Ebony opened her eyes to see she was laying on the forest floor. She tried to push herself up but something was wrong with her arms. She looked at her arms and almost screamed.
Her entire body was covered with cream colored fur, her feet and hands were paws and she had a cat tail.
"Ebony," a voice said behind her, "You're awake."
Ebony rolled over to see Trinity sitting just a couple of feet away.
"Trinity?" Ebony asked
"My name isn't Trinity," the pale ginger cat said, "That is what you named me. My real name is Marshpaw."
"Marshpaw?" Ebony asked, "Whatever, could you help me up?"
Marshpaw quickly helped Ebony up. She tried to take a step and fell over.
"You don't know how to walk like a cat." Marshpaw said, "Put one paw in front of you along with the back leg, then the other."
Ebony tried it and was okay with that pace. She and Marshpaw walked farther into the woods and soon came upon a puddle of fresh water. They drank their fill then continued walking.
"Marshpaw," Ebony said, "Where are we going?"
"My home," Marshpaw replied, "ThunderClan isn't too far away now."
"ThunderClan?"
"I'll explain it to you later."
They went a farther into the woods and it was almost night time when Marshpaw stopped.
"Marshpaw-?" Ebony asked
"Quite." Marshpaw hissed, "Someone's coming! Hide under that bush!"
They hid under the holly bush and just a moment later three female cats came into sight. One of them was white, another was light brown and the last was dark ginger.
"Did you hear something, Whitefur?" the dark ginger cat asked the white cat
"Yes," Whitefur replied, "At least I thought I did."
"Mabye you two were imagining it." the light brown cat said, "Come on, Squirreltail. Lets go back to camp."
"Okay, Leafpelt." Whitefur said, "Wait what's that?"
"What's what?" Squirreltail asked
The white cat walked up to the bush and decked down to see Ebony and Marshpaw.
"We've got some trespassers." Whtiefur hissed, "Come out here in the light where we can see you!"
Marshpaw pushed Ebony slightly and both of them crawled out. They sat side by side so that the three cats could see them.
"Marshpaw!" Squirreltail gasped, "You've come home!"
"But who is this one?" Leafpelt asked, motioning to Ebony "I've never seen her around here."
"Uh." Marshpaw began, "This is Ebony, she's the cat who helped me escape from the towleg nest."
"Oh." Leafpelt said. Whitefur leaned closer to Ebony and took a long sniff.
"She doesn't smell like kittypet." she said, "We should take her to the camp."
"Why?" Squirreltail asked
"Because Brambleclaw has to give his thanks to her." Whitefur purred
"How is Firestar?" Marshpaw asked, "Is he getting better?"
"No, he's caught green cough and I fear that if I don't do something soon, he'll catch black cough." Leafpelt replied,
"What are green cough and black cough?" Ebony asked them
"Green cough is an illness that strong cats can defeat." Leafpelt said, "Black cough is an illness that very few survive from."
"Is there coughing and weakness when a cat is sick with it?" she asked.
"Yes, why?" Leafpelt asked.
"I might be able to help you with it." Ebony said, "I know an herb that can stop any illness and most of the cats have lived to see the next generation of cats, before their death."
"An herb?" Whitefur asked.
"What kind of herb?" Squirreltail asked.
"She can tell you later!" Marshpaw said, "First, we have to get back to camp!"
"She's right you know." Leafpelt said.
"Follow us, then." Whitefur said.
"Ebony can't run." Marshpaw said, "She's had trouble with walking since before I was captured."
"We'll walk." Squirreltail said, "Come on."