The full moon hung high in the sky, filling Leopardpaw with a sense of...sadness. She watched the snow-filled clouds drift slowly across the sky, covering the stars but staying free of the moon. I wonder how the gathering is going? Leopardpaw wondered. I imagine it must be nearing its end, it's too cold to let it go on for too long.
"Are you alright?" She heard the slightly concerned voice of Berryheart. Leopardpaw pulled her gaze down from the beautiful moon and towards her mentor.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about the gathering." Leopardpaw replied. "I kind of miss going, I liked seeing the other Clans."
"I know." Berryheart let out a small sigh. "But we'll return eventually." Will we? Violetstar made her conditions clear, and I'm not sure she's going to change her mind so easily.
The atmosphere of MoonClan ever since the death of Shadowstar had been heavy, but she felt the Clan was recovering. Despite that recovery, Violetstar was still driven for revenge. She had been focusing a lot of battle training and heavy patrols, making sure that AshClan wouldn't attack again and if they did, MoonClan would be prepared.
Leopardpaw wasn't sure on what to think of the entire conflict, she felt incredibly mad about the death of Shadowstar. She hated Riverstar's response of "she didn't mean to" because regardless, she did kill a Clan leader and she should pay the consequences of it. She acted like it was a simple mistake, but Leopardpaw didn't understand how taking another life could be considered a "simple mistake."
Despite all this, Leopardpaw didn't really want MoonClan to enter a war, she had no idea how long it would last and how many cats would die as a result. Leopardpaw didn't want to lose anyone close to her, and with the current harsh leaf-bare the Clans were going through, she didn't think it was the best time for fighting.
Despite Leopardpaw's own beliefs, it was clear that all of MoonClan supported Violetstar's choice. They supported their leader and trained hard, and so Leopardpaw would to. She was a MoonClan cat and she would stand by her Clan and leader no matter what.
"Leopardpaw?" She had spaced out once again but Berryheart got her attention. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Leopardpaw nodded. "Just a lot on my mind, but I'll be alright." She replied, making her voice light as to assure her mentor.
"If you say so." Berryheart nuzzled Leopardpaw's cheek affectionately. "You may be my apprentice but you're also my niece, and I'm here for you."
"I know." Leopardpaw responded happily, feeling warmed by Berryheart's warm words. "I promise I'm alright."
"Alright then." Berryheart touched her muzzle to Leopardpaw's forehead. "You should get some sleep, we have some training early tomorrow before it starts snowing hopefully."
"Okay." Leopardpaw nodded and gave one last glance up to the moon before turning away and heading towards the apprentice den. Upon heading to the den she spotted the moonhigh patrol returning to camp. At the head of it was Brokenclaw along with Ebonywing, Icepool, Mothpool and Shellstorm. Leopardpaw briefly caught Shellstorm's eye and he gave her a playful look which got a tiny giggle out of her. Feeling warmness in her chest, she turned away and entered the apprentice den.
When she stepped inside she spotted her brother, Ripplepaw, stretched out across a bundle of moss. After Shellstorm and his siblings left the apprentice den, Ripplepaw took full advantage of the mostly empty den. Leopardpaw tried telling him that he wouldn't be able to do that in the warrior's den, but he simply replied he would enjoy it while he could.
Leopardpaw shook her head at her goofy brother and settled into her own nest. She curled up into a tight ball and rested her tail over her nose and closing her eyes. She did her best to not the thoughts of war and strife haunt her while she slept. Thankfully, the sound of the wind and her brothers quiet snoring helped her to fall asleep quickly and into a dreamless sleep.
*****
Leopardpaw woke up when she heard Ripplepaw rising from his nest, he was never the quietest cat in the morning but at least she wouldn't oversleep. She stayed in her nest for a few moments, allowing herself a few moments to wake up and give herself a quick wash. She jumped suddenly when Ripplepaw poked his head back into the dean. "Leopardpaw come here! Rainpetal had her kits!"
Leopardpaw's eyes widened slightly and she quickly jumped to her paws, following her brother back out into the camp. She saw MoonClan warriors happily gathered around the nursery as Brokenclaw stood in front of it, looking exceptionally proud. "When did this happen?" Leopardpaw asked, trotting up to Peachblossom who was watching excitedly.
"She started just before dawn, luckily it was a smooth and easy kitting thanks to Oneflight." Peachblossom explained with a purr her throat.
"How many are there?" Leopardpaw asked, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to see the kits right now since she wasn't related to them.
"There's two." Peachblossom replied with a wave of her tail. "Two toms named Lakekit and Icykit. We haven't had any new kits since you and your brother were born, I'll be excited to see them running around when they're old enough." Leopardpaw knew how much her mother loved kits, she wouldn't be surprised if someday she had more kits, and Leopardpaw wouldn't mind having some little siblings to play with.
She would like to have kits of her own someday as well, but she knew that wouldn't be for a long time yet. I probably won't even be a warrior for at least another moon or so. I have time to think about it.
The thought of kits caused he remind to drift to the thought of mates as well. She hadn't thought about taking a mate at all really, she was still very young. One face flashed her mind briefly, one with playful blue eyes, but she quickly shoved the image out. I'm too young to be thinking about mates and kits. She reminded herself and turned away from the nursery to find Berryheart who was sitting near Daisyheart talking about the new kits. Leopardpaw padded over to the two she-cats.
"Hey there, Leopardpaw." Berryheart mewed and Daisyheart greeted her with a wave of her tail. "Ready for your training?"
Leopardpaw nodded. "Of course."
"Go get your brother and Tallsong and we'll head out."
Leopardpaw nodded and spotted Ripplepaw already with Tallsong, talking excitedly. "Are you two ready for training?" Leopardpaw asked, approaching the two of them.
"Yep." Tallsong purred and Ripplepaw nodded in agreement and they all returned to Berryheart.
"Let's head out before it gets too cold." Berryheart urged and the four MoonClan cats left their camp and ventured out into the moorland.
"What are we doing today?" Ripplepaw questioned, Leopardpaw could tell that her brother was full of energy as he weaved around the other three cats and would even venture ahead slightly before falling back.
"We'll be practicing some more battle moves, but we'll be doing them on the river."
"Isn't the river frozen?" Leopardpaw questioned.
"It is, that's what we'll be training on. Violetstar wants us to practice our gracefulness on ice. If we happen to meet AshClan at the border and you find yourself in a tough spot, you can retreat to the ice to give yourself the upper hand, I doubt AshClan will be able to stay stable on ice."
"Is that safe?" Leopardpaw questioned, feeling unease rise in her chest.
Tallsong nodded. "We've scouted out the strongest parts of the ice and its been tested by our heaviest warriors."
Leoparpdaw still felt uncertain, but she trusted her mentor and the senior warriors. Leopardpaw and Ripplepaw followed their mentors to the river on the SunClan border where it tended to be thinner, so she imagined the ice would be thicker. "When walking on ice, you have to be careful about your movements or you can easily slip." Tallsong began, stepping into the frozen surface of the river.
She moved slowly with short steps and Leoparpdaw could see that her claws were extended, scraping against the ice. She kept her body wide and her stance was firm and stable, similar to how she would be be in battle to avoid getting knocked down. "You need to stay stable, you have to put your weight into your paws to keep yourself balanced. Use your claws to give you more traction and keep you upright. In the event that you bring an AshClan cat onto the ice, you should be able to recover a lot faster than them. They will either avoid following you onto the ice out of fear, or they will follow and be at a disadvantage. You can easily knock them down while on ice."
Tallsong slowly walked over to a stone that jutted out of the ice. "I don't want more than one cat on the ice for training so we'll use this stone for practice. When attacking on the ice, especially a bigger cat, you will aim for their legs, but you need to remember how to recover."
Tallsong swiped her claws at the lower half of the stone, pushing herself slightly backwards and sliding back. "They won't be able to recover that easily on the ice, especially not as well as us." Tallsong carefully stepped off the river and onto the stone. "However, we are not free of risks on the ice. It's important to understand that the weight of a falling warrior can crack the ice. We can swim, they cannot, but the cold water can cause it's own damage. If you hear the river crack, get to the side as soon as you can, but don't panic, that's how you fall."
"Ripplepaw, why don't you try first?" Tallsong suggested and Ripplepaw nodded, he moved quickly up towards the river. "Slow down." Tallsong said sternly. "You have to be slow when it comes to ice."
Ripplepaw looked back over his should to nod and show that he heard before stepping onto the ice. He winced slightly, Leopardpaw imagined because of the cold ice on his paws. "Remember what I told you, remember how I was standing." Tallsong instructed as Ripplepaw struggled to find his balance.
He spread out his paws, a little too far at first but corrected himself. His claws extended, digging into the ice to stabilize him a little bit more. "Good, now try and walk towards the stone." Tallsong told him.
Ripplepaw began clumsily walking across the ice towards the stone, a few stumbles on his way but he made it there. "Pretend its an enemy warrior and go for the legs." Ripplepaw focused heavily on the rock and lashed out, his claws scratched the surface of the rock and the force sent him back. He seemed to forget he was on the ice and he stepped backwards a bit too hard and his hind leg out from under him. He landed on his rump and let out a slight hiss.
"Are you alright?" Leopardpaw called to her brother.
"Yeah I'm good!" Ripplepaw replied, standing up shakily. "It hurt a bit but I'm okay."
"You did pretty good, we'll talk about it a bit more once you're off the ice."
Ripplepaw nodded and started heading towards the riverbank. He took a single step and Leopardpaw's blood turned to ice as a deep crack sounded beneath the surface of the ice. Ripplepaw's green eyes went wide and he attempted to sprint towards the riverbank.
"Don't panic!" Tallsong shouted but it was too late. Ripplepaw lost his balance on the ice and due to his speed, fell hard onto his shoulder. Ripplepaw let out a cry of pain and suddenly both Tallsong and Berryheart were running towards the river. Leopardpaw felt frozen in place, she half expected the ice to crack beneath his weight and the river would swallow him whole, but Tallsong reached the apprentice and grabbed him by the scruff, dragging the black apprentice off the ice and onto the snowy riverbank.
Leopardpaw finally managed to move and ran over to where the other three cats were. She looked at her brother who was fine, but was panting and Leopardpaw could see his expression twisted in pain. She looked at the ice and saw two cracks, one towards the stone where he originally fallen and another where his shoulder had hit the ice.
"What did I say about not panicking?" Tallsong mewed, looking over him.
"I thought--I thought the ice was breaking." He replied, his voice clearly pained. "I'm sorry."
Tallsong sighed. "It's alright, how badly did you hurt yourself?"
"I'm not sure."
"Can you stand?" Berryheart questioned, hovering over him with concern deep in her eyes.
"I'll try." Ripplepaw attempted to stand up, but once he attempted to put weight onto the shoulder he fell on he let out a cry of pain and nearly stumbled back down, only to be caught by Tallfern.
"Looks like you hurt your shoulder pretty badly. Let's get you to Oneflight, and we'll let the other warriors not to train on this part of the river anymore. It's not as secure with the cracks."
Leopardpaw felt incredibly worried watching her brother helplessly lean against Tallsong as the group started their return to MoonClan camp. Ripplepaw never seemed to lose his energy but now he was quiet and looked to be an incredible amount of pain. I hope he'll be alright. Leoparpdaw thought sadly, feeling completely helpless as they made their way home.
*****
"He dislocated his shoulder." Oneflight replied after looking over Ripplepaw's shoulder. "He's going to be just fine." Leopardpaw breathed out a sigh of relief as Oneflight turned back into his herb store. "You'll be recovering for about a moon at most, as long as you take it easy and don't aggravate the injury, can you do that?"
"Yeah." Ripplepaw replied, sounding exhausted. Leopardpaw didn't know how well that work, Ripplepaw never liked to be sitting still for very long. Oneflight returned a few moments later with a stick and set it down in front of Ripplepaw.
"What's that for?" Peachblossom, who had joined them in the medicine cat den after they returned.
"For him to bite." Oneflight replied. "I need to put his shoulder back in place and it's going to hurt."
"Well, it's there another way?" Peachblossom asked, her voice faltering from nerves.
"Nope." Oneflight shook his head. "Trust me, Peachblossom. He's going to hurt, but he'll be fine. This is required for recovery."
Peachblossom's eyes still showed doubt but she sat down beside Ripplepaw and began to lick his ears in a comforting manner. "Don't worry, my sweet kit. You'll be just fine." Leopardpaw watched from the side as Ripplepaw took the stick in his teeth and Oneflight placed his paws on the apprentice's injured shoulder.
After a few moments, Oneflight shoved Ripplepaw's shoulder towards his body, his eyes went wide and filled with agony as he bit down hard on the stick, causing it to splinter, he let out a cry of pain that was muffled by the stick. Leopardpaw felt a pit in her stomach watching her brother go through so much pain.
"There." Oneflight sighed and pushed a small leave with tiny black seeds on it towards Ripplepaw. "Take these, they'll soothe the pain and put you to sleep so you can start recovering." The medicine cat looked at Peachblossom and Leopardpaw. "You two can visit when he wakes up."
"Thank you for your help, Oneflight." Peachblossom dipped her head before giving Ripplepaw more comforting licks as he took the seeds. "Get some rest my sweet, you'll be back on your paws before you know it." With a small, stifled sigh, Peachblossom stood up and padded towards Leoprdpaw. "Let's let him rest."
"Feel better soon." Leopardpaw called gently to her brother before following her mother out into camp.
"At least he'll be alright." Peachblossom mewed with a sigh. "We'll have to explain what happened to your father when he gets back from patrol."
"I guess a dislocated shoulder is better than falling in the river," Leopardpaw noted. "Which is what I thought was going to happen."
"I'm not sure about training on the ice anymore." Peachblossom replied with a flick of her tail. "It's too risky, I might have to talk to Violetstar about it." Leopardpaw didn't respond, but she couldn't help but agree with her mother.
It seems like bad luck is just hanging over MoonClan lately. Leopardpaw thought. Ripplepaw getting hurt when the Clan was in the midst of a terrible leaf-bare as well as a budding war with AshClan? The entire situation left Leopardpaw with a heavy stone in her belly, causing fear and doubt to bubble up in her chest. We can't take much more.