Chapter 5

A grey tail twitched impatiently as it poked through the underbrush of ThunderClan's forest. Jayfeather's bright blue eyes were locked on a large vole in front of him. It had been scurrying through the leaves when Jayfeather caught sight of it. The cat wriggled his hindquarters, ready to pounce, when a small voice broke into his dream world.

"Jayfeather!"

He woke with a start only to feel Lilypaw's nose shoved in his face, her voice bright and chipper for the first time in days. Seedkit had been getting better. Figuring the sleep along with her new routine of getting up to clear her system, Jayfeather made this a more frequent thing. He would have Lilypaw wake her up before sunrise, let her vomit and make dirt, then feed her a little bit before letting her fall asleep again. At sunhigh, Jayfeather would do the same, only to have her stay awake a little while longer to clean herself, and take some more catmint and feverfew. This was repeated until Moonhigh. Once she stopped throwing up, she would be able to join Lilypaw as an apprentice.

Jayfeather was proud of his work, and glad that Lilypaw had finally warmed up to the idea of becoming a medicine cat.

"Do you remember what this is?" He had asked her, nosing a bright yellow flower to her, letting her get a good sniff of it.

"Uhm…" Lilypaw thought hard. She knew what it was, but couldn't remember what it was called.

Jayfeather knew she knew. So he had taught her a method to help her memorize things.

"Close your eyes and sniff it again."

She did just that, and took in the scent of the flower before her. Closing her eyes heightened her senses, especially smell, and It brought back the memory of kithood. She was in the den and it was just before Jayfeather lead her out by her scruff. He told her it was…

"Tansy!" Lilypaw yowled triumphantly. They began using that method since. Jayfeather would let her smell it, observe it, with her eyes open, and when she closed her eyes and smelled it, he would then explain what it was called, and what it was for. It worked, so they stuck with it.

Jayfeather groggily nosed the apprentice out of his way so he could stretch. It was half-moon, time for the two to visit the Moonpool. Jayfeather knew he should have stayed awake during the day, but he trusted Lilypaw enough to take care of the clan for a few moments while he napped, and he knew that if she ever needed help, there was always Briarlight and Brightheart, who had much knowledge of the herbs.

The medicine cat could tell that Lilypaw was excited. He wasn't. While every other cat may have forgotten, he hadn't. That dream of a new omen still rang in his mind. He thought about it every day, trying to solve it. But there was nothing he could think of.

Poison becomes protector.

Perhaps StarClan meant an herb of some sort that was supposed to be deadly? For all he knew, it could mean another badger attack and they would have to use death berries to kill them all.

No, that wasn't it. It had to be something else…

Shaking the thought from his head, the well-rested medicine cat pushed himself up and out of his den. Most of the camp were getting ready to share tongues and head to their nests. Bramblestar had Cloudtail on guard duty until Moonhigh. Jayfeather nodded in his direction, leading Lilypaw quietly out of camp.

The two trekked on, with Lilypaw following close behind her mentor. The little she-cat worried for him, of course. While she, and the rest of the Clan, now knew he was fully capable of maneuvering through the forest on his own, it was hard not to be worried about a blind cat leading the way.

But he had made this journey for many moons. It was imprinted in his mind, each pawstep, each tree, each leaf. He knew where he was going, and he always would

The two were finally greeted by none other than Willowshine herself. Of course, Mothwing never came anymore. She had stepped down from her Medicine cat duties to continue her last few moons as a warrior before she retired. Jayfeather knew why. Mothwing never believed in StarClan. He knew that even after the battle, she didn't. Those things that she saw for her own eyes, she still didn't believe that dead cats could walk among the stars. It had been proven, however, that while she didn't believe them, she would still join them in their ranks once her life was over. As would Cloudtail, who never believed in StarClan, even as a kit.

But Jayfeather respected her. He had helped her many times, and would always be a good friend of his.

Now Willowshine had taken over. She didn't have an apprentice, but was still young, and didn't really require one. She smiled at the two without a word. It was obvious who Lilypaw was, but Willowshine thought it was better to wait until they got to the Moonpool.

The three walked onward, continuing the silence. Lilypaw was becoming increasingly restless. She wanted to introduce herself, to talk, to exchange medicinal information. But Jayfeather was silent, and so was she.

"Hello, Jayfeather, Willowshine. And…"

Littlecloud's voice broke through the silence as he and Kestrelflight bounded out of the shadows that surrounded them. Jayfeather smiled inwardly. He was Glad that they all could finally get along after moons of ignoring one another.

They were finally approaching the Moonpool. Lilypaw's eyes grew wide. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The stars and the moon reflected off of the clear, smooth surface of the pool. There wasn't a ripple in sight.

"Wow." She breathed, stepping forward and gazing at her reflection. She noticed the other medicine cats sitting around the Moonpool, and saw Jayfeather towering over at her, staring at her with his blind blue eyes.

"Lilypaw, welcome to the Moonpool." he began, gesturing around to all the other cats.

They each nodded to her when Jayfeather introduced them. "Willowshine of RiverClan; Kestrelflight, of WindClan. And Littlecloud, of ShadowClan."

Lilypaw nodded, feeling small and shy all of a sudden, around all of these special cats. They were all so close to StarClan. Would she be in that position soon?

"Lilypaw." Jayfeather started up again, preparing to introduce his apprentice to the cats of the stars. "Is it your wish to enter the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?

Lilypaw thought hard. Was it? She wanted to be important. She wanted to help her clan. "It is, Jayfeather."

Jayfeather smiled and nodded at her. "Warriors of StarClan!" he yowled dramatically towards the sky. "I present you with this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a Medicine Cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will."

A cold chill ran up Lilypaw's spine. Was it her ancestors greeting her to join them in her dreams? She nodded her thanks and followed suite as Jayfeather and the other cats dipped their heads and began drinking from the pool.

As soon as her eyes closed and her tongue hit the water, her bones ran cold. She felt distant from her body. It was a strange feeling, but not a bad one. Opening her eyes, she woke up in a clearing. She was dreaming, as she was no where near the Moonpool.

"Hello?" She called out to no one. Did StarClan reject her for some reason? That was her biggest fear. She didn't want to disappoint Jayfeather, or her parents, or the whole of ThunderClan.

Her paws propelled her forward, racing along the treeline, searching for any sign of someone.

"Hello?" She called out again, a little more hysterically again.

It seemed so empty here. Was this really StarClan's hunting grounds? Wasn't it supposed to be so full of life?

"It is. You're just not in our hunting grounds, little one."

Lilypaw whipped around only to face a very familiar grey she-cat. Her eyes were twinkling with the stars, and with each pawstep she took, stars burst from her feet.

"Cinder… Cinderheart?" Lilypaw meowed, very startled. Had the pregnant warrior died while they were at the Moonpool? Why else would she in Lilypaw's moonpool dream?

The Cinderheart look-a-like simply purred and licked Lilypaw on the head.

"No, little one." She said, turning away and flicking her tail, signaling for the apprentice to follow. Lilypaw dashed up to her side, still mesmerized at how familiar she looked.

The grey cat continued walking until they reached a large drop in the land. "I am Cinderpelt. I was once a medicine cat of ThunderClan."

Lilypaw remembered the stories that Sorreltail told them about Cinderpelt. She died saving her mothers life, and her spirit entered into she newly born Cinderheart. During the Battle, Cinderpelt was freed, and finally made her way to the ranks of StarClan.

Lilypaw nodded, and looked down into the ravine. It looked kind of like ThunderClan's current territory, only it was more mountainous and rocky than theirs was.

"Lilypaw." Cinderpelt began, overlooking the gorge that stretched before them. "You must travel to where Sky meets the land."

Lilypaw looked up at the former medicine cat. Sky meets land? Where would that be? The mountains?

"Why?"

"It is the only way…"

Cinderpelt's words echoed in Lilypaw's head as she jolted herself awake. The other medicine cats were still asleep. They were all still as stone.

How can they sleep like that? Lilypaw thought, her gaze sweeping over the statuesque cats. But while she thought about it, she came to the conclusion that they weren't just asleep. At least, not the natural kind of sleep that they had in their nests at home. It was a sort of trance in where they had no limits to where their minds could go.

Jayfeather began to stir, and jumped to his paws as soon as his eyes opened. His blind eyes glistened and glared. "Lilypaw, we must go."

Lilypaw wanted to stay and chat with the other cats, who were all beginning to wake up from their slumber as well. "But Jayfeather-"

"Now!" He hissed as he dashed into the forest. Lilypaw could do nothing other than follow him into the darkness.

By the time that the two medicine cats made it back to camp, Ivypool was on guard duty and the sun was beginning to rise. Jayfeather didn't stop to nod at the dark she-cat, nor did he stop running to let Lilypaw catch her breath. He simply headed straight for his den, dragging out a few beech leaves and herbs.

Lilypaw knew better than to ask him what was going on, so she sat there silently as he assembled what could only be four wraps of traveling herbs. He woke Seedkit briefly, rubbing her back as she cleared her lungs of phlegm. She didn't vomit, which was a wonderful sign.

"Lilypaw." Jayfeather finally spoke to his apprentice. He was padding away faster than she could answer. "Grab Leafpool and Sandstorm, now."

Lilypaw scurried away to the warriors den, only to find Leafpool missing, and remembering that Sandstorm was an elder now.

"Sandstorm?" She mewed, peeking into the elders den. The sandy she-cat was cleaning ticks out of Purdy's fur. The two had become good friends since Mousefur lost her life. Sandstorm had an attitude that was closest to the die-fighting dusky brown she-cat, and it was no wonder that she reminded the other elder of his old companion.

"Yes, dear?" She meowed, stretching. Sandstorm wasn't as old as some of the cats would like to think. At least, she didn't look old. Though her pelt was dotted with grey, she still hunted occasionally, and volunteered for patrols more often than even Greystripe.

Lilypaw informed her that the medicine cat would like to speak with her, and dashed off to find Leafpool. The tabby was sitting by the fresh-kill pile already, having a word with her sister, the deputy.

"Leafpool, Jayfeather wants you. He's in Bramblestar's den."

That was all she could say before dashing back in a circle to skid at the entrance of her leader's den.

"Come in." The loud, booming voice of Bramblestar called out to her. She hesitantly crawled in to see Jayfeather standing directly inside, beckoning her to sit with him. Once she did, the other two she-cats had made their way through the lichen.

Jayfeather continued on the conversation he and Bramblestar were having before.

"These two had made the journey before. I would more rather take you and Squirrelflight, but you both have huge duties to the Clan now." He said as he gestured to his mother and grand-mother. "These two remember the journey, and as I've been told, Sandstorm has a certain… Knowledge of this trip."

Sandstorm tilted her head, clearly unaware of what Jayfeather was going on about. Bramblestar nodded and flicked his tail for them to depart. No other words were shared, and the four cats exited the den, three of them completely confused, the other with a smug, toothy grin on his muzzle.

"Eat the traveling herbs I've set out for us." Jayfeather said. He had already begun to gobble up his share. The bitter taste no longer bothered him; he had eaten a good amount of these herbs in his time.

Lilypaw looked at the leaves and berries before her. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the names of them.

There was Burnet. Lilypaw visualized the oval-shaped leaves that were used to keep up a cats strength.

There was the strange scent of Chamomile, that Lilypaw knew she would never get used to. It was used to soothe the heart and mind, and used for strength.

And then a Daisy leaf. She would have to apply this to herself in a pulp, to soothe her muscles and joints before they left.

And Sorrel, the plant in which her mother was named after. She couldn't remember what it was meant for. Perhaps it was to ease the hunger?

There was a single Juniper berry as well, but Lilypaw couldn't think of what it was for either.

She chewed what she needed to, swallowed others, and applied the daisy leaf poultice to her pelt. It was warm, and made her feel like she could run for miles and never get tired.

None of the she-cats asked where they were going. They all knew Jayfeather well. If he was eating traveling herbs, it was important.

Once the four cats had let the medicine take it's effect on them, the medicine cat flicked his tail, and they all exited the camp.

No one spoke. Lilypaw padded beside her mentor, with the elder and her daughter following close behind.

"Everyone." Jayfeather began to speak, not slowing down his pace. "We must find SkyClan."