Chapter 1: The Air

They were all so tired, especially Mint. She was not fully healed but still, we had a rough last couple of days. First we got caught up with some crazy cats that attacked us and then some coyotes. I could tell based on the look on Oister's face that she just wanted to go home.

Kettle was a completely different story, he was excited as ever and he was ready to continue on our treacherous path each day. We had or misfits and falls, we had broken off the path a couple of times. I still had a feeling we were going the right way.

No matter how much Mint and Oister tried to tell me otherwise. I thought about the mountain cats every day, I was not going to lie. I thought about living there. I knew Stoneteller would happily let us in just like their old leader did with Kettle.

I could not bring myself to it. I knew that Stoneteller would let us in, but at the same time he would be greatly disappointed that I had failed with my journey. I just wanted to sleep now, all that had been going on. I could tell Oister and Mint were thinking the exact same thing even though they would not admit to it.

Kettle however looked like he could keep on walking for several days straight with no rest. I did not know how he could do it. Especially when he still did not know if the end goal was true or not.

I sat back for a few moments and let Kettle take the lead. I wanted to sleep, Mint and Oister both had their heads down, they were thinking the exact same thing. I knew that we couldn't, I knew that if we layed down to rest, each day we did that, then the lazier and lazier we would get.

I would not lie, Kettle was the one that was keeping us up. I did not say anything about it because I was thinking the exact same thing as Mint and Oister. I stayed back and I yelled for Kettle to stop.

He looked back at me surprised and Mint and Oister looked up at me with the same looks on their face. Even though Kettle was the one that was keeping us all up, I was still the leader out of all of us.

"I think we need to rest for the night. I am tired, Mint and Oister are as well." I said to Kettle. He looked at me a bit surprised. And at the same time he looked a bit angry, not at me by any means but it still had me a bit taken aback.

"What? We could be so close... At any moment we could find the lake." He said to me. He looked at me a bit sadly, I shook my head though. We had been in nothing but fields, and it kept on going like that we were in the woods right now but I could see more fields in front of me.

"Kettle... We are tired. I know that you are too. We need a good nights of sleep. We have no had one in a while. Nothing but rogues and Coyotes every night." I said to him. He looked at me and he shook his head. I sighed, I knew that he would not bring himself to do it. He was surprisingly the one that wanted to keep going out if all of us.

"Moon... I think it is you that is just tired. You are the leader so step up and act like it!" Kettle said to the both of us. I looked at Oister and Mints faces and I knew it to not be true. They were even more tired than I was. Oister was the one that stepped up however.

"He is stepping up Kettle! Me and Mint are both tired. He notices it and he is as well. I know you are tired too. I can see it in the way you are walking." She said to Kettle. Kettle looked at her a bit surprised. This was the first time I had seen her give Kettle any sort of back lash. She was right though.

Mint nodded her agreement and then she looked right back at the ground. Kettle lowered his head and then he nodded to her.

"If that is what you all wish. I will not deny your request. Lets find somewhere to stay for the night." Kettle said to all of us. Oister nodded and and Kettle took the lead for all of us. Mint fell over though and I ran over to her.

Oister and Kettle were going on ahead and if Mint did not get up I would have to yell at them to stop. I looked at Mint and nudged for her to get up, but she did not respond. I could tell that she was either asleep or she was unconscious.

"Kettle, Oister! Stop, something is wrong with Mint." I yelled to the both of them. Oister quickly ran over to her to come and check on her and make sure that she was okay. Kettle looked a bit annoyed but he began slowly walking over to us and the look on his face changed when he realized that Mint was not okay.

Her face was growing pale and I was afraid of what it could possibly be. Squirrelflight said I would lose many I loved in my life and on this path that I was destined on. I looked at her checking through her body to see what it could possibly be.

What Jayfeather had taught me, which was not as much as I would have liked to learn, said nothing about this. I was so afraid for Mint, I loved her and this was clearly not normal, I feared for her life. I then realized what it was. I could see a bit of blood going through the cobwebs on her stomach.

The heat of the fields, the blood, and the walking non stop had probably gotten to her. She would be fine but she would most definitely need a few days of rest, I knew that Kettle would not be too happy about that. But I knew he cared for all of us so he would get over it.

"Is she okay?" Oister said to me looking at me. I knew it was more or a question as if she was going to be still alive and whether or not she would somehow make it out of this. I looked at Oister, I did not really know what to say to her. Then I looked at Kettle to get to his head that this was how it was going to have to be.

"Yes... She needs sleeping and some new cobweb if you can go and get that for her. We are going to have to stop for a few days. She is unconscious. We will make the decision a day or so after she wakes up." I said to her. The first part was mainly for Oister so that she knew that she was okay but the rest of it was aimed towards Kettle.

"Alright... I will get some cobwebs for her, you too stay here, Kettle can you find a place for us to stay for the night." Oister said to her mate. Kettle looked at her and then he nodded to her. All the low energy from Oister had seemed to disappear, but that's what usually happens when you are worried about something.

"Yes... Go ahead now, I will find us a place." Kettle said to her. Once Oister knew that things were going to be okay she headed off to get the cobwebs for Mint. Kettle looked at me a bit sad which confused me a little bit.

"Are you okay Kettle?" I asked him. He looked at me for a few moments as if he was going to shake it off and say that he was. But surprisingly he actually shook his head, it surprised me because normally he was the happy cat out of all of the group.

"No... Do you not like me, I see you give me looks from time to time. Is it because I talk like I'm the leader? I know you are the leader but I was like that with Stoneteller too. He got over it." Kettle said to me. I looked at him a bit surprised and I shook my head. He nodded to me thankfully.

"No... You are a great cat, but I do see that you have to realize that the cats around you are struggling, I am tired but it isn't just me, your mate is too. Mint is unconscious..." I said to him. He looked at me a bit sadly but then he nodded his understanding.

He looked at the ground a bit saddened but I walked up to him and nudged him, I gave him my best look of a smile and he smiled back at me. I could tell that he did feel a bit bad about pushing the other cats a little bit too much though.

"Lets go look for a place to stay for the night... How about that." I said to him, I was doing my best to get his mind off of that subject. He looked at me and then nodded, thanking me that we were not talking about that anymore.

We then both began looking for a place to stay for the night, I then realized we had gone a bit too far and we had both just left Mint alone. I felt a bit bad but I also felt a bit scared and worried for her at the same time.

"Are you okay?" Kettle asked me. I turned around realizing that 1 of us needed to go back and take care of Mint and make sure that she was okay. You never know if she could wake up or if she could be attacked by something at the same time.

"Yes... I just forgot about Mint, one of us needs to stay back and take care of her." I said to him. He looked at me and then nodded, I could tell that he felt a bit bad that he had completely forgotten about her. Both me and him, I needed to make sure that she was okay.

The other day I had asked her to be my mate, late one night when Kettle and Oister were alseep I remember it, it was so sweet, and it felt nice to finally experience true love with another cat.

"Mint... Before you go to sleep I must tell you something." I said to Mint. She looked at me a bit surprised but then she nodded to me. I was a bit afraid because my whole life I had been around Tristan and he was never with a cat so he could not give me advice on how to handle a situation like this.

I had thought about Kettle, but at this point it was too late now, now it was all or nothing. I was not afraid though, she had admitted she was in love with me the moment she saw me, so she would not deny my love, surely right?

I was still a bit afraid, I was scared, I loved her so much, she was so sweet and every day she somehow managed to always keep my head up. She was an amazing cat and I loved her so much. She looked at me wondering why I still had not spoken, my mind came back to the presence.

"Are you okay Moon? Is there something going on with you?" She asked me. I did not know what to say, I was starting to feel a bit afraid, now I was really upset that I had not gone to Kettle for advice first. I had seen the love that him and Oister had for each other.

Instead of saying anything a just walked up to her and I kissed her, she looked at me a bit surprised but she did not hold back as she enjoyed every last moment of it. It felt so real, it felt amazing, true love at its finest. She looked at me with nothing but a smile on her face.

"I thought you wanted to tell me something! Not just kiss me!" She had said to me. I looked at her and we both began laughing. I looked back at Kettle and Oister making sure that it had not woken them up. But they were in a deep state of sleep.

I could not blame them, they were tired. The rogues that had attacked us were scary, there were so many of them but we had managed to get out of it alive. Not with a few cuts though, the cats laughed at us and they called us pathetic as we walked away.

I could not see how it was pathetic though, they were all in one large area, so many of them, there had to be at least a hundred of them. That was just how many I had seen, you can never count out the ones going hunting or sleeping in their caves.

It was almost as scary as the day that Mint had been attacked by the badger, I was just so happy to have her still here with me. I had told her she could go back any time if she wanted but she stayed anyways. I loved this cat so much, and I could not dare think of life without her.

"Well... I did... I just didn't know what to say..." I said to her. She looked at me and she smiled at me, we layed down beside each other and we both looked at the full moon that was staring at us. It felt so sweet, and it felt so real... I loved this cat so much.

"What was it that you wanted to say? I wont judge, just open up to me... Me and you both need to start making that a good habit." She said to me. I looked at her and I smiled, she was right and I sighed for some reason but then I confessed what I was thinking to her.

"Mint... I love you, I can not imagine a day going by without you. I just hope that you know that even though I don't act like it sometimes." I said to her. She looked at me and then she nodded to me with a bit of a weird smile on her face.

"Go on Moon..." She said to me. I had realized that I had just been standing there staring at the moon in silence. The moon, that is what my mother had named me, I always wondered what it was for. Maybe it was my black fur and my small little white spot the carried all the way down from my neck to my belly.

"Yes... Sorry, I am just so afraid... I love you so much... Mint will you be my mate?" I said to her. She looked at me with a big smile, she did not look surprised at all. Had I really made it that obvious? Now that I thought back on it I suppose so.

She looked at me with a big smile and then she nodded to me, she then came in and gave me another long kiss. It was so amazing, it was so real... I loved this cat so much, and I always knew she had felt the same I guess I had just always been to scared to admit it too her.

"Yes Moon... I will..." She said to me. We layed there the rest of the night in peace as both of us fell asleep on those thoughts.

I shook my head, I was so worried about her, I needed to make sure that she was safe. She was my mate now, and if I had to choose between my journey and her then I would have to choose her any day. The starclan cats had to realize that surely?

I began quickening up the pace not realizing how far me and Kettle had really gone. I followed the scent trail that me and him had left as we began walking towards a place that we were supposed to be spending the night.

I was worried about all 3 of them, I knew that Coyotes would not be out yet, but you never know what could happen, I had done my best from all that I had learned, to teach them how to make it out there. Mint was first, Kettle and Oister did still have a bit that they needed to learn. There is only so much you can learn living in those mountains.

Once I saw that Mint was fine I slowed down my pace to a bit of a slower walk as I came back over to her. She was still unconscious, I was thankful to the Star cats that she had not woken up and wondered where we had gone and gotten up to look for us.

I felt a bit bad for her, she was my mate, I loved her so much I did not know how I had not thought about her first. I loved her so much, she was such a sweet and such a real cat, there was not a single thing fake about her.

I sat there and nudged up against her, I felt warmth on her so I knew that she was still alive. I'm sure she would be fine, she just needed a little bit of medicine and a knew thing of cobwebs. I sat down beside her and I waited for Kettle and Oister to head back with the cobweb and the place to stay the night.

Oister came first with Kettle not too far behind her, the both looked happy and I could see the cobweb hanging from her mouth, so luckily it told me that they had both gotten what they needed. I nodded to Oister as she came first and handed me the cobweb to put on Mint.

"Do you want to learn how to put on cobweb? You may need it, if I don't make it or if you happen to be in another clan you may need to train them." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments before lowering her head and nodding to me.

"You will make it... But yes, go ahead and teach me..." She said to me. I looked at her and then I nodded to her. She smiled and I slowly began pulling of the cobweb that was currently on Mint. She was a lot more better healed but I could see the spots where the blood was pouring out.

Either way I needed to put cobweb on her whole belly, just in case she managed to reignite one of the spots of her wound. I slowly and softly began putting it on her belly. I heard her groan and I looked at her but she was still unconscious.

I had gone over a bit of a rougher spot, but now that it was through she was now going to be okay. I looked at Oister making sure that she had been paying attention to all that was being done and she nodded to me.

Then Kettle walked over looking excited. I looked at him a bit surprised, I wondered if he had managed to find the lake. Surely that couldn't be true, it was a different direction than Squirrelflight had told me to go. I nodded for him to tell me.

"I found a nice cave to stay the night. Follow me and I will take you all to it." He said to me, I looked at him and then I nodded. Oister nodded as well but I held them back because we still needed to take care of Mint fully.

"Oister can you get me some Poppy seeds so that Mint isn't in as much pain? Take them with us if you can, me and Kettle will carry her." I said to Oister. She nodded and she quickly began heading over to the Poppy flower and getting some seeds from them.

I was doing my best to try and teach her, maybe one of these days she might end up as a medicine cat. I shook my head I didn't want to think about that because if that were true then Kettle and her could not be mates.

She then came back with the seeds and me and Kettle picked up Mint and put her on our back. Kettle looked at me and nodded to make sure that I was ready and I nodded back to him. Then we began walking as Kettle took the lead for us.

I sat there for a few seconds though, something seemed off, but it was not in a bad way. I could smell something behind us, I could not tell what it was. But it smelt amazing, like water, freshly grown trees, grass and flower at the same time. Kettle looked at me a bit confused.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. I looked at him for a few moments... Then I smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes... I smell something the air."