Midnight (book)/Chapter 18

"But I'm only an apprentice. I know them by accident, not because our warrior ancestors chose to tell me themselves. What do StarClan expect me to do?"

— Leafpaw worrying about the two prophecies in Midnight, page 220

Midnight (book)
Chapter number:	18 (of 24)
Page numbers:	209-221
Point of View:	Leafpaw
Chronology

Below contains in-depth information for chapter one of Midnight (book). If you are looking for a shorter summary of the entire book, please check the main article.

Chapter Number: 18 (of 24)

Page Numbers: 209-221

Chapter Summary

Leafpaw's PoV

Leafpaw, in the medicine den with Cinderpelt, chews daisy leaves into a paste for Speckletail. She offers to go and treat the tabby elder, but Cinderpelt replies that she will tend to Speckletail herself. The dark gray medicine cat instead sends Leafpaw to gather more celandine, as all of their stock had been used to soothe Longtail's eyes. Cinderpelt reminds her apprentice that the best place to find celandine is along the RiverClan border, near Fourtrees. For this reason, she also instructs Leafpaw to take a warrior along with her, as she might encounter trouble in that area since RiverClan is displeased that WindClan is still coming to drink from the river in this area. Leafpaw doesn't understand why WindClan is still doing this, thinking that they must have plenty of water in their territory by now since it has begun to rain again.

Leafpaw heads out into the camp and asks Sorreltail to come with her to gather the herbs. The tortoiseshell-and-white agrees to do so, excitedly saying that she would make sure none of the WindClan warriors there tried to trespass on ThunderClan land. As the two young she-cats set out, they encounter Firestar, Rainwhisker, and Brackenfur returning to camp. The flame-colored leader looks dejected, and Leafpaw realizes he was still trying to search for Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw, but had not found a trace of them. Brackenfur points out that the two must have left the territory four days ago, when they had disappeared, and that there was no point in searching for them anymore. Firestar realizes the golden brown warrior is right, and that the two are in the paws of StarClan now.

Leafpaw and Sorreltail find the patch of celandine they were looking for near the river and gather as much as they can carry. As they finish, they look to see what is going on with RiverClan and WindClan's conflict. They spot a number of WindClan cats drinking from the river, including Tallstar and Onewhisker. A nearby RiverClan patrol, consisting of Mistyfoot, Hawkfrost, and a black tom, confronts the WindClan warriors, Mistyfoot's fur bristling as she says something to Tallstar. The black-and-white tom then leads his cats back to their own territory, although it appears that they are leaving not because Mistyfoot had ordered them away, but because they are finished drinking from the river.

With the WindClan cats gone, Mistyfoot leads her patrol onward and soon spots Leafpaw and Sorreltail. The blue-gray she-cat is friendly to the ThunderClan cats, but asks them if they had seen Feathertail and Stormfur. The deputy adds that the two warriors had disappeared four days ago, and that RiverClan thought they might have gone back to ThunderClan to be with Graystripe, their father. Sorreltail realizes that they had disappeared on the same day as Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw had vanished from ThunderClan, and wonders if the two events are connected. Hawkfrost proposes asking WindClan and ShadowClan if they had lost cats, too, at the next Gathering. Leafpaw tells Hawkfrost to say hello to Mothwing for her, giving him a little celandine to take back to his sister for the RiverClan medicine supplies, and then Mistyfoot leads her patrol away.

Sorreltail and Leafpaw return to camp to see many cats out in the clearing, enjoying the early leaf-fall warmth. The two she-cats head directly to leader's den, however, to convey the news about Feathertail and Stormfur to Firestar and Graystripe. Leafpaw tries to reassure the leader and deputy as much as she can by saying the four cats might have all left the forest together, for a reason. The light brown tabby adds that she can sometimes sense what Squirrelpaw is doing, even when her sister is far away, and that at the Moonstone she had a vision of Squirrelpaw alive, with other cats. Firestar and Graystripe are still worried about their kits, but are a little comforted by Leafpaw's words and resolve to ask WindClan and ShadowClan if they lost any cats while at the upcoming Gathering.

That night, when Leafpaw goes to sleep, she has a vision of being in a dimly-lit forest, racing between trees. In the dream, she feels panicked, as if something is chasing her and is about to catch up. She wonders fearfully if she's experiencing what Squirrelpaw is in real life.

Characters

Major

• Leafpaw

Minor

• Cinderpelt
• Sorreltail
• Firestar
• Brackenfur
• Rainwhisker
• Sandstorm
• Tallstar
• Onewhisker
• Mistyfoot
• Hawkfrost
• Unnamed black tom
• Spiderpaw
• Whitepaw
• Cloudtail
• Brightheart
• Ferncloud
• Dustpelt
• Larchkit (Unnamed)
• Hollykit (Unnamed)
• Birchkit (Unnamed)
• Graystripe

Mentioned

• Longtail
• Speckletail
• Brambleclaw
• Squirrelpaw
• Stormfur
• Feathertail
• Tigerstar
• Leopardstar
• Mothwing