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" As she led them out onto the mud, Dovepaw glanced back to see Thornclaw pull a long stick out from under the roots of an elder bush at the edge of the bank. Before he could carry it off, Jayfeather erupted from the undergrowth, a bundle of herbs in his jaws.
"Hey, that's mine!" he protested, spitting leaves everywhere. "Put it back!"
"Are you mouse-brained?" Thornclaw mumbled around the stick. "I need it. It's only a stick."
"It's my stick." Dovepaw was startled to see how worked up Jayfeather was, his eyes blazing and neck fur bristling, as if he was facing an enemy. "If you don't bring it back to me in one piece, I'll... I'll..."
"Okay, I'll bring back your stupid stick," Thornclaw snarled. "Keep your fur on."
He raced back across the mud with the stick in his jaws. Dovepaw and Ivypaw followed more slowly behind their mentors. Dovepaw was trying to lift each paw as soon as it touched the scorching ground. Her pads would be shriveled by the time she reached the water.
"Do you think the heat is getting to Jayfeather?" Ivypaw whispered. "Thornclaw's right. It's only a stick."
Dovepaw shrugged. "Maybe it's medicine cat stuff."
"Yes, but what happens to us if our medicine cat gets bees in his brains? "
― Erin Hunter , The Fourth Apprentice (Warriors: Omen of the Stars, #1)
