Chapter 15: Useless

I looked back at Kevin as he went back into his leaders cave. I wondered what he really did in there... It did not seem like his clan was in bad condition, but it also did not seem like he was in very much control of his own clan.

I felt a bit bad for him, and I also looked over at Heart and I felt bad for him as well. Dust had practically told him he was no use to their clan, it must have made him feel terrible. Sure, maybe Dust could be right in one aspect, and maybe he was a bad hunter or a bad fighter...

Clearly Shadowclan did not understand the importance of having a medicine cat. Judging off of what I had first learned about this cat, he would be the perfect cat to be one. He knew what Stinging Nettle was, and all of the other cats in the clan were looking around at each other, each of them with confused looks on their faces.

Every other clan had a medicine cat, though Thunderclan did not seem to respect their medicine cat very much from what Youngtail had told me about how things were in camp. At least they had a medicine cat though... When the sickness time came around for them, they would understand the importance of having one.

If Shadowclan got sick, and they still did not have a medicine cat, than it would spell some bad news for their clan. I shook my head, I did not need to worry about their clan right now. Right now my main focus needed to be on Shilo and her kits and mate.

There was still a part of me, as I looked over at Heart as we were walking out of the camp, still seeing a couple of ugly looks from some cats on me, that was telling me that this cat should be Shadowclans medicine cat. What if Skyclan fought back for their land...

Skyclan had a medicine cat, and from what I had heard, no cats lives were lost in that battle.

If Shadowclan did not have one, and they were wounded, that wound could turn into a bad sickness, and it could get them to lose the life of 1 of their cats and maybe a few more... I did not need to worry about them right now though, but it did give me an idea.

I turned my head over to Dimple, as none of them noticed due to Heart taking the lead and Dimple being hot on his trail. I figured I should let her know, or at least let her get some sort of jest at what I was getting at, like it or not they badly needed a medicine cat.

They could not rely on other clans all of the time to help them in the case of a sickness, if it was something that needed to be tended to right away, than they could not just fly over to us, or another clan and beg them for help.

Dimple had her head on the ground, and she looked even more exhausted than she was a few moments ago. She probably was just trying to look strong for her leader, which I did not blame her for.

If she really was this tired however, than she probably should not have told Kevin that she was willing to come with us in the first place. It was not to look strong for Dust either, because he was not at the camp at that time either. I knew she was in love with that cat however.

I was not sure how any cat could stand that cat. Maybe she just liked him because he was strong, and because he was the deputy of their clan. It did not matter to me, I really had to stop thinking about things that were going on in other clans.

None of that stuff to any matter should be any of my business in my own clan either. Cats falling in love with other cats was none of my business. I shook my head, and then I nudged up against Dimple to get her to pay attention to me, as I knew that she was half asleep and probably would not hear what I was saying otherwise.

I realized right away that it might have been a mistake, but when she turned her head over to me she did not look to have any sort of angry look on her face fortunate enough for me. She just looked to tired to even have any idea what was going on around her.

I wondered if it was such a good idea to tell her what I was about to tell her in the first place, I really doubt it if she would remember what I was about to tell her. Maybe it might be better to tell Heart, though I also doubt if Kevin would believe that cat if I told him what it was in the first place.

I realized that we had been standing in that same spot for quite some time now, as Dimple looked like she was about to pass out in front of me. Heart had walked quite a bit ahead of us, which might be for the better in the first place. It probably would be a lot cooler for him if it was a surprise to him, I just really doubted if Dimple would remember to tell Kevin about it when they got back to camp.

Either way, I shook my head, which I could tell that Dimple was too tired to even notice, and think deep into it as well. I spoke up, a bit loudly so that it woke her up, and I knew for sure she had heard what I was saying to her in the first place as well.

"Dimple... Pay attention here please... I need to tell you something..." I said to her. She sat there for just a few more moments, as if she was not comprehending what I had just said to her. I wondered if it would be a better idea for me just to tell Kevin about this myself.

I shook my head though, I did not have time to be walking back into their camp and notifying them. Suddenly, and thankfully as well, Dimple leaned her head up, and her eyes got real wide as she realized what I had just said to her as well. She then nodded to me as she began to speak back to me, letting me know that she had heard me.

"Sorry Moon... I am just a bit lost right now, I probably should not have agreed to this. I trust that you wont do anything to Heart though, so please don't tell Kevin about this." She said to me, as I could tell she was a bit embarrassed as she was begging me not to say anything to Kevin.

I looked at her, I then nodded to her to let her know that it was not my intent to do. She looked back at me and she nodded back to me as well, a bit thankful for it. I then spoke up, to let her know the reason that I had stopped her in the first place.

"No... Don't worry about that. In fact I need you to speak to Kevin for me, I can't go back with you to camp, there are cats that are in danger, and they need help." I said to her. Hoping that she had not just fallen into the same thing that she had been stuck in a few moments before.

Thankfully this time, it did seem like she was fully awake, and she was fully comprehending what I had just said to her as well. She sat there for a few moments too, thinking that I was going to keep on talking clearly, but I still wanted to make sure that she was paying attention to me.

She nodded to me, just to let me know that she had heard what I had just said to her. I still was not all that sure if she really had though, due to a lot of it being how she was acting just a few moments ago, I really doubt if she had gotten any less tired during that time that we had been speaking. She finally spoke just to clear the air as well.

"Yes... I promise that I will tell him about it when we get back, I swear that I will not forget, or will I just go to sleep." She told me. It made me feel a lot better, because she had said it without a single doubt in her voice, or on her face as well.

It was enough for me at least, to continue with where I had left off. She sat down getting a bit comfortable to hear what it was that I had to say, but not too comfortable as to where she might fall asleep. Once I knew that she was in fact ready, I then began to tell her what it was that I was going to say in the first place.

"Can you tell Kevin to take Heart to the upcoming gathering... There is some important matters that need to be attended to regarding him." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments, as if she was confused. I was not sure if it was because her brain was not fully working, due to her being so tired, or if it was because of me just wording it a bit strangely.

She looked over at Heart, who had now realized that we were no longer following him, and he was now stopped as he saw that we were talking to each other. He was smart enough to realize as well, that he was not meant to be a part of this conversation as well.

But his face looked a bit distraught as he saw Dimple looking over at him with a bit of a worried look on her face. I felt a bit bad for him, and I wondered if I should just add him into this as well. I did not want him to get too excited, or too scared though.

Dimple turned her head back to me, with a bit of a worried look on her face still. She clearly felt bad for this cat, and I wondered if she was angry at Dust for treating him the way that he had. I shook my head once again, realizing that it still was none of my business.

Dimple leaned her head down to the ground out of respect for me, which made me feel a lot better of a leader of Windclan. I nodded to her thankfully, as she then began to speak to me, looking over at Heart from the corner of her eye at the same time. She then began to speak up to me, after the long period of silence, I nodded my head to let her know that I was paying attention to her as well.

"He isn't in trouble or anything right? He is just not very good at hunting... And fighting... You aren't going to kick him out are you?" She said to me. I looked at her for a few moments, and then I nearly began to laugh as I rolled my eyes at her.

It was all the proof that I needed that told me that Shadowclan had really been hiding medicine cats from the clan all this time. She looked even more worried, as I realized that I had a bit of an evil grin on my face as well, that I did not intend on doing.

Heart could tell that I was talking about him as well, and I saw him lower his head to the ground. It seemed as if every cat in Shadowclan thought that something bad was going to happen at all times, and I felt a bit bad for them for living that way in the first place.

I was happy for both of them however, as I could tell that Dimple, very much unlike her lover, did care about the other cats that were with her in her clan. I finally broke the silence that was in the air, as I began to speak to Dimple to calm her down as well.

"No... This is good for your friend! Just keep this between you and me... Do not even tell Kevin this... I plan on him being the next medicine cat of your clan. He has all of the skills... And well... Also the bad traits..." I said to her. I hoped that the last part that I had said had not ruined all of it for her.

I also hoped that I was not being too loud as to where Heart might have over heard what we were talking about as well. I looked over at him, but as far as I could see, he still had his head to the ground, with the same sad look on his face as well.

I looked back at Dimple, as for some reason she did not look excited for her friend at all in fact. She more or less looked as if she was confused as to what I was talking about in the first place, and to which part of it I had just said that she was confused about, I did not have the first clue.

Maybe it was a lot to do with her still being tired, which I had just so happened to completely forget about in the first place. However, she finally spoke up about why she was confused as to what I had just said to her thankfully.

"Medicine cat? What is that?" She said to me. I looked at her a bit surprised for quite a few moments. Had Youngtail not told them about Medicine cats? I would have thought that it would have been the first thing that would have been on his mind when he talked to the clans about how to lead.

I did remember that he had told me that it was hard for him to even get into Shadowclan in the first place. It might be the last thing that could be on his mind when he talked to them. However something then came to my mind at the same time as well.

He had told me that the times that he had happened to get in, he had only private meetings with Kevin and Dust. In the other clans he spoke to each cat in the clan from the tall rock. I wondered if it had to do with that, maybe Dust had told Kevin not to talk about the medicine cats in the first place.

It also had probably only been brought up once or twice as well, and I might be over thinking it at the same time. They might have very well forgot what Youngtail had said to them. I shook my head, as I realized that my mind was once again getting lost in thought.

I looked up at Dimple and then I nodded to her, to make sure that she was paying attention to me, and she heard what it was that I was about to say to her at the same time as well. I then began to speak to her, a bit quietly so this time I knew that Heart could not hear us.

"Well... I suppose I will tell you at the gathering in a-" I had begun to say to her, but then suddenly 3 cats came out of nowhere from behind her, and interrupted what it was that I was about to say in the first place. One of those cats happening to be Dust as well, which I did not like to see the face of.

The other 2 cats were Horse, and Tail, which were brother and sister. They looked at me, and then they nodded to me, with no sort of expression on their face as well. Dust walked in front of us, a bit confused as to what was going on, and a bit upset to see my face again as well, for some odd reason.

He turned his head over to Dimple, and he completely ignored the fact that I was there with them in the first place as well. As if I was not the leader of Windclan, and I was just some kittypet that was walking amongst their land. I shook my head, trying not too think too deep on that however.

Dust looked at his friend, also the cat that I could tell was going to be his future mate, and he began to speak to her, completely disregarding the fact that I was also with them as well. I squinted my eyes, and just listened to what it was that he had to say to Dimple in the first place.

"Why are you out here right now? I told you to get some sleep!" He said. He did not sound angry, but he did sound a bit worried for her, which I could not complain about. I wondered if the cat was as bad of a cat that I had thought of in the first place.

Maybe I just needed to get to know him better. Maybe he was a good cat to have in the clan, but he might just be a bit mean and a bit rude at the same time. He certainly was a big cat, and I would love to have him by my side in a battle against another clan.

I did not want to even think about fighting the extremely large cat. It gave me chills, and I did not want to admit it to them either, as it would also make me look like a weak leader. I shook my head once again, as I saw Dimple lower her head to the ground a bit sadly at the same time as well.

She sat there for a few moments, and I felt a bit bad for her. I would not want to say anything bad either, as I worried that it might upset him as well at the same time. She did however look back up to him, and look at me from the corner of my eye at the same time as well, as she began to speak up to Dust.

"Kevin needed someone to help take Heart to get some herbs for Moon and his clan... I was the only one that stepped up for them." She said to him. I nodded to him, though he still did not look back to me to even notice it at all.

It was a bit disrespectful, but I ignored the gesture completely, as I saw Dust also seem to relax, and cope himself up a bit at the same time. He then finally turned his head over to me, after the long period of time of ignoring me being there in the first place.

I nodded at him, out of respect, and he surprisingly did the same to me as well. I was about to speak up to let him know that Dimple was in fact correct with what she had just said to him, but he interrupted that thought as he spoke up before I got the chance.

"I appreciate that Dimple... You are a great cat... I can see that you are tired, so Horse, and Tail, can you go bring her back to camp? I will take Moon out to get the herbs..." He said, turning his head over to where Horse and Tail were standing.

They both nodded and they moved closer to Dimple. Dust quickly turned back around and then he nodded to me, clearly signifying that he wanted me to follow him. It gave me a bit of a chill to be alone with this cat... I shook my head though, I doubt that he was going to do any of those thoughts that were drowning out my head.

He began to walk over to Heart, squinting his eyes at him. Heart still had his head down at the ground, and I felt even worse for him now. I shook my head and then turned my head back over to Dimple, he was in between Horse and Tail right now.

They were just about to walk back to camp, but I spoke up to them, not loud enough to where Dust could hear what I was saying however. Dimple looked up at me, as she went back out of her sleepiness as she realized that I was speaking to her mainly.

"Dimple... Don't forget to tell Kevin about what I said about Heart..." I said to her. She looked at me for a few moments, and I wondered if she had actually heard what I had said to her, as her eyes seemed to be a bit cloudy, but she eventually did nod to me.

Horse looked a bit confused as to what I was talking about in the first place, but I shook my head at her, just to let her know that it was none of his business in the first place. I then turned my head over to Dimple, as she clarified that she had heard what I had just said to her.

"I got you Moon, don't worry about it, I will not forget. Now you go with Dust, and find that herb that you were looking for." She said to me. I looked at her and then smiled, then I nodded to her. She was a good cat, and there was no denying that at all.

She nodded back to me, and then they turned around, and then began walking back the way we had headed out of camp. I looked at them for a few moments, just to make sure that they were okay. It was as if I was thinking of them like my own clan mates.

I had to realize, and remember as well, that this was not my clan. Though I knew that the life of every cat mattered, I also realized at the same time, that it was not my clan, and I did not need to worry about these cats, as they were not my clan mates.

I shook my head once again, and then I ran over, to catch up to Dust, who still had his eyes squinted at Heart, as Heart had his head down at the ground a bit, but was still taking the lead to where the herbs were that we were looking for in the first place.

I still felt a bit bad for him, and I felt bad for whatever cat that Dust might be training in the future as well. I wondered how mean that he would be to them at the same time too. I shook my head, and as I got closer to the cats, Dust lifted his tail up to let me know that he could hear me coming.

He was a lot smarter of a cat than I thought he was, that was for sure. I hoped that he did not actually have evil intent, because that would worry me quite a bit. I should not be worrying about that, the clans had just started... Surely Starclan would not let something like that happen to us already right?

As I got closer to Dust he turned his head over to me, and he nodded to me, as he then began to speak to me. He did not have an angry, or an evil tone in his voice, so I was quite sure that my head was overthinking this. As my body began to calm itself down as I listened to what it was that he was saying to me in the first place as well.

"You need Heart to come with you? If you ask me... This cat is useless..."