Chapter 5: Youngtails Place

I looked back at Silent one last time, as I saw him rubbing his pelt against his now mates pelt. It was beautiful to me, and I was happy for him. They would have never met each other if it were not for the clans. Silent was just a measly rouge, and Angel and her sister were kittypets.

I was happy for him, but a part of me felt a bit jealous as well. It was not because I had feelings for his mate, it was mainly because I never got to rub pelts like that with my own mate. We were always busy, and I hoped that we would have time at some point soon just to spend between ourselves.

I looked back at Limp, she saw the look in his eyes, and she lowered her head to the ground. I wondered why that might be so. Was she jealous as well? She knew what she had to do to become a medicine cat, it meant that she would not be able to have kits.

A medicine cat could not do their job properly if they were having their own kits, there would be no one to help them. I still could not help but feel a bit bad for her, that she could never have a mate. It would just not work out...

Squirrelflights own sister, Leafpool had made the same mistake, and for her, it was even worse. She had fallen in love with one of Squirrelflights friends, that they had gotten to the lake with in the first place. I say it was worse because it was a cat from another clan, and that never worked out for very long.

A lot of cats made that mistake, and when they had kits, both clans felt like they owned the kits. It tended to start a war, or at least a skirmish, that ended up in a cat or a couple more being killed. I closed my eyes, I hoped to never see that in my life time.

I opened my eyes, when I then began to Limp start to talk back to me. I looked at her, trying to focus on what it was that she was saying to me. Like a good leader, like any leader should be doing. She had her head down on the ground and she was not looking at me.

In fact, I could tell that she felt a bit of hurt in her eyes. I wondered what that was about, but first, I needed to pay attention to what it was that she felt like she had to tell me.

"I am sorry for taking so much time from you and your mate Moon... I help you don't blame me for it, I just really need some help... Until I can get an apprentice, and other things set up, which I fear might be quite some time..." She said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, and then I shook my head at her, which she looked a bit confused about.

She still had her head down to the ground, but now she had stopped walking, she did not even know where we were going for one, and neither did I, I suppose we were just hoping that we got lucky. We could not just go and scavenge our whole territory, hoping to find what it was that we were looking for, there was only so many places we could look with the little time we had.

As we stood still for a few moments, it gave me time to realize what was going on around us, and it also gave me time to think as well. Think of what to say to make her feel better for one, because I was a bit lonely right now, and not many thoughts could go through my mind that would not end in me lying to her.

I figured I might as well tell her the truth, that was what Medicine cats and leaders were for weren't they? You were supposed to go to them if you had a question, or if you had something you wanted to confess, but you did not want to tell the whole clan about it.

I looked at my friend for a few moments, who still had her head lowered down to the ground, and I lifted her own head up, using mine. She looked at me a bit surprised to see the look on my face, I was a bit lonely indeed, I wish I could have my mate every day like I used to.

Back then we were not mates however, or at least, we had not made it official up until recently. She lifted her head up at me, wondering what it was that I had to say to her. I could tell she wanted me to make her feel better, I would do my best as I began to speak to her.

"I do not blame you Limp, you are doing my job, and I am doing parts of it as well. I knew what was going to happen when I took on the role of leading a clan, you do not have to put yourself down because of it." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments, and I could tell she was not quite sure about that. But she ended up nodding to me, and it was a bit of a hard nod which told me she trusted me.

I felt a bit bad for my friend, maybe I had been a bit harsh on her for a while, but I knew that the words she had said to all of us, had hurt us all. If you ask me, Oister had told Kettle to go to their own clan specifically because of the fact of that matter. She would deny it, I knew they loved the water, but surely they were happy with us more?

I shook my head as we kept on walking, Limp walked a little funny, and I knew that was probably the reason that she had the name Limp in the first place, she must have been born with something wrong with her leg or her foot. I tried my best not to laugh when she walked.

I just looked away and then kept on walking, feeling a bit bad for her. She had such a sad life story, I did not like to think about it, but it always came to me when I was with her. I too looked down at the ground just like she was doing.

But then, suddenly I heard a bit of a racket from the right side of us, I turned my head. There was something in that bush right beside us! Me and Limp both moved back, both of us were a bit afraid of what it could possibly be that was watching us, and potentially about to sneak up on us.

Limp relaxed herself right away, and I was a bit confused as to how she could be so calm like that. But when the thing that was hiding in the bush popped its head out, I realized why right away. I too then began to calm myself, and I moved towards it.

I smiled at it for a few moments, and it smiled back at me. I was so happy to see it, it had a lot in its mouth, so it would be hard to talk to it. But it had been quite some time since we had talked in the first place, I missed her so much, I hoped that she would have some free time to spend with me soon, as I began to talk to her.

"Hello Mint! How are you doing! I see you got some herbs for Limp as well... I've been missing you." I said to her, looking at Limp through the corner of my eye, making sure she heard what I had said at that last part. She did not seem to notice, or she did not seem to care at all.

I looked back at my mate fully, and saw her put a big smile on her face. But then she realized what I had just said and she looked down at the ground a bit sadly. I moved towards her, and I pushed myself against her, trying to make her feel at least a slight bit better about the situation.

She looked back up, and a small little part of the smile came back up, I could tell that she was just happy to see me, and to be talking to me. As I came to realize, I had not really talked to her that much in the last couple of days either. I missed her so much, I hope that the clan would be organized some time soon.

After a few moments of silence, and us just staring into each others eyes, realizing how much we missed one another, she then finally decided to speak back to me. I sat down, calming myself, and ready for a deep and long conversation, like the ones I used to have with her.

"Yes! I was just about to take them back to camp with me! How have you been... I should be ready to head back to you in our cave soon, I almost have gotten enough herbs for Limp, and once the kits are completely safe, we should have some time alone with each other." She said to me. The way she had said the last part made me blush.

I looked at Limp, and she had clearly understood what Mint had meant by that as well, she just rolled her eyes at her friend, and then rolled around and began to play with a nearby flower, sometimes I had to remember that she was still a bit of a younger cat, so she had a little bit of kit left in her.

I looked back at my mate with a smile, I then rubbed myself against her. I was happy to be talking to her, and I hoped that the time that she was talking about having together would be coming some time soon. I missed her so much, and I loved her so dearly as well.

I began to speak back to her, she was not paying attention at the first part, so I had to repeat it, her eyes were on Limp, as Limp was back up to her feet, no longer rolling around in the grass and she too was nodding at her friend, letting her know that she should be enjoying her time with her mate.

"Mint... I hope that time is very soon, I very much have been missing you, I hope things have been okay in camp with the both of you. The kits are going to be okay right?" I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments, and I could tell she was not too sure.

She then looked over at Limp, she knew more about all of this than Mint did, and she nodded back at Mint. Mint looked back at me, and she nodded as well, I had missed the full interaction with each other that they had just had, so I was just going to take Mint's word on it.

She nudged back against me playfully, and then we began to play fight like we used to... That was at least until she got attacked by the badger. I shivered even thinking about that still to this day. I was just happy that she was okay now, and she was fully healthy now besides a large scar that she had on the bottom side of her body.

She told me, as long as I did not call her Scarfur when I gave her her full name, she would be happy with me. It was a joke, I knew, but for quite some time I was actually thinking about it, but I also knew that it would be a mean thing to do to my mate if I did that.

After a few more moments of silence, she then began to speak back to us, I payed my full attention to her this time and got up from where I was standing in the fairly tall grass. Another reason why I had not saw her coming, a lot of it was the smell of so many cats but I had not heard or seen her coming because of the tall grass blocking the sound and our eyes.

"Well... I've got to get back to camp and put the herbs into the herb den, and then I've got to check on the kits, but I hope you are doing alright Limp, I will talk to the both of you later." She said to us. I looked at her and then I nodded, it was as if she had read my mind, and already knew that we were going to have a small meeting later.

She smiled at me, and then she began to walk back to camp, I watched her sadly as she began to walk off, but then suddenly I heard quick footsteps of Limp as she ran off after her. I was a bit confused as to what was going on, and I ran off after them as well, easily catching up to Limp, due to her limp in part.

Mint turned her head around, a bit confused as to why all of the sudden both of us were all up on her. She dropped the herbs on the ground, and then looked at both of us. She waited for one of us to speak, and I looked at Limp, she was the one that had been running after her after all.

But she just stayed silent, as if she did not know why she had been running after Mint in the first place. I was just as confused as my mate right now, had Limp had another vision randomly? Was Mint going to be okay? I began to get a bit worried about her, but Mint stepped in and she began to speak over my thoughts.

"What's going on? Are you 2 alright?" She said, mainly aiming it at Limp, she could tell that she was the one that had ran after her in the first place. I looked at Limp, waiting for her to speak, but she was too busy trying to regain her breath, so I gave her a few moments.

After those few moments were up, and she had calmed down her breathing, she then nodded back to my mate, as she then began to speak back to her.

"Yes, I saw that you had a rose flower on her fur, I was wondering where you got that from... We were just looking for that, I had a dream last night about some cats in trouble near there." She said to Mint. Mint looked at her, understanding her, and then she nodded back to her.

I looked at the rose petal that was on the back side of her fur and I was surprised that Limp had even noticed that in the first place. Medicine cats were sure something special, I wish they got the respect that a leader did, though I suppose I should not say that because I had some disrespectful behavior happen to me recently.

I looked back at Mint as she began to speak back to Limp in a perfectly cool and calm, and collect voice, the voice that I always knew that I could get from such and amazing mate, I loved her so much. I shook my head, not thinking about that right now, and mainly just trying to pay attention to what it was that she had to say.

"Rose flowers, yes they are in one of the gardens at Youngtails place."