What do I do?

Venidiumpaw woke up to the sound of shuffling. She opened her eyes just enough to see Smolderpaw thrashing around in her nest. It looked almost as though the smaller cat was fighting, and Venidiumpaw frowned. This must be what the other apprentices had been complaining about.

She sat up in her nest, stretching before placing a paw on top of Smolderpaw's head. To her relief, the cat immediately calmed under her touch. Just a nightmare, she was sure of it. She settled back down into her own nest, stifling a yawn. Smolderpaw had been kicked out of the apprentice den due to these sleeping issues. This had further damaged the already tense relationship she had with her cohort. Venidiumpaw had suggested she stay in the medicine cat den until the issue was resolved, and Smolderpaw had reluctantly accepted. This was the first time that Venidiumpaw had seen the problem with her own eyes.

She closed her eyes once more, settling back into sleep. This would pass.

-----

This marked the fourth night that Venidiumpaw had been awakened by Smolderpaw yowling in her sleep. Venidiumpaw wanted to pull her fur out. She'd lost so much sleep that she had confused coltsfoot and dandelion in her last training session, a mistake she'd never made before. But she couldn't just kick Smolderpaw out. The apprentice needed somewhere to sleep.

Venidiumpaw eventually convinced her friend that she needed something to help her sleep. After discussing it with Heronfeather, a poultice of thyme leaves and poppy seeds was decided upon. Smolderpaw was reluctant at first, but eventually relented when Venidiumpaw pointed out that she'd have to sleep outside if she didn't take the herbs. They settled into their nests, but Venidiumpaw found that she couldn't settle into sleep. She watched as Smolderpaw fell into a deeper sleep than usual, body seeming more relaxed.

The light of the moon lit up the inside of the den enough to make Smolderpaw's fur shine. By this point in the night, the apprentice was usually grunting and fighting in her sleep. Not this night, though. Tonight, the cat lay still.

Venidiumpaw sighed in relief, heavy eyes beginning to close. Everything was finally quiet.

Then Smolderpaw suddenly flinched, and Vendiumpaw was once again jolted awake.

She watched in horror as a small wound traced its way across Smolderpaw's shoulder. Fresh blood was highlighted by the moonlight.

Oh, stars!