DISCLAIMERS: I DON'T OWN WARRIORS. ERIN HUNTER DOES I JUST OWN THIS STORY, ITS IDEAS, AND CHARCTERS.

Chapter 7:

Thunderpaw

It's been four sunrises since Darkpaw's 'incident' and he was back on regular duties and refused to talk about what happened. Koga left to go back to his home and life's gone back to normal. I'm so glad, now I can do regular medicine cat apprentice duties. Since I can remember I've played with leaves and others plants, now I can help my clan by doing what I enjoy. I've been so excited, jittery, and nervous since my apprentice ceremony.

I woke up early in the morning, it was barely dawn. 'Woke up' isn't the appropriate term. I never actually slept. When I went to the medicine den after searching for herbs last night, I tossed and turned in my nest the entire night thinking about the test Dappleleaf was going to give me in the morning. She said I needed to know my herbs better and was going to see what I remembered in the morning. 'What ifs' where filling my head from Sunrise to Sundown yesterday. Finally, my prayers were answered and it was morning.

I got up and stretched my forepaws in front of me and yawned. I walked out of the den and strained to get the first few yellow streaks of the beginning Sunrise, trying desperately to warm my thick fur with the sun. Mom says I get it from my father since her is sleek and glossy.

"Yawnnn! Good morning Thunderpaw," Dappleleaf greeted stretching beside me. "Don't you think it's a bit early for training?"

"I know, but I haven't slept a wink all night! I mean the earlier the better, right? Ha, ha, ha," I sheepishly purred, trying not to embarrass myself.

"Oh all right, let's go take your test, but give me a second to wake up. Have you had any fresh kill yet?" She calmly meowed with a smile small.

"I'm not hungry," I explained simply.

Not long later a sleep worn Dappleleaf emerged from the den holding a bunch of herbs separating them into piles. "Let's start with something basic... like mouse bile." She picked up a ball of moss the smelled wretched being careful not to touch it with her tongue. "What is it for?"

"It kills fleas and ticks. It tastes as awful as it smells, so you shouldn't lick your paws after using it. Wash them in a stream or River afterwards." I stated confidently.

"Good, completely correct," She said putting the mouse bile away.

Then she grabbed a brown, thick, strong smelling root and called, "This is Burdock root. What's it for?"

"Fever?" I whispered with my ears down, pretty sure that was wrong.

"No, it helps rat bites. Use this if they are infected. We have to pull them out of the ground so wash it before storing, so no one eats dirt." Dappleleaf patiently explained. Now she picked up a small, pretty, white flower that smelt sweet. "This is a Poppy," She shook it until a few seeds fell down, "and these are Poppy seeds."

"They help ease pain, but best not to be used too often otherwise we can't tell how close the wound is to healing." I careful retorted what I memorized last night.

"Yes, but it also helps cats fall asleep who have emotional pain or just are in a lot of pain." She put the seeds on a leaf and returned the herbs we already discussed in the den. She pointed to some slender green leaves in a pile, "This is Marigold leaves."

"…"I stayed silent.

Dappleleaf smiled and answered for me, "It helps scratches, bites, and infections. You chew it into a poultice, rub it on your paws and spread it on the wound or drip the juice on it. This is cobwebs; it isn't an herb but just as important. What is it used for?"

"You push cobwebs on deep or shallow wound to stop it from bleeding. It needs a lot of pressure." I said with enthusiasm.

"Good job, now these are Borage leaves," She pointed to a pile of fuzzy dark green leaves with her tail. "What are they for?"

"They help stop fevers?" I questioned.

"Yes, these are the ones for fevers," She joked. "Now these are Yarrow." I looked at the tangy smelling, green jagged leaves.

"I know these! Yarrow is horrible tasting, very bitter, but it works very well. It make cats through up; you use it when they are choking or eaten something with poison." I excitedly answered. I remembered it from when my mom used it in the Twoleg place to make Darkpaw throw up the Twoleg trash he ate.

Dappleleaf blinked twice from my excitement then started laughing. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, huuh, haa. OK you got that right. Now this is water mint," She said pointing to a tear drop shaped leaf.

My excitement went down and so did my ears. "Err, um, to help pads?" I sheepishly said.

"No, it helps with fevers and coughs." Dappleleaf moved the water mint aside and pushed a pile of delicious smelling, spring green leaves forward. "This is purrfect catmint."

"I know this one too: it helps with White cough and the dreaded Green cough." I seriously said. Green cough was the number one disease that killed cats.

"Yes, we have to be careful; Leafbare will be here soon so we need to collect lots of catmint." Dappleleaf calmly said dread in her voice. "I think that's enough for today. She went inside the den to put away the rest of the herbs. Then came back out and sweetly said, "Don't worry you will know all of them soon, besides no one expects you to be an expert yet."

With that Dappleleaf gave a kind grin, and swept her ginger bangs out of her face using her right front paw, letting the morning sun golden ray's dance upon them. Lighting them up like a mystical fire. Her sweet deep blue eyes glistened like ice and looked down on me, but in soft smiling way. "Don't worry, you're doing just fine, and I'm your friend. Don't act like I will judge you! I'll make sure you do just fine. Starclan chose you for a reason, after all. Thunder will echo after lightning after all!" She purred referring to us. She stood up and licked me behind my ears. I let out a breath, stood up, closed my eyes, and relaxed. I was letting my worry evaporate in the morning sun. I listened to everything around me. It was calm peaceful, really. I gave a small sigh, allowing all of my troubles to drift away.

All of a sudden something happened. The peace and silence was broken, and a jumbled mass of meows, hisses, low growls, and shrieks filled my ears. I made out one distant yowl yelling to me, "Fire and Ice will rain down and bring destruction to all!" Then suddenly the voices were gone, just like that. Images began to fill my head, and I was rapidly flashing through them. Fire was surrounding me, trees sizzling and cats running for their lives. I heard Dappleleaf scream in agony. I joined them and suddenly I was deep in snow. It was a blizzard. The wind and snow pushed me back into the Driken River. I heard Riverstorm yowling in the water.

It all disappeared and I was in camp with dead cats all around me. An orange tom with black stripes and amber eyes with his claws unsheathed was on top of High Rock looking down on me. He was soaked in my clan mate's blood. Their bodies covered in his scent. A blazing fire suddenly appeared behind him and a cruel laughter filled the air. The image flashed away. A new image appeared it was a young white she-cat, covered in patches of black with her paws covered in blood; she was surrounded by unfamiliar cats. A raging blizzard appeared behind her. She suddenly turned and looked straight at me with cruel blue eyes and lunged claws out and attacked me. In a flash, she too was gone. Everything turned black…it was awful…

AUTHORS NOTE: SORRY I HAD THIS CHAPTER DONE FOR A WHILE NOW I JUST FORGOT TO POST IT. I'M ALMOST DONE WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER SO COMING SOON. PLEASE REVIEW =3