Chapter Ten

Breezesong dreamt that night, something she hadn't done in a while. She was walking through a beautiful twilit forest that was like her own home, yet not. She strode out of the trees into a wide clearing, from which she could see a single star blazing above her in Silverpelt. In the center of the clearing, she sat down and gazed up at it, feeling its power.

Suddenly, she was no longer in the clearing- no longer in her body at all. She was watching from above as a she-cat walked along the bank of a winding river, passing between shadows and moonlight gracefully. Her stride was confident and calm, yet fast, but not rushed, and an aura of power surrounded her. Breezesong watched as the cat stopped in a pool of silver light, gazing into the river.

Breezesong moved in closer without trying to, and let out a gasp. The cat had a flaming red-orange pelt and bright green eyes. She looked just like her… with a jolt, she realized it was her!

Breezesong's head reeled, and she found herself once more in the clearing beneath the single star. A breeze ruffled her fur, and on it a voice spoke. "The traitor has come. Beware the serpent's fang by the light of the everlasting flame…"

Breezesong awoke with a start, her breathing hard and fur on end. Serpent's fang… everlasting flame…. The words of her dream reeled through her head. But what could they mean? Even though it was the middle of the night, Breezesong rose and exited the den, padding silently towards the medicine den.

She poked her head inside, calling out softly, "Shellspots, Shadypaw."

The old medicine cat awoke, looking around in bewilderment. "What? Who…? Oh, Breezesong, it's you. What do you need? Is something the matter? Great StarClan, it's the middle of the night!"

At her mentor's words, Shadypaw also awoke, stumbling over herself as she rushed over to see what was wrong. "Did something happen?" she mewed anxiously, shaking the sleep from her head. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry to wake you both, but I needed to talk to you, Shellspots." Breezesong mewed. "Nothing's wrong, exactly. It's just, I had this dream…"

"What was it?" Shellspots prompted, sitting down with a yawn.

Breezesong told her the dream from the start, finishing up with the words, "Then a voice on the breeze said, 'The traitor has come. Beware the serpent's fang by the light of the everlasting flame…' What could it mean?"

Shellspots sat silently contemplating for a while before mewing, "It's a message from StarClan, but what it means, I'm not sure… it's odd that it came to you, and not Shadypaw or I. Usually, only medicine cats and leaders get signs like that." She gave Breezesong an odd look, and she was reminded of the look Shellspots had given her moons ago when she warned her about something… what had been her words? That StarClan had had great things planned for her? "I'll think about it, and if I come up with anything, I'll let you know. You should get some rest- dawn will be here soon." Shellspots continued.

Breezesong eyed the sky, which was getting lighter. She sighed and turned to go back to her den, mewing, "Thank you, Shellspots. I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's all right." The medicine cat purred in response. "Sleep well."

Back in her nest, Breezesong fell back into an uneasy sleep, only to be awoken when Oakpelt rose from his nest beside her to head out on the dawn patrol. And though she tried to fall back asleep, she couldn't, and finally gave up. The den had grown cold with less sleeping bodies inside it, and Breezesong felt alone without the pelts of Oakpelt and Shadowlight up against hers. Shaking the moss from her fur and stretching, Breezesong pushed her way back into the dimly lit clearing.

The sky was gray, and heavy with clouds, an impending sign of rain. A frigid breeze blew through the camp, reminding Breezesong that Leaf-bare was coming. Shivering, she looked about the clearing for someone to go out hunting with. Instead, she spotted Shellspots, and made her way over.

"Good morning, Breezesong. You're up early." The medicine cat purred kindly. "What do you need?"

"Nothing much. I'm just looking for something to do. Do you need any help with anything?"

"Actually, I was going out to gather some herbs with Shadypaw. Would you like to come?"

"Sure." Breezesong replied, following the medicine cat out of camp once Shadypaw was ready to leave. Outside, it was even colder beneath the little shade provided by the half-leafless trees, but at least the wind wasn't as strong. Still, it was a dreary day, and Breezesong was glad she hadn't gone out hunting- all the prey seemed to be staying in its burrows.

The three cats had gone a bit from the camp when Shellspots stopped. Turning to Shadypaw, she mewed, "Now, we need more catmint, with Leaf-bare coming. What is catmint used for?"

"To treat greencough and whitecough." Shadypaw recited back.

Shellspots nodded. "Good, now can you find some?"

Shadypaw pointed her tail at a clump of tall stalks. "There's some." She mewed enthusiastically. "And there's some feverfew over there," She pointed behind Shellspots, "And a juniper bush with some berries still left over there." She gestured to a small bush beside Breezesong.

Shellspots purred in obvious delight. "Very good. You catch on fast. Okay, remember this spot for on the way back. I want to go a bit farther to get some tansy, daisy leaves, and goldenrod." They began to walk on, Shellspots continuing to drill Shadypaw. "What are they used for?"

The little blue-gray apprentice recited instantly, "Tansy is for coughs, goldenrod and daisy for aching joints."

"Very good. Do you know if we have enough poppy seeds to last for a few moons?"

"Yes, Shellspots. I gave some to Greenfern this morning, after I treated her cracked pads. But we're running low on ivy."

"What about honey? Someone is sure to get a sore throat in the cold."

"We have a little, but not much." Shadypaw replied, then halted. "Here's some ivy."

"You're right, I missed it. Thank you. We'll get some on the way back."

By now, they were nearing the Great River, and the FoamClan border. "There's some tansy and goldenrod by the bank." Shellspots mewed. "You collect that. I'll get the daisy and the honey, and then we can go collect the rest of the herbs. Breezesong, will you help Shadypaw carry her load?" Breezesong nodded. "Okay, then we'll meet back where the ivy was."

Shellspots disappeared into the trees heading south, and Breezesong followed Shadypaw over to a patch of plants with a few wilting yellow flowers. "This is goldenrod." Shadypaw mewed, carefully pulling some up. She handed a clump to Breezesong, then bit off a bit more.

With the goldenrod in their mouths, Shadypaw led Breezesong over to a second plant, also with a few yellow flowers. Sitting down her herbs, Shadypaw began to dig it up, careful not to damage the stalks. "It's tansy. They're best fresh and whole, so they don't dry out as fast." She explained.

A loud, surprised yowl interrupted them, and Breezesong and Shadypaw instantly stopped what they were doing. Dropping the herbs, Breezesong took off to the south, towards where the cry had issued from, Shadypaw sprinting at her heels. They didn't go far before they found Shellspots. The old medicine cat looked panicked as she hastily mewed, "There's a kit in the stream! He's clinging to a branch, and I can't get him!"

Breezesong followed Shellspots to the river's edge. Sure enough, in the middle of the water where the current was strongest, a small kit clung desperately to a branch lodged in the opposite bank. His eyes were wide with terror, and he was shivering violently against the cold and icy water rushing around him.

Breezesong jumped immediately into action, searching for a long branch. She found one hanging broken from a nearby tree and, calling Shadypaw to help, yanked it free. Then, biting one end, she drug in upstream a bit and shoved it into the water. As she hoped, the current pulled it downstream to where the kit was, and it got tangled in with the other branch. Breezesong sat her end down carefully, and called out, "Can you get hold of this branch?"

The little kit shook his head vigorously. "I'm too scarred to move! The current will sweep me away. I'll drown!"

"You'll be fine." Breezesong called back. "Just reach out with one paw and grab the end of the branch."

The kit lifted a paw hesitantly and reached out, stretching as far as he could while still clinging on to his branch. "I can't reach!" he wailed.

Breezesong thought quickly. He was too small to reach it, but he couldn't survive in the cold and wet long enough for her to get help… Without a word, Breezesong launched herself into the river. The coldness of the water shocked her, and her alarm at the kit's predicament increased. She had never swum before, but using the branch, she was able to stay above the surface. Ignoring the cries of Shellspots and Shadypaw to come back, she slowly edged towards the kit. Grabbing him by the scruff of the neck, she hefted him out of the water, but almost dropped him in alarm as the added weight pushed her under.

Aware that she couldn't swim back to shore with him in her mouth, she sat him on the branch she had put in the water. He dug his claws into it, and she struck out for the bank. On dry land once more, Breezesong used her remaining strength to haul in the branch.

With the help of Shellspots and Shadypaw, they finally had the kit out of the water. Though she was shivering fiercely, Breezesong lifted his saturated body and plunged into the woods alongside Shellspots, who ordered Shadypaw on ahead to ready a nest for him.

The trek back to camp had never felt so long to Breezesong as this one did. When she finally pushed her way through the entrance tunnel, she sat the kit down, her sides heaving. Shellspots picked the kit up and carried him the rest of the way into the medicine den, Breezesong following slowly behind. Inside, she collapsed onto the ground, shivering and attempting to catch her breath.

"Here, eat this." Shadypaw mewed, "It's chamomile, it'll calm you down and help the shock." Breezesong obliged, eating the herbs without complaint, as the young apprentice began mopping at Breezesong's wet coat with a wad of moss, soaking up the water that saturated it.

When Breezesong had regained her strength and the shivers had subsided, she pushed herself to her feet and padded over to where Shellspots and Shadypaw were standing around the kit. "How is he?" she asked.

"Wet. And weak." Shellspots responded, rubbing the little kit to warm him. Though there was a soaking moss ball beside the nest, evidence of Shadypaw's attempt to dry him, the kit was still wet and shivering. With a moan, he rolled over, opening his eyes and mewing, "Where am I? Who are you?"

"You are in the medicine den in CallistoClan. I am Shellspots, the medicine cat. This is Shadypaw, my apprentice, and the one who saved you is Breezesong."

"I'm Muddy." The kit mewed. "I fell into the river."

"Shellspots's whiskers twitched amusedly. "We noticed. Where are you from? You don't smell of any Clan."

"Clan? No, I'm not part of a 'clan.' I've been alone for a while now, but I can kinda remember a mother, and a warm nest… But I can't find them. Yesterday I started wandering along the water, and this morning I fell in." He let out a long yawn.

"Okay, well, you're safe now, so rest, and eat the herbs Shadypaw gives you." Shellspots mewed soothingly. The kit nodded, his eyes closing. "Shadypaw, I need you to watch him while I go get the herbs we left. We'll need them soon, no doubt. If this kit doesn't get a cold, I'll be amazed."

She turned to leave the den, and Breezesong padded after her. "Do you want me to help you?"

Shellspots paused and looked back, shaking her head. "I want you to rest. Muddykit isn't the only one at risk of getting sick. You should go curl up in your nest in the warm den. And if you start to get chills, fever, sore throat, or cough, find Shadypaw or I immediately. We don't need one of our best hunters getting sick, what with Leaf-bare coming."

Breezesong nodded her consent and padded into the warriors' den, which was, thankfully, warm. Though she didn't think she was tired, she was asleep within moments of curling up in her nest.