Clearlight's POV:

Clearlight stalked towards the mouse, ears flattened to his head. He creeped ever so slowly, making sure he caught this mouse. He had missed a vole before he saw the mouse and other than that, he'd been unsuccessful in finding any other prey in the whole East side of the territory.

He was about to pounce on the squirrel when Cloudsun burst through the undergrowth, yowling, "Silverstar is calling an urgent meeting back at camp!!"

The mouse scurried away as soon as Cloudsun crashed clumsily through the bushes and Clearlight snarled, "You mouse-brain! I lost that mouse because of you!"

"Sorry!" Cloudsun panted and shook out his light grey and white fur, "But Silverstar told me to get all of the warriors back to camp!"

Clearlight growled under his breath and lashed his thick grey tail, "Fine. I'll be at camp, Fluffystream is out hunting closer to the border." He gaze Cloudsun a stern stare, "Don't ruin his hunt."

Cloudsun nodded and dashed away again. Clearlight sighed and lowered his head slightly before pushing past a bramble bush, the thorns snagged at his thick pelt but Clearlight shrugged off the sharp pricks and took off at a fast trot towards camp.

Clearlight had to admit that Cloudsun did seem quite shaken up. Whatever Silverstar was calling the meeting about, it seemed very important.

So Clearlight picked up his pace until he was sprinting down the pathway that led back to camp. His legs pumped beneath him and his tail whipped behind him and he steered himself through the undergrowth, dodging a low hanging branch.

It wasn't long before Clearlight reached camp and he slowed as he crashed through the entrance and came to a bit of a clumsy stop right beside Bumblestrike. The younger grey tom was staring at Clearlight with wide eyes. Mousenose muttered from behind him, "Watch where you're going." The brown she cat nudged her brother away from Clearlight and the two joined Demonpelt and Whitetail closer to the Hightree.

Clearlight settled down next to Nutwhisker and, weirdly, Shinepaw as he caught his breath. "What did Silverstar want us for?"

"I don't know. But if you take a deep breath, you can smell Magiclan scent in the air." Shinepaw meowed and took a loud sniff of the air to show.

Clearlight silently parted his mouth and breathed in the scents. Shinepaw was right; there was Magiclan scent. It was fresh too. He was about to voice his thoughts when Silverstar yowled, "Cats of Lightclan!"

By then, the other patrols had returned to camp and everyone except for Wildkit and Stormflame stood crowded by the Hightree, awaiting Silverstar's announcement.

"As most of you can smell, a Magiclan cat is among us." Silverstar began. Her statement immediately started a chain reaction of mutters.

"I knew I smelled Magiclan." Fluffystream hissed.

Blizzardpaw yowled, "Is it a prisoner? I wanna see!"

Blackpaw interrupted Blizzardpaw, "No let me see it! I'll rip his eyes out!"

In the end, the two troublemaking apprentices started play fighting and Foxclaw and Cloudsun had to yank the two off eachother to stop them fighting.

Clearlight turned his attention from thw commotion and back to Silverstar. The silver she cat had a stern expression as she stared at Blizzardpaw and Blackpaw. "Blizzardpaw, got sit with your mentor until the end of the meeting!"

Blizzardpaw muttered softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear, "Blackpaw gets off easy because he's the leader's kit. Mouse-brain." The tom's blue eyes blazed with wrath as he stalked towards his mentor.

Silverstar turned her burning gaze to Blackpaw, "And you. Don't think I'd go easy on you because you are my kit. You are equally to blame. Go sit with Rosepaw; she will keep you in check."

Clearlight grinned when he realised what Silverstar was doing. She was embarrassing her kit in front of the whole clan by making his little sister care for him.

After a few more mutters from the cats on the ground, Silverstar raised her voice in a yowl for silence and the clearing was silent again. "The Magiclan cat who has come here to camp is their medicine cat, Watersplash. She had been exiled and sent to our territory."

As if on cue, Watersplash emerged from Silverstar's den. She looked terrible! Clearlight felt a flash of pity for her. Her pelt was matted and her eyes were dull from hunger. Her ears were torn in places, it seemed she had been attacked before coming to Lightclan territory.

Clearlight kept his gaze on Watersplash as Silverstar meowed, "She will be staying here and Nutwhisker will look after her. No complaining about her. Clan dismissed."

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Nutwhisker's POV:

Once the meeting ended, Nutwhisker meowed to Shinepaw. "You can go with your mentor now. I don't need your help anymore."

The young she cat's eyes grew wide, "No! I-I want to help more! I can.. I can help sort your herbs or get moss for the elders. I don't want to train with my mentor!"

Nutwhisker was confused and eyed Shinepaw quizzically, "Why are you so eager to help me?"

"Um..." Shinepaw avoided eye contact and meowed softly, "I want to be your apprentice."

Nutwhisker was surprised but also glad at the same time. It was great that there was finally someone who wanted to be his apprentice, it seemed that no one had been interested. With Watersplash being around as well, there'd be three medicine cats in Lightclan. The timing was perfect, because of the outbreak of Greencough and Whitecough.

"That's great! I will talk to Silverstar about letting you be my apprentice after I sort Watersplash out." Nutwhisker flashed a kind smile and trotted to meet Watersplash. The older medicine cat limped towards Nutwhisker and she brushed noses briefly with him in greeting.

"Thank you for your kindness, Nutwhisker." The she cat meowed and her soft blue eyes shone despite the darkness around them from clouds covering the sun.

Nutwhisker felt a purr rise in his throat but he forced it down and meowed, "Come with me to my den. I'll clean you up and heal your wounds." He glanced at Shinepaw, "Get some prey for Watersplash, if you can find any."

Shinepaw nodded eagerly and scurried away to the fresh-kill pile and sniffed around until she found the most plump squirrel in the pile and brought it over to Nutwhisker proudly as they stepped into the den.

"Is Shinepaw your apprentice?" Watersplash asked as she smiled sweetly down at the young she cat carrying the squirrel.

"Soon to be. Just moments ago she confessed her liking for being a medicine cat." Nutwhisker replied and pointed at a nest at the end of the den. He made sure Watersplash stayed away from the Stormflame and Wildkit so that she wasn't infected by the sickness. Though the den smelled quite strongly of Greencough, he knew it wouldn't be long until Watersplash realised.

Shinepaw placed the squirrel by Watersplash as she sat down and she was about to take a hungry bite when she stopped and looked up at Nutwhisker as he padded past the sleeping shape Stormflame. "I smell Greencough." She hissed.

"A kit came in the other day with severe hunger and it turned out she had Greencough." Nutwhisker kept his explanation vague as he padded into his herb store and rumaged through it to find the coltsfoot. The leak had been stopped so the herbs were brought back inside. With the help from Shinepaw, it only took a short while to sort everything back into its places.

"Have you treated her? Are any other cats sick?" Watersplash's voice grew into a shrill mew of panic and Nutwhisker sighed softly. She should keep her nose out of his business. Then again, she was a medicine cat...

"Only Stormflame. He came down with Whitecough earlier this morning." Nutwhisker sighed when he found no coltsfoot and instead picked up some tansy. It wouldn't be as effective for treating Stormflame, but it should help before he got even more sick. He retrieved the marigold for Watersplash.

"The deputy?!" Watersplash's voice sounded again. Nutwhisker chose not to answer.

Nutwhisker trotted back out from the herb store and placed the tansy by Stormflame to use later before settling in front of Watersplash. He chewed the marigold into a pulp and carefully applied it to her torn ears. Her ears weren't bleeding anymore, they were crusted over with dry blood but there was still the risk of infection.

As he applied the marigold, Watersplash hissed in discomfort and fidgeted against him. "Stay still." He meowed to the older she cat.

"Now I understand why it's so hard for the warriors to keep still." She muttered but stayed still anyway and meowed again, "Thanks Nutwhisker."

Nutwhisker felt warmth blossom inside of him, "No problem." Was all he said in reply before he stood up. Watersplash smiled before dipping her head towards the squirrel and began eating it silently.

Nutwhisker turned to Stormflame and sniffed him. He still had Whitecough, thank Starclan. It hadn't developed into Greencough. He nudged the deputy awake. "Eat this." He ordered softly and sat back to let Stormflame lean towards the tansy and lick it up. He gagged and started coughing and the tansy flew from his mouth. Nutwhisker growled as the half-chewed herb splatted on the ground. "Stormflame!" He muttered before pawing the ruined tansy to the edge of the den. He got up to get some more as Stormflame struggled to control his coughing.

When Nutwhisker returned with more tansy, Stormflame had stopped couging but his breathing was laboured and heavy. Nutwhisker frowned and got up again. He trotted to the herb store and fetched some coltfoot but remembered with a pang of dread that he jad none. Coltsfoot was the only herb he knew of that helped cats with breathing problems! It was such an important herb! How did he not have any?!

Stormflame's breathing was growing faster and more painful and Nutwhisker panicked. He didn't know what to do. He scanned his mind desperately for anything at all that might help the deputy. Thyme came to mind and he checked his store for any and saw there was a limited amount left. Thyme should calm Stormflame and help his breathing.

Nutwhisker grabbed the thyme in his jaws and dropped it by Stormflame, "Eat this now!" He ordered the wheezing cat.

With some trouble, Stormflame eventually licked the thyme up in his mouth and began chewing. He swallowed and a cough erupted from him but the thyme was down already and his laboured breathing began to calm slightly.

Nutwhisker breathed a sigh of relief.

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