TC- the First Medicine Cat

Ambershine of ThunderClan was the first medicine cat, but many have wondered if she never had a mentor, how did she learn the herbs and get her full name?

Since kit hood, Ambershine knew she would not be an ordinary warrior like her littermates, Sunkit and Elderkit. At that time, Amberkit didn’t know what she wanted to be, until just a moon before their apprentice ceremony, Elderkit died of greencough.

It was a long, slow, and painful death, every breath more shallow, and he was slowly losing his grip on the world. After experiencing that, Amberkit knew she wanted to heal. She wanted to make sure that what happened to her brother would never happen to any other cat. She wanted to help all the wounded cats after every battle, and never let a cat die as painfully as Elderkit.

Amberpaw became an apprentice, just without a mentor. Every day, she would wander out into the forest and examine each and every plant, wondering if they could help cure anything.

Gradually, with trial and error, Amberpaw’s herb stocks grew. She found plants to ease pain, protect wounds from infection, bellyache, and strength. But there was still yet to find the cure for greencough.

One night, Amberpaw went out a little later and further than usual, in her desperate search for a cure for greencough. She stumbled upon a large, gaping hole in the mountains by WindClan territory.

Curious, Amberpaw walked in, and soon she found herself in a small cave with a beautiful silver rock in the middle. When the moonlight hit the rock, it glowed like starshine.

Amberpaw touched the cold stone with her nose, and almost immediately, she was transported to StarClan hunting grounds.

The StarClan cats told her about even more herbs, and most importantly, the cure for greencough.

“Catmint!” said her father. “Go to Twolegplace. It’s a large leafy plant that smells amazing.”

And after informing her of these herbs, StarClan gave Amberpaw her full medicine cat name, Ambershine.

Even now, Ambershine is an expert on greencough, and she still remembers her brother. In fact, by her catmint stores, there is a single elder leaf, even though elder doesn't cure anything, in remembrance of Elderkit.