Chapter 7

The Camp

"Come on, I don't have all day," Pinepaw huffed, his tail twitching with annoyance. This tom was really getting on Patch's nerves, but of course he didn't show it. He has never been one to show what he was feeling. Letting everyone know your emotions can be such a nuisance. That is why he has perfected the art of hiding his own.

Before Pinepaw could start showing Patch and Shell around, a young pale ginger she-cat came trotting over to the small group, her amber eyes friendly with curiosity. As she came closer Patch's heart began to beat slightly faster and he felt his cheeks getting warm. What was wrong with him? Was he getting a fever or something? No, it was because of this she-cat. She seemed to be just another cat coming to greet them, why did he care? But somewhere in the back of Patch's head he didn't think she was 'just another cat'. She was probably the most beautiful cat he had ever seen. He shook his head slightly, collecting himself as the she-cat stopped in front of him and his sister.

"Hello there," she purred, dipping her head in greeting to Shell and Patch. "I'm Amberpaw, an apprentice of ThunderClan just like Pinepaw here." She flicked her tail towards the dark brown tabby, who just rolled his eyes at her.

"Hi! I'm Shell and this is my brother, Patch," Shell stated, also dipping her head in greeting. Patch only nodded because though he wanted to say something to the pretty she-cat he was lost for words.

"How long do we plan on standing here? Thornstar wants me to show them around camp and I can't do that if you keep on chatting to them!" Pinepaw snapped at Amberpaw.

"Oh really?! I'll do it if you'd like. Since you apparently have so many important things to do," Amberpaw replied, not seeming to pay any attention to Pinepaw's aggressive tone.

"Be my guest." With that the dark brown tabby turned and vanished back out through the camp entrance.

Amberpaw turned back to the two siblings. "Don't mind him, he's always like that. He thinks he's the best out of all of the apprentices, which isn't really that many. You get used to it after a while," she said with a quick roll of her eyes. "Okay, first things first," she nodded toward the large, smooth rock they were all standing near, "that's the Highrock. It's where Thornstar addresses the Clan from. Her den is right down there." With her tail she pointed to a hollow in the side of the Highrock where lichen draped over the entrance. "It's said that it was carved out by an ancient stream many moons ago," she added.

Amberpaw then trotted over to a large bush that sat only a few paces away from the Highrock, Shell and Patch at her heels. "This is where the warriors sleep. The senior warriors sleep in the center because it's the warmest." She nodded over to a clump of nettles. "That's where they usually share fresh-kill. The younger warriors eat nearby and are sometimes invited to eat with the senior warriors, which is a true honor," she explained.

"If queens aren't expecting or nursing kits they sleep in the warriors den and carry out warrior duties," Amberpaw said as she trotted across the clearing. She pointed with her tail to a small fern tunnel. "Go through there and it leads to the medicine cat's den." Right when she finished her sentence, a light gray tom padded out of the tunnel, a small bundle of moss in his mouth.

"That's your medicine cat?" Patch questioned, ignoring Shell's slightly shocked look. He knew she was probably surprised that he actually spoke. The tom looked a bit young to Patch, but then again he didn't know if medicine cats were supposed to be young or not.

Amberpaw let out a small purr of amusement. "No, that's Moonpaw, the medicine cat apprentice. Our medicine cat is Rowantail, Moonpaw's mentor." With a small flick of her tail Amberpaw beckoned the gray tom over. He saw her signal and padded up to the three cats.

"Hey Moonpaw! This is Shell and Patch. They're going to be staying with as for awhile, and might even be joining the Clan," the ginger she-cat explained.

Moonpaw set the bundle of moss down, though his nose was wrinkled as if he smelled something bad. "Hello," he murmured quietly in a soft voice.

"Whatcha got there?" Shell asked, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

Patch bent down and sniffed at the moss, though his head snapped back up the moment he did so. "Whatever it is it smells awful…" he muttered, now knowing why Moonpaw had his nose wrinkled.

"It's mousebile," Moonpaw mumbled in the same soft voice. "It helps to remove ticks," he added quietly.

"Neat," Shell said, seeming to be truly fascinated. Patch had no doubt she was. His sister seemed to be curious about everything.

"Well, I have to go take this to the elders," the gray tom murmured, picking the mousebile soaked moss up. He nodded a quick good-bye then walked off in the direction of a fallen tree that sheltered a patch of lush grass.

As Patch watched the tom leave he noticed three long scars that ran down Moonpaw's back. He was about to ask about it but his sister beat him to it.

"What happened to his back?" she asked Amberpaw, her eyes still filled with curiosity and a hint of concern.

For a moment Amberpaw looked a bit uncomfortable. "Well, we don't usually talk about it but if you guys end of becoming a part of the Clan, I suppose you have a right to know. You see, it happened when Moonpaw was just a young kit, Moonkit back then. If you didn't notice, he's very quiet and shy. He didn't always used to be that way; he used to be happy and carefree. But one day he had wandered out of camp, as sometimes adventurous kits do, and he stumbled upon a rogue, which is a, usually hostile, cat who doesn't belong to a Clan. And so the rogue attacked Moonpaw. Luckily a group of our warriors were out patrolling nearby and found the two before anymore damage could be done," she finished, her eyes filled with sadness at the memory.

"Wow, I'm sorry…" Shell mumbled sympathetically. Patch nodded his head, showing that he was as well.

"But, it turned out better for him in the end I suppose," Amber continued. "Since he stayed with Rowantail for so long, because of his injuries, he learned tons of stuff about being a medicine cat and decided that's what he wanted to be instead of a warrior. He takes it so seriously I just know he's going to make a great medicine cat when he's fully trained," she said, a deep purr escaping her throat.

"Anyways," the she-cat went on, "the elder's den is where Moonpaw just disappeared to and over here is the apprentices den." Amberpaw padded over to a large, thick bush of ferns that was behind a mossy tree stump. "This is where the apprentices sleep and we usually eat at the tree stump," she explained. "I'm not sure if you two are going to sleep in here or somewhere else so you should probably ask Thornstar about it later," the pale ginger she-cat suggested.

Patch nodded in acknowledgement. He had actually been rather uncertain about how this whole thing with the Clan would turn out, but so far everything seemed to be going smoothly. As long as things continued to go as smooth then his father's plan would be a success.