Эрин Хантер - The Apprentice's Quest

It’s like I’m a bird, looking down on it all.

As if the bird were swooping lower, Alderpaw found himself suddenly much closer, so that he could see the individual cats more clearly. The cat in the center of the circle was a mottled brown-and-cream she-cat with a noble air, and she beckoned with her tail to some cat at the edge of the circle.

Two cats moved forward: a powerful ginger tom and a smaller black-and-white she-cat. The brown-and-cream she-cat and the ginger tom spoke to each other. Alderpaw felt frustrated; although he could see, he couldn’t hear what the cats were saying.

Then the ginger tom stepped back. The older she-cat spoke to the younger one, and the younger one replied. Alderpaw suddenly realized what he was seeing.

“It’s a warrior ceremony!”

Firestar touched his shoulder lightly with his tail. “Watch.”

The Clan leader—for Alderpaw knew that was who the older she-cat must be—rested her muzzle on the new warrior’s head, and the new warrior gave her leader’s shoulder a respectful lick.

The cats who were gathered around erupted into joyful yowls, pressing around the new warrior and brushing her pelt with their tails and muzzles. The young she-cat looked overwhelmed but very happy.

As the ceremony broke up, Alderpaw noticed a small silver tabby she-cat pad up to the Clan leader and exchange a few words with her. Then the silver tabby looked up, and Alderpaw caught a flash of green eyes before the vision faded and all he could see was the bottom of the pool again.

It’s almost like she could see me!

Trembling, Alderpaw backed away from the edge of the pool. “Firestar, who are they?” he asked urgently. “They look like Clan cats—they were holding a warrior ceremony, just like Clan cats—but they’re not from any of the Clans around the lake. Where are they? Are they cats from the past, or the future? What are you trying to tell me?”

Firestar dipped his head toward Alderpaw, his green eyes filled with meaning, but he did not reply to any of his questions. If he was trying to tell Alderpaw something without words, Alderpaw couldn’t understand what it was.

A moment later, a white mist drifted around him, blotting out the pool and the flame-colored figure of Firestar. Alderpaw found himself back beside the Moonpool, with the other medicine cats beginning to wake all around him.

Happiness thrilled through Alderpaw, warming him from ears to tail-tip. I’ve had a vision! That proves I am meant to be a medicine cat. He opened his jaws to tell the other cats about it, but before he spoke, doubts crowded in on him. I don’t know if it was a real vision. It could have been just a weird dream, like the one I had before.

His doubts increased when none of the other cats said anything about what they had seen. I’ll keep my dream to myself for now, he decided. At least until I’m sure what it was.

Alderpaw was alone in the medicine-cat den, except for Briarlight, who was curled up in her nest, asleep.

“She had such a restless, painful night,” Leafpool had told him when he arrived in the den to start work. “Try not to wake her.”

Jayfeather had straightened up from where he was bent over Briarlight, listening to her breathing. “I think she’ll be okay now. We’re going into the forest to collect herbs,” he added to Alderpaw. “You can stay here and organize the store. Throw out anything that looks too withered to be useful.”

Now that the two medicine cats had gone, Alderpaw was left to get on with the boring job.

But for once he didn’t mind. It gave him a chance to think over his dream at the Moonpool the night before.

I’m sure it was just a dream, he assured himself. It’s not even worth telling Jayfeather and Leafpool about. They’d think I was crazy!

Instead Alderpaw had decided to make himself useful. In the last few days, he felt he was actually starting to get the hang of being a medicine cat.

Maybe I’ll be a good medicine cat after all, he told himself. Or at least I’ll be good enough.

Absorbed in separating the catmint from the tansy, and in picking out the wrinkled juniper berries that had lost their healing juices, Alderpaw was startled to hear the paw steps of another cat approaching the den. He turned to see Cherryfall brush back the bramble screen and limp inside.

“Hi,” he mewed, pointing with his tail at Briarlight and signaling to Cherryfall to keep quiet. He was glad to see her, though he didn’t like the pained expression on her face. “Is anything the matter?”

“It’s my paw,” Cherryfall replied, holding it up. “It hasn’t healed yet, and it’s still painful.

Could you take a look at it?”

“Sure,” Alderpaw responded. “But it’s early days for it to heal.”

With a sigh of relief Cherryfall lay on her side in a nest of moss and fern and stretched out her injured paw. Alderpaw examined it, giving it a good sniff and noting that the wound was clean and hadn’t started bleeding again. He was especially careful to look for the signs of infection that Jayfeather had told him about.

It’s not red, and it’s not hot to the touch.

“It’s not infected,” he told Cherryfall. “It’s just a deep cut and it’s taking time to heal.” He hesitated, then added, “That’s normal.”

“I’m glad it’s not serious,” Cherryfall meowed, “but is there anything you can give me to help the pain? It isn’t terrible, but it’s distracting me, and I want to get back to warrior duties.”

Alderpaw padded back to the store and began to look through the herbs, touching each one and trying to remember what they were for.

There were a lot of different kinds, but he knew what he wanted to find. He was sure that comfrey root was what Cherryfall needed. He remembered chewing up the root for a poultice when they first brought Cherryfall back to camp, and Jayfeather had told him that comfrey root helped soothe the pain of a wound.

Soon he spotted the pile of black roots and bit off a piece, remembering the tangy taste from last time as he chewed it into a poultice.

When it was mashed up fine, he spat it out and spread it onto Cherryfall’s wound.

Cherryfall’s pained expression faded and a look of relief spread over her face. Alderpaw watched her carefully, thinking how important it was for a medicine cat to be aware of how other cats were feeling.

“I think it’s already starting to work,” Cherryfall mewed after a moment. “Thanks, Alderpaw. I’m so glad to be rid of the pain.”

“It’s nothing,” Alderpaw mumbled, embarrassed.

Cherryfall got up, keeping her injured paw off the ground, and touched her nose to Alderpaw’s ear. “I’m so pleased you’ve found your place as a medicine cat,” she told him.

“Jayfeather and Leafpool will be very proud of you.”

Alderpaw watched Cherryfall as she left the den, feeling his pelt tingle with pride at her words. I’ve treated my first injury all on my own!

Voices sounded from outside the den, and Alderpaw realized that Jayfeather had returned.

He couldn’t hear what he and Cherryfall were saying, but he could guess.

Cherryfall must be telling Jayfeather what a great job I’m doing!

But when Jayfeather entered the den with a bundle of yarrow in his jaws, his neck fur was bristling and his tail-tip was twitching to and fro. “Is it true what Cherryfall just told me?” he demanded, dropping the herbs. “Did you give out a remedy without asking?”