Moth Flight’s Vision

Micah flashed a look at the pale tabby she-cat, who watched through narrowed eyes from beside Dust Muzzle. “That doesn’t prove anything.”

“It proves SkyClan can’t be trusted,” Wind Runner snarled.

Moth Flight stepped between her mother and Micah. “I trust

Micah!” she growled. “I need his help.”

Wind Runner’s ears twitched. “One day, you’re going to have to stand on your own four paws.”

“One day I will. But not today.” Moth Flight grabbed the herb bundle and marched to her den, Micah at her heels.

Inside, Rocky was shivering in his nest. His matted fur clung to his frame. He looked old and weak. Moth Flight’s heart quickened.

Reed Tail and Swift Minnow crouched beside him.

“How long has he been like this?” Moth Flight asked Reed Tail.

“He took a turn for the worse last night.”

The old tom writhed in the heather, his eyes rolling. “When will leafbare end?” he gasped. “It’s so cold!”

How did he get so sick? Is he dying? Thoughts racing, Moth Flight dropped the herbs and thrust her muzzle close to his.

Warmth pulsed from his nose. Panic flashed through her. What do I do first? Words came. “We need to cool him down.”

Dappled Pelt had warned her that fevers could be deadly. She turned to Swift Minnow. “Go and find as much moss as you can carry and soak it in a puddle, then bring it back.”

“I’m so cold!” Rocky’s teeth chattered as Swift Minnow raced from the den.

“What can I do?” Reed Tail asked.

“Go with her.”

“Don’t you need me here?” Reed Tail frowned anxiously.

“I’ve got Micah,” Moth Flight told him. “We’ve learned a lot since we left.”

Reed Tail nodded and headed out of the den.

Moth Flight hooked a claw through the grass stem that gripped her bundle and snapped it open. The leaves unrolled and herb scents bathed her nose. She stared at them, panic pricking her paws. Which one is which? What are they for? Her thoughts whirled as she desperately tried to recall Cloud Spots’s training.

“Come on,” she hissed to herself under her breath.

“Remember!”

Micah’s pelt brushed hers. “Feverfew might help,” he murmured.

Feverfew! Of course! But which one is it? She scanned the leaves, her thoughts tumbling over one another. Then she recognized the delicate scalloped leaves that Cloud Spots had helped her pick yesterday.

“Rocky!” She spoke to the tom sternly, hoping he’d understand. “I need you to swallow some leaves, okay?”

He stared at her through clouded eyes, shivering.

“Do you think you can do that?” If Rocky chewed them and spat them out, they’d be wasted. She’d have to return to the forest to fetch more, and there wasn’t time.

Rocky stared at her blankly.

Micah leaned forward and rested his muzzle on Rocky’s head. “It’s just like eating prey,” he murmured softly.

Rocky grew still. “Like eating prey,” he echoed.

Moth Flight lifted the feverfew to Rocky’s lips with a hooked claw. “Just swallow these and you’ll feel a bit better.”

Micah lapped the old tom’s head. “Just a few leaves,” he soothed.

Obediently Rocky nibbled the herb from Moth Flight’s claws.

“Come on,” Micah urged gently. “They’ll go down easy.”

Relief washed Moth Flight’s pelt as Rocky lapped the leaves down. She stared gratefully at Micah. “Thank you.”

“Sick cats are like kits,” he told her. “A little gentleness goes a long way.”

Moth Flight gazed at Rocky as he slumped deeper into his nest. “What’s wrong with him? He’s not coughing anymore.”

“Listen to his chest,” Micah suggested. “Even when Tiny

Branch stopped coughing, I could hear him wheezing inside.”

Moth Flight leaned into the nest, relieved to feel less warmth seeping from Rocky’s pelt. At least the feverfew was working.

She pressed her ear to his rib cage and listened. It sounded as though water was bubbling up inside. She sat up, alarmed. “He’s drowning, like Drizzle!”

Micah’s eyes widened. “He can’t be. He hasn’t swallowed any water.”

“There’s water in his chest!” Moth Flight gasped. “I can hear it.”

Micah leaned down and listened, his eyes dark with worry as he straightened. “There must be infection inside.”

Moth Flight’s belly felt hollow. “What can we do?” She stared desperately at Micah. Then she remembered what Cloud

Spots had told them on their way home from the Moonstone.

“The tree!” She stared at Micah. “The one with the oozing sap!

On your territory!”

“Of course!” Micah lifted his tail. “Cloud Spots said it’d cure any cough. Surely it would cure Rocky’s chest infection!”

“Do you know where it is?”

“Yes!”

“You’re brilliant!” Moth Flight pressed her muzzle against

Micah’s cheek, purring. She drew back. “Where is it?”

He nodded. “I took Acorn Fur looking for it. It wasn’t hard to find. Its sap smells as strong as pine, but sweeter.”

“We must go there now!” Moth Flight’s paws itched.

“We?” Micah hesitated. “Perhaps I should go alone. Wind Runner won’t want you going to SkyClan territory.”

“I’m coming with you!” She had to see where the tree was.