The blades of the sun

Chapter 20

" No not that herb! That's catmint. This one is chervil." Webfoot sighed. Honeypaw felt her pelt grow hot with shame. She had been a medicine cat apprentice enough moons to know the difference between chervil and catmint. She watched carefully as Webfoot applied to chervil to Colliesouls cut.

" Thanks, Webfoot. Should I stay off warrior duties?" Colliesoul asked. Honeypaw looked at his little cut that a thorn had caused. I think he will be fine...

" Take the rest of today off. I don't want the cut getting infected." Webfoot nodded. Colliesoul dipped his head to Webfoot and stared at Honeypaw for a few heartbeats before leaving the den. Was that jealousy she saw flash in his eyes? It wasn't the first time she had seen him acting a bit jealous. She had spotted him watching Yellowstripe through narrowed eyes when she was sharing a vole with Solstice once. Did he have feelings for Yellowstripe?

" Honeypaw, we are low on cobwebs. Can you take Moonpaw with you to go fetch some?" Webfoot asked. Honeypaw nodded and trotted out of the den. She quickly spotted Moonpaw sharing a fat dove with Beepaw. She felt a small pang of jealousy seeing her friend hanging around Beepaw, they would probably be mates when they were warriors. I will never have a mate.

"Hi, Moonpaw! Webfoot told me to go find cobwebs, he said I should take you too." Honeypaw meowed. Moonpaw dipped her head and shot an apologetic look at Beepaw.

" You can finish that dove, I'll see you later!" She called to him as she trotted towards Honeypaw.

" I saw a log near the lake, it should have a few cobwebs underneath it," Honeypaw told her. Moonpaw nodded and Honeypaw led the way to the stream. Leaves drifted down from branches as they walked, Honeypaw leapt over the fallen tree. She finally spotted the log and twitched her tail so Moonpaw knew she had seen it.

" I'll push it forward, you pull it backwards," Moonpaw instructed. Honeypaw nodded and walked over to the opposite side of the log. She dug her claws into the hard bark and tried to pull it backwards. She looked over to Moonpaw, who was pushing the log with all her might. Wait... if shes pushing this towards me, and I'm pulling it, isn't it just going to roll aw-

Honeypaw let out a yowl as the log shifted and started to roll towards her. Instead of jumping over it, her first instinct was to run. She kept running, aware of Moonpaw yowling behind her and the log getting faster and faster. It didn't help that she was running down a hill either. Her heart leapt as she felt her paws sore through the air. She looked down at the floor and felt her body stiffen in mid-air. She saw the hollow surface of the water. In a few heartbeats, she splashed into the water and felt her body sink. Panic rose in her chest as she desperately kicked her paws in the stream. Her head broke to the surface and she let air flood her lungs. It wasn't long before the log landed into the water and scent a massive splash onto her.

" Help!" She managed to yowl as she made it back to the top of the water. She attempted to swim towards the log, but waves carried her away from it. I'm going to drown! As she got back to the surface, she surprisingly saw a black tom with a starry pelt. Raventail? Has Starclan come to collect me? To her surprise, he leapt onto the log and moved it towards her.

" Grab onto this." He whispered. She didn't hesitate to follow his order. She quickly grabbed onto the log and before she knew it, it has drifted onto land. She leapt off the log and landed on the ground, her body shaking. She turning around to thank Raventail, but he had already disappeared.

" Are you okay?" Moonpaw panted as she sprinted over to Honeypaw. Honeypaw looked around, dazed. Had she really seen Raventail? Or did she have bees in her brains? 

" I-I'm fine... we should go get the-" Honeypaw sneezed halfway through her sentence. " Fox dung! I think I have a cold!" Honeypaw hissed. She let out another sneeze and Moonpaw let out a mrow of amusement. 

" We can collect cobweb another time. We should go back to camp to get that cold treated." Moonpaw suggested. Honeypaw hesitated before nodding, Webfoot would be grumpy about them not getting any cobwebs.

As they emerged into the camp Pineclaw, who was guarding the camp, acknowledged them with a nod. As Honeypaw let out a little sneeze, she caught cats looking at her with humour in their eyes. I hope I can fix this cold soon!

" Where are the cobwebs? And why is your fur so wet Honeypaw? I told you to find cobwebs not go for a swimming lesson." Webfoot grumbled.  Honeypaw gave her shoulder an embarrassed lick and she guiltily looked at her mentor.

" We uh... We weren't thinking when we were rolling over a log, so the log chased me down a hill, I wasn't looking where I was going so I fell into a river." Honeypaw mumbled, embarrassed.

" That's got to be the weirdest thing I have ever heard! Your such a mouse brain Honeypaw. Go eat some borage leaves and then sit in the sun for a while. As for you," Webfoot meowed and turned to Moonpaw, who was standing by Honeypaws side. " Go do some training with Yellowstripe or something like that. If you go out look out for cobwebs." Webfoot instructed. Moonpaw looked disappointed at having to fetch herbs later, but she said no more and padded out of the den.

Honeypaw trotted to the herb store and looked for borage leaves. What did they look like again? She muttered in her head. She tried to remember their scent, and she stopped as she saw the big green leaves for a borage leaf. She quickly ate it and walked out of the den. She spotted a small rock where the sun was brightly shining onto it. She hoped onto it and felt the sunlight brush her golden fur.

" It's nice weather today, isn't it?" A voice meowed beside her. She spun around in shock at hearing a cat beside her. Raventail! He's back?

" Why are you here? How are you here?" Honeypaw asked, shocked. Raventail said nothing at first, he just looked up into the sun.

" Starclan has sent me to guide you. I think they are just giving me something to do because I died when I was young." He shrugged. Honeypaw looked around, could other cats see him? And why did she need a guide?

" Shall we go somewhere more private? I think other cats will be shocked at seeing a Starclan cat out of nowhere." She suggested. Raventail gave her an amused glance.

" Theres no need. Only you can see me. Try to keep your voice down though, cats might think somethings wrong with you if you are talking to air." He joked. Honeypaw purred but her ears twitched as she heard light paw steps nearby. Honeypaw looked to where the sound was, and she quickly spotted Amberkit padding over to the rock.

" Hello, Honeypaw! And who are you?" Amberkit greeted and rested her gaze on Raventail. Honeypaw and Raventail shared a surprised glance. How could Amberkit see him?

" You can see me?" Raventail asked, sounding shocked and puzzled at the same time. Amberkit tilted her head in confusion as if it was obvious that she would be able to see him.

" Of course I can! I might have only opened my eyes half a moon ago, but I'm not blind!" Amberkit replied. Honeypaw didn't what to say. She could pretend that Raventail was part of her imagination, or she could pretend he was an actual cat.

" He's just a loner that comes to visit now and then. He should be going now." Honeypaw meowed to Amberkit, hinting at Raventail that he should go before more cats came. Raventail nodded and sprinted out of the camp.

" But I didn't even get to introduce myself!" Amberkit slightly wailed. Honeypaw jumped down from the rock, her fur dry now.

" He will be back someday, then you can say hi again!" Honeypaw smiled. Amberkits eyes lightened up and she turned her head towards Heatherkit, her sister, who was listening to one of Lilacpetals stories.

" If you say so. I'm gonna see what Heatherkit is doing now." Amberkit meowed and ran off to her sister. Honeypaw let out a sigh of relief. But she still felt confusion in her heart. How could Amberkit see Raventail?