Yellowfang’s Secret

Yellowfang stared at her, baffled. “I must be wounded! I hurt all over.”

Sagewhisker paused for a moment before replying. “Which part of you hurts the most?”

“This paw.” Yellowfang stretched out a forepaw. “I can hardly put any weight on it.”

“Did any other cat hurt her paw?”

Yellowfang tried to remember the chaos of the battle. “Well, Red… I mean, one of the kittypets got her paw stuck under a root. But that didn’t have anything to do with me.”

Sagewhisker didn’t comment. “And what’s the next worst pain?”

“My ear.” Yellowfang flicked it, wincing. “It feels like some cat tore it off.”

“No, it’s still there, quite untouched,” Sagewhisker assured her. “Did you see any cat with an injured ear?”

Yellowfang nodded, remembering Rowanberry’s fight with Boulder and the blood trickling down his face.

“What about a flank injury?” the medicine cat persisted.

“How would I know?” Yellowfang retorted, irritable because Sagewhisker’s questions were starting to make her feel uncomfortable. “I was in the battle, you know, not watching from up in a tree.” When Sagewhisker didn’t respond, she added uncertainly, “Maybe Cedarstar… he fell against a tree stump.”

“I’ll have to see him about that,” Sagewhisker meowed.

“But what about me?” Yellowfang protested. “Aren’t you going to treat my injuries?”

Sagewhisker gazed at her from calm green eyes. “I’ve already told you, Yellowfang, you hardly have a scratch on you. You fought well and escaped without injury. What you are feeling is the injuries of the other cats.”

“What do you mean?” Yellowfang mewed shakily. “How can that happen?”

“I don’t know,” Sagewhisker admitted. “This isn’t the first time, though, is it?”

Yellowfang thought back to the times she had been in pain. When I fought that huge WindClan tom, I felt like I was seriously injured, but I wasn’t. And there was the pain I felt when Silverflame was dying… and the time when my belly ached when Nutkit ate the crow-food. Great StarClan, has this been happening since I was a kit?

“I guess not,” Yellowfang mewed quietly. “But… doesn’t every cat feel the same? It’s not hard to see an injury and imagine how it feels!”

“This isn’t your imagination,” Sagewhisker told her. “StarClan must have given you these feelings for a reason, and we have to find out what it is.”

“No!” Yellowfang forced herself to her paws, ignoring painful muscles that shrieked in protest. “I don’t want to be different! I just want to be a warrior!”

Chapter 10

Yellowfang stormed out of the medicine cat’s den in a whirl of fury and terror, brushing past Rowanberry, who was waiting for her.

“What’s the matter?” Rowanberry called, trotting after her. “Are you okay?”

Yellowfang strode on without replying. Her paw still ached, but she did her best to ignore it. She didn’t want to talk to any cat, not even her sister. She was heading for the warriors’ den, but before she had covered even half the distance, Brightflower bounded up to her.

“Little one!” her mother gasped. “Are you badly hurt? I hear you fought so bravely.”

“Sagewhisker fixed everything,” Yellowfang muttered, not breaking stride.

Brightflower kept pace with her. “You need to rest,” she fretted. “Stonetooth won’t expect you to go out on patrol until you’re fully healed.”

“I’m fine, okay?” Yellowfang snapped, pretending not to see the shocked look in her mother’s eyes.

“Hey, Yellowfang!” Archeye intercepted her as she hurried on. “I hear you were wounded. How are you?”

“Fine.”

Suddenly the clearing seemed to be full of cats, all of them bearing down on her, asking stupid questions about her injuries. Can’t they see I’m okay?

“Leave me alone, will you?” she snarled at Foxpaw and Wolfpaw as they came scurrying up, eager to hear about the battle. She veered away from the warriors’ den and ran across the clearing to the entrance.

“Stuck-up furball!” Foxpaw yowled after her.

Yellowfang plunged through the gap and headed for the shadows under the trees. Her mind was still reeling, but she was grateful for the calm and quiet of the forest. A moment later she heard the sound of paw steps and picked up a familiar scent: Rowanberry had followed her.

“What do you want?” Yellowfang growled.

“I’m worried about you,” her sister responded, blinking at Yellowfang in concern. “You don’t look badly hurt, but I can see something is wrong.”

For a moment Yellowfang felt the urge to tell Rowanberry the crazy things that Sagewhisker had said, all the nonsense about being able to feel other cats’ injuries. But as soon as she opened her jaws to speak, another sharp pain shot through her paw. With a sinking feeling in her belly she looked at Rowanberry, and saw that one of her claws was bent backward.