Thunder And Shadow

Jayfeather ignored her. “So?” he quizzed Alderpaw. “Does she have a fever?”

“No.” Alderpaw sniffed again, feeling the warmth of her fur. Was it norm al? Was he right?

Perhaps she did have a fever and he was being m ouse-brained.

“Good.” Jayfeather mewed. “A belly ache without a fever means that she probably ate som ething that disagreed with her, or too much of som ething she liked.” He ran his paw over Honey kit’s belly. “What have you eaten today?”

“I shared a rabbit with Leafkit and Larkkit,” Honey kit told him.

“Did Twigkit eat any?” Alderpaw asked. What if she had the sam e belly ache and was afraid to bother any one?

“She had a vole.”

Jayfeather huffed. “Stop fretting about Twigkit and concentrate on the patient,” he snapped to Alderpaw. “Feel her belly. Is it swollen?”

Alderpaw touched his paw to the kit’s round flank, wondering if the tightness there was norm al.

“It feels a bit swollen?” he guessed hesitantly.

Jayfeather’s ears twitched irritably. “Yes. How should we treat her belly ache?”

Alderpaw’s thoughts froze. He felt Briarlight and Fernsong’s eyes on him. Honey kit blinked at him hopefully, pain flashing in her green eyes.

Jayfeather’s blind stare was burning into his pelt. “Well?”

Alderpaw wished again that Jayfeather were less cranky. I’d remember more if he didn’t make me so nervous. “Chervil,” he blurted.

“Good.” Jayfeather sounded satisfied. “Fetch som e.”

“Will it help?” Honey kit asked eagerly.

“Of course it will,” Jayfeather told her.

Alderpaw reached into the crack at the back of the den. It was well stocked. In the half-moon since he’d taken Twigkit to m eet her sister, he and Leafpool had gathered all the herbs they could find. Each m orning brought heavier dew and a colder chill in the air. It wouldn’t be long before the first frost would scorch the precious leaves they’d need through the long day s of leaf-bare.

His paw tips touched the soft leaves of the chervil bundle, and he hauled it out.

He began to untangle a few sprigs, his thoughts wandering to the m orning he’d gathered it. The orange sun had shim m ered above the horizon, its pale warmth hardly chasing the chill from his pelt. The forest had sm elled heady. The scent of wilting ferns and decay ing leaves had filled his nose.

“Hurry up!” Jayfeather’s tail flicked impatiently. “I don’t know what’s wrong with y ou. You’ve been distracted ever since Squirrelflight returned.”

Squirrelflight. Alderpaw looked up in surprise. He hadn’t realized his concerns about what his mother hadn’t found were so obvious.

“Alderpaw!” Jayfeather’s sharp mew j erked him back to the present. The medicine cat’s eats were pricked toward him. “What in StarClan are you doing?”

“I’m ripping up leaves for Honey kit.” Alderpaw stared at him, confused. “Chervil is for belly aches.”

“The roots, not the leaves.” Jayfeather snatched the bundle of chervil away and snapped off a root. He rolled it toward Honey kit. “Eat this.”

Honey kit looked at it nervously. “What does it taste like?”

“It doesn’t m atter what it tastes like,” Jayfeather snapped. “It will make your belly ache go away.”

Fur ruffled, Honey kit picked up the root between her teeth and began to chew. Alderpaw felt a wave of sy m pathy as she screwed up her face at the acrid tang. But she kept chewing, peeking at Jayfeather as though she was scared of what he might say if she stopped. At last she swallowed.

“Well done.” Alderpaw hurried to her side and ran his tail along her spine. “You’ll feel better in no tim e.”

Paw steps pattered outside, and the brambles swished. Twigkit burst through, a m ouse dangling from her jaws.

Jayfeather frowned as the kit hurried across the medicine den and dropped the m ouse beside

Briarlight’s nest. “I brought you prey.”

Briarlight purred. “Thank y ou. But you didn’t need to. You know I can get to the fresh-kill pile by m y self.”

“I know,” Twigkit squeaked happily. “But the hunting patrol just got back. It’s still warm.”

Fernsong sniffed. “That rem inds m e. Ivy pool is waiting for m e.” He blinked at Honey kit.

“Are you feeling better?”

Honey kit was washing her paws, licking them fiercely as though try ing to clean the taste of the chervil from her tongue. She paused and looked at Fernsong. Then she burped.

“Yes, I think so.”

Twigkit bounded toward her. “Larkkit and Leafkit are going to explore the ferns behind the fallen birch. They said you should hurry up.” She looked hopefully at Honey kit, who was three moons older and nearly twice as big as Twigkit. “Can I come too?”

“It’s not a gam e for kits. We’re going to practice hunting,” Honey kit told her. “Leafkit caught a frog there yesterday. If you come, y ou’ll frighten the prey away.”

“No I won’t!” Twigkit’s eyes rounded with indignation.

Alderpaw felt a surge of sy m pathy. “I’m sure she’ll be quiet, Honey kit.”

Jayfeather snorted. “Twigkit’s never quiet, and she’s always getting under som e cat’s paws.”

“That’s not true!” Twigkit glared at him. “I’m very helpful.”