"Icepaw," somebody murmured.
Icepaw flashed up, claws at the ready, hackles raised. Firepaw backed up. "Icepaw, we're in camp. Bluestar's my mentor, she let you sleep in, but it's your turn now."
Embarrassed at being late, Icepaw stumbled into camp. His paw hurt when it touched ground, so he tried to hide his limp and stumble along like he was sleepy.
"Icepaw's mentor will be Longtail," Bluestar continued. "They have the same battle-ready personality, and it's time for Longtail to become a mentor. He's a young warrior, but I believe that he is suited for Icepaw."
Icepaw stretched to touch noses with Longtail. His injured paw hit the ground. He couldn't help but wince. In front of the whole Clan.
"Is something wrong?" Longtail whispered.
"Ah, no," Icepaw murmured back, trying to conceal his paw, which was freshly bleeding and had been oozing pus since he woke up at dawn and decided to go back to sleep.
"I smell blood!" A prettily dappled she-cat rushed into camp. "Who's injured?"
"Nobody," Bluestar meowed, confused. "Are you sure it's not just Ravenpaw?"
"No, he's healed, and he-" Spottedleaf was cut off by Tigerclaw.
"Well, then who's injured?" the tabby tom growled. "You're mother's sister, Spottedleaf, you should have a sharp enough nose."
"Tigerclaw, no need for that," Bluestar meowed.
"Icepaw! It's your paw!" Spottedleaf exclaimed. "Oh no, I'll have to bring you to my den. Silly thing, you should've told me. Looks like it hurts!"
Icepaw hissed, and raised his hackles.
"Icepaw, behave," Longtail whispered. "Spottedleaf won't hurt you. She'll help you."
Icepaw hesitated, but lowered his hackles slowly. Spottedleaf led him into her den. At least the lichen covered his humiliation from the other members of the Clan. Spottedleaf sighed, and snatched herbs from her alcoves. "Cobweb, marigold - wait, maybe horse tail too... poppy seeds? Probably. Oh - nettle leaves." Icepaw bristled, remembering his spiky encounter with the nettle earlier.
Spottedleaf laid the items on a flat stone and had him stretch his paw out. Reluctantly, he laid his paw flat. Spottedleaf gave him poppy seeds to chew. "For the pain," she said.
"No, I can handle it," he replied. A thorn in the paw wouldn't beat him, and it never would. Spottedleaf chewed up the horse tail ferns and made the marigold into a poultice. She mixed them together and spread it over his wound, adding chewed nettle leaves to the mix. She wrapped his paw with cobwebs.
"StarClan, it stings," he muttered.
"Well, then come to me before it gets infected." Spottedleaf gave a small mrrow of laughter to accompany her words.
Icepaw sighed and trudged out of the medicine den.