Dreams of Blood (Dark Storm #1)

Chapter Four

It was nearly dawn by the time the other cats emerged from the tunnel, awakening Larkpaw from where she had begun to fall asleep on her paws. The trek from camp was farther than she had ever walked before, and she was exhausted. She certainly was not looking forward to the trip back.

Maplefrost appeared first, her pelt ruffled and her half-panicked gaze softening with relief when she saw her apprentice leaning against the side of the cliff, eyes closed and fur fluffed against the cold.

"There you are!" she exclaimed as she bounded over, nudging Larkpaw to rouse her. The young apprentice stirred slightly, blinking open her green eyes and letting out a wide yawn. As she looked up at Maplefrost's familiar face, she suddenly felt comforted... after the haze of a short sleep, her nightmare seemed so distant, and for a moment she couldn't even remember if it had actually happened, or if she had imagined it.

"Um, yeah," Larkpaw replied, hopping to her paws and shaking the dust out of her fur. She wondered whether she should tell Maplefrost about her dream... but she wasn't even sure if it was real. "I just needed some fresh air. Sorry." She ducked her head and licked down a tuft of fur on her chest that was sticking up, not meeting Maplefrost's eyes.

The apprentice shuffled her paws awkwardly as her mentor continued to stare at her, curiosity in her yellow eyes. "Did you have a dream?"

Larkpaw's heart nearly stopped at the question, and she balked, uncertain how to answer. Should she tell Maplefrost about her dream, as uncertain as she was that it was real? "I... um...."

Maplefrost's gaze softened as she watched Larkpaw stutter. "It's alright if you didn't. Most apprentices don't on their first night."

Larkpaw stared at her for a moment, not sure whether to be comforted or more confused. But, if that was true... then her nightmare must have been only that and nothing more. That's it, she rationalized. Just a nightmare. It only happened because you're scared, leaving camp for the first time to come all this way. Worried something bad might happen while you're gone. That seemed reasonable, and after a heartbeat the young she-cat dipped her head, her uncertainty eased.

Maplefrost glanced over her shoulder at the others, who were waiting a couple of fox-lengths away. Runningshadow was beginning to look impatient, and Breezepaw seemed as though she might fall asleep where she was standing. "We should get going," the ThunderClan medicine cat meowed to her apprentice, nudging her forward. "There's still a long way back."

Larkpaw could have sworn that the journey home took nothing short of moons. The sun had just burst over the horizon by the time Runningshadow and Roseheart bid the group farewell, heading in opposite directions back to their own camps. They said goodbye to Lilybreath and Breezepaw at Fourtrees, and the sun had nearly cleared the trees by the time Maplefrost and Larkpaw made it back to their own camp. By now, thoughts of being reunited with her sisters had been entirely overpowered by the singular desire to collapse in a nest of soft moss and not move again for the rest of the day.

"Larkpaw is back!"

Excited squeals brought Larkpaw partially back to her senses as she padded into the camp. Looking up, she saw Nightpaw and Tigerpaw barreling towards her from the direction of the apprentices' den. Her reactions delayed as they were, she didn't manage to even so much as call out a greeting before the two pounced, knocking all three of them to the ground.

"O-oh, hi," Larkpaw murmured as her sisters nuzzled her happily. Maplefrost stood a tail-length away, looking amused, even as Nutfur and Cinderclaw- Tigerpaw and Nightpaw's mentors respectively- padded over.

"We missed you so much!" Tigerpaw explained, softly batting at Larkpaw's ear. "We were afraid that something bad would happen on the way. Like a badger! Or a ShadowClan cat!"

Larkpaw only let out a huff, thinking of Roseheart and the thunderpath. They weren't that far off... but she wouldn't tell them that.

"Speak for yourself," Nightpaw retorted, flicking Tigerpaw with her tail. "I knew you would be fine. You might have decided to become a medicine cat, but I know you could still take care of yourself like a warrior!" Larkpaw let out a small purr, finding Nightpaw's faith in her reassuring. Still, she wasn't sure she would agree. The journey to the Moonstone and back had been long, and even though the older cats seemed to make the trek just fine, Larkpaw found it difficult and exhausting. She couldn't imagine ever being able to find her way as easily as Maplefrost.

"Nightpaw, Tigerpaw." It was Maplefrost who spoke next, and both of the apprentices immediately perked their ears to listen, looking surprised. "I know you're glad to see your sister, but you should let her get some rest. It's been a long night."

"Oh, alright..." Nightpaw let out a sigh as she stood, taking a step back from Larkpaw. Tigerpaw gave Larkpaw's cheek another quick nudge before doing the same, and then Larkpaw staggered to her paws.

"Hmph. We wanted to take them out before dawn, but they insisted on staying in camp until you two got back," Cinderclaw meowed to Maplefrost. His tone was exasperated, but the twitch of his whiskers and gleam in his eye betrayed his amusement.

"Precisely, so we should really get going now," Nutfur put in. "Or we won't be able to show you all the borders before nightfall."

"Okay, we're coming. Goodnight, Larkpaw!" Nightpaw meowed, before scrunching her nose. "Or... good morning, I guess? Anyways, sleep well!"

"And you better tell us all about the trip when you wake up," Tigerpaw added, flicking Larkpaw on the nose with her tail. Then she turned and trotted after Cinderclaw, Nutfur, and Nightpaw, who had already slipped past Maplefrost and were heading for the camp exit.

"Cinderclaw might seem a bit stoic about it now," Maplefrost meowed as she nudged Larkpaw in the direction of the medicine cat den, "but he and Owlfeather were precisely the same way the first time I went to the Moonstone."

"Really?" Larkpaw asked, eyes wide. She knew that the three were littermates, but even so, she couldn't imagine any of them as young, inexperienced warriors. Or, in Maplefrost's case, a young, inexperienced medicine cat. And the thought of Cinderclaw worrying so much about anything other than patrols was almost amusing to her.

Maplefrost purred in response. "Really. We didn't all start out as grumpy, responsible old cats!" Larkpaw let out a huff of amusement at that, but it was quickly forgotten as they emerged from the fern tunnel and entered the medicine clearing. The large rock which made up their den took up most of the space, and the dark, fragrant cave had never seemed so inviting. Larkpaw didn't even wait for Maplefrost as she bounded over and padded inside. Her nest was in the corner, and it looked as though someone had added some fresh moss to it during the night. Probably Nightpaw and Tigerpaw, she thought, a purr rising in her throat. She circled in her nest a few times before plopping down, just as Maplefrost slid into the den, blocking out most of the light.

"So," Maplefrost meowed as she settled down in her nest as well. "How was your first official day of being a medicine cat apprentice?"

Larkpaw stifled a yawn. "It was... hard, and tiring. But... I never thought it would be easy. In the end, I know I made the right choice," she replied, her voice echoing slightly in the darkness.

Maplefrost purred. "Good. That's how it will always feel. That's what it means to be a medicine cat."

Larkpaw nodded, before lowering her head onto her paws and closing her eyes. It's not meant to be easy. But in the end... I guess that's part of what will make it be so rewarding.