Umberkit's Climb

Chapter 8

Umberpaw woke up suddenly, the warmth of Starclan still trailing lightly through her fur. The other medicine cats were sleeping soundly; it seemed like she had the shortest dream.

It makes sense. She thought. I'm not nearly as important as the others.

Honeyspring was the first to wake up after her, and she looked happy. Hope flared in her eyes.

Maybe Starclan told her Maplestar would live longer? Umberpaw guessed. The other medicine cats woke up soon after, and they all walked out of the caves.

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When they finally got out, Umberpaw shamelessly flopped into the small patches of grass around the entrance. It felt so great to have dirt under her paws again! She heard Driftlight laugh at her, and Honeyspring purred.

"No kidding, Umberpaw." The Thunderclan medicine cat said. "I did the same thing the first time I came out of there."

The apprentice stood up and shook the loose grass out of her fur. "Heh, sorry. I won't do that again, I promise." She said earnestly to her mentor. Moonshine tipped her head affectionately.

Shortpuddle spoke up. "Alright, that's enough. Let's get back to our clans."

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Moonshine and Umberpaw arrived back at camp just after the morning hunting patrol. Luckily they had caught plenty; she felt like she could eat three rabbits and STILL be hungry! Fortunately she held off and decided that her and Moonshine would share just a single rabbit. 

"So Moonshine," Umberpaw began. "The Gathering is within the quarter-moon, right? Who do you think Goldstar will bring to it?"

Moonshine purred. "You know Umberpaw, if you want to go you can just ask."

Umberpaw's ears drooped in embarrassment. As usual, her mentor had seen right through her. "Well... are you going to bring me? And what about Silverpaw?"

Moonshine tipped her head and glanced past Umberpaw towards to apprentices' den. "Umberpaw, you'll likely be attending almost every Gathering from here on out since you're a medicine cat. And since you went to the Moonstone just recently, I'd like you to stay in camp for this one. As for whether Silverpaw can go or not, that's for Goldstar to decide. But if I had to guess, she'll let him go."

Umberpaw scraped the ground in jealousy, standing to shake out her fur. "Alright, I guess that's fair." She lied. "Are we low on any herbs?" She asked, trying to distract herself.

"I'd like to build up our supply of catmint." Moonshine said.

"Catmint? You mean the one that..." Umberpaw trailed off. Shoot, what did it do?

"It's the only herb effective at treating Greencough." Moonshine reminded. "One of the deadliest and contagious disease the clans face. It's quite common in leaf-bare."

"And you said there'll only be a moon or so until then, right?" Umberpaw asked, shivering when she thought about what the adult cats had to her about it. Prey was scarce, white flakes scattered from the sky, and it was cold enough to chill even the strongest warrior's bones the whole time.

"Yes. The herbs themselves rarely grow within clan territory, however. You'd have to go into a Twoleg garden to get it."

"Really?" Umberpaw said, disappointed. She was looking forward to gathering herbs alone, but that sounded like an at least two-cat job.

"Yes. I'd recommend bringing another cat with you. Someone older than your brother, at least."

Umberpaw pawed at the ground thoughtfully. "How about Emberpaw?"