CHAPTER ONE
A stifled giggle and some shushing made her eyes flicker open. The gray floor in front of her was empty, as were the nests to her left and right. The sun shone into the cave from the entrance, barely reaching the first nest to her right but it lit up the cave rather well. There were two other nests to her left and then a small pool of water with some moss piled up next to it. In front of her it was easy to see the holes in the wall filled with seeds, leaves, roots, and grass.
The laughing came again, only louder this time and she stood up in her nest, shaking out the moss in her fur and set her front paw down on the cold cave floor, shivering as she stood on the floor with all four paws and she stretched before pricking her ears.
Whispering came from the back of the den where a long strand of lichen hung from the ceiling, blocking her view of the back where the rest of the herbs were to keep them fresh and crisp.
"...on patrol. She won't be back for a while so I wanted to come help you," mewed one of the voices in the most softest, caring voice she'd ever heard.
The other voice spoke now in the same soft, caring voice, "I've missed you. It's been awhile since we've gotten to hang out…" Was that Frecklewish?
It was surprising to hear Frecklewish talking to anyone. She was usually sleeping or assisting some cat with an injury. SkyClan was a reckless Clan and almost did whatever they wanted all the time. This usually, almost always, led to injury.
"Frecklewish?" she called into the back of the den, not pulling back the lichen to enter. She was told it was dark and smelled like herbs back there. She didn't want to go back there unless she was asked to. "I'm awake, Frecklewish!"
The beautiful mottled light brown tabby she-cat with spotted legs shoved her head through the lichen and smiled warmly at her, gazing at her with soft, kind leafy green eyes. "Moonkit, good morning!" She began to pad forward and she had to step back so Frecklewish could enter the main part of the medicine den. "I had forgotten you slept in here last night." The medicine cat shook her head but her voice was full of excitement.
Moonkit knew that Frecklewish's last apprentice, Parsleypaw, had been murdered by a StrikeClan cat moons earlier and she had taken it pretty hard. But Moonkit had now taken an interest in herbs too. Her entire body screamed at her to be a medicine cat. She couldn't stand the idea of hurting someone. Even though Moonkit had four and a half more moons before she became an apprentice, she often slept in the medicine den with Frecklewish.
"Were you talking to someone?" Moonkit asked, flicking her ears to the back den and instantly saw the fear in Frecklewish's eyes. "I thought I heard giggling." She was surprised to see the lichen move and a brown tom stepped out from the back den with a root in his jaws. He nodded to Moonkit and set the root down in one of the holes in the wall. "Yellowcloud?" she mewed in disbelief.
Yellowcloud sat beside Frecklewish and smiled at her, his yellow eyes gleaming in worry but his voice was cheerful. "I was just stopping by to help Frecklewish with some herbs. I will see you later, Frecklewish?" He looked over at the medicine cat and she nodded firmly. "Okay, well my mate should be back from her patrol so…" He rose to his paws and padded to the entrance of the den and then slipped out without another word.
She looked at Frecklewish with her ears pricked. Moonkit was a little confused but decided not to dwell on it. "I think I overheard Sparrowpelt and Cherrytail, but Sparrowpelt has a wrenched claw so I'm going to take him some comfrey root," she stated and then grabbed the black root in her jaws and turned to face the entrance of the den and padded over to it.
Before she left she heard Frecklewish call to her, "Make sure you chew it and then drip the juice onto the claw, Moonkit!"
Moonkit nodded to herself, considering Frecklewish couldn't see her, and then paused at the entrance to the den, letting her eyes adjust to the bright light.
She gazed around, still in wow by SkyClan's camp. It was a large cliffside with the warrior's den being the top den and then the elder's den and the nursery and at the bottom of it was the apprentice's den, medicine den, and leader's den. At the top of the cliff was the Skyrock, where SkyClan went for Gatherings, however the medicine cats went to the Whispering Cave which was a little ways away from the gorge, and behind her was the Rockpile where Sharpstar made announcements to the Clan. And over to the very edge of camp was Sky's den, an old rogue who used to live with SkyClan but passed away a long time ago. They used his den now to keep prisoners or rogues who want to join SkyClan.
She padded forward, climbing the path up to the warrior's den where she knew Sparrowpelt was relaxing and trying not to irritate his claw.
Moonkit followed the path all the way up to the warrior's den and then she slipped inside, seeing Sparrowpelt lying in his nest with Songbird, a former StrikeClan cat who joined SkyClan after she mated with Acornfur.
"Sparrowpelt, I brought you comfrey root for your claw," Moonkit mewed and the warrior lifted his head, gazing at her with pain glazed over in his eyes. Without hesitation he put his paw on the edge of his nest and she began to chew up the root and then dripped the juices from her mouth onto his wrenched claw.
Songbird was watching her intensely and Moonkit glanced at her. "Sorry, Moonkit! I just never understood medicine cats. Why do you want to become a medicine cat?"
Once she'd finished putting the juice on Sparrowpelt's claw she looked over at Songbird evenly. "I cannot stand the idea of hurting another cat. Ever." Moonkit then slipped out of the den swiftly, padding down the path towards the medicine den where Frecklewish was waiting for her.
"How is Sparrowpelt's claw?" Frecklewish asked, not looking up from the herbs she had in piles on the floor.
Moonkit shrugged at her. "Getting better, I suppose. He didn't flinch when I put on the poultice," she mewed and then sat down across from Frecklewish, gazing at all the herbs she didn't know, however she recognized a few of them like poppy seeds, catmint, raspberry leaves, and a few others. "Am I going to have to remember all of these?" she asked in dismay.
Frecklewish chuckled softly and nodded her head. "Of course, Moonkit. But don't worry, this will seem like a piece of mouse when your training is done." The medicine cat smiled encouragingly at Moonkit and then looked down to her herbs. "We're running low on poppy seeds and borage leaves. I'll have to go past the fallen log to get them…" She seemed uncomfortable.
"I can come with you this time?" she suggested casually and saw Frecklewish's eyes sparkle in amusement. "Please, Frecklewish! I want to help!"
Frecklewish shook her head furiously. "Definitely not, Moonkit. You must stay in camp. I'll be back before sundown," she promised and then padded past Moonkit and exited the den without another word.
Moonkit snorted and looked back at the herbs, starting to put them back onto the shelves.
"Frecklewish, are you in here?" a voice asked and she turned her head to see Marshpaw limping into the den. "Oh, Moonkit. I have an injury." He lifted his black paw to show it was bleeding rather heavily.
She instantly felt worry in her stomach. "How did this happen?" Moonkit grabbed cobwebs and set it on the wound, soaking up the blood.
"I was cleaning my paws in the river and stepped on something. I had just finished using mouse bile." Marshpaw sucked in a deep breath as she wrapped his paw.
Moonkit knew almost nothing about paw wounds. She could've definitely done something about a side wound or back wound but she wasn't sure if she should lick it or lay him down and wrap cobwebs around it, so she went with her gut and just wrapped cobwebs around it to stop the bleeding. "You should be more careful. Does it still hurt when you move it?"
The apprentice looked at her in confusion. "Well, yeah, it hurts when I move it. Why?" Marshpaw looked worried and he moved his paw a little, flinching.
"That means there could be something still in there." Panic flared in her stomach. She'd never dug anything out of someone's paw before, especially a paw that was gushing blood. "We need Frecklewish." The cobwebs she'd wrapped around his wound were dripping with blood now and they weren't helping anymore. He was losing a lot of blood now.
Marshpaw's eyes held fear and he was holding his breath. "Where is she?"
"She left a while ago to collect herbs…" Moonkit ducked her head in shame, wishing she could do more but knowing Frecklewish should be back shortly. "She should be back soon, just hold on." Moonkit raced forward to the entrance of the den and slipped outside, not pausing to let her eyes adjust as she faced the camp, searching for the familiar brown tom she knew s Yellowcloud.
She spotted him lying outside the nursery with Whitefeet beside him, eating a mouse together. Moonkit didn't feel bad interrupting.
"Yellowcloud!" she yowled and darted over to him quickly, ignoring Whitefeet's gasp of surprise and the small glare. "I need your help, it's Marshpaw. Frecklewish isn't in camp and Marshpaw is gushing blood from his paw… I don't know what to do." She nodded towards the medicine den.
He rose to his paws instantly at the sound of his son in trouble. "I'll be back, Whitefeet," he mewed without looking at her and then sprinted to the medicine den, Moonkit hurrying after but nowhere near as fast as the full grown warrior.
When she reached the medicine den Yellowcloud already had Marshpaw on his side, laying down, and the warrior was examining his paw.
"There's definitely something still stuck in there, Marshpaw. I'm going to have to pull it out," Yellowcloud mewed firmly and grabbed a stick, shoving it in his son's mouth and then gazing at his paw. "Here we go," he breathed and then bent his head down and began to yank whatever it was out of his paw.
Marshpaw let out a muffled screech and she heard the stick crack and echo around the den and Moonkit closed her eyes, unable to watch in fear she'll vomit from all the blood.
"What's going on in here?" Frecklewish asked from behind her and she looked at the medicine cat who had set down the herbs and was gazing at them with surprise. "Marshpaw?" She raced over to Yellowcloud and Marshpaw and sniffed his paw.
Yellowcloud had something in his mouth and Marshpaw was breathing heavily, his eyes closed. There was blood on the floor and on Yellowcloud's muzzle and coating Marshpaw's paw.
"He had this in his paw, I had to pull it out because Moonkit didn't know what to do," Yellowcloud explained, setting the clear triangle on the ground that was also coated in blood.
Frecklewish sucked in a deep breath and faced the herbs, pulling out a familiar tall, bristly-stemmed plant and began to chew it into a poultice. It was horsetail. She applied it to Marshpaw's wound and turned around, grabbing a fuzzy looking plant she knew as catchweed and placing it on his paw.
"He's going to be staying in my den until his paw is fully healed. Yellowcloud, will you please inform Reedheart of Marshpaw's condition?" Frecklewish looked at Yellowcloud evenly, looking pleased with his performance. "And thank you for assisting Moonkit."
Yellowcloud nodded at her, smiling a little and then moving around her to the entrance and disappearing into the light.
Moonkit gazed at Marshpaw who was motionless on the ground beside his chest that was barely moving up and down. It looked like he was sleeping but he was probably just calming down from the pain.
"Is he going to be okay?" Moonkit asked, eyeing the apprentice.
The medicine cat looked at Marshpaw and let out a little sigh. "Well, yes, eventually. You did a good job fetching Yellowcloud because I wasn't here," Frecklewish mewed and gave her a small smile before grabbing Marshpaw's scruff and dragging him into the nearest nest and laying him down. "You should get something to eat, after something like this I find it's best to eat something and relax. I'll keep an eye on him." She flicked her tail over to Marshpaw's unmoving body.
She nodded, grateful for the break and turned away from Marshpaw and her future mentor and exited the den, gazing at the full fresh-kill pile that sat next to the Rockpile.
Even though Moonkit wanted to be a medicine cat with all her being, she would be disappointed that she couldn't hunt for SkyClan. But there was no doubt she was born to be a medicine cat.
Moonkit grabbed a mouse off the pile and settled down beside the Rockpile, sinking her teeth into the mouse and taking a bite, chewing happily.
"You haven't come to see me in a while," a voice rasped and Moonkit looked up to see a black she-cat looked down at her warmly. Her mother. "Frecklewish is keeping you busy I see."
She couldn't help but smile at her mother. "Sorry, Birdwing. Frecklewish has a lot of duties and they are becoming mine now, I cannot disappoint her before I even become her apprentice." Moonkit pushed the mouse to her, offering her a bite which Birdwing accepted, taking a chunk out of the mouse.
Birdwing swallowed before mewing, "I know, dear. Tinycloud keeps me plenty of company in the nursery. Your father is certainly keeping himself busy as well…" She flicked her tail over to where her pale gray father was talking with Rockshade quietly.
"Sagenose is just interesting in hunting and patrolling," Moonkit mewed simply, feeling a small tinge of sadness. Her father, Sagenose, was very hesitant to agree to Moonkit becoming a medicine cat. He wanted Moonkit to take after him and to be able to train with him. Now that she was becoming a medicine cat he was a little distant from both Moonkit and her mother.
She was their only kit after all.
"Don't be upset with Sagenose, Moonkit. He'll come around, he's just a little confused right now." Birdwing offered a warm smile and then rose to her paws. "I'm due on patrol. I'll come see you later, my kit," she purred and touched her nose to Moonkit's forehead and then padded away briskly.
Moonkit nodded at her and finished the mouse, swiping her tongue around her jaw and then standing up, seeing Sandynose lead in Pebblepaw, both of them were smiling and Pebblepaw had a squirrel in her jaws. Pebblepaw and Spiderpaw were getting older and soon they'd become warriors. And they definitely earned it, both of them were strong, fearless, and great hunters.
"Hey Moonkit!" Frecklewish yowled and she pricked her ears, turning her head to where her soon-to-be mentor was standing outside the medicine den. "Come here for a moment!" Then she disappeared back into the den.
She raced across the camp to the medicine den and slipped in without hesitation, seeing Marshpaw was sitting up in his nest and Frecklewish was smiling and nodding at him.
"You're awake!" Moonkit purred and bounced over to him, smiling at him. Marshpaw seemed a little shaken up but other than that he was smiling at her. "Thank StarClan, I was worried about you. As was Frecklewish and Yellowcloud."
As if on cue Yellowcloud stepped out from the back den, a plant she didn't recognize in his jaws and he glanced at Marshpaw, instantly dropped the herb and letting out a loud purr.
"Marshpaw, welcome back!" He smiled and padded over to his son, licking his muzzle. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Yellowcloud sat down beside him and mumbled something in his ear that Moonkit didn't catch.
Frecklewish's gaze had shifted from Marshpaw to Yellowcloud, her smile was gone and her eyes glinted in sadness.
What was going on here?!