Poppypaw opened her eyes, looking around dreamily, it was still dark, so dark she couldn't see the other apprentices, or feel them. Surely they couldn't be out already?

"Get up," mewed a voice in her ear, "It's late enough already, you can't just sleep in, you have duties."

Poppypaw recognised Leafpool's voice. Leafpool's? What was the medicine cat doing in her den, and how could it be late already? It was dark as a fox hole.

Sniffing the air cautiously, she smelt the bitter smell of herbs and heard a dripping of water; she was in the medicine cat den! But she wasn't ill, was she?

Frowning, she propped herself up.

"Don't scowl at me," mewed Leafpool, voice hard, "Come on. And you'd better do all your duties today, not just the ones you want to do."

Poppypaw shook her head, was she hearing right? She'd hunted, gone on a patrol and done the elders ticks yesterday, the latter which was not her duty to do.

"Jaypaw, move it!"
Jaypaw?! Poppypaw jumped up, she wasn't Jaypaw! She was about to point out what stupid an idea it was, when she realised, it was true, she didn't feel right, like her tail was too short and her fur was too thin, as if her leg muscles were small, but she could hear and smell and taste much better. But not see.

Understanding hit her – she had become the blind medicine cat apprentice! Surely she was dreaming? But Leafpool's voice, the warmth of the sun, her blindness, it was all too real!

"No!" she gasped.

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Jaypaw yawned, not bothering to open his eyes for a few heartbeats. A curious colour of orange washed over his eyelids – what was happening? All he ever saw was black! He couldn't think what had happened, unless he had woken up to a dream, but then, it didn't feel like a dream. He opened his eyes to see Hollypaw beside him, and Berrypaw sat a little way off, talking to Thornclaw, at the mouth of the bush. The bush – was he in the apprentices den again? But he was a medicine cat apprentice! He slept near the medicine cat.

Screwing up his face he thought, how come he could see and was in the apprentice den? Had his sight been cured? It must have! Jaypaw wanted to give out a yowl of joy, this was the only thing he had ever really wanted – and he had it! He could see his sister's pelt, and Berrypaw's kittypet markings. For the first time in the waking world, he looked down at his paws – and nearly fell over! They were tortoiseshell!

But, surely he was a black tabby? Wasn't that the reflection he'd seen just the night before?

He turned to his side, seeing more tortoiseshell pelt, and a white underbelly.

"Poppypaw!" called Thornclaw, flicking his tail in Jaypaw's direction, "come on, dawn patrol."

Jaypaw glanced around; Poppypaw wasn't in the den, so why was Thornclaw yowling at him?

Hollypaw blinked open her eyes, looking around, "Hey, Poppypaw," she mewed smiling at Jaypaw.

"Are you coming or not?" Thornclaw demanded.

Jaypaw realised they must be mistakening him for the tortoiseshell apprentice; surely they could scent it wasn't her?

He sniffed a paw, only to smell, not his scent, but Poppypaw's!

He frowned, then realisation struck – he was Poppypaw! Or rather, was in Poppypaw's body!

Jaypaw glanced up, seeing Berrypaw and Thornclaw were watching him intently, waiting for his answer, "Uhhh, sure, yeah, I just want to see Pop- I mean, Jaypaw first, I need to apologise for an argument we had yesterday," he explained.

Thornclaw nodded his approval, "It's good to know you don't bear a grudge Poppypaw."

Jaypaw nodded, then padded out into the main camp, looking around at the step-sided hollow with awe. Surely he couldn't have fallen down one of those walls and survived? But he had, and it was Spottedleaf who had helped him. He felt guilt prickle his pelt, but he shrugged it off and padded into the familiar medicine den.

He saw his body, occupied, he hoped, by Poppypaw, cleaning out the nests in the cave.

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Poppypaw looked up at the sound of approaching pawsteps, then remembered she couldn't see.

"Hello, Poppypaw," mewed Leafpool's warm voice, "what can I do for you?"

Poppypaw started at the sound of her name, then realised it must be Jaypaw in her body. With a long sniff she identified her scent.

"Hello Jay- err, Poppypaw," she mewed coldly, not forgetting how he'd spoken to her yesterday."

"Hello Jaypaw," came the reply from Jaypaw-in-her-body.

Poppypaw heard him turning, to Leafpool, perhaps. A check of her new mentor's position confirmed her guess.

"I just wanted to talk to Jaypaw about yesterday," mewed Jaypaw-in-Poppypaw's-body, "we fell out, I want to make up."

"Okay," mewed Leafpool, and Poppypaw felt the medicine cat's cold gaze on her black pelt, making her fur prickle. "And I hope Jaypaw wants to apologise too."

Poppypaw dipped her head, glowering at the ground; it wasn't fair that she was being made to take that furball's punishment, because he had been horrid to her.

She felt a pelt brush her own, familiar – hers!

"Look, I don't know what's happened," Jaypaw-in-her-body mewed, "but we'll find a way to switch back, okay?"

Poppypaw scowled, "It's all your fault, you rotten mousedung!"

She sensed Jaypaw-in-her-body tense, then relax again, probably biting back a sharp retort, "Look, I'm sorry!" he hissed.

Poppypaw nodded grudgingly, "I guess we'll have to play the part in the meantime," she commented dryly. She was not looking forward to it; she couldn't tell watermint from dock without seeing it.

Then she wondered how Jaypaw would cope, he didn't even know the territory, and he was on dawn patrol!

"Good luck with the patrol," she mewed, a little less icily.

"You too," he mewed, getting up and leaving.

"Come on then, Jaypaw," came Leafpool's mew, "time for you to clean out the elders."

Poppypaw rolled her eyes, but got up to do it, she'd give anything to be on dawn patrol now instead of doing this, she was starting to see what Jaypaw didn't like about it, but she was sure it could be quite fun at times, especially when speaking with Starclan. She wondered whether they'd be switched back before the half moon, she wasn't sure if it was possible to conceal your true identity from Starclan themselves.

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It felt so good to be patrolling through the forest with Berrypaw, Thornclaw and Brambleclaw – he felt free, and easily kept pace with the older cats, in Poppypaw's body he could run faster than he ever could without sight, he could see every tree in his way, and could swerve to avoid it easily with a lean, athletic and well-muscled body like Poppypaw's.

"We'll have a hunt when we get to the Sky Oak, then follow the Windclan border," ordered Brambleclaw, leading the way. Jaypaw's stomach twisted, how was he going to hunt, it took more than a skilful body to do that, he needed a well trained mind, something that he didn't have.

The sun was half way to its peak when the cats halted at the Sky Oak, the towering tree making Jaypaw gasp. It was enormous!

"Berrypaw," mewed Brambleclaw, motioning to his apprentice, "what can you smell?"

The apprentice drew a breath of air, opening his mouth to get a fuller scent, "Us, trees, Windclan and…mouse!"

Jaypaw cast around for the prey, but without his expert nose, he couldn't locate it. Berrypaw paused for a heartbeat, then pounced on a fallen leaf. But it wasn't a leaf at all!

Berrypaw grinned smugly and settled down to eat it.

"Very good," Brambleclaw complimented, and Jaypaw felt a sting of envy, his father had never complimented him.

"Your go, Poppypaw," mewed Thornclaw, flicking his tail at Jaypaw. He scented the air, but he couldn't smell a thing! All the scents were so weak and so jumbled, how did cats cope with scenting this watered down take of the smells around them?

He concentrated hard, and after a long while mewed, "Thrush, in the first branch of the tree, and a vole, I think, in that grass."

He pointed a paw towards the clump of grass that the scent was coming from.

Thornclaw nodded, "I'd try for the vole if I were you," he mewed.

Jaypaw dropped into a clumsy crouch; even with the right body he didn't know which muscles to tense and which to relax.

"Get your rear down!" hissed Thornclaw, pressing Jaypaw's back down with a paw, "You've been an apprentice for long enough to hunt properly, or have you learnt nothing from me?"

Jaypaw was about to retort that he hadn't, when he remembered Poppypaw had, and he was Poppypaw until they switched back.

Frowning he lowered his rear and dragged himself forwards, paws light on the ground.

Just as he got near, the grass rustled, and out shot the vole – it had heard him. He let out a hiss of annoyance and swiped at it with a paw, not expecting to land a blow. Luckily, he caught it by its tail, and had a chance to place the other paw on its back, hearing the snap of its spine.

Thanking Starclan, Jaypaw picked it up, looking at Thornclaw.

"That was more luck than skill," the warrior hissed, "but at least you caught it."

Again Jaypaw felt envy, why was he always the worst at everything? Even with sight he was totally useless, why did he even bother?

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