Bramblestar shook his head. “It has nothing to do with me,” he replied. “It is the will of StarClan. This is what you are meant to do.”
Realizing it would do no good to keep on arguing, Alderpaw took a deep breath. “Okay,” he sighed. When Bramblestar dismissed him with a nod, he staggered back to where Sparkpaw was still eating, and stared blankly at the remains of the thrush. I’m not hungry anymore.
“What did Bramblestar and Molewhisker want to tell you?” Sparkpaw asked curiously.
“They said . . .” Alderpaw’s voice was trembling; he took a breath and started again. “They said I have to be a medicine-cat apprentice.”
Sparkpaw’s eyes stretched wide with amazement. “That’s great!” she exclaimed. “Medicine cats are really important.” Then she seemed to realize how unhappy Alderpaw was feeling and added more sympathetically, “But it doesn’t seem like it’s as much fun to be a medicine cat as it is to be a regular warrior. All those icky herbs!” She blinked thoughtfully for a moment. “Maybe that’s why you’re so bad at hunting—you’re meant to be a medicine cat.”
Alderpaw felt as if he wanted to retch up every piece of prey he had ever eaten. I’m sure that’s why they want me to be a medicine cat: not because I’m special and important, but because I’m no good as a warrior apprentice.
He swallowed hard, feeling as if there were a tight knot in his chest. Well, I’ll just show them! I’m going to be the best medicine-cat apprentice I can be, he resolved. I’ll try really hard, and make Bramblestar and Squirrelflight proud.
But deep down inside, Alderpaw wasn’t sure he could do it. I’m not really a medicine cat. I’m not . . . special enough.
A chilly dawn mist filled the stone hollow as Alderpaw tumbled out of his den. Sparkpaw was still snoring peacefully in her mossy nest. He arched his back in a good long stretch, then headed out into the camp.
Most of his Clanmates were still asleep, though Squirrelflight was standing outside the warriors’ den, organizing the dawn patrol with Brackenfur, Berrynose, and Brightheart.
“You’re up early,” she remarked to Alderpaw as he padded past.
“Jayfeather wants me in the medicine cats’ den,” Alderpaw responded.
“Best not be late, then,” his mother mewed, giving him a swift lick around the ears. “But get yourself some fresh-kill first. You can’t learn on an empty belly.”
“Thanks!” Alderpaw darted to the fresh-kill pile, grabbed a shrew, and gulped it down.
This was Alderpaw’s second day as a medicine-cat apprentice. The day before, he had sat in a corner of the den, watching and trying to keep out of the way. But Leafpool had said that today he would start helping.
Part of him was looking forward to that, but Alderpaw was sure that Jayfeather, who was always so snappy and short-tempered, didn’t really want him there. Leafpool is much kinder, he thought with a sigh, but I wish she would stop giving me funny looks.
Both medicine cats slept in the den, along with Briarlight, whose hind legs didn’t work, and any other sick cats who needed constant attention. It was so crowded that Jayfeather and Leafpool had decided that for the time being Alderpaw should still sleep in the apprentices’ den with Sparkpaw. Alderpaw was glad to be with his littermate, but it made him feel even more that he wasn’t a real medicine cat. His pelt felt hot with jealousy all over again when he remembered the previous night: Sparkpaw had told him all about going on a border patrol with Cherryfall and the other cats. Why can’t I just be normal and a good warrior apprentice like Sparkpaw? he thought with a sigh. Then he braced himself. I won’t think like that anymore. I’m going to do the best I can. I’m not going to fail at this too.
As soon as Alderpaw pushed his way past the bramble screen in front of the medicine cats’ den, Jayfeather turned from where he was rooting among the herbs in the cleft at the back. “You’re late,” he snapped.
“Oh, come on, Jayfeather,” Leafpool meowed, looking up from massaging Briarlight’s hindquarters. “The sun isn’t up yet.”
Jayfeather bared his teeth in the beginning of a snarl. “I’ll say what I like,” he retorted. “I’m not your apprentice now. Did you sleep well?” he asked Alderpaw.
“Yes, thanks,” Alderpaw responded, taken aback by the sudden change in Jayfeather’s tone from irritable to intense.
Jayfeather turned to face him. “Do you have strange dreams sometimes?”
Alderpaw felt awkward under Jayfeather’s blind gaze. It seemed almost rude to stare at him when he knew Jayfeather couldn’t see. He glanced aside, only to meet Leafpool’s gaze, also fixed intently on him.
Alderpaw’s skin crawled as if a whole nest of ants was living in his fur. “I—I guess I do, sometimes,” he stammered. “Doesn’t every cat?”
“I do!” Briarlight interrupted, hauling herself up onto her forepaws. “I dreamed just the other night that I remembered I could fly, and I went soaring off over Clan territory. It was great!”
Alderpaw was thoroughly relieved to have the attention taken away from him.
Jayfeather and Leafpool exchanged a glance; then Jayfeather shrugged and turned back to the stored herbs. “Come over here,” he meowed to Alderpaw. “It’s time you started to learn about herbs.”
Alderpaw joined him and peered at the herbs piled up in little heaps. They looked like so many dead leaves to him, but he had the good sense not to say so.
“This is goldenrod,” Jayfeather began, sniffing at a plant with bright yellow flowers. “We use it for cleaning wounds. And this is tansy, which is good for coughs—not as good as catmint, which is this plant here.”
“But useful all the same,” Leafpool put in. She had finished giving Briarlight her massage and was helping her exercise by tossing a ball of moss for Briarlight to catch. “And it helps with back pain, too.”
“This is watermint,” Jayfeather went on, angling his ears toward a plant with hairy stems and spikes of purple flowers. “We give that for bellyache.”
“Let him have a sniff,” Leafpool suggested. “So much of what we do depends on scent,” she added to Alderpaw.
Jayfeather edged backward so that Alderpaw could reach the cleft and sniff at the various herbs. They all smell alike to me, Alderpaw thought. Sort of . . . herby.
“And this one is yarrow,” Jayfeather continued. “It makes a cat vomit if they’ve swallowed poison, and we also make an ointment of it to heal cracked pads. Got that?” he asked, turning swiftly back to Alderpaw.
“Uh . . . I think so,” Alderpaw mewed. In fact his brain was whirling, and he thought he would never manage to remember all the different herbs and their uses. And this is only a small part of them!
Jayfeather continued to point out different herbs and let Alderpaw sniff them, until Alderpaw felt he had been concentrating for moons. His shoulders ached and his eyes stung in the scent-laden air.
The sun was well up when the bramble screen was pushed aside again and Sparkpaw padded into the den.
“What do you want?” Jayfeather asked. “We’re busy here, so it had better be good.”
“Cherryfall sent me,” Sparkpaw replied, sounding not at all bothered by Jayfeather’s unfriendly tone. “Purdy has a bellyache, and I’ve come to get herbs for it.”
“Oh, poor Purdy!” Leafpool exclaimed. “I’ll come to the elders’ den and check on him.”
Jayfeather swung around on Alderpaw. “Well? What herb should Leafpool take with her? What’s good for bellyache?”
“Uh . . . that would be . . .” Alderpaw knew that Jayfeather had told him. But his head was stuffed with quickly recited herb names, and he couldn’t pull out the one he wanted. Panicking, he glanced wildly around and spotted Briarlight mouthing watermint at him.
“Watermint,” Alderpaw meowed, with a grateful look at Briarlight.
He felt warmed to notice that Sparkpaw looked impressed. It’s nice to show her what I can do, for a change.
“Okay,” Jayfeather mewed briskly. “Now find it in the stores.”
br />
Alderpaw stared at the piles of herbs. He had no idea which one was watermint. Aware of Jayfeather twitching impatiently beside him, he pulled out a stem with bright yellow flowers.
Jayfeather sighed. “No, that’s goldenrod. Purdy had better not eat that; we put it on wounds. This is watermint.”
He snagged the purple-flowered plant in his claws and gave it to Leafpool, who headed out of the den with Sparkpaw following.
“You need to pay close attention,” Jayfeather told Alderpaw sharply. “Cats’ lives depend on us getting things right.”
“I know . . . ,” Alderpaw sighed.
How will I ever learn all this?
CHAPTER 5
Alderpaw paused in front of the herb store for a moment, then confidently drew out a few leaves of tansy. “Here you are, Dovewing,” he mewed. “These should help your sore throat.”
The pale gray she-cat dipped her head. “Thanks, Alderpaw.” She licked up the leaves and began chewing them as she left. “It feels better already,” she mumbled around the mouthful.
“Good job,” Jayfeather mewed briskly to Alderpaw.
Alderpaw felt a small burst of warmth in his chest. That’s the first time Jayfeather has sounded approving! He had been a medicine-cat apprentice for several sunrises now, and his new life didn’t feel quite as impossible as it had in the beginning. Even so, he still found it hard to think of himself ever becoming a full medicine cat.
As he began to tidy up the remaining tansy leaves, Squirrelflight pushed past the bramble screen and entered the den. “Is Leafpool back yet?” she asked Jayfeather.
“No, she isn’t,” Jayfeather grumbled. “And why she has to trek across to ShadowClan because Littlecloud isn’t feeling well, I do not know.”
“She only wants to help him,” Squirrelflight meowed.
Jayfeather snorted. “Now there’s a cat who could use an apprentice. ShadowClan is overflowing with them; you would think they could find one for Littlecloud. But no, they have to borrow a ThunderClan medicine cat.”
“You know as well as I do,” Squirrelflight responded mildly, “that a medicine-cat apprentice has to be just the right cat.”
She shot an affectionate glance at Alderpaw, who warmed at her words.
“Bramblestar and I want to talk to you in his den,” Squirrelflight told Jayfeather. “Are you busy right now?”
“Nothing that won’t wait,” Jayfeather replied. “Alderpaw, you can help Briarlight with her exercises. I’ll be back soon.”
When he was gone, Alderpaw rolled up a ball of moss and began tossing it to Briarlight to help her stretch her forelegs and chest. He was amazed by how agile she was, catching the ball when he was sure he had thrown it out of her reach.
“You’re good at this!” he exclaimed.
“I’ve had a lot of practice,” Briarlight mewed. “It really helps with my breathing. How’s your training going?” she asked after a moment.
Alderpaw shook his head. “I feel like I’m doing a little bit better now, but I’m not sure I can ever be a full medicine cat.”
“You’ll be fine,” Briarlight reassured him. “Think how much you’ve learned, and you’ve been apprenticed for less than a half-moon.”
Alderpaw hoped that she was right. He felt guilty about being anxious, when Briarlight had so many obstacles and was often in pain. She never gives up, and she hardly ever seems to feel sorry for herself.
“Jayfeather! Jayfeather!”
Alderpaw stiffened as he heard his sister’s frantic yowling in the camp outside. A heartbeat later she came tearing into the den, wild-eyed and panting. “Where’s Jayfeather?” she demanded. “I was out in the woods with Cherryfall and Sorrelstripe, and Cherryfall is hurt—she cut her leg. She needs help right away!”
Alderpaw froze for a moment, on the edge of panic. This is the first time I’ve had an emergency, and I’m here on my own! What do I do?
“Jayfeather is in Bramblestar’s den,” Briarlight meowed steadily. “Sparkpaw, go and get him.”
Sparkpaw dashed out immediately. While he waited, Alderpaw wondered what he should do. Should I get some herbs out of the stores? What’s the right herb for a cut leg?
He was relieved a few moments later when he heard Sparkpaw calling to him from outside. He slid out of the den to find her waiting there with Jayfeather.
“Come on!” Jayfeather ordered. “Sparkpaw, show us where you left Cherryfall.”
Sparkpaw led the way out of the camp and headed toward the ShadowClan border. Alderpaw followed with Jayfeather, guiding the blind medicine cat around tree stumps and bramble thickets. Even though he was worried about Cherryfall, he was relieved to be out in the forest again instead of being cooped up all day in the medicine cats’ den.
“Can’t you get a move on?” Jayfeather asked him irritably. “Cherryfall could be bleeding to death!”
“I’m doing the best I can,” Alderpaw responded. He felt a spurt of annoyance, because he could have gone a lot faster if he hadn’t been guiding a blind cat. But he knew that Jayfeather was only bad-tempered because he hated needing help, so Alderpaw kept calm and looked ahead to work out the easiest route.
“How did Cherryfall hurt herself?” Jayfeather asked as they emerged onto the lakeshore where the going was easier.
“Well, we were talking about the prophecy,” Sparkpaw began, “and Cherryfall wondered if ‘what you find in the shadows’ could mean the kittypets who stayed with ThunderClan during the Great Storm. We were going to go try and find the ones who left after, and see if they wanted to come back.”
Alderpaw wasn’t surprised. Since the Gathering he had been too busy to think much about the prophecy, but the rest of his Clanmates seemed to talk of nothing else.
Jayfeather let out a snort. “That was a mouse-brained idea! Kittypets have nothing to do with StarClan. They are no use to Clan cats.”
“Cherryfall thought it was worth a try,” Sparkpaw mewed defensively.
“Besides, you would have to cross ShadowClan to get to the Twolegplace,” Jayfeather growled, letting out a hiss of annoyance as he stumbled over a fallen branch. “You should have asked permission before just wandering out of ThunderClan territory. Stupid furballs!”
“It was only an idea.” Sparkpaw’s neck fur bristled at Jayfeather’s dismissive tone. “Anyway, we didn’t get near ShadowClan territory. Cherryfall slipped and cut herself on some Twoleg rubbish before we came in sight of the border.”
Jayfeather made no response, though he still looked angry.
“We just thought if we made it to the Twolegplace, maybe we’d find some kittypets who knew the cats we wanted to talk to,” Sparkpaw added.
Jayfeather rolled his eyes. “StarClan help us! Mouse-brains!”
Sparkpaw clamped her jaws together as if she was biting back a furious retort. Alderpaw felt sorry for her, though he couldn’t help thinking that Jayfeather was right. Surely kittypets couldn’t be part of a prophecy from StarClan.
“It’s this way,” Sparkpaw meowed after a moment. She veered away from the shore, through a stand of hazel saplings, and into a grassy hollow shaded by a spreading beech tree. Cherryfall was lying at the foot of the tree with one leg stretched out, while Sorrelstripe paced up and down anxiously beside her.
“Thank StarClan you’re here!” Sorrelstripe exclaimed as Sparkpaw led the way down into the hollow.
Alderpaw followed and stood beside Jayfeather as the medicine cat examined Cherryfall’s paw. There was a deep cut across her pads, and blood was oozing out of it. Clots of blood had soaked the grass beside her, and Alderpaw spotted some scraps of hard, clear Twoleg stuff close beside her. He dabbed at it experimentally and felt the sharp edge.
“Careful!” Sorrelstripe warned him. “That’s what hurt Cherryfall.”
“Why can’t the Twolegs take their stuff back to their own dens instead of leaving it here to injure cats?” Sparkpaw asked angrily.
“Alderpaw!” Jayfeather beckoned with his tail. “W
e need some cobweb to stop the bleeding. Go and find some.”
Alderpaw froze, glancing around wildly. Cobweb? Where? The sight and reek of the blood, and Cherryfall’s face screwed up with pain, worried him so much that his paws felt stuck to the ground.
“Over there!” Sparkpaw pointed to an oak tree at the far side of the hollow. “There’s a cleft in that tree—there should be cobwebs inside it.”
Before Alderpaw could move, his littermate darted off, closely followed by Sorrelstripe. Now Sparkpaw is better than me at being a medicine cat! Alderpaw thought, furious with himself. He was even angrier when she turned out to be right, and she and Sorrelstripe returned across the hollow with pawfuls of cobweb.
“Oh, for StarClan’s sake, Alderpaw!” Jayfeather hissed in exasperation. “Come here. Put your paw there.” He pointed with his tail to a spot on Cherryfall’s leg. “Press down hard—no, harder than that. Don’t worry about hurting her. We’ve got to stop this bleeding.”
“It’s okay, Alderpaw,” Cherryfall gasped.
Alderpaw put all his strength into pressing down where Jayfeather had shown him, and to his relief the flow of blood from Cherryfall’s paw slowed and then dwindled away completely.
“Good,” Jayfeather grunted. “Now the cobweb.”
Alderpaw couldn’t believe how deft Jayfeather’s paws were in wrapping Cherryfall’s wound, especially considering he was blind.
“Now release the pressure,” Jayfeather instructed Alderpaw when all the cobweb was wound around the injured paw. “And—please, StarClan—let’s hope the bleeding doesn’t start again.”
Alderpaw lifted his paw and stared at the cobweb covering, afraid that he would see a red blotch spreading on the gray webs. “There’s no more blood,” he mewed after a few heartbeats.
“Right.” Jayfeather sounded satisfied. “Cherryfall, let’s get you back to camp. And don’t even think about putting that paw to the ground. Sparkpaw and Sorrelstripe, support her.”
Back in the camp, Jayfeather had the other cats take Cherryfall to the medicine cats’ den. Alderpaw arranged a nest for her beside Briarlight, and she sank into it with a sigh of relief.