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Mothflower shook her head. "Whitecough's an infection. It's worse than a normal cough or cold, but not so back as greencough. Greencough is a worse infection that can be deadly. Go rest," she said, pushing the brown she-cat to a nest of leaves and rushes with her nose. Then she went to her herb store and came back with two different types of leaves. "Here. Eat these. Tansy and catmint. The tansy's for the cough, and the catmint's to treat whitecough." "And what is a 'p***k'?" Bramblepelt asked Shadow, keeping his tail on his apprentice's shoulder as a warning to her not to continue with this argument or insult their guests any further.

Mothflower chuckled at the brown cat's expression. "Funny. Most cat's like catmint even if they don't like the taste of tansy. Here." She padded back over to her herbs and took a paw full of tiny black seed. "Poppy seeds. They'll help you get some sleep." Ravenpaw snickered at the black she-cat's answer and the ensuing argument, but at a look from Bramblepelt, she quickly looked down, flicking her ears. Then the patchy-colored tomcat's--Nate, that's what the black she-cat called him--comment, she snickered again. "Since our medicine cat's treating your friend and will likely want her to stay in the medicine den till she's better, I'm going to assume you'll be staying as well," Bramblepelt said. "Ravenpaw, help Nate find a nest in the apprentices' den." Ravenpaw nodded and flicked her tail on Nate's shoulder. "C'mon," she said, heading for a cave on the opposite side of the camp from the medicine cat's den.

Except for one in the back of the cave, all the nests in the apprentice den were empty. Ravenpaw padded to one near the entrance and patted down a couple stray rushes. "This one's my nest. The fuzzball sleeping back there is Blackpaw. There's a few untaken nests scattered around, including this one," she said, pointing to one near hers with a paw. "Make sure you don't take one that's got a cat's scent on it."

"I've never seen you at any Clan gatherings in the past," Bramblepelt said, following the black she-cat. "If you're a rogue, which clan are you from originally?" he asked.

Ravenpaw saw that Nate had found a nest and curled up in her own nest, laying her tail over her muzzle.

Bramblepelt looked at the she-cat for a bit, then flicked his ears. "I doubt it would be too much trouble for you to stay in the warriors' den while your friend recovers since you don't even know the names of the clans. That makes you a loner, not a rogue. But if you wish to sleep outside of the camp, you may do that," he said. "However, I'd suggest staying within Rockclan territory. The other clans might not be so welcoming to a strange cat."

"Well, if you're a rogue from some far-off place, it certainly won't cause the same trouble as a rogue from the Four Clans here," Bramblepelt said. Then, remembering the prey he and Ravenpaw had buried to find at the end of their hunt, he followed his own scent trail to the spot where their prey was and dug it up to carry back to the camp. He left the prey in the freshkill pile, taking a mouse and eating it, before heading to his own nest in the warriors' den.

Bramblepelt woke Ravenpaw at sunup for training. The tabby apprentice stretched and yawned, then she glanced at the nest where Nate was sleeping. "Should I see if he wants to train with us?" she asked her mentor. Bramblepelt nodded. "Go ahead." Ravenpaw padded between sleeping cats and nudged Nate's shoulder with her paw. "Hey, wanna come train with us?"

Ravenpaw's whiskers quivered in some amusement, thought she didn't know why she should be amused. "Battle and hunting. Bramblepelt's going to teach me some new moves today," she said.

Snowkit wandered into the medicine cat's den and bounced over to the brown she-cat's nest and looked at her with his head tilted to the side. "Why're you in here?" he asked. Mothflower padded into the den with a mouthful of leaves in her mouth. She set them down on a tiny pile of identical leaves and nosed Snowkit back toward the cave entrance. "Don't be bothering my patients, Snowkit," she said. "Go back outside and play with your friends." Then she walked back over to the brown she-cat and sniffed her. "Well, your scents a little healthier today. I think you need to stay here a little longer, though. I don't want you getting worse once you leave. By the way, I don't think I ever caught your name."

Bramblepelt looked over at the bramble tunnel that marked the camp entrance as it rustled, signaling a cat coming through. The sight of the giant fish the black she-cat dragged behind her made his eyes go wide and a meow of surprise escape his mouth. "That's big enough to feed half the clan!" he said, heading toward her. "Need some help getting that fish to the freshkill pile?"