The Prophecy Foretold: Testing Alliances

Chapter Four

Puddlepaw slipped out from the apprentice's den, yawning as she stretched her legs out. The patrols had been getting more often, but the apprentices had been given a break, and she'd decided to take it and sleep half the day away. She looked around the clearing, noting some warriors laying in patches of grass, and she spotted Barkfeather bringing a shrew to Nightflower, the she-cat laying with Berryleap and Swanthroat in a patch of shade.

Dappledflame was pacing outside of the nursery, and she watched as Mintpaw darted out and hurried to the medicine cat den. Curious, Puddlepaw followed, and nearly slammed into Mintpaw, who was carrying a bundle of leaves in her mouth. Mintpaw squeaked and dropped the leaves in surprise, gasping.

"Puddlepaw! You startled me." Mintpaw bent down and began nudging the leaves back into a neat pile. The medicine cat apprentice was several moons older than Puddlepaw, and was very shy and kept to her work mostly.

"Sorry Mintpaw! Here, let me help." She added a few rogue leaves to the pile, looking back at her. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Firenettle is kitting. Cloudedeyes wanted me to grab some herbs to keep her calm." Puddlepaw's eyes widened, looking around. Firenettle was Blazingpaw's mother, and he would want to be around to see her second litter. Mintpaw watched her for a moment, and then nodded to the entrance of the camp, reading her thoughts. "Blazingpaw went hunting a while ago, if you want to track him down." Puddlepaw nodded, letting her run off as she turned and headed for the camp entrance.

"Puddlepaw!" She turned her head as Nightflower called to her, curled up now against Barkfeather's side. "Why don't you join us for lunch? Barkfeather caught a shrew fat enough for all of us." Nightflower was looking better these days than she had when Puddlepaw saw her in the medicine cat den, and her stomach rumbled after her long nap.

"I will when I come back! I want to go find Blazingpaw and let him know Firenettle is kitting." Barkfeather nodded her on, and she slipped through out into the forest.

The weather was beginning to grow colder as leafbare slowly came upon them, leaves crunching beneath her paws. It was easy to scent Blazingpaw, and she found him as he was digging up a small mouse, placing it beside a raven he had caught.

"Blazingpaw!" The orange apprentice looked up, staring blankly at Puddlepaw. "You should come back to camp, Firenettle has started kitting!"

"I know." Blazingpaw mewed shortly, kicking the mouse aside and filling his hole back in. Puddlepaw hesitated, confused.

"You know? Then why are you out hunting, Firenettle is your mom."

"Yeah, well, not for long." Blazingpaw stood, kicking dirt from his front paws. "Do you have something important to tell me, or can I get back to hunting?"

"What's wrong with you? You should be excited, you're going to have siblings! Younger than you, but still!"

"Yeah, and Firenettle and Dappledflame are just going to forget about me." Blazingpaw mumbled, sighing. "Cloudedeyes said she's going to have three kits." Puddlepaw watched as he deflated, surprised. She'd never seen him so upset, and it hurt seeing it. She stepped closer to sit beside him, touching his shoulder with her tail.

"Firenettle isn't going to forget about you just because she has new kits coming." Blazingpaw looked away, huffing.

"She's barely paid attention to me since I became an apprentice.When these kits are born, I'll be forgotten completely." Blazingpaw laid down, tucking his paws underneath him. "You wouldn't get it. You have Barkfeather and Nightflower, and Swanthroat even."

Puddlepaw stared at him for a moment, before she sighed.

"I might not understand, but.. They won't forget you, Blazingpaw. For Starclans sake, you're in the same clan. Three kits seem like a lot of work. Even still, you have other cats who care for you. Like me." Blazingpaw looked up at her, a sparkle of hope in his eyes as he climbed back to his paws, shaking his fur out.