In the middle of the night, small, raspy breaths escaped from a grayish blue tabby tom's mouth, his eyes glazed with fever. Next to him, was his sister, a pure black she-cat with one pale yellow eye and one jade green eye. As he tried to groom his fur, he felt something in his throat, and abruptly stopped, ignoring the worried look of his sister. Looking up at her, he blinked, before opening his mouth to speak.

"Ivywind, could you bring our mother here? I would like to talk to her..." He flicked his tail weakly.

"Anything for you, Troutwhisper." Ivywind gave her brother a lick right on his ear, and Troutwhisper giggled, the best he could with a painful lump in his throat.

He watched as the black she-cat nodded, before she padded out of the medicine cat's den into the moonlight, to the warrior's den. Sighting, the tom rested his head down on his paws, his yellowish hazel eyes blinking. Tears rolled down his face, thinking about how he might not last the next moon. Suddenly, he heard two sets of paw steps and wiped away his tears, so he could look strong in front of his mother.

Looking up, he saw Ivywind and his mother, Asterberry, pad into the medicine cat's den, the latter's eyes filled with worry. His mother immediately rushed up to him, her tongue rasping in between his small ears.

"Oh, my son, please, you can get through your sickness." Troutwhisper looked up at his mother, who was on the verge of tears.

"I don't have any herbs left to treat myself, what can I do? The patch of borage leaves I planted was destroyed, and there's no way I can go and find the spot where I planted them..." The grayish blue tom watched as tears streamed down his mother's face, and suddenly, tears streamed down his own face as well.

"... Please, don't worry about me, Ivywind and Asterberry. I promise I'll be okay..."

"Do you really promise, my dear brother? You haven't been doing well, Asterberry and I could always find more patches of borage leaves, or ask the other clans for borage." Asterberry nodded with her daughter's words, her tears still dripping down her cheek fur. Troutwhisper sighed, knowing he could not win this argument; and besides; he didn't want to die anyways.

"Okay, I guess you two could go and ask the other clans for borage, or just look for borage near the twolegplace gardens..." Asterberry and Ivywind nodded, exchanging glances with each other, before running out of the medicine cat's den, to scavenge for borage.

Troutwhisper loudly sighed. He was alone again, his mother and sister on a quest that probably wouldn't even make a change. The tom would most likely still die, at the latest, a moon later, and at the earliest, maybe three or four sunhighs later. He felt tears leaking from his eyes again, as traces of dawn leaked into his den, that reeked of fever and death, even though nothing dead was in the den.

Sniffling, he heard the voice of an enthusiastic kit, which he recognized as Comfreykit's loud voice.

"Hey, Troutwhisper! I found a little bit of borage for you!"


Allegiances

RiverClan

Leader: Streamstar – pale gray, almost silver tabby tom with darker markings across his back

Apprentice, Thornpaw

Deputy: Rainmist – blueish-gray she-cat with azure blue eyes, one of her claws seems to be ripped out

Medicine Cat: Troutwhisper - grayish blue tabby tom with yellow eyes

Warriors:

Leaffall – brown and white tom with yellow eyes

Apprentice, Mumblepaw

Hootdawn – dark gray she-cat with a white tail-tip, spots, and hazel eyes

Asterberry - beautiful black, gray, and white she-cat

Ivywind - beautiful pure black she-cat with one pale yellow eye and one jade green eye

Ferntalon – white tom with gray dapples and yellow eyes

Apprentice, Brookpaw

Amberdapple – cream she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice, Bubblepaw

Tigerskip – black tom with amber eyes

Tallfeather - golden brown tom with white spots, tailtip, and green eyes

Eveningmuzzle – black and ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with one green eye and one blue eye

Apprentice, Reedpaw

Waternose – cream and gray tabby tom with white paws

Shadewind – white she-cat with a black tail and yellow eyes

Apprentice, Lilypaw

Apprentices:

Reedpaw – white tom with black and ginger patches on his tail and back

Lilypaw – light ginger she-cat with blind blue eyes

Brookpaw – dark gray she-cat with lighter markings, her eyes are light yellow

Bubblepaw – black and dark gray tom, Brookpaw's brother

Mumblepaw – dark brown tom with white and black stripes

Queens:

Addersnow – gray she-cat with a white underbelly and hazel eyes, mother of Tallfeather's kits: Comfreykit (a dilute tortoiseshell and white she-kit), Cloudkit (a white tom-kit with blue eyes, is deaf), and Heatherkit (a golden brown tabby tom-kit)

Branchpool – brown she-cat with black patches and amber eyes, mother of Tigerskip's kit: Twigkit (a mottled black and brown she-kit with amber eyes)

Cherrywhisker – ginger she-cat with blue eyes, expecting Streamstar's kits

Elders:

Tanglescar – gray tom with yellow eyes, he has a long scar running from the back of his neck to his hind leg, with twists and turns in the scar randomly

Pondheart – elderly white she-cat with kind blue eyes, has failing sight

Minnowstep – ginger tom with green eyes


Allegiances

ShadowClan

Leader: Birchstar – light brown tom with darker patches and stripes, his eyes are light yellow

Apprentice, Nightpaw (very dark gray and black tabby tom)

Deputy: Wrenear – mottled ginger she-cat with a brown ear

Apprentice, Chervilpaw (gray tom)

Medicine Cat: Honeycloud – white tom with golden spots and azure blue eyes

Warriors:

Violetwillow – ginger she-cat with darker spots and yellow eyes

Stripenose – black tabby tom with hazel eyes

Apprentice, Yellowpaw (sandy gingerish yellow tom)

Beemask – golden brown and black mottled tom with stormy gray eyes, his face is crisscrossed with battle scars, with one scratching over his eye

Creamtuft – tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Hollyflicker – black and gray she-cat with jade green eyes

Apprentice, Maypaw (ginger and brown she-cat)

Mallowsoul – cream tom with black dapples and lighter paws

Lynxstorm – dark gray she-cat with lighter flecks, one of her eyes has a white outline around it

Ivyfreckle – brown tom with lighter and white dapples, he has a long scar across his shoulder

Queens:

Browntail – dark brown she-cat, mother of Mallowsoul's kits: Oatkit (mottled brown and white she-kit), and Creekkit (dark gray and brown she-kit)

Turtleflower - tortoiseshell she-cat with twisted back legs, expecting Stripenose's kits

Elders:

Lightleap - tiny white tom with once handsome green eyes

Sagefall - tan furred she-cat with large white ear tips