The first rays of sun were shining through the trees, casting dappled shadows on the earthy wet ground. Birds were chirping, but other than them, not a single soul was up.
Not a single soul, of course, except for Bluepaw.
The whole night, Bluepaw hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. She kept thinking about the Gathering. More specifically, two events. The first, Kestrelpaw. She'd winked at her, like she knew something about her. Like she knew how Bluepaw was planning to get to the meeting she'd suggested.
Teleport.
But how would she know? She was just a BreezeClan apprentice, a medicine cat BreezeClan apprentice for that matter. She probably just winked for some other reason. Yes, that was it.
The other event had happened even before she'd met the three other apprentices, Kestrelpaw, Ripplepaw, and Starlingpaw. She still didn't know what to make of it.
Bluepaw had arrived at the Gathering. Her sister, Palepaw, was bouncing excitedly. Pinepaw was talking to Ivypaw. Ivypaw was shooting a glare at Bluepaw, who just rolled her eyes and ignored her. Cloudsky was standing beside her. Her chest was puffed out and her blue eyes were glittering.
"So, Bluepaw, now is a time to socialize. Why don't you go meet some StormClan cats? They're right over there, beside the apple blossom tree." Cloudsky gestured to the brown-barked thin-branched pink-blossomed tree. Bluepaw nodded and padded over to the nearest cat, a gray she-cat with amber eyes and black ears, paws, and tail.
"Hi!" The she-cat said. "I'm Lightningpaw! Who are you?" She asked her. Bluepaw found herself stuttering.
"I-I'm Bluepaw. I'm f-from MistC-Clan." She internally slapped herself. Why was she so nervous? The pretty she-cat twitched her whiskers and blinked her large amber eyes. Lightningpaw looked like she was going to say something, but then a big gray tom with a black face and a white stripe on his muzzle came up to her. Bluepaw assumed they were brother and sister.
"Hey, Lightningpaw, the Gathering's about to start soon. C'mon, I gotta introduce you to Rookpaw and Flintpaw, they're super funny!" He started over to a gray tom and a ginger she-cat, who Bluepaw assumed were the cats he'd mentioned. Lightningpaw blinked apologetically.
"Sorry, Bluepaw. Maybe I'll see you some other time?" She didn't get to answer though, because she'd already walked away, her fluffy black tail up and curved.
Bluepaw didn't know why she felt so weird about this particular she-cat. She was just an apprentice, a StormClan apprentice. So why was Lightningpaw, of all cats, so special?
Bluepaw didn't know why he felt so weird about this particular she-cat. She was just an apprentice, a StormClan apprentice. So why was Lightningpaw, of all cats, so special?
Bluepaw didn't get to think about it more, because Ivypaw started to clamber over Bluepaw's body. Bluepaw groaned and rolled over, causing the small she-cat to fall off. Ivypaw sat up, annoyed at Bluepaw.
"Hey! Why'd you do that?" She asked. Pinepaw, who'd woken up from all the noise, purred and winked at Bluepaw.
"Don't worry about Bluepaw, she's just grouchy today." Bluepaw sat up straight, indignant but still realizing that Pinepaw was joking. She rolled her eyes and meowed,
"Excuse me?!" After she said that though, she realized that one cat was missing.
"Hey, where's Palepaw?" She mewed. Her sister usually loved to sleep in, and never went out for dawn patrols. Ivypaw and Pinepaw exchanged glances.
"She's, um," Pinepaw looked like she was trying not to laugh. Ivypaw, however, couldn't hold the laugh in and started laughing like crazy.
"She's on elders duty because she was taking too long at the Gathering!" She meowed, still laughing. Bluepaw flicked her gray right ear. She could see how it was kind of funny, but she couldn't understand why Ivypaw, and now Pinepaw, were laughing so hard. She blinked.
"Why is it so funny?" She asked them. Pinepaw giggled, and wiped her green eyes with her russet red paw.
"She was in the dirtplace!" With that, Ivypaw and Pinepaw burst into giggles. Bluepaw just rolled her eyes.
"You guys are so immature." She laughed. Ivypaw stopped and sighed.
"C'mon Bluepaw, aren't we allowed to have a little fun? You're always so serious, just lighten up a little." Ivypaw meowed, rolling her green eyes and sighing again for dramatic effect. Pinepaw shifted her pretty red paws uneasily.
"Yeah, um, you can have fun too, it doesn't just have to be about work." She meowed. Bluepaw's mouth dropped open. Why did Ivypaw have to be so mean like that? And why was Pinepaw taking Ivypaw's side?!
"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to actually do something important for once?" Ivypaw asked her, laughing. Bluepaw's fur puffed up, but she forced herself to stay calm. Pinepaw spoke up.
"Maybe you should just leave now, Bluepaw. You... I…" She trailed off, starting to just mutter illegible nonsense to herself that nobody else could understand.
Well fine. I don't have to take this dirt! Bluepaw lifted her chin and stalked away. She could still hear Ivypaw's whispered words and Pinepaw's uncontrollable giggles.
Bluepaw could see her sister, Palepaw, and Palepaw's mentor, Hollowflight, standing beside the elder's den. Palepaw was changing the moss, and Hollowflight was having a friendly chat with Graynose and Rainycloud. Palepaw, who'd just hauled out a big hunk of old moss, noticed Bluepaw and waved.
"Hey, Bluepaw! What's up?" She asked in a friendly tone of voice. Bluepaw sighed.
"Nothing much, just Ivypaw being Ivypaw, I guess." Bluepaw said it like, of course, like it was a fact that every cat knew. But Palepaw just looked at the ground.
"Bluepaw... I know you and Ivypaw don't get along, but can you please try to get along?" She asked Bluepaw tentatively. When Bluepaw's mouth dropped open for the second time that day, Palepaw lifted her tail in a surrender motion.
"I'm not saying it's all your fault. I'm sure Ivypaw was being... maybe a little bit over the top. But you two should really try to be friends. You she-cats have a lot in common!" She finished. Bluepaw just snorted in disbelief.
"Yeah. But our only difference is, I'm not a rude, lying, bully like Ivypaw. I don't see why anyone likes her!" Then with that, Bluepaw stalked off, her tail held high. Palepaw watched her go, sadness glimmering in her pale yellow eyes, then she went back to her moss duties.
Bluepaw was seething. Why did everyone like Ivypaw so much?! What was so special about her? Why didn't every cat like her instead?!
Bluepaw sighed and shook out her blue-gray fur and as quiet as a mouse, the young blue-furred molly made her way out of the apprentice's den and out into the cool early morning air.
Bluepaw was just about to head towards the warriors den to see if her mother, Goldenflow, was awake when she spotted a familiar cinnamon tabby approaching her.
"Hi, Bluepaw!" Flowingpaw meowed in a friendly tone. "So, um, I was wondering if you would like to help me collect some herbs," she looked nervous and her tail was flicking from side-to-side anxiously as she awaited Bluepaw's response.
The blue-furred molly smiled softly and nodded her head to Flowingpaw. "I would love to help you!" Flowingpaw smiled brightly and her minty-green eyes gleamed with gratitude.
It was silent for a few moments before Bluepaw spoke up to break the tension. "This'll be fun! And It'll give me something fun to do until the others wake up."
As the two apprentice's made there way out of camp, they made small talk with one another as they looked for herbs. "Hey, Flowingpaw!" Bluepaw called to the cinnamin tabby. "I think I found some comfrey!" the blue-furred molly gestured with her tail to a leafy green plant with purple flowers.
Flowingpaw raced over and her eyes gleamed with pride as she looked up at Bluepaw.
"Wow! You've got a good eye for finding herbs!" Flowingpaw praised, still staring at Bluepaw with wide and aw shining in her minty-green eyes.
Bluepaw blushed and licked her chest fur, self-conscious. "Oh! I uh... t-thank you, Flow." She stammered out a response.
"Ok, I'm gonna quiz you." Flowingpaw meowed suddenly, making Bluepaw freeze in her tracks.
"Uh, well, I, ok then." She meowed polightly, though her eyes shimmered with confusion at the sudden request.
"So, Bluepaw, tell me! What herbs do you know?" Flowingpaw meowed in a friendly tone.
Bluepaw purred softly and replied with a kind smile. "Comfrey is good for broken bones, yarrow is used to make cats vomit if they have stomach troubles, marigold leaves help cure infection, blackberry leaves are used for bee stings, cobwebs stop bleeding, watermint helps nursing queens produce more milk, poppy seeds help with pain, honey is good for soar throats, raspberry leaves ease the pain of queens who've kitted, thyme is used to calm a cat in shock, catmint cures greencough, and borage is used to treat fevers."
Flowingpaw's jaw dropped in shock. "Oh, my StarClan, how do you know so much about herbs?" the cinnamon tabby meowed, still shocked at how much Bluepaw knew about herbs and there uses.
Bluepaw blushed and ducked her head. "I-I just do," she meowed truthfully. "My mother, Goldenflow, always told me that I would've been a great medicine cat if I would've chosen that path." Flowingpaw smiled and nodded her head in understanding.
It was silent for quite some time before Flowingpaw finally regained the ability to speak. "I think we need to have a talk with Larkstar." Bluepaw frowned in puzzlement but nodded her head at her friend's statement.
Flowingpaw's minty-green eyes swam with emotion, but she said nothing, instead motioning for Bluepaw to pick up the herbs and return to camp.
•••
The two apprentice's padded through the brightly lit woods and pushed through the thicket tunnel into MistClan camp, which was sheltered from the rain by the towering trees that built a canopy over the dusty clearing.
When they entered, they were greeted with a very angry Cloudsky, and a slightly calmer Meadowlight, Starlingcloud, and Darkfeather. Bluepaw gulped and prepared herself for a harsh scolding.
"Where in StarClan's name have you been?!" Bluepaw flinched and stared down at her paws.
"Oh! I uh... I-I was just helping Flowingpaw collect herbs, I'm sorry, Cloudsky." The blue-furred apprentice meowed softly, still staring down at her paws.
Cloudsky sighed and breathed in deeply through her nose. "Ok," she meowed, lowering her voice back to a normal volume as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Bluepaw. That was a little over-the-top and it was totally uncalled for."
It was silent for a few moments when Meadowlight spoke up in an attempt to break the tension. "Could you two please go sort those herbs while I have a quick chat with Cloudsky, Starlingcloud, and Darkfeather?" the two apprentice's nodded and dashed off in the direction of the medicine cat's den.
Once the two cats entered the den, Flowingpaw started whispering excitedly to Bluepaw. "Oh, my StarClan, I'm going to the Moontree with Meadowlight tonight!" the cinnamon tabby mewed, her fur fluffed up in excitement and her minty-green eyes gleaming as she continued to stare at Bluepaw. "I'm gonna ask Meadowlight if I could make you my apprentice!" Bluepaw's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock.
"Wait, you're going to do what?"
Flowingpaw giggled and playfully swatted at Bluepaw's paws. "You're so silly Bluepaw!" she meowed, blinking her minty-green eyes and flicking her tail back-and-forth. "But anyways..." the cinnamon tabby continued in a bright and cheerful tone of voice, "I'm gonna ask Meadowlight if I can make you my apprentice!" she repeated with a wink and toothy grin directed at Bluepaw.
After the words had finally sunk in, Bluepaw could only stare at Flowingpaw with wide eyes. "B-but you're still going to be a medicine cat apprentice yourself, even after you get your true medicine cat name!" she spluttered. "And three medicine cats would be a bit much, even for one Clan."
Flowingpaw sighed and blew the other apprentice a raspberry. "Oh come on Bluepaw!" she whined, giving the blue-furred apprentice the kitty cat eyes, which she never could resist.
At the look, Bluepaw sighed in defeat and Flowingpaw grinned in triumph. "Yes, I win!" she purred, jumping up and down and giving her friend a cheeky cat-like grin.