This wasn't supposed to happen. Starclan chose wrong. What kind of fish-headed furball gallivanting around up there had the idea to choose me?

Tinyflame huffed as she slid, exhausted, into her nest. She took a deep breath to ease both her thoughts and the pain in her chest.

It wouldn't fully go away. Just like the anxiety of her claws being found out by the clan.

What will they tell me? That I was chosen because I was the most convenient choice? The easiest choice?

There couldn't possibly be any other reason.

Because I'm small, like Rowanpaw said. Because I have no claws so I'm useless as a warrior anyway! At that thought her heart dropped, and Tinyflame frowned as she stared into the dark moss lining her nest.

What will they expect from me? That I'll be happy about this? That I'll be thankful? Well, I'm not.

And above all, what would she say to them? Would she accept the role?

Tinyflame tossed and turned in her nest. The mossy bracken bed beside hers was still but not quiet, as Crescentsky softly snoozed on.

She forced herself to lie still, keeping her eyes closed and her tail curled close to her forepaws. This time the she-cat finally sank into some well-deserved rest of her own; just as Crescentsky harrowedly rousing from her fever and raging infection.

There was no sense of time or space as the black she-cat fell asleep in one world and raced toward another. Her eyes simply closed and then reopened.

As a starry violet sky shimmered into view high above her eartips, she did not question where she was. Tinyflame already knew.

An indigo field stretched flat and uniform. The grassland surrounding her nearly surpassed her muzzle.

Tinyflame whirled around, noticing a natural-forming clay enclave among the dried wheat-grasses and sedge-bushes stretching far as the eye could see.

It almost looked like a leader's den, only it was large enough to accommodate multiple cats. There were seemingly intertwined entrance tunnels placed all over the vessel. The well-designed entry holes were compact, but just wide and tall enough for a cat to slip through.

A river with overgrown forestry swamping its banks cut through the land close by, stretching so far into the distance that Tinyflame couldn't see the end of it. Willow and beech trees dotted its margins.

Kinda looks like Riverclan terrain. But I've never seen it before.

"Well then, where are you? Care to get this over with and explain yourselves?" She challenged aloud, although her voice tremored a bit.

In the following moments the small she-cat began to grow scared. Would Starclan shun her for her blatant prompting?

Tinyflame flicked her head around as grass stalks in the distance twitched and then moved. A glowing white she-cat was making her way through the lush greenery tightly packed beside the stream. She broke through and drew to a halt as she reached Tinyflame.

"Nice to meet you, too."

"You're the Starclan cat that Crescentsky spoke to last time, aren't you? She said Cloverkit- I mean Cloverpaw and a white she-cat called Whiteleaf were the ones that spoke to her in her dream. Plus our father, Everfrost."

"Yes, I am Whiteleaf."

Tinyflame lifted her chin.

"So you're gonna train me how to be a medicine cat. Hmph. Was it your idea?" She flattened her ears, tone accusatory.

"My idea for what?"

"To make me Riverclan's medicine cat."

"The decision was not determined by me alone."

"Whoever's decision it was, it was fish-brained! They should've picked someone else."

"Why?" Whiteleaf blinked calmly and settled down upon a cool, bare patch of earth, almost as if to say 'I've got all night for this.'

"Because I'm not-... Medicine cat material. I'm not worthy. You only picked me for my lack of claws."

"And what determines that?" Whiteleaf asked casually.

Tinyflame turned her face away, confused and upset.

So it's going to be like that, huh?

"You know! Cats having a connection to Starclan, showing interest in it since they were a kit-"

Whiteleaf interrupted. "But no cat in your clan has shown interest when they were a kit. No cat had any prior connection to Starclan. Nor any cat in Skyclan, or the returned Shadowclan loners."

"You only picked me because I have no claws!" She repeated. "You gave me and Crescentsky these positions because we're useless as clan cats if we don't have some other skills to make up for our missing claws."

Why do I sound like a kit when I'm saying it out loud?

Whiteleaf laughed from the pits of her belly, loud and strong. Her chuckle carried across the river, though no one else was there.

Tinyflame stared at her incredulously, her purple eyes glimmering.

"You've got it the other way around," Whiteleaf said eventually.

"We gave you these positions because you don't have your claws, sure- that might be apart of it." She elaborated.

"But it wasn't because you're useless without them."

I'm surprised she didn't lie to me. Defensiveness was still echoing in Tinyflame's heart, however.

"Then why?"

"Let's get to the point. Tell me, Tinyflame. Are you trying to convey that you don't want to be a medicine cat?"

"I don't know, I just.... Well, I never did before!" Tinyflame blew out an exasperated breath. "I thought being a warrior was my destiny. I thought I was good at it before I lost my claws."

"Destinies can change." Whiteleaf shrugged, closing her eyes in relaxation as if she were waiting for something. "If the beholder should want theirs to."

"But you guys waited until the last second. A-and there was no warning. And there's no reason to it. To it being me." She was beginning to grow frustrated. At herself or Starclan, she didn't know anymore.

"I didn't get the chance to think about it, like, at all! Now it's all on me! Not that I don't want to help my clan, I just never expected this. And I don't...- I'm not the kind of cat who..." Tinyflame sat down, fighting to keep her fur flat. Fighting to keep her breathing calm, like she always did when she was scared; whether there was holes next to her heart or not.

"Not the kind of cat who what?"

Who's gifted and talented and social enough to be a medicine cat. I don't have the patience. I don't fit that standard. How could I?

She didn't answer.

"Answer something else, then." Whiteleaf flicked an ear, careful to keep her gaze cool and nonjudgmental, as if she knew that it would only agitate Tinyflame more.

"Why didn't you run off when the wolves attacked camp the other night?"

"You're deathly afraid of the wolves. You've never faced one head-on before."

For a few heartbeats, Tinyflame didn't respond. A soft wind lifted the dark fur on her pelt, and she lifted her muzzle.

"How is this relative to anything?"

At that, Whiteleaf's tone became clipped and flat.
"Just answer." She leaned forward, green gaze sparkling and intense.

"Because I didn't want my sister to die at my expense, whether she had the advantage or not. Because I didn't want to be the cat that ran away again. Because I didn't want to be the one who-... does nothing... For the clan." Tinyflame grimaced. All of sudden, she couldn't meet Whiteleaf's gaze.

"Crescentsky has saved me more times than I can count. I only got my warrior name because of her. And I've never once saved her or anyone else," she whispered.

"And look how that night turned out. She ended up having to save my pelt anyways!" Tinyflame growled, ashamed.

"I was so fish-brained. I should've left like she told me." Her voice rolled to a stop bitterly.

"Go on," Whiteleaf urged, lying with her muzzle on her forelegs as she gazed at Tinyflame expectantly.

"I have nothing to be proud of. I didn't even complete my warrior's assessment alone. And it's because I'm not like Crescentsky. I didn't want to return and tell the clan that she was out there fighting, or dying. Because I'm a coward." The black warrior's voice shook.

"I can't be brave and fearless without my claws. I always think about what a failure I am now. And I don't like that about myself. I don't like who I am anymore. I can't find any worth in myself...."

"It sounds like you need something that gives you purpose. Something that you can own in the way of usefulness to your clan. You can grow and change, you know. Become more integral to your clan, and learn patience as well as remedies.

I can offer you that, Tinyflame. That's why we chose you. Regardless what you think of yourself, Starclan can see the resilience in you. We see the talent and potential you have to offer. We see what you want, and we can give it." She sounded sincere, her voice ringing out across the starlit Starclan meadow.

Tinyflame flattened her ears as she realized. Whiteleaf sort of understands. At least in one small way, she gets it.

"Nice speech." She snorted above the softly chattering river several fox-lengths away from them. "You mean a lifetime of chewing up dusty old herbs?" Tinyflame's tone was laced with sarcasm.

But she wasn't stupid. As soon as the words left her mouth, the idea began playing on her mind.

Her saving her clanmates. Her being cherished and useful. Being important to Riverclan. Something that she had thought was robbed of her previously.

She needed that. And even more so? She wanted it.

"Dusty old herbs, bringing new life into the clan, becoming a beacon of hope for your injured clanmates... all in a day's work." For the first time, Whiteleaf grinned.

"So, Tinyflame. Would you like train with me in your dreams each night, until you learn the ways of a Riverclan medicine cat?" As Whiteleaf asked, Tinyflame felt her heart pound with the realization of what she was about to agree to.

"I'll try my best," she said.

But Whiteleaf shook her head, chuckling.

"Oh don't worry, dear. With me as your mentor, you'll become one of the most legendary medicine cats yet."

Tinyflame nodded. Her gaze was firm and determined, but behind her her tail was twitching.

"What will I learn first?"

Whiteleaf's face turned serious. "First I'm going to teach you how to save your littermate's life. She's dying."

Tinyflame wasn't given much time to feel the shock of her words.

"Then you'll be shown how to treat your own wounds with basic herb knowledge. And you'll learn about advanced herb gathering. We'll move onto poltices after that; or at least the ones you don't already know from treating Crescentsky's wound."

Tinyflame was even more happy that she'd agreed now. I didn't know that Crescentsky was in such a bad way. Funny, how Whiteleaf didn't tell me that first.

And her sister hadn't been complaining about pain in the den much.

So how long has she been hiding the severity of that wound?

"From what I can tell, Crescentsky has a stubborn infection in her leg-wound. It's begun circulating in her blood. But if we can keep her strong and healthy, and just active enough then an attempt at late treatment might work. See, Tinyflame?" Whiteleaf suprised her again by asking.

"See what?" She looked around, but Whiteleaf was only looking at her.

"See how you're going to save your littermate's life after she just saved yours."

Tinyflame smiled as her heart warmed with pride.

"I will. I have to. We need her,"

"Riverclan needs you too. They always have. Now they just need you more than ever." Whiteleaf's said, and that got a purr out of Tinyflame.

"I'll do everything I can. Just show me how."

"Okay." The white Starclan cat nodded agreement.

"Follow me to these caves."

Tinyflame did as she was told, accompanying the she-cat on the short walk over there. Before they stopped beside an enclave opening, Whileleaf directed her again.

"We haven't much time together each night, so you'll need to learn as fast as you can. First I'm going to start with the poultice you'll have to mix for her injury. If some of the required herbs are missing or expired in your medicine den, which they probably are; then Riverclan will have to go out and find new ones. I'll show you where to look."

Tinyflame nodded. She could tell that this would be a lot to remember, and tried not to feel overwhelmed.

Whiteleaf all of a sudden turned her head and yowled down into the cave entrance, jaws stretched wide and whiskers flexing.

"Chaosclaw! It's time!"

The fallen Riverclan warrior stalked out from the darkness of the cave; or rather, chased it away. His illuminated body shone with starlight, and white speckles sparkled underneath his paws as he stepped, brushing between the two-sided dirt walls.

"Alright, I'm here." He responded gruffly.

"Nice to see you again, Tinyflame." Chaosclaw nodded at her brusquely, but there was a kind glimmer in his eyes.

"Apparently I have to be your 'healing decoy', tonight and all, so we've got a little time to catch up before you go back to Riverclan."

Tinyflame was still awed by his beautiful starlit pelt, which seemed to shine twice as bright as Whiteleaf's.

"Follow us into this cave. It's been prepared for your teachings," Whiteleaf interjected briskly, urging them on.

"You can reconcile in there."

Tinyflame shyly ducked past the entrance, minding her ears. She pulled her shoulders closer together to fit through a winding tunnel, led by Chaosclaw's tail-tip.

The cave they stepped into was well-lit by a natural-formed cave hole filled with stars and casting pooled moonlight. A starlit cyan pool sat in its center, cradled in a rocky scooped-out dip and taking up most of the space inside.

Tinyflame could see almost every nook and cranny, even at night; which all had several interlocking jutted outcrops for a cat to leap to and fro.

All of what she saw was reflected by a glowing blue light strewn across the walls and ground. The urethral light was beaming down onto the pool's surface, where it mirrored and scattered. There were wide winding footpaths all along the pool's edges, and fat swatches of fast-growing moss lining the still water.

In a way the cave reminded her of the Moonpool's enclave, only much grander in appearance and size. Plus it was enclosed. It looked as if she could dip her paws into the pool's liquid starlight, then reach up and grab the near half-moon that was lingering above.

"I didn't expect this to be inside of that giant dirt mound!"

"Things can be more profound than they initially seem. Especially on the inside," Whiteleaf replied.

Chaosclaw sat down on a rock close to the water and wrapped his tail around his paws.

"Go on now, share with me the clan's business since I've gone. Watching from up here ain't the same as living and breathing it down there. Tell me, is Alpinefog still scared of frogs?"

"Only when they're alive and hopping still," she purred. "Raccoonstripe pranked him by putting one in his nest last quarter-moon. He woke up and jumped out of his nest like he was a frog!"

Chaosclaw gave a hearty laugh, then gazed past her shoulder as if he was imagining the dismayed look on Alpinefog's face.

"It's nice that the clan can still have joy during times like these. Make sure to keep that alive, Tinyflame. No matter where life takes you."

Tinyflame took that advice and held it close to her heart, fighting to keep a stupid smile from beaming across her stupid face.

I resented the idea of this the second I saw that little flame.

But I have the chance to save my sister and to benefit the entire clan.

I have to save Crescentsky. Starclan trusts me... of all cats, to heal her.

Those little words stayed there- just barely lodged in the back of her brain. Like a flea that she was aware of but didn't want to chase off.