DOVEPAW AWOKE WHEN Badgertooth prodded her gently with a paw. "It's time to go," he mewed. He sounded overjoyed. Tonight they were going to the Moonpool. It was three moonrises after Leafpaw's death.

Dovepaw opened her eyes and saw Badgertooth standing in front of her, waiting. Moonlight shone through the bramble screen of the apprentices' den and snow covered the ground. The camp was quieting down and the last patrols were coming back in. "Okay. Let's go."

Tonight they would be traveling to the Moonpool to see the other medicine cats. It was their first time, and Badgertooth was nearly bouncing on his paws.

Dovepaw gave herself a quick grooming and followed Badgertooth outside of the medicine den. They passed Snowtail, who was guarding the camp. She still had healing scars from the day before. She nodded to them politely as they passed.

Badgertooth led Dovepaw along the path that led into neutral territory. They learned that this territory was used so that other Clans could get to Gatherings and the Moonpool. Badgertooth had told Dovepaw that it was a long journey to the Moonpool.

***

"Here we are," Badgertooth announced as they started to walk along a stream. "The others should be here soon. There's going to be a ceremony tonight. Just for you."

"It's an apprentice ceremony, I know. It's not that big of a deal," Dovepaw meowed.

Badgertooth's eyes flashed with recognition. Dovepaw suppressed a sigh. Oh no, I've gotten him started.

"It's a huge deal. You get to meet StarClan for the very first time and you will get the privileges of being a medicine cat. Like not having to care about borders or asking other Clans' medicine cats for things," Badgertooth explained.

Dovepaw nodded. "Okay. But there are still strict rules, like not being able to have a mate or kits." An image of Foxpaw came into her mind, and she swallowed a purr.

Badgertooth nodded. "Oh, no, that's going to happen. But it's true. A medicine cat with a mate and kits would have more responsibilities with the kits, and they would make it harder since the medicine cat would care a lot about them and maybe treat them better than the rest of the Clan."

"But I wouldn't do that!" Dovepaw exclaimed.

"I know. But still, the responsibilities are too much for a hard-working medicine cat," Badgertooth pointed out. "Oh, here they all are!" He flicked his tail to where five cats were crossing the stream.

Mapleleaf was the first to bound over to them. "Dovepaw! It's great to see you. How is training going?"

"It's going well," Dovepaw answered.

"She's a natural. She's got all of the herbs down, and she has performed perfectly in even the toughest emergencies," Badgertooth purred. "She's going to be just like you someday."

Mapleleaf's ear twitched. "I believe it. You're very brave, Dovepaw. I could tell when I first met you."

Dovepaw purred, not knowing what to say. "Thank you," she mewed shyly.

"Who's this?" A small, long-haired, light brown she-cat trotted over. She had a curious yet somewhat suspicious look on her face. "I don't recognize their scent. Or their faces."

"This is Badgertooth and Dovepaw, the medicine cats of FrostClan, the newly arrived Clan. Remember when Brightstar announced that?" Mapleleaf asked.

The she-cat nodded. "Yes, I do. I don't think the other Clans were happy." She dipped her head to Badgertooth and Dovepaw. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Fawnspots, the medicine cat of WindClan. And that black-and-white cat over there is my apprentice Swallowpaw. She can be a pain in the tail, the amount she talks."

A black-and-white she-cat bounded over to the other medicine cats. "Were you talking about me? Ooh, another apprentice! You are so lucky to be a medicine cat. It's amazing! I helped a kit with a bellyache once, and it made me feel so good! And StarClan is the most wonderful thing you could ever imagine!"

Fawnspots rested her tail tip on her apprentice's shoulder, silencing her. "Did I mention she's a pain in the tail sometimes?"

Dovepaw nodded. "Thanks, Swallowpaw. At first, I was unhappy, but now I'm starting to like it! I'm so excited to meet StarClan for the first time. Badgertooth says that it's more than half of a medicine cat's duty to interpret signs from StarClan."

"It is!" Swallowpaw responded excitedly, dancing on her paws.

"Let me introduce you to Cleartail and Fogsight." Mapleleaf flicked her tail to the pure white she-cat and the dark gray tom with sightless, milky blue eyes. "Cleartail is RiverClan's medicine cat. You will get along with her well, Dovepaw. Fogsight is ShadowClan's medicine cat. He may be getting old, but he has the temper of a fox sometimes."

Mapleleaf, who seemed to be just barely listening, flicked her tail to the others. "Come on, let's go. We're wasting moonlight."

They were just approaching a ditch with a spiraling path down to the bottom of it. A pool glittered with the reflection of the stars.

"It's so beautiful," Dovepaw purred. Swallowpaw flicked her ear with her tail tip.

"What'd I tell you?" she asked, her amber eyes sparkling. She and Dovepaw followed the rest of the medicine cats down to the pool. They gathered around it. Mapleleaf was gazing at Badgertooth expectantly.

Badgertooth put his tail tip on Dovepaw's shoulder suddenly. Dovepaw looked up at him. It was time for the ceremony!

"Dovepaw, is it your wish to enter into the mysteries of StarClan as a medicine cat?" Badgertooth asked. His bright blue eyes were nearly midnight blue in the shadows of where he stood.

Dovepaw felt a prickle of excitement and held back a purr of happiness. This never would have happened if her accident didn't happen. She was almost glad that she permanently injured herself. "It is," she replied genuinely.

"Then come forward." Badgertooth pointed to the pool with his ears and they stepped forward, eyes wide and sparkling with anticipation. "Warriors of StarClan, I present to you this apprentice. She has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant her your wisdom and insight so that she may understand your ways and heal her Clan in accordance with your will."

Dovepaw felt a fiery passion for her new role. She would be able to be the best of the best if she paid attention and all the things that the greatest medicine cats did. She would be able to be like Mapleleaf and Badgertooth; they were the best medicine cats she knew.

"Crouch down and drink from the pool," Badgertooth ordered. Dovepaw crouched down and the other medicine cats, including Badgertooth, did so as well. As the ice-cold droplets touched her tongue, she laid down and sank into sleep.

Dovepaw was lying down in the forest. It was dark, but moonlight shone, outlining the trees in silver. A beautiful, fluffy white she-cat stepped forward, her pelt filled with stars. She looked heartbreakingly familiar. "Hello, young one."

Dovepaw jumped. The she-cat's eyes glowed in the dark plain, but at the same time, they were soothing. Her fur was as soft as a cloud. "Softcloud! Aren't you . . . dead?"

Softcloud nodded solemnly. "I am," she mewed. "This is StarClan."

Dovepaw felt excitement rush through her. "This is StarClan?" The fur along her spine lifted with excitement, and she had to take deep breaths to flatten it again. She looked around, amazed. A mrrow of contentment escaped her, and Softcloud purred.

"Yes. Dovepaw, I have watched you since I arrived here. I am so proud of how you have acted this past moon and a half. Which is why I have an important message to share with you. If you're ready." Softcloud gazed down at Dovepaw, eyes glittering.

"Oh, yes, I'm ready!" Dovepaw sat down and curled her tail neatly over her paws. She pricked her ears.

The air around her seemed to be filled with tension. Dovepaw thought she could see images of fighting cats and darkness. Her heartbeat quickened. Softcloud's voice sounded nothing like the sweet, kind one that Dovepaw knew. "When the moon shines in the sky, many will be lost and betrayed. But light will shine from the darkest storm clouds if only one can find it."

As she spoke, Dovepaw swore she could see cats in her vision, surrounded by fire and huge, dark, snarling cats with bloodthirsty yellow eyes. Time passed, and soon the frightened cats were all gone. Dovepaw gasped as she realized that it was her Clan and MoonClan in that vision.

Dovepaw blinked. She looked at Softcloud, worry rising in her. Why would she tell her? She was just an apprentice. That was something that a full-grown cat should be dealing with! She barely had any experience interpreting signs from StarClan! She said the same thing to Softcloud.

"You were the right one to tell," Softcloud answered. "You don't know right now, but in time you will realize what StarClan sees in you."

Dovepaw's tail twitched at the thought. "Softcloud, I don't want to go back where cats are dying back and forth and where . . . where you're not there."

Softcloud touched Dovepaw's nose with hers. "We see strength and bravery in you, Dovepaw. Your confidence in the waking world will come before you know it."

"But I don't see it yet, and when I don't know, well, I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll fail or—"

"Like I said, confidence depends on time. I will watch over you and I will be with you always."

The world faded into darkness.

Dovepaw opened her eyes in the Moonpool hollow. Under her paws, she felt smooth pebbles on her pads. She looked around and saw that the other medicine cats were waking from their dreams, too. Swallowpaw's amber eyes were gleaming yellow in the moonlight. She looked overjoyed. Dovepaw guessed it was just because she shares tongues with StarClan again.

Dovepaw stood up and stretched. She padded over to the other medicine cats. They ascended up the spiral path and started down the path.

Swallowpaw was trotted next to Dovepaw. "Wasn't that amazing? When I had my first dream from StarClan, I was scared, but soon I found out that it wasn't that bad. I can talk about things that would help my Clan."

Dovepaw hardly heard her. The prophecy whirled in her mind. She wanted to see Softcloud padded gracefully next to her. But instead, there was no one but Swallowpaw. "It was amazing," she told Swallowpaw.

"Who'd you see?" Swallowpaw asked.

"I'm not sure if I should say . . ." Dovepaw glanced at Badgertooth expectantly.

Badgertooth nodded. "Go ahead."

"I saw my nursery mother, Softcloud. You wouldn't know her . . . but the whole Clan misses her dearly. Especially my littermate, Mousepaw, and I," Dovepaw explained. "I just wish she were here now, you know?"

Swallowpaw's sparkling amber eyes darkened, as if she were remembering something similar. "I haven't experienced that . . . but my mother, Brambletail, has, and I know a little about it. I'm sorry Softcloud left you. How did it happen?"

"On our Clan's journey, there was a fox that attacked her and her kits, Flykit and Icekit. Luckily one of our warriors was there. She saved the kits and drove the fox away, but Softcloud died. Snowtail, the warrior that saved them, told us that she was torn apart." An air of melancholy suddenly surrounded them.

Swallowpaw opened her mouth to reply, but Fawnspots touched her shoulder with her tail-tip. "We're leaving. Juniperstorm is waiting for us, remember?"

Swallowpaw nodded. "Yeah, I remember." She began to follow her mentor before she looked back over her shoulder. "Thanks for sharing that with me, Dovepaw. I look forward to seeing you again!" She bounded over the stream and disappeared in the distance, her black-and-white fur outlined in glittery silver.

"The rest of us should get going, too. Our camps are that way," Mapleleaf informed them. "Goodbye. I hope it was lovely tonight, Dovepaw." She flicked her tail and she, Fogsight, and Cleartail were gone.

Dovepaw and Badgertooth continued along the path when they were gone. "How'd you like it?" Badgertooth asked.

Dovepaw dipped her head. "It was amazing! It was confusing at first . . . but now I know that I will love this role as a medicine cat apprentice!"

Badgertooth's midnight blue eyes sparkled like a deep stream with the sun shining upon it. "I'm glad. And I'm also glad that you're my apprentice. You know, when Mapleleaf said that you were brave one day, she wasn't wrong."

Dovepaw let out a mrrow. "I acted as any cat would with an injury like that."

"You're still young, Dovepaw. I bet a couple of mouse tails that no apprentice would be so calm and well-thought, especially after the accident."

"Yeah, well, there was no room for—" Dovepaw stopped when a horribly familiar scent wafted over to them. MoonClan! She spotted a tuft of slightly bloody gray fur. "B-Badgertooth?"

Badgertooth looked apprehensive as he stepped forward to stand side-by-side with Dovepaw. "What is it, Dovepaw?" He opened his mouth to drink in the air. His fur began to bristle. "MoonClan! Come out, whoever is there! We can smell you . . . and see your fur!"

The bushes rustled and a dark gray she-cat with many scratches and a deep gash near her throat stumbled out. Dovepaw tensed and Badgertooth hissed softly. "I'm sorry! I'm just looking for help." Her icy blue eyes were wide with horror and pain.

Badgertooth curled his lip in a snarl. "Why would we help you?" He unsheathed his claws. They glinted silver in the moonlight. "You're a MoonClan cat!"

Dovepaw swallowed a growl rising in her throat. You fox-heart! "We have to help her!" She glanced at the she-cat, who looked more than grateful.

"But she's from MoonClan! Most MoonClan cats are extremely good at acting," Badgertooth hissed.

Dovepaw felt a piercing claw of pity and rage. "This cat's injuries are obviously not intentional. Someone attacked her!"

The hope in the she-cat's eyes faded. Her next words came in painful gasps. "Look, you . . . you don't have to . . . help . . ." She stumbled forward suddenly, her legs collapsing like they turned into water.

Dovepaw steadied her and the she-cat leaned helplessly on her shoulder. "My point is, her wound looks pretty real to me," Dovepaw meowed, not expecting the hostility in her own voice. "Also Lynxstar once told Mousepaw and I about a cat in MoonClan who often came to FrostClan, asking for help. This might be her."

A growl rose in Badgertooth's throat. His gaze softened, though. "Fine. Dovepaw, support her until we get to the camp." Dovepaw nodded with a pitiful look at Frozenfang. "What's your name anyway?"

"Frozenfang," the gray she-cat gasped.

Dovepaw nodded. They began to move along the path. "We will get you to safety. Just hang in there. The camp isn't far away."

Frozenfang didn't speak, but she looked up at Dovepaw with gratitude showing in her eyes.