A hiss of pain split the silence.

Leopardkit flattened her ears against her head. She glanced sideways at Redpaw, who only shrugged nonchalantly at her. The two young cats continued to sort the gathered herbs at their paws. Firetail had returned a bit ago from foraging and had tasked the two with sorting the massive bundle of them. Long green stalks in one pile, a jumble of grimy roots in another, and a stack of shoots with little flowers in the last.

Leopardkit didn't remember all their names, but she had watched Firetail use them for a variety of tasks. She knew their functions fairly well.

Another angry hiss filled the den.

"Settle down, will you?" Firetail growled impatiently. Ignoring the tom's grunts of discomfort, she continued to massage a salve into his infected wound. 

The tomcat was a muscular warrior who was often out hunting. Leopardkit had seen him around camp frequently and thought his name was Sharpwing, but she wasn't for sure.

However, she did know that he had a very low pain tolerance; he cried out every time Firetail laid a paw on his wound.

"Great StarClan!" the medicine cat growled. "I've seen kitting queens act better than you! Hold still, or I'm never going to finish."

Sharpwing didn't reply, his face set in a deep scowl. He begrudgingly held out his injured forepaw, and Firetail continued to cover the swollen, seeping cut on his toe.

    Leopardkit drew her attention back to the herbs. Redpaw worked diligently next to her. She knew he wanted to make Firetail proud, but he still needed many moons of practice before he could work on his own.

    Leopardkit carefully leaned over and grasped a tiny flowering plant he had mistakenly placed with the roots, giving him a friendly flick on the ear with her tail.

    Redpaw quickly licked his chest fur in embarrassment, but still shot her a grateful look. "Thanks," he murmured.

    "No problem," Leopardkit mewed, pawing her own pile together neatly.

    The she-kit practically lived in the medicine den now. A moon ago, which felt like ages now, Leopardkit had only come here to see Firetail and eat her fill every morning. The medicine den had been new to her back then, filled with strange scents and cats. But now, this den felt more like a home than the nursery ever did. The sweet scent of herbs were now a part of her own scent, seeped deep into her pelt, and Redpaw and Firetail were like kin to her. She had a well-worn nest next to Redpaw's where she slept peacefully each night. Firetail didn't seem to mind her presence. She even put Leopardkit to work, and the she-kit was happy to help.

At times Leopardkit found herself gazing at the medicine den entrance, sunlight beaming in through the bramble tendrils. She missed watching the warriors spar in camp. She longed to go outside into the stone hollow, chase insects and wrestle with her brother. The she-kit wanted to hear the elders' tell a story, no matter how long or boring it was.

      However, if Leopardkit took a step outside the medicine den, she knew Weedkit and Longkit would be waiting for her. The she-kit's stomach dropped at the thought. Her pride was still stung by Weedkit's easy triumph over her. Shame burned deep in Leopardkit's belly, and she decided to avoid her cruel brothers at all costs.

Leopardkit often found herself thinking about Mousekit, whom she rarely saw now that she resided in the medicine den. Firetail was wary to let him visit, and when he did, the medicine cat watched him like a hawk. Their conversations were brief and shallow.

Leopardkit had forgiven her brother for giving her the deathberry many days ago, but something else was different about him. He seemed skittish and weary, his eyes shadowed and his fur perpetually bristling. As much as Leopardkit hated to admit it, Mousekit had changed and it scared her. She sensed a strange darkness within him, and she was content to keep her distance from her brother.

The she-kit glanced to her side at the fluffy red tom, cheerfully working away. Redpaw had, in a way, replaced Mousekit.

"If you would've come to me the day you injured yourself, then we wouldn't be having this issue," Firetail snapped from somewhere behind them. "All you young warriors think you're invincible, but I tell you, if you had waited another day to come see me I would've had to take off the whole leg!"

Sharpwing's amber eyes widened, and Redpaw glanced to Leopardkit with a snicker. She attempted to suppress her laughter, but was unsuccessful. The warriors could fight bravely, but all that boldness seemed to dissipate when they stepped into the unfamiliarity of the medicine den.

     Firetail's shrill voice made them jump. "And you two better have those herbs sorted by the time I'm finished, or you won't be laughing much longer!"

     Still giggling to each other, the two young cats hurriedly picked out the last of the herbs.

Firetail finished a leaf wrap around Sharpwing's forepaw and gave it a firm pat with her paw, causing the tabby and white tom to wince. "Good. Now you won't be leaving camp at all for the next two sunrises. Come back each day so I can reapply the poultice. You may go."

Sharpwing grumbled his thanks, before limping out of the medicine den, looking anything but pleased.

Firetail rolled her amber eyes after he left. "So ungrateful," she hissed, padding over to see how the two young cats fared. "Half of them would be rotting and dead if I wasn't here to save their useless tails!"

The gray medicine cat stopped and observed the piles with cool amber eyes, nodding slowly. "Good work, you two. Redpaw, you can take these comfrey roots to the pool to clean them. After that, I'll teach you the combination of plants for traveling herbs."

     Redpaw's tall ears perked at the mention of learning something new. Leopardkit realized that he rarely was actually taught anything; the fluffy red tom was often ordered to do simple chores such as sorting herbs and cleaning them. He scooped up the dirty roots in his jaws and merrily trotted over to the trickling pool.

      "And I don't want to see a single speck of mud on them when you're finished!" Firetail added, voice cracking. The gray medicine cat began to place the herbs she used on the tomcat back into storage, carefully picking each bundle up in her jaws. "You didn't seem very interested to see Sharpwing," the medicine cat noted casually as she worked.

      Leopardkit tilted her head curiously at the old she-cat. "Why should I be?" She picked up a stray leaf in her jaws and carried it over to the herb storage. "You didn't ask for my help with anything. Redpaw and I were busy sorting herbs, like you told us to."

      Firetail sighed. "That's not what I meant." She turned to face the little she-kit, amber eyes thoughtful. "You don't know, do you?"

      Leopardkit furrowed her brow. Was she missing something?

       Firetail leaned down to the she-kit and lowered her voice. "I'm sure Sandstreak doesn't want you or your brothers knowing... but Sharpwing is your father."

       Leopardkit stared back at Firetail, dumbfounded. In all five moons of her life, the thought of who her father might be had never crossed her mind. No tom had ever visited the nursery while she lived there with Sandstreak, and the prickly queen never spoke of a mate. "Is that true?" she asked slowly.

      Firetail's nose twitched irritably. "Why in StarClan's name would I lie about that?" She went back to storing herbs, lowering her voice. "However, things were very complicated with your parents. The relationship went sour very quickly. They no longer speak to each other."

      Leopardkit's tail lashed, and she sat down next to the old medicine cat. "Why?"

     Firetail sighed. "That's a difficult question to answer."

      Leopardkit's interest was piqued. Bunching her limbs, she leapt up on to a ledge in the herb storage and deliberately placed herself in Firetail's way. The medicine cat's amber eyes flashed in irritation.

      "You must know," Leopardkit insisted with a loud meow. She was burning with curiosity.

      "I don't," Firetail snapped curtly. She clearly wasn't going to give anything away. "Now get out of my herb storage before I send you back to the nursery!"

      Sighing, the she-kit crouched and jumped back to the floor. She sullenly stalked deeper into the den to the little pool where Redpaw was scrubbing the herbs with his paws. Leopardkit sat on her haunches and said nothing.

Redpaw gave her a sideways look, his green eyes at her wary. "You okay?"

Leopardkit nodded silently. She laid down, resting her chin on her paws. "Did you know that Sharpwing was my father?"

      Redpaw tilted his head as if in thought. "Now that I think about it, I do remember seeing Sandstreak and him together quite often, but I was just a tiny kit back then."

      Leopardkit nudged his shoulder with her nose. "So, about what, a moon ago?" she teased.

      Redpaw swatted her ear playfully. He was small for his age, similar to Leopardkit; however, the fact that they had that in common made her like him even more. "Anyway, I haven't seen them speak to each other since then," the apprentice continued, going back to cleaning the roots. His paws were dripping and splashing noisily. "For the two moons that Sandstreak was pregnant, she hardly spoke to anyone."

      Leopardkit didn't respond. She stared at the little pool of water, rippling as Redpaw dipped the roots into it. Was Sharpwing the reason why Sandstreak was always so hateful? Did he do something to her? Why did their relationship end? Why didn't she have a father?

     Leopardkit curled her lip as she thought about the tabby and white warrior, yelping as Firetail treated his wound. She wasn't sure that she even wanted Sharpwing to be her father. But she would've liked to at least know where her blood came from.

     "Leopardkit!" Firetail suddenly croaked, padding toward her. "Why don't you go outside and get some fresh air? It'll do you good to have some sunshine on your pelt."

      Leopardkit's tail drooped. She knew Weedkit and Longkit would be out there, wrestling each other and stirring up dust, and she also knew they would turn on her if she left the medicine den. Mousekit could be out there. The she-kit shivered at the thought. She wasn't sure she wanted to see him either. And worst of all, Sandstreak would be sitting in the shade of the nursery, her calculating eyes watching kits' every move. The queen hadn't checked on Leopardkit in days. She seemed to accept that her daughter had permanently moved into the medicine den.

     Firetail's ginger tail gave her a small push. "Go on," the medicine cat urged.

      Leopardkit shot Firetail an unhappy look, but the medicine cat remained unmoved. Sighing, she turned toward Redpaw and lowered her voice. "When you're done sorting herbs at the end of the day, come get me."

     Redpaw snorted at her. "You think the only thing medicine cats do all day is sort herbs?"

      Leopardkit tilted her head. "Well that's all you do," she shot back.

Redpaw's green eyes flashed in annoyance. "Not true!"

Feeling challenging, she added, "Well, what else is there?"

      Redpaw gave her a sly grin. Glancing back at Firetail, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Meet me at the camp entrance at moonhigh."