~Chapter Eight~

Faint sunlight dappled the forest floor as Fawnpaw followed Thistlestar's patrol with Stonefur, Darkstripe, Mossheart and Wildpaw. A few more moons had passed since Wildpaw's apprentice ceremony and since then the orange tabby had fit in quite easily and was accepted much more readily than Fawnpaw's own brothers, which she knew was only because the former loner had been living wild and free. She could only hope that Firepaw and Billypaw would be accepted soon and didn't mess up up too much, like today which was their first apprentice task.

It happened when the patrol neared the stream by Fourtrees. They had just finished searching WindClan's territory after they realized they could only smell ShadowClan and RiverClan when Wildpaw halted, her ears pricked. "I here something!" she announced.

Gazing around for the source of the sound, Fawnpaw spotted a hollow tree a few tail-lengths away from them. Bees were flying in and out of a hole high up in the trunk. Their low-pitched humming was what had alerted Wildpaw.

"Bees!" the orange tabby exclaimed, her whiskers quivering. "I've heard that honey is good for soothing sore throats, isn't it Fawnpaw?"

"Yes," Fawnpaw agreed, impressed by the former loner's knowledge. "It's also good for binding poultices together. I'll just have Sweetflower... No, Wildpaw! Get back!"

The orange tabby had started to climb the tree, her gaze fixed on the hole in the trunk. Fawnpaw's warning had startled the stubborn she-cat; she lost her balance and grabbed at the nearest branch.

There was a loud crack. The branch Wildpaw was holding gave way, and she half fell, half leaped to the ground in a tumble of orange striped fur. The low humming of the bees grew to a high-pitched, angry buzzing. More and more of them poured out of the hole in a swelling cloud, reaching out toward the cats like a dark paw.

"Run!" screeched Thistlestar.

Fawnpaw didn't have to be told twice as she and the patrol dashed after their leader who had pushed the dazed Wildpaw in front of him as he led them in the direction of the river. Her heart pounded as the striped black-and-yellow bodies whirled around her head, and she braced herself for the stab of their vicious stings. The swarm pursued them all the way, a threatening storm that hovered over them, occasionally darting down in a noisy frond to strike. Mossheart let out a yowl as a bee stung her ear, flailing her tail wildly to try to keep them off.

As the patrol charged out of the tree line and across the Sunningrocks, a patrol of RiverClan warriors that had been marking the border froze in a mixture of alarm and disbelief. Willowpelt, a very pale gray she-cat, let out a terrified wail. Frogleap and Petaldust slid out their claws as if this was an enemy they could attack, or maybe they thought to stop the ThunderClan patrol from trespassing, despite them being chased by a horde of angry bees. Bluestar, the RiverClan leader and the head of the RiverClan patrol gazed upward, her fur bristling.

"Into the water!" Thistlestar yowled. "Quick!"

Fawnpaw watched as her leader launched himself at Frogleap and Petaldust, pushing them into the river. Frogleap let out an outraged screech that ended in a splutter as Petaldust shoved his head under. Both Bluestar and Willowpelt just launched themselves in without complaint. Stonefur, Darkstripe, Mossheart and Wildpaw ran into the water without breaking stride and ducked their heads beneath the surface.

Thistlestar and Fawnpaw followed them, though Fawnpaw made sure to dive into deeper water. Once the water was up near her shoulders, she crouched down with just her nose and eyes above the surface. Glancing from the corner of her eye, Fawnpaw saw her leader doing the same. She shivered at the cold touch of the current that threatened to carry her off her paws. Thank StarClan that RiverClan allowed them to shelter in their river! If they hadn't they would all have been seriously injured from all those stings!

The bees buzzed furiously overhead; strangely Fawnpaw could sense their frustration that their prey had escaped. They circled around the edge of river, hovering low over the surface, but there was nothing for them to attack. After what felt like a hundred seasons, the swarm bunched together again and flew away.

Fawnpaw lifted her head above the surface, and hauled herself out of the river; her fur felt heavy and water streamed from it, pooling around her paws. The rest of her ThunderClan patrol, along with RiverClan's, dragged themselves onto the bank; the ThunderClan cats looked thin and bedraggled with their pelts plastered to their sides while RiverClan's pelts simply shed the water as if they were made of duck feathers.

"What were you trying to drown me for?" Frogleap snapped at Petaldust.

"Next time I'll let you get stung," the tortoiseshell senior RiverClan warrior muttered.

Fawnpaw looked around at the cats and felt her heart drop, almost all of them were hurt. Willowpelt had a sting dangerously close to her eye; it was swelling fast as she pawed at it with whimpers of pain. Mossheart was circling around, trying to reach a bite in her rump, while Darkstripe was biting at his forepaw in a vain attempt to get the sting out.

Suddenly Fawnpaw felt a gentle prod on her shoulder. "Don't these cats need help?" Thistlestar prompted.

Jumping slightly, Fawnpaw snapped out of her shock. "Yes, of course. Sorry, Thistlestar." She padded forward, beckoning both patrols with her tail. "Line up here so I can take your stings out," she instructed. "Don't scratch them; you'll only make it worse. Wildpaw, are you hurt?"

The orange tabby shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Then I want you to look for blackberry leaves, they-"

"I know what they look like," interrupted Wildpaw before dashing back into the forest.

Letting out a sigh at the stubborn and fiery she-cat, Fawnpaw began gingerly plucking out everyone's stings. She was particularly careful with Willowpelt, not wanting to give the warrior queen any more pain than she already was in. As she was plucking out a sting that had almost been entirely hidden in Thistlestar's shoulder fur, Wildpaw returned with the blackberry leaves. Together the two chewed the leaves into poultices and patted them onto the places where the stings has been.

Once done, Bluestar thanked Fawnpaw for treating her warriors and to Thistlestar for warning them before leading the RiverClan patrol back into their territory. Beckoning them with his tail to the ThunderClan cats, Thistlestar led them back the way they'd came and back to camp.

Uh oh, looks like Wildpaw is becoming a future Squirrelflight when she'd been an apprentice... So if you have any questions, concerns, comments or thoughts, please leave them in your review. Also I'd like to remind you all to keep the votes coming for Fawnpaw's full medicine cat name on the poll on my profile since I plan on giving it to her, as I've said, in chapter ten. And if you don't wish to go to the poll then you can pick one of the names that I listed below and place it in your review. I would also like some ideas of how Fawnpaw's medicine cat ceremony should go, so if anyone has any then also place them in a review.

Possible Full Medicine Cat Names

Fawnpelt

Fawnfire

Fawnwhisker

Fawnflower

Fawnleaf

~Silver