Free Warriors: Power Of Three 1 - Sight by Erin Hunter

you?”
    Willowpaw nodded. “I can tell you about the dream now, if you still want to know.”
    Hollykit flicked her tail excitedly. “Yes, please.”
    “Well,” Willowpaw began, “I dreamed that clouds were streaming across the sky, flowing and tumbling across the blue. And then they stopped and the sun scorched down onto the RiverClan camp, shriveling the plants and drying up the nests until there was no shelter from the burning heat.”
    Hollykit shuddered. “What did it mean?”
    “Leafpool thought it could be a warning of trouble with our water supply. But there’s been plenty of rain this leaf-bare, so it probably doesn’t mean a drought. She advised me to tell Leopardstar to check all the streams near the camp and make sure they are safe.”
    Hollykit leaned forward. “How did you become Mothwing’s apprentice?” she asked.
    “I helped her with some of her patients when there was an outbreak of illness,” Willowpaw told her. “I enjoyed the tasks she gave me, so I just kept going back to the medicine den and helping out until Mothwing suggested I should become her apprentice.”
    “Did you always want to be a medicine cat?”
    “I didn’t really think about it,” Willowpaw admitted. “It just sort of happened, and then I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. Being a medicine cat is great!”
    Hollykit opened her mouth to agree, but before she could speak, Mothwing called her apprentice away. “Willowpaw, we’re leaving.”
    Mothwing brushed muzzles with Leafpool and headed for the thorn tunnel. Willowpaw bounded after her. “Bye, Hollykit!” she called over her shoulder.
    Hollykit watched the two cats disappear through the tunnel. Willowpaw had made her even more determined to be Leafpool’s apprentice. Forgetting that she was not meant to be out of the nursery, she hurried after Leafpool, following her into her den.
    Jaykit was sprawled in his nest, the soft gray fur of his belly showing. He was clearly sleeping more comfortably than last time Hollykit had visited.
    Leafpool turned as Hollykit followed her in. “Do you need more herbs for Lionkit?”
    Hollykit shook her head. A question fizzed on the tip of her tongue, but she was struggling for the right words.
    “Is something wrong?”
    Jaykit flipped over and lifted his head. “What do you want, Hollykit?” he asked, his ears pricking as though he sensed that something important was happening.
    Leafpool glanced at him. “Go back to the nursery, Jaykit,”
    she meowed softly.
    “Am I well enough?” Jaykit mewed, sitting up.
    “As long as you don’t start play fighting the moment you get back,” Leafpool warned him. “But you might as well sleep in your own nest now.”
    Jaykit got to his paws. His first steps out of his nest were a little unsteady, but he soon found his balance and padded toward the bramble-covered entrance. “Thanks, Leafpool,”
    he mewed. His sightless gaze flicked toward Hollykit, taking her by surprise. Sometimes it was almost as if he were looking straight at her, though she knew he couldn’t see her.
    “I’ll come and check on you at sundown,” Leafpool promised him.
    As soon as Jaykit had disappeared through the brambles, Leafpool sat down. “Now,” she meowed, gazing at Hollykit,
    “tell me what’s troubling you.”
    “Nothing’s troubling me,” Hollykit answered at once. “But I have something important to ask you.”
    A look close to alarm flashed momentarily across Leafpool’s gaze. “What?”
    Hollykit took a deep breath. “I want to be your apprentice!” She tensed as she waited for the reply. What if Leafpool refused to take her on?
    Leafpool looked stunned. “I never would have thought—”
    She stopped midsentence, then meowed gently, “Being a medicine cat is a big commitment. You will rarely fight in battles or go on patrol. You won’t be able to take a mate, or have kits.” Hollykit saw her eyes darken with sadness. Was that regret she saw in their amber depths? There was