Warriors: The Beginning

Chapter 15

The heavy, humid air and the water sticking to their fur made it hard for the three cats to trek to the catmint plant. Yinpaw recognised the old, sad tree that acted as a reminder to her that the catmint plant was near.

They went around the tree, seeing a sodden ground with damp soil. The catmint scent filled their nostrils the moment they crossed the old tree, and Yinpaw's heart leaped as she saw that the plant was still there. Some of its leaves were frozen, but the majority that hadn't been taken back by the medicine cats were still fresh.

As the cats went up to sniff the plants, Yinpaw realised that some of the leaves had begun to sprout some little spurts of frost.

"We better gather as much as we can," Ambereye suggested, starting to nimbly nip the leaves off their stems. Yinpaw joined in to help, but Shadowpaw stayed behind, worried that if he tried to follow them, he'd only fail miserably.

Ambereye stopped nipping for a short while. "Shadowpaw," she meowed, taking a breath. "Get these in your mouth and don't bite down on them. Get them into the medicine den as fast as possible and then come back. Leave the catmint beside the honeyleaf," she added the last part quickly so that he wouldn't delay by looking for the rest of the catmint. With a curt nod to the medicine cat, he carried a mouthful of catmint and headed back to camp.

Not long after, the two medicine cats had gathered what they presumed to be enough. It would be three mouthfuls of catmint, in addition to yesterday's two. They'd have their catmint all stocked well and ready for any breakouts of greencough or whitecough.

"Leth go now," Ambereye meowed to her apprentice, the leaves muffling her words. The two cats brushed pelts as they padded back to camp, the scent of catmint swirling into their noses. The bitter taste would last a while, as Yinpaw had resented, but it was for the good of the Clan. What good did it make you if you didn't do something just because you don't like it?

When they reached the camp, Ambereye and Yinpaw hastily bounded back to their den as the first heavy drops of the promised storm soaked into their shivering pelts.

They reached the cave and saw Shadowpaw sleeping beside the honeyleaf. "He must've been really tired," Yinpaw observed softly, carefully dropping her mouthful of catmint and then beginning to grab Shadowpaw's by the honeyleaf.

"I want you to rest, too." Yinpaw heard her mentor speak tactfully. "I know you're bored, but it's raining outside and there's nothing to do, so we better catch up on our sleep. Hopefully, the cats aren't mouse-brained enough to stray out of their dens right now," Ambereye said the last bit softly, so that she wouldn't offend anyone.

After a while, Yinpaw realised that she was the only cat in the medicine den awake; Rosetail, Silkpaw, Shadowpaw and Ambereye were all sleeping peacefully, their flanks rising and falling at a slow, natural pace.

And soon, Yinpaw too fell into a slumber, guided by the rythemic pitter-patter of the raindrops splashing against the ground.

The rain grew steadily heavier, pattering on the crackly, dry branches of the leafless trees and filling each dip in the ground with water. The sky above was filled with tumultuous, dark, ragged clouds.

The light in the cave had grown brighter and turned golden, as if he rain had stopped and the sun had risen over the treetops. There was a peaceful silence in the SharpClan camp as the cats of SharpClan were fast asleep.

There were two cats inside the leader's den, the leader and a copper-brown mentor. Her yellow eyes glinted, reflecting the ragged, thin patter of rain.

"Yes, Bronzeflight?" Woodstar rasped.

"I've been thinking about Shadowpaw's assesment," replied the brown she-cat, setting her tail beside her paws. "He's trained for over five moons already."

"That's true," the leader agreed, then said, "Its up to you, isn't it? You will know when is the best time for Shadowpaw to have his assesment." Woodstar had a calming look in her eyes, trying to reassure Bronzeflight that whatever she did, Woodstar would back her up.

"Your right," admitted Bronzeflight, dipping her silvery-grey head. "All right, I'll choose a right time for his assesment." She mulled over the thought of hunting; there wouldn't be much prey around to hunt during leaf-fall, and that would make up the hardest part.

"I'll have to have it after leaf-bare," meowed the copper cat tentatively, casting her glance to her paws. She felt slightly ashamed that she had picked this time to ask the leader, when leaf-bare was just several quarter moons away. Maybe even a moon, at most.

As if she could sense her tension, Woodstar mewed tactfully, "I'm sure it'll pay off. He can have a bit more training as lead-bare comes. Don't worry, we'll survive this time just fine." But there was a hint of doubt lingering in the leader's words, but she dared not to show it.

"Would you like to sleep here?" The leader offered, veering away from the subject of assessments. "You can't go out; it's too wet. And anyway, your moss must be cold. I've already slept there, so it's warm." Bronzelfight dipped her head respectfully.

"Thank you, Woodstar," the warrior mewed gratefully, padding to an empty part of the cave. When Woodstar opened her mouth to object that she should have some more moss, she flicked her ears and declined, "I'm fine."

The two cats then went to sleep, a light patter of the rain falling having a steady, calming beat.

* * *

The sun was just starting to set, casting long, gloomy shadows over the SharpClan camp. The leafless trees looked like ominous creatures that tried to use their spiky paws to scrape you alive.

The rain had just stopped, with only a hint of dampness in the air and the humidity high with mist hanging around. Yinpaw awoke just in time to see a hunting patrol go out; it was about time she had started to eat.

Most of the cats in the camp felt hungry, their empty bellies growling furiously. Yinpaw glanced at the fresh-kill pile, and saw only a small mouse and two sparrows. The only terrible thing about them is that they were wet. Honeypaw was sitting there, licking herself.

"I wish elders didn't mind having wet prey," the impatient apprentice meowed, licking her yellow-cream fur and then swiping it over her head. Honeypaw glanced at the elders' den and snorted indignantly. "They've got to have the warmest and dryest prey."

"I wish you'd shut your mouth," Yinpaw mumbled, strutting back into the medicine den.