Chapter 5
Cinderpelt, laying down in her den, saw Squirrelkit and Leafkit dashing around the Thunderclan camp "I'm going to get you!" Squirrelkit squeaked "No way!" Leafkit said, running past Squirrelkit It's a shame they think their mother is a loner, it hurt so much giving them up but it was for the best, and I get to see my kits grow Cinderpelt though, feeling the familiar pangs of sadness in her chest, but suddenly she saw Leafkit dash forward and accidentally bump into her "Oops! Sorry Cinderpelt!" Leafkit said "It's fine Leafkit" Cinderpelt purred, licking her head, when she heard a rustling of leaves "A rogue's coming into camp!" Squirrelkit yowled, running into the medicine den with her fur bristling and tiny claws unsheathed, standing up and looking out she saw the familiar pelt of Ravenpaw, the loner who had helped them fight off Bloodclan "Squirrelkit this is no rogue, it's Ravenpaw! He helped Thunderclan defeat Bloodclan!" Cinderpelt purred and Squirrelkit and Leafkit crouched out nervously and they approached Ravenpaw "Oh hello there little ones!" Ravenpaw purred, "Hey I'm not little, I'm very big!" Squirrelkit retorted, giving small jumps to try and appear taller "Ravenpaw, it's good to see you!" Firestar purred, walking to Ravenpaw's side "Firestar!" Ravenpaw purred "Are these your kits? The red one is a lot like you when you were an apprentice" Ravenpaw said "Yes they are my kits, their mother can't take care of them so they're being raised in Thunderclan by me" Firestar mewed, crouching down to the two kits "Squirrelkit's going to be a great warrior" Leafkit said, smiling up at Ravenpaw "Me and Barley need your help, some Bloodclan cats took over our farm!" Ravenpaw squeaked nervously, and Cinderpelt noticed Barley was in the camp as well "We will do what we can to help but we have other things to do as well, for now make yourself at home" Firestar purred and Cinderpelt saw Leafkit walk into her den "Cinderpelt, can you teach me about herbs?" Leafkit asked "Herbs? Why?" Cinderpelt asked "I wanna help in case any cats get hurt fighting off the mean cats from Bloodclan who took Ravenpaw's farm!" Leafkit said, sitting down by the herb storage "Alright then" Cinderpelt purred, sitting down by Leafkit "I'll teach you herbs to heal wounds" Cinderpelt said, putting her paw on the pile of dock leaves "This is dock, you chew it into a poultice and put it on top of wounds" Cinderpelt explained and Leafkit's eyes widened in wonder "Can I try to chew them?" Leafkit asked "Well no cat is hurt, maybe after a battle you can" Cinderpelt said, wrapping her tail around Leafkit's side "And this is cobweb, we use it to stick the poultice onto the cat so it doesn't fall" Cinderpelt said, pointing her paw to the spindly white webs "Can I touch them?" Leafkit asked "I wouldn't recommend that. And this is chervil, it's another thing to make into poultice" Cinderpelt purred "This is really cool! Maybe I can be a medicine cat apprentice! Can I? Can I?" Leafkit asked, looking into Cinderpelt's eyes "Of course you can" Cinderpelt purred, pressing her muzzle on top of Leafkit's head. I get to train my own daughter Leafkit to become a medicine cat! This is going to be amazing! Cinderpelt thought, feeling warmth inside her seeing Leafkit smile "I'm going to tell Squirrelkit and Firestar!" Leafkit squeaked, dashing out of the medicine den and Cinderpelt walked out as well, walking into Firestar's den "Leafkit has been taking an interest in herbs and she's going to be my apprentice!" Cinderpelt purred "That's amazing!" Firestar mewed in response, licking Cinderpelt's cheek "Well she'll tell you herself in a bit anyways, she's very excited" Cinderpelt said, twining her tail with Firestar's, feeling a rush of affection for her mate and she saw Leafkit dash into the leader's den "Firestar! Firestar!" Leafkit squeaked "Yes Leafkit?" Firestar asked "I'm going to be Cinderpelt's apprentice so don't make my mentor a warrior ok?" Leafkit said and Firestar giggled "I promise you i'll make sure Cinderpelt is your mentor" Firestar said, putting his paw on Leafkit's ear "I'm going to ask Graystripe to set up some patrols" Firestar said, standing up and walking out of the den and Cinderpelt walked out, and Squirrelkit and Leafkit followed her "Cinderpelt can we play in your den? The nursery has a leak." Squirrelkit said, flicking her ears at the drizzle falling from the sky "Of course!" Cinderpelt said, walking into the medicine den with the two kits "What should we play?" Squirrelkit asked "Maybe mossball, I can get you some moss" Cinderpelt said, grabbing some moss off her nest and rolling into a ball "Here you go!" Cinderpelt purred, tossing the ball to the kits who started playing with it, as they ran around Squirrelkit fell over onto the hard floor "Squirrelkit! Are you ok?" Cinderpelt screeched, dashing towards her daughter "My nose hurts, but I think it'll be fine" Squirrelkit whined, stumbling up clumsily and Cinderpelt looked at her nose, seeing small streams of blood "You're bleeding! I'll get some moss" Cinderpelt said, walking to the medicine storage and grabbing moss and stuffing small bits up Squirrelkit's nostrils "Keep these in there" Cinderpelt mewed, licking her daughter's head tenderly "These feel weird!" Squirrelkit squeaked "Well it's either this or bleed all over the medicine den" Cinderpelt mewed and Squirrelkit huffed indignantly and Cinderpelt gigged "Keep playing now kits" Cinderpelt said, walking out and seeing Firestar eating a mouse by the fresh-kill pile, she walked up to him and smiled "Hello Firestar" she said, laying down by her mate, licking his cheek "Hello Cinderpelt, once i'm finished with this mouse do you want to go out together, you can collect some herbs" Firestar purred, pressing his head onto Cinderpelt's cheek "Of course!" Cinderpelt squeaked, after Firestar gulped down the last of his mouse Cinderpelt got up and Firestar walked out with Cinderpelt at his side "So how has being leader been going?" Cinderpelt asked, grabbing some small Broom flowers and putting them into the large leaf she used to carry herbs "It's been going good, there has been some dog-scent at sunningrocks but it isn't fresh so it was probably a twoleg with their dog" Firestar said, lashing his tail and Cinderpelt grabbed a few dandelions and put them in the large leaf "So how's medicine cat duties going?" Firestar asked "Well not many cats have gotten injured, well Squirrelkit hurt herself today but I helped her out" Cinderpelt mewed, walking to Firestar's side "I see some plants over there, I think they're herbs" Firestar said and Cinderpelt giggled, walking over to the plants "They're poppies, i'll take them with me" Cinderpelt said, grabbing the poppies and putting them into the herb wrap and walked back to Firestar "Squirrelkit seems to be excited to apprenticed, why can't these last three moons go faster so she can" Cinderpelt sighed, pressing herself onto Firestar's side "I'm excited for Leafkit, she's so happy she's going to be your apprentice, she seems to love you in her own way" Firestar purred and Cinderpelt smiled, wrapping her tail around her mate's side "I'm so happy we still get to raise our daughters" Cinderpelt mewed, licking Firestar's cheek and he purred, pressing his head onto her cheek "Squirrelkit is a pawful, she's a ball of energy and simply can't stay still" Cinderpelt said, grabbing a pawful of Celandine and putting it into the herb wrap "Oh yes she is, she's going to be a quite rowdy apprentice so i'll need to give her a mentor who can handle that" Firestar purred "Maybe Sandstorm, she seems to have the same amount of fire to handle her" Cinderpelt purred "Well she already has Sorrelpaw" Firestar reminded her "Right, maybe Cloudtail" Cinderpelt suggested "Well he was a fiery apprentice but i'm thinking maybe a cat who can maybe calm her down" Firestar mewed "Well maybe Brambleclaw" Cinderpelt mewed, grabbing coltsfoot from a small patch "Brambleclaw seems to hate Squirrelkit already!" Firestar hissed "Well I don't see why, but maybe Dustpelt would be a good choice, he's a good warrior" Cinderpelt said, standing up and walking to Firestar's side "That's a good idea, i'll consider it" Firestar purred and Cinderpelt grabbed a large bunch of dock leaves "These will be really good, let's bring these back to camp, you have plenty to do." Cinderpelt said, walking with Firestar at her side to the thunderclan camp and he walked into his den and Cinderpelt walked up to Squirrelkit and Leafkit who were sleeping in the medicine den "Oh hello there little ones" Cinderpelt whispered, laying down by her daughters she wrapped her tail around the two kits side and she smiled warmly, looking at the two kits she purred quietly They'll be good apprentices and a good warrior and medicine cat, I'll make sure they get there well Cinderpelt thought, drifting off to sleep
