Spottedleaf's Heart/Chapter 7

Chapter Summary
Spottedpaw's PoV
 * Spottedpaw wakes early the next morning from haunting dreams of Thistleclaw and the Dark Forest. She tiptoes out of the den, padding across the clearing. Featherwhisker comments that she’s up early, and asks if anything’s wrong. She says that it's just bad dreams, unwilling to tell the medicine cat about Thistleclaw’s troubling Place of No Stars visits. He seems to accept the answer, and says that he heard she’d run away from battle training yesterday, which is never easy. Featherwhisker reassures her that the warrior code protects them, and that she needn’t worry about the future. Spottedpaw quickly turns away, spotting Stormtail across the clearing. She notices that he’s very frail, and seemed to be drinking a lot. Spottedpaw asks if the warrior is okay, and he and Bluefur insist that he’s fine, and will go on patrol.


 * Speckletail then leads the cats out of camp, but the apprentice continues to worry. She watches them leave camp, then pads to the medicine cats’ den. The tortoiseshell tells her thoughts to Featherwhisker, and explains that Stormtail isn’t walking properly and drank a lot this morning. After hearing a few more symptoms, the medicine cat agrees that he'll go and bring the gray tom back to camp. Spottedpaw tells him that the patrol is heading toward Snakerocks, and he prepares to leave. However, White-eye bursts into the den with a thorn in her eye. The warrior panics, since it’s her good eye that is injured. The white she-cat explains how it happened, and voices her fears about losing her sight fully. Featherwhisker is able to treat the injury so that she’ll still be able to see, and reassures her that she just needs some rest. The medicine cat then tells Spottedpaw to go after Stormtail, and she races into the clearing. Thrushpelt reminds her that she needs to clean out the elders’ den, but the tortoiseshell says she’ll do it later. Spottedpaw meows that Featherwhisker needs her to do something, and he is frustrated, noting that she’s not his medicine cat apprentice.


 * Spottedpaw races to Snakerocks, soon catching up with the patrol. She exclaims to them that she’s looking for Stormtail, and that Featherwhisker sent her. None of the cats seem to know where he is, all beginning to notice his absence.They spread out to find Stormtail, calling out his name. However, the tortoiseshell apprentice follows his scent trail to beneath a holly bush. She spots him slumped beneath a boulder, barely breathing. She wails for help and the patrol comes running to help. They are shocked at his condition, and collaborate to carry Stormtail back to camp. The blue-gray tom unconscious, but they lift him slowly and begin their returning. Spottedpaw runs ahead to warn Featherwhisker, and the medicine cat lays out a nest for him. The patrol comes in and sets Stormtail down, and the silver-gray tom diagnoses him with the thirsting sickness. He says it cannot be cured, but that the gray tom can be made comfortable.


 * Spottedpaw then leaves the den, reprimanding Bluefur for letting Stormtail on patrol earlier. She insists that the she-cat had insisted he go on patrol, despite his health. The blue-gray warrior becomes defensive, questioning why she would listen to a young cat who’s not a medicine cat apprentice. Bluefur stomps away, her tail flicking angrily. Thrushpelt soon walks over to his apprentice, saying that she’s become something of a hero. He meows that Stormtail will be very grateful when he awakens, and Spottedpaw glances at him. Thrushpelt leadshis apprentice out into the forest, tells her that it’s okay if she wants to be a medicine cat apprentice, as he can tell she likes helping Featherwhisker. He urges her to think about it seriously, and says she would make a great healer. She is appalled, but after some thought, Spottedpaw insists that she wants to be a warrior.