𝐿𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝐼𝙽 𝒯𝙷𝙴 𝒮𝙷𝙰𝙳𝙾𝚆𝚂 ─── 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 4.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

Spottedsong finished patching up the last hole on the newly built nursery, using her teeth to tug the brambles that were interwoven to make the nursery stronger. She examined her work, then turned to go to the medicine den to let Badgertooth know that Mousetail could return to her den as soon as they could get warm, dry moss for her nest. The rain had stopped, but it was still wet everywhere. It would be hard to find dry moss. It had been two days since the nursery collapsed.

Before Spottedsong made it to the medicine den, though, Owlheart confronted her. "Is it finished? The nursery?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. I was just going to let Badgertooth know," Spottedsong answered. "Is that okay? I know it might not be time yet. You know, because of all of this wetness." She flicked her tail to the rest of the camp.

"Yes, of course. You let him know. He might have another idea," Owlheart meowed.

Spottedsong dipped her head and proceeded to go to the medicine cat den. Badgertooth had his paw on Mousetail's belly, feeling for the kits. Spottedsong waited until he was finished, but he spotted her first. He looked up, his eyes shining. Mousetail didn't seem to notice; she seemed half asleep in her nest. "Welcome, Spottedsong. What do you need?"

"I finished repairing the nursery. We still have to get fresh, dry moss, which will be hard in this weather, but I thought you wanted to know," she explained.

"Ah, yes, I think she has to stay here for a little while longer, just until the territory dries up a bit more to get a dry nest. Thank you, Spottedsong," Badgertooth mewed.

"Of course. How's Mousetail?" Spottedsong asked, turning to look at the sleeping queen.

"She's fine. I think her kits should come in at least a quarter-moon, if not less," Badgertooth explained, his eyes gleaming happily. "New kits in the Clan are truly a blessing from StarClan."

"They are. How many, do you think?" Spottedsong asked.

Badgertooth's gaze softened. "Feels like four," he answered. "That's an even bigger blessing."

"Yes," Spottedsong agreed, feeling a purr rumble gently in her throat. "Well, should we at least check and see if there's any dry moss? Even if it's all still wet, we can make sure it's dry."

"That would be nice. But I would like to stay here with Mousetail. So, if you want to go by yourself, now's the time," Badgertooth suggested.

"Of course. I need to get out of camp anyway. Goodbye." Spottedsong gave her tail a friendly wave and left the den. She headed for the camp entrance. Before she could get out, she felt the damp pelt of another cat against her. She turned, her heart lurching at the sudden contact, and saw it was Gorseberry. "Hi. I'm just going to get some moss for Mousetail's nest. If you want to come with me, you can."

Gorseberry glanced at the camp entrance, then nodded, glancing back at Spottedsong fondly.

"Okay. Let's go." Spottedsong flicked her tail and jerked her chin toward the outside of the camp before they left. They walked in silence-not that there was anything they could talk about, considering Spottedsong was the only one who could actually talk. Soon they came to a patch of undergrowth in the forest. "Here! There might be some moss here." Spottedsong began to nose through the undergrowth in search of moss. "You can look for some too, if you want."