Chapter Two

Dark groaned softly as they neared the camp. Fawnpaw, still concerned for the small she-cat's leg, nosed her way into a bushel of young ferns. Sunhigh was in full swing and the sun beat down on the earth. Being as gentle as she could, Fawnpaw pulled Dark off of her back, and layed her down beneath the ferns. Shadow pushed aside a feather-like frond and sat by his sister.

"I thought you were taking us to your Clan, why are we here?" There was an edge to his voice. Fawnpaw nipped off a piece of the fern and rolled it into a mass. This'll make a nice support for her head. Fawnpaw thought.

"Here you go Dark. This will keep your head nicely supported. Now, I am going to bring the herbs to you instead of bringing you in the camp. Shadow, I suppose if that leg begins to bleed, just wrap a fern leaf around it." Shadow huffed, and stroaked his sister's black head with his tail with gentle affection. Fawnpaw left the fern clump and made her way through the thorn tunnel.

"Fawnpaw! Where in the name of StarClan have you been!?" She turned to see Oceanflight stomping towards her. His eyes flashed with worry and frustration.

"Oh, I must've walked to far by the river. So I just decided to come back here. Did I worry you?" The yellow tom flicked her ears with his tail.

"Of course you worried me! I was just about to tell Hawkstar I lost you while on a border patrol." Fawnpaw hung her head and shifted her paws with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry Oceanflight. I won't do it again."

"You bet your whiskers! For that, you will be on tick duty for two sunrises. Now off with you." He flicked her nose with his tail, then padded over to the dirt place tunnel. Despite Oceanflight's scolding, Fawnpaw remained focused on her mission. Her eyes searched the clearing for Ripplepaw. After a moment, she found her munching on a blackbird over by the medicine den.

"Hey Fawnpaw! After I eat, do you want to play a quick game of mossball? Fadingwhisper has me on kit duty, but I don't think Lightningkit is bothered by his cough." She said pointing her tail at a brown queen. Deerleap was fast asleep in a patch of sunlight while Lightningkit pounced on her tail.

"Erm, we can play later. I have to go back into the forest for a vole I buried earlier." Her voice quivered as the lie slid out."So, I have a hypothetical question for you." Ripplepaw squinted her eyes.

"Hypothetical question? Okay, go on." She said wearily. Fawnpaw sucked in a deep breath before continuing.

"If I were to, I don't know, mangle up my leg really badly, what would I use to heal it?" The gray apprentice seemed dumbfounded by her friend's odd question.

"Well, seeing as it would put you in quite a bit of pain, you'd probably want a poppyseed to ease the pain. And if it was bleeding, you would need cobwebs." She paused and added onto her list of supplies."With that much flesh exposed, you would certainly be susceptible to infection." Fawnpaw could easily see that her friend was pleased with her knowledge of herbs. Fadingwhisper must be a good mentor to her. If I were actually hurt, I'd want Ripplepaw to help me.

"What would I use to ward off infection?" Fawnpaw inquired.

"Horsetail works well for infections. Don't mind me asking, but why do you want to know? Is someone hurt?" She asked, jumping up in preparation for helping an injured cat.

"No cat is hurt. I'm just curious. You never know when something may go wrong. If it's alright with you, can you bring me those herbs so I can see what they look like?"

"Sure. Just wait right here." Ripplepaw turned and vanished into the honeysuckle covered den. She returned carrying a wad of cobwebs in her mouth."Here you go." She mumbled, spatting the furry wad out. Fawnpaw smoothed out the bundle with a nimble paw, and examined each and every herb. The single poppyseed was easy to distinguish due to its round shape. The rest simply looked like plants that would grow in the forest. Fawnpaw opened her mouth to speak, but a thought nagged at her like a thorn in her pelt. How am I going to get these to Dark without causing an uproar?" To her relief, Fadingwhisper called loudly from inside the den.

"Well, I've got to go. You can keep those herbs if you'd like. We have plenty." The sound of pawsteps faded as Ripplepaw once again disappeared into the den. No hesitation was given as Fawnpaw rolled the herbs into a tidy ball and gripped them in her mouth. She had nearly exited the camp without being noticed when Sagepaw appeared from behind a beech sapling. A huge squirrel dangled limply from his jaws.

"And where do you think you're going? And why with a bundle of cobwebs?" His voice was muffled by the piece of prey.

"Ripplepaw asked me to dispose of these. They were, uh, soaked with water." Fawnpaw hated lying to her friends. The white tom only shrugged and brushed his way into the camp."Phew!" She sighed. A chilled gust of wind plastered her black fur to her body. Krestelflight and Lichenspark has been complaining of the cold winds that leaf-care brought just the day before. Fawnpaw knee just as well as the next cat that it would just get colder from there. Her nose suddenly twitched as she picked up the scent of Dark and Shadow.

"Shadow, I'm back." She called out. From the ferns, a black head popped out with worried eyes.

"She, she tried to stand up, and her leg started to bleed again. I tried to do what you said, but it just kept coming!" His voice was panicked and Fawnpaw could feel the tension. Dark was sprawled out on the ground, barely breathing. Her leg was covered in fresh blood and matted fur. Next to her, a bloody fern frond lay crumbled.

"Oh StarClan." Fawnpaw murmured beneath her breath. She dropped the bundle and quickly set off to work. She took another frond of fern and began to wipe away the blood, exposing raw flesh. Bile rose in her throat, but she swallowed, forcing it back down. Pressing her soft paw pad down onto the poppyseed, she made Dark eat it.

"Here, eat this. It will ease the pain." For a bit, at least. She kept that to herself. Dark groggily lapped up the puny seed and cracked it between her teeth. Fawnpaw stopped what she was doing and began to panic. What am I supposed to do now! Her paws had not been trained to be a medicine cat, therefore she knew not what to do in a situation such as this. Her breath quickened by the second. Close by, Shadow cursed wildly. Suddenly,Fawnpaw could sense the presence of another cat. She gazed over her shoulder and saw an old, skinny tabby. His aged brown fur seemed to shimmer like the stars.

"Take the horsetail, and chew it into a poultice." His voice was rough. Almost as if her paws were under another cat's control, she licked up one of the herbs and began to chew. The sticky goop was bitter and she grimaced at the texture."Now, spit it onto your paw and gently massage it into her leg. Once you have done that, wrap her leg in the cobwebs." For a heartbeat, Fawnpaw could do nothing but stare into his warm, amber eyes. Once the cobwebs had been applied and securely wrapped, Fawnpaw glanced back to give her thanks to the tom. To her surprise, he had vanished. Well that was odd. She thought to herself.

"There, she should recover now. Be sure to feed her and giver her water." Shadow gave her a look of thanks.

"Will you be returning to your Clan now?" Fawnpaw nodded her head slowly.

"Yes. But I will come back and visit you. If you need to hunt, go by the huge pine tree next to the old badger set. Our patrols won't find you there."

"Don't expect us to stay here forever. We leave as soon as her leg heals." Both cats said their goodbyes and Fawnpaw padded into the camp.

Hey guys! I hope you're enjoying this book so far. I have a ton of fun writing it in my spare time.