AN: For simplicity's sake, I'm going to use the words night, day, sleep, thirst, hunger etc. freely, but you guys know what they really mean. There is no real night or day, but the cats can still feel the time that would be night/day. They can't feel hunger or thirst but they can feel almost-thirst and almost-hunger. They can't sleep, but they can do the next closest thing. I'm tired of typing slow-state and almost-hunger and things. xD

Swiftflower, I find it amusing that we both thought of the same idea, or close to it– you'll see. ;)

C h a p t e r 8

They entered the forest once more, and Tigerstar couldn't help but relax at the familiar scents. There were no prey scents, true, or cat scents, but the smell of the earth and leaves always made him feel a bit better.

It almost seemed to unnerve Splash, however; she returned to her odd quietness, and Tigerstar noticed she glanced around nervously often. It made sense; if what Tigerstar suspected was true, that there were few trees where she had lived before, and so being in a large forest must be unsettling for her, especially after her boulder playground.

Her mutterings in her sleep were more pronounced now, and it appeared that she found it difficult to stay in the sleep state for very long, sometimes "waking up" crying out for her mother. At this, Tigerstar felt a stirring of pity; he could not count the number of times he had cried out for his father, who had left the Clan when he was only a kit, for his two sisters, who had died before even opening their eyes, and later to his mother who died as well. He knew how it felt to lose someone close to you, although Splash was actually the one who had been lost.

He nudged her with one paw, and Splash blinked awake.

"I-I'm sorry," she whimpered, clearly thinking she was going to be punished. "I shouldn't have been so loud, I'm sorry, I didn't know I was saying things out loud…."

"It's fine," Tigerstar said, and sat down beside her. "What sort of stories did your mother tell you?"

"S-stories about my father, stuff about the other four Clans, old things like how cats got their claws and stuff," Splash said, blinking up at him nervously, clearly a little taken aback.

"I see," Tigerstar mused. "Did she ever tell you why Clans only have one medicine cat, not everyone?"

Splash shook her head, and Tigerstar smiled, although it didn't quite reach his amber eyes.

"I'll tell you," he said smoothly.

"When the Clans were first created, the leaders didn't quite know what to do. StarClan had told Thunderstar, Shadowstar, Windstar, and Riverstar (Skystar too, I suppose) that only one cat was to be their medicine cat for each Clan. The leaders did not think this was right, however.

"'Why should only one cat get that kind of power?' old Windstar snapped. 'That's not fair to the rest of our warriors!'" The other leaders agreed with him, except for wise Thunderstar (for SkyClan's stories, I assume it is Skystar who would not agree). But he said nothing and simply shook his head and allowed the other Clans to do as they wished.

"Windstar, Riverstar, Shadowstar, and Skystar all told their warriors that all warriors were equal, and that everyone could be a medicine cat if they wanted to. Soon every warrior knew all about herbs and the like. Soon the time came when trouble descended upon the forest. Each Clan took all of their cats to the Moonstone, and all of the warriors crowded into the little cavern. There was barely enough room to move! Cats were piled up on top of each other, all struggling to get to the Moonstone, some biting and clawing the others. Only a few had dreams, and since most of them were not true medicine cats, their dreams were lies. The warriors all told their leaders their dreams, and the leaders were very confused; every dream was different! The leaders tried to understand each dream but could not, and made many very wrong decisions."

Splash giggled. "Those other leaders are silly," she said, and giggled again at the very idea of ten or more cats piled up on top of each other, struggling towards a puny rock. Tigerstar nodded, and contined.

"Wise Thunderstar only smiled and took his one medicine cat to the Moonstone, where StarClan spoke to them both in peace. ThunderClan prospered.

"The Clans were all in terrible disarray. Every time someone was injured, fifty cats would be there struggling to help him or her, with all sorts of crazy remedies that did more harm that good, like standing out under a full moon dripping wet, or licking a certain type of bark and then eating a pound of scratchy leaves. The Clans were very troubled, but the leaders stood strong.

"'It isn't fair to the warriors,' old Windstar said again, but he looked very uncertain, as did the other leaders.

"Wise Thunderstar only smiled and watched as his one medicine cat tended neatly to every wound, snagged claw, cracked pad, and disease in the camp. ThunderClan prospered.

"And then, come newleaf, the other Clans realized a different problem. Since every warrior was a medicine cat…no one could have kits! The nurseries were barren and empty and even lovebirds had to be kept apart. This inspired much wailing in camp, as would-be mates attempted to tell their leader they wanted kits, only to be turned down. Much love-sickness insured, and the number of new apprentices simply dried up. Such scandals among the Clan! No one had seen anything like it, twenty female medicine cats in the nursery!

"Wise Thunderstar simply smiled and watched as his nursery filled up, while his one medicine cat upheld her vow with dignity. ThunderClan prospered.

"With so many females in the nursery now, at least the Moonstone was less crowded. The females were happy with their place in the nursery, and so gradually the leaders realized that maybe their idea of equality wasn't quite right. Windstar was the last to come around, but once he did, he realized his mistake and gave in. From that day forward, the Clans all agreed that there would be only one medicine cat at a time (plus the medicine cat apprentice) unless the medicine cat was very old and the Clan needed another to aid her.

"Wise Thunderstar nodded slowly, and watched the medicine cats in other Clans adapt to their duties, and the four – no, five I suppose – Clans prospered."

Tigerstar finished his story and looked down at Splash expectantly, but the little kit was already asleep. Tigerstar yawned and moved away from her, curling up near an old tree stump before he too fell asleep.