"Hey, Rushingriver!" Echokit bounced into the medicine den. "Can I help you? Please?"
ThunderClan's medicine cat was busily sorting herbs and barely glanced up at Echokit's voice, visibly annoyed at the interruption.
"No, Echokit," Rushingriver replied, clipping his words. "I'm fine."
Echokit frowned. "But I'm bored! And all Mintkit and Owlkit want to do is play with a snail they found," he complained. Rushingriver rolled his eyes and went back to sorting his herbs.
"Why don't you play with the snail, too?" he asked, tail twitching in irritation. "I have herbs to sort and I don't want any kits bothering me."
"I can help you sort herbs!" Echokit insisted. "I'd rather help you than put mouse bile on the elder's ticks." He shuddered at the thought. "I'll have enough time to do that in a couple of days when I'm an apprentice."
"If you want to help me so much, why don't you just become a medicine apprentice," Rushingriver muttered, eyes narrowed as he tried blocking out the distraction.
"Ew, no!" Echokit squeaked. "I want to help you, but I don't want to smell like herbs all the time!" He fluffed up his fur and stuck out his tongue, then continued, "And don't you have to have a special connection with StarClan to be a medicine apprentice?" Rushingriver grunted.
"Why are you putting coltsfoot and dandelions in the same pile?" Echokit asked suddenly. Rushingriver blinked.
"Oh, right," he meowed, pawing the coltsfoot into a separate pile. "Thanks, Echoki—" Rushingriver cut himself off, turning to look quizzically at Echokit. "Wait, how'd you know this was coltsfoot? You're a kit."
Echokit shrugged. "I thought everybody knew the difference between coltsfoot and dandelions. It's not that hard to tell them apart," he mewed, flicking his tail unconcernedly. Rushingriver gaped at him. "What?" Echokit asked self-consciously. "Did I do something wrong?"
Rushingriver shook his head in amazement. "Even I didn't realize that I accidentally put coltsfoot in the dandelion pile. And you're not even six moons!"
"I'm almost six moons old," Echokit mumbled. Rushingriver flicked his tail dismissively.
"Doesn't matter," he meowed. "The point is that you knew, and I didn't, and I've been a medicine cat for moons!"
"Really, Rushingriver, any other cat would be able to tell," Echokit insisted, concerned with where Rushingriver was going. "I'm not special."
But Rushingriver didn't listen to him. He was muttering to himself. "I mixed up coltsfoot and dandelion again, and this time it was a kit who corrected me… I'm a terrible medicine cat. I could use an apprentice…" Echokit blinked in dismayed confusion. He didn't know what Rushingriver was talking about with 'mixing up coltsfoot and dandelion again,' but he was pretty sure that Rushingriver wanted him to be his apprentice!
"You can't really want me to be your apprentice, can you?" Echokit interrupted. He'd wanted to help, sure, but not for this reason! Rushingriver stopped mumbling and glanced at him.
"Of course I do!" he meowed with startling conviction.
"All because I know the difference between two simple healing herbs?" Echokit asked, slightly alarmed at the speed with which Rushingriver had made up his mind.
"Of course, I can always test you on other herbs. For example," he started, "What is watermint used for?"
"Bellyaches," Echokit answered automatically. Then his eyes widened. "I— I mean—"
"Good," Rushingriver praised him, ignoring Echokit's stammered distress. "What are ragwort leaves for?"
Echokit hesitated. He knew the answer, of course, but he didn't want Rushingriver to have more reason to want him as his apprentice. I'd much rather be a warrior than a medicine cat, Echokit thought.
Rushingriver cleared his throat, bringing Echokit back from his thoughts. "Do you know the answer?" He asked patiently.
"Aching joints!" he blurted. "Oh, why did I say that?" he muttered. Rushingriver's eyes were glittering with pleasure.
"And what can I use to treat rat bites?" He asked eagerly. Echokit sighed.
He allowed the remedies to flow from his mouth. "Burdock root, definitely. Marigold or oak leaf to stop infection from setting in. Horsetail to help stop the bleeding. Chervil or honey if the bites are already infected. If the burdock root wasn't enough, poppy seeds or chewed dandelions for painkillers. When you've used all the appropriate herbs, you of course need to use cobwebs." Echokit did nothing to try and stop the look of pure joy on Rushingriver's face.
"Wonderful!" the medicine cat cried. I must go tell Frecklestar!" He promptly rushed out of the medicine den.
"No, don't tell Frecklestar!" Echokit shouted after him, but Rushingriver was already too far away to hear him. "Oh, StarClan, please don't make me be a medicine apprentice."
He padded helplessly out of the medicine den and over to the entrance of the nursery. Owlkit and Mintkit were still busy taking turns attacking the snail. Despite Echokit announcing his boredom before leaving, they hadn't seemed to notice his absence. They were purring with delight and triumph.
Owlkit was the first to look up. He wrinkled his nose as his brother approached. "You smell like herbs," he complained. Mintkit, after springing onto the snail they were playing with, looked to see who Owlkit was talking to.
"Oh, hi, Echokit!" he mewed cheerfully, releasing the snail from under his paws. "Were you in the medicine den?" He gasped. "Are you sick? You don't smell sick, but I wouldn't really be able to tell." He sniffed Echokit anyway. "There's too much leaf scent."
"I'm not sick, Mintkit," he told his brother, who relaxed. "I was just bored."
"Why didn't you practice pouncing on this snail with us?" Owlkit asked, batting at it to demonstrate. It recoiled, curling up into its shell, unable to escape from the kits' fearsome game. "You don't want to be a medicine cat, do you?" Owlkit sounded almost betrayed. "We have to be warriors! Training wouldn't be the same without you."
"Of course, I don't want to be a medicine cat!" Echokit mewed indignantly, whiskers twitching. "Who actually wants to be a medicine cat? But I'm not sure I have a choice… Rushingriver seems to think I have to be a medicine cat." Owlkit brightened at the news that Echokit didn't like the idea of abandoning them.
"Maybe if Rushingriver thinks you should be one, you should," Mintkit suggested. Owlkit shoved him.
"Of course, he shouldn't," he meowed. "Have you got bees in your brain? Just because Rushingriver says he should doesn't mean he has to. I mean, he should at least get a choice in the matter." Echokit was happy that Owlkit was supporting him, but part of him agreed with Mintkit.
"Rushingriver has been the medicine cat for a while, so he probably knows what he's talking about," Echokit sighed. "Maybe I should listen to him…" Owlkit looked crestfallen for a moment, but he nodded his head.
"If you think that's the right choice, then I guess I can't argue," he mumbled, then perked up as he thought of something. "Even if you are going to be a medicine cat, you'll still need to know how to pounce, right?" His eyes glittered mischievously.
"I already told you, I don't want to play with the snai—" Echokit began, but Owlkit interrupted before he could finish.
"Oh, I'm not talking about the snail," he meowed, tail twitching playfully. "I'm talking about Mintkit!" He leaped on top of Mintkit, who let out a squeak of surprise as Owlkit landed on him. Echokit grinned and jumped on, too. The combined weight of the two of them knocked Mintkit to the ground.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Mintkit wailed. "There's two of you and only one of me!"
"Then ask Robinkit to help you!" Owlkit told him.
"No way!" Mintkit's eyes widened and he squirmed underneath them. "She's a girl!"
But before Mintkit even had a chance to consider asking Robinkit for assistance, Rushingriver padded over. Echokit quickly got off of Mintkit. Maybe Frecklestar said no, he thought hopefully. But his hope quickly faded as he saw the thrilled look on Rushingriver's face.
"She said yes, didn't she?" Echokit mewed quietly.
"She said yes!" Rushingriver's eyes were gleaming with excitement as he confirmed Echokit's unhappy assumption. "I'm going to have an apprentice!" Then he noticed the disappointed look on Echokit's face and his eagerness ebbed.
"You… really don't want to be my apprentice, do you?" he asked, sounding a little hurt. Echokit couldn't bear to hear the medicine cat so sad.
"I don't mind," he lied. It can't be that bad being a medicine cat…
