Chapter 6

                Crazyheart sat, neatly wrapping her tail around her forepaws. “Bluepool, it’s just my apprentice, Whitepaw…I’m worried about her.” 

                Bluepool didn’t look away from the assortment of herbs. “Look, Crazyheart, I know she wants to be a medicine cat. Every cat in the Clan does! But I already have one apprentice. What am I supposed to do, tell Birchleaf that he can’t be a medicine cat anymore?”

                “No! Did I say that?” Crazyheart took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do! Her sisters were practicing their battle moves on their parents, but she showed no interest in joining in! How am I supposed to train a cat who doesn’t want to be a warrior?”

                Bluepool’s gaze still remained fixed on her supplies. “Crazyheart, just keep training her like you are now. It’s not like she has the option of being a medicine cat.”

                Crazyheart narrowed her eyes. “You could at least look at me as you speak.”

                “Sorry, Crazyheart, I’m just busy. I’ve wasted so much marigold on Smallstream’s ear because he won’t rest for just ONE DAY and let the wound heal.” Bluepool stepped away and turned her head towards the gray-furred she-cat. “Not to mention the watermint and juniper that I had to give Sandpaw the other night because she thought it was such a BRILLIANT idea to take two mice from the fresh-kill pile just because there was extra. And then we’re running low on comfrey that I need for Thrushpaw’s broken leg…”  

                Crazyheart realized for the first time that Thrushpaw wasn’t there. “Where is he? Isn’t he hurt?”

                Bluepool nodded impatiently. “I sent him outside to get some fresh-air. Now, great StarClan, where is Birchleaf with the comfrey I requested?”

                At that moment, the dark brown tom entered the cave with herbs in his jaws, which he set on the ground. Crazyheart gave an irritated hiss as he shook himself dry, of course, right next to her. “Sorry!” the medicine cat apologized sheepishly.

                Bluepool raised an eyebrow at her apprentice. “What took so long? Did you decide to travel all the way to sun-drown-place?” She bent to sniff at the leaves. “And this isn’t even comfrey! It’s yarrow!”

                Birchleaf dipped his head to his mentor. “Yes, some of it is yarrow. I decided to gather it because I passed right by it anyways. But there’s comfrey too.”

                As Bluepool added the herbs to her neat piles, Birchleaf looked to Crazyheart for the first times. “Greetings, Crazyheart.” The tom was looking not at her face, but her paws. “I thought you had white paws, not brown!”

                Crazyheart briefly glanced down. The fur on her paws was thoroughly coated with mud. “For StarClan’s sake, Birchleaf, you’ve just been outside as well! Look at your own paws!”

                Birchleaf was about to say something but Crazyheart interrupted him as a pungent scent drifted into her nostrils. “WindClan! Not Fernstar in our camp again!”

                The gray-furred she-cat dashed out of the medicine cat den and padded over to her father. The WindClan leader was just emerging through the thorn tunnel. “Greetings, Flamestripe. Where is Stonestar? I need to speak to him.”

                “Stonestar died about a quarter-moon ago.” Flamestar’s voice was polite, but Crazyheart saw annoyance flash in his amber eyes. “I am leader.”

                Fernstar dipped her head respectfully to Flamestar. “I am sorry to hear that Stonestar is dead. He was a noble cat and a loyal friend that’ll be missed by all four Clans.”

                Does she not realize that she’s not as welcome here as she thinks she is?

                At the start of the newleaf after the Great Battle, with the last pawful of warriors still recovering from their wounds and an outbreak of greencough, ThunderClan had been completely unprepared for an attack from ShadowClan. Ivystar, the ShadowClan leader, was furious with ThunderClan after finding Silvercloud’s dead body on their territory with Brightleaf’s fur in between his claws. Brightleaf, along with other warriors who witnessed his death, tried to explain to Ivystar that Silvercloud had sided with the Dark Forest. Brightleaf had no choice but to kill him when he tried to break into the nursery.

                But Ivystar refused to believe them. She waited for the moment when ThunderClan was weak, and then chose to attack. Her warriors were trying to drive them out as revenge for killing their leader’s son. Since ShadowClan had lost fewer cats to Splashheart and greencough, they outnumbered ThunderClan. Crazyheart remembered hiding in the nursery with her littermates, terrified, as shrieks from the battle pierced through the thick brambles.

                Stonestar had told Breezewhisker, then the newly-apprenticed Breezepaw, to ask Heatherstar to help. Little did he know that Heatherstar had died and Fernstar, the new leader, would forever believe that ThunderClan was in WindClan’s debt. She brought a patrol of warriors and ThunderClan won the battle thanks to her, of course, but now she thought she could just march into their camp whenever she wanted to.

                “Who’s your deputy?” Fernstar asked finally, breaking the silence.

                “Crazyheart.” The gray-furred she-cat noticed that the fur on Flamestar’s neck was bristling, as if he was struggling to control his temper. “Why have you come, Fernstar? The Gathering is tonight. Couldn’t this have waited until then?”

                Fernstar’s eyes widened with surprise. “Great StarClan, Flamestar! I only wished to warn you that RiverClan ambushed one of our hunting patrols yesterday and ran off with our prey! My warriors reported that they looked very hungry, fearful…and desperate. And if they are desperate, they might attack you!”

                Fernstar turned around and stomped off.

                Crazyheart turned to her father. “Seriously, Flamestar? Why didn’t you tell her to stop coming over to ThunderClan to chat EVERY OTHER DAY!”

                Flamestar sighed.  “She was only trying to warn us.”

                Crazyheart rolled her eyes. “Flamestar, think logically. If RiverClan were to attack somebody, it would be ShadowClan or WindClan. It’s highly unlikely that they’d trek halfway around the lake to steal our prey when they could just ambush WindClan or ShadowClan, who are in closer proximity.”

                “I understand, Crazyheart.” Flamestar stared at his paws. “But it’s better to be allies with WindClan then to make them our enemies. Now I know this is the leader’s responsibility but tonight I’d like you to choose the cats who will attend the Gathering.”

                Crazyheart knew he was just trying to change the subject but she went along with it anyways. “Sandpaw and Nightpaw for our apprentices…”

                “What about Whitepaw? You don’t want your apprentice to go?”

                 “She doesn’t care about being a warrior and she doesn’t put any effort into training. StarClan knows, I wish every night that I had a different apprentice! Anyhow, warriors…Roseleaf, Blazeheart…”

                “Of course you want your sisters to come,” Flamestar meowed teasingly.

                “FLAMESTAR! Are you going to let me finish? Okay, obviously me, you, Bluepool, and Birchleaf…how about Breezewhisker and his brother Smallstream? I know you will want Petalfall there so I’ll include her. Lastly, can we take Sorrelfur and Moonstripe?”

                Flamestar nodded. “Thank you, Crazyheart. We will leave shortly before sundown.”

A/N: I'm officially off of school for winter break! I'm going to try to post at least 10 more chapters of this book before I go back to school so expect frequent updates! I'll update Shadestar's Agony over the break once or twice but I'll be writing more of this story.

The Gathering is the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed and may StarClan light your path! :D