Leafpool opened her eyes and stretched her paws in a huge yawn. She padded out of her den and headed towards the freshkill pile. She chose a nice, plump vole and began to eat. Slowly cats began to wake up and soon the clearing was full of cats. Leafpool finished her vole and started toward her den to check her store of herbs. She heard paws behind her and turned around to see Cinderpaw.
“Leafpool,” she meowed worriedly, “could you come check on Molepaw? He’s coughing a lot and he won’t wake up.”
“I’ll be right there,” Leafpool replied, worried, and hurried towards the apprentice’s den. She walked inside and bent over the sleeping Molepaw. He let out a small cough and rolled over. Leafpool touched her nose to Molepaw’s forehead and drew back immediately. “Help me get him to my den,” she instructed Cinderpaw. “He’s got whitecough. I’ve never seen it this bad before.”
Leafpool grabbed Molepaw’s scruff between her teeth and began dragging him to her den. She quickly made a bed for him and placed him gently inside. “Go fetch Brakenfur and Sorreltail,” Leafpool meowed to Cinderpaw. “They’ll want to know about this.” Cinderpaw ran out of the den, her eyes wide with fear and worry.
Leafpool ran to her herb stores and grabbed her last bundle of catmint. She bit off a few leaved and chewed them to a pulp. Then she gently opened Molepaw’s mouth and put the Catmint inside. “Now, swallow,” Leafpool mewed gently. Molepaw obliged, but he threw it back up immediately. Sorreltail ran into the den, followed closely by Brakenfur. “What is it?” Sorreltail panted, having obviously run to the medicine cat den.
“It’s Molepaw. He’s got whitecough. I’ve never seen it this bad before, and I’m not sure if he’ll make it through the night,” Leafpool replied solemnly, hardly daring to meet her old friend’s eyes. “I’ll do all I can, but there’s only so much my herbs can do.”
The parents’ eyes filled with grief as they rushed to their son and buried their noses in his fur. “Stay back,” Leafpool warned gently. “I don’t want either of you in here next.” Sorreltail nodded understandingly and they both backed up and sat in the middle of the den.
Leafpool looked at the pitiful apprentice and began mixing some herbs. I can’t let Molepaw die, she thought to herself. Sorreltail’s been through too much. No now, not so soon after Sootfur and Rainwhisker. Oh, Molepaw, please wake up!
Leafpool worked tirelessly through the night while Brakenfur and Sorreltail watched silently, anxiously waiting. Dawn broke over the horizon and Molepaw still hadn’t woken up. Leafpool padded over to Sorreltail’s side. “There is no more I can do,” she meowed sadly. “His fate is in the paws of StarClan now.”
Leafpool stared into her friend’s eyes, seeing the familiar grief that had been there since Sootfur died. But there was more to it now, a new intensity Leafpool could hardly bear to see. She turned her gaze to Molepaw and sat comfortingly on Sorreltail’s left side, Brakenfur curled snuggly on her right, and they shared their grief as they watched Molepaw slowly slip into StarClan’s waiting paws.