"Foxsoul, bring me those poppy seeds will you?" Dandelionpaw was being a nuisance again.
"I'm your mentor, Dandelionpaw! Your acting like I'm your apprentice!" Foxsoul snapped, even though she reluctantly passed her apprentice the poppy seeds.
Suddenly, Foxsoul spotted Ivyspirit, Mochawing and Pigeongrip racing arong camp, worry clouding their eyes.
"Eaglepaw? Berrypaw? Snakepaw?" They were shouting, as they veered towards the warrior's den. Foxsoul trotted over to them, leaving her apprentice to sort herbs.
"What's going on?" she asked, her paws scraping the ground in anxiousness.
"Our apprentices! They've gone!" Ivyspirit explained ergently. Skyheart -Snakepaw's mother- had presumably heard them, as she came rushing towards them as fast as she could.
"My kit!" She wailed, "My lovely kit is gone!"
This set the rest of the queens off, even though Snakepaw wasn't their kit.
As Foxsoul wandered bounded away from the commotion, she saw Mudfoot creep across the edge of camp and head towards the medicine den. Taking a split second to think, she realised that her apprentice could handle a wound, so she aimlessly wandered out of camp.
The gorse tunnel was slippery, and every now and then, slip down the slope a bit. Finally, the ginger tabby she-cat made up the slanted tunnel, and she let her legs carry her.
"Comfrey, yarrow, borage and poppy!" Foxsoul reported to herself, "Lucky I came across them."
Foxsoul had been collecting herbs for the rest of the day, and she was heading back to camp. The sun was going down, like a ship, sinking to the depths of the ocean. The moors became dark as rainclouds crept across the sky, making the brightest flower seem dull.
Suddenly, Foxsoul spotted something whizzing past her, and she chased it, her legs growing tired, but curiosity driving her on. Her legs throbbed and got worn out even more, as she persued this unwelcome guest.
Soon, the thing stopped in its tracks and turned to face Foxsoul, snarling. Orange fur, black nose, muzzle. A fox.
'I'd better go and get some more warriors' Foxsoul thought, 'But I might lead it to camp.' I was then that she realised what she had to do.
Not daring to look behind her, Foxsoul ran. She could hear the fox growling as she quickened her pace. The medicine cat halted at the edge of the gorge and waited patiently for the fox to attempt pouncing on her. When the orange pelted creature lunged at her, Foxsoul swiftly slid to one slid, and the fox flew off the edge of the watery canyon.
As Foxsoul trudged back to camp, she gave a half-hearted yawn. Whilst she came back into camp, the medicine cat glanced at Ivyspirit, and by the look on her face, Foxsoul could tell she still hadn't found her apprentice.
Foxsoul decided to check on her apprentice, Dandelionpaw, who was tending to an elder who was unlucky enough to have caught Greencough. She saw to tortoise-shell leaning over him, trying to make him eat the catmint she was holding.
"Stop acting like a kit!" Dandelionpaw was meowing irritably, "You've had herbs a million times, especially catmint! You seem to be getting Greencough every leaf bare! Now I think you might be asking for it! We're wasting all the catmint on you!"
The medicine apprentice shut her mouth when she saw her mentor glaring at her and narrowing her eyes, but she returned the gesture by staring at Foxsoul haughtily. Dandelionpaw then slunk back into the elders den as her mentor turned away.
Out of the corner of her eye, Foxsoul spotted the lithe body of her leader, Blazestar, creeping out towards the Tall Rock -the place she addresses her clan from.
"Let all cats old enough to run on the moor, gather around the Tall Rock for a clan meeting!" Blazestar sent out her call for a clan meeting, and one by one, the warriors (and Dandelionpaw) made their way out their dens.
Blazedstar's tail flicked anxiously as they settled down, ready for the meeting. By the way the warriors looked at their leader, Foxsoul could see that they thought they knew what the meeting was about. Blazestar waited patiently until the whispers died down, and everyone looked up at her, then, she began, "As most of you know, three of our apprentices are missing."
"Yeah! Your apprentices! Our kits!" Skyheart called out from the nursery. The other queens yowled their agreement, their tails lashing from side to side.
Blazestar ignored the queens frustrated retort, and carried on, "We will send out search parties tomorrow. Meanwhile, the warriors will carry on apprentice duties, like taking fresh-kill to the elders. Also, Pumpkinfoot's and Lavendershoot's kits ready to become apprentices."
Foxsoul saw the kit's bound forward.
'At least the medicine cats don't have to do apprentice duties' Foxsoul sighed as the ceremony finished. With a sudden jolt of dread, she realised where the apprentices had gone. Foxsoul raced through the gorse tunnel, and disappeared into a clump of ferns.