After The Badger

Barkfur walked into the main clearing and dropped her fresh-kill onto the fresh-kill pile. A thrush and a large black bird, not bad for such a short hunt. Her apprentice with a mouse and a squirrel, they both did well. "Hey Mistpaw, I think we should visit Moonecho. How are your cuts?" she stood to see her apprentice.

Mistpaw examined the cut on her shoulder. "It stings,but it looks okay."she mewed.

"I still think we should go, just so it doesn't get infected. If it's just a minor gash, which it is, then you'll still be able to train tommorow. We just have to make sure our cuts don't get infected." she nodded and slowly padded over to the medicine cat den. She stopped halfway to see if Mistpaw was coming.

Mistpaw followed after Barkfur,feeling pride well up within her battered body. She had killed a badger! She was on her way to being a great warrior that was loyal to her Clan.

Barkfur limped along, feeling her wounds and aching muscles more than ever. She looked back at Mistpaw and saw her happily padding along, pride written all over her furry face. "Don't get too cocky, that could have gone seriously wrong." she sternly scolded.

"But it didn't!"Mistpaw said,trying to look more serious. Her tail twitched,and she looked at the medicine den with wide eyes. "The last time I was here I had greencough."she noted,remembering briefly her encounter with an eight-tailed spirit fox in a realm no other cat could access. She hadn't seen Psycia since.

Barkfur stopped with cold feet and whipped around "Mistpaw, being a warrior doesn't mean playtime all the time. You must understand that you have responsibilities. That badger could have easily crushed me. Or you." she kept her hard gaze, locking her yellow eyes with Mistpaw's.

Mistpaw's eyes widened and she looked down. "Sorry,"she mumbled,her tail low.

Barkfur sighed. She shouldn't have been so hard. Mistpaw was partly right, nothing bad did happen. Though, an inexpierienced apprentice could have, Mistpaw had proven herself worthy of great tasks. "I'm sorry, come on, your wounds have opened up again." she stood herself so that she was standing shoulder by shoulder next to each other. "I was just worried something could have gone wrong. Your not invincible, even a StarClan cat can bleed." she put her tail on Mistpaw's shoulder and started forward to the Medicine Cat's den.

Mistpaw looked up. "Yeah. Petalclaw said she got in a fight just a little while ago."she chimed. She still felt shame burning at her pelt,but ignored it. "She said that she got beat up pretty bad." She didn't feel bothered by the fact that her dead sister talked to her regularly. But she did still feel the familiar pang of grief that shook her when she imagined Petalclaw's pale gray fur lined with stars and her eyes alight with moonlight.

Barkfur stopped, her blood ran cold. "You can speak with StarClan?"

Mistpaw shook her head. "No,only Petalclaw."

I wonder if this Petalclaw knows Moontail. Barkfur continued walking, as if everything was fine. "Who did you say was the cat she fought?"

"Moontail."Mistpaw mewed,padding after her mentor. "Sometimes I do see other cats,but they're blurry and they don't talk. But Petalclaw's been teaching me some great moves!" Pride filled her voice,along with a dull,hollow pain that echoed weakly in her voice.

"Really? Moontail is one of the cats I was talking about. Her and Clayshard were my best friends." she remembered all the great fun they had when they were apprentices at the gatherings, always playing in the brush instead of listening to a bunch of old cats complaining of little prey. That was back then, now she knew the importance of prey and fun was only a word. Now that Mistpaw was her apprentice, she had a best friend again, a playmate she could have fun with.

Mistpaw's eyes widened. "Really?! That's awesome! Maybe they will visit you in your dreams,too!" She thought of how Petalclaw had always been there for her,as a best friend and an older sister. She wondered if Barkfur felt that way about Moontail and Clayshard.

"If only I were that lucky Mistpaw." she once again looked at the young cat as they neared the Medicine Cat den. "Not all cats can speak to their ancestors. You have a gift. I would use it wisely." she tapped her tail on Mistpaw's chest as she spoke.

Barkfur sighed.

"I do?"Mistpaw murmured,her eyes huge. She decided not to tell her mentor of the huge eight-tailed spirit fox that lived in between StarClan and nothingness.

"Are you sure you haven't see anyone else? Another cat or wolf? Anyone? This is important, Mistpaw, it could gravely change the outcome of this Clan's survival." she asked. Though she meant what she said, she wished more than anything that Mistpaw had seen one of her friends.

Mistpaw shook her head. "No. I'll ask Petalclaw if she can take me to StarClan's hunting grounds,though."she mewed hopefully.

"You have no idea how much seeing them means to me." she mewed. She waited outside the Medicine Den. "Thankyou." she replied.

ooc:What do I do, What do I do, What Do I Do!

OOC *coughSHECANTENDTWOATONCEcough* ... Medicine cats these days. SHEESH.