw, Robinpaw and Soarpaw, as everyone knew, were all painfully shy as kits, and still a little bit now.

Thymepaw remembered that he wanted to ask how friendly Berrypaw was with cats other than him, Mountainpaw, Orchidmoon and Maplestripe. But first, he wanted to make better friends with his mother’s apprentice.

“So, Soarpaw, how is Icemoon and Quailclaw?” he asked.

Soarpaw’s eyes lit up. “They are really looking forward to mating or mentoring!”

“She loves Whitestripe immensely, doesn’t she?” Mountainpaw joked.

“It is interesting that so many cats like to mentor or mate,” Birdkit added.

“I suppose kits are the biggest thing she desires,” Thymepaw replied thoughtfully. “Maybe she thinks that Whitestripe would have good warrior genes to pass down to her kits. But as for Birdkit’s uncle, he seems to really like your siblings, Birdkit.”

“I hope they inherit them!” Birdkit said with a smirk, then paused for a bit. Then her eyes glistened at Thymepaw. “I surely hope one of them gets him!”

“I hope so, too,” Soarpaw replied with a hopeful smile.

“I also hope that you get a good apprentice, too, Mountainpaw and Thymepaw,” Berrypaw added.

Thymepaw just smiled. “My apprentice is most likely going to be one of the kits of cats of your age group, since they are definitely not born yet.”

“That’s obvious, right?” Mountainpaw replied with a grin. “But I am sure that I will get Dustkit or Oakkit! Or maybe I can get one of my siblings.” He chuckled at that. “Our ceremonies are like my cousins, which is interesting.”

Thymepaw knew that his mentor and Fireclaw were eight moons older than Whitestripe, and same for Mountainpaw and Lilackit and Jumpkit, so it made sense that they would share their apprentice and warrior ceremonies with their siblings.

Birdkit exclaimed, “I would also like to mentor my niece like Rainpaw is doing with me!”

Berrypaw just nodded. “I probably don’t need an apprentice, however.”

Thymepaw frowned at that, since it felt like she didn’t want one because of her shyness. “But I know that you can be a great mentor.”

“I can probably become a mentor,” Soarpaw murmured. “It would probably be fine.”

Berrypaw seemed to understand what Thymepaw was thinking as she whispered back, “It’s not for that reason. It’s just that I don’t want to mentor right now.”

Then suddenly, they heard Sandleap call out for her daughter. Then Thymepaw looked at Birdkit and joked, “That’s your cue, Birdkit!”

Birdkit looked at Soarpaw before glancing in the direction of the nursery, then at Thymepaw. “I hope it’s for a good reason!” she joked back before running off.

“I hope so, too!” the apprentice called out, making sure that she would catch it. But he surely hoped that he would have more good times with her. Then he looked at Berrypaw and Soarpaw who seemed to be a little awkward around each other.

“I should probably find Robinpaw and Quailclaw,” Soarpaw muttered anxiously before Thymepaw could say anything appropriate. He frowned at her leaving, but he figured that she must have been feeling anxious around him and Berrypaw by herself. *I hope Redwater can encourage her to socialize with me more at least. Soarpaw would probably accept, me being her mentor’s son.*

Berrypaw looked a little relieved when she left, making them three the only cats left at the prey pile. Then she looked at Thymepaw. “I guess I can tell you now.”

“About the reason why you don't talk to anyone else but us?” Mountainpaw asked, clearly confused, probably because he didn't think it needed to be told.

"So, what is the reason?" Thymepaw asked curiously.

Berrypaw shrugged. "I don't have many friends or speak much because I usually feel burdened by having to talk so much, and I fear what other cats would think if I talked to them for some time and then stopped suddenly."

"So what about with us, then?" Mountainpaw asked. "You're as calm as a mouse without any predators around near us!"

"I don't want to be pressured with other cats for that reason, but with you, I can speak as less as I want since you don't expect me to talk much. You do all the talking for me, so I can just listen and reply when necessary."

Thymepaw smiled at that. "I am sure that's also your motto with Orchidmoon and Maplestripe, right? I'm glad that you know we understand and support you."

Berrypaw smiled back. "It sure is. For me, other cats don't interest me much anyways since I am perfectly comfortable being by myself."

"That must be why you are always okay not being outgoing, right? Though I do have to disagree with other cats not interesting *me,"* Mountainpaw replied with a chuckle.

"Well, it helped with my solitude, but not fully. I *was* getting a bit jealous of other kits having so many friends and playing group games all they wanted, because there isn't too much to do as a kit by yourself, and you know the same, Mountainpaw. Mothers are fine, but they don't always fulfill every need of yours the same way other kits do. And to top it off, Lionrain died only a quarter-moon of my birth, so I didn't have a father, either, or maternal grandparents, only paternal. Whitestripe and Primrosepaw had littermates who talked to them, but even *they* mentioned that they got terribly bored as kits, which is why what happened had happened."

Thymepaw decided to ignore the subtle mention of Stonetooth since he and MoonClan likewise did not want her being mentioned even indirectly ever again. But he felt a little sympathy for Mountainpaw and Berrypaw since even shy kits with littermates got bored, and even more for Berrypaw because most of her family members died in her kithood or before she was born, which was quite a contrast to Birdkit's situation. Even Thymepaw had an uncle, grandfather and mother, even if he didn't have much more than that. "I guess so. It is a bit peculiar to think about now."

But then Berrypaw smiled at Mountainpaw, who smiled back. "But I *am* happy that Mountainpaw warmed up to me as a kit. That way, we each had a close friend to talk to before you came along."

Thymepaw smirked. "I remembered how you warmed up to me ever since I was born. It was almost like you had an affinity to me."

"You could say that," Mountainpaw chuckled and Berrypaw smiled.

"I am also grateful for Birchcreek since he indirectly inspired Mountainpaw to pass on the favor," the red she-apprentice continued. "It is a great virtue to show enough kindness to someone and open them up enough to give that to someone else."

"I also plan to do the same since you did to me, technically," the yellow tom-apprentice replied. *With Birdkit and Soarpaw,* he thought valiantly.

"I am also glad I managed to extend his kindness to more cats than me," added the light-gray tom-apprentice.

"Kind of ironic you're speaking so much, Berrypaw," Thymepaw said humorously.

"You know I sometimes have an urge to speak when it's important, like now. Understanding me better is what I consider to be important," Berrypaw replied.

Thymepaw nodded. Then he remembered how Quailclaw usually got shipped with Primrosepaw, and likewise Whitestripe with Icemoon. *Mountainpaw and Berrypaw always hang out together alone much more than Primrosepaw and Quailclaw do, and* definitely *more than Whitestripe and Icemoon.* He thought it was interesting and wonderful that the two had such a great bond, being best friends, but he silently wondered if there was something more between them. *Just because* I *don’t like to mate doesn’t mean they won’t, either. Mountainpaw is pretty gossipy if not teasy, and Berrypaw still adores sweet things.*

“Hey, Mountainpaw and Berrypaw, just to understand you more, so no offense or anything,” Thymepaw started with a whisper, “*do* you love each other? You’re the exact same age *and* hang out the most with each other alone!”

His two older apprentice friends looked at each other with slight surprise for a moment, then Mountainpaw awkwardly chuckled and Berrypaw simply smiled.

”Well, that’s a bit hypocritical of logic, isn’t it?” Mountainpaw replied humorously. “Since you claim to not be in love with anyone, but you also hang out with other she-kits and apprentices!” Berrypaw nodded in agreement.

”Not alone, last time I checked,” Thymepaw chuckled. “Unless you mean with Redwater which definitely does *not* count.”

Berrypaw replied warmly, “I *do* agree with Mountainpaw. However, we *are* good friends due to our bond since kithood and we have the most understanding between each other, so we usually hang out with each other alone the most.”

“I could already guess, but you know I just needed clarification on that, since I can’t see that properly, being a third cat,” Thymepaw replied politely. “Because you never know since you’re almost warriors! And of course, I would keep it secret since I’m not a gossiper, it’s only for personal reasons.”

”We understand, because we’re your friends and indirectly mentors!” Mountainpaw replied, and Berrypaw nodded.

Then he noticed Birdkit come out of the nursery towards the prey pile. "Thymepaw! Guess what, Sandleap just wanted to tell me a story about how she mentored Whitestripe! I hope it can help me in the future!"

Mountainpaw smiled. “That’s great! After all, Sandleap *is* my mother’s apprentice and Whitestripe my maternal cousin!”

”She is also my third cousin through Orchidmoon, Stormlight and Sandpounce,” Berrypaw added, quieting down again.

“That’s *great!*” Birdkit replied excitedly. “That means you’re my mother’s mentor’s son! And *we’re* third cousins once removed!”

“Don’t forget maternal grandmother’s apprentice!” Mountainpaw added.

Thymepaw smiled, but then he remembered that he needed to tell Dustkit and Oakkit about Birchcreek, Swanpaw and of course, Whitestripe himself.

”Oh, I should also give Dustkit and Oakkit what I promised!” he quipped.

”*Alright!* We’ll see you in there!” Mountainpaw replied cheerfully.

”I want to join in for the story with you!” Birdkit replied excitedly.

”That’s fine! You should also get to know more about them, too!” Thymepaw replied and gestured for them to come.

Running into the nursery, he knew that he wanted to be one of the best warriors and Clanmates he could be. *Birdkit is going to be one of* my *best friends,* he thought positively. *And hopefully, so will Robinpaw and Soarpaw, and Waterkit and Flowerkit, and Dustkit and Oakkit. Just like I am with Mountainpaw and Berrypaw.*

### Chapter 38: Icemoon & Flameeye

Whitestripe and Birchcreek were at the prey pile while Swanpaw was sleeping in their den, which had pretty much become their new den by now since they were there for three quarter-moons now. Lilypool and Rainpaw had told Whitestripe and Swanpaw that they needed to make sure not to stay stagnant even if their hips were damaged, just like they had advised Birchcreek previously, as it could cause certain infections and muscle degeneration to occur.

Whitestripe was glad he could still move around to not be too stagnant, but he still couldn't walk that well, unlike his mother's apprentice, who even though was limping could still move to other places by himself, having been past most of it. Whitestripe, however, needed the assistance of the two medicine cats themselves to get to the prey pile. He remembered Birchcreek had done his warrior ceremony without them being able to see, and they were the last ones to realize he had been a warrior for a half-moon. *I mean, I suppose it's fine if he accepted because he deserved it, but what was the point?* he silently wondered. Looking at his paternal cousin, Whitestripe could obviously see he still couldn't do any warrior duties. Birchcreek was so close to fourteen moons old already that he supposed Snowstar and Peonyclaw could have just waited for him to heal and still skipped his exams for his truly heroic deed, which he truly appreciated.

Birchcreek was hoping that Whitestripe and Swanpaw had passed *their* halfway point to recovering by now, as he felt they couldn't afford staying any more time. *Not only is it pretty boring, I am also starting to feel useless again...* he thought despondently. Telling stories to the kits and assisting the apprentices wasn't something he had ever thought would be the only useful things he could do after becoming a warrior, as usually only queens did that. He thought the hardest part would have been them dying, which would definitely have been terrible. But he was starting to rethink it when he had to sit here for quite a while. *I don't want to disvalue my friends or myself, but still...*

"So, Birchcreek, what are you thinking of doing right now?" Whitestripe asked, looking around the camp. "I suppose Lilackit is doing pretty well with her physical attributes. She will be a great apprentice for sure."

Birchcreek broke free from his stare at the prey pile as he usually did before, obviously surprised at his question. Whitestripe silently hoped with worry that his cousin wouldn't be returning back to his state of hopelessness again.

"It also seems like Icemoon is hanging out with Robinpaw and Soarpaw right now, who are also with Mountainpaw, Berrypaw and Thymepaw, apparently," Whitestripe decided to continue when he didn't respond.

Birchcreek nodded, probably at the mention of his best friend, Mountainpaw, and cousin's son, Thymepaw. "Did they become friends with each other?"

"Probably, it seems like Icemoon is hanging out with them more often, now. Which is good for *me,"* Whitestripe said with a smirk, trying to poke some fun at it.

Birchcreek smiled. He knew that Icemoon and Mountainpaw were already friends ever since that Clan game in kithood, perhaps even at the level of best friends as well, so he didn't find it a surprise that Icemoon was hanging out with Mountainpaw's friends, too. Robinpaw and Soarpaw had also befriended Icemoon and Mountainpaw, and of course, Thymepaw was ever talkative to every cat in the Clan. But he *was* confused at Berrypaw being there, since she most likely wouldn't have said much, simply listened.

"I guess you're trying to bask in your solitude, then?" Birchcreek replied, trying to reciprocate the humor.

Whitestripe flicked his tail. "Definitely, because I've had enough of their teasing!"

"I thought you might have shown a little interest in her from our chats, though?" Birchcreek said genuinely.

"Come on, Birchcreek, you usually don't tease me!"

"I was *obviously* joking, Whitestripe. But I *am* still curious to know."

Whitestripe just smiled wryly. "Well, even in jokes, you usually don't do it! And where did your curiousity come from?"

Birchcreek looked down at the prey pile again. "Sitting in one location like the prey pile or medicine cats' den for what seems like days on end," he sighed.

Whitestripe frowned at that. Of course, they weren't medicine cats or kits to normally do that, so he agreed with his situation. Even medicine cats usually went outside of camp to gather herbs, or in other medicine cats like Rainpaw's case, she still walked around camp to meet other cats, just like kits always usually did. "Well, we *do* have your littermate in here, right?"

Birchcreek shrugged. "That's probably the best thing that is making it better, other than you and Swanpaw being there to talk to. Lilypool is also fine, but you know how I wasn't really fond of elders or much older cats like Moonstar even in kithood, right?"

"Lilypool's not *that* old to be an elder, though. But I suppose she *is* pretty old, being born just a year and one moon after the foundation of the Mountain Clans."

Birchcreek shrugged again. "Well, I wouldn't say she isn't funny and nice, but of course, I didn't play with her in kithood, so we don't have those shared memories."

"Neither did we, even though we were around the same age, but we still built them together in my apprenticehood, you know," Whitestripe replied thoughtfully. "We managed to make more than enough to cherish our friendship."

Birchcreek nodded. "That's true. I didn't think you would become more wise after our fall."

"When bad times be*fall* us," Whitestripe started humorously, "it makes sense to gain wisdom from it, so we can learn from it."

Birchcreek smiled at that. Remembering that Whitestripe had to go through a big family loss with his only surviving littermate, he knew that he would definitely rethink his own behavior towards other Clanmates after that fateful night, and the fight the morning afterwards. And therefore, Whitestripe become nicer and more friendly in general, now that he didn't have Stonetooth's influence on him or dependency on her anymore. Birchcreek also remembered Whitestripe was pretty annoyed at Sandleap becoming a queen, and also indirectly at Nightnose for mating with her, three moons before his ceremony, but he forgave them pretty quickly after his warrior ceremony, especially since Birdkit was there now.

Flameeye saw the two injured cousins speaking to each other, one of which was *his* cousin, too. He was just about to talk to his former mentor, Snowstar, to go on patrol, probably by himself but perhaps with another Clanmate.

He was glad that his former mentor’s son and nephew’s mentor’s brother were doing much better now, and as well as Swanpaw. But he was worried that Swanpaw’s assessment would be delayed and hoped that it wouldn’t be for be for more than a moon, since of course, she was a great Clanmate.

Flameeye then noticed his father’s former apprentice, Icemoon, hanging out with several apprentices, including his nephew, Thymepaw, and his sister’s apprentice, Soarpaw, which he was happy about. But of course, they needed to go on patrol, so they all said farewell to each other and went with their mentors, leaving Icemoon by herself, being the only warrior in the group, of course.

Then Icemoon walked over to Flameeye, and he guessed that she wanted to go on patrol with him, which was fine with him. He was thinking about going with his apprentice, Spottedpaw, too, but he wasn’t sure if she would come back from another patrol with Forestcreek, Orchidmoon, Rosepetal and Heronwing soon.

### Chapter 39: Swift Recovery

Birchcreek was eating a sparrow and a squirrel in the medicine cat's den as usual. His right hind leg was still healing, but he wasn't sure what he could do about it except wait for it to heal more. He remembered what he told Mountainpaw, Mountainkit at the time, seven and three-quarter moons ago, when he was almost becoming an apprentice and smiled. *"Well, every time you wait, you get closer to anything. So wait."* Though he wasn't sure how *long* he would have to wait. Kits become apprentices at fixed times, usually at six moons but sometimes more if they joined the Clan at a later time, like Spottedpaw. But injuries had no fixed times to heal, and it depended on the injury and the amount of care. Birchcreek wasn't walking that much as his Clanmates gave him and his other two injured friends, Whitestripe and Swanpaw, fresh prey that they hunted and some fresh water, much like Clanmates do with full-term pregnant queens. So he thought not walking that much would speed up the time of recovery. He was still only able to limp as putting pressure on it would hurt a lot for him anyways. For a moment he had a thought his leg might be somewhat permanently damaged, but he shook that off. Birchcreek knew his leg bones didn't shatter completely, it was just broken at several places, so he still had hope he could recover.

Whitestripe and Swanpaw still had to heal, though. They were doing much better now, too, except for the fact that it still hurt them to move their hips, so they still couldn't move around that well. Birchcreek remembered Shadowclaw's joke about Icemoon doing everything for Whitestripe after Whitestripe became a warrior, and Whitestripe had replied that he would only need to do so if he became a queen or the prey started breeding like crazy. *Well, that turned out to actually happen.* Icemoon had been giving him and Swanpaw prey she caught now, too. Of course, to prevent stagnancy, Clanmates were moving them around, and Whitestripe and Swanpaw healed enough to finally get to go to the nursery for the first time after their fall and see Dustkit and Oakkit, which was where they were right now, and it was a wonderful time.

Birchcreek was in the medicine cat's den by himself since he needed to rest his leg so he didn't go to the nursery with them, but he was able to feel it getting better which was great for him. However, he was getting a little bored since he usually talked to Whitestripe, Rainpaw and Swanpaw and also Lilypool while she was in the den, and he got to know the older medicine cat much better than he used to, especially about her littermate, Fallkit. It was odd to think Lilypool was his mother's maternal cousin since she was much older than even Petuniaheart and Blazesky.

Then while he was thinking, his mother entered the den with a mouse and a wet mossball. "Hello, Birchcreek, I figured you'd need some water," she greeted warmly.

Birchcreek smiled back. "Thanks, Petuniaheart, though I don't need the mouse, I already ate."

"Oh, don't worry, it's for me to eat while I chat with you," she said, putting down her mouse and gave him the mossball.

Birchcreek nodded and took a sip from it. "I guess that's fine. I was just thinking about Whitestripe and Swanpaw's injuries."

Petuniaheart nodded back, though she looked a little sad at that. "I am glad they are doing much better now, thanks to Lilypool, Rainpaw, and of course you."

He just looked down humbly and waited for her to continue, since of course, it was true that he saved and helped them out, especially on the emotional end.

His mother's expression looked excited about something. "Speaking of which, I heard they're visiting the nursery. It seems like Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit still remembered them when they all sneaked into the medicine cat's den together which makes sense, and of course, Petalkit already did."

Birchcreek chuckled, remembering his older niece trying to steal a few juniper berries before Rainpaw and Thymepaw caught her in time. "They are pretty lively, even for kits."

Petuniaheart beamed, since of course, they were her first grandchildren, and Petalkit seemed like one, too, since she was her daughter's foster daughter. "I know. I know they will be great warriors and medicine cats in the future, and they will be able to succeed, including Petalkit."

"I wholeheartedly agree. And what about Dustkit and Oakkit?"

She beamed even more at the mention of her great-nephew and niece. "They're doing so wonderfully. Dustkit's the older and more talkative of the two, but Oakkit is easily as crafty as him, maybe even more! Her shyness probably comes from being around her parents and brother, but when she's by herself, she's more outgoing, kind of like Robinpaw and Soarpaw as kits, and perhaps Jumpkit, too, as Thymepaw and Lilackit always seemed to overpower him a little while they were around him, but he was more loud by himself, and Robinpaw and Soarpaw were more comfortable away from talkative kits and around other shy kits."

Birchcreek nodded, thinking of something humorous, taking another sip of water. "I guess that means they're passively talkative, or assertively shy? Maybe aggressively shy for Whitestripe and his littermate, and perhaps Jumpkit, too."

"I guess you can say that. However, for me and Blazesky, like Primrosepaw, Quailclaw, Whitestripe, Mountainpaw and perhaps Petalkit, we *only* used to talk to our family members, and I guess I could say we were just a little aggressively shy."

He was a bit surprised to hear his mother's anecdote of her and Blazesky being aggressively shy, since he thought they were simply shy. Even now they didn't usually talk much, except when explaining something or telling a story like right now, kind of like most of their kids, including himself when it came to serious matters.

Petuniaheart continued, "We were the only kits in the leader's den along with Maplestripe, because we were the leader's kits, of course, and since Queenheart, Lilypool and Maplestripe's mother, left the Clan, Moonstar had to nurse him for some time, almost a half-moon. So we were only friendly to each other, Moonstar, Orangehill who was our father, and Lilypool, who became a full medicine cat at seventeen moons when we were two moons old. Blazesky was the more quiet one, Maplestripe the thoughtful one and I was the boisterous one."

Even though he knew it already, Birchcreek felt a little weird to think that kits could actually stay in the leader's den, since it was usually a secluded, high-risk area. But then again, Moonstar was the only she-cat leader he knew who had kits after leadership so far, since SnowClan Snowstar didn't have any. But he was more surprised to know more about his mother's personality back then, and it oddly reminded him of the two trios he had heard so far, which was probably what she was referring to, at least the first one anyways. He didn't mind that Petuniaheart decided to launch into a story about her past since she didn't often do so anyways, and he was curious to know.

"Everybody in MoonClan was interested in us for obvious reasons, but it was very annoying for me as I really wanted to be by myself. So like Whitestripe and his sister, I tried to scare off any visitors by acting boorish. But for some reason, Snowstar and Forestcreek, Snowpaw and Forestpaw back then, were persistent on meeting us, and even their mentors, Barktail and Poppyfall, couldn't stop them!"

Birchcreek knew that Barktail was Littleclaw's father and his father's mentor, while Poppyfall was Watereye's mother, and apparently also the cousin of Rosepetal's father, Cloudear, but of course, they had both died before he was born. He wondered if his mother's story was about rivals to lovers, as it sort of came off like that to him. It was very weird to him considering they were his *parents,* and to top it off, they already shared grandchildren now, too.

"But luckily, their mother, Lilyear, managed to convince them that they can chat with me when I was older. Since she seemed nice enough, Moonstar decided to make her my mentor. Of course, you know that Honeyflight became Blazesky's mentor since Moonstar knew that she can trust her skills, and that was when Blazesky finally got a good friend, Littleclaw, her son, of course."

Birchcreek nodded, knowing his paternal grandmother had mentored his mother, and his uncle and Littleclaw were close friends since the former was an apprentice, and that was why they had mated with the two MoonClan kittypet sisters and their kits were close to each other. He wondered if it was common to mate with one's mentor's child, since he knew that Lilyear had probably influenced her son and her apprentice to be together. Littleclaw and Blazesky were also best friends, Peonyclaw and Flipsnow had befriended Rosepetal, Nightnose and Nutclaw since they usually visited their mentor's children in the nursery, Birdkit, Waterkit and Flowerkit seemed to admire Whitestripe very much for being their mother's apprentice, Robinpaw had become better friends with Mountainpaw, Lilackit and Jumpkit after being apprenticed to Flipsnow, and Thymepaw seemed to really want to be friends with Soarpaw.

"However, when I got apprenticed to Lilyear, it wasn't the case for me since I thought Snowstar and Forestcreek were too outgoing for me, and I was also a bit skeptical of Flipsnow and Peonyclaw when they joined but Blazesky was quick to befriend all of them. Apparently, Snowstar wanted to mentor one of them since his father was a kittypet, of course, but Watereye and Diamondfly had snatched the opportunity before he could. Luckily I had befriended the two sisters sometime later, too, and tried to make them feel comfortable since I was the leader's daughter. I also felt the same as Snowstar when I had wanted to mentor Goldenlily, Goldenkit at the time, and she also wanted to be my apprentice, but Moonstar gave her to my father, Orangehill, instead. We were both exceptionally angry at her for that." Petuniaheart smiled at that, which seemed so different from Birchcreek's usual thoughts about her personality.

It felt odd for Birchcreek to see his mother smile at mischief she might have done in the past since she usually seemed so calm and patient, especially in his kithood. But Petuniaheart seemed oddly happy at Birdkit acting mischievous, too, and totally ignored Whitestripe and Stonetooth's attitude towards others as kits, and so had Blazesky, and Birchcreek realized it was probably because they were like her, too. But he figured Petuniaheart must have mellowed down after starting to have kits, which was why he never saw her like that.

But the most important part was that Goldenlily wanted to be Petuniaheart’s apprentice and was apparently upset that she couldn’t be one. Birchcreek silently wondered if this had to do something with her mating with Swiftclaw later on in warriorhood. *Was she feeling alienated from what she felt comfortable with, in this case Petuniaheart? Did she feel that Swiftclaw was much better than Orangehill? Wasn’t Petuniaheart still there to fill her void?* He remembered that Greenheart, Goldenlily’s mother, had also died when she was an apprentice. *Did that further deepen the pain?* He wasn’t sure if he could ask his mother about it since she most likely wouldn’t have known.

"So what happened afterwards?" he asked. "And were there any kits in the nursery when you were born? And were Flipsnow and Peonyclaw nice?"

"No, the nursery was empty, and I think they were when they joined, but Peonyclaw started becoming more boisterous during apprenticehood. And Goldenlily was angry, of course, and didn’t want to train for a quarter-moon, since we were like best friends. Apparently Moonstar thought I was too shy for the task while Orangehill knew how to convey information properly, but she promised that I would get someone later. But eventually, I outgrew my shyness and immaturity and decided to start a family with Snowstar, and of course I got Redwater as an apprentice. And I was happy for Littleclaw and Blazesky when they had kits with Flipsnow and Peonyclaw, of course. And I was a little comforted when Goldenlily eventually joined the nursery, too, and so we hoped that our children would be friends, and of course, that was the case.”

”So, you basically changed in a way similar to Whitestripe, right? And Goldenlily did, too?”

Petuniaheart nodded. ”Yes, of course. But it was sad for me to see her die, of course, since other than my brother, she was my like mind, even if I was fourteen moons older than her. But I just wanted to tell you that change can occur, and that a shy kit can be an outgoing warrior, and sometimes vice versa.”

The dark brown warrior thought he might be vice versa since after the death of Goldenlily, he had quieted down a bit. His friends and family had been worried about his mental health since he hadn’t talked as much as he used to. Now, he figured he was still outgoing, though in a more modest way, but also more serious.

“I guess I can agree with that,” said Birchcreek. “A lot of things can change due to circumstances.”

Petuniaheart nodded again and said, “Yes, I just wanted to spend time with you to keep you company. I know you liked my company the best in kithood, considering your behavior.”

Birchcreek smiled. He knew that he used to sleep so much in the moss bed he shared with his mother in the nursery.

“This was a good chat, wasn’t it? Now I think I should go and train Mountainpaw now,” continued his mother.

”Yes, of course. I hope Mountainpaw does well,” he replied.

Petuniaheart nodded and got up to leave the medicine cats’ den. Birchcreek wondered what he should do now, but then he remembered that he hadn’t gone to the elder’s den in a while, not even for a half-moon before his fall since he was so caught up in all the chaos that could occur to worry about the elders.

When he entered the elder’s den, he saw something curious; Littleclaw, Rosepetal and Nightnose were with Wisdomheart, and Watereye and his former mentor were with Redear. Wisdomheart had mentored Littleclaw, who in turn mentored Rosepetal, and of course, she mentored Nightnose. And Redear had mentored Watereye, and of course, he mentored Peonyclaw.

He wondered if there was a mentor-apprentice session going on, or if Littleclaw and Watereye wanted to visit their elder mentors (and for Littleclaw, also Honeyflight), or both, so Birchcreek decided to join Redear, Watereye and Peonyclaw. *At least Blazesky and Sealbranch and Dandelionpaw aren’t visiting Honeyflight,* he thought humorously. *Or Pinetail, Orchidmoon and Heronwing.*

Wisdomheart, Peonyclaw and Nightnose smiled at him when he entered since they had a close relationship to him. The other cats acknowledged him, too, and the dark brown warrior smiled back, since of course, he was the most popular cat in the Clan now, equally along with Rainpaw.

”Hey, we’re just visiting our mentors while visiting their mentors, too!” Nightnose said happily.

”I guess I should do the same to equal you then,” Birchcreek joked back.

”Good luck!” Honeyflight exclaimed from a corner of the den.

Birchcreek smiled and asked his former mentor, “What are you talking about anyways?”

”We’re listening to Watereye’s story about Anna,” she replied.

Watereye nodded. “After mentoring Peonyclaw, I got a great feeling about kittypets, and my view of them increased significantly.” Peonyclaw looked a little proudly at that. “Then I happened to meet Anna, and of course, she was nice like Peonyclaw. I didn’t find any suitors in the Clan, so I decided to become her mate. I told Peonyclaw about it first, and of course, she wanted to help us out, especially when Anna gave birth to Nightnose and Nutclaw. When they were weaned, Peonyclaw and I took them to MoonClan since they would probably have been taken away by Anna’s Twolegs, and I renamed them Nightkit and Nutkit.”

”Did Peonyclaw help with bringing them back? She was probably nursing Violetrain and Fireclaw,” Birchcreek asked.

”No, but I *did* make them feel comfortable in their new surroundings,” Peonyclaw replied. “That is why they are still great to me today. I even offered to nurse them if they hadn’t been completely weaned off from Anna, but of course, they were.”

Nightnose was obviously eavesdropping, so he nodded. “Yep, that’s all true.”

”That must be great, but I was also wondering, what were their original names? Since you said they were renamed,” the dark brown warrior continued.

Watereye shrugged. ”I don’t honestly know. Anna didn’t seem to know either, since she only heard her Twolegs refer to them as Anna’s older kit and younger kit, or Anna’s kits for both.”

”Is that the same for Flameeye and Redwater?”

”I am pretty sure, because their mothers never named them themselves,” Peonyclaw replied.

”I remembered thinking it was foolish to take away kits from their mothers, especially for Twolegs, but the four seemed to have adjusted well,” Redear said, sounding much older than Watereye and Peonyclaw.

”Redear *was* very grumpy at his apprentice for it,” Peonyclaw said with a smile. "Since of course, his mate died when Blackfur was young. But he was pretty strict in general."

"He use to scold me as an apprentice, always," Watereye added.

"That was because you acted too rowdy for my liking," Redear replied. "It was no wonder you were so drawn to Peonyclaw."

Birchcreek was a bit surprised to learn that Watereye might have been more like Peonyclaw back then, or at least similar that he didn't like to appeal to authority if it didn't suit him. But he nodded. "Redear, how often do Heronwing, Robinpaw and Soarpaw visit you, anyways?" he decided to ask the elder.

Redear replied without even moving, "More often than you'd expect. They might have been terribly shy, but not to me or their mother. They visited the elders' den more often than they did the nursery."

Birchcreek nodded, feeling a little relieved that Robinpaw and Soarpaw were still talkative to their grandfather. He figured Whitestripe, Stonetooth, Berrypaw and Primrosepaw were not at all receptive to their grandparents, especially the ones who never left the elders' den like Wisdomheart, Laketail and Streamclaw. He didn't really see them communicating all that much with them as kits, unlike Thymepaw and Forestcreek for example, who always interacted.

**This is a part subpage of MoonClan's ambitious story (1): The First Four Leaders.**

*← Previous Part: Part 2: Birchpaw's TrainingNext Part: Part 4: The Tom's Wisdom →*

*← Previous Chapter: Chapter 32: The New WarriorNext Chapter: →*