"Poppy seeds!" Gingerpaw said
The ginger apprentice sat there as Willowshine tested him.
"Great! Name an herb used for queens when they're kitting." She said
"Chervil!" He said quickly
"Excellent! Final question. What do we use for toothaches?" She asked
"Alder bark." He answered
"Perfect! You got almost everything right. We still have to go over the traveling herbs again, but, you still did great." Willowshine said
"Thanks!" Gingerpaw said
"Now, please go check on Fernfire. See if the kits are moving and if she's alright. We have to watch her since she is due in less than a half moon." Willowshine said
Gingerpaw nodded and headed out of her den. He saw the sun rise in the distance as the almost half-moon rested in the distance.
"I hope she is up." Gingerpaw thought
He entered the nursery through the reeds. He saw the golden/brown she-cat resting in the far side of the nursery. He looked over at Daisyface's kits, who have grown so much in three moons. He remembered seeing them in the medicine cat's den, playing while Daisyface recovered from the attack. He saw Applekit tell Honeykit how to stalk while Moonkit hid near the herbs. He walked pass them and accidentally stepped on a dried up leaf. Fernfire woke up with fear in her blue eyes that quickly turned to relief as she recognized him.
"Hello Gingerpaw." She said
"Hey. How are ya?" He asked
"Fine. My belly hurts at times, but I guess that's normal." Fernfire said
"It is, may I check?" He asked
"Of course!" She said happily
He padded over to the large queen and placed his front paws on her belly. He felt the bodies of the unborn kits squirm in their mom. He soon felt a sharp kick from one that startled Fernfire.
"It's fine. One just kicked." Gingerpaw said
"Is that good?" The first time queen asked
"Yes, very. It means that one is alive." He said
"Even if I just get one kit, I'll be the happiest cat in the world. Redstorm will be a great father for them as well." Fernfire said
He remembered seeing the red tom enter the nursery a lot to see his mate. He knew that he would be happy when they were born too.
"Alright-" He said as he removed his paws-"They're fine. You said you're fine to?" He asked
''Yes, though, do you have anything for pain?" She asked
"I'll grab some dandelion." Gingerpaw said
He ran over to Willowshine's den and saw her organizing the herbs.
"Anything we're low on?" He asked
"Just some chervil. I'd like for you to go out with a warrior to the Shadowclan boarder and look for some chervil there. If it hasn't sprouted, we'll be a little low on it for a while." She said
He nodded.
"Do we have enough dandelion leaves?" He asked
"We have enough. Why?" She asked
"Fernfire says she's in pain." He says
"Not ready for kitting." Willowshine asked
He shook his head and headed over to the herbs. The green leaves sat next to the little poppy seeds as he grabbed two. He headed out and saw Sparkfur and Sparrowcloud near the fresh kill pile. He watched his dad lay his yellow tail on her ginger back as they each grabbed a thing of prey. He saw four other cats, Windstorm, Redstorm, Cloverdust, and Berrytail, head out of camp for the dawn patrol. He entered the nursery again and was greeted by Spottedpool's two toms, who were now awake.
"Hey Gingerpaw!" Tawnykit said
"Who's that for?" Cloudkit asked
"Fernfire." He responded
"The huge she-cat over there?" Tawnykit asked
"Don't be rude Tawnykit." Spottedpool said
He walked over to Fernfire and she looked up. He placed the leaves near her as she grabbed them.
"They'll help." He said
She finished them and exhaled.
"Thanks." She said
"No! I wanna be the warrior!" Cloudkit argued.
"No! I hate being the fish!" Tawnykit shouted
"But I was the fish last time!" Cloudkit said
"Shh! You'll wake Daisyface." Spottedpool said
Gingerpaw looked over at the yellow/white she-cat who's blue/gray eyes had opened up.
"Too late." She said
He saw her two kits move and their heads lifted up.
"Finally they're awake!" Cloudkit said
Moonkit stood up and stretched. Honeykit licked her paw and cleaned her face.
"Come on guys! We can play moss ball!" Tawnykit said
Moonkit's yellow eyes had a spark of interest as he ran over to the other toms. Honeykit continued to clean her fur, realizing that she was calmer than usual.
"She's acting so much calmer, it's nice!" Daisyface said
"Mom? Can I go out with dad to the stream?" She asked
"Of course, wait for him to return from dawn patrol." Daisyface said
Gingerpaw flicked his tail happily as a thought of Blackstripe entered his mind. The black stripped warrior was so kind to him. He headed out of the nursery and saw the young warrior in the warrior's den, talking to a tom that looked a lot like her. He felt something flare up in him as he ran into the den. They looked up and her eyes showed happiness.
"Gingerpaw! This is my father, Stripedpelt. I haven't introduced my family completely. My mom Stonepoppy and my sister, Rainsong, are over there." She said
"She's treating me like we're mates!" He thought happily
He looked over at two she cats. One had bright yellow eyes and pure gray fur while the other was also pure gray but had blue eyes like Stripedpelt.
"The blue eyed one is-" He began
"My sister." Blackstripe said
"So, do you wanna practice hunting or battle skills today?" Gingerpaw asked
"Sure! I'll see ya later dad." She said
"Alright, Blackstripe." Her father said in a deep voice.
The she-cat got up and padded out with Gingerpaw at her side. He laid his tail on her back as they headed out of camp.
"What am I doing, I can't have her as a mate!" He thought
He looked at her and felt happier just seeing her.
"Well, nothing says I can't love her. It just says I can't have her as a mate." He thought
They headed down towards the stream and he heard the sound of running water.
"Finally it is running again." He said
"Yeah! You never got to hunt in this and it is just great to see the river full of pike or carp. My favorite!" She said
"Carp eh?" He murmured
"Now, see if you can find any type of fish." She said
He padded up to the water and sat down. He searched for any movement in the water.
"Let there be trout!" he thought
He soon saw the sunlight hit a fish's scales.
"Found one." He said
Blackstripe padded over and looked to where his eyes were focused.
"Great! Now, unsheathe your claws and wait for it to stop moving." She instructed
He did as she said and carefully watched the fish. It slowed down until the sun covered it's body completely and it stopped. His heart quickened.
"Alright, now, go into the water quickly and scoop upwards. Doing that, dig your claws into the fish and bring it out of the water and place it on the ground." Blackstripe said
Gingerpaw nodded and brought up his paw, he breathed and dove it into the water and dug his claws into the fish. He brought it out and dropped it on the ground. It floundered around as it died.
"It's salmon! They're kinda uncommon at the beginning of new-leaf. Congratulations Gingerpaw!" She said
"Thanks!" He said
"Alright, let's head back to camp and you can give it to the elders." Blackstripe said
He nodded and the two padded up the slope. He looked over at her as she turned her head and their eyes met.
"Uhh..." He said
"Gingerpaw! Is that salmon?"
He turned and saw Sparkfur and Sparrowcloud head over to him. They had their tails intertwined as the looked at the fish.
"Uhh, yeah! Actually, I was planning to take this to the elders." Gingerpaw said
"Alright then, hey Blackstripe." Sparrowcloud said
She nodded a hello to him and they headed into camp as they walked towards the stream.
"Alright, see ya Blackstripe." Gingerpaw said
"See ya!" She said
She walked to the warrior's den as he saw Sunpaw walk out from the nursery.
"Hey Sunpaw! When did you guys get back?" He asked
"Hmm? Oh! At sunhigh." She responded
"Okay then, did Reedstar-" He began
"Let all cats who are old enough to catch their own prey, gather under the Rock Ledge!" Reedstar said
Gingerpaw looked up and saw the black tom sitting upon the Rock Ledge. He looked as though he had seen something that disturbed him in his dream with Starclan. He walked over to where Willowshine was sitting and sat next to his mentor.
"Did Blackstripe help you catch that?" She asked
"Yeah! How'd you know it was mine?" He asked
"I saw you walk in with it." She said
He looked at his leader as he began. He noticed Frogpaw. The brown/gray warrior was sitting proudly next to his leader with Smokefur. His mentor looked proud as Reedstar began.
"Welcome Riverclan to Frogpaw's warrior ceremony. This young apprentice has waited a long time for this and I know he shall serve Riverclan with all his heart. Now, I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on him. He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn." Reedstar said
He looked at the tom, who's gray eyes showed happiness as Reedstar said-
"Frogpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior and to protect and defend your clan, even at the cost of your life?"
"I do." Frogpaw said
"Then by the powers of Starclan I give you your warrior name. Frogpaw, from this day forwards you shall be known as Froglegs. Starclan honors your loyalty and bravery and we welcome you as a full warrior of Riverclan!" Reedstar said
"Froglegs! Froglegs!" Riverclan called
Gingerpaw heard a she-cat's mew over all others as he recognized it as Aquapaw's. The blue she-cat had a happy glint in her eyes as Frogpaw completed the ceremony by licking Reedstar's shoulder and he leapt down and ran over to his parents, Barkpelt and (apparently) Rainsong. He saw Blackstripe too. She had a happy look in her eyes as she saw her nephew become a warrior.
"Riverclan is doing well." He said
"Come along Gingerpaw, we have to organize the herbs. You forgot to get the chervil earlier!" Willowshine said
He turned around and followed his mentor, still feeling happy for his clan.