Life 3:1

The soft scent of reeds and slight sour scent of fish awoke Snakekit. A sore throat greeted him this time. It was one of the lesser injuries that could travel with him. A smile graced Snakekit's face since this was a new day of a new life. Riverclan, the most calm of the clans according to Snakekit. Riverclan was unique in its culture. Unlike other clans, Riverclan was not overloaded with the need to hunt and patrol. They had down time, and through this down time, their practices diversified.

It was typically unusual for Snakekit to join a clan without any other kits becoming apprentices, but it appeared that this was the case this time. A giddiness grew in Snakekit. Who would be his mentor this time? What would he learn? What would he teach? Every new life was filled with this kind of excitement through uncertainty. It was one of his biggest drives.

The air was nippingly cold. Snow was piled up in the corners of the camp from warrior's clearing the paths. Given the timing, Riverclan's festival of the Long Night would be soon. Where most cats of Riverclan would say the festival of the Long Day would be their favorite due to the feasting and fighting, Snakekit himself enjoyed the Long Night, a night of storytelling of challenges overcome and myths of old. He always found it amusing when he appeared in one, whether the teller knew it or not.

Crookedstar sat upon his ledge, chatting with his deputy Leopardfur. The motion of Snakekit approaching caught Crookedstar's eye. A lopsided smile stretched across his muzzle. "Snakekit, it is good to see you. Did the cold bring you over?" He mewed, attempting to remain subtle about Snakekit's nature.

"Nah. I just had a bit of a spat with a mean old cat." Snakepaw replied, briefly touching his paw to his throat to let Crookedstar know what exactly happened.

Crookedstar, catching on, replied. "It sounds like you might have thrown out your voice a bit in that spat. I believe Mudfur might have some honey to soothe your throat. Also, send him my way when he's done helping you. I might have heard a whisper on the river last night."

Snakekit turned and set off towards the medicine den, but he couldn't help overhearing Leopardfur questioning Crookedstar. "Who was that kit? I've never seen them before, and I certainly haven't seen them talking to you."

Crookedstar soothed his deputy. "Blessed by Starclan you must be. I'll explain, but this is neither the time nor place. I'll see if Mudfur can help explain when he gets brought over."

Leopardfur was unhappy to be kept in the dark, but she didn't voice this annoyance. Instead, she just huffed. "This better be worth my time."

Crookedstar gave her a gentle smile in response. "I promise it will." He mewed.

Meanwhile, Snakekit had just made his way into the medicine den. The scent of herbs carefully stored in organized piles gave off a meandry of smells. It looked like Riverclan was well stocked for this Leafbare. Snakekit couldn't help but give a cursory sniff around. Ah. The marigold was just where he remembered it. Just above it was the poppy seeds. To the left was the nettles. Mudfur had never moved away from his mentor Brambleberry's way of organizing. Mudfur was always a bit of a warrior at heart despite his change in calling.

Mudfur spotted the kit looking through his stores. Thankfully for him, the kit appeared to not be rifling through them making a mess. The kit hadn't noticed Mudfur yet either, so he walked a bit closer to catch the kit in the act. He was surprised to hear the strange kit muttering the names of the herbs as he checked them. Even odder, the kit seemed to call out what the next herb would be before he even looked at them. Mudfur was befuddled at the sight. His confusion was only interrupted when the kit reached the end of the current line and spotted the medicine cat.

Mudfur shook off his stun before querying. "What brings you here kit?"

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to mess with your herbs. Crookedstar said you'd have some honey for my sore throat. I just got distracted for a second." The kit apologized.

"It's no problem at all, but I couldn't help noticing something. How about you see if you can guess where the honey is." Mudfur tested.

The kit's eyes widened in response as he shook his head. "No. I can't do that. It'd be rude for me to just assume anything like that. I don't want to offend you."

Mudfur let out a soft laugh at the response. "Don't worry. You won't offend me at all. How about you make a guess?"

The kit hund his head as he responded. "Fine. It's in that back corner, second shelf right by the tansy."

Mudfur couldn't help but feel the shiver that ran down his spine. That was exactly where the honey was. It was unnatural how accurately the kit guessed. "How did you know that?" He asked, before realizing he was spooking the kit.

"It's how Brambleberry did it." The kit murmured, sending a wave of shock through Mudfur.

It took Mudfur a minute to puzzle out what the kit's statement meant. Suddenly, his chats with the other medicine cats at the halfmoon were drawn to mind. There was always the latest news on where the forest's resident ghost was, the cat who'd disappear in memory but leave behind clues of his existence. He looked closer at the kit, noting the leopard spotted pelt and the snake like green eyes. Yep, this was the ghost.

"You're Snakepaw right?" Mudfur guessed.

"Snakekit. I haven't gotten my apprentice name here yet." The kit responded. "Oh! I almost forgot. Crookedstar is looking for you. He said he heard a whisper on the river."

"Then I'd better go see him. You know where the honey is. Just don't take too much." Mudfur mewed before leaving.

Mudfur found Crookedstar waiting for him at the base of his ledge. He had that smile Mudfur knew was secretly smug. "Mudfur, did Snakekit send you by? What did you think of him?"

Mudfur knew Crookedstar was getting at something, but he wasn't sure what yet. "He's a bit of an odd kit. Though, that's not surprising since he's the forest's ghost. It was interesting to hear that he knew Brambleberry."

Crookedstar than struck with another question. "Interesting enough to warrant your attention? Last night Starclan whispered to me. Care to guess what it was?"

Mudfur huffed. He never really liked Crookedstar's round about way of talking, but it did keep him sharp. Regarding the kit, Mudfur thought back to what he knew about the ghost. According to the other medicine cats, when the ghost appeared, leaders would receive a whisper on who to apprentice the ghost to. It was usually a cat in need of aid. The only reason Crookedstar could be bringing this up… "It's me isn't it? I'm supposed to mentor the ghost."

Crookedstar responded with a jovial smile. "You guessed it. I'm sure he'll be a great addition to the medicine den. On top of that, Leopardfur didn't recognize him. That's a good sign. I think this is proof I chose the right deputy."

Mudfur grumbled in response. "I'd withhold judgement for now. Leopardfur's a bit too impulsive for my tastes."

"Well, I'll call a meeting in a little bit to give the news. You should get back to Snakekit. I warn you, he's a bit of a pawful when he decides someone needs a distraction." Crookedstar teased before watching Mudfur return to the medicine den. Then Crookedstar got a good laugh out of a shout from Mudfur. "What happened in here? Why are half my herbs shuffled?!"