Chapter 6
Moons neckfur rose and she stood up, hissing. Patchpaw stood up, too, but he stayed calm. Another yowl cut the silence. The birds had stopped singing. Even the wind didn't blow anymore. It rustled in the bracken. This time she understood the words of the high-pitched voice:
"My dreams have come true! They're dead! Both leaders died!"
It didn't sound scared or happy or sad. It sounded excited. As if a burden had been removed. Then the cat broke free. It was a pretty ginger she-cat. "Amberlight!" Patchpaw exclaimed, "What happened? What are you saying?" "Both leaders died." The cat replied, this time calmer, "Foxstar is dead." "What? Oh no!" Moon heard the sadness in his voice. "Who is Foxstar?" she asked. "He is- he was the leader of FoxClan." Patchpaw replied. "YOU!" Amberlight suddenly hissed, staring at Moon in dismay. "What?" Patchpaw replied with a frightened glance at the she-cat. But Amberlight didn't reply. She glanced at Moon in a scary, knowing way. Moon couldn't stare back. The intensive blue eyes of the older cat seemed to find a way into Moons mind, to read her memories. Suddenly Amberlight looked away. "Sorry." She said. "You look just like..." she didn't finish her sentence, then she vanished into a den.
The Bracken moved again. A huge group of cats came in. No cat without injuries. Many couldn't walk at all and had to be carried by their Clanmates. Some looked like they didn't breath anymore. Grief stood in all the cats faces. One she-cat rose her voice: "Foxstar, Softpelt, Peacockfeather and Waterowl died." When the last name was spoken, Patchpaw fell down. "Mother!" Fallenkit cried, running to her brothers side. "No! No no no no no!" Amberlight broke the following silence. "Your wounds need to be treated or there'll be much more dead cats before Sundown is here!" She ran over to a tom who was barely breathing. "Thornear!" she called, then turned to the others: "If you are healthy enough to walk, help me!" Then she spoke directly to Moon: "This counts for you, too!"
Some cats turned to Moon, who they hadn't noticed before. Others ignored her. Noone was hostile. The cats were too worn out and another pair of paws was just what they needed. While Amberlight ordered some other cats around, Moon tried to remember what she had lerned from her mother and what she had found out by herself. Then she nuged Patchpaw up. "I understand your grief. But there's time for this later! I'll need your help!" These words seemed to get him back into reality. "OK." He said.
Moon went over to a cream-coloured she-cat, Patchpaw folllowed her. "Treeleap." He whispered. A huge wound was bleeding on her side. "Cobweb." She said, "and Horsetail, in case of an infection. Goldenrod for the wound. Oh, and I need some soaked moss, to clean it. Maybe a poppy seed for the pain." She glanced at Patchpaw. "Go! Get me those herbs!" While he ran of to Amberlights den, she prodded Treeleap gently. "Treeleap!" she whispered. "Wake up!" Treeleaps eyes opened. "Where am I? In StarClan? This pain!" "No, you're not in StarClan." Moon replied. What was StarClan? "You're in FoxClan, as far as I know." "Who are you?" The she-cat asked. Patchpaw came back with the herbs. "We don't have any Horsetail." He meowed. "I am Moon." Moon said. "Listen, those herbs might hurt a little, but you'll feel better when I'm finished." Treeleap managed a nod. "Patchpaw, please make sure she doesn't move. I have to clean the wound." She took the moss and gently removed dirt and dried leaves from the wound. Treeleap yowled. "It hurts!", but Patchpaw held her down. "you're lucky." Moon meowed. "The wound isn't deep. It will heal." She chewed up the Goldenrod and put it onto the wound. Then she fixed it with the Cobweb. Treeleap sighed. She licked up the poppy seed anto drifted into sleep.
