Warriors: Nightstar's End (COMPLETED)

Chapter Sixteen

"When is the battle?" Blackberrypaw asked as she pushed the marigold onto the ledge it was kept on.

Lilyrose tried to avoid talking about the battle that was bound to happen no matter what she said. "I'm not sure," she meowed, her voice strained. "Do you have the rest of that chickweed?"

Blackberrypaw pushed the herb to her mentor and sat on her haunches as she watched Lilyrose put it away. Chickweed was like catmint, but not as strong. It was used if they had nothing left. "I wish I could help the warriors and my littermates in the battle." She meowed, her voice wistful.

Lilyrose stiffened as she kept quiet. She spun around and cleaned up the moss that was used to soak in water. After pushing the moss in a hole in the cave wall, she cleared her throat. "The warriors have the battle covered." She meowed, trying to get off the subject. "Where's that coltsfoot you collected?"

Blackberrypaw pointed her tail to where the coltsfoot was stored and Lilyrose nodded. "Why can't we fight with the warriors?" She asked. "We can help!"

Lilyrose felt her chest tighten. "We help in many other ways," she meowed, her voice stern as she turned to her apprentice. "We heal the cats who get injured while they fight for our survival. In turn, we make sure they don't get horribly sick or die from their wounds."

The apprentice huffed. "But why can't we learn how to fight?" She whined, plucking at the ground with a claw. "We could be of more use in the fight!"

"And risk getting slaughtered ourselves?" Lilyrose shook her head, paws working against the ground. "We can't do that. We are medicine cats. As such, we are outside Clan rivalries and have to focus on healing instead of harming." Her eyes hardened as Blackberrypaw opened her mouth to speak.

"But we should still learn how to hunt!" She retorted, her fluffy tail starting to bristle. "What if the Clan starts to starve? What good will our herbs do to empty bellies?"

"The proper herbs will give our Clanmates strength and subdue the hunger that gnaws at their belly." Lilyrose twitched her tail tip as her apprentice argued with her. "If we are out hunting and a cat gets badly wounded, what if they die or get worse before we get back? We are better off doing what we do best."

"Don't you get bored of being a medicine cat?" Blackberrypaw demanded, her voice rising. "If Froststar ordered me to fight, I'd do it in a heartbeat! You should too!"

"Do not argue with me, Blackberrypaw!" Lilyrose snarled, watching as defiance lit in her apprentice's eyes but saw her flinch. "As my apprentice, you will listen to me before any other cat. You are training to be a medicine cat, not a warrior. If you think you'll serve your Clan better as a warrior, talk to Goldenfire and Froststar and change mentors." Her fur bristled and she struggled to keep her voice tame. "Until then, you will serve as the Clan's future medicine cat. Am I clear?"

Blackberrypaw sniffed, her nose in the air as she stormed out of the den, claws scraping against the stone as she left. Lilyrose watched her go as she tried to calm down, glaring down at her paws, hating that she yelled at Blackberrypaw.

She headed out of her den, wanting to find her apprentice and apologize but she was nowhere in sight. Alarm shot through Lilyrose as she realized the camp was bare other than Iceleaf and a few warriors and the kits in the nursery.

"Lilyrose?" Iceleaf limped out of the elder's den, green eyes questioning. Her tattered left ear twitched as she approached the medicine cat. "Who are you looking for?"

"Blackberrypaw," she replied, scanning the den entrances. "Have you seen her?"

Iceleaf nodded, pointing her tail to the camp entrance. Ice engulfed her heart as she knew what the elder was going to say. "She went after the battle patrol." The she-cat sat down and scratched her ear with her hind paw. "She was talking about proving herself to you."