Warrior Cats SERIES 1: North and South (Book 1)

Chapter 10

She flexed her hind paw.
         "It's better, I suppose. It still hurts if I try and put weight on it, though."
         "It will do. Come on, let's try some gentle excercises." Meltedfur's tail was kinked over her back. Cottonpaw had done some brief tail signal training, and could recall it as being the same as 'follow me'. She climbed to her three paws and limped after the medicine cat, also Northpaw's mentor. She showed no mercy for Cottonpaw as she sped on ahead, and Cottonpaw struggled to keep up. Eventually she managed to persuade the medicine cat to slow the pace, and sighed in relief. Her three legs were sore with aching joints, as they weren't used to holding this much weight before.
          Thankfully, Meltedfur led her to the Lake Shore, which wasn't too close to the ShadowClan border. Cottonpaw was still worried those rogues would come back, even though the last border patrol had reported that they had moved to WindClan territory. Then again, Crownedpaw had nearly died, and still might. Northpaw and Meltedfur were doing everything they could but her denmate continued to sleep and refuse to eat. Her wound was slowly healing, but would her pride and appetite?
          "Here we are." Meltedfur meowed. "Come. We'll start over here."
          "In the lake?" Cottonpaw frowned. She could swim, but not with a broken leg.
          "Do you know who Jayfeather and Cinderheart were?" The medicine cat's amber eyes glanced at her.
          "No. Who were they?"
          "Jayfeather was a ThunderClan medicine cat, and Cinderheart was a ThunderClan warrior. She broke her leg, just like you, and couldn't use it for many moons. Jayfeather, Jaypaw at the time, came up with the idea that swimming would strengthen it."
          "And?"
          "It did. It worked so well that Cinderheart was able to earn her name and become a true warrior again, as if she never broke her leg." Meltedfur smiled at her. Cottonpaw shrugged.
          "It might not work with me, especially because I'm a RiverClan cat. I know how to swim already. My muscles are prepared for swimming, unlike Cinderheart and Jayfeather's."
          "Jayfeather was blind." She meowed out of the blue.
          "What do you mean?"
          "I mean: Jayfeather was blind, yet he still swam. He never gave up on Cinderheart, even if he had no hope left." She suddenly frowned and lashed her tail. "Now get in the shallowest part. No more protests."
          "But-" Cottonpaw sighed.
          "I said no more protests!" Meltedfur hissed.
          "Now I know where Northpaw gets it..." She mumbled. Meltedfur glared at her, almost killing her with one look.
          "What did you say?" Cottonpaw widened her eyes and shook her head. The medicine cat snorted and waited for her to lower herself into the water. It was cold, and even though Cottonpaw was a thin cat with little fur - except for her tail, which was, surprisingly, very fluffy - and wasn't very heavy, the water drenched her and pulled her down a little. She splashed desperately with her front two paws and hind left leg, leaving her hind right to hover. "Use it!" Meltedfur yowled impatiently.
          "What?" Cottonpaw sputtered, struggling to keep her nose above the water surface.
          "Use your leg! Gently, but use it!" She ordered. Cottonpaw nodded briefly and started to paddle gently with her hind right leg. She found that she could keep her head high enough to breathe, and kicked her leg with little force every so often. Suddenly, teeth grabbed her scruff and pulled her out of the lake.
          "That was good. Now, give it a good stretch." Meltedfur began grooming her flank the wrong way to warm her up, while Cottonpaw extended her leg back and forth slowly. "Well done. I think that's enough for today. Maybe you could go out with Northpaw to collect some herbs. We need catmint, which he's getting right now. We also need honey, moss, juniper berries, mallow, alder bark, bindweed and broom for you, burnet for Eagle-eye and cobweb. Though I could get Runningpaw to help you when she's finished her training."
          "Okay."
          "Let's go back then." Meltedfur nodded and whisked off back to camp. Cottonpaw followed, finding that she could gently place her paw on the floor and take some weight, but pick it back up again.
          Would Northpaw like her joining his herb collecting patrol? Would he like Runningpaw joining? Northpaw was quite independent and didn't like others intruding on his medicine duties, and he'd been rather quiet to her of recent. She glanced at Meltedfur - had he got it all from her, or had he been like that all along?
          The tall trees swarmed around her in the bitter wind and a flurry of rain began to fall down. Now I have to collect herbs in the rain, she thought. She knew her paws were going to get muddy and she was going to go back to camp shivering. Her fur was already plastered to her sides from swimming. Northpaw might ask her to stay back at camp, but Meltedfur - his mentor - had already deemed it okay for her to be out. Wasn't this how Sparrowheart got whitecough? She wondered.
          "Cottonpaw, are you there? Quit daydreaming. We're at camp." Meltedfur hissed. Cottonpaw glared at her and trotted into camp, spotting Runningpaw at the entrance of the apprentices' den. She was sharpening her claws on the log. "Go on and get Runningpaw, then. I'll grab Northpaw for you." Meltedfur meowed.
          "Runningpaw?" Cottonpaw padded up to her. "Do you want to join me and Northpaw on a herb collecting patrol? There's a lot to carry back, and Meltedfur suggested I get you."
          "Sure! I mean," She paused, yawning. "I guess." Runningpaw sounded suspicious, but at least she was willing to join them. Cottonpaw beckoned her with her tail and walked to the medicine den to find Northpaw.
          "I suppose. But I need to check on Sparrowheart, Splashingbreeze, Maplekit and Eagle-eye. Eagle-eye's pain is worse. Sparrowheart has greencough. And I think Splashingbreeze and Maplekit are developing whitecough." He was meowing to his mentor.
          "Even more reason for you to go then."
          "And what about Cottonpaw? She can't possibly do a herb collecting patrol with her leg like that! Are you mouse-brained?" Northpaw hissed and Runningpaw groomed herself by the entrance, obviously not going in. Cottonpaw sat down and listened, trying not to look like she was purposefully overhearing.
          "I am your mentor, Northpaw! Don't you call me mouse-brained. I'll have Coralstar know about this, you know." Meltedfur snarled. "Now, off you go."
          "Cottonpaw's not coming." He spat and his pawsteps sounded louder. Cottonpaw pretended to be grooming herself and stretching her leg when Northpaw came walking out of the medicine den. She glanced at him. His fur was puffed out, his claws unsheathed and his eyes narrowed.
          "You alright, Northpaw?" Runningpaw meowed, a purr hitched in her throat. Cottonpaw's ears burned with jealousy. Her own denmate was stealing her best friend!
          "Absolutely not! Cottonpaw, what about you?" He replied.
          "Me? What? Oh, I'm fine. Let's go." She rolled her eyes, standing up and starting to limp before Northpaw's tail barricaded her way through.
          "You're not going. How can I have you limping through RiverClan territory like that? And your fur is drenched, which means you'll get colder sooner. Do you want a cold?" Northpaw growled a little, obviously hinting the whitecough and greencough sickness spreading around camp.
          "I'll be fine, honestly. Meltedfur asked me to come - do you want to get in trouble?" She acted like she didn't know he already was.
          "Meltedfur!" Northpaw snorted, padding away and out of camp. Runningpaw cantered after him and Cottonpaw groaned. She didn't want to go, but she didn't want to leave Runningpaw alone with Northpaw. Something was telling her it was a bad idea. Her paws yowled as she limped after her friends - no, friend - but she ignored it.