Lost Hope: Book 3: Flame and Snow

Chapter 18

Dandelionpaw passed Mousesqueak another dose of sunflower seeds and the she-cat swallowed them gratefully. She was recovering nicely from her bout of flamecough, and so was Phoenixwing and the other cats that had caught the sickness. Oatwhisker had died a few days ago, his old body not strong enough to fight the sickness despite them finding the cure.

"When will she be able to come back to the warriors den?" Scarletpetal asked. She'd been visiting more and more after Starfur gave her permission.

"Should be any day now," Dandelionpaw said, giving Phoenixwing a sunflower seed as he spoke. The ginger she-cat swallowed the seed and glanced at her sister and Mousesqueak briefly before gazing around camp again. Dandelionpaw knew her and Scarletpetal had hit a bit of a rough patch in their friendship, but he didn't dare interfere, and everyone else seemed to have the same idea.

"What a relief," Scarletpetal said, nuzzling her mate affectionately.

Dandelionpaw smiled and stepped out of the nest area after giving more seeds to the rest of the cats and went back into the den.

But he'd barely taken two steps in when yowls sounded behind him.

Whipping his head around, he saw that the morning's patrol had burst into camp, long cuts running down their sides and blood dripping from their wounds and mouths.

With an alarmed tone, he alerted his mentor and rushed over to the warriors. With panic, he realized his mother was the worst. Honeyflower had a deep gash running down her shoulder and she was being supported by Ashpetal and Creektail, who were also in bad shape.

Stonestar sprang away from the spot where he was talking to Darkmoon and hurried over to his mate.

"What happened to her?" he asked, his eyes stricken. Dandelionpaw didn't think he'd ever seen him like that before.

"I'm fine. . . really. . ." Honeyflower mumbled.

"No you're not," Starfur said, letting the two other warriors transfer her weight to the medicine cat. "Come on, Dandelionpaw."

Ashpetal gave Stonestar a brief rundown, "We were patrolling the FernClan border and these cats jumped on us. We only barely managed to get away, and obviously Honeyflower took the worst of it."

"These rogues aren't just passing through," Stonestar mused, stealing glances toward his mate.

Together, Starfur and Dandelionpaw helped Honeyflower into a nest and began cleaning up her wounds with water-soaked moss. Starfur made a poultice of marigold leaves and spread it over her cuts, ignoring the small wincing faces her patient made.

Dandelionpaw felt like it took extra effort to act professional and efficient, trying not to recoil every time his mother groaned or flinched away from the stinging herbs.

I'm sorry! he wanted to scream. He was relieved when they finally finished bandaging her up and let Stonestar in to see her. He immediately rushed to her side with comforting words and reassuring licks. She barely seemed conscious, but she purred all the same.

They brought Ashpetal and Creektail in next. The two warriors were relatively calm as Dandelionpaw and Starfur cleaned their wounds and applied the poultice.

Dandelionpaw noticed Stonestar didn't leave Honeyflower's side as she slept. He was suddenly reminded of two younger warriors and he smiled.

***

A half moon glowed in the sky overhead as Dandelionpaw and Starfur made their way to the Star Hollow, meeting up, as usual, with Oceanwave, Fogbreeze and Dawnlight.

The crossed the stream around the Hollow and and began to settle, but Starfur said, "Before we begin, I have an important ceremony to preform."

Bemused, Dandelionpaw glanced at his mentor questioningly.

"Dandelionpaw," she said. "You've shown so much skill and patience with all the sick cats recently and it's made me realize how ready you are to be a full medicine cat."

The words sent a shockwave through his body, warming him from ears to tail tip. Was this really happening?

"I, Starfur, medicine cat of EchoClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help he will serve his Clan for many moons," Starfur's voice rang out around the clearing. "Dandelionpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

Taking a deep breath and raising his head to stand tall he promised, "I do."

Starfur smiled. "Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Dandelionpaw, from this moment you will be known as Dandelionheart. StarClan honors your loyalty and patience, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of EchoClan." She placed her muzzle on his head and he gave her shoulder a respectful lick.

"Dandelionheart! Dandelionheart!" The other medicine cats chanted.

"'Bout time you got your full name," Fogbreeze said with a playful nudge.

Dandelionheart smiled, not bothered by his forwardness this time, too caught up in the moment to care.

"And with that, let us share with StarClan," Oceanwave said, his tail sweeping over the roots of the Startree.

They all nodded and laid down beside the trunk, slipping into a peaceful sleep.

Dandelionheart was not vistited by StarClan, but he saw flashes of green and red. And if he focused enough, he could make out cat shapes, leaping and clawing. Hisses and snarls rang in his ears.

"Meadowstar?" he called, but to no avail. "What's happening?"

He woke with a startled yelp. Looking up at the sky, he realized how much time had passed, the half-moon hung low in the sky, and the other medicine cats were still sleeping peacefully.

"What was that?" he asked himself quietly, shaking out his fur against the cold. Although there was no snow in the Star Hollow, the trees couldn't keep out the frigid air.

He pulled his paws closer to his chest and looked up at the stars. If that was a vision of the future, I don't like were we're heading.