Vol. 1/6 ✅️
"Your future - it is a path entwined with thorns. They try to grab you, to pull you into the deepest thicket - and they will succeed. You don't have the power to change your destiny completely, Larkpaw. The only thing you can do is not t...
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"Hold still, otherwise I won't be able to treat your wounds."
Larkpaw gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the burning sensation as Hollytail applied a paste of unfamiliar herbs to her scratches. "I'm sorry," she managed to say.
In the meantime, the next day had dawned. Larkpaw couldn't even remember how she had got here or if she had slept at all. In any case, she didn't feel exhausted.
She had long since realised that she was in the SnowClan camp, or more precisely, in the medicine cat's den, which in turn was located in a small cave system. From outside, she could hear voices and numerous unfamiliar scents. The thought that her Clanmates were worried about her robbed her of the last of her sanity, but so far she hadn't had the chance to ask when she would be allowed to return.
"So." Hollytail stepped back. "Make sure you don't get any dirt on the wounds. I'll make you new poultices at sunset today."
Larkpaw bowed her head to the grey-brown tabby she-cat. "Thank you!" she meowed before she twisted backwards to see what Hollytail had done. The she-cat had fixed the pastes with leaves. Larkpaw doubted that they would last long. It would be best if I didn't move at all.
While she stood there as rigid as a stone, Hollytail began to clear away the unused herbs.
It's exhausting to stand for so long. Larkpaw moved her head carefully to get a better picture of the den. From her vantage point, she couldn't see much. All she knew was that she was in one of the back caves and the exit, through which bright sunlight flooded, was about a leap away.
"Do you know who attacked you?"
Larkpaw flinched in surprise. She thought about how she should answer this question. How would Hollytail react when she learnt that it had been a former RoseClan cat?
"I don't know," Larkpaw replied, which was at least partly true. "Probably a rogue."
Hollytail gave a contemptuous snort. "Rogues have no honour. I hope Leapfoot is stepping up patrols on the border to make sure he doesn't get any ideas about invading our territory." She extended her claws. "And if he does dare, we'll be prepared."
Larkpaw stared at her with her mouth open. That was an unusual way of thinking for a medicine cat.
Rogues have no honour. When she thought back to what Hollytail had said, she felt hot. Flutter, Fennel, Aster and the kits are nothing like this tom. There can be good rogues too.
The memory of the moment when Flutter had confessed to her shortly after Smallblotch had disappeared that she would rather leave flashed through her mind like a lightning bolt.
But they hadn't left yet. Perhaps Flutter had changed her mind.
"Whatever," Hollytail sighed. "Later, Greypaw and Brindlepaw should come by and bring you some fresh prey and nest materials."
