A warm breeze ruffled Yellowfang’s pelt. She jolted awake to find herself on a sunlit stretch of marshland. The sound of trickling water filled the air, and unseen birds sang overhead. A feeling of being watched crept over Yellowfang as she lay enjoying the sunlight on her fur. Sitting up, she noticed Silverflame beside her, gazing at her with eyes that were soft with sympathy.
“Oh, Yellowfang,” she murmured.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Yellowfang demanded with a snarl. “The night Sagewhisker made me a full medicine cat, I saw the reflection of three kits behind me. Why didn’t you tell me what was going to happen?”
Silverflame sighed. “What good would that have done? I couldn’t change your future. Better that you didn’t grieve before it happened.”
“I should have stopped seeing Raggedpelt!” Yellowfang protested.
Silverflame regarded her gravely. “It was already too late. And not even the medicine cat code was strong enough to make you do that.”
Yellowfang sprang up and started to pace, sending lizards and frogs skittering from her paws.
“A small black cat? Oh, you must mean Molepelt.” Silverflame hesitated, and Yellowfang wondered if she was hiding something. “Molepelt was the ShadowClan medicine cat many, many seasons ago. He makes little sense at the best of times,” Silverflame mewed. “He is treated with kindness, but it doesn’t always pay to listen too closely.”
“He told me that a kit will be born that will bring fire and blood to the forest!” Yellowfang hissed, her voice shaking. “Why would he tell me if it wasn’t one of my kits? There’s something about Brokenkit…”
Yellowfang choked on the rest of her words as Silverflame swept her tail across her mouth.
“A mother says nothing bad about her kits,” the StarClan warrior warned. “If you do not love them, who will?”
“But I can’t be a proper mother to Brokenkit,” Yellowfang meowed wretchedly.
“No, because you are a medicine cat, and your Clan must always come first.” Silverflame took a pace toward Yellowfang, and there was warmth in her gaze. “But that doesn’t mean you cannot be his friend, and a force for good in his life. Don’t give up on him, Yellowfang. You could be his only hope.”
As Silverflame finished speaking the marshland around her started to fade, and Yellowfang knew she was waking up. “Wait!” she cried. “Where are my daughters? Are they here?”
Silverflame was already no more than a glimmering outline, but as Yellowfang stared around, she caught a glimpse of two tiny, pale shapes watching her from a clump of grass.
Yellowfang’s heart began pounding in her chest. She tried to run to the kits but instead of moving toward them she felt her legs paddling against cold, hard stone. She opened her eyes to find herself back in the cavern, fresh waves of grief surging over her until she could barely stop herself from screeching aloud.
As she and the other cats rose to their paws, preparing to leave, Brambleberry padded up to Yellowfang. “Bad news?” she murmured into Yellowfang’s ear.
Yellowfang shook her head. “Sad dreams, that’s all,” she replied.
Yellowfang slipped out of camp before the dawn patrols had left. Pale light was trickling through the trees, but shadows still lay deep among the undergrowth. Dew clung to every blade of grass and cobweb. Fluffing up her fur against the chill, Yellowfang suppressed a yawn. The weather would warm up later in the day, and here and there she could spot a hint of green on the branches. With newleaf not far off, she was out early every morning, searching the forest for the herbs the Clan needed so badly after the cold of leaf-bare. She would dig carefully through the leaf mold to find the tiniest shoots, clearing away debris so that they could reach the sunlight, and bringing back what she could.
The sun dazzled her eyes by the time Yellowfang returned to camp. She had found a few precious comfrey leaves and tansy to soothe Nightpaw’s persistent cough, as well as a few blackbird feathers for Sagewhisker’s nest. As Yellowfang approached the camp, the first hunting patrol emerged from the tunnel. Raggedpelt was in the lead, with Foxheart beside him, followed by Mudclaw, Deerleap, and Russetfur, who gave Yellowfang a friendly wave of her tail as she passed.
Raggedpelt and Foxheart were talking together; Foxheart broke off to give Yellowfang a scornful glance as they passed by. Raggedpelt didn’t even look at her.
