Эрин Хантер - Moth Flight’s Vision

Dust Muzzle rolled his eyes. “My dreamy sister nearly got caught by a Twoleg.”

Moth Flight glared at him furiously. “I can’t help being dreamy!” she hissed. Be yourself. Half Moon’s words flashed in her mind. “It’s just the way I am.”

“One day it’s going to get you into trouble,” Dust Muzzle fretted.

“I escaped, didn’t I?” Moth Flight lashed her tail. “And don’t tell Wind Runner! She’ll just worry about me!”

Spotted Fur nosed between them and sniffed the catmint. “It does smell good!” A purr rumbled in his throat. “Can I chew some?” He was already rubbing his cheek against the stems.

Moth Flight nosed him away sharply. “That’s medicine for Rocky!” she snapped, still angry with her brother. “He doesn’t want your drool all over it.” She snatched up the stems and marched back into the forest.

Paws aching from the journey home, Moth Flight left Dust

Muzzle and Spotted Fur to hunt on the moor and hurried back to camp. Holding her head high so she didn’t trip over the stems, she scrabbled over the tussocky clearing and headed for her den.

Jagged Peak looked up as she passed. “That smells mouthwatering!”

She dipped her head to him, unable to answer.

Storm Pelt and Eagle Feather fell in beside her, leaning close to sniff the leaves.

“What’s that?” A purr rumbled in Storm Pelt’s throat.

“Is it for Rocky?” Eagle Feather asked.

Moth Flight dropped the stems at the entrance to her den.

The heady scent clouded her thoughts and she shook out her pelt, hoping to clear them. “It’s catmint,” she told them.

Eagle Feather was crouching, sniffing at the leaves. “Where did you find it?”

“Twolegplace.” Moth Flight could hear Rocky coughing inside her den.

“It’s a shame it doesn’t grow on the moor.” Storm Pelt’s blue eyes shone. “It smells great.”

“It’s for curing coughs.” Moth Flight shooed Eagle Feather away with a flick of her tail. “It’s precious.” She glanced toward the sandy dip beside the big stone. Sunlight pooled at the bottom. If she dried the leaves, they wouldn’t rot. She hooked two stems from the pile and pushed the rest toward Storm Pelt.

“Will you spread these in the hollow so that they dry?” She glanced around. Swift Minnow and Reed Tail were lounging in the late-afternoon sunshine at the edge of the camp. Slate sat blinking at the entrance to her den while Silver Stripe, Black Ear, and White Tail skittered around her, chasing one another’s tails. Wind Runner stretched beside the big stone, her belly turned toward the sun and her eyes closed. Moth Flight blinked at Storm Pelt. “Sit and guard them while they dry,” she ordered.

“I don’t want everyone in camp sniffing the leaves. They’re for sick cats.” She wouldn’t blame her Clanmates for wanting to taste the tempting leaves. She’d wanted to try one herself, but she worried that, if cats ate catmint while they were healthy, it might not work when they were ill. Besides, she didn’t want to travel to Twolegplace every few days to fetch more!

Storm Pelt nodded, grabbing the stems between his jaws.

Eagle Feather followed eagerly as he hopped into the hollow and began spreading them over the sandy earth.

Moth Flight ducked into her den. She laid the stems beside

Rocky’s nest. Heat was still pulsing from his damp pelt.

“Rocky?” She touched him gently with a paw and he blinked his eyes open. “How are you feeling?”

He coughed in reply.

“I’ve brought you something that might help.” Moth Flight tore off a leaf with a claw and placed it beside Rocky’s muzzle.

“Eat this.”

Rocky sniffed the catmint, his eyes brightening. “It smells nice!” He blinked at her gratefully and lapped up the leaf.

She tore off a few more, dropping them beside him. He lapped them up as quickly as she could shred them, until both stems were plucked clean. Was that enough? She leaned closer, wondering how long the catmint would take to work.

Rocky purred happily, though he still wheezed with every breath.

“Moth Flight!”

She lifted her head sharply. A familiar voice was calling outside.

Micah! Pelt pricking with excitement, she ducked out of her den. The yellow tom was crossing the clearing, the late sunshine turning his fur golden. She hurried to meet him, hoping her pelt didn’t look too dusty after her long trek through the forest. Her heart leaped as she saw him.

He stopped as he reached her, his eyes shining. “How’s life as a medicine cat?”

“You should know!” Moth Flight met his gaze, joy surging in her chest. “What’s life like with SkyClan?”

Micah swished his tail. “Okay, I guess.” He didn’t sound sure.

“How’s Tiny Branch? Did you cure him?”

“He’s charging around camp with his littermates, as healthy as a lark.” Micah puffed out his chest proudly.

“Clear Sky and Star Flower must be happy,” Moth Flight commented.

“Star Flower is,” Micah told her. “I think Clear Sky’s wishing he hadn’t promised I could stay if I cured his kit.”

Worry rippled through Moth Flight’s fur. Clear Sky could be cruel. “Is he giving you a hard time?”

“Nothing I can’t handle. He meows loudly, but he keeps his claws sheathed. I think—”

“Micah.” Wind Runner’s mew cut him off. “What are you doing here?”

Moth Flight turned to see her mother approaching. Her fur was still flattened where she’d been lying. Sleepiness clouded her gaze. But Moth Flight recognized her tone of voice. She stiffened, wondering whether the WindClan leader was going to find fault with her or with Micah. “He came to see me,” she told

Wind Runner. Then she paused, glancing anxiously at Micah.

“You did, right?”

Micah purred. “Of course! I’ve missed you.”

Wind Runner’s gaze darkened. “I really don’t think you should be here,” she told the yellow tom. “Clear Sky’s not too happy with WindClan at the moment. Not since we accused Red Claw of prey-stealing.”

Or since I told him to take a farm cat into his Clan, Moth Flight thought.

Wind Runner narrowed her eyes. “You smell like the forest, Moth Flight,” she meowed sharply. “Where have you been?”

“I went to Twolegplace to fetch catmint for Rocky.”

Wind Runner bristled. “Did you cross Clear Sky’s territory?”

“It’s the quickest route.”

Micah blinked at her. “I wish I’d known,” he told her earnestly. “I would have escorted you.”

“It’s okay,” Moth Flight reassured him. “Dust Muzzle and Spotted Fur came with me.”

Wind Runner’s tail twitched. “ Three of you crossed Clear Sky’s land?”

Moth Flight faced her. “So what? We weren’t hunting. And Rocky needed the leaves.”

“But what if—”

Micah cut Wind Runner off, his eager gaze fixed on Moth

Flight. “Did you find some?”

Moth Flight nodded. “It was just like you said. Once I smelled it, I knew it was catmint.”

“It makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?” Micah purred.

“Stop it!” Wind Runner pushed in front of Micah. “You can’t come into our camp whenever you want to gossip about herbs!” She turned on Moth Flight. “And you can’t go wandering into SkyClan territory without telling me.”

Moth Flight blinked at her. “But it was for Rocky! You’re always going on about the good of the Clan. Well this was for the good of the Clan.”

Wind Runner’s gaze darkened. “It’s not for the good of the Clan if it starts a battle.”

Moth Flight’s pelt pricked. “Surely there wouldn’t be a battle over something as dumb as crossing each other’s land.”