"Ravenpaw, did you get accepted?"
The black apprentice raised his head and looked at Mossrain. "Yeah, I did," he mewed.
"Oh, great!" Poppysong bounced to her paws, her ears high and tail flicking excitedly. "I forgot to tell you all, but I also have some good news from my Clan! In two moons, I'll be bringing an apprentice here myself! Icekit is four moons old, and she asked a few sunrises ago to become a medicine cat apprentice!" her mew sounded like a kit squealing.
"Congratulations," Hawkstream mewed softly. "Fawnriver had three kits just two days ago. Hopefully, one of them will be willing to become a medicine cat."
"Good luck!" Mossrain mewed excitedly, then looked at Sandflight. "You mentioned Ashbreeze just had kits as well, do you think you'll take one as an apprentice?"
Sandflight shrugged, taking a few laps of the Moonstream's water while Poppysong mewed, "It looks like all the Clans have been blessed with kits! Hopefully, StarClan will bless us with a kind leaf-bare this season!"
"I'm not so sure," Hawkstream sighed, getting to her paws. "I was warned that whitecough would spread through my Clan in late leaf-fall. Tell your cats to be safe on our borders," she added to Sandflight and Poppysong.
"Thanks for the warning!" Poppysong said happily. "I'll drop off some hawkweed on the border near where the woodland starts for your border patrol to pick up. I'm just absolutely overflowing with the stuff. I'm afraid a lot of it will die before it can be used." She turned to look at Sandflight. "Would you like some hawkweed, too? I can leave it near the Thunderpath behind the Star Cave."
Sandflight looked like she wanted to reject the offer for a moment, then she murmured, "Might as well not waste herbs, right?"
Poppysong purred, "Oh, good! Mossrain, will you need some more?"
"No, we have a good supply of catmint near the river. We'll wait 'till the last moment before harvesting it, and it should last through all of leaf-bare. If you need some, just come by." Mossrain flicked his tail, then also nodded to Hawkstream and Sandflight so they knew the invitation spread to them.
"Thanks!" Poppysong mewed happily, her tail flicking through the air. Ravenpaw could tell easily the young medicine cat was an extremely happy she-cat, and he doubted anything would quench the fire burning in her courageous gaze. Just then, a question formed in his mind, completely off topic. He found his voice once Hawkstream and Mossrain's chatting about horsetail slowed to a stop.
"Hey, Poppysong, so the Star Cave- I mean, um, cats can only come to the cave when their leader says, right?" He swallowed nervously.
"And if the medicine cat agrees." The she-cat nodded.
"Well, I was wondering, is it even possible to know that a cat didn't come here? Like an apprentice... Surely there had to be at least one who didn't listen, right...?" He started feeling bad about accusing SageClan apprentices of breaking the rules.
"Oh, more than one!" Poppysong let out a yowl of amusement. "My littermate got in trouble as an apprentice for sneaking here, and just another two apprentices a few sunrises ago."
"What was their punishments?" he asked quietly.
Poppysong looked ready to answer, then stopped herself. "Well, they didn't get off easy, I can say that. Luckly, most cats have learned to behave when it comes to the Star Cave. It's usually the young cats who start to get ahead of themselves, but their mentors smack them into place quickly enough."
Ravenpaw nodded, casting his gaze back to the Star Cave. He already wanted to see it again, to watch the stones sparkle like an endless amount of tiny moons, reflecting starlight off the water's surface.
YOU ARE READING
(Outdated) Warriors: Clouded Skies #1 - The First Storm
Fanfiction*This series is on its fourth book but will no longer be updated as I am doing a heavy rewrite* Each Clan has their own advantages and disadvantages, though it seems one is quite perfect. EchoClan, with many great warriors, many cats training or rea...
