milkpaw watched quietly in ultimate wonder as the starry figures before her began to vanish . pondstar and batstar , too , began to wither away back into reality . it was only then she realized it was only herself and ivywhisper standing in darkness . a pitch black , bottomless void .

she glanced to ivywhisper worriedly . " why aren ' t we back yet . . ? " her voice was small as it echoed around the void . that meant it had to have a barrier , right ?

ivywhisper didn ' t respond , pale blue eyes narrowed in focusedness . however , milkpaw saw the clear worry in ivywhisper ' s pale blue optics that told her she didn ' t know . that scared milkpaw more .

before another minute passed , something sticky lapped at her tufted paws . looking down , a quick wave of terror washed through her body , allowing it to tremble even more than it was . a dark crimson liquid she knew all too well stained her paws . letting out a quiet shriek , she moved closer to her mentor .

ivywhisper , gaze softening , draped her thin tail across her apprentice ' s shoulders and whispered quiet words to calm the young cat . " it is alright , little one . these have occured since the beginning of medicine cats . blood is often associated with the future . one day , you will perhaps get used to it . a horrible thing , yes , but blood is how it starts . the scarier thing is what is ahead . "

milkpaw blinked at her mentor ' s wisdom and sudden caring mood . her trembling eased a bit , but never did cease . knowing the scarier part was to follow , she braced herself . but nothing came . at last , the medicine cats awoke back beside the moonpond .

confusion swirled through milkpaw as she stood up , her trembling finally ceased . she stared at ivywhisper , hoping for an answer , but ivywhisper only glanced at her and turned away . the medicine cat turned towards her sibling , batstar , and whispered a quiet word into his ear . milkpaw ' s small ears didn ' t quite catch the conversation .

knowing an answer was a long ways away , she took in her surroundings instead . the pine forest was much more peaceful than anything she had seen as the sky darkened overhead . did the vision really take that long ? a whole day ? she continued to stare at the beautiful sky ; reds , yellows , purples , oranges and blues mottled together .

" milkpaw ! " pondwish called gently from afar . the three had already begun the journey back .

quickly , milkpaw retreated towards her mentor and leaders . the silence was peaceful as the journey began , but she couldn ' t quite shake the ominous cloud above her head . the vision and blood had stained her mind . ivywhisper ' s words , too , had had it ' s toll on her mind . if blood was only the first part , then what was next ?

━━━━━━━━━━━

a couple days had passed since the return . pondstar and batstar had immediately elected the deputies when they had returned . batstar had chosen eveningstem , and pondstar had chosen fawnberry . batstar had also set to work on training warrior apprentices . most of the apprentices had been left without mentors , so each cat had received a new mentor .

rowanpaw had received embershine , monarchpaw had been given to eveningstem and  ebonypaw had been given to fawnberry . mushroompaw had been given orchidpounce . oriolepaw and muskratpaw had kept their own mentors , bristlecloud and lostflower . the mentors had gotten straight to work in training hunting techniques .

meanwhile , the warriors were just discovering the new territory and placing down border markers . milkpaw , being a medicine cat apprentice , took no part in any of this , or anything in all . she wasn ' t being taught by ivywhisper in nearly anything .

ever since the moonpond , ivywhisper had been distant from her . milkpaw didn ' t exactly know the oriental well , but she still felt a little down . instead of teaching her , ivywhisper had been hanging around blackbirdsong , a considerably handsome tom . milkpaw had often seen the two sharing prey or going on walks . blackbirdsong even returned to camp with bundles of herbs wrapped in leaves .

no wonder she likes him better than me . i wouldn ' t be surprised if she made him her apprentice and left me in the mud ? who wouldn ' t . . i can ' t hunt , fight , and i don ' t know how to heal anyone without help . the clan would be better off without an extra mouth to feed , especially with leaf - bare around the corner .

milkpaw watched from beside the newly built medicine den as the warriors worked away on their own dens . she spotted the silver fur of her father oakpath weaving together twigs and other materials into den walls . she sighed , wishing she could help with anything . but she couldn ' t even build her nest the way she wanted it . her mother azaleaflame had offered to help , but milkpaw was tired of looking weak . so , she slept in an uncomfortable , hard nest of torn moss dead leaves .

" hey , milkpaw . " a kind voice caught her unaware . fluffing up her fur , she whipped her head around to see mushroompaw staring at her kindly . nervous , she stared at her paws .

" um . sorry ? i didn ' t mean to scare you . i just wanted to ask if you wanted to join me and monarchpaw , but maybe i should just leave you alone . . ? " the bengal

milkpaw perked her ears . it had been a while since anyone had invited her to anything , and mushroompaw was a kind tom , so she supposed she owed him something . " i can come , " she meowed before mushroompaw could leave .

the bengal smiled and flicked his tail . " come on then . i caught a frog , a really big one ! i don ' t know if you like frog but that ' s what i mostly find around here . . "

milkpaw relaxed at mushroompaw ' s slightly humorous words . frog definitely wasn ' t her faveorite , but she supposed a taste wouldn ' t hurt . nervously , she followed mushroompaw to where monarchpaw crouched down , a scrawny mouse between her paws .

" so you actually brought her here ? " monarchpaw narrowed her eyes suspiciously . " i haven ' t seen you around much . to busy napping ? "

embarrasment flushed through milkpaw and she felt her ear tips grow hot . though it was true , the insult only made her feel worse about herself . she wasn ' t helping or doing anything while the other cats worked day and night building dens and providing prey for marshclan .

mushroompaw flattened his ears , glancing at milkpaw apologetically . his tail stood erect , the tiny hairs prickling . " so ? her mentor is the problem . how is — "

milkpaw sighed . " it ' s fine , mushroompaw . i ' ll just eat by myself . " milkpaw sauntered nervously towards the fresh - kill pile . did she even deserve to eat ? she hadn ' t done anything worth even a sliver of monarchpaw ' s scrawny mouse .

hesitantly , she grabbed an even smaller mouse than monarchpaw ' s . she carried the deceased creature towards her den and sat just outside the medicine den . she played with the mouse between her paws , not quite sure if she could bring herself to take a bite .

" did i not teach you not to play with your food ? " a soft , calming , and familiar voice soothed her mind .

a russet somali , who looked very close to rowanpaw , padded up , purring soothingly .

" o - of course you did . . sorry azaleaflame . " she reluctantly took a small nibble out of the mouse .

azaleaflame stared at her daughter with empathy . " i used to be like you , too . desperate to be useful , to prove myself worthy . i ' m not telling you this to be rude . . " azaleaflame sat beside her daughter . " but it is the truth . "

milkpaw took another bite of the scrawny mouse . " really ? but you ' re one of the best warriors there is ! "

azaleaflame gazed at milkpaw with a motherly pride . " one day , you ' ll be a fantastic medicine cat . if ivywhisper stops swooning over that blackbirdsong , that is . "

milkpaw stared at her paws , a worried expression painted on her face . " ivywhisper isn ' t going to replace me , is she ? "

azaleaflame , surprised at the question , shook her head . " he is already a terrific young warrior . ivywhisper thinks of him in a . . different way . ever since a few moons back when coralstar allowed medicine cats to have mates , she ' s stayed with a few — not just blackbirdsong — handsome toms . "

milkpaw nodded , lightly confused . at last , the question bugging her for a while besides the small vision at the moonpond let itself out . " does ivywhisper not want to teach me ? or even go near me ? "

azaleaflame gazed sympathetically at her daughter . " that ' s something i can ' t answer . " the somali rose to her paws . " if i was you , i ' d ask her . i ' ll see you later , milkpaw . " azaleaflame gave a small purr before leaving .