Chapter 1
"Owlkit! Let's go outside!" Amberkit was itching to stretch his claws.
"Later," yawned Owlkit.
"But I wanna explore!" Dustkit piped up.
"Well, I don't," growled Owlkit.
Amberkit drooped.
"Oh, fine!" snapped Owlkit.
They headed outside, tripping in their haste to see the outside world. "Whoa!" exclaimed Amberkit as a hunting patrol returned. "Those mice are huge!"
"We found a nest of them," mumbled Timberfoot, who was at the head of the patrol.
"Wow!" squealed Dustkit, eyes shining. "I wanna be just like you when I grow up! What about you, Owlkit?" Dustkit swung her head around. Owlkit was nowhere to be seen. "Owlkit!"
Owlkit was disappearing into a mound of brambles and vines. A strong scent of herbs came from it.
"You're going into the medicine cat's den?" Amberkit's scathing mew was filled with disbelief. "I thought we were going to be warriors!" exclaimed Duskit
Owlkit poked his head out of the den. "So what if you want to be warriors?" he asked. "I want to be a medicine cat!"
"If you want to be stuck in a den all day and surrounded by stinky old cats," Amberkit snorted.
"Medicine cats do other stuff too!"
"Like what?"
"Like healing cats and receiving prophecies and..and..."
"Medicine cats never do anything fun! We won't be able to train with each other either."
"That's true, but medicine cats are very important to the clan." The low, soothing voice startled both Amberkit and Owlkit.
Owlkit turned to look at the small, pale silver she-cat. "Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Grayfeather. I am the medicine cat of Shadowclan," the cat replied.
Owlkit's eyes sparkled. "I want to be your apprentice someday!" he squeaked.
Grayfeather purred. "Maybe someday. But for now, stay out of trouble. Why don't you go to the elder's den and listen to a story?"
"Okay!"
Amberkit's tail twitched. "Where's the elder's den?"
"Hmm," mused Owlkit.
"I think it's that one!" Dustkit flicked her tail at a low, squat den woven with waxy green leaves and thick, spiky brambles.
"Let's see!"
The three kits sprang toward the den. Amberkit peeked inside. It was empty. The faint scent of Timberfoot and their father, Thorntail, lingered in the air, along with other unknown scents.
"I think it's the warrior's den," announced Amberkit.
"Then you shouldn't be in there."
The kits jumped. A stocky brown she-cat was glaring at them. "Kits!" she muttered. "Think they can go wherever they want!"
"Let it go, Twignose. They're only kits!" A night black she-cat padded up to Twignose.
"That doesn't give them the right to poke their whiskers in every cats' business, Shimmertail!"
Amberkit slowly backed out of the warrior's den. "C'mon!" he hissed to Owlkit and Dustkit. "Let's go find the elder's den!"
"You can go," said Owlkit. "I'm going to go to the medicine cat's den." he padded away and entered the medicine cat's den.
It was filled with the smell of musty, damp herbs. The den was dark, with only a small amount of sunlight filtering through the vines and brambles. Rows and rows of neat, organized piles of herbs filled the small, cramped den.
Owlkit walked over to a stack of small green plants. It had a mouthwatering scent. Owlkit tore off a bit and put it in his mouth.
That's good!
He picked up another leaf, and ate it.
It's delicious!
Owlkit went on eating it, stuffing mouthful after mouthful of the leaves into his mouth.
"Owlkit!" Owlkit recognized his mother's fussy mew. "What are you doing?!"
Owlkit bent his head down, still eating the plant.
"Are you eating something?" Owlkit thought he recognized a note of hysteria in her voice. "You are! Spit it out! Spit it out right now!"
Amberstripe rushed forward and grabbed the leaves away from him. "Don't EVER do that again!" She raised her head. "Grayfeather! Grayfeather!"
The slender, delicate she-cat rushed into the den. "What?" she asked. "What happened?"
"Owlkit ate something!"
Grayfeather stiffened and examined the remains of the half-eaten plant. "He's eaten some catnip."
"Is that the plant for greencough?"
"Yes."
Catnip=cure for greencough. I'm going to have to remember that if I want to be a medicine cat. Ooh! I rhymed!
"That's it? Is that all he ate? What will it do to him?"
"Yes, probably, and nothing."
Amberstripe glared at Owlkit. "You are in big trouble!"
Owlkit stared down at his paws.
Can I still be a medicine cat if I get in trouble?
He sighed.
Who knows?