Dappleberry's Story

Chapter 2

"Are you ready Dapplepaw?" Pinktail asked.

Dapplepaw had been training with Pinktail for a while, despite what his mother had warned him about Bloodheart. He liked being a medicine cat, learning the herbs and their uses came much more naturally to him than hunting or fighting did. Maybe he was just meant to be a medicine cat. Tonight was the first half-moon since his training started, and Pinktail was about to take him to meet the other Medicine cats and hope for Starclan to accept him as a medicine cat. It was the most excited he had been since he started training.

"Yes, I'm ready Pinktail."

The two of them left the camp and traveled through the forest. Dapplepaw scanned the area around him as he traveled, silently reminding himself of the names and uses of each herb he spotted along the way.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the Moonroots. Dapplepaw noticed a few cats already present by the sycamore. They watched him closely and curiously as he approached. Nervously he hid next to Pinktail, scared of what the other medicine cats would think. Pinktail looked down at him and smiled.

"Don't be shy," she sweetly said, "Introduce yourself."

Dapplepaw looked up at his mentor. Her words encouraged him far more than he thought they would. Taking a deep breath he stood up tall and looked to the other cats.

"I'm Dapplepaw," he said proudly though quietly.

A young tom excitedly approached him from beside a pure white she-cat. The tom seemed to be only a little older than Dapplepaw, and he had faded cream fur and brown spots.

"I'm Beigepaw," the tom said. He continued speaking as he turned back to the white she-cat. "That's my mentor, Swiftshade. Over there," the tom pointed his tail to two more cats, "are Sandycall and Brookpaw."

Dapplepaw looked to the two cats Beigepaw spoke about. Sandycall was the older of the two, with brown tabby spots all over her. One of her hind legs had large scars on it, however, it didn't seem to impede her ability to walk. Brookpaw had a scar across his ear, he glared away from Dapplepaw. His fur was sooty black with a white belly and lighter gray spots on his back.

"They are the Bushclan medicine cats," Beigepaw said, "Swiftshade and I are both Fernclan cats."

Dapplepaw perked his ear at hearing that the two cats were Bushclan cats. It reminded him of Bloodheart, he wondered if they knew anything about her.

"Now we just have to wait for Bluefall and Leaffall," Pinktail said. "They're the Grassclan cats."

Just as Pinktail finished speaking, Two more cats approached the clearing. Dapplepaw turned to them quickly. The first cat was a pale gray, almost blue tom. Dapplepaw assumed he was Bluefall. The other, Leaffall, was a she-cat with a deep ginger tabby pelt and white belly. 

"Oh! Great you're here!" Swiftshade said to the new cats. "We were just talking about you."

"This is Dapplepaw," Pinktail told the Grassclan cats, "he has been training with me this past moon, I'm hoping Starclan will accept him today."

Leaffall looked to Dapplepaw and smiled. "Hello," she said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Leaffall."

"Let's just get on with this," Bluefall grunted, disappearing into a tunnel beneath the sycamore. Leaffall followed behind Bluefall quickly.

Dapplepaw looked up to Pinktail as the other medicine cats entered the tunnel as well. She looked back to him sweetly. 

"Come on," she whispered to him. "Let's go."

Dapplepaw followed behind Pinktail closely. He blinked his eyes a moment as he entered the tunnel. Surrounding a crystalline blue pool of water were twisting roots of the tree, covering the ground and walls of the tunnel. The medicine cats sat beside the pool as they watched Dapplepaw with excitement and pride.