“Have you checked it all the way around?” Crowfeather asked.
Breezepaw glared at his father. “Of course! That’s what Whitetail ordered me to do.”
Nightcloud stepped forward. “You should have more faith in our son, Crowfeather,” she chided.
“Whitetail’s my mentor, not you,” Breezepaw added.
“Is that the kittypet?” A brown kit had crept out of the tunnel behind Onestar.
She was staring at Millie with round eyes. The other Clan cats turned to look at Millie, their expressions mistrustful.
“I’m training to be a warrior now,” Millie told the little cat.
“But you can’t ever be a real w—”
A mottled tabby queen hurried out of the tunnel. “Sedgekit, come away,” she called. “You’ll get wet out here.”
Sedgekit glared at her mother and stomped back inside.
“We should go,” Brambleclaw meowed. He dipped his head to Onestar. “Those dogs won’t dare come near this part of your territory again.”
“If they do, we can manage them by ourselves,” Breezepaw muttered.
“Breezepaw!” Nightcloud snapped. “Heatherpaw might have been hurt without this brave apprentice.” She blinked gratefully at Lionpaw.
Lionpaw glanced away, conscious that Heatherpaw wouldn’t have stumbled if he hadn’t distracted her.
“Do you need some herbs for your wounds?” Heatherpaw asked him.
Lionpaw shook his head. “Leafpool will treat them when we get home.”
Brambleclaw turned and headed out of the camp. The rest of the patrol filed after him. As they followed the twisting tunnel back up to the moorland, Lionpaw thought about what Jaypaw had said to Firestar. He had known that the dogs would come too; had Firestar really refused to believe his brother’s warning? Surely he would believe him next time—Jaypaw had been right. But thoughts of his brother quickly slid away, to be replaced with the memory of heather-colored eyes and a soft voice asking if he needed herbs.
CHAPTER 22
The quarter moon had passed. Gray clouds hung heavy over the forest.
Jaypaw shivered, his pelt damp from the rain. “I’m going to my nest,” he mewed, nodding good night to Hollypaw and Lionpaw as they finished their evening meal beside the halfrock.
Hollypaw looked up. “Already?”
“I’m tired.”
“You want to get out of the rain, more like,” Lionpaw joked.
Jaypaw growled. It wasn’t the dampness that made him want to leave; Lionpaw had been going on about the battle against the dogs for days, and Jaypaw didn’t want to hear it all again tonight. He already guessed that Lionpaw had taken off his cobweb dressings early so he’d have some scars to show his Clanmates.
Jaypaw thrust his way crossly through the bramble entrance to the medicine den. The only scars he’d ever get to show his Clanmates would be from falling down rabbit holes. Why couldn’t he do something real to help his Clan, like Lionpaw? He had patched up his Clanmates after they’d driven the dogs away, but that wasn’t the same as fighting on behalf of his Clan.
“It sounds like it’s still raining,” Leafpool commented as he padded into the den.
“It’s not as heavy now,” Jaypaw told her.
“Well, at least there may be new herbs to gather by full moon,” she mewed hopefully.
Jaypaw wasn’t so sure. The air had been tinged all day with the raw scents of the mountains; he had a feeling that ice would claw the forest once more before newleaf brought fresh life. “Perhaps we should look for the first leaves tomorrow,” he suggested as he curled into his nest. Before frost has a chance to destroy them.
“Perhaps,” Leafpool murmured, already half-asleep. “But let’s not gather them too early, before they’ve had time to grow.”
Jaypaw wanted to argue, to point out the change in the wind. But since Firestar had dismissed his warning about the dogs, he had burned with resentment. What’s the point in warning them if they only ignore my advice?
Jaypaw did not dream, and when he lifted his nose from his nest at dawn, the sharp tang of ice in the air stung his nose. He knew without doubt that a heavy frost lay thick over the forest. He stretched and realized that Leafpool was already awake, raking through her herb supply.
“We should have gathered herbs yesterday,” she fretted.
“Are we running low?” Jaypaw padded sleepily to her side. He could tell that some scents were missing from the pungent mixture of smells.
“This is the worst time of year.” Leafpool sighed. “There are precious few fresh herbs, and the Clan is at its weakest after a long leaf-bare.”
“At least there’s been more prey since the last frost,” Jaypaw pointed out.
“It’ll have all bolted back into its burrows now,” Leafpool warned. “Some of the warriors will go to their nests hungry tonight.”
The frozen brambles at the entrance to the den crackled, and Jaypaw scented Longtail pushing his way through.
His anxiety turned to irritation. No wonder supplies were running low. He had been doing nothing but padding back and forth to the elders’ den with herbs for Mousefur. The elderly warrior claimed she was fine, but Longtail kept worrying over her like a fretful queen fussing over her kit.
“Mousefur’s wheezing,” Longtail announced.
Of course she’s wheezing, Jaypaw thought irritably. She’s older than the Sky Oak, and it’s freezing!
He turned to the pale tabby elder. “We’ve tried just about every herb already.”
“Let’s try juniper berries this time,” Leafpool suggested.
Or a pawful of poppy seeds, Jaypaw muttered to himself. She might sleep long enough to give me a break.
“Here.” Leafpool rolled a pawful of small berries toward Jaypaw. “Take these to her.” Their aromatic flavor filled his nose. He bent and picked them up carefully between his jaws. Then he turned and followed Longtail back to the elders’ den.
The twining honeysuckle was stripped of its greenleaf foliage, and drafts whipped around the den like swirling water.
“Jaypaw,” Mousefur greeted him. “You’re not back again!” Her voice seemed to scour her throat like dried thistles. “You should be with cats your own age instead of spending every waking moment in here.”
Jaypaw’s tail twitched with frustration. If only!
“He’s here so often only because he’s worried about you,” Longtail meowed.
“Because you’re worried about me,” Mousefur corrected. “You really shouldn’t fuss so much. A cat my age is bound to feel the cold more easily.”
“But your eyes and nose are streaming,” Longtail pointed out.
“That’s just the cold air,” Mousefur croaked.
“I can get Brambleclaw to organize some warriors to pad your den walls, if you like,” Jaypaw suggested.
“That would be kind,” Mousefur admitted. “The chill does seem to have reached right to my bones this morning.”
Jaypaw nosed the berries toward her. He could tell she was shivering, and yet heat flooded from her. It seemed strange, but he had been to check on her so many times, he still thought Longtail was fussing over nothing.
“I’ll speak to Brambleclaw,” he promised. Perhaps if he got their den fixed, the two elders could manage without him for a while.
He turned and padded out of the den, lifting his nose to scent for Brambleclaw. As he scanned the camp, he stopped dead. A tiny prick of doubt, which had been smothered by irritation with the two elders, broke through. Mousefur had accepted his help too easily. And her breathing was irregular.
He swung his muzzle back toward the den. The pungent juniper berries had masked another smell—the smell of illness.
Mousefur really was sick.
He pelted toward the medicine den, his paws skimming over the icy ground. Crashing through the patch of brambles, he skidded to a halt.
Leafpool’s pelt bristled in alarm. “Jaypaw!”
“Mousefur has greencough!”
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“Are you sure?”
Jaypaw listed the symptoms. “Irregular breathing, streaming eyes and nose, wheezing, fever…” Fever! That explained the heat he had felt coming off her in waves.
“We need catmint,” Leafpool meowed, rushing out of the medicine den.
Jaypaw knew that catmint was one of the missing scents when Leafpool had raked through the herbs earlier. He followed his mentor out and paced anxiously as she called to Cloudtail.
“You must fetch catmint,” Leafpool explained as the warrior came racing to the medicine cat’s side. “At once!”
Surprise sparked from the warrior. “Catmint? Why?”
Leafpool’s pelt ruffled with uncertainty. She obviously didn’t want to spread panic through the Clan. She lowered her voice. “Mousefur is ill.”
Cloudtail kneaded the ground anxiously. “Where do I get it from?”
“By the old Twoleg nest,” Leafpool told him.
“I know what it smells like,” Jaypaw mewed. “I’ll be able to find it.”
He sensed Cloudtail’s doubt at once. “Medicine cats can run, you know! And I’ll be able to spot it quicker than you.”
“He’s right,” Leafpool agreed.
“Okay,” Cloudtail mewed. “We’ll take Cinderpaw with us. She can help carry it back.” He called across the clearing to his apprentice. She was sharing tongues with Poppypaw, but at Cloudtail’s call, her small steps came pattering toward them over the frosty ground.
“What is it?” she mewed.
“We have to find catmint,” Jaypaw told her. “Mousefur is ill.”
Cinderpaw gasped. “Catmint’s for greencough, isn’t it?”
“Come on,” Cloudtail ordered. “There’s no time to waste.” He raced toward the thorn barrier, and Jaypaw hurried after him. Once out of the camp they headed straight for the disused Thunderpath.
Jaypaw could feel Cloudtail’s eyes flashing back at him as the warrior checked that their blind companion was keeping up. But Jaypaw’s paws were swift with fear, and he easily kept pace with Cinderpaw. He could feel her warm pelt rippling beside his, and matched her step for step.
“Tree!” she warned him. But he had already scented its bark and swerved to avoid it.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Mousefur. Why hadn’t he realized that she was so unwell? Longtail had been trying to tell him for days. Guilt gnawed at his belly. Once they had the catmint he would feed it to her himself until she was fully recovered. The sharp little stones on the abandoned Thunderpath grazed Jaypaw’s pads, but he quickened his pace, pulling ahead of Cinderpaw.
Cloudtail halted by the crumbling stone wall around the nest. Jaypaw felt a twinge of nerves. Although he knew the place was empty, it felt dangerous to be going onto Twoleg territory.
Cloudtail jumped up onto the wall first.
“It’s not high,” Cinderpaw mewed.
Jaypaw reached up with his forepaws, and Cloudtail flicked his tail down to give him some sense of how far to jump. He sprang, and as he scrabbled to get a grip, Cloudtail grabbed him by his scruff and swung him over the wall into the long, frost-stiffened grass on the other side.
As soon as he landed, Jaypaw sniffed the air, searching for the catmint. He found a trace of it and began picking his way through the grass.
“Wait for me!” Cinderpaw called, jumping down after him. She hurried to catch up. “Cloudtail’s keeping guard on the wall,” she panted.
“It’s over there,” he told her.
Cinderpaw sped ahead, and Jaypaw could hear her rooting about in the vegetation along the wall. “There’s nothing here but dead leaves!” she called back to him. “The frost has killed it all.”
Jaypaw’s belly heaved, and the ground seemed to drop away from beneath his paws. There had to be catmint here! “Let me look!” he mewed.
He rushed over to Cinderpaw and sniffed at the plants around her paws. He could smell catmint, but it was sour, scorched by the frost.
“It’s all black.” Cinderpaw sighed.
Jaypaw touched it with the tip of his tongue. The leaves felt pulpy and wet. But a delicious flavor seeped from deeper within the plant. He dug down, fearful of damaging roots that might yet recover but desperate to find something that would help Mousefur. Around the base, just beneath the soil, he smelled fresh leaves. Feeling carefully with the tips of his paws, he touched the soft furriness of new growth. Not much, but it was better than nothing. He scraped away the earth and delicately nipped off the new stalks with his teeth. Then, holding them gently on his tongue, trying not to absorb any of the precious flavor, he nodded to Cinderpaw.
“Will that be enough?” she asked.
Unable to speak, he shrugged.
She seemed to understand, for she turned away and began to hurry back to where Cloudtail waited on the wall. Together they scrambled over and set off back to the camp.
“This is all that was left undamaged,” he explained to Leafpool as he dropped the mouthful of stalks on the floor of the medicine den. He could feel disappointment turning her paws to stone.
“It’s better than nothing,” she meowed. She picked up the stalks with her teeth and hurried out of the den.
Jaypaw followed her. Would Mousefur be worse?
The old she-cat’s labored breathing echoed around the honeysuckle bush. The air smelled bitter, and it prickled with Longtail’s anxiety.
“Is that catmint?” he asked hopefully.
Leafpool dropped it beside Mousefur. “Yes.”
“There’s not much,” Longtail observed.
“It’ll have to do,” Leafpool told him. “Frost has damaged the rest.” She crouched down and whispered to Mousefur, “I want you to chew this and swallow as much as you can.”
Mousefur groaned. Jaypaw slid around beside the old she-cat and pressed his cheek to her flank. She was burning with fever and trembling. Then she coughed and he heard her breath bubbling beneath his ear. He jerked up his head and stared desperately at Leafpool.
“She may be old, but she’s strong,” the medicine cat reassured him. Then she urged Mousefur, “Come on, eat a little.”
The old cat took a few stalks in her mouth and began to chew. Jaypaw felt her pain like thorns in his pelt as she swallowed. She must have seen him flinch, for she lifted her muzzle toward him so that her sour breath ruffled his fur. “What a fuss you’re making over me,” she rasped. “Anyone would think I was about to join StarClan.” She forced a purr, and Jaypaw felt the pain of it shake her body. “I don’t think they’re ready for me yet. And besides, if I go, who will make sure Longtail remembers to check his pelt for fleas?”
“You’ll be better in no time,” Jaypaw told her, willing it to be true.
Pawsteps padded quickly outside the den, and the honeysuckle rustled. Jaypaw smelled Daisy’s scent at the entrance.
“Leafpool?” The kittypet sounded worried.
Leafpool lifted her head. “Yes?”
“Ferncloud is unwell.”
Alarm shot through Jaypaw.
“What’s wrong?” Leafpool asked.
“She’s wheezing, and her eyes and nose are streaming.”
Mousefur let out an agonized groan. “I went to the nursery yesterday to see the kits,” she croaked.
“Foxkit and Icekit seem fine,” Daisy mewed at once.
“I’ll come and check on Ferncloud,” Leafpool meowed.
“Shall I stay with Mousefur?” Jaypaw offered.
“No.” Mousefur began to cough. “Check on the kits!” She pushed the rest of the catmint away from her. “Don’t waste your time fussing over an old warrior like me.”
“You must take these herbs,” Leafpool insisted, pawing them back under Mousefur’s nose. “You’re not as strong as Ferncloud.”
“Check on the kits first,” Mousefur answered stubbornly.
“Okay, I will.” Leafpool slipped out of the elders’ den.
Jaypaw followed her as she raced across the clearing. He squeezed into the nursery behind h
er. The familiar smell of his old home was tainted by the smell of sickness. Ferncloud was struggling for breath, and even without touching her, Jaypaw could feel the heat pulsing from her body.
“It’s definitely greencough,” Leafpool announced. “But the kits are not infected.”
“We should get Ferncloud away from them,” Jaypaw suggested.
“I can look after them instead.” Daisy had followed them into the nursery. “They’re close enough to weaning now.”
“Thank you,” Leafpool meowed, nudging Ferncloud to her paws.
Grief flashed from Ferncloud as Foxkit and Icekit began mewling. “I’ll be back soon,” she promised weakly.
Daisy’s fur brushed their tiny pelts as she curled around them. “We’ll have fun with all this space to ourselves,” she told them. “Ferncloud will just be across the clearing. She’s not leaving the camp.”
“Why can’t she stay here?” Foxkit wailed.
“Because we don’t want you getting sick too,” Daisy explained.
“Be good,” Ferncloud mewed, her breath coming in gasps as Leafpool began to guide her from the den.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” Icekit called.
Jaypaw could sense the anxiety behind Icekit’s brave words. He flicked his tail over her back. “I’ll ask Hollypaw to come and teach you all the new fighting moves she’s been learning,” he offered.
“Really?” Icekit squeaked, brightening.
“Fetch Mousefur,” Leafpool called to him from outside. “We’ll settle both cats in the medicine den, where we can keep an eye on them.”
Jaypaw’s heart began pounding again as he scrabbled out of the nursery. He had wanted a chance to protect his Clanmates, but a warrior could do it with teeth and claws, while all he had to offer was a pawful of pulpy roots. How could this be his destiny?
Dawn brought another victim. Jaypaw was woken by Whitewing as she limped into the medicine den, tail down and wheezing. He had learned the deadly scent of greencough by now and sprang from his nest. But Leafpool was already beside the white warrior, listening to her breathing.
“Make a nest for her beside Ferncloud and Mousefur,” she ordered Jaypaw.