Flamepaw's Quest

Chapter 2

            The moon came and went all too quickly. Apprentices trained, warriors hunted, cats bonded, and the cycle repeated. Flamekit spent her time in the nursery with Mothkit for the whole moon, laughing and playing with her as snow faded from the ground and leaf-bare came to an end.
            But now, the air had gotten warmer, the snow had melted, and new-leaf had begun. Mothkit would be turning six moons old today, and Flamekit was depressed, not wanting to lose her only friend in the nursery.
            "Flamekit, get up," came her mother's soothing voice.
            Flamekit lazily opened her eyes and glanced ahead, noticing Mothkit complaining as her mother, Thornheart, licked her pelt clean.
            "Mom, it looks fine!" Mothkit whined, smoothing down her calico pelt.
            Flamekit slowly got up, saddened by Mothkit's excitement. It was a shame they wouldn't even train together since Mothkit had decided to take on the role of medicine cat apprentice.
            "Oh, Flamekit, you're awake!" Mothkit called, padding towards her.
            Flamekit turned away, hoping she didn't see any tears slowly fall down her cheek.
            "Hey, you okay?" Mothkit asked, poking Flamekit.
            "Why did you want to be a medicine cat?" Flamekit asked quietly.
            "What?" Mothkit wondered.
            "Why did you want to be a medicine cat?" Flamekit repeated, turning to face her. Flamekit's eyes were red and watery with salty tears.
            "I-I've always wanted to be a medicine cat, I guess," Mothkit admitted. "Before you were born, a few moons ago in leaf-bare, herbs were scarce, and they were sending out cats to look for herbs. Thornheart let me go out and look surprisingly since I was tired of being shoved up in the nursery. It was, well, heartwarming, I guess, when we found the herbs to know that we were helping sick cats in need. I kept stopping by Mountaineye's den after awhile, and that was how I decided."
            "I wish you were becoming a warrior," Flamekit sniffed.
            "Hey, don't cry," Mothkit whispered. "Turn that frown upside down, Flamekit. You'll train, I'll train, and you'll be able to visit me all the time. Of course, it's still four moons until you're an apprentice. That's not so long."
            Flamekit groaned, knowing that would seem like an eternity to her.
            "You stay here in the nursery, be a kit, and then you'll be an apprentice learning to fight. And if you scratch one of those pads on your paws, you can come straight to me," Mothkit assured her.
            "Thanks," Flamekit replied, grinning.
            "ALL CATS OLD ENOUGH TO CATCH THEIR OWN PREY, JOIN BENEATH THE FALLEN TREE FOR A CLAN MEETING!" Goldstar yowled.
            "That's my cue! See you out there!" Mothkit exclaimed, skipping out of the den.
            "Come on. Let's move," Suntail urged, pushing Flamekit forward. Flamekit followed her mother outside, watching as cats quickly came together as a crowd to watch the young kit become the next future medicine cat.
            "Brownpelt!" Suntail called.
            At her father's name, Flamekit looked up, spotting the brown tabby sitting to the left of the large log that Goldstar sat perched on.
            "Hey, I saved you a seat!" Brownpelt called, waving his tail.
            Flamekit rushed towards her father, grinning as she sat down in between him and Suntail.
            "Daddy, are you stopping by the nursery later?"
            "Goldstar's got me booked for patrols all today," Brownpelt sighed.
            Flamekit watched as Suntail eyed her mate.
            "But I'll be sure to visit tomorrow," he promised, as he usually did. Unfortunately, these promises were rarely kept.
            Flamekit's heart sunk at the news of her father's cancellation of the visit, and it sunk even more as she watched Mothkit pad up the log. When she descended, she'd no longer be a kit.
            "What's wrong?" Brownpelt asked, noticing Flamekit's sadness.
            "She's upset Mothkit is leaving the nursery and becoming a medicine cat," Suntail answered for her.
            "Hey, you'll still be friends though, right? I see Mountaineye all the time!" Brownpelt exclaimed.
            "Brownpelt, quit your yapping!" snapped Snowheart, the white she-cat that had formerly been Rockpelt's mentor.
            "Mothkit has reached six moons and has decided to become a medicine cat instead of take on normal apprentice training," Goldstar began, gazing down at the cats. "Mothkit, from this day forward, until you become a full medicine cat, you shall be known as Mothpaw. Mountaineye," Goldstar called.
            The black and white tom padded forward, grinning warmly at Mothpaw and Goldstar.
            "Yes, Goldstar?" he asked.
            "You have proved to be a great medicine cat and addition to RiverClan. Please teach Mothpaw all she knows."
            "I will not fail," Mountaineye promised, dipping his head. Flamekit watched as Mothpaw raced down the log and touched noses with the tom.
            "MOTHPAW! MOTHPAW!" the clan cried.
            "Yay! Mothpaw!" Flamekit squeaked, proud of her friend. Her disappointment had shrunk as she watched how happy Mothpaw was standing with Mountaineye in front of the clan. She knew she would surely be a wise and noble medicine cat.
            As the clan began to depart, Flamekit raced over to Mothpaw who sat near the log, chatting and grinning at cats as they walked by.
            "Congrats!" Flamekit mewed.
            "Thanks, Flamekit," Mothpaw purred. "I'm helping Mountaineye do inventory today. He says it'll be good practice for me as I learn the names of all the herbs."
            "Sounds fun," Flamekit responded, though it did not appeal at all to her.
            "It sure is! Maybe you can visit me tomorrow? I'm sure Mountaineye will give me breaks," Mothpaw suggested.
            "Sure!" Flamekit agreed, bouncing up and down. She sure was glad her friend wouldn't be abandoning her to focus solely on training.
            "Mothpaw!" came Mountaineye's call.
            "I have to go. I'll chat with you later though," Mothpaw assured her, padding away.
            Flamekit smiled, then headed back towards her mother, disappointed she'd enter the nursery and find it emptier than it normally had been.
            Throughout the rest of the day, Flamekit remained quite bored as she tossed a mossball back at the wall and watched as it bounced off and returned to her. Mudkit and Oakkit seemed to be occupied with their game, leaving Flamekit to remain bored as ever.
            As the sun soon began to set, Flamekit found her eyes getting droopy, and slowly, she curled up next to her mother and fell asleep to the soothing feeling of her mother's tongue on her back.
            Flamekit expected a long and lovely dream, but instead, she found herself dreaming she was in a forest (the RiverClan forest, she assumed). Flamekit glanced around, confused. She'd never had such an odd dream like this before.
            Hearing shouts behind her, Flamekit turned to see Goldstar, Snowheart, Daisyflower, Rosepaw, Mothpaw, and a spotted tom running quickly. Why they were running, she wasn't sure? She tilted her head, noticing how much larger Rosepaw and Mothpaw seemed.
            Before she could focus on the cats even more, she saw a flash of bright orange and gasped, watching a fox leap out of the bushes and begin to run in the cats' direction.
            Flamekit froze, then watched as the fox turned its gaze and looked at her. Squealing in fright, Flamekit began to run, the fox chasing after her and snarling.
            "Please, no!" Flamekit screeched as she rushed through the woods. The fox snapped its jaws behind her, nearly missing her tail. Tears poured out of Flamekit's eyes now as she ran faster and faster. Her legs were getting tired through, and she knew she could not keep the pace up.
            Suddenly, a kit appeared to be running beside her. In a flash, it was gone, and Flamekit could feel the fox gaining on her.
            Suddenly, she felt a burst of pain as it snapped on her tail. She screeched in pain and fell to the ground, wondering where the kit had gone and how soon she would die. But the fox had gone, the pain had faded, and she awoke with a jolt to find her heart racing. What had the dream meant? Never in her life had she encountered a fox or had been frightened by one. Who was the kit? Why had those cats appeared in her dreams?
            "Maybe they're in trouble!" Flamekit gasped. The cats in the nursery remained asleep though, and Flamekit silently slipped out of the nursery, curious to know whether or not the cats she had dreamt about truly were in danger.
            Slowly, she crept into the forest, a place she had never dared to step before. She took a deep breath, wondering if it truly was a good idea to be going out into the woods at night.
            "But the cats," she remembered. What if they died and Flamekit did nothing to stop that fox?
            Flamekit took a step forward, her heart beating quickly as she quickly became crowded and lost in a forest of thick trees. An owl hooted behind her, and she jumped, turning around.
            "Hello?" she called weakly, wondering if any cat was in the woods.
            A flash of color went by, and Flamekit froze. She squinted, making out the faint shape of a tiny kit.
            "Hey!" she called, beginning to chase after the kit. "You appeared in my dream!"
            The kit did not respond but continued running. Flamekit followed it, running quickly. Suddenly, she lost sight of the kit and realized she was lost in the heart of RiverClan territory.
            Flamekit looked around, wondering which way she should go. Should she return home? Should she continue her search? The air was cold and she was frightened. Perhaps this hadn't been a good idea.
            A deep growl came from some bushes, and suddenly a fox padded forward angrily.
            Without any hesitation, Flamekit squeaked and began to run farther into the woods, the fox chasing after her. Maybe the fox had already killed the other cats and was now looking for more cats to kill.
            She screeched as she tripped over a branch and fell over. The fox caught up quickly and snarled at her.
            "HELP!" she squealed.
            The fox suddenly let out a cry of pain, and Flamekit gasped as another cat leapt on top of the fox and shoved it aside. Yelping, the fox ran off. Flamekit stood up slowly, looking into the concerned eyes of Brownpelt.
            "What in StarClan's name were you doing out here?!" Brownpelt demanded. Never had she seen her father so angry.
            "I-I," Flamekit stammered, though she knew if she explained why, she'd be in even more trouble.
            "Stop babbling and let's get you to Mountaineye," Brownpelt growled.
            Flamekit nodded and took a step forward, letting out a yelp of pain as she put pressure on her left paw.
            "Maybe you sprained that paw," Brownpelt observed, picking her up by the scruff. Flamekit remained silent the entire way back to camp, ashamed she'd been so foolish.
            As soon as they entered, Suntail rushed up, concerned.
            "Where were you, Flamekit?! What happened?" she asked.
            "Fox. I'll talk later. Take her to Mountaineye," Brownpelt commanded.
            Suntail nodded and grabbed Flamekit. Within a few moments, her father vanished, as he always did.
            The medicine cat den was quiet, and Mountaineye seemed surprised to have a visitor so late at night.
            "What happened?" Mountaineye asked.
            "Brownpelt found her on patrol. He said something about a fox. Flamekit, what happened?"
            "I-I went into the woods," Flamekit began, glancing over at the sleeping Mothpaw. "A fox chased me, and I tripped. Brownpelt saved me, but my paw hurts," she whimpered. And suddenly, she began to wail.
            "Sh, hush," Suntail whispered.
            Mountaineye gazed at her paw and touched it, causing Flamekit to yelp. He observed it for a bit longer, then spoke.
            "It should take less than fourteen sunrises to heal."
            "That's great news!" Suntail exclaimed.
            Flamekit groaned, not wanting to be stuck in the nursery that long. Still, she knew it was her fault she was in this mess. What had the dream meant though?