2 chappys in a day YAS :DDD

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Nutwhisker's POV:

That night was the half moon gathering by the Starcave where the medicine cats of the three clans would gather to share tongues with Starclan. Nutwhisker would present Shinepaw at the Starcave and make her an official medicine cat apprentice.

But it was only just past dawn and Nutwhisker was sitting in his den, watching Silverstar, Stormflame, Watersplash and Wildkit sleeping. It was a wonder that Watersplash hadn't caught Whitecough despite being surrounded by it. Then again, Nutwhisker didn't have Whitecough either. Perhaps medicine cats are immune. Nutwhisker laughed at his random statement and stood up from the dusty ground. The strong aroma of herbs filled Nutwhisker's nose and he let out a deep sigh.

"Shinepaw." Nutwhisker whispered to the resting apprentice. Immediately, her head popped up and her eyes were wide and alert.

"Yes Nutwhisker?" She asked and stood up from her nest with a stretch.

"I'm going on a mission and I need your help." Nutwhisker smiled as Shinepaw grinned like a mad cat.

"What is the mission?" She asked with a happy flick of her tail.

Nutwhisker led Shinepaw out of the den and towards the camp exit. "We're going to twolegplace to collect herbs. But a nasty rogue guards the herbs I need and we need to chase her away. You know how to fight, yes?"

"Of course!" Shinepaw gave her chest fur a proud lick as they head in the direction of the border.

"Good." Nutwhisker meowed and sped up slightly so that they were trotting quickly through the forest.

It wasn't long before they crossed over the Thunderpath and the two medicine cats stood underneath the fence. On the other side was the herbs. The scent of the rogue was still strong so she was still guarding them. Nutwhisker picked up scent markers around the edge of the fence. The she cat made that twoleg garden her own territory!

Shinepaw whispered, "Shall we go in?"

"Yes." Nutwhisker meowed and bunched his muscles before springing up onto the fence. Shinepaw followed quickly behind as he dropped to the ground and crouched down.

"Ah, the weakling has brought a friend." The she cat's voice hissed from behind a clump of leaves and Nutwhisker saw her glowing grey eyes staring at him and Shinepaw.

Shinepaw bushed out her fur and growled, "Let us get our herbs and we won't rip out your fur!"

The rogue she cat grinned and emerged from her hiding place and slunk towards Nutwhisker. "You need a kitten to protect you? Don't you have Warriors to fight for you?"

"The warriors are out fighting a ly-" Nutwhisker swept his tail over Shinepaw's mouth before she could say anything else. He didn't want the she cat to know the camp was half empty; if she spread the word then they might be attacked.

"A ly? What's that?" The she cat bared her yellow fangs and padded closer to Shinepaw. The apprentice let out a hostile hiss.

"Just let us get our herbs!" Shinepaw snarled.

"Nope!" The rogue laughed and lashed out at Shinepaw with unsheathed claws. "I'll kill you first, then I'll go for Weakling!"

Shinepaw ducked away from the she cat's claws and darted to the side. She leapt onto the bigger cat's back and latched onto her head with her claws. Shinepaw kicked her hind legs at the rogue's hind legs and the rogue collapsed underneath the apprentice. The rogue leapt up and dug her fangs into Shinepaw's forepaw.

Shinepaw yowled and tried to rip her paw from the rogue's teeth. Nutwhisker felt a rush of courage and lunged forwards and pounced on the rogue's back. He dug his claws into her shoulders and the rogue growled and let go of Shinepaw's paw. She twisted her head around and snapped her jaws at Nutwhisker. "Give up Weakling! You're no match for me!"

Nutwhisker snarled and dug his claws in deeper, "This is my garden! I collect my herbs here!"

As Nutwhisker distracted the she cat, Shinepaw gained her posture again and lunged for the rogue, scoring her claws down her face. The rogue fell beneath Nutwhisker and he immediately jumped off her. He didn't want to hurt her anymore than he had to.

The rogue rose to her paws and glared at Nutwhisker and Shinepaw. Nutwhisker growled back. The rogue narrowed her grey eyes before spinning around and whisking away, over the fence.

Shinepaw let out a small sigh of relief from beside Nutwhisker. "Thank Starclan I didn't have to hurt her anymore."

"She shouldn't come back.. For a while at least." Nutwhisker replied and turned to face the plants and flowers. "Now, we need catmint, Watermint and coltsfoot. Do you know what each one looks like?"

Shinepaw stared thoughtfully at the plants around her and meowed, "I think this is watermint..?" She pointed her paw at the violet coloured plant a little way away.

Nutwhisker was impressed, "Yes it is watermint! Well done." He padded towards the Watermint and nipped off a but of it, leaving some so that more grew later on. "Can you find coltfoot while I look for catmint?"

"Okay!" Shinepaw scurried off and sniffed around the many herbs and flowers. Nutwhisker turned the other way and padded towards the clump of catmint at the edge of the garden. The twoleg den towered over Nutwhisker, casting a long shadow over the garden. Nutwhisker sniffed around and tried to find a healthy plant but to his dismay, all of the catmint was withered away. The usually purple colour was just a dull brown.

"Fox-dung." Nutwhisker cursed and lashed his tail. "Now what?" He whispered to himself.

"I found the coltsfoot!" Shinepaw approached Nutwhisker with a massive amount coltfoot. The shoots were nice and bright yellow. At least the coltfoot is plentiful and healthy. Nutwhisker thought and flashed Shinepaw a proud smile.

"Good job! Did you collect all of the coltsfoot there?" Nutwhisker questioned as he took the coltsfoot from Shinepaw and placed it gently beside the watermint.

"Nope! I saw how you left some watermint for more to grow later so I did the same with the coltsfoot." Shinepaw smiled and cast a glance behind Nutwhisker's shoulder. "Did you find the catmint?"

Nutwhisker shook his head sadly, "No. Catmint is the only herb known to treat Greencough. If anyone else comes down with Greencough, I won't be able to heal them. Wildkit is already growing weaker; I don't think she will survive much longer without catmint.. The coltsfoot isn't helping."

Shinepaw stepped closer and rested her muzzle against Nutwhisker's chest reassuringly. "It's okay. The catmint will grow back."

"But we need it now!" Nutwhisker snapped and immediately regretted being mean to Shinepaw.

But the apprentice just purred softly. "Let's head back. We have watermint and loads of coltsfoot. At least we can treat Silverstar and Stormflame right? Wildkit is a strong she kit; she will make it."

Nutwhisker sighed, "I hope you're right."

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Stormflame's POV:

Stormflame was dreaming. But it wasn't any normal dream. He stood on a cliff, his coal black fur billowing in a strong breeze that blew around him. The wind was cold and it pierced his skin as it swept his fur the wrong way. Stormflame blinked his ice blue eyes against the wind and tried to make out where he was but all he saw was mist. He looked down the cliff and couldn't see the bottom, only mist.

Then, a cat emerged from the mist at the bottom of the cliff. The cat shone brightly and was running in the air up towards Stormflame. As the cat approached, their bright fur dimmed slightly and their run slowed to a trot. Once they were only a few fox lengths away, the cat slowed to a painful walk. They were hunched over as if they were in agony. A distant howl of pain met Stormflame's ears and he flattened them against his head to try and block out the terrifying sound.

Once the cat made its way closer to Stormflame, he made out their features. It's fur was silver with dark stripes running along its back and tail. The cat's head was dipped low and Stormflame could see tears falling from the cat's cheeks. Then the cat raised its- her head and stared at Stormflame with desperation and agony. Stormflame stumbled backwards when the she cat's bright green eyes met his and he let out a voiceless whisper, "Silverstar?!"

Silverstar closed her eyes and her light fur dimmed more. Once she opened her eyes, they were no longer bright green but dull from what seemed like endless agony. Suddenly, dark red blood started dripping from her small pink nose and slithered down her closed lips and down her chin.

At first it was just a small slither of blood but soon more blood started falling from her closed lips and Stormflame tried to rip his gaze from the horrible nightmare but his eyes were glued to Silverstar and his paws were rooted to the spot.

Then Silverstar parted her jaws and let out an ear-splitting cry of pain. Blood poured down her face and drenched her once beautiful silver fur. Her wide eyes bore into his as she floated before Stormflame.

After another low yowl of pain, Silverstar finally dimmed completely so that all Stormflame could see was the remains of the blood that had dripped onto the lip of the cliff. Stormflame finally found his paws and tried to move away but his limbs felt like jelly and he collapsed in a heap on the ground.

A single tear fell from his eye as he lay in a heap on the cliff.

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