Chapter Five
The songs of birds gave Asterpaw a pleasant awakening the day after their battle training. She opened her eyes to see the sky outside of the den bright already. Over her shoulder, she saw Duskpaw was still asleep as well, snoring a bit. Asterpaw was happy she was at least taking her punishment easy. She pushed Redpaw away from her and sat up, blinking. It was late in the morning, yet no one had come to take them hunting or on a patrol. They must have the day off. As much as she hated to spoil it by waking up, she might as well. She nudged Redpaw until she woke up.
".. No training today huh?" she asked, squinting her eyes and sitting up.
"Guess not." Asterpaw replied between licks across her chest. Redpaw let her head drop to the soft moss-covered floor of the den again.
"Then why aren't we hibernating?" she grumbled, half audible with her muzzle buried in the moss.
"Come on, there are always chores to be done, and we're missing half us apprentices until tonight. Besides, if we finish up quick we have all day to play with Creekkit, Amberkit, Ravenkit, and Stonekit." she meowed in a tantalizing mew. Redpaw jumped to her feet.
"Well, if we have to..." she grumbled, but the purr under her voice showed she really didn't mind. Asterpaw matched her tone and finished grooming her fur. She waited patiently for her sister to do the same, sitting near the den entrance.
The den feels so empty without Gullypaw, Gorgepaw, and Flamepaw. Asterpaw thought, her mind wandering. This must have been what it was like when the Clan was smaller-not that it could get much smaller than this. Of course she, personally, couldn't remember a time when the apprentices' den was less full. But she'd heard the elders plenty of times talk about their times in the den, when it was just Sweetflower and her mate, Iceclaw, or just Dalefeather and his sister.
"Alright! What ought we have to do?" Redpaw queried.
"Maybe Strathfang needs some help. I mean, Rivertail is busy.. you know." Asterpaw responded, unwilling to mention the sick queen.
"Sounds good to me." Redpaw meowed, brushing past her sister to step out of the den. Asterpaw followed her out and they crossed the camp together towards the medicine den. Pressing past the thick fronds of bracken, the two entered the den.
Inside, Strathfang sat in the middle of a ring of assorted herbs. At the time, his back was turned to them, sorting through some of the stacks. Redpaw made a soft mrr in her throat to alert him of their presence. The tom jumped and looked back over his shoulder, twisting half around to get a good look.
"Oh- er, hello, Redpaw. Asterpaw. Is one of you sick?" the tom seemed anxious, but kept his voice as calm as ever. They quickly shook their heads.
"We have no training or apprentices' duties today, so we wanted to know if you could use some help." Redpaw explained, letting the black cat relax.
"Well, that's a relief. I've had just about enough of sick cats. Rabbitleap was just in here with a bellyache. Let me think.." the black tom glanced around at his herbs.
"I do need feverfew and barrenwort. Here." he picked up two stems from different piles. "These. And if you have time after that, I'd love some extra moss and hazelnuts." Asterpaw took the stem with white flowers and Redpaw took the one with long green leaves.
"We can do all of that." Redpaw mewed confidently around the plant.
"Thank you both, very much." Strathfang purred. Both apprentices dipped their heads and turned around, exiting the den. They made it almost out of the camp before they were stopped by a choir of high-pitched voices.
"Asterpaw! Asterpaw! Redpaw! Redpaw!" with wide-eyed glances at one another, they looked over their shoulders. Four familiar kits were barreling towards them, and before they could react they were off of their own paws and trampled by sixteen of someone else's'.
"Stonekit! Amb-!" Redpaw gasped out. Her voice was strained from the air being knocked out of her, but her tone was still good-natured. Asterpaw snorted, and with her free rear leg, kicked the tabby kit off of her sister lightly. Redpaw gasped, then pushed Stonekit off of her. Asterpaw rolled away from Creakkit and Ravenkit, ignoring their groans of protest.
"C'mon, play with us! We're soooo bored!" Amberkit moaned. The sisters exchanged a look before Aspenstripe brushed out of the elders' den.
"Kits! Your mother didn't say you could leave the den!" she yowled, lashing her tail. The kits' ears laid flat and their tails drooped.
"Aaaaaaaw!" the black tom wailed. "But we were gonna help Asterpaw and Redpaw- er-collect herbs in the forest!"
Asterpaw was impressed. Sure, a cat had only to look at the apprentices to know they were off to gather herbs, but a kit was entirely different. She knew that herself just a few moons ago, had barely known the difference between Valestorm and Sweetflower. Aspenstripe seemed to recognize this, too, and stared with slitted eyes between the four kits.
"Redpaw, Asterpaw, do you really want four rawdy kits treading on your tail while you attend to your duties?" the elder asked, a dull edge in her mew. Redpaw nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course! You must not know these four like I do! They can be very helpful, if you put them to good use." she purred. Asterpaw had to focus hard to stop her whiskers from twitching at the thought.
Aspenstripe didn't refrain from purring loudly. "Well if you're willing to make up a lie that big, I guess you really want them around. Fine, you can take them along. But stay near camp, and if anything seems wrong, come straight back. I'd hate if anything happened to my kin."
The elder gave each kit a lick on the forehead and returned to her den, grumbling softly about kits these days and the like. Creekkit bounced on his paws and ran circles around the apprentices.
"Let's go!" he squeaked. "I want to see the whole territory!" he crowed. Redpaw started towards the camp entrance, stepping carefully around the energetic ginger kit.
"Your ears work, don't they? We have to stay by the camp." she ducked her head to recover the barrenwort that had been knocked from her jaws when the kits attacked.
"Besides," Asterpaw added, doing the same to retrieve the feverfew. "there are too many things that could come and swallow a kit like you up, even in our territory."
Redpaw shot her an angry look and a shutter of fear passed from one kit to the other. She shrugged innocently, passing her up at a light jog and exiting the camp ahead of the other five cats. Ravenkit stuck close behind her, but she had no idea why. All three of his brothers liked Redpaw better, and for good reason.
"What's that?" Amberkit asked when he and the other cats caught up, flicking his tail at the stem in her mouth.
"It's an herb- of course. But I'm not sure which. I belive this one's feverfew." talking around the plant had become somewhat easier. Although she imagined her face looked a little funny, talking out of the corner of her mouth.
"I'm sure that one's feverfew." Redpaw chipped in, coming up beside her sister. "I remember Rivertail used that on Dalefeather when he had a fever. We had to keep away from the elders' den the whole time, so that we never caught it."
Asterpaw tilted her head, but straightened it out a second later. She didn't want the kits to think she was inferior to Redpaw. As strange as it was to think, one of them may be her apprentice one day. After all, once a cat was apprenticed, it took roughly four moons to become a warrior, and their litter had come just a moon before Redpaw and Asterpaw had had their apprentice ceremonies. It's not like there would be many other cats to chose from, either.
"What herb are you carrying?" Amberkit asked her sister.
"Barrenwort." she replied curtly. The small tom nodded, looking around with wide eyes. The little patrol stopped a few paces outside of the camp.
"I bet plenty of this stuff grows by the stream." Redpaw commented. Asterpaw looked down at the kits with worry. Redpaw noticed easily. "You guys can handle that, can't you?"
Four small, furry heads nodded vigorously, but Asterpaw still was not convinced.
"You know Flamepaw's sisters drowned in the stream when they were kits." she whispered to Redpaw, hoping her voice was low enough they couldn't hear.
"They'll stay away from the water and gather moss while we gather the herbs, and then we can return to camp. They don't need to get near the stream, so you've nothing to worry about. Besides, we'll be with them the whole time, and it's not even deep enough that we would have to swim during this season." Redpaw reassured her.
"To the stream!" Creekkit called. Asterpaw caught his tail in her claws before he could bolt ahead.
"Stay close to us, furball." she scolded. The tiny tom acted very hurt, either by her distrust or the pricks of her claws, but obeyed, sticking pointedly to Redpaw's side of the path.
On the short way to the stream, Asterpaw went over the event of the kits' drowning in her had found out about it a moon after it had happened, listening to a few warriors talk about it at Flamepaw's apprentice ceremony. The warriors had told them never to mention it again, especially not to the ginger tom, who they said had forgotten it. Asterpaw thought they must be lying, or didn't know any better, because she had been woken more than once by the older apprentice crying faintly in his nest, and moving his paws like he was running, and calling out names. She could never hear the names clearly, but they were something along the lines of Nettlekit and something that began with an S sound.
"Here it is." Redpaw meowed confidently, stopping before the shimmery, slithering body of water. The trees fell back a fox-length, letting the sun shine through. This was the shallowest part of the stream, where some of the pebbly bottom breached the surface during the warm seasons. The kits stood in awe of it for a moment. It didn't last long, when Creekkit took a flying leap towards it. Redpaw was luckily quick to act, and caught him by the scruff a wingbeat after he had moved.
"Don't go looking for trouble." she hissed through clenched teeth, setting him down beside Ravenkit. Asterpaw shot her a seething look but Redpaw shrugged it off.
"Only pick out the softest, freshest moss, alright, kits?" she meowed. Asterpaw stared sharply at them, looking over her shoulder for a heartbeat. The tom kits headed back over the rise, their noses near the ground. She sighed and followed her sister. She felt her chest bump lightly against another cat and turned her head back to the front, realizing Redpaw had stopped short of the stream. A thick patch of the leafy barrenwort lay right beside the water's edge.
"What did I tell you?" the ginger she-cat purred. Asterpaw rolled her eyes.
"Well, pick your herbs, oh mighty warrior, and I'll look for my feverfew elsewhere." she said sarcastically. She turned abruptly on her toes and walked downstream. She didn't care to see her sister's reaction. Here, the trees crept back towards the running water, and provided plenty of chilly shade for the young cat. She shivered as she slipped and landed a paw in the chilly stream. Stepping back out, she drew all the scents of the waterside in with a deep breathe. Barely detectable under the smells of the trees and water, she recognized the same plant around that was in her maw.
She dropped the stem by the water and sought out the living plant. She stepped a few pawsteps one way, sifting through the many tantalizing prey scents and finding again, the soft tang of the feverfew. She nudged her way past a group of thorn saplings and found the poorly flowering herb in the shade of a birch. With a hop in her step, now, she plucked several stems until her mouth was full of the stuff and walked back towards her companions.
Redpaw was nowhere to be seen, but Asterpaw heard her easily enough up the rise, instructing the kits about the wonderful qualities of moss. She huffed in amusement, jogging up the rise and being greeted by the sight of her kin and the kits all safe and dry.
"Nice! Do you think we have enough, yet, kits?" Redpaw purred. Mounds of moss were scattered about on the forest floor. The four of them nodded, proud. "Then let's get started taking it back to campl"
The kits clawed bits off of the heaps into manageable clumps. As they did, Redpaw scooped the barrenwort back up in her teeth. The brothers stood up straight, their own maws full of moss. Asterpaw gave them all an expectant look, and they returned it. Without a word, she led them back towards the camp. Pushing through the heather tunnel, she was greeted by Thunderstar's second daughter, Greenpath. She stopped pacing by the nursery and padded over. Asterpaw had never really talked to her before-she was usually attending to her warrior duties or spending time with Covetail. Now, though, she stood kneading the ground apprehensively.
"Are those herbs for Longwhisker? Rivertail said she'd tell me if she needed herbs-"
"We were just helping Strathfang out." Redpaw interjected evenly. Greenpath sighed.
"Well I'll follow you, I want to ask him something." Asterpaw shrugged and walked across the camp to the medicine den. Greenpath was wreathed in the stench of fear, and just the scent of it made Asterpaw ill at ease.
"That didn't take long." the black tom said in surprise. The herbs were no longer laying all about the den floor, and were tucked back away in neat stacks in the back corner. "You did get the rights herbs this time, I hope?" he jibed playfully.
"I've learned from my experiences." Redpaw said, flicking her ear dismissively. She sat the bundle of barrenwort at the medicine cat's paws.
"Nicely done." he commented sincerely. Asterpaw set her own batch beside her sister's. "You, too, Asterpaw-and I see you recruited some help?" his whiskers twitched, the four miniature toms stacking their balls of moss together. "Thank you very much, kits."
The litter of toms looked pleased with themselves and dipped their heads in a most exaggerated way.
"Thank you, Strathfang." Ravenkit squeaked. The little black tom's chest seemed even more puffed up than his brothers'. Maybe he'll be a medicine cat when he's old enough. Asterpaw ventured.
"Greenpath? Is there something you need?" Strathfang finally addressed the antsy warrior. The she-cat looked a bit relieved, now.
"May I speak to you alone?" she asked politely, slipping past the younger cats to stand in front of the medicine cat. He dipped his head.
"Alright, you young ones can go have fun, now." the kits immediately dashed out of the den, starting some game or another. Redpaw and Asterpaw followed more slowly, their tails curled over their backs amusedly. The latter slowed to a stop just outside of the den, a sly idea coming to mind. She stepped into the small space between the elders' and the medicine cats' den. Tall, soft grass sprung up in the shade of the two dens. As she settled onto the stalks, they flattened easily under her weight. Redpaw glanced back at her.
"Tired? Or.. snooping?" she whispered the last word, smirking at her sister. Asterpaw flattned her ears, flustered.
"It looked like a good spot for a nap, and I was right." she defended herself, looking away. She knew she was doing a poor job of hiding her intentions, and with Redpaw she didn't mind.
"Well, when you're done scouting out hidden spots to hide from training, you can come join me playing with Brindleflame's kits." Redpaw replied, and rejoined the ktis in the main clearing. From where Asterpaw was stretched out, she could still see the five of them, tossing a bit of moss across the clearing to one another. While she watched, she strained her ears to hear inside of the den.
"... be fine. Worrying won't do you any good. What will is getting enough rest, eating enough fresh-kill, and telling Covetail the good news. Do you hear me?" an audible sigh came from the she-cat.
"If you're really sure, then yes. Thank you, Strathfang." she replied.
"And I want you in the nursery no later than missing-moon." Greenpath must have nodded, because Asterpaw had little warning when she brushed through the den entrance a moment later. She flattened herself so that she wasn't visible past the tall grass and waited for the warrior to exit the camp to step out of her hiding spot. Greenpath was going to have kits! She couldn't imagine the warriors and elders were right when they whispered in tones they thought no cat could hear; speculating that the Clan would fall out in a matter of seasons. All of the new kits had to be a sign. Maybe Thunderstar had to leave to the Star cave to receive it. Perhaps even a new prophecy.
"Catch!" Asterpaw jumped, feeling a faint touch against her side. Stonekit had hurled the moss ball at her. She growled, hooking the moss with her claw and tossing it just over the gray kit's head. As he leaped into the air to catch it, Redpaw loped over.
"Hear anything of interest?" she asked, keeping an eye on the kits as they followed the moss to the far end of the camp. Asterpaw tried not to blurt out what she'd learned, but it was of no use.
"Greenpath is going to have Covetail's kits." she said under her breath. Redpaw's ears laid back.
"You didn't know that?" she meowed flatly.
"You did?" Asterpaw replied in surprise.
"I mean, I didn't know know, but it was obvious it was gonna happen soon." she explained. Asterpaw wrinkled her nose at her blatant tone.
"Well I'm excited." she muttered.
"Asterpaw, don't be like that." Redpaw swiped her sister's ears gently. "I didn't know, mole-brain. I guess I'm pretty convincing, though."
Asterpaw flicked her side with her tail in return. "You're a liar." she corrected.
"Whatever you call it, I'm better at it than you." Redpaw purred arrogantly.
"Well you're not better at moss ball." Asterpaw growled. Just as the bit of moss was hurled their way, she dashed forward and caught it in her teeth. She dodged away from Redpaw, satisfaction making her more determined as her sister slipped onto her side. She threw it towards Ravenkit. They continued their game until the sun started to go down. Then, the chill in the air drove them into the elders' den. They listened to the elders' stories until the apprentices were driven back to their den. The pair speculated if Duskpaw had even left the den, seeing her curled up the same way she had been when they'd left, but said nothing out loud about it. Redpaw yawned, and on that cue they curled up and fell asleep not long after.
Asterpaw didn't remember having any dreams that night, but she recalled hearing a terrible screech, and imagined several cats scrambling around outside of the den.
