Once, warriors who went on a quest would visit the medicine cat to receive traveling herbs, which would keep their strength up and ensure stamina for a long journey. When the quest was to find a new medicine cat, and the cats going on the quest were apprentices, Icepaw found another resource. Though it wouldn't replace herbs to maintain her endurance, an elder's wisdom could provide invaluable guidance and insight.

"I'm as lost as you are, Icepaw," Angelfast confessed, his white-and-yellow pelt radiant in the sunset.

Icepaw kneaded the ground with her small white paws, keeping her long claws sheathed. She wasn't here to antagonize the oldest cat in the Clan; he had experience that could prove to be helpful for her and her friends. "Has nothing like this happened before, Angelfast? What happens if a medicine cat gets sick?"

Angelfast's purr caught in his throat. "There are tales of a medicine cat who always had a running nose, and one who seemed like a lunatic because he could see the future. And don't get me started on the medicine cat who couldn't see anything."

"SunClan had a blind medicine cat?" Icepaw exclaimed, more in awe than shock.

"It was a long time ago, back when SunClan was five Clans," Angelfast told her. "I think the blind medicine cat was from ThunderClan—or was it WindClan?"

Icepaw's heart sank in disappointment. "With five Clans, there would have been at least five medicine cats. They could help each other; we're alone."

"We have StarClan, little one," Angelfast reminded the small apprentice. "And the Clans were not always kind to each other. A ShadowClan warrior murdered a ThunderClan medicine cat, and ThunderClan went without a healer for a while."

Icepaw leaned forward. Leafkit and Grasskit joined her, their matching green eyes curious. Leopardkit barreled into Grasskit, her spotted fur blurring with Grasskit's pale brown pelt. Dovekit stayed farther back, and Icepaw invited him over with a flick of her tail. Leafkit licked the smaller kit in greeting, ruffling the youngest Clan cat's silver-and-white tabby fur. "What happened then?"

Angelfast's pale eyes seemed wistful as though remembering something that had happened when he was a kit, rather than a story passed down from generations of elders to kits and apprentices. "It was a time of ordeal for ThunderClan. Their rivalry with RiverClan was at its height, their deputies having seemingly killed each other."

Icepaw shuddered. Dragonwing was a powerful warrior, but also peaceful; she couldn't imagine him killing another deputy. Leopardkit whimpered, and Icepaw stroked the kit's spotted fur with her bushy tail.

Angelfast noticed the kit's fear and toned down his tale. "Despite the Clans' rivalry, they did help each other like you said, Icepaw. One of ShadowClan's medicine cats joined ThunderClan."

Icepaw suppressed flicking her tail in annoyance. If SunClan had had more than one medicine cat... if Flickerflame had mentored one of them... if there was another Clan... She shook her head. There was no use in wishing for what couldn't be. There may not be other Clans, but there were other cats who had descended from those Clans and who might still retain a connection to StarClan. Icepaw and her friends would find them.

"Thank you, Angelfast," Icepaw said with a dip of her head. As Leafkit, Grasskit, and Dovekit began batting a ball of moss back and forth and Leopardkit started grooming herself, Icepaw tipped her head to the side and asked, "Why did Shrivelstar give you the name Angelfast?"

This time, Angelfast's purr was a long rumble. "My parents named me Angelkit; my brother was Demonkit and our sister was Stonekit. Our parents were intrigued by the Twoleg stories of angels, demons, and stone giants. Though they lived in separate realms—one like birds in the sky, another like cats living in the forest, and the third reminiscent of the Dark Forest cats the Clans battled long ago—they were all kin, so it seemed fitting that kin should be named for kin."

"Like me and Leafkit!" Grasskit exclaimed.

Dovekit stared at them forlornly. "I wish I had a littermate. I wonder what Whitebird would have named them."

Leafkit leaned down to bump his nose against Dovekit's shoulder. "We can be your littermates."

Angelfast continued, "When we were six moons old, Demonkit and I became Demonpaw and Angelpaw. Sadly, Stonekit did not make it to apprenticeship."

Icepaw's ears twitched. "Did you lose your medicine cat, too?" SunClan's kits were healthy, but as greenleaf drew closer, more kits would be born. Goldenflame was an experienced queen, and all the she-cats who had mothered kits would do their best to help, but they needed a medicine cat.

Angelfast sighed. "Even with a medicine cat, not every cat can be saved. But having a healer helps," he added. "Swallowherb treated me when I broke my leg running. Thanks to her, my bone mended well and I became the fastest cat in the Clan. With a medicine cat's treatment, you can recover to be stronger than you were before."

Dovekit's blue eyes widened. "So that's why you're named Angelfast."

Grasskit purred. "You had a medicine cat named Swallowherb?"

Icepaw thanked Angelfast for the story, though she was still as lost as before. Before she padded away to the apprentices' den, Leafkit piped up, "What was Demonpaw's warrior name?"

Angelfast's mew was curt. "His name was Demonscorch."

Icepaw glanced at Leopardkit, who looked up from her grooming. "Is my brother named after him?"

Angelfast seemed to struggle to keep his mew even and not yowl at the kit. "Demonscorch was Clawfur's mentor, and I suppose your father wanted to name Scorchkit after him."

Icepaw nudged the kits toward the nursery. "The moon is rising, kits. Your mothers will be waiting, and I need to get a good rest for tomorrow."

Leafkit pressed against her shoulder. Though they were over six months apart, he was only a little smaller than her. Dovekit blinked his serene eyes at her. "You'll be amazing, Icepaw! I know the six of you will find a new medicine cat."

Icepaw rested her head between the tiny kit's ears for a heartbeat before heading to the apprentices' den. Ghostpaw and Nightpaw were still awake, though they didn't speak. Icepaw stepped around her sleeping brother and curled up next to Glitterpaw, who had stuffed her ears with moss to muffle Raptorpaw's snores.

Icepaw's eyes were closed, but Ghostpaw's scent wafted toward her as he lay beside her. Icepaw opened one eye. Nightpaw glanced at her and Ghostpaw but looked away with only a twitch of his ears to give away what he thought.