Moonkit and the medicine den

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000162 EndHTML:0000014414 StartFragment:0000002335 EndFragment:0000014378 SourceURL:file:///Users/student1/Documents/warriors.doc

   Moonkit woke up sleepily. She blinked her eyes open. Outside the nursery everything glowed white. It was late at night, in the middle of leaf-bare. Her, Amberkit, Smokekit, and Dawnkit were nearing three moons old now. Her three littermates were desperate to become Warrior apprentices, but Moonkit wasn’t completely sure. She poked Smokekit in the side. “Wake up and play with me!” she whispered. Smokekit shook his head. “Go away, Moonkit” he grumbled “I don’t feel well.” Moonkit blinked, then sniffed. The air around her brother was stale with sickness. She felt his pelt. It was burning hot!” she hurried outside for some snow. She shoved it in for Smokekit. She pressed it on his fur. It started to melt almost imeidiatly, but Smokekit sighed in relief. Moonkit hurried over to Mapletail. She tried to prod her mother awake, but backed away in shock when her pelt was nearly as hot as her brothers. Quickly she checked Amberkit and Dawnkit. They were both fine. She nudged them awake. “Mapletail and Smokekit are really sick. Come on, get up.” She showed them how to rub snow into the sick cats pelts, then looked around, panicked. Applefur had moved back to the warriors den when Cloverpaw and Ashpaw had become apprentices. They were the only ones in the nursery. The Medicine den! Moonkit slapped her tail on the ground for being so stupid. She bounded out of the den, past the frozen pool, and towards the snowy willow where Silverwing slept.



   Silverwing woke to find a kit poking her side. “Silverwing! Silverwing, please get up!” It was Moonkit. Silverwing had grown to like the kit. “Mapletail and Smokekit are really. Their pelts are burning, and the whole den smells of sickness!” Silverwing bounded up, all tiredness forgotten. “Lead the way.”



   Dawnkit looked up to see Moonkit coming back with Silverwing. She was glad. Her paws had long gone numb with cold, but Mapletail seemed no better. Beside her, Amberkit worked on Smokekit.



   Silverwing sniffed around. “Deffinitly Greencough.” She looked at Moonkit. “Good job coming to get me when you did. Was it your idea to rub snow in their fur?” She nodded meekly. “Smart. Moonkit, can you go to the cave where the herbs are? You need to get me some catmint for Mapletail and Smokekit. It smells very sweet and has small leaves with jagged edges. There should be quite a bit in the pile. Can you take Amberkit and Dawn kit with you? I don’t want them getting sick too. Tell them to make a nest in the willow.” Moonkit nodded, then hurried out of the cave, beckoning to her littermates with her tail.



   “You two stay here.” Moonkit left her sisters by the willow roots. “You might get sick in the nursery.” She hurried on, into the sheltered overhang and examined the leaves there.

 Reaching her paw into a little hole high above her head, she pulled a bundle of leaves down. They smelt sweet, and had jagged edged leaves. Moonkit grabbed the bundle in her mouth and hurried to the nursery.



   “I hope Smokekit and Mapletail are okay.” Amberkit said worriedly. “They seemed really sick”

 “They’ll be okay.” Dawnkit said, breaking the ice on the pool in the roots of the willow with one paw. “They have Silverwing to look after them. And Moonkit.” She added, with a pointed glance at her sister. “Moonkit? Why should that matter?” Dawnkit rolled her eyes. “Can’t you tell that Moonkit doesn’t really want to become a warrior?” “Doesn’t want to be a Warrior!” Amberkit seemed shocked. “Moonkit will be a Medicine cat. I’m almost sure about it” Amberkit shrugged. “If that’s what she wants. I’m going to be a warrior!” to punctuate it, she dropped into a crouch and pounced on her littermate. Dawnkit dropped and twisted, throwing off her sister. Amberkit pounced again, and they dropped into a wrestle on the packed dirt of the medicine den floor.



   Moonkit dropped the herbs beside Silverwing, who crouched beside Smokekit, rubbing snow into his fur. She nodded and pushed two crumpled leaves towards Smokekit “Make him eat them.” She told Moonkit. Moonkit nudged Smokekit, who looked up bleary-eyed. “Eat these, Smokekit. They’ll make you feel better. He licked the leaves, then spat them out. “They taste yucky.”   He mumbled. “you’ll get better if you eat them.” Smokekit obediently lapped them up. “Water?”   he groaned. Moonkit bounded to Silverwing “He wants water.” “Did he eat the catmint?” Moonkit nodded. “Then get him some. Theres a pile of moss in my den. Dip some in water and bring it in here.” Moonkit jumped up to leave.



<p class="MsoNormal">   Amberkit looked up as Moonkit hurried into the willow clearing. She watched her grab some moss and dip in the pool next to where she lay. She jumped up. “are they alright?” Amberkit asked. Moonkit nodded, then dropped her moss in surprise as a ginger warrior, Foxtail, pushed through the hanging branches. He smelt of Greencough. Moonkit glanced around. She shoved Dawnkit out of her nest by the pool and told Foxtail to lie down there. She called Amberkit over “Rub snow in his fur to cool him down. I have to bring some water to Smokekit. I’ll ask Silverwing what to do.” Moonkit dipped a fresh piece of moss and hurried back to the nursey. She found him lying on his back, still feverish. She squeezed the water into his mouth, then left the moss by his side, in case he wanted more. Silverwing was still trying to coax Mapletail to eat the catmint. “Silverwing, Foxtail’s sick too. He came to the medicine den, and he smells like Greencough.” Silverwing nodded. “Give him some catmint, just a small pawfull. Then a poppyseed to make him sleep. You stay with Foxtail. I’m going to try to move Mapletail. She seems to be getting a bit better. Moonkit nodded, then hurried out of the nursery.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoBodyText">   Under the willow, Moonkit found not only Foxtail, but Birdpaw, as well. Dawnkit was rubbing snow into her fur, while Amberkit kept on with Foxtail. Moonkit hurried into the herb storage. She took a small mouthful of catmint and gave some to Birdpaw and some to Foxtail. Birdpaw ate hers without complaint, then swallowed the poppyseed, while Foxtail pushed his away. Moonkit whirled around as Silverwing pushed through the branches, supporting an exhausted and very sick Mapletail. Stormheart hurried after them, holding Smokekit by his scruff. Silverwing laid Mapletail down gently in a mossy nest by Birdpaw. Her father laid her brother down in the moss next to his mother. “You kits can go back to the nursery now.” Silverwing said. “its very late. You go with them, Stormheart.” She told the Warrior. “they need someone to look after them.” He nodded, then herded Dawnkit and Amberkit away. It was past moonhigh. “Moonkit?” Silverwing asked. Moonkit turned around. “Can you stay and help? I should go and check the dens for any signs of greencough. I need someone to watch the sick cats. Right now there’s no one else awake.” Moonkit nodded happily. She was very tired, but there wasn’t anything she liked better than this. Plus, she would never be able to sleep after this.

<p class="MsoBodyText">

<p class="MsoBodyText">   By dawn there was three more cats in the medicine den. Sweetpelt and Ashpaw came when Silverwing caught them sick in their dens. Redstripe came to the medicine den himself when he woke up and felt sick. Moonkit had helped Silverwing treat all the cats. She had stayed the night in the medicine den. She supposed it would be a nice place to sleep, with the trickle of the stream and smell of herbs, but with the stale scent of greencough, it was horrible. Moonkit woke up tired, like she hadn’t slept at all. She sniffed around the sick cats. Birdpaw and Mapletail seemed to be getting better. But the rest of the cats seemed the same, or worse. Smokekit fidgeted in his sleep, Which made Moonkit uneasy. Silverwing slept under the dirt overhang in her sheltered nest. She had worked her paws off, Moonkit could tell. She wouldn’t wake her just yet. “water?” Ashpaws feeble mew sounded from the nest where he slept. She lept up and soaked some moss for him. Carying it in her mouth, she brought it over and squeezed it into his open mouth. He mumbled his thanks. “Moonkit?” she heard Silverwing meow behind her. “You should go back to the nursery, Moonkit. But before you go, you did well tonight, Moonkit. Very well. Far better than any other kit your age could. I was thinking, well, maybe, when your old enough, would you like to be my apprentice?” Moonkits eyes brightened “Really! Learn to be a Medicine cat!?” Silverwing examined her with kind eyes. “Think carefully. Medicine cats can’t ever have kits. They don’t hunt or fight like other cats.” she said “That’s fine. Please can I?” Moonkit begged “If your sure” Moonkit nodded. Silverwing smiled. “When the time comes, its yours”

<p class="MsoBodyText">

Amberkit and Dawnkit were fast asleep when Moonkit got to the nursery. Stormheart was still awake, though. “You did a very good job tonight, Moonkit.” Her father told her. “No cat could have done better.” Moonkit just nodded. “Silverwing asked me if I wanted to be her apprentice.” She yawned sleepily. “Really?”   Stormheart asked, but Moonkit was already asleep.