[NO LONGER RELEVANT] Story of Three Storms_~*~Chapter 3—Paintpaw~*~_

Instructions

First: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1321304917/ Previous: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1325552716/ Next: None yet! Space key for Thumbnail/ Names list " " are cats talking * * are Paint's thoughts or if they're there while someone's talking then that's the word being emphasized ~ ~ are notes from me Chapter 3—Paintpaw~ Monday, May 13th, 2026, 8:20pm-9:05pm ~The time zones aren't real world time~ Halfpaw had been different before the incident. Obviously, he had been. But he had been different. I remembered playfighting in the nursery as kits, taking turns when his father offered badger-rides, cheering when he became an apprentice before me. On the day I had become an apprentice, a few days ago, the ceremony was cut short when Rosepaw brought her brother in from the RiverClan border, his face ravaged. Now that I was an apprentice, I was out on my own fetching moss for my friend’s eye. *Poor Halfpaw.* I thought to myself. I remembered Rosepaw dragging a body dripping with blood. She told the story of the RiverClan warrior who jumped up from a clump of reeds from their side of the river, and Halfpaw tripped, startled, and fell into the river. Startled wasn’t the kind of Halfpaw I knew. Half of his face had been scraped off by the stones in the rushing stream and now my best friend lay in the medicine den, unconscious. I hadn’t seen him awake yet, but he was sedated with poppy seed. Berryleaf and Rosepaw were with him too, so there probably wasn’t anything to worry about. *Right?* I worried. I shook my multicoloured fur out to get rid of all my worries. A nervous habit. I rushed through the forest to the training clearing, where most of the moss was. Eager to get back, I hastily grabbed a huge wad of moss and ran back through the forest. When I arrived back at camp, it had begun to rain. Cloverfrost was rushing his kits into the nursery, to Kiteshine’s warm nest. I wished I had a mother like that. Sorrelspots and Featherfall were great, but I missed my own mother, Bluebell. I remembered when Neomeniae ran away early. In my family, kits were sent into the wild at three and a half moons of age, but my brother left a moon early. Stellae Foederis, my sister, left after. I was Septem Soles, the last to leave. When I had been discovered by an overexcited Olivepaw. No one understood my name, so they changed it to Paintpaw, for my colours. I had never known who my dad was, because Mom was paranoid that his family would come for us. I looked for them when I left but never found anything but a bunch of rabbit-eaters who kept me prisoner until Waspstar came to take me to ThunderClan. *I’m glad he did.* I shuffled into the medicine den, where Berryleaf was hunched over, chewing something, and Rosepaw and some other apprentices were asleep. Bluepaw and Needlepaw, Rosepaw’s new friends, had been injured in who-knows-what, so they were going to be in the medicine den. “Hi,” I waved my tail at Berryleaf. “Grab some horsetail from the herb store and chew.” He demanded. I obeyed. The second the herb touched my mouth, I choked. “*How do you eat this stuff*!?” I wheezed. Berryleaf shrugged. “Just chew it. Don’t swallow, it’s for your friend.” Most cats didn’t pick up on the words, but no one ever called Halfpaw by his name anymore. It was always “your friend” or “your apprentice” or "your son” or “your Clanmate”. I hated it. I reluctantly picked up the salivy horsetail, and this time, it was even worse to put the cold, wet, dusty fern in my mouth. I chewed, and chewed, and chewed until it was a pulpy mush. “Done,” I mumbled at Berryleaf. “Good,” he said. “Now put it on his eye.” Ew. I did not want to put my friend through the process of applying this mess. “Do I have—” “Yes, you have to. Just do it and get it over.” There was obviously no changing the dark tabby tom’s mind, so I spat it out on one paw, trying not to think of how slimy it was, and spread it on the pale gash on Halfpaw’s face. When I had finished, his face was covered in a brownish yellow mess. Berryleaf nodded in approval. “Sloppily applied,” he said, “But a good poultice.” This was not common praise from Berryleaf, so I smiled to myself as the medicine cat dismissed me. I took one look back at the sleeping body of Halfpaw. He was so still that the rise and fall of his chest was the only way to tell that he was alive. Berryleaf poked his head out of the den. “Remember to wash your paws!” He called. I nodded as I trotted down to the stream near camp in the rain. It wasn't too far, so the Clan would hear me if anything happened. I wet my paw halfway up my leg before I lifted it out and made sure all that was left was the scent of fresh herbs. I sprinted back home to my den, by this time the rain was going hard, and only a few cats were in the main clearing, hanging around Highrock and any other dry places in camp. Note from Lyrid! ~Keep reading in the notes and credits!~ ↓