Since starting her chores in MoonClan three days ago, Minnow had fallen into a steady rhythm. She had learned a few new rules too; she wasn't allowed to eat until all the queens, elders and kits had been fed.
At the time, the rule seemed unfair, as the warriors and apprentices were the ones catching the prey, but Icesnap explained "yes, that is true, but the elders deserve great respect and care for their service to our Clan, and the queens and kits need more food in order to grow up strong and healthy. It makes sense to take greater care of them, yes?"
Well, she couldn't argue with that. Today, she had fed the queens and their kits already, but she still had the elders to go before she could eat. There were about three queens in total in MoonClan, and two kits who could take solid prey, so she had brought them a pigeon and a squirrel to share amongst themselves. They now sat outside the nursery, sharing their prey and "sharing tongues" as they called it, while their kits napped with full bellies.
Around her, several warriors were working on camp jobs. She could place a couple of faces, like the young warrior Hazelbranch clawing together moss and soft feathers to replace nests - a task usually assigned to apprentices, but she apparently enjoyed the small, trivial tasks. Another face was Crowclaw, that foul-tempered senior warrior with the gravelly voice. He croaked orders out to the younger warriors, who worked tirelessly to weave together bracken to fortify camp.
The warriors didn't tend to talk to Minnow much, outside of Blazefoot, who often ordered her around and told her when it was okay to eat. It was always "you must feed the elders" this and "you can't eat yet" that. That was another thing Minnow had learned in MoonClan - the older cats got to boss about the younger ones.
Speaking of the younger ones, all of the apprentices minus Foxpaw were out for training, so she was alone this morning. Birdsong filled the air as she ducked out of the fresh-kill pile with a large rabbit in her maw. It was quite fresh, brought in yesterday by Rapidpaw, so she thought it would be best to give to the elders. She held her head up high in the air, so its feet would not drag as she walked.
The elder's den was an ancient, hollowed-out tree covered in moss and draped in lichen. Inside, three old cats huddled together, with a warmly familiar orange shape curled beside one. She was pleased to see Foxpaw with them, and less pleased to find him pressing some foul-smelling moss onto their pelts.
"Hello, Minnow," croaked the largest of the three, a huge brown tomcat with a torn-off front paw, a missing eye, and a torn ear. She had come to know him as Shrewtail, and although his appearance had frightened her at first, she came to understand that he was only a sweet old cat who had fought many battles. "Thank goodness you're here. Longwhisker was just talking my last ear off about when you were going to show up. I thought I might go deaf!"
Minnow gave an amused purr as she placed the rabbit down between the three elders. Besides Shrewtail and Amberclaw, there was an old calico queen called Longwhisker, who hissed a hoarse complaint to Shrewtail, but gave a warm purr afterwards.
"Hi Minnow," Foxpaw meowed, giving her a small smile. "It's nice to see you."
"What are you doing, Foxpaw?" she asked, glancing at the moss between his paws.
"The elders have ticks, so I'm putting mouse bile on them," he replied, chuckling at her grossed-out expression.
"Minnow, come sit with us for a while," Longwhisker offered, "you've fed the queens and kits, yes? Come listen to us ramble."
The silver she-cat purred. "All right, just try not to give me ticks."
The elders gave a warm purr, beginning to dig in to the prey she brought. While the younger cats seemed to turn their noses away from her, the elders were old and wise enough to understand that Minnow was a friend rather than a foe. So, she did just that, curling up beside them to listen to their stories. It reminded her of the nights in the alleys with Candy and Monty, and while her heart ached to return home, the familiarity was a comfort amongst all the hostile, unfamiliar surroundings.
"You know Minnow, Amberclaw was the deputy before Blazefoot." The calico queen began. "Dovestar first became leader many moons ago, before Blazefoot had mentored his first apprentice to completion. Dovestar had picked Amberclaw as his deputy at the time because he was close to being retired, just about the same time that Blazefoot's apprentice would become a warrior. Everyone in the Clan already knew that Blazefoot was going to be the deputy eventually, ever since he was a kit. The previous leader, Tansystar, mentored him personally, and if a leader takes on an apprentice, it's always the talk of the camp. Once Blazefoot began his training, the whole Clan watched him carefully, and not a single cat was disappointed with his performance."
"Yes, I remember watching him myself!" Shrewtail meowed. "He was an incredible apprentice, always bringing back the most fresh-kill. It made my daughter Screechfang furious at the time."
"And he was a dangerous fighter too, he once killed two SunClan warriors in battle after they invaded our territory. It was only a few moons after he had become a warrior himself, too. It's said they both took him on at the same time, and lost." Amberclaw added on.
Longwhisker shook her head mournfully. "He could not save Fernroot, though."
"Who's Fernroot?" Foxpaw meowed. "I haven't heard of them before."
"Bah!" Amberclaw spat, "don't they teach you kits anything these days? I'd have thought better of my daughter than to not tell you of one of the best Medicine Cats we've ever had! He is best remembered for his expert handling of the great greencough outbreak that occurred long ago. He was Dovestar's good friend… and Brindlefur's mentor."
"I've heard that name a bit, Brindlefur. Who's that?" Minnow asked.
Like every time her name was mentioned, the den fell into a mournful silence. It carried on like that for a moment, before Shrewtail solemnly meowed "she was the medicine cat before Kestrelwing. She was also Addertooth's sister. She was killed almost twenty moons ago now… by Addertooth herself."
Foxpaw shuddered, finally speaking up. "Dad told me about that a while ago. She had lost all her kits to greencough and blamed Brindlefur for not healing them properly."
Shrewtail nodded. "She went mad with grief, and claimed that her sister had poisoned her kits instead… you know how new mothers are, especially in grief. I cannot say I blame her for her hysteria. When Brindlefur tried to reason with her, Addertooth tore her throat out. Kestrelwing hadn't even earned her warrior name at that time."
Amberclaw gave Foxpaw a gentle lick on the forehead, seeing how he was trembling. "Blazefoot holds great guilt over being unable to save Brindlefur. After Kestrelwing was left without a mentor to finish her training, the rest of the Clan stepped in to help her finish her training with what little knowledge we had. Dovestar was one of the cats who helped the most. Even so, Blazefoot was antsy after losing two medicine cats so quickly, and so was adamant that there should be a new medicine cat apprentice as soon as possible. That's why he was so enthusiastic about you wanting to go into medicine, Foxpaw."
Foxpaw stared down at the moss-covered floor as he pressed more mouse bile into Amberclaw's pelt. After a moment, he broke his silence again. "And what happened to Fernroot?" he meowed.
"Fernroot was struck down by a SunClan warrior during his journey to the Moonstone to converse with StarClan. It was said he had a prophecy and needed to speak to them to clarify it. It was one of the things that made Dovestar begin to crack down on SunClan constantly trespassing into our territory. To trespass on our home is one thing, to defile the ground we worship with spilled blood is another."
Longwhisker nodded in agreement, her eyes closed in thought. "Dovestar has always been close to StarClan and the Warrior Code. To kill someone close to him at holy grounds is nothing short of a personal insult."
"The Warrior Code states that you should only kill in self-defense. What kind of fight could a medicine cat, untrained in combat, put up?" Amberclaw added defiantly, his tail lashing with the same fire Minnow saw in young warriors.
Minnow's ears pinned back, her paws trembling beneath her. "How horrible! I- If I'm really part of this prophecy or whatever, will I have to fight SunClan too?"
Shrewtail pressed his nose to her forehead, between her tabby stripes. "You are stronger than you think, and stronger than many think of you, kit. While you may be inexperienced now, we won't leave you to fight a Clan by yourself. You have friends here in MoonClan, who will help you every step of the way."
"I don't think I could hurt anyone though," she mewed, "or… kill anyone."
"Maybe you won't have to! Maybe you can talk it out." Foxpaw offered sympathetically.
She shook her head, shrinking down. "I don't think cats who would kill a Medicine Cat for seemingly no reason would listen to a kittypet like me. And my dream with Addertooth, too… I'm scared."
"Aye, Minnow," Shrewtail croaked, "Addertooth is a scary cat to face - but don't worry. Blazefoot outdid her in every front in his youth… every front except stealth. He is a strong warrior - and I don't think that stubborn young fleabag would let you finish his fight! Bahaha!"
The den erupted with laughter, despite the tense air a moment prior. Even Foxpaw, who usually sat awkwardly in silence whenever his father was mentioned, was laughing with them, albeit quietly.
"Ah, but enough about our old elder's tales. How are our apprentices doing?"
Minnow was taken aback by their question. Was she really one of the apprentices now? But she might not even be staying that long… "Um, well… it's still a little scary being out here all on my own. Rapidpaw and Foxpaw are nice though, so at least I have that."
The elders gave each other a look, their fur bristling with excitement. "How is little Rapidpaw? I hear you two are becoming real fast friends."
Minnow's eartips flushed hot with embarrassment. "It's nothing like that! That flea-brain's out on patrol right now, probably losing his catch!"
Shrewtail gave an amused purr. "You've learnt a lot about Clan life in just a few short days here. Yer a real smart one, Minnow. We're glad to have a kit like you looking after us."
The calico queen nodded in agreement, her chest rumbling proudly. "We're in safe paws with you and Foxpaw looking after us."
Glowing with pride, Minnow purred, and turned to Foxpaw, who had a very amusing sheepish expression on his face. The little ginger cat's ears, which usually were flattened and gave him the appearance of having a very broad head, were practically pointed to the floor of the den. It tickled Minnow in a weird way, and she couldn't help but be suddenly struck with the fact that she was enjoying herself.
Monty and Twolegplace seemed like such distant memories now, even though she had only been in the wild for a few days.
A call from the camp entrance rang through the air - not a warning, but a warm "a hunting patrol has returned!"
Minnow poked her head between the lichen, and her ears pricked up as she saw Rapidpaw emerge from the bushes, carrying a finch in his maw. Icensap strode in alongside him, carrying a rabbit - pretty standard catch for Rapidpaw, as the little speedster lived up to his name. The two ducked under the tree stump, depositing their prey, while Minnow bounded across the camp to greet them.
As his head rose up from the fresh kill pile, Rapidpaw spotted Minnow, and rushed to meet her halfway. They crashed into each other, tumbling in the dirt and laughing playfully.
"You're back early!" Minnow meowed, picking herself up off the camp floor and shaking the dirt off her pelt. "Normally you'd stay out til sunset!"
Rapidpaw's tail twitched excitedly, barely able to contain himself. "Yeah, yeah! But! But but but! Guess who's going to the Moonstone with you today? Yup, that's me! I've never been before, but Icesnap told me if I caught a little bit of prey today that I could go!"
Icesnap rolled his eyes, smiling down at Minnow. "I had told him to catch six pieces of fresh kill, but he kept missing his catch because he was too excited. So I told him he only had to catch two instead."
A white blob appeared in Minnow's peripheral vision, and formed as Dovestar when she turned toward it. Respectfully, she dipped her head to him as she had learned to do. The others did the same.
"Minnow, you have not eaten today," he observed. "That is good, we aren't allowed to eat before we go to Mothermouth. Come with me, let us get some travelling herbs from Kestrelwing, and then we will depart together."
Minnow's pelt bristled as the group moved towards the medicine den as one. Soon, Mothermouth awaited her - the very ground that MoonClan worshipped… and the same ground Fernroot died on.