Gingerpelt

Chapter 16

"Birchtail! Birchtail!"

Gingerpelt, with the rest of RiverClan, yowled her kit's warrior name to Silverpelt.

Birchtail padded over to his sister, Petaldust, who had become a full medicine cat at the last half-moon meeting at the Moonstone, as she congratulated him.

I can't believe Birchtail's finally a warrior!

Gingerpelt glanced up at the moon.

It's full. Birchtail will be going to his first Gathering as a warrior. And our first without Flametail.

Gingerpelt suddenly felt very lonely.

***

With Birchtail by her side, Gingerpelt waited at the top of the hollow at Four Trees until Mistystar yowled and RiverClan pelted down into the clearing.

"Birchtail! Come over here and sit with your mother!" Gingerpelt mewed, before he could join his friends.

"Ok." Birchtail shrugged.

He's such a good listener!

"Where's ThunderClan?" Birchtail's curious meow broke Gingerpelt's thoughts. She hadn't noticed that ShadowClan had arrived leaving ThunderClan to arrive last.

"I don't kno-" Gingerpelt was interrupted by a yowl coming from the other side of the clearing and turned to see ThunderClan pelting down with Firestar in the lead.

I still can't believe my father is the leader! Just because he's ThunderClan's leader doesn't mean I shouldn't be proud of him.

Gingerpelt scanned the ThunderClan cats but couldn't find their medicine cat, whoever it was.

Gingerpelt was about to tell Birchtail how proud she was of her strong kit, when she heard a distressed mew coming from just below them.

"Sorry I'm late!" A young she-cat who smelled strongly of herbs separated from her clanmates to join the medicine cats.

"How is she?" Mothwing asked immediately. Who could she be talking about?

The young she-cat shifted her paws uneasily. "Not very well. As you can see, she couldn't even make it to this Gathering."

"Hopefully she'll be better soon. What herbs has she used?" Mothwing demanded.

The young she-cat burst into tears. "That's why! She's so worried about her own clanmates that she refuses for me to use our supplies on her! Does she even realize that she could die? I'm not letting her leave camp until she gets better."

Mothwing wrapped her tail around the young she-cat. "There there, Leafpaw." She mewed softly. "She knows that she needs to use her own herbs on herself."

Leafpaw shook her head and raised it to meet Mothwing's gaze. Gingerpelt saw tears streaming down the young apprentice's face.

"What will I do if she does die though?" Leafpaw asked. "I've only been her apprentice for less than a moon."

"Don't worry." Mothwing mewed with such gentleness that Gingerpelt was shocked at how well she hid her grief for the apprentice's mentor and, possibly, her friend. "Medicine cats stick together."

Leafpaw mewed "Thank you." Then sat down as the Gathering began.

Mistystar announced RiverClan's new warrior, Birchtail, and warned WindClan about the fox Gingerpelt chased into their territory, but other than that nothing important was mentioned.

***

As Gingerpelt settled into her nest in the warriors' den, she happily fell asleep in the same den as her son for the first time since he was a kit in the nursery.

I'll never share a den with Petaldust though. She sleeps in the medicine cat's den with Mothwing.

As Gingerpelt drifted off into sleep, she woke in a dream.

"Hello?" Gingerpelt meowed. She was walking through a forest when all of a sudden she stopped as a dark gray she-cat stepped out from the bushes.

"Mom?" Gingerpelt mewed, taking a step closer. As soon as she came closer, the cat faded away until Gingerpelt was alone again.

Gingerpelt woke with a start. She had that dream long ago when thinking about meeting her mother. Then Gingerpelt remembered that she agreed to meet her the day after the Gathering announcing her kit being a warrior.

Gingerpelt stretched in the dawn light, wondering what she should say to her mother when she met her later that day.

Should I be nice? No. She left me to wander off and let me be taken in by RiverClan. I could've died!

***

It was finally dark. Gingerpelt quickly double checked that every cat was sleeping before slipping out of the warriors' den. Carefully, she sneaked out through the dirtplace and ran all the way to the river then stopped as she looked across, into ThunderClan territory, and took a deep breath.

I'm coming mother. I'll finally know who you really are.