Warriors: Bitter

Chapter Two

⠀Elmpaw sighed as he walked along the Elkclan border, glancing at his mentor with tired eyes. It was his first trip to the Silvertree, and he wasn't sure what to think as they met up with Graypuddle, Elkclan's medicine cat.

⠀ Shystep dipped her head to the young tom, who responded with the same motion.

⠀ "Hello, Shystep. I see you have a new apprentice," he mewed pleasantly, blue eyes shifting to Elmpaw. Shystep nodded and looked at the tabby apprentice as well.

⠀ "Yes, I do. He is doing very well," she mewed with a mild grin. Elmpaw raised his head a bit and looked past the larger felines. He saw the silhouettes of four cats walking along the shoreline.

⠀ "Are those the others?" he asked, staring at them with round eyes. Shystep turned and gasped. "We need to hurry," she mewed anxiously. Graypuddle looked at her with a slightly condescending glint in his eyes and sighed.

⠀ "It's alright," he mewed as Shystep began to pad quickly in their direction. Elmpaw wondered why the young tom was a medicine cat. He certainly didn't act like Shystep, and he seemed to be very athletic. He was about to ask why when he saw the odd disfiguration on the tom's right forepaw. The claws seemed to be permanently unsheathed, and his paw was bent slightly outwards.

⠀ "What happened to your paw?" Elmpaw blurted out as they walked, wincing when he realized what he had said. The smoky gray tom turned and looked at him with flattened ears, though Shystep seemed oblivious to the rude comment.

⠀ "I was born this way," he murmured through gritted teeth. Elmpaw held his gaze for a moment before casting his own to the ground. Graypuddle seems to walk fine, he thought. He has no limp. His paw just looks... weird, that's all.

⠀ When they reached the others, Elmpaw was beyond glad to see two other apprentices. He dipped his head and fell behind the group as they began to walk north.

⠀ "It was awful," Poppypaw, a brown tabby with a white tail tip and toes who he assumed was from Reedclan, mewed to the others. Spottednook, her elderly mentor, shook her head and laughed.

⠀ "It was just your first outbreak of whitecough. Nobody died, we just had a few kits and apprentices get sick," the tortoiseshell mewed. "Yes, it's very bad when a cat becomes sick, but I'm always thankful when whitecough doesn't develop into something worse." The old she-cat was obviously very wise, and her amber eyes radiated serenity.

⠀ Brightcrow nodded and chuckled, the light from the moon catching the white patches that marked his gray pelt. "Reminds me of the first time I had to help deliver kits. I was scared out of my pelt, but my mentor was very understanding."

⠀ "I was always terrified of your mentor," Shystep butted in, her light eyes shining in amusement. Brightcrow rolled his. "She really wasn't bad at all. You were just annoying," he replied with a grin. Shystep's silky black fur became ruffled with laughter, but it grew eerily still when Spottednook began to look suspiciously at their surroundings.

⠀ "Something's wrong," she mewed flatly, her steps becoming faster until she was trotting away from the group. Graypuddle frowned and stared at her with a concerned gaze.

⠀ "Spottednook!" Poppypaw cried out, chasing after her mentor. Doepaw's sandy colored pelt soon followed, her shrill mews echoing amongst the trees. Soon, they were all running through the ever-thickening undergrowth of the forest until they finally reached the entrance to the Silvertree.

⠀ "Starclan is beckoning us with an urgency that is too severe for the clans to be safe," she murmured when she caught her breath. Elmpaw flattened his ears, wishing he had just decided to become a warrior. This was too nerve wracking for the young apprentice. However, upon seeing his expression, Shystep nudged his ear. "It's alright," she whispered. "We're not always this dramatic." He nodded and shakily approached the small pool, which resided beneath the raised roots of an ancient tree.

⠀ Graypuddle, Spottednook, Doepaw, Poppypaw, and Brightcrow had already touched their noses to the pool. Elmpaw watched as his mentor approached the water, jolting slightly as she touched the surface.

⠀ The tabby reluctantly advanced, his ears flat as he stared at the pristine pool. He could see the stones that lay on the other side of the surface, their colors laced with silver. Soon enough, he saw ripples radiating from the spot where he came into contact with the shockingly frigid pool. A wave of cold seemed to lift him, and when he opened his eyes, he was standing in a small clearing. The others were watching him until the sound of pawsteps snatched their attention.

⠀ "Hello," a young she-cat greeted calmly. Her pelt was similar to that of Doepaw's, though there seemed to be stars embedded within her fur. Brightcrow's eyes grew wide, and he quickly dipped his head. She returned the favor, grinning at the sight of her old apprentice.

⠀ After a moment's hesitation, she spoke again.  "There is a cat living amongst you who will decide the fate of the clans," she mewed solemnly, appearing as if she were debating on what to say. "Peaceful dawn, violent dusk. Birth through blood or death through dust." The seven medicine cats frowned and glanced back at each other. Poppypaw looked as if she was about to ask what it meant, but the golden feline had already vanished.