Chapter 3

~Everpaw~

"Take some borage to the queens, and some daisy leaves to the elders. Give all the kits a quick check over, and ask their mothers if anything seems out of the ordinary. Make sure to treat everything as soon as possible – we don't want anything getting too bad. When you're done, make sure we have plenty of catmint, and if you can't find any of that, stock up on chickweed. It's a good alternative when it comes to greencough," Moonshine looked at her apprentice expectantly, and Everpaw nodded to show he understood. Being a Medicine Cat was awfully difficult sometimes. There were probably more herbs to learn than stars on Silverpelt, he thought. He was sure he'd learn it all, some day, and then he'd be the best Medicine Cat that StarClan had ever seen!

But first, he had to treat the elders.

As he walked across to the elders' den, he wished he had his father's thick fur, as leaf-bare was in full force, and he could barely feel his paws. The only good thing about the cold season was the amount of prey that was caught. Unlike the other Clans, IceClan had methods of hunting in the snow and ice – it was in their name, after all.

"Everpaw," Stonewhisker purred. "How lucky that you're here. Woodclaw had done nothing but complain all morning, and I thought I'd have to flee to BrambleClan!"

The apprentice dipped his head in greeting, and began sorting out the herbs. Daisy for aching joints, alder bark for aching teeth. Did everything ache with these elders? When he was satisfied that nobody was suffering, he wrapped up the remaining leaves and headed off to the nursery.

Usually the nursery was a warm, happy place, but today it felt cold and dreary. Two of the four queens were sick with a cough, and even the littlest kit could tell something was wrong. When Everpaw pushed his way through into the thicket, Angelkit lifted her head and murmured a greeting, but otherwise nobody seemed to notice that he was even there. He cleared his throat, and Softwing looked up drowsily.

"Are those for us?"

The Medicine Cat apprentice nodded, giving the queen her share of the borage leaves and setting aside a few for Cloverheart when she woke. Crowkit coughed weakly, and Everpaw looked over at him worriedly.

"How long has he been coughing for?"

"Hmm?" Softwing swallowed her mouthful of leaves and pulled a face at the bitter taste. "He was coughing a little bit this morning. Hollykit too. It didn't seem too bad, so I didn't bother you…"

He pressed his tail against the flanks of the two little kits, frowning at how warm they were. They needed to be treated; in such cold weather, kits of their size could die quickly. Scooping Hollykit up by her scruff, he beckoned for Softwing to do the same. Trying to shield her from the cold as much as he could, Everpaw carried the kit across the camp to the den he shared with his mentor. He placed her down in an empty nest, calling out for Moonshine.

"What is it? I'm very busy, you know."

"It's Hollykit and Crowkit. They've started coughing."

The Medicine Cat disappeared into the back room and returned a moment later with a bundle of herbs Everpaw didn't recognise.

"Coltsfoot," She explained, noticed her apprentice's confusion. "Helps with breathing, and eases coughs. It should be enough for now, until we can tell how bad it is."

Softwing hovered over the mossy nest as Everpaw coaxed the littermates into eating the herbs.

"You should go back to the nursery," He muttered. "Cloverheart will have a hard time looking after all those kits on her own." The queen hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly and slipping through the ferns that covered the entrance. The apprentice tied up a little bit before going outside, making sure that the kits were soundly asleep. He padded out into the clearing, grabbing a little sparrow off the fresh-kill pile before settling down to eat in the shelter of the Ice-tree. He was just licking his lips when he heard Dawncloud calling out. Everpaw stood and walked over to where she and her sister were sitting, near the camp entrance.

"Cherrymoon and I were about to go out hunting, and we thought you might like to come with us, ya know, take your mind off things?" She explained. He nodded gratefully, and then reconsidered.

"I should probably ask Moonshine if that's okay, first." They nodded and he hurried off to find his mentor. She was in the back room with all the herbs, muttering under her breath.

"Can I go hunting with Cherrymoon and Dawncloud?"

"Sure. Don't take too long, and try to be back by Nightfall!"

But Everpaw had already scurried away after his friends.

By the time the group had returned, they'd caught two rabbits and three relatively plump mice. As soon as he'd dropped his catch on the fresh-kill pile, Everpaw noticed something was wrong. At this time of evening, most warriors would have retired to their dens, trying to catch some rest before the chill of the night set in, but it seemed most of the clan was hanging about the clearing. The apprentice pushed his way through the crowd to see what the fuss was about. In the middle of the clearing, Moonshine and Auburnwhisker were setting down a gray tabby. With a jolt, Everpaw recognised the cat as Feathereye. He felt guilty about leaving the camp; he should have been helping his mentor treat the sick, not messing about with his old denmates. Ashamed, he scuffed his paws along the ground and returned to the Medicine clearing.

When Moonshine returned to their den, it was nearly moonhigh. Everpaw had been busying himself with sorting herbs and cleaning nests, but his eyelids were drooping and his tail was dragging along behind him. His mentor shook her head, shepherding him to his nest and standing over him until he laid down his head and slept.