Two sunrises had passed since the gathering. Sweettooth was on his way to the medicine den in order to fetch mouse bile from Poolshine. Shelldawn and Mudstreaks were given tick duty because there aren't any apprentices in the clan, but Sweettooth has volunteered to replace Mudstreaks—He wanted to spend more time with Shelldawn and speak with her about having kits. I must have misunderstood her impression! Surely she'd want kits sometime?
Sweettooth entered through the thorn bush that hid the den and saw Grayshine preparing moss balls that will later be soaked in mouse bile. He padded over to the pool formed between the roots of the thorn bush, where Grayshine was sitting.
"Hi Grayshine!" Sweettooth called to her. "Do you need help preparing the mouse bile?"
"No," Grayshine replied. "But my name is Willowshine, you can help by fetching me yarrow"
"Okay." Sweettooth trotted to the shiny Two-leg tendril that held the herbs, tore off a piece of yarrow and headed back to Willowshine. "Since when do you need yarrow to extract mouse bile?"
"I don't," Willowshine retorted matter-of-factly. "And you knew that already. There's something I need to talk with you about." Willowshine began. "When I visited the moonpool last half moon, I had a vision about you." Willowshine described the vision while Sweettooth stared confused. "In the vision, you were marching through the camp entrance with five pieces of prey dangling with their tails in your mouth, each piece carrying a herb in it's mouth. The first was a mouse carrying sorrel. The second piece was a shrew and it had daisy in its jaws. The third prey was a vole that had chamomile hanging from it. The fourth piece was a squirrel carrying burnet. Even though my vision was cut short before I could see the last piece, I know what this vision means." Willowshine stopped and looked at Sweettooth questioningly, him not having a clue of what he was supposed to say. "Sweettooth," she began explaining. "It means you are to become a medicine cat."
Sweettooth felt the entire lake enfolding him as the thought of being a medicine cat rippled through his mind. "I can't be a medicine cat!" Sweettooth protested. "I'm a warrior, and I'm a good one. I have a mate and we are going to have kits eventually. Medicine cats can't do that can they?" Sweettooth stopped to breathe after his surge of rapid retorts, then continued in a calmer voice. "Besides, I can't even remember your name, how could I remember all the different herbs?"
"But you already remember them!" The medicine cat meowed in a comforting tone as she picked up a leaf from the ground. "I've asked you earlier to bring me yarrow and look, you got it right without asking me anything. You even knew that I didn't really need it." Willowshine paused for a heartbeat and continued without a response from Sweettooth. "I understand that you may be upset right now. You've just finished your warrior training and you don't want things to change between you and Shelldawn. But you have to understand Sweettooth," She paused as an embarrassed look began to form in her gaze, allowing Sweettooth to notice her graying muzzle for the first time. "I'm the oldest medicine cat around the lake and I still haven't taken an apprentice. StarClan sent me a sign that you need to be a medicine cat, you have to respect their will."
"I don't have to do any of the sorts!" Sweettooth retorted angrily, and began to calm down. "Just give me the mouse bile. The elders need their ticks removed."
"Here," The gray tabby gave him the sticks with mouse bile soaked moss at its tip and meowed. "Just think about it, it's an important matter."
Sweettooth didn't reply as he exited through the bush he entered from and headed towards the strong bramble thicket that is the elders' den. Shelldawn was sitting at its entrance, waiting for him to return with the bile.
"Seems like Willowshine enjoyed your company if she kept you there for so long." Shelldawn meowed through a series of chuckles. "I thought your pelt must have caught every thorn from the bush. Did she tell you anything special?"
"She thinks I'm supposed to be a medicine cat."
"Do you want to be a medicine cat?"
"No! Being a medicine cat means I can't take a mate. And I'm never going to give you up." Sweettooth answered the pretty she-cat's question in a stern saddened tone, proceeding to change it towards a cheerful one. "Now let's hunt some ticks."
The pair entered the den through the bramble entrance, each with a stick in their mouth and padded towards the elders. Mosspelt and Duskpelt were sleeping in their nests, Mosspelt letting out gentle snores while Duskpelt sounded more like a monster. Sweettooth and Shelldown decided to treat the non-sleeping elders first, Shelldawn went over to Minnowtail while Sweettooth went over to help Mothwing. As he began searching the old medicine cat's fur for ticks, she opened her mouth.
"The fresh-kill you brought over a few sunrises ago was very tasty." She meowed in a hushed voice. "What did you put in it?"
"I used heather nectar." Sweettooth answered briefly.
"Only heather nectar?"
"Yes, it was just prey and heather nectar."
"I thought I recognized its taste. I used it a lot during the great journey. Do you know why?"
"It is used to sweeten traveling mixtures."
"Yes that's right." Mothwing meowed and stopped for a moment before continuing in an even quieter tone. "Willowshine told me about her vision." At her words Sweettooth frowned while the golden tabby kept meowing, not even seeing his reaction. "Don't take too much notice of it." Uh? "My StarClan sign was completely fake and you know how good of a medicine cat I've been. StarClan can be wrong at times and I'm not even sure they like us that much."
"What?" Sweettooth, surprised, questioned the old medicine cat. "You were a medicine cat, how can you not believe in the will of StarClan?"
"Why should dead cats be in our favor?" Mothwing answered. "There was even a time when I didn't believe they exist at all. It was one of the most important things that happened to our clan. Second only to when Tigerstar, my father, took control of our clan and killed Stonefur."
As if Mothwing's words were a summon, Mosspelt let out a very loud snore. Shelldawn let out an amused purr at the sound of it and began speaking with Minnowtail.
"How old is she?" Shelldawn meowed. "I know she's Willowshine's mother and that she lived in the old forest."
"Well," Minnowtail began as Sweettooth finished clearing Mothwing's ticks. "My mother was Dawnflower. From what I've heard, Dawnflower was born in the forest while the first Tigerstar was still Tigerclaw, Mosspelt is Dawnflower's mother."
"Wow," Shelldawn replied in a tiny voice, while Sweettooth was already on his way between Mothwing's nest to Duskpelt's. "She must have been through so much."
With Shelldawn's words, Mosspelt woke up and turned her head to stare straight at Sweettooth. "Willowshine," Mosspelt rasped in an exhausted voice. "Come here I want to tell you something."
Sweettooth thought hard whether to tell the old she-cat he is not her daughter Willowshine and decided he'll tell her. "I'm sorry Mosspelt," Sweettooth meowed in a gentle tone. "But I'm not Willowshine."
"But you're a medicine cat, aren't you?" The elder replied in a stronger voice as she rose to her paws. "Take me to the medicine den."
Sweettooth looked at Shelldawn and Mothwing questioningly, Mothwing replying with a brisk nod. "Okay." He replied.
Sweettooth pushed aside bramble tendrils to let Mosspelt pass through, out of the den, and escorted her to the medicine den, where he visited earlier that day. Sweettooth moved aside some parts of the bush and watched the elder padding in through the wide open entrance. Willowshine was not there and Sweettooth assumed that she had gone to gather herbs. Inside the den, Sweettooth led Mosspelt to a nest, and checked it for thorns before letting her rest there.
"I have a bellyache." Mosspelt murmured.
"I'll see if there's watermint or juniper in the store". Sweettooth meowed as he trotted over to the shiny tendril holding the herbs. He spotted the watermint and picked out a few fresh looking leaves. Sweettooth headed back towards Mosspelt's nest, dropping the leaves near her mouth. "Here, swallow these, they would ease the pain in your stomach."
"Thank you dear." Mosspelt rasped as she swallowed the leaves.
Sweettooth started clearing Mosspelt's ticks while waiting for Willowshine to come back from gathering herbs. After he finished clearing Mosspelt's ticks, Sweettooth heard a rattle from the den's entrance, and saw Shelldawn beginning to peek in, the mouse bile stick in her mouth.
"Sweettooth? Mosspelt?" Shelldawn called to them, walking over to Mosspelt's nest after dropping the stick elsewhere. "I've finished clearing the other's ticks and came to check on you. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine dear," The elder answered the beautiful tabby. "This young one right here took good care of me." She meowed, her tail pointing at Sweettooth. At her words, Willowshine came through the den entrance, saw Mosspelt, and rushed over to her.
"Mosspelt what are you doing here?" The medicine cat questioned her mother. "Were you hurt?"
"I'm fine Willowshine." Mosspelt meowed. The old she-cat paused and turned her gaze toward Sweettooth and Shelldawn. "May you two leave the den please, I want to be left alone with my daughter."
Sweettooth and Shelldawn left the den and walked side by side to behind the warriors' den where there was thick growth of bay and willow, and no cat in sight. We must have had the same idea if we both came here without one leading the other.
"Shelldawn," Sweettooth meowed first. "I thought about the gathering, and about your expression when I talked about kits. I want to have kits with you but I understand it is a rough process. I would like for us to have kits and to take over their nursing when they are weaned."
Sweettooth searched Shelldawns gaze for objection but only found joy in her dawn shaded eyes as she began to respond. "Of course I want to have kits with you Sweettooth," Shelldawn reassured him. "And I'm sorry for not acting like that at the gathering. It's just that I only became a warrior a few sunrises ago, and I didn't want to go straight to the nursery. I will gladly accept it if you took over nursing, you would make a great father." At the end of her words, Shelldawn passed her tongue on Sweettooth's flank and they proceeded to share tongues privately, without worry of kits or any other matter except for the loving gaze they shared whenever they caught each other's eyes.