Warriors: A New Beginning #2: Midnight Rising

Chapter 8

Midnightpaw woke up with a start at the Moonstone. She had almost forgotten that she was there.

She went over and nudged Mintleaf, who was waking up. "Were you there? Tell me, were you there?"

Mintleaf looked up at her. "Yes, I was. I'm proud of Wolftooth."

"Me too." Midnightpaw noticed that the other medicine cats were stirring.

"Remember, you can't speak of your dreams to anyone," Mintleaf reminded her. "But, I guess we can make an exception for this one if Wheatwing or someone mentions it to you."

"Okay," Midnightpaw replied.

"Let's go back," Mintleaf continued. "There's no rush, but we should get back to camp." He started exiting through the tunnel.

"Bye!" Midnightpaw told Lilacpaw, who waved her tail. Then the Thunderclan she-cat followed Mintleaf down the tunnel. It wasn't as scary the second time.

They travelled down in silence, past the abandoned Twoleg barn. Midnightpaw stopped abruptly when a scent filled her nostrils.

"What's the problem?" Mintleaf asked.

"I scent rogues," Midnightpaw whispered. "The scent is fresh." She turned to peer at the Twoleg barn.

And she saw the silhouette of a cat.

"Look!" she gasped. "There's someone there..."

Mintleaf's gaze flicked to the barn. "Really? I don't see anything."

Midnightpaw turned back and saw that the silhouette had gone.

"I guess you're right," she meowed.

It was probably my imagination, she thought as they continued the journey back.

But what if it wasn't? What if...

What if the barn isn't abandoned at all?

***

Silkpaw was one of the first to greet Midnightpaw when they entered the camp.

"How was it?" the grey tabby demanded. "Was it great?"

Midnightpaw nodded enthusiastically. "It was awesome."

"Mintleaf!" Flamestar came out of the medicine den. "We need you. Wavepelt's in there... She says she has a stomachache."

"I'll check on her right away— that is, we'll check on her." Mintleaf winked at Midnightpaw. "It would be a good time to start teaching you."

Midnightpaw followed her mentor into the medicine den. Wavepelt was in one of the nests, breathing hard.

Mintleaf placed a paw on Wavepelt's flank. "Do you know you're expecting kits?"

"What?" Wavepelt sputtered. "I-I mean... that's great! But I didn't..."

"Don't worry," Mintleaf assured the deputy. "They're due soon, by the looks of it."

"What about the... stomachache?" Wavepelt gasped.

Mintleaf felt around the she-cat's flank. "I'll give you some watermint. I don't thank the kits are coming yet. You just have trapped wind. Midnightpaw, you know where the watermint is, right?"

Midnightpaw nodded and trotted over to the herb storages. The watermint was easy to find. It was one of the first herbs she had learned about.

She took a bunch and brought it to Mintleaf.

"Good job." Mintleaf gave it to Wavepelt. "Eat this. I wouldn't go on any more patrols, just in case. You don't want to have the same problem Wheatwing had."