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Chapter Five

As the two entered the camp, Twigpaw noticed that all the cats who were in camp were reutrning to their dens. "There must have been a clan meeting." Twigpaw said outloud.

"We must have come right as it ended." Cloudpaw replied.

Twigpaw noticed that Blossompaw hadn't gone into the Apprentice' den yet. "Blossompaw! Come here!" Twigpaww called over to her.

Blossompaw quickly ran over, and asked the two, "Where were you two?"

"We took a walk. What was the meeting about?" Cloudpaw answered, and questioned.

"Other cats were on our territory!" Blossompaw exclaimed.

"What!? What cats?" It was Twigpaw who responded.

"They were from Winterclan! I was on the patrol who found them!"

"Found them? Not their scents?" Twigpaw asked, putting emphasis on 'Them'.

"Did you chase them out of our territory?" Cloudpaw added.

"They're being held as prisoners! They'd never make it back to their camp if we did chase them out. They're too badly injured. They're in Berrystorm's den right now."

"They are? Berrystorm probably needs my help!" Twigpaw exclaimed.

He darted towards the Medicine Cat's Den. When he'd went inside, he saw that Berrystorm was applying a paste to a large wound on one of the cats. Twigpaw inhaled deeply, trying to remember the names of the herbs Berrystorm was using.Horsetail, to help the cobwebs stop the bleeding... And it's mixed with marigold... Marigold helps stop infections. He thought to himself. Out loud, he said, "Berrystorm, how can I help?"

Berrystorm didn't look away from his patient when he replied. "Put some of this mix onto the other apprentice. Can you tell which I used?"

"Horsetail, and marigold? You turned them into a paste, and put them on the cobwebs to help them stick and the injuries heal."

"Good, Twigpaw, but I didn't put them on the cobwebs. Rub the paste lightly onto the wounds, and then apply the cobwebs."

Twigpaw went to the herb storage, and brought the two herbs he needed to his patient. Sitting in front of the other apprentice, who he noticed was female from her scent, he began chewing the herbs to a paste.

These are bad wounds for an apprentice... Twigpaw thought to himself. He quickly looked over at the other cat. He was an apprentice, too. What were these two doing to get such bad wounds? And why were they on our territory?

Twigpaw turned his attention back to his patient. It would be his first time dressing serious wounds. He spat the paste onto the open wounds, and gently rubbed it in, coating the injuries. The apprentice squirmed, but couldn't get up from where she lay. With the paste spread, Twigpaw pressed the cobwebs onto the wounds. Being satisfied with what he'd done, he went from working on the larger wounds to the smaller. He applied a marigold paste onto the scratches, and then left the apprentice to rest. He walked towards Berrystorm, who had already finished treating the other apprentice.

"Berrystorm, do you know who these two are?" He asked his mentor.

Berrystorm shook his head. "No, I've never seen them before, and they were too weak to talk. They're lucky they have no life-threatening injuries. Although their wounds are deep, they will surely heal."

"What do you think they were doing to get these wounds?"

"They were obviously in a fight. From the way they were when they were found, they must have been tried to be killed."

Twigpaw looked over at the two apprentices.

"We'll have to wait until they've recovered enough to talk, to know exactly what happened." Berrystorm added.

"I wonder if they maybe came across a fox?" Twigpaw asked.

Berrystorm didn't reply for a short while. "Or perhaps, some cat didn't want them around any longer."

"But why?" Twigpaw looked back towards his mentor.

"If that's true, then it could possibly be because they knew, or heard, something that they shouldn't have. That information might be dangerous to whoever it's about, and they didn't want others to know about it..."

Twigpaw returned his gaze to the apprentices.

Information that they shouldn't have known? And they're from Winderclan... Did they find out about Froststar's 'omen' being fake? Twigpaw thought to himself. He looked more closely at the apprentices' wounds again, and ran the thought through his head once more. But Froststar wouldn't attack her own clan members, would she? Even if they did learn of the omen being fake, she would try to think of some excuse or explanation... It didn't make sense to him. Could someone else have caused this? He sighed, giving up on thinking about it.

He took his gaze from the apprentices, and looked back in the direction that Berrystorm had been in, but Berrystorm was no longer there. He hadn't even noticed Berrystorm leave. He looked around the den to see if his mentor was still in the den, but he couldn't see Berrystorm.

Twigpaw, after another glance towards the apprentices, padded out of the den, assuming Berrystorm might be out there. He looked around the moonlit clearing, but could see no other cat. Above him, he heard faint mews in his Leader's den. He could make out the words "Trap," "Winterclan," and "Attack" but he couldn't tell who's voices they belonged to. He strained his ears to hear the conversation, but could make nothing else out. Sighing, he gave up on the effort.

Who could Leafstar be talking to? Twigpaw asked himself. Berrystorm?_It was the only logical guess. _But what could they be discussing? Do they plan on attacking Winterclan, pulling them into a trap? But don't leaders usually discuss that with their deputy? Nothing was making sense to him. He could hear that the whispering above him had stopped. Twigpaw looked up to the star-filled sky. It was nearly a full moon. Maybe the gathering tomorrow will clear some things. He thought to himself.

Suddenly, a figure landed gracefully next to him, while another, less-gracefully, landed on his other side. Twigpaw jumped in surprise. He noticed that it was both, Leafstar and Berrystorm. Leafstar looked at Twigpaw with a semi-serious expression.

"Good, you're awake." She mewed to him. "As you know, the gathering is tomorrow," she began, "and as you know, we have badly injured apprentices here from Winterclan." She continued.

Twigpaw nodded.

"Well," Berrystorm began, "we'll need a medicine cat to moniter them while we're gone."

Twigpaw had a puzzled look on his face. "So you'll be staying?" He asked his mentor.

Berrystorm shook his head. "You will be, Twigpaw." He responded.

"Although you're an apprentice, you're still a medicine cat." Leafstar commented.

"It's why you're in my den," Berrystorm agreed, and nodded his head towards the apprentice den, "and not in there."

"But why--"

"You, and not berrystorm?" Leafstar cut him off. "I need Berrystorm's friendships with the other medicine cats to get to the bottom of Yewwhisker's prophecy." She replied.

"But it's obviously a fake!" Twigpaw exclaimed, raising his voice above whispering level.

Leafstar nodded. "We know." She simply said.

"But we need definate evidence to fully calm our clan." Berrystorm commented, and Leafstar added "And also to be able to call it out in front of all the other clans."

Twigpaw began to understand. "Also," Leafstar continued, "I want to find out if Winterclan is just power-hungry, or if they had more motivation."

Twigpaw was still slightly confused with the situation, but he understood most of it.

"Now then, both of you," Leafstar addressed the two medicine cats, "you should get some sleep."

Berrystorm and Twigpaw nodded respectfully, and walked back into their den. Twigpaw noticed that the apprentices had fallen asleep. He quietly made his was towards his nest, and he could hear Berrystorm heading for his. As Twigpaw stepped onto his nest, he circled a few times to find a comfortable position. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

Twigpaw woke up early the next morning, despite his deep sleep. He set to his daily tasks, although Berrystorm was asleep and he could relax. The first thing above all else was to check the sick or wounded cats. Careful not to wake the apprentices, he checked over their wounds. They had stopped bleeding, and so Twigpaw re-applied some cobwebs to keep them protected. Moving on to the herb storage, he began sorting through the herbs, gathering and getting rid of the dead leaves, stems, or rotten roots, putting them in a pile. Twigpaw had nearly finished when Berrystorm got up. Twigpaw could hear him grunt when he got up, and stretched. Twigpaw didn't turn from his task when he greeted his mentor.

He let out a soft "Good morning!"

Berrystorm returned the greeting, and he padded out of the den, taking in the morning warmth. Twigpaw hadn't gone outside to warm his own fur, yet, and he longed to go quickly, but he had to finish his task first. It was only a few moments before he finished, and he swept the dead herbs out of the den. Now outside, the morning sun felt amazing on his fur. He found a nice, warm spot near the den's entrance, and he began grooming his fur. He spent a good portion of the morning thoroughly grooming himself, and when he'd finidhed, his fur shone in the sunlight. Many cats were up now, all busy, getting to work. The cats who were going to the gathering were relaxing around camp, excluding Berrystorm, who had returned to their den, and those who weren't were being told their tasks for the day by Leafstar.

Twigpaw took in a deep breath, and he could smell the crisp, early-leaffall air.It was going to be getting colder, and prey would begin to be more scarce.

It might be a good idea to pick plenty of greenleaf herbs, soon, before they die... Catming is always good to have extra of. Twigpaw thought to himself. He sat for many more moments, soaking in the warmth of the sun, before getting up to return into his den. Cloudpaw didn't come out of her den, Twigpaw thought before turning back towards the den, She must be resting for the gathering. I'm glad she's going.

He walked back into his den, and was surprised at what he saw. One of the apprentices was awake. Berrystorm was checking over the unconcious apprentice's wounds.

"Hello, there." He mewed to the awak apprentice.

The apprentice was laying on his side still, but his head was raised. He looked towards Twigpaw for a brief moment, concern sharp in his eyes, and then looked back at the unconcious apprentice.

He's concerned for his clan mate. Twigpaw thought to himself. He padded over to the awak apprentice, and sat down next to him.

"What were you doing to get such bad wounds?" Twigpaw asked. He was responded with silence. "What's wong? Fox caught your tongue?" Still, the apprentice didn't respond. Twigpaw felt slightly discouraged. Why wouldn't he talk?

"Don't feel down, Twigpaw," Berrystorm spoke, but didn't look away from his patient. "he's refusing to talk." Berrystorm continued.

_But why, I wonder?_Twigpaw thought.

"I was only able to get him to say one thing, and that was it. 'Don't check on my wounds until you've checked on hers.' He told me." Berrystorm finished.

"Is there any way to get him to talk?" Twigpaw asked.

"No. He'll talk when he's ready to."

Twigpaw sighed silently, and watched Berrystorm work. He didn't want to upset the apprentice by treating him before the other was finished. He layed down, tucked his paws under his chext, and studied Berrystorm's actions closely.