"What?!" Shadowpaw exclaimed in disbelief. "How — how could you not tell me this beforehand?" His eyes were clouded with betrayal and bewilderment.

"Because you'd think that I wasn't worth your time. And anyway, be thankful that I told you now, and not waited until the ceremony to let you get the message." She spat the last part with hostility. If he wasn't going to accept who she was, then it was his loss. She didn't care, anyway.

"Accept it or leave me," she hissed, stalking back off to the medicine den. She was lucky that medicine cats didn't have to have mates, and they'd be respected by all cats.

"Ambereye?" Yinpaw meowed, padding into the medicine den. She opened her mouth to scent the cat, but all she tasted was the sweet scent of herbs and berries. She suddenly heard pawsteps behind her.

"Yinpaw!" A voice cried. She whipped her head around, only to find Shadowpaw standing behind her. "I — I'm sorry..." He started, staring at his paws. "I... I overreacted."

"Okay," she replied, her tone not softening one bit. Her one eye narrowed at him, although her heart thought differently. I'm a medical cat! she scolded herself. Well, going to be. But I can't soften myself for any cat!

"Please forgive me," he mumbled regretfully, his tail drooping between his legs. His eyes were clouded with woes as Yinpaw mulled to herself.

"All right," she meowed finally. His spirits lifted tremendously as she said those words.

"But," she added hastily. "I'm going to be a medicine cat apprentice, and there's nothing you can do about it." She sounded rather defiant.

Shadowpaw mused, "I wouldn't dream of it. But we cant still be friends, right?" His words rang in her ears as she tried to think of an answer.

"Yes," she replied, nodding her head. "Nothing more." Shadowpaw reveled from those simple words and purred in delight. Just then, Ambereye came stalking in.

"Yinpaw! How nice to see you here," the medicine cat greeted. "Shadowpaw,
would you mind if Yinpaw and I had a talk in private?" She looked at the black apprentice with her lavender eyes.

"Oh, most definitely not," he replied quickly, backing out of the medicine den. Once he was out of sight, Ambereye started talking.

"I discussed the matter with Woodstar, and she said that you could become my apprentice, but only in a couple of sunrises. She needs to sort some things out and she doesn't have the time to do a ceremony just yet. But in the meantime, you can come and sleep in the medicine den. I already have a nest prepared. Here." Ambereye twitched the tip of her tail and beckoned for Yinpaw to follow her.

She led the apprentice into a small part of the cave where a piece of wood jutted out. Amereye explained that many seasons ago, a large tree fell on the cave, thus causing a portion of the den to cave in, making that the medicine cat's nest. But, as Yinpaw noticed, there were splinters of wood here and there, which Ambereye used for hanging cobwebs and leaves. A big piece of wood got itself embedded into a part of the den, making that the medicine apprentice den.

"The tree itself hasn't rotted away yet, and I use it for overlooking the camp sometimes. Look, here's the entrance," Ambereye explained, leading Yinpaw to the side of the den where there was a crack in the rock. Carefully maneuvering herself into the hole, the medicine cat brought the wide-eyed apprentice to a keeled tree. She could then see how the tree damaged the walls of the den.

After a brisk tour around the den, Ambereye told Yinpaw about the herbs that she'd be using for common sicknesses.

"This is cobwebs," Ambereye meowed. "I remember telling you about it when you were just a kit." Yinpaw nodded. "I remember," she confessed.

"All right. Can you tell me what these are?" Ambereye used her paw to gesture to a pile of different herbs and berries.

"That's burdock root; it's good for curing rat bites. Poppy seeds are used to numb pain and help a cat sleep. The ragwort leaves are a herb used to treat aching joints and raspberry leaves are used to ease pain during a queen's kitting. " Yinpaw recited. Ambereye's eyes glinted with pride.

"Splendid!" The medicine cat cried happily. "Now you have to remember some more things. There are many different berries, too, and you have to be able to differentiate them. Some berries, like deathberries, are poisonous and can kill a cat, so you have to know what they look like," Ambereye meowed. "Some herbs, like catmint, only grow near Twoleg dens, so I will teach you how to carefully harvest them without getting caught." Ambereye faced Yinpaw with glittering eyes.

Yinpaw looked out of the den and saw that the sky was rapidly deepening in its dark shades. The sun had decided to say goodbye to the camp and recede —the cats did the same. Yinpaw let out a soft yawn, showing sharp teeth pink jaws.

"Tired?" Ambereye chuckled amusingly. "All right then, we'll go sleep now." The medicine cats padded to their nests.

Yinpaw curled up into a small ball, and once her head hit the soft moss, she fell asleep immediately.

* * *

The next sunrise came in a heartbeat. The sun rose, spilling an amber glow on the SharpClan camp. The trees of the forest were all bare, and a chilly wind flew over the camp. This was the first sign of leaf-fall.

Yinpaw padded out of her den, looking around and expecting the cats to be going out for the dawn patrol or padding around and talking. Instead, a loud yowl broke the early morning silence.

"Shadowpaw! Shadowpaw's missing!"

[edited] 12/6/16