"Here they are, Goldenshine." Treepaw's voice was muffled by the pile of leaves he was carrying in his mouth. He had to crane his head up a bit just to be able to see around his bundle. His nose twitched as if he were about to sneeze.
Goldenshine quickly took the herbs from him before he could sneeze all over them and ruin half the stock. She gently placed them onto the floor of the medicine den. "Thanks, Treepaw. I really appreciate it."
Treepaw nodded and bounced on his toes a little. "Of course!" His ears pricked as he heard his mentor, Bluefang, calling him. "Gotta run!" He quickly leaped to his paws and bounded out of the den, nearly slipping as he made a tight turn.
Goldenshine purred gently and looked back down at the leaves. Her amusement quickly turned into a sigh. The entire bundle was a mix of differently shaped leaves with no particular order to them. When I asked him to bring back dock and marigold, I thought I told him to put them in separate piles…
She slowly began to pick apart the pile, pushing the two types of herbs into different piles. The organization was somewhat tedious, but the rhythm of it calmed her. It was what she liked about being a medicine cat—there was consistency, an order, a clarity; unlike the constantly active life of a warrior.
If only we could get StarClan to speak to us more frequently, she thought with a hint of frustration. The last visit to the Pool of Stars had been their most recent contact—and even then, Stagstream had reported receiving an ominous message from his deceased father, Snowstrike.
"He told me that the Clans must beware of some cat," the SilverClan medicine cat's voice echoed in her memory, as fresh as if he were speaking to her in the present. "But the connection was broken before he could finish, and he never got the chance to tell me who."
Goldenshine tried her best not to worry about the warning—truly, she did—but it made her uneasy, as if she couldn't even trust her own Clanmates. Yet it was the most any of the medicine cats could do—until they visited the Pool of Stars again, their connection to StarClan was near-barren. They would just have to hope that the message, whomever it spoke of, didn't come to pass anytime soon.
Her darker thoughts were interrupted by a gentle voice calling to her from the entrance. "Goldenshine?" She recognized it as Ivyglow's voice, and turned her head to see her calico-speckled head poking into the den, her bright blue eyes tinged with a hint of worry.
"Can you come to the nursery?" the queen continued. "Wetkit's sneezed more than once today, and he feels like he's running a chill—I'm worried he might be coming down with something." Her gaze told more of her thoughts—since the horrible greencough epidemic during leaf-bare, even so much as a simple cough put every cat on edge.
"Of course," Goldenshine mewed in response, her paws instinctively starting to move to gather the herbs she would need. "I'm sure it's only a case of the chills; a cold at most," she added with a reassuring glance at her friend.
Ivyglow nodded, though her expression still gave way to her fear, and Goldenshine did her best to move as quickly as she could to try and calm her nerves. She reached into a cleft in the bark of the hollowed-out bottom of a tree where the medicine den was. Rosemary and thyme, maybe some poppy seeds to help him sleep later tonight.
She quickly tucked the small pile of herbs into a leaf wrap and grabbed it between her jaws. "Ready."
Ivyglow ducked her head back out to allow Goldenshine to exit, her orange-and-white paws churning the ground beneath her. Goldenshine brushed her side comfortingly.
"He'll be fine," she murmured softly as the pair made their way to the nursery. "I promise. I won't let what happened to Tigerfoot happen to him."
She felt her friend give a shiver of relief, mixed with left-over grief. The she-cat's mate had passed away from the greencough epidemic while she was still pregnant; Elmwhisker's herbs weren't enough, no matter how many he had tried. Without siblings or living parents, Ivyglow had raised her kits on her own. Goldenshine admired the she-cat's quiet resilience.
The two approached the nursery and Ivyglow slipped inside quickly. As Goldenshine entered, she saw that Ivyglow was wrapped protectively around a fern-lined moss nest in the back corner of the den. A small gray-black head poked out of the nest and gazed up at Goldenshine with large green eyes.
"Hi, Goldenshine!" Wetkit chirped. He sneezed and wiped at his nose with a paw, and Goldenshine saw Ivyglow flinch visibly.
"Hello, Wetkit," Goldenshine purred in response, ensuring that her tone stayed calm so as not to rile Ivyglow any further. "I'm just coming to check in on you." She leaned her head forward and pressed her muzzle into his soft kit fur, sniffing for the tell-tale signs of disease or fever.
"Did you start sneezing this morning?" she asked gently.
Wetkit nodded with an energetic bounce of his head.
"Alright, that's good," Goldenshine meowed, speaking clearly to be sure Ivyglow heard every word. "All you need is some of this." She gently bit off a small piece of thyme and pulled the rest of the plant back into her bundle.
Wasting no time, Wetkit reached over the nest and chewed up the herb. His face scrunched as he did so. "It tastes yucky!"
"Wetkit," Ivyglow chided him.
Goldenshine rolled her eyes with a purr. What will he ever do when he's older and has to take more than a sprig? "But it'll help you feel so much better."
She spotted Wetkit's brother, Foxkit, pop up beside him, his yellow eyes shining brightly. "Now you can come play!"
Ivyglow's fur bushed out. "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea—"
Goldenshine came to stand by her friend and butted her head against hers. "He'll be fine. Fresh air will be good for his cold, and it might help with his stuffy nose," she reassured her.
Ivyglow first cast her a nervous glance, but she then saw her fur lie flat. "A-alright. You can go play outside."
The two tom-kits squealed in excitement. "Thanks, Mama!" Foxkit purred. He bounded outside the nursery with Wetkit following just behind, playfully trying to nip at his tail.
Beside her, Goldenshine felt Ivyglow let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, Goldenshine," she sighed. "I know I should have more faith in you and Elmwhisker, but sometimes I just—"
Goldenshine laid her tail across Ivyglow's shoulder. "It's alright; no cat is blaming you for worrying," she soothed her. "We'll do whatever we can to help our Clan—including not letting what happened in leafbare happen ever again."
Ivyglow looked at her gratefully, her light blue eyes brightening with clarity and hope. "That's all I can ask for."
Goldenshine slipped back into the medicine den, shaking out her pelt as she felt its cool dampness wash over her.
"You're back," a raspy voice purred.
Her ears perked, and she hurried over to where Elmwhisker was sitting and tucking the last of some marigold—no, themarigold she was sorting—into a cleft in the inner bark of the three where the medicine cats made their den. Shame surged across her, warming her pelt.
"Elmwhisker, I'm so sorry— I meant to finish sorting it, I just— Wetkit was sneezing, and you know how Ivyglow wants to—" she stammered, trying to put her excuses into one comprehensive sentence.
Her mentor only let out another low purr. "There's no need to worry, Goldenshine. I don't mind. These herbs needed someone to keep them company, anyways."
Goldenshine sighed with relief. "I thought you were out gathering herbs," she mewed, trying to change the subject.
Elmwhisker nodded and pointed to another dip in the trunk. "I went to SilverClan to see if Stagstream had anymore horsetail. The marsh is wet enough, but it doesn't produce as fruitful of a produce as the river does."
At the mention of the medicine cat's name, Goldenshine's ears pricked forward. "Did he have any news about—"
"You shouldn't worry about that," Elmwhisker rumbled. "It's not your place to. You may have your full name, but you're still my apprentice—for now." He gave her a meaningful look on his last words, his gaze serious and deep.
Goldenshine felt a prickle of worry stab her veins. I'm not ready to take over the medicine cat role… I have too much to learn—I left herbs unattended just now!
"Whatever the message is, we will figure it out in due time." Her mentor blinked evenly at her, his eyes softening as he read what she had left unspoken. "You have nothing to worry about, Goldenshine. I've taught you nearly all that you need to know—and the rest will come with experience."
"B-but what if some cat dies on my watch?" Goldenshine panicked aloud, her claws scraping against the earth.
"That will happen," Elmwhisker responded, his tone calm. "It's happened too many times to me—but what matters is that you try. That's all your Clan can ask for." He shook his head and sighed. "You're a hardworking and brave cat; your problem is that you worry too much about the future, and the unexpected. Put your paws in the present. I will be retiring soon, but that time is not yet here."
His words did little to soothe Goldenshine. Soon doesn't help, Elmwhisker! As a matter of fact, you're not helping much at all. Her whiskers twitched in frustration.
"I'm old, Goldenshine. Even a kit can see that," Elmwhisker continued. "I believe that I have earned my fair share of the elders' den. You realize that, don't you?"
"Yes!" Goldenshine finally spat, exasperated. "Of course you have; you've earned more than that, Elmwhisker. But I'm not ready! I left those herbs without putting them away. Some cat could have come in and accidentally trampled them. And what if Wetkit had more than just a cold? I would've needed your help to know what to do. I'm just not ready, and all you're doing is making me worry more!"
The two stood in place for a moment, Goldenshine's tail lashing as she glared at her mentor, while Elmwhisker only stared back with a neutral, calm expression.
"I can see that you're worked up over this," he finally said in a low, quiet rasp. "Go get some fresh air and come back once you've calmed down."
Goldenshine's tail swung in the air one final time as she hesitated. Seeing no alternative, she let out a breath and spun around, storming out of the den. She could feel Elmwhisker's gaze boring into her back the whole way out.
Once outside the medicine den, Goldenshine paused. The fresh-kill pile was full, but she had lost her appetite. She saw Daisysky and Ivyglow sharing a mouse together across the camp, chatting excitedly. Yet she was cautious to stay out of their line of sight—she wasn't in the mood for any more conversation.
She sighed in annoyance. What am I, a brooding apprentice? She twitched her ears and went to sit in a shaded corner of the camp, parallel to where her friends were. As she settled into the pine needle-covered camp floor, the bracken forming the camp entrance rustled. Quailheart, Alderleaf, Pearfeather, and her apprentice, Brookpaw, emerged.
Pearfeather immediately trotted over towards her brother, Blizzardsnout, and butted heads with him. Quailheart and Alderleaf headed towards the fresh-kill pile. Brookpaw, however, hesitated, seeming flustered and distracted. Goldenshine tilted her head in confusion.
She got to her paws and padded towards the apprentice, nearly bumping into Tallpounce and Birdfang, who were dragging some twigs towards the camp wall barrier to repair patches in it. Muttering a quick apology, she brushed past them and put a paw in front of Brookpaw to block her path. "Brookpaw?"
The light brown tabby she-cat blinked in surprise, as if Goldenshine had snapped her out of something. "Wh-what?"
"Are you feeling okay?" Goldenshine mewed with concern. "You look distracted."
Brookpaw nodded quickly—and almost too enthusiastically. "Oh, I'm fine! Don't worry about me, Goldenshine." Her blue eyes flashed towards a corner of the camp, and one of her paws began to move in its direction. "I've, err, gotta go… Pearfeather was gonna teach me some new signs."
Without another word, she hurried off in her aimed direction. Pearfeather broke off from her conversation with Blizzardsnout and trotted towards her apprentice, tail raised high. Goldenshine shook her head.
She wasn't lying… Maybe she was just thinking about something else. Apprentices do that all the time.
Still, something about the situation made her fur twitch, though she couldn't figure out what. I must just be bothered by my argument with Elmwhisker…
There was nothing else to it. She'd have to convince herself of it, that's all.