Chapter 10

"Mistyleaf, Mistyleaf! I must talk to you!" , Stormflower announced. The medicine cat walked haunches –first out of her den and went to Stormflower. "Why are you walking backwards, Mistyleaf?"

"Whoops. Lack of sleep makes me loopy."

"I can see that, Mistyleaf," Stormflower mewed with laughter.

"Now, what'd you want to tell me?"

"I needed to tell you….I had a vision." Mistyleaf's ears pricked up to listen, and she sat down.

"Can- can we go out of camp? I don't want anyone else to hear what we discuss." Mistyleaf nodded and the two headed out of camp. The cats walked up to Furbald Flats and talked.

"My vision was about….how Stonefeather brought down SpringClan," said Stormflower.

"Are you sure it's not in your head? I heard you talking about Stonefeather a couple of days ago."

"Mistyleaf, just think about it!"

"Well, alright. What was the vision exactly about?"

"Stonefeather kidnapped Vixenstar, and I was dead!", Stonefeather wailed.

"Calm down, now. I'll tell Vixenstar, and we'll watch. If you're wrong…"

"I'm not, Mistyleaf! Trust me! I'll get proof, I swear," Stormflower insisted.

"Let's go back to camp. Behave, now." For a cat the same age as Stormflower, Mistyleaf spoke like a wise elder. But then, medicine cats had to be wise and caring. That was part of their duty.

Upon treading back into the camp clearing, Warblerpaw ran up to Mistyleaf. "Oh, it's terrible! Sorepebble has an ingrown claw, and I don't know what to do!", Warblerpaw exclaimed.

"Trust your instincts. What are they telling you to do?"

"Well," Warblerpaw pondered , " I guess I'd have to remove the top bit that punctured the skin and then give Sorepebble one or two poppy seeds so he won't be yowling all night."

"Good idea, I'd do that too. Don't forget some cobwebs, since the area will bleed a little."

"Thanks, Mistyleaf!" Warblerpaw scurried away. Mistyleaf dipped her head to Stormflower and went to join Warblerpaw. Stormflower felt a slight breeze-the breeze of arriving leaf-fall. It wouldn't be long now before leaves fell from trees to adorn the forest floor with red that helped russet cats blend in, orange that made white cats stand out, yellow as golden as the sun, and brown crunchy leaves.

Veering away from that, Stormflower went back to thoughts of Stonefeather. If the tom was to take SpringClan down, why would he do it? How could such pure hate come about? Stormflower's eyes widened – did a SpringClan cat in the past wrong him?

Something lurked in the back of Stormflower's mind, but she pushed it away. "Hello, lovely."

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Talonstorm! I was thinking!"

"Thinking about what Stormflower? Me?"

"N- yes, I was. I was waiting for you."

"Ooh la la," Talonstorm purred. The tom suggested a trip to the fresh-kill pile, and Stormflower accepted the idea. And, as consistently as cats went to a medicine cat, Silverfeather was at the fresh-kill pile.

"So, this is your regular hang-out place, huh, Silverfeather?", Stormflower asked in a rhetorical tone.

"She doesn't have to answer to you!" , Yewstripe snapped.

"Let me speak for myself, Yewstripe. I come here because I want to. Why are you two here?"

"We're getting some prey. Oh, and Silverfeather, I know you like Falconclaw," Stormflower stated.

"I didn't know that. How interesting," Talonstorm murmured. Silverfeather shifted her paws, then went off.

"Stay out of my business, will you?", hissed Silverfeather. Yewstripe muttered something and turned her head back to glance at Stormflower. No doubt the duo was gossiping about Stormflower. That was their favorite thing to do.

Stormflower continued to converse with Talonstorm. "So, what's your favorite Greenleaf memory?"

"It's meeting you, of course. I mean, sure I did already know you, but now I know you personally."

"Good answer, Talonstorm. My favorite memory besides basically what you said is when it was pouring, and I was rolling all about the ground. That mud got so deep in my pelt that I just stopped caring after a while. I was a kit, of course. Falconclaw was even worse," Stormflower recalled.

"I actually remember that. I called Falconclaw by the name of Mudkit for weeks! He didn't like it much, though. Things change so much. Your responsibilities become fuller, more pronounced, and you carry heavier burdens. You get happier as you get older, too."

"Such a wise comment coming from a young, naïve tom," Stormflower purred.

"Hey, I can be smart. Never underestimate me, Stormflower."

"Whatever you say," replied Stormflower, rolling her eyes.