MoonClan's ambitious story/(1): The First Four Leaders/3/34

"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.*

**This is a chapter subpage of MoonClan's ambitious story (1): The First Four Leaders.**

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