"And this is ragweed," Morningdew picked up another green herb with her teeth, "It's typically used for any clan cat who's in need of some extra fight in em'!"

The old medicine cat had been teaching Eaglepaw all about the herbs in the den since sunhigh. If he had to take a guess, it's likely setting by now. The herb names have been going in his ear, and out the other.

"Oh, and this one's borage," She grabbed a purple colored flower, "Usually used to help a queen with milk production. You'll get real familiar with this one, Fawntail's belly is just about to explode!"

     More like my head is going to explode from all this leaf talk!

The steam could practically be seen rising from Eaglepaw's head. His good eye was focused on the floor, it was about as interesting as the rest of the den was going to get. Suddenly, a force bonked him on the top of his head, causing Eaglepaw's eye to jolt forward once again.

"Alright, kit, you're gonna have to work with me here." The orange she-cat shook her head at him.

"Wha- kit-" The dark brown tom sputtered.

"You're already 8 moons old, if we don't work double time, your medicine cat ceremony is going to be postponed."

     What do you care if my full name is announced late...

Eaglepaw had the sense not to say that out loud, but it didn't matter.

"I've seen how you look at that Snowpaw she-cat. You don't want to lose, do you?" Morningdew asked.

His face was plastered with shock. Eaglepaw would sometimes notice Snowpaw bragging, and would always stare at her with annoyance, but was it really that obvious?

     Or maybe she can read-

Just as Eaglepaw was coming to some rather... outlandish conclusions, a soft voice echoed from the opening of the medicine den.

"Would you like some company?"

Morningdew sat down and looked at the unexpected visitor with a devious smile. As the tom turned around to face the new cat, he caught a glimpse of a light cream, tabby she-cat with pale green eyes.

"Willowpaw! What are you doing here?" Eaglepaw exclaimed.

The cream, ticked tabby she-cat looked around awkwardly.

"Well... I just figured you might've gotten bored... is all..." She trailed off, her eyes still looking around at every little thing, especially the herbs. This didn't escape Morningdew's hawk-like vision.

"Maybe you can help him pay attention. This over here is borage," Morningdew began to teach her knowledge to the new she-cat, "Your mother will be needing it real soon, I'm sure."

Though Eaglepaw still feigned disinterest, Willowpaw seemed to be enjoying the lesson, and watched attentively. As Morningdew looked around her stockpile for another herb to preach about, Willowpaw set her paw on a couple of seeds.

"What're these? They look sort of dangerous." She questioned the medicine cat.

As Morningdew opened her jaws to answer, her eyes squinted together, mischief written along her features.

"Hm, my memory needs a little jogging on those. Eaglepaw," She looked over towards her apprentice who was now staring at the seeds, as if herbs had actually been of interest to him the whole time, "Would you mind telling your little friend here?"

He stiffened on the spot.

"I- I'm a little unsure myself. All the herbs have kind of mixed together in my brain. Maybe its..." He trailed off, racking his brain for anything he could remember about Morningdew's herb lesson.

He knows that Morningdew had talked for a while about some death-something or other, and Willowpaw did say the seeds looked ominous.

"Death...seeds?" He finished off in an unsure tone.

Willowpaw jumped away from the "death-seeds," while frantically shaking off the ones still clinging to her paw.

"Death-seeds? I- I'm not going to die from just touching one, am I!?" She shrieked, her gaping, pale green eyes searching Morningdew's features for a quicker answer.

A cackling sound erupted from the orange and white medicine cat. Her right ear lightly flicked as she settled down.

"I've never heard of such a thing as death-seeds before, sweety. Who knows? Your life might be over," She managed to cough out at the end of her fit, "If those were death seeds, anyway."

The fur along Willowpaw's back began to lie down as her worries dissipated. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing she wasn't in any danger.

"That was mean, Eaglepaw!" Cried Willowpaw.

"I- I'm sorry..." He apologized, heat quickly rising all the way to his ears in embarrassment.

"Well, that lesson went way better than I expected, feel free to drop by anytime, Willowpaw." Morningdew joked.

The light cream she-cat nodded her head in awkward acknowledgement.

The three cats continued like this for a while, Willowpaw listening in on the lesson, asking questions, all the while Eaglepaw slowly became more and more involved- though sometimes against his will. They would have continued long past nightfall, but a brash voice called out through the medicine den, the source coming from across the camp.

"Willowpaw!" The voice echoed out.

Willowpaw scrambled up from her resting place in the den. Morningdew looked at her with understanding in her eyes, while Eaglepaw rolled his.

"I'm so sorry..." Willowpaw stammered.

"Don't mind it, we've been going strong for a while now, and you've been a great help," The medicine cat reassured, and with a flick of her tail, "You're both dismissed for the evening."

     Finally!

Eaglepaw stretched as he sat up, a few bones popping from the motion, as Willowpaw quickly exited. He walked casually towards the opening of the medicine den to see her out. Once he reached the exit, he spotted the expected summoner of his friend.

"I'm really sorry I'm late..." Willowpaw mumbled, her fur glowing a shade of pink with the sun setting behind the trees.

Another cream colored she-cat could be seen playfully pawing at the shoulder of Willowpaw.

"Ah, don't stress about it," Snowpaw grinned, "Now come on, Crowflight and Littleleap are waiting for us outside. Let's go!"

As Snowpaw bounded toward the camp exit, her sharp eyes caught sight of a certain half-blind, brown tom.

"What were you doing with a failure like him?" She sneered, turning towards Willowpaw.

Willowpaw's pale green eyes looked downcast, facing her paws as she remained silent, continuing along with the other she-cat towards the camp exit.

"Well come on, no sister of mine should be spending time with that. It'll rub off on you."

And just like that, their cream tabby coats disappeared through the brush.

     It's always so lonely here...

The brown tom's paws walked him around the camp, unsure of where they were leading him. His amber eye stared at them, trying to figure out why they could possibly work so hard to find him someone to occupy himself with. They slowly came to a stop in front of an open den.

In this den, the voices of a couple of she-cats could be heard, as well as the squeaks of small kits. He contemplated on whether or not to travel in and interrupt their joy.

Just as he made the decision to walk inside, the raspy voice of an elder telling a story hit his eardrums, followed by the squeak of an energized female kit.

     Maybe Nightpelt is in there.

He quickly trotted over to see what the commotion was about.

As he walked in, Eaglepaw could see the organized chaos that was taking place. An old red-orange tom cat with long whiskers seemed to be laying down in front of three or so averagely large kits. The kit on the left sat with full awe to the elder's story, his brown and black fur blending together in the dim light. In the middle sat a silky black she-kit, her blue eyes showing interest in the story as she poked the one to her left during the exciting parts. Lastly, on the right sat an ash grey she-kit with black stripes, who's attention seemed split between the story and another beige tom-kit that was causing a ruckus in the back of the den.

"That's right, I beat Sootstar in a battle once when I was in my prime!" The long whiskered elder boasted, causing a laugh from the black she-kit.

"How did you do it?" The brown and black tom-kit pondered, his eyes stretched out as he leaned toward the elder.

"Sootstar must have been caught off guard, there's no way you could have taken' him down!" The black she-kit called out the red-orange tom.

He shook his head at her assumptions, letting out a verbal tsk, tsk, tsk.

"It was a genuine battle! The scars I left on his pelt-" He was cut off by the loud squeak of a tom-kit in the back corner.

"Come on, play with me, Tinykit!" The beige and black striped tom-kit demanded. He was hovering over a small white kit as she snuggled up close to an old calico she-cat.

The white she-kit's response could not be heard from where Eaglepaw sat in the entryway.

"Oh, don't bother her Boldkit, she doesn't seem to be feeling all too well..." The calico she-cat wrapped her body around Tinykit, her tail covering up most of the kit's form.

"Boldkit, you're being rude to Foxwhiskers and his story, come sit back over here." Scolded the ash grey she-kit, her green eyes filled with concern.

Boldkit seemed to hesitate as he left Tinykit alone with the calico elder. His mouth closing shut in disapproval.

"I was just trying to get her to hang out with us, Quakekit." Boldkit mumbled as he plopped down beside the ash grey she-kit.

As the rambunctious group of cats continued on with listening to Foxwhiskers' story, Eaglepaw felt a gentle tap on his shoulder blade. He turned his face around to find the black she-cat he had been looking for.

"Mother!" Eaglepaw whisper-yelled.

Nightpelt stood on his left side while watching the scene in front of her. A small smile found its place on her features, a peaceful aura surrounding her. Her tail edged over his lips.

"Your siblings are still distracted, if you want to talk, it's better to keep it that way" She whispered her light joke.

"I- I guess so..." He paused, trying to quickly figure out what to say, his lips pressing together in a firm line.

Nightpelt stared expectantly at him, waiting for him to continue on. After it seemed like forever had passed, she turned her attention back to the elders' den.

"Bearkit's grown bigger and bigger over these past few moons, and Quakekit's right behind him. They're going to be mistaken for their father sooner or later." She giggled.

"Is that so?" Eaglepaw found himself distracted by his mother's observations.

"It is indeed," She went on, "Boldkit is still as stubborn as ever though, change is going to have to hit him the hard way."

"I'm sure he'll grow up to be a great warrior..."

"Yes..." She gave a knowing stare at her son.

After more silence between the two- which clearly wasn't shared by any of the kits in the den, with their loud squeals and bickering- Nightpelt went back to the topic at hand.

"You should see Blackkit in the nursery, she's like a little version of your uncle, bossing everyone around. She and Quakekit are the only ones who keep order in that den, though."

"I'll have to check it out sometime. What about Tinykit, how's she doing?" Eaglepaw hesitantly asked, though he already had a thought as to his answer.

"Well, she hasn't been to the medicine den in a moon, which is good..." Her eyebrows furrowed, and the smile left her lips.

"But?"

"I fear her luck's running out again," She tried to give a smile again as she chuckled softly, "On the plus side, you'll be keeping each other company, I'm sure..."

"Oh..."

After a pause, Nightpelt finally asked the question in one small push.

"So, what's bothering you?"

Eaglepaw sucked in a breath before responding.

"I-" His voiced cut out on him, still trying to find the strength.

"I just," He paused, his vision blurring as he said the words, "I really wanted to prove her wrong!"

Nightpelt didn't seem the least bit shocked, she nodded her head as she closed the distance between the two. Streaks started to flow down and onto Nightpelt's fur, darkening the area to the same color as her midnight toned spots.

"I know," She consoled, wrapping herself into his fur, trying to silence his sniffling, "I know."

With the two staying like that for a few moments, Nightpelt felt it was her time to talk again.

"You still can."

Eaglepaw's, though still shaky with emotion, voice broke through.

"What?"

Nightpelt backed up to let him see her face.

"You're on track to be the clan's medicine cat. Have you ever seen how hard Morningdew works? It's going to be the death of her one day..."

Eaglepaw still didn't get what she was hinting towards.

"Snowpaw's path is a warrior, and yours is a medicine cat. Sure, you'll never be a better warrior than her," Eaglepaw looked away after the remark, "But she will never be a better medicine cat than you."

"..."

"Truth be told, I'm glad my kit is out of danger, I don't want to worry about you like I'm going to have to worry about these five in a few moons time." Nightpelt flicked her tail to the inside of the elder's den.

The last comment brought a sad smile to Eaglepaw's lips as he brought his gaze to where hers was.

As he stared, he could see his siblings staring back at them.

"Mama!"

"Eaglepaw!"

"Big brother!"

"Mom!"

The four of them shouted as they quickly scrambled up. Bearkit getting ahead of the rest and barreling himself into Eaglepaw's flank. The brown and black tom smiling brightly as he looked up toward Eaglepaw.

"I've gotten bigger, big brother! Soon, you and I are going to be patrolling together!" He shouted.

Bearkit was shoved off by a beige and black striped tom-kit.

"Eaglepaw's going to be patrolling with me first, mousebrain!" Objected Boldkit.

As Eaglepaw shoved the both of them off of him, he smiled gratefully back at Nightpelt.

     Thank you.

"You're both mousebrained," A black she-kit interjected, "Eaglepaw's not a warrior apprentice anymore, Morningdew trains him now..."

"That was mean, Blackkit" Quakekit spoke up.

As Blackkit turned around to give her argument, Eaglepaw spoke first.

"No, no, she's right," He said softly, a light tone in his voice, "I'm a medicine cat apprentice now. Morningdew's my mentor."

Nightpelt gave him a little nod of her head.

"Alright kits, I think it's time you head to bed now, I'll go fetch Tinykit."

"Aww!" They all shouted in unison, it was about the only thing they could agree on.

Eaglepaw watched three of the four kits walk back, talking amongst themselves. As they made their way to the nursery, a grown, grey-brown tom met them, and Boldkit pounced on the cat. The two shared similar black stripes around their face, as well as many tufts.

"Are you waiting on mother?" Eaglepaw turned towards the straggler.

"I'm really sorry about what happened, Eaglepaw," The black kit spoke out, "If it were up to me, I would tell uncle he's got bees in his brain!"

"Well, if you really want to make it up to me..." Blackkit stared at him quizzically, "Promise me you won't worry mother too much, okay?"

Blackkit was taken aback.

"Where'd that come from?" She asked.

"You're the one who brought it up out of nowhere."

"Fine!"

With that, Nightpelt emerged from the den, a small bundle of white fur in her jaws. She passed by Eaglepaw with a knowing gaze, and placed her tail over his back as she made her way to the nursery, Blackkit following behind.

"Goodnight..." He whispered to his family, his mother's tail seeming to wave in response.

As everyone left, Eaglepaw figured he'd might as well drag himself off to rest with them. The moon was shadowed in the sky by many clouds.

The clouds will be back tomorrow...He padded off toward his den, hoping over the center stream that leads to the middle of camp. As he got closer, he could hear the light snores of the other apprentices. Eaglepaw walked in through the stony opening, and saw the familiar faces of his peers sleeping soundly.

When he looked around for his nest, he was greeted with reality. There were only five. Three cats already seemed to be sleeping in them- a dusty orange-brown she-cat, grey she-cat, and white tom with brown spots. Only two beds remained empty, their scents reminiscent of the two cream colored she-cats who left on patrol together.

"Where did... Oh..." He mumbled to himself.

He let out a long sigh as he exited the apprentice den.

     This isn't my den anymore.

As he walked out, back into the moonlight, he turned his face toward Morningdew's den.

"I won't let you down, mother."

He found his nest near Morningdew's, and settled in...

...If only dreaming were that easy.