A Twist Along the Path

'I loved Erin Hunter's Firestar's Quest and SkyClan so I decided to write a story about SkyClan. Please tell me on the talk page if you like it so far!'

Chapter One
Rowanpaw slid along the side of the bramble bush. A cold breeze ruffled her fur and frost crunched beneath her paws. Leaf-bare was approaching rapidly. Rowanpaw sighed; it seemed as if only yesterday it had been well into green-leaf. It could have been just a couple of days ago that she had been sunbathing by the camp entrance. But the past couple of moons had been so busy they had passed in a blur.

Rowanpaw breathed in, taking in all of the forest smells. Her mentor, Bluehaze, had sent her looking for herbs. They had to stock up before all the plants died and the snow came.

Slipping into a well-worn track, Rowanpaw followed the faint scent of horsetail. It would come in handy for any infected wounds during the cold season. She broke off as much as she could and buried it. Rowanpaw smelt the air again, hoping to catch the sharp scent of borage. One of the queens, Pebbleshine, was expecting kits and they would be coming any day now. She desperately needed them for milk to feed her kits but the last few days neither of the medicine cats had been able to find any.

Sighing, Rowanpaw leaped towards the stream. She hadn’t been able to catch even a hint of the plant’s bitter smell. Hoping desperately that the borage plants hadn’t already died, Rowanpaw padded along the side of the stream. Watermint and juniper bushes grew in damp places. This would be the best place to find them.

She managed to get a few watermint stems and a couple of juniper berries before it started to get darker.

Rowanpaw padded back along the track to where she had buried her horsetail. Placing the juniper berries and watermint carefully on the ground, she scraped earth away from the stems. Rowanpaw grabbed the little herbs she had managed to collect and followed the path back to camp.

SkyClan lived in the caves at the bottom of a cliff. The medicine cat den was placed further away from the caves, in a space inside a pile of huge rocks. Bluehaze was waiting for Rowanpaw outside of the den, her blue-grey fur puffed out in an attempt to keep the cold out.

“Hello, Rowanpaw,” the medicine cat greeted her apprentice. “Were you able to find any borage?” Rowanpaw shook her head.

“I searched everywhere,” she mumbled around her mouthful of herbs. “None anywhere.” Bluehaze beckoned me forwards with her tail and Rowanpaw slipped through the entrance of the den. She spat the herbs out onto the smooth stone floor.

“Pebbleshine’s kits are coming any moment now,” Bluehaze told me. “If you haven’t found any borage then she may not have any milk to feed them.” Rowanpaw’s green eyes widened.

“Pebbleshine’s kits are coming?” she gasped. “Now?”�

“Not yet,” meowed the blue-grey she-cat. “But she is very restless and her kits are kicking more than usual.”�

“Well,” I considered. “If the worst comes to the worst, Rainflower can always feed them.” Bluehaze nodded.

“I suppose so,” she meowed. “But Rainflower also has her own kits to feed.” Rowanpaw flicked her tail. It was sure a problem, but everything had a solution – didn’t it?

She yawned and watched the moonlight filtering through the entrance turn the stone floor silver. The medicine cat den was a very beautiful place, especially when it was lit by the moon.

“Is there anything I can do?” Rowanpaw asked her mentor. Bluehaze shook her head.

“You get your rest,” she told me. “It’s been a busy couple of moons.” Rowanpaw nodded gratefully and padded across the den to her nest. It was soft fluffy with fresh moss. I lay down on it and curled up into a tight ball. Sleep overtook me in a heartbeat.

Rowanpaw stood just outside of the camp. All around came wails and yowls of terrified cats. But she was the only one there. As far as she could see, she was the only cat for miles and, as she looked around, she could see no danger.

The cries kept on coming, making the fur on Rowanpaw’s spine bristle. She wanted to help them, but she couldn’t see these cats or the danger.

“Where are you?” she yowled.

Slowly, faint ghostly figures appeared inside the camp.