Chapter 6
Ripplepaw spent the next few weeks ignoring his mentor. Every time Nightsky attempted to talk to him, he simply left the den or acted as if he didn't acknowledge her existence. Of course, this had made Nightsky furious on more than a few occasions, but Ripplepaw didn't care. His goal was to make her so angry, she would give up on training him.
"I want you to search Sootpelt for ticks," Nightsky ordered as she dropped a bundle of mouse-bile soaked moss in front of him.
Grimacing, Ripplepaw picked up the moss and carried it out of the den. After making sure Nightsky wasn't watching him, he tossed it into the reeds before slipping out of camp. Sniffing the air, he tried to catch scent of his sister.
For the past few days, he had been sneaking out of camp to watch Minnowpaw train. He wanted to learn every battle move he could, just in case. When he reached the training clearing, he ducked down into the reeds and watched his sister train.
"Never expose your belly. It's the most vulnerable spot on a cat, besides the throat of course," Briarpelt explained. "Now, let me see your leap-and-hold."
Minnowpaw nodded, before leaping onto Briarpelt's back. The large tom tried to shake her off, but Minnowpaw held on the best she could. As Ripplepaw watched, he did his best to memorize the move. After a few minutes, he decided this move would be no use for him in the future. By the time I'm full grown, I'll be way too big to use this move on Nightsky. His eyes then widened in surprise. Wait, what? I would never attack Nightsky!
The medicine cat apprentice tried to shake the thought from his head, but he couldn't. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he wanted to give Nightsky a couple of scars she wouldn't forget. And maybe I could take a life or two from Morningstar. That would show her not to mess with me! Wait, no. I don't mean that either!
Ripplepaw began to shake uncontrollably. It felt as if intrusive thoughts were being forced into his head. He didn't want to hurt any cat, not even Nightsky. While he hated his mentor deeply, the idea of hurting her made him sick to his stomach.
"Ripplepaw?" Minnowpaw asked, a concerned look plastered across her pretty face. "What's wrong?"
Ripplepaw blinked at her. "I..." he trailed off, lost for words. He couldn't possibly tell his sister what he had been thinking about. Minnowpaw would hate him for sure, and he couldn't have that! Besides his parents, Minnowpaw was the only cat he truly cared about.
"What are you doing here?" Briarpelt questioned as he walked up. The tom's eyes were narrowed suspiciously as he stared at the medicine cat apprentice. "Shouldn't you be gathering herbs or something?"
The fur along Ripplepaw's spine began to bristle. "I just wanted to learn some battle moves. Is that so wrong?" he growled, digging his claws into the ground.
"No." Briarpelt stiffened slightly, his tail tip twitching back and forth. Looking at Minnowpaw he ordered, "Let's get back to training. There's a new move I want to teach you."
Minnowpaw hesitated for a few seconds, before following after her mentor. "I'll see you later!" she called out to her brother.
Ripplepaw sighed, before heading back to camp. I hope Briarpelt doesn't say anything to Nightsky. Otherwise she'll force some cat to look after me. As he slipped back into camp, he began searching for his moss from earlier. Where is it? He thought, growing irritated.
"Looking for this?" Nightsky growled.
Spinning around, Ripplepaw saw his mentor standing there. The mouse-bile soaked moss was hanging in her jaws. As she spit it out, she pushed it over to him.
"Get to work," she ordered, flicking her tail back towards the elders den. "And when you're done, I want you to report back to my den immediately. If I catch you doing something else, you will be in serious trouble. Is that understood?" Nightsky's amber eyes were blazing with fury as she stared at him.
Ripplepaw puffed out his chest, trying to make himself seem bigger. He stared into her eyes for a few minutes, before grabbing the moss and stalking away. As he slipped into the elders den, a horrible stench hit his nose. It smells worse than dung in here! Ripplepaw thought, wrinkling his nose. Does this old fleabag even wash his pelt?
"Finally. I've been waiting for you forever," Sootpelt rasped. "I have two ticks on the back of my head, and then a few more on my back and stomach. Oh, and I think-"
"I'll find them," Ripplepaw grumbled, searching through Sootpelt's fur. As soon as he spotted one, he picked up the moss and began to dab at the tick. After a few minutes, it fell off. Gently, Ripplepaw placed it onto the ground where he smashed it with his claw.
"Be sure you pull their head out," the elder told him. "The last apprentice to clean my pelt did a horrible job. But I guess that's to be expected. Young cats these days don't know how to do anything right. Back in my day, we got punished for slacking off. And when I say punished, I mean we were given a couple of scars we'd never forget!"
I don't care! Ripplepaw thought, annoyed. As he worked, Sootpelt continued to babble on about how lazy the younger generation was. I wish I could give him a few scars he'd never forget!
When he was done, the silver tom sat back. "I'm finished. Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Wait!" Sootpelt called out, causing Ripplepaw to pause in his tracks.
"What do you want now?" he hissed.
"Do you think you could clean me for fleas? I've been itching like crazy for the past moon, and I can't take it anymore!" the elder mewed.
Ripplepaw rolled his eyes, before stalking back over to the old tom's side. As soon as he was done, he raced out of the den before Sootpelt could request anything else.
As he crossed the clearing, the only thing on his mind was the lecture Nightsky would be giving him. I already know what she's going to tell me, but I don't care. Squeezing into the den, he turned and faced her. "I'm done," he reported.
Nightsky looked up from the pile of chickweed she was sorting. "Thank you," she purred.
"You don't have anything else to tell me?" he wondered, surprised that she hadn't yelled at him.
Nightsky was thoughtful for a few moments. "Not that I can think of... Oh! Yes, that's right. Tonight is the half-moon, meaning we need to go to Highstones to share tongues with StarClan."
Ripplepaw blinked. "Do I have to go?" he wondered.
She nodded. "It's very important that you go, as this will be the night StarClan accepts you as my apprentice."
"I'll be meeting StarClan?" he echoed, growing slightly uncomfortable. "What if they don't come to visit me?"
A panicked look crossed his mentor's face. "If they don't come to you, simply lie and say they did."
"You want me to lie?" the apprentice exclaimed, shocked that she would even suggest such a thing.
Nightsky sighed. "Yes, I want you to lie. Otherwise, the other Clans will know RiverClan is weak. If something were to ever happen to me, you're all this Clan has left. If the other medicine cats know StarClan doesn't accept you, our entire Clan would be doomed." Nightsky's amber eyes then widened, as if she had thought of something. "We must never let that happen, is that understood?"
Ripplepaw's heart began to beat wildly in his chest. "Y-Yes," he stammered.
"Good. Now let's get going." As Nightsky padded out of camp, Ripplepaw slowly followed behind her. With every step he took, his paws felt as if they were made of stone. Suddenly, the job of a medicine cat felt even harder than he had ever imagined.
By the time they reached the moorlands, the sun was beginning to set in the sky. As he climbed up the steep hills, he could feel his chest tighten. "I need to stop to catch my breath," he called out.
Nightsky nodded, taking a seat. As Ripplepaw caught his breath, the heather began to rustle. Looking up, he saw an elderly gray she-cat step out.
"Greetings, Breezetail!" Nightsky purred, dipping her head.
Breezetail returned the gesture. "Hello, Nightsky." Looking over at Ripplepaw, the WindClan medicine cat wondered, "Is this the young Ripplepaw I've heard so much about? It's very nice to meet you."
Ripplepaw slowly dipped his head. "Nice to meet you, too," he meowed quietly. Looking at Nightsky he said, "I've caught my breath now. Let's go."
As the three cats crossed the moorland, Ripplepaw noticed that Breezetail would glance over at him every once and a while. Finally she asked, "You were the kit that got injured in the fire, weren't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, that was me."
Breezetail gave him a sympathetic look. "You poor thing. I imagine you were terrified."
"Yeah," he mumbled, not interested in making a conversation. Breezetail must have noticed, for she didn't say anything more. As they made their way towards the Thunderpath, Ripplepaw's mind was filled with thoughts about StarClan. I don't want to be a medicine cat, but at the same time I don't want to be rejected, he thought. I especially don't want to lie.
When they reached the Thunderpath, Ripplepaw only felt more stressed out. Due to the condition of his breathing, he was worried he wouldn't be able to make it across. "What do we do?" he asked.
"Wait for a gap, and then run as fast as you can," Nightsky told him. As they padded up to the edge of the Thunderpath, Ripplepaw could tell the two older cats were just as nervous as he was.
As soon as a gap appeared, Breezetail raced out onto the Thunderpath. Ripplepaw and Nightsky sprang after her, each running as fast as they could. As he made his way across, the young tom could feel the hard stone digging into his sensitive paw pads. Once or twice, he could feel a sharp stone digging into his paws, cutting them.
Finally, they made it to the other side. As Ripplepaw sat down to catch his breath, he looked down at his paws. His front left paw was cut and bleeding, while the rest seemed to be all right. "I got hurt," he meowed, gingerly holding up his paw.
Nightsky sniffed at his paw. "You'll be fine," she concluded, before glancing up at Highstones. "We still have plenty of time left, so I say we should stop and rest for a while. After all, we still have to wait for Acornleaf, Bumblebee, and Honeyleaf."
"Don't worry, I'm here!" a voice called out.
Ripplepaw looked over to see a yellow tabby padding up the slope towards them. Just behind her, a small brown tabby followed after her.
"I would have been here sooner, but Fawnpaw and I lost track of time while gathering herbs," the she-cat apologized, dipping her head.
"Don't worry about it, Bumblebee. There's still plenty of time before we have to go into Mothermouth," Breezetail reassured her. As the elderly WindClan medicine cat sprawled out across a boulder she added, "Besides, my old bones need a quick rest."
Bumblebee's eyes gleamed. "Speaking of your bones, how have you been lately? Did you try out that ointment I was telling you about?"
Breezetail nodded. "I did, but it didn't seem to do anything for me. I think I'm just too old to be trekking across the moor and back every day. I should have taken an apprentice long ago, back when Flowerspot's kits were still young."
"There's always Mottleflower's kits," Bumblebee pointed out.
Breezetail let out a low growl. "I suppose, but I'm not sure I can last long enough to train an apprentice. I'm ready to retire!" The elderly she-cat let out a wheezy laugh, before coughing. "There's that darn cough again. I feel like there's something stuck in my throat!"
As the two medicine cats chatted, Ripplepaw tuned out. Suddenly, a flicker of movement caught his eye. In the distance, he could see three cats heading in their direction. As they got closer, he recognized Willowpaw and Acornleaf.
"The other medicine cats are coming!" he called out.
"Finally," Nightsky murmured, flicking her tail back and forth anxiously.
"Greetings!" Acornleaf called out as she neared. "I hope you haven't been waiting for us too long."
"You're just on time," Nightsky told them. Glancing up at the sky she meowed, "Shall we get going?"
"I'm ready when you are," Honeyleaf told her, before padding in the direction of Mothermouth.
As Ripplepaw and the other medicine cats followed after her, his stomach churned nervously. He tried to convince himself that there was nothing to worry about, but the fear remained. Slowly, he slipped into the dark and cold tunnel. As he walked, he could feel the long and winding tunnels begin to slope downwards, and every so often he thought he heard the sound of crumbling stone and dust.
"There's nothing to be afraid of," Fawnpaw whispered to him.
"I'm not scared," he lied, before quickening his pace the best he could. What if the tunnel splits off, and I get lost? He panicked. To his relief, he thought he spotted a small opening up ahead.
Finally, he felt the tunnel open up into a large cavern. In the middle, he could see a large stone sticking up from the ground.
"I thought the moonlight was supposed to make it shiny," Willowpaw commented, looking disappointed.
"It will," Honeyleaf told her, before glancing up at the hole in the ceiling. As if on queue, the moon moved over the hole, before being reflected off the Moonstone. Suddenly, the entire cavern was illuminated in bright light.
Gulping, Ripplepaw padded over to the Moonstone. As he curled up beside it, Nightsky whispered into his ear, "Remember what I told you."
He nodded, before leaning forward to touch the stone with his nose. To his surprise, nothing happened. As he looked over the other medicine cats, he saw they were already fast asleep. Why haven't I fallen asleep? He wondered, growing concerned. Maybe I didn't do it right. Leaning forward once more, he touched his nose to the Moonstone, but he still didn't fall asleep. Finally after several failed attempts, Ripplepaw felt his eyelids droop, before falling asleep.
"Wake up," Nightsky hissed, poking him in the ribs.
Ripplepaw let out an annoyed groan, before sitting up. His entire body ached from the cold, and his head was pounding. Suddenly, he realized that his dreams had been silent. They've rejected me! He thought, his heart beat quickening.
"StarClan visited me. It was amazing!" Willowpaw chirped, her eyes shining.
As the young she-cat opened her mouth to say more, Honeyleaf stopped her. "I know it's exciting, but you're not supposed to share your dream with any other cat. What you dreamed is between you and StarClan." The golden medicine cat then looked over at Ripplepaw. "Well, what about you? Did StarClan visit you as well?
The silver tom awkwardly nodded his head. "Er... yeah," he lied, his voice cracking slightly. "It was definitely a great experience."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nightsky frown. Suddenly she said, "I think we should get going. Ripplepaw and I have a lot of work to do today!" Before any cat could object, Nightsky nudged her apprentice in the direction of the tunnel. Quickly, they raced down the winding paths, before emerging outside of Mothermouth.
"You were rejected, weren't you?" Nightsky demanded, her eyes full of fear.
Ripplepaw flattened his ears to his head. "Yes," he admitted, looking down at his paws. As they padded down the slope towards the Thunderpath he added, "Surely this is enough proof for you that I'm not supposed to be a medicine cat?"
Nightsky spun around to face him. "You're going to be a medicine cat, whether you like it or not." Before he could say anything else, the black she-cat turned and raced across the Thunderpath, leaving Ripplepaw alone.
Wow, thank you for all of the reviews! I love hearing what my readers have to say, so it means a lot to me. I have to say, I feel very bad for Ripplepaw. Not only was he forced into something he doesn't want to do, but now he has the burden of knowing he was rejected by StarClan. This will only make adjusting to his position much harder. As for Nightsky, my lips are sealed. You will just have to wait to see whether or not Ripplepaw kills her. And to answer Crazy Fennec Fox's question, I honestly don't think he will be around to see SkyClan be exiled. He will see several of the leaders from that time period come to reign, though.
