Moth Flight’s Vision

Dappled Pelt ignored her. She paused and leaned down, sniffing at Drizzle’s muzzle. Then, straightening, she began to pump the kit’s chest again.

Drizzle’s body shuddered with each jolt, her paws flapping limply, like the paws of a dead rabbit.

Dappled Pelt paused again and sniffed at Drizzle’s nose.

Dawn Mist let out a low moan. “She’s dead!”

“No,” Dappled Pelt, growled fiercely. “Not yet.” Once more she rested her paws on Drizzle’s chest and began pumping.

Suddenly, with a splutter, Drizzle jerked and began coughing up water. Dappled Pelt quickly rolled the kit onto her side, stroking her chest fiercely as Drizzle brought up more water.

“Drizzle?” Dawn Mist’s mew was no more than a breath.

Drizzle stopped vomiting and blinked at her mother. “What happened?” she croaked weakly.

Pine Needle stuck his nose out from behind a clump of reeds. “Is she okay?” His eyes were bright with terror.

Dawn Mist beckoned him closer. “She’s fine.” She looked anxiously at Dappled Pelt. “Isn’t she?”

“Yes. Now that she’s coughed up the water, she’ll be able to breathe again,” Dappled Pelt told her briskly.

Moth Flight stared at the River Clan medicine cat. She wasn’t even trembling. How does she stay so calm?

Pine Needle hurried to his mother’s side and pressed against her flank. “She wanted to see if she could catch her own fish.

But she disappeared under the water,” he mewed shakily. “I called Night when she didn’t come up again.”

“She needs to learn to swim before she catches a fish.” River Ripple brushed past Moth Flight.

She spun, her heart lurching at the sight of the RiverClan leader. She hadn’t heard his paw steps.

He touched his muzzle to Dawn Mist’s cheek. “Start teaching them as soon as Drizzle has recovered.”

Dawn Mist met his gaze, her eyes glistening. “I wanted to wait until they were stronger.”

“Fish swim the moment they are born,” River Ripple murmured. “It’s never too soon for a RiverClan kit to learn.”

Drizzle pushed herself uncertainly to her paws.

Dawn Mist leaned down and lapped her cheek. “Let’s get you into my nest and warm you up.” She nosed the kit toward the clearing.

River Ripple ran his tail along Pine Needle’s spiked fur.

“You did well to fetch help.”

“I only called to Night.”

“That was the right thing to do,” River Ripple told him.

Pine Needle stared at him uncertainly. “I shouldn’t have let her go into the water.”

River Ripple touched his muzzle to the kit’s head.

“Sometimes we can’t stop others from making mistakes. But we can help them when they do. And that’s what you did.” He nosed the kit after his mother, who was lifting Drizzle into a reed nest on the far side of the clearing.

Dappled Pelt watched her leader as he guided Pine Needle away. “He’s so good with the kits,” she murmured. “It’s a shame he doesn’t have any of his own.”

Moth Flight hardly heard her. “How did you know what to do?”

“River Ripple taught me,” she explained. “He’s lived near the water all his life and he knows that you can push water out of a cat’s chest as easily as a cat can suck it in.”

Micah swished his tail through the air. “You were fantastic! I thought Drizzle was dead.”

Dappled Pelt gazed at the river as it swirled past. “It’s a trick every RiverClan cat should know.”

Admiration surged beneath Moth Flight’s pelt. I hope I’m as calm and skilled as Dappled Pelt one day! How must it feel to save another cat’s life? She wondered if Half Moon had been watching. I’ll try to become as good as she is, she promised silently.

Clouds hid the setting sun. A thin drizzle misted the river and a breeze rustled the reeds around camp.

Moth Flight shifted closer to Micah as the damp wind licked her pelt. She eyed Night, who was watching them warily from the other side of the clearing. Dawn Mist was still curled in her nest, tucked among the rushes. River Ripple had gone hunting for shrews in the reed beds with Dawn Mist’s mate, Swift. “Are you sure we should stay the night?” Moth Flight whispered.

“Of course!” Micah looked up from washing his belly.

“Look how much we learned today! Tomorrow we’ll learn even more.”

Moth Flight was glad he was with her. She liked the RiverClan cats, but it felt strange to be away from the hollow.

After she’d returned from the valley, she thought she’d never leave her Clanmates again. “Do you think River Ripple will catch a shrew?” she mewed hopefully.

Dappled Pelt had slipped into the river as the sun began to sink, promising to bring them back a juicy trout.

Micah blinked at her. “Don’t you want to taste fish?”

Moth Flight wrinkled her nose. She’d smelled nothing but fish and herbs all afternoon. She was looking forward to tasting the sweet, familiar flesh of prey with legs. Before she could answer, water splashed behind them and Dappled Pelt waded out from the river.