The Apprentice's Quest

Molewhisker lashed his tail angrily. “The nosy little cat got herself into this mess,” he growled, “and she should get herself out of it!

Cheeky ShadowClan apprentices are not our problem!”

“Well,” Alderpaw began, feeling shy about contradicting a senior warrior, “her nosiness did come in handy when the foxes attacked us.”

Molewhisker grunted. “I suppose so.”

“We would have fought the foxes off eventually,” Sparkpaw meowed. “We don’t need Needlepaw.”

“This is getting us nowhere,” Sandstorm sighed. “Alderpaw, Needlepaw was right about one thing: it’s your quest. What do you think?”

“I don’t agree with Molewhisker and Sparkpaw,” Alderpaw admitted, even though he was reluctant to go against his former mentor, and his sister. “I think Needlepaw should come with us. If we try to send her back,” he added, “she’s just going to ignore us and follow us anyway.”

“Maybe,” Molewhisker snorted, “but that’s no reason to welcome her.”

“Okay,” Sandstorm mewed, “since we can’t agree, I’ll make the final decision. Needlepaw will come with us.”

Sparkpaw and Molewhisker exchanged a disappointed look.

“Fine!” Sparkpaw snapped. “But there’s no way we’re telling her what this quest is really about, right?”

Alderpaw couldn’t meet his littermate’s gaze. Even my own Clanmates don’t know what the quest is really about!

Sandstorm caught his eye. “No, we won’t tell her that,” she murmured.

Rising to their paws, the ThunderClan cats padded back into the hollow to tell Needlepaw their decision. On the way, Alderpaw could hear

Cherryfall and Molewhisker muttering just behind him.

“That cat is going to be in a lot of trouble once she gets back to her own territory,” Molewhisker grumbled.

“But that’s not our problem,” Cherryfall responded. “It’s hers!”

While they were away, Needlepaw had obviously been grooming herself, and her sleek silver pelt shone in the growing light of dawn.

Alderpaw, still covered in dust and bits of debris from the fox fight, felt very scruffy by contrast.

“We’ve decided to let you join us,” Sandstorm announced.

Needlepaw raised one paw and examined her claws. “Well, of course you have,” she mewed coolly. “It’s not like you could stop me, anyway.”

Alderpaw’s pelt prickled with irritation at her rudeness, and yet he sensed that Needlepaw was much happier than she was prepared to admit. There’s something sort of… lonely about her, he thought.

As the sky began to flush red where the sun would rise, Alderpaw saw Needlepaw’s face more clearly. And he thought he could see in her eyes how pleased she was to be included.

Chapter 12

“Sandstorm,” Alderpaw meowed, “now that the sun is up, I want to have a better look at your shoulder.”

The old she-cat sighed. “I was expecting you to say that.”

She stayed still while Alderpaw peeled off the cobweb he had applied the night before. A

small amount of blood was still oozing from the wound.

“What can we do to help?” Sparkpaw asked, peering anxiously over his shoulder.

Alderpaw was pleased and relieved that he knew exactly what was needed. Leafpool and Jayfeather would be proud of me.

“Comfrey root,” he replied. “Cherryfall, Molewhisker, could you go and find some? It has large, long leaves. The root is black, and it has a tangy smell.”

“The stuff you put on my pad, right?”

Cherryfall asked. “I know exactly what to look for. Come on, Molewhisker.”

“Honestly, it’s not that serious,” Sandstorm protested as the two warriors disappeared into the undergrowth. “I’ll be fine.”

“You still need to let me treat the wound,” Alderpaw responded. “It’s important.”

It felt weird to be telling an elder what to do, and he was glad when Sandstorm gave a reluctant nod. “Meanwhile, give it another good lick,” Alderpaw added. “Then it’ll be ready for the poultice.”

The sun had not risen much farther up the sky by the time Cherryfall and Molewhisker returned, carrying plenty of comfrey. Alderpaw set to work at once, chewing up the root, and once it was a fine enough paste he applied it to Sandstorm’s wound. Sandstorm relaxed, letting out a long sigh, as the juices sank in.

“That feels so much better,” she murmured.

“Now the rest of you,” Alderpaw meowed.

“We’re fine, honestly,” Sparkpaw protested.

“You’re fine when I say you are,” Alderpaw retorted, remembering what Jayfeather liked to say to cats who didn’t want to be fussed over.

Sparkpaw twitched her whiskers but stood still while Alderpaw examined her. In the clear light of morning he spotted a scratch on her foreleg that he had missed the night before, and he patted some of the comfrey poultice onto it.

“Thanks, that’s great,” Sparkpaw mewed.

“Hey, do you know your ear’s been bleeding?”

Alderpaw hadn’t realized his ear was stinging, distracted first by the stress of the fight and then by the discussion about Needlepaw and the need to treat his Clanmates.