Softpaw slowly opened his eyes. His surroundings were odd, and unfamiliar. But the events from yesterday sped back into his mind. My apprentice ceremony! I am in the apprentices den! "Softpaw?" Lilyflower was standing outside of the den. "Do we have time to eat before we start the tour around the territories?" The ceremony had been held right before the gathering last night, so it gave Softpaw not time to explore. Lilyflower nudged the apprentice to his paws, "after." Softpaw padded towards the entrance, his stomach growled. "I guess we can wait until after we eat." Lilyflower grabbed a mouse from the pile. Softpaw fluffed his fur out aganst the cold. No other cats were awake yet, and a thin fog coated the bitter ground. Softpaw picked out a plump shrew and finished it in a couple of swift bites. Then he and Lilyflower headed towards the entrance. They raced across the territory, "where are we starting first?" Softpaw felt as if her paws weren't even touching the ground. "The thunderpath, it is the most dangerous place in all the clans territories. As they raced on a rank smell arose in the air. Softpaw wrinkled his nose. "Yuck! What is that?"
"That is the thunderpath." Softpaw stopped dead in his tracks. "I didn't know it would smell that bad!" The apprentice bounded over to catch up to her mentor. He leaped through the line of undergrowth but was stopped by lilyflower's tail in that same moment no more than a tail-length away a giant shiny monster roared past, Softpaw froze. Carefully the pair backed into the safety of the trees. "Let's explore the rest of the territories tomorrow." Softpaw nodded still not being able to look away. They padded back to the camp quietly. Sageberry was awake as well as Barkstar, and many other warriors in the camp. Lilyflower led Softpaw towards Sageberry. "He has a bit of shock from the thunderpath. We had to cut the trip short." Sageberry nodded. She flicked her tail towards her den and disappeared through the brambles. She reappeared holding a poppy. "Sorry about that!" She said. "My mouth was full of marigold, juniperpaw and I found a bunch down by tall pines! Softpaw flinched at the mention of his sister. She decided to choose the path of the medicine cat rather than a warrior. Sageberry shook a couple of poppy seeds near Softpaw. "Here, this will help with shock." Softpaw lapped up the seeds and yawned. "They will make him tired so probably no more training for today." Softpaw opened his mouth as if to protest, then dipped his head. He headed twards the apprentices den. "Hey softpaw!" He heard his sisters voice but acted as though he hadn't. He saw the pain in her eyes but ignored it. He curled into his nest and covered his nose with his tail. Patchpaw lifted her head from her nest, "softpa-" her words were cut of from a spluttering cough. "Sorry, what are you doing here? You should be training?" Spoftpaw shifted twards patchpaw. "I had a scare. How is your cough?" He hadnt realized how sincere his voice was. His pelt turned hot. "Oh, its better. I am still sad that I got it before my apprentice ceramony. I haven't gotten to leave my den since I moved here!" Juniperpaw padded in with honey, and wet moss and a bundle of herbs. "Here Patchpaw, these will help your cough. Especially the tansey. And softpaw, this thym will help your shock." She didnt make eye contact with softpaw and just padded out of the den. "Gosh," began Patchpaw, "I feel bad making the medicine cats waste their herbs on me, when plenty of other warriors need it more!" Softpaw shook his head, his eyes feeling a bit drowsey. "You and every cat here is an important attrabute to the clan." Patchpaw said something else but softpaw didnt catch it. He had fallen asleep.
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Juniperpaw was stressing out. She couldnt believe sageberry had already made her deliver herbs. She had only become an apprentice last night. She had been going through the herbs all morning in her head. Juniper, chervil and watermint are used for bellyache. She reached into the store and grabbed an herb and carried it to sageberry. "This would be very usefull Juniperpaw.....if i had aching joints. This is daisy leaves." Juniperpaw drooped her tail. "I am sorry sageberry." She picked up the leaved and padded back into the den with her head drooped. She feared she would never be able to learn all of the herbs. "Juniperpaw?" She turned and saw Sageberry standing at the entrance of the den. "I don't mean to stress you out. I have never had an apprentice before so I dont know how quickly to teach you. If you feel like I am rushing you, let me know." Juniperpaw nodded, relieved her mentor was not angry with her. "Can you sort this comfrey? I need to go check on mudwhisker's shoulder. She wrenched it pretty bad when she fell from snakerocks." Juniperpaw nodded and began to sort the herbs.
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Softpaw watched patchpaws ginder and black flank rise and fall. Her rythmic breathing soothed him. Suddenly she began to wheeze. "Patchpaw?" He leaped up and nudged her, she didnt move. "Patchpaw?" Anxiety overwhelmed him. "Sageberry! Sageberry!" He rushed out of the den in time to see sageberry with a mouthfull of herbs, she shoved past softpaw and began to listen to patchpaws breathing. Brightnose bursted in. "Oh Patchpaw! Has she gotten worse?" Softpaw followed Brightnose into the den. He felt bad for her. She had already lost skykit to greencough. It felt like moons until Sageberry spoke, "She, she has greencough. Brightnose. I am so sorry." Brightnose was frozen with shock. Softpaw laid his tail onto her shoulder. She leaned in to him. "Its alright," he soothed her, feeling a bit awkward as well. "Juniperpaw! Fetch me some cat mint!" Juniperpaw rushed in with a wad of herbs. "No, not water mint. Catmint!" Juniperpaw raced back to her den and emerged with catmint. They slowly fed it to her. "Softpaw, you and volepaw are the only apprentices in this den, I would like you to sleep in the elders den until Patchpaw feels better." Softpaw nodded casting a sorrowful glance at the she-cat then padded out. Volepaw raced into camp with a blackbird in his jaws. "Woah, I didnt know you were hunting!" Volepaw's mentor puddlepatch cut in. "We weren't we were exploring the territory and volepaw just leaped up and grabbed it!" Many warriors gathered around volepaw congradulating him on his first catch. Softpaw waited to tell him the news. "Volepaw, we have to sleep in the elders den. Patchpaw has greencough. Volepaw dropped his blackbird. "No! No! First skykit now patchpaw! No! Where is my mother?" Volepaw didn't wait for an answer and ran straight for the apprentices den. Softpaw padded slowly to the elders den. Gorseleap and shortpelt were basking in the sun. "Hello youngster, how can we help you?" Softpaw explained to them what had happened and they helped him set up two nests. "Well how long have you been up?" Lilyflower intercepted softpaw on his way to get more moss from the medicine cat's den. "A while, patchpaw has greencough so we have to move to the elders den, I have been helping with the nests." Lilyflower nodded. "I am finished now so we can finish exploring the territory now!" Lilyflower nodded, they began to walk to the entrance when the dawn patrol burst in. Dawnheart, lionfur, birchspring, and the clan deputy brackenfeather. Their fur was spiked up, and their eyes wild. Barkstar ran up to the patrol. "What is it?"
Brakenfeather took a deep breath, "there is Riverclan scent everywhere, and prey remains!" The enire clan froze.
