The Medicine Cat Code

Chapter Six

Heatherfeather padded into the camp, dropping off the twenty rabbits that she caught during her hunting trip.

"Whew! That was a long trip! Well, it's around sun-high and I've already single-pawedly destroyed the rabbit population in one morning. I think I'll go to sleep," she muttered to herself.

The mottled brown she-cat settled into the hollowed out portion of the camp meant solely for sleeping. There, she settled, letting the sun warm her pelt. With a satisfied sigh, she fell asleep.

After a few moments of silence, Heatherfeather realized that there was no change in her body. She shifted in her makeshift nest, noticing that her fur was getting colder and the wind was picking up around her body. Confused, she opened her eyes.

The beautiful, sunny hollow that formed WindClan camp was gone. In its place was darkness, a thick black sludge that contrasted the morning so dramatically that Heatherfeather actually felt her eyes dilating as they attempted to gather enough light to see from.

As she peered into the darkness, things began coming into focus. Some tree leaves, a low hanging branch, a pair of huge yellow eyes, another tree branch . . .

Wait.

"Hello," it said.

"AAAGH!" She lept backwards, falling over herself in a comical tumble. She jumped to her feet, fur sticking out in every direction and head covered in dirt. "WHO ARE YOU?!"

"My name is not important! I have come here to guide you!"

She frowned.

"Wait, why isn't your name important? What if I want to now who you are? You know, my mother always told me that it is very rude to speak to any cat without first getting their name."

The spirit cat sighed.

"My name is Egg. Happy?"

Heatherfeather snorted. Then she let out another, and another. Soon she was rolling on the floor, laughing. She barely pulled her self away from her laughter to speak. "I'm sorry, Egg? Are you even a warrior cat?"

He frowned heavily at her. She felt the burn of his glare, but she continued to giggle until finally he flicked some leaves into her face. She quieted down, eyes glowing with mirth.

"ANYWAY, I am here to tell you about your very important destiny!"

"OOH Am I going to become leader?" She asked.

"Err, no. Actually, you will---"

"Do I have to travel really really far to find something extremely important that will save the Clans?"

"No, but you ARE---"

"Is there a cat I need to save? Is there an evil cat that I need to destroy? Does StarClan need help?"

"NO!"

"Is there a prophecy about me?"

"NO THERE ISN---oh, yes actually there is. You are supposed to be the next medicine cat! Congratulations!"

Heatherfeather stared in stunned silence.

"I'm a warrior already! I don't think you have the right cat . . ." she mused.

"DON'T QUESTION ME!" He snarled in her face. She flinched back, closing her eyes in surprise. When she opened them again, she was magically curled up in her nest, the light shining blindingly on her.

Heatherfeather looked up at the sky, knowing somewhere deep within her that there were stars twinkling down at her even now. And she knew deep within that she most desperately needed to do a very very important thing.

"I AM THE NEXT MEDICINE CAT OF WINDCLAN!" she screeched.

Rabbitstar, the leader of WindClan, barreled out of his den.

"OF COURSE NO---"

"I ACCEPT!" Harebrain stumbled out of his den, falling every other step and straining his injured leg on the way. "I NEED A NEW APPRENTICE!"

He physically dragged Heatherfeather into the den, even though his leg was mangled and bloody and he shouldn't have been able to walk on it.

Rabbitstar sat on his haunches. "Well, I guess she's the new medicine cat . . ." he shrugged and went to his nest again.

Blazey here. This is the story of how Heatherfeather became the WindClan med cat!