Kittypet Clanborn - Tales Unleashed

Medicine Cat in the Den

Read on to see a certain young she-cat finally begin follow the path she was truly meant to follow...

Snowpaw's POV

I had truly never felt so nervous, anxious, yet so on top of the world at the same time from where I stood guard in the medicine den, my tail twitching behind me as I paced the area. I mean, I was in one of my favorite places in the entirety of ThunderClan territory, but I couldn't fully enjoy it with the tension that continued to rise within the camp.

I was more than happy to guard the medicine den as my mother, Lilypetal, had directed me to just before pelting through the camp entrance, but my heart had been pounding in my ears since that moment, knowing that my mother had made her departure to chase Goldenpaw - my littermate who had decided to be reckless just for fun once again.

I had actually nearly followed my mother's brown-and-white tabby fur before she had sent me away. But surely it's pointless, anyway, I thought as I finally forced myself to stop my aimless pacing and turn back toward the herb stock. While I love my sister more than words can say, words also can't even begin to describe just how impulsive she is.

I then took a deep breath, letting my fur lie completely flat as I began to glance over each pile of herbs, looking out for any outliers. She's surely just out doing something silly that Lilypetal's going to pull her from, and that's nothing new.

Actually managing to reassure myself a little bit, I was able to almost fully bring my focus back to the task at hand. And as I sat there in the den, all by myself, organizing the piles of leaves, I was almost tempted to pretend for a moment that I was ThunderClan's medicine cat.

And as horrible as the thought was... I felt an overwhelming amount of hope as I realized that it might actually happen, and much sooner than I had originally expected.

I didn't know much at all, however... by the way that certain cats had acted, and by the words that I had overheard being conspired after tonight's full-moon Gathering was enough to make me question things.

I had actually already been in the medicine den for the entirety of ThunderClan's departure for the Gathering, and had still been there by the time they had returned. While I had anticipated some surprise and bitterness by Jayfeather or Leafpool... well, Jayfeather... I most certainly hadn't expected to be thrown through the bramble screen, and especially not by Hollyleaf!

With no explanation, the fluffy black she-cat had burst into the medicine den, barely giving me a moment to speak or move before tossing me out. But I had barely gotten time to recover from that daunting experience, because the conversation that Leafpool and Hollyleaf then had once I was out of there quickly took priority in my mind...

The light-brown tabby medicine cat had revealed to Hollyleaf that she had lost her position as a medicine cat.

The situation was almost too unbelievable and surreal... so much so that I wondered if StarClan had genuinely listened to my pleas that I'd been making in my mind since I'd first become a warrior apprentice. I mean, just being able to be in the medicine den and to help Jayfeather and Leafpool out while they're gone was fulfilling enough, but this made me feel as if I was walking on the lightest, fluffiest cloud.

I suppose that becoming a medicine cat apprentice had never been out of the question, but I had always been under the assumption that having three medicine cats most definitely wasn't practical. And while Leafpool stepping down didn't necessarily mean that Jayfeather needed someone to replace Leafpool immediately... Jayfeather surely would be overwhelmed on his own...