Chapter 1

Brokenleg

Six moons ago, she had taken on training the next medicine cat, just as she had vowed. Her ice-blue eyes trained onto her apprentice, who was sorting the leaves with that delicate sparkle in her pale green eyes. A sign of the stars having truly chosen her to be a medicine cat. Narrowing her eyes, she looked over that silver tabby and white pelt of her apprentice, committing it to memory. She was able-bodied, there was no reason for her to take on the healer position and Forage. Then again, few of the Foragers were able-bodied. She had no idea why any cat would ever want to be one, but she figured there was a reason for everything.

Slowly, she approached the apprentice. "Today marks your sixth moon doing what StarClan has called upon you to do." Brokenleg mewed, "How are you feeling about it, Mosspaw?"

"Like I've found what I've always meant to do." She replied, her green eyes shining with pride.

She let out a soft sigh, her claws digging into the earth of the den. "I'm glad. I can't wait for the day you become a full medicine cat. I just hope you never forget how much help I have given you to understand healing and that Moonface and Breezeflame have been teaching you well about StarClan's gifts."

"How could I ever forget you? Sure, they teach me those things, but you teach me how to take care of my Clan-mates! That's just as, if not more, important." Mosspaw exclaimed with a purr.

Her claws slowly sheathed as she dipped her head to her own apprentice. "Thank you. As long as I can do all I can for you, that is what matters. SunClan needs a competent medicine cat to take good care of them. Just never forget, I can always continue to give you all the help you need."

"I'll need it." Her apprentice replied, seeming to be honest. "It would be too difficult for a lone cat to handle."

"That is true in some regard I'm sure." She conceded warmly. "Once finished here, we can go and see the elders."

"Birchstar calls them the Foragers." Mosspaw meowed softly, "but shouldn't they be allowed to rest?"

"SunClan prefers to have every cat work." She replied, looking over the leaves and berries idly. "It's how it's always been-what are snakeberries doing in this mix of berries?"

"Are snakeberries bad?" Mosspaw looked to her with horror.

"Snakeberries are very poisonous. Some Forager must have picked them by mistake! I'll have to deal with that personally." Brokenleg growled lowly, limping to the den's entrance.

"You don't have to." Mosspaw tried in vain to stop her.

Brokenleg stopped, not once looking to her. "Why not? Snakeberries are deadly berries, they could cause so much agony before a cat could die. If we don't get to the bottom of this right now, you could end up dying or some other cat. We don't need these things in the den. They are not feline-kind and we have to remove them and scold those Foragers!"

"They probably had no idea they were dangerous and brought them for us to figure out!" her apprentice cried out.

"If you died we would loose a medicine cat with a real connection to StarClan. Do you truly want that?" She challenged.

"It could be an honest mistake." Mosspaw asserted herself, standing to her paws and walking confidently. "If they wanted to kill me, they would have to do something better than that."

"Is that so?" she held her ground, her claws digging into the soil as she tried so hard to not storm off before turning slowly. "What makes you so sure about that?" she asked, sounding more curious this time.

The silver-and-white tabby lifted her head. "Well, you're here and you checked on me before I got to the berries. If we let them know we are onto them they would stop before we can find out who did it. All I have to do is watch to see who is gathering those berries and stop them before they leave."

"And if it was a one time thing?"

"Then I will keep a closer eye on all of them when they return from foraging." She replied strongly.

"Very well. Since you are to be the future medicine cat, I'll let you make that choice. But don't say I didn't warn you." She limped towards the berries, gathering up the vile snakeberries from the rest. "I'll take out any poisonous or suspicious berries and dispose of them myself. No need for you to deal with their horrible juices."

"Right, I'll go get a laurel leaf so we can make them into a leaf-wrap to make it easier for you to carry." Mosspaw announced, heading to the back of the den.

Brokenleg checked the leaves, with a soft sigh, she couldn't find any traces of fireweed, which would be awful if ingested. Sure it had it's upsides as a salve for skin issues and aching joints, but if too much is actually eaten it could cause problems down the path of life. The past medicine cat had told her there was no name for the affliction it causes, but it caused a lot of pain within the cat until they no longer can be considered "useful" until, after many turns of the seasons, they see visions of StarClan and pass several days after.

Feeling more and more relaxed, she checked over the rest of the leaves, her tail tip twitching as she didn't find any other horribly poisonous plants there. Swiftly, she gently rolled the snakeberries away from the others, their white skin making her more and more afraid. The tiny black dot stared back at her as though all of them were eyes of an unknown creature judging her as harshly as SunClan had. However, her paw froze as she noticed that not all of the shiny white berries had a black dot on their bottom. Some were snowberries, which didn't burst open despite her rush. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the horrible realization that the soft white berries could have broken and poisoned them terribly.

"Cursed-stars," She breathed softly as Mosspaw padded back with laurel leaves. "I can't believe how foolish I could have been.

"Is something the matter?" she asked once she put the laurel leaves down.

Brokenleg looked to Mosspaw, "The ones with the black dots are snakeberries, but the ones without are snowberries. Both are deadly poisonous. Snakeberries cause pain in the chest before death while snowberries would cause vomiting and dizziness."

"And the cat would die?" Her green eyes were stretched wide in horror.

"They wouldn't be able to keep any prey down, not even water. Even if the deadly berry leaves their system, who knows if they would survive. I never seen a case of snowberry-poisoning, I have only even heard tales of snakeberry-poisonings. Please, just be very careful when handling these things." Brokenleg instructed.

"Who would ever pick them?" She asked softly.

"Who knows. I will dispose of them though." She mewed gravely, pulling the leaf closer to roll the berries into position on it. "Get more laurel leaves. We need to do everything we can to make sure not even a berry escapes."

"On it!" Mosspaw answered, rushing back to where they kept the laurel leaves.

Brokenfrost looked to the leaves, her mind racing as she carefully and swiftly rolled the berries onto the leaf. Her tail twitching and thumping the ground behind her in irritation. Her ears flattening with a sense of betrayal as she pulled her paw back to force her claws to remain sheathed. She was breathing heavier and heavier, paranoia filling her head and chest with so much pressure she thought she would burst. Taking a long, deep breath, she steadied herself as she exhaled and went back to separating the snakeberries from the snowberries.

I have to not only dispose of these berries, but keep them out of any cat's reach. She thought, hardly registering the swift and soft foot-falls of Mosspaw padding back with more leaves in her jaws. Only when they were placed beside her did she reach for the leaf, snagging it with a claw to drape it over the snakeberries, using her claws to delicately fold and bend the leaf until it was all wrapped up into itself into a neat, dangerous, leaf-wrap. She moved onto the snowberries and did the same, being even more careful than before to insure not even a berry would be squished by her shaking paws.

"Maybe I should do it." Mosspaw offered.

Brokenleg froze, lifting her paws away from the berry with a fierce glare. "You are far more important to this Clan!" She snapped. "Now stop meowing non-sense and let me work in peace you ungrateful scrap of fur!" She had exploded, it couldn't be helped. The envy she felt coursed through her veins at how blind and reckless the younger she-cat was. Could she not see that if she died or got injured her entire way of life would be over? She would be useless just like her?

Mosspaw met her icy gaze evenly. "It wouldn't kill me to do something like this." Her mew was tight and on the edge of anger. "Now, you can either step back and relax, or you steady your paws before you burst a snowberry."

It was never the first or last time her nerves and inner hate got the best of her. "I'm sorry." She whispered, putting her paws on the den floor before backing up to let Mosspaw take over. No matter how much she tried to prevent it, she knew she couldn't stop it. Mosspaw was a quick learner despite her shy nature and held no fear when it came to helping the bleeding and broken. She was kind and had good nest-side manners. While Brokenleg lacked all of that. She was taught to fight and treat her enemies like the dirt beneath her paws, to look down on cats who were hurt and only hope that they were going to actually heal properly.

No matter how ill-tempered the jet-black she-cat could be, Mosspaw had learned to fight back with words of understanding. Yet, no matter how gentle her kind words brought her back down from the anger that filled her heart, she still felt the lingering pains that she could never let go. She had tried for moons upon moons. She wanted to fight, but fighting disease, broken limbs, thorns in pads; none of it was like fighting tooth and claw for her Clan. She watched silently as Mosspaw finished what she had started, wrapping the snowberries like an expert. Moonface told her it was not yet time to make her a full medicine cat, claiming that it took more than helping in kitting queens and learning herbs and how to heal. It was about understanding the great beyond, the place where the stars rest and watch over them all.

Something that Brokenleg couldn't do anything about to help. Mosspaw was a full grown cat, she could make her own decisions and take over whenever she wanted. Yet, it was not her place to rename the young medicine cat. Moonface had done it for her since she had the power to do so. Her heart slowly fell as she felt more and more isolated. Six long moons and not one day or night had passed with her finally feeling healed. Had Moonface lied to her? There was at least one more moon to spend with her, maybe more than one or even less than half a moon. All she knew was her time of being useful was running out and it was driving her up the wall. Looking to the leaf-wraps she swallowed thickly. Unsure of what it could mean to have such berries among their herbs.

"It must be a sign." Mosspaw meowed, looking to Brokenleg, "Don't you think?"

"It has to be. But what could it mean?"

"Who knows. It's either a sign or some cat wasn't very bright, or worse."

"What do you mean worse?" Brokenleg asked, limping to Mosspaw. "Everyone knows these berries are dangerous."

"Yet, we never noticed who brought them." The apprentice continued, looking the older she-cat over. It was as though she was searching for something, a sign, or perhaps an answer. At last, it seemed her pale green eyes held a glow from the sunlight itself. She was standing still, her legs trembling slightly as she backed a step as her eyes glazed over.

Brokenleg watched, knowing she was seeing the young she-cat have a sign. She padded to the leaf-wraps and picked them up to find a good spot for them before Mosspaw came back to the real world. She took her time, making the snakeberries vanish to keep everyone safe while going back for the snowberries, except they were already gone, along with Mosspaw. She twitched an ear, hardly surprised. The apprentice had been working harder and harder to replace her, that much she knew. It was no secret, after all, it was the way of the Clan. Useless cats had to be foragers and this was just so she could learn how to be a proper forager. Yet, she was not sure it ever truly worked, the resentment of her name-sake remained and the hatred she felt in not being able to fight was taking over her mind ever so slowly.

"I worked hard, I tried my best. It's okay to fail." She told herself sternly. "I can still excel, there are still things to do for me to heal."

Mosspaw reappeared, her pale green eyes flicking into her direction. "I had a vision, but you were gone so I thought I should handle the snowberries. If that was okay. I can still show you where I placed them if you would like."

"No thank you, I trust you to have placed them where no kit or air-headed apprentice can reach them." She looked to the rest of camp. "It will be lonely here, would you like it if I left every few days so you can prepare to have the den all to yourself?"

"Then where would you sleep?"

"In the end I will go to the elder's den." She pointed out, "So I have to try and get comfortable and put those older than myself first. I may have not liked being a Forager, but I have learned a lot since being a medicine cat, even if I am acting as though that is my position. I have to be realistic, Mosspaw. Once you become a medicine cat, I have to give up being useful altogether."

"But you will still be helpful." Mosspaw tried to reason.

"That's a lie." Brokenleg told her. "I healed cats, I was in charge of that, once you become the medicine cat StarClan wishes, you will have that duty. I was trained to be a Fighter and ever since my leg was broken I could never do that. They would never allow me to. So, I have been trying to come to terms about it. Perhaps I can come to terms if I start staying in the elder's den, just so I can feel proud once Moonface gives you your full medicine cat name. I don't want to be envious of you, you are young and have a long life ahead of you. You deserve it to be a joyous night and I don't want to stand in your way of it."

"As long as it is what you want, that is fine. There is plenty of space here, you can always stay." Mosspaw blinked kindly. "I could never mind having you here to help me. Unlike the others, who are moons older than you, you are most helpful and much more swift."

"I highly doubt it, but thank you for believing so." she replied solemnly, "I will try, but if it doesn't work out, then I will gladly join you back here."

"No matter what you choose," Mosspaw told her softly, "No matter what path you walk, I will always be by your side."

Brokenleg stood still, surprised. "What do you mean 'no matter what path you walk'?"

"Whether you become an elder forager or my assistant, I will always ask for your help above all else. I trust you more than anyone else, I hope you feel the same." The apprentice replied.

She blinked slowly, unease creeping over her. Just what did that vision entail and was it about her? If so, what did it say? The urge to ask and pry had filled her, yet she did her best to ignore it. With a nod she went back to her duties, her paws working swiftly for the apprentice. Even if she was older, the young she-cat was still going to be a medicine cat once her training with StarClan was considered complete. It could take moons, a cycle of seasons, or even more. However, she knew that with how skilled Mosspaw was, there was no chance that it would continue. Her time in the medicine den was coming to a close whether she wanted it to or not.

The sun slowly began it's descent as Brokenleg finished her duties and let Mosspaw look after the warriors as a test to make sure the apprentice was learning properly. All the while, she found herself feeling more and more like she was hunting an intruder in her territory. The pale gray and white tabby she-cat was passing as quickly as the colored leaves of leaf-fall in the wind! There was nothing she could do as her heart slowly began to race and anticipate the heart wrenching facts before her ice-blue eyes. The facts that it won't be much longer after all. Soon the young she-cat would be over twelve moons old, a time where her brother, a well trained Fighter, would be assessed for the final time to ensure the next generation of Warrior Fighters would continue strong for SunClan.

"Stormpaw will be a full-fledged fighter-warrior soon." Brokenleg murmured to herself, watching the Clan from the den. "Then later that moon, after her first Half-Moon meeting without me, she can become a full-fledged medicine cat. Seven long moons have passed and I should feel fulfilled and happy, shouldn't I? This is my final task, I have given to this Clan for as long as I could and I can try to be a forager. Relax, let others fight for me, can't I?"

Her heart felt broken and it was in far more pain than her leg that twinged in pain from the cold, humid weather. Soon, in a moon's time from now, she would lose everything. Her claws dug into the soil, as she attempted to control her emotions. SunClan had been this way long before any of those in the Clan had been kitted. She had to move on, give up and stop yearning for the things she could never have. Yearning for more time to fight, to protect and defend her Clan. She could never have it back and it broke her heart in more ways than one. Being a forager was never the best position, no cat saw it as a grand position to help the medicine cat. It was seen as a complete end of your life, you would never stop working until the day you die. There was no rest, only punishment to go beyond the border and even seen as cowardly.

Brokenleg was not a coward, she looked at those injuries with the intent to harm the cat or creature who had dared created them onto her Clan-mates. Yet, her own was created by a flood and it's debris, there was nothing any cat could have done. Her weak heart for her mother let her earn the injury and she needed to get everything back. No matter how hard she tried to accept it, to heal, she found herself yearning for the impossible more and more until it was consuming her. Narrowing her eyes in dismay, a bitter burn was in her throat of shame. No matter how strong she was, she was not strong enough to give up on the life she had trained so hard to keep. A life that should have kept for many, many moons; leaving her with a pain that she had failed her Clan. A pain that she wished, with every fiber of her being could be gone.

She hated the darkness that clouded her mind with the obsessive thoughts of fighting for her Clan again. Nothing could stop her mind from racing, she had tried everything in secret within the medicine den. From remedies for grief and anxiety, to catmint to clear her mind. Nothing worked and she is positive that she is no longer healing for the past six moons. She was stagnant, a prey-item covered in maggots; no matter what she is called as, she felt she had rotted away from the inside. She was healthy in other aspects of her life, but she was not the healthiest deep within her own heart. That alone terrified her and made her believe she had failed the words of Moonface.

Author Note:

The word count will be at least 2k words and however long I can make it. There will be no in between as these events are all happening at the same time.

Ever felt like crow-food?

Thank you for reading and have a fantastic morning, day, evening, or night. - NightSky