A/N: Hey everyone! I got another chapter here! :D and uh…hehe…I uh…accidently put chief instead of leader in the last chapter, if any of you saw that…sorry 'bout that…

Ch 7

Idea

We gathered together at dusk near the small stream that ran off our territory. Falconstar had asked us to do a dusk patrol, which Creekfoot was happy to sign us up for. Strange, it seems we've become more of our own group lately.

We hunter here and there, gathered a few mice, trout, water voles, the usual. That was until Thornpaw had asked my mentor a strange question; what had happened to his limbs that made them weak the way they now were. For some reason, Creekfoot was proud of his wounds (like most warriors).

So we gathered together near the river bed, and listened to his story. I tried to sit next to my mentor, but Shiningbrook beat me to it. The rest of the apprentices were gathered around them in a circle, excluding me from the group. My ears went back as I settled down to listen some ways away.

"That Shadowclan cat, Starlingwing I believe he was, we were locked in battle! Fur going everywhere! Then suddenly, he took hold of my left front paw in his front teeth, and yank! He dislocated my paw. The medicine cat said it should be fine, but it never healed properly," he stated, holding up his right paw, "Starlingwing must have passed the word in his clan, for the next battle with them, another, Pinenose, did the same to my right back leg." He said, gesturing to his back leg.

At least his still works quite a bit… I thought to myself, resting my head on my paws.

"I wonder what it would be like to lose a limb entirely…" Fishpaw thought outloud. Everyone turned to look at him, questioning his gruesome thought. "I-I mean, and Starclan let your mind still control it. You could have it sneak up on your enemy and-" "I think we've heard enough, Fishpaw." Sleekleaf interrupted.

"Creekfoot?"

"Yes, Flamepaw?"

"What would be the most vulnerable part, other that the belly, on a warrior? So we know what else to go at?" she asked.

"Hmm…I'd say the tail. It balances you when you climb trees –if you were a Thunderclan cat- and swim in waters. It is one of the things we depend on most." He stated. My mentor's next words slapped my brain into recognition.

"Usually, if a cat loses its tail, it can easily be trapped in just about anything, especially if you have to climb out."

My ear twitched as I lifted my head.

But maybe…if it heals enough…it may be useful again!

I got up slowly, making sure nobody saw me sneak out of the clearing.

"Brownwhisker?" I asked. I was standing outside the medicine den, waiting for my daily checkup. The Medicine Cat insisted I come so he could look over my wounds, by they were mostly gone by now.

The young, brown furred tom, stretched from his sleeping spot in his den then padded over to me. "Come on in." he said with a yawn.

I sat down, and watched as he got the herbs out and ready to be used. "Brownwhisker?" I asked again. "Yes, Smallpaw?" he replied. "Um…what kind of stuff do you learn as a medicine cat?" I tried to ask casually.

His ears perked up with happiness that someone was interested in his work. "Oh all kinds of stuff! Cuts, scrapes, sore paws, pads, bones, broken bones, coughs, infections, of I could go on and on." He said with a smile on his muzzle. "What about infection in particular?" I tried again to ask casually. His ears twitched in surprise, but replied never the less, "What would you like to know?" "Oh! Um… whatever herbs you use to treat it, I guess."

He used his paw to point to a small pile of herbs in a corner. "Those all heal infections." He said. "There's burdock root, chervil, dried oak leaf, horsetail, and marigold. Each used with a different herb can treat different types of infections." I thought for a moment. "What about if they were really serious?" I asked. "How serious?" "Like, if the bone was severed kind of serious." Brownwhisker's eyes widened. "Well…I guess you'd have to use a poultice of comfrey, goldenrod, and horsetail." He said, gesturing to the three as they were named.

"Anyway, back to your wounds." He said, and began to treat the scratch on my chin. I remember the scents of those herbs in the cove. Maybe it would be just enough…

I woke up early the next morning, our mentors off on a patrol which left us with nothing to do. I walked out of camp before dawn was fully up, and I ran down to the river. There, I caught three more trout, all a decent size.

I managed to carry them across the Thunderpath without getting them too beat up, and, one by one, dropped them into the cove. "Toothless?" I called out.

At first there was no response. Maybe he managed to escape… I thought to myself. The thought made me sad; he had become the closest thing to a friend I've had my whole life.

But suddenly a yowl erupted in the cove, answering my call. "It's Smallpaw, right?" Toothless meowed, stepping out from the shadows. I nodded. "I brought some breakfast…" I muttered. His eyes lit up in surprise. "Well that was mighty nice of you." He said, walking over.

"I think I found a poultice for your tail." I said, while he ate the fish. "Oh really?" he said through a mouthful of fish. I nodded.

I darted around the cove, searching for the right herbs. I quickly found them in the right spots, and chewed them like Brownwhisker had said.

I walked back over to Toothless who was still eating one last fish. I spat the wad on the ground next to him, and I flicked my ear towards his tail. "Will it hurt?" he asked. I shrugged. "Probably."

He growled, but nodded anyway.

I picked up the wad again, and attempted to put it on the end of his tail, but the slightest touch of the poultice make his tail jerk away. "That hurts!" He exclaimed, "A lot!"

I growled, and without warning (which was what I was going for), I smeared the wad onto the end of his tail.

The sting that the mixture had shot through his tail, and he screeched, turning around in my direction. I thought he was going to attack me, so I fled up the stone wall as fast as I could, Toothless is pursuit. I turned around, and saw something:

He was maneuvering his tail in a way so it could balance him just a bit.

It surprised me, and I misplaced my footing, causing me to fall. I crashed into Toothless, sending us both down the wall, and into the small pond in the center of the cove.

It clicked in my brain a way to help the tom escape this imprisonment. "Yes!" I shouted, my genius plan starting to form.