Chapter 5
Appleheart watched as Nightleaf and Brightfeather left the circle of cats in a hurry. Turning her gaze to the kits' mother, she saw that she was listening to something Rainpelt was saying. As Rainpelt finished with what she was saying, Appleheart saw the tabby she-cat perk up with happiness. The she-cat then said something to Rainpelt, and hurried into the crowd of cats.
As Rainpelt sat down a mouse-length away from the kits, Nightleaf and Brightfeather returned with herbs and cobwebs. Curious as to what they were doing, Appleheart padded up to Rainpelt.
"Hiya there, Rainpelt!" she meowed. Rainpelt only flicked her tail in acknowledgement. "So..." started Appleheart. "What're Nightleaf an' Brightfeather doin' with the kits? Will the kits live?"
"Yes," purred Rainpelt. "The kits will live. They only have a couple scratches. I'm just surprised no one else saw them breathing."
"Maybe they were just to shaken up about that skirmish with the other cats to realize it," meowed Appleheart.
"Maybe..." replied Rainpelt. She trailed off as Nightleaf and Brightfeather padded up to Lionstar, who was standing with the brown tabby she-cat at the edge of the crowd closest to the kits. Appleheart followed a few paw steps behind.
"...Be alright," meowed Nightleaf. "Brightfeather here is a natural medicine cat." Upon hearing this, Brightfeather looked at her paws. "Anyways, it's just a few scratches." continued Nightleaf. "They can return to the nursery in a couple days."
"Good," purred Lionstar. He then padded into the crowd of watching cats. Soon, every cat was heading towards one of the small clearings except for Appleheart and her friends.
As Appleheart watched, she noticed a calico tomcat padding up to them. She recognized this as her mentor, Spottednose.
"Hi!' meowed Spottednose. "Why don't you come to the warrior's den and sleep? Or do you stay awake all the time where you came from?" His bright yellow eyes shone with humor and delight. He then playfully nudged Brightfeather's shoulder with his nose. "And why don't you go to the medicine cat's den?" He sighed. "Medicine cats and their apprentices can't sleep in the warrior's den..."
Brightfeather's cheeks turned slightly pink as her eyes widened, partially in confusion. "O-okay" she mewed. She then turned and ran to the medicine cat's den.
Appleheart turned to her friends and shrugged. "Sure," she meowed to Spottednose. But for a moment, Spottednose didn't reply, and only watched the bush where Brightfeather had gone through. Finally, he nodded and started walking to the warrior's den with Appleheart and the other four following.