Lost Hope: Book 3: Flame and Snow

Chapter 4

The chilling, leafbare breeze ruffled Dandelionpaw's gray fur as he followed Starfur past the training clearing. They were out gathering the last of the herbs before the cold truly set in.

      "I hope FernClan is doing well," Starfur murmured aloud, something Dandelionpaw himself was also thinking. If Dawnlight's Clanmates got injured or sick and she didn't have any herbs to heal them. . . . Dandelionpaw didn't want to think of the possibilities.

      They found a good clump of borage and carefully gnawed at the stems, then stacked the leaves neatly beside them. When they were done, they picked up the herbs and padded along the new FernClan border, eyes scanning for more patches of herbs that hadn't all ready been killed by frost.

      "Dandelionpaw!" His ear flicked toward the sound and he turned slowly, seeing a familiar black and white apprentice.

      Dahliapaw bounded forward to greet him and he put his herb bundle down gently. "Hello, Dahliapaw," he said warmly.

      "Dahliapaw! You can't just cross the border like that!" Dandelionpaw spied her mentor, Nightwhisker, emerging from the tall grass, flanked by a tabby warrior he didn't know the name of.

      "Sorry!" Dahliapaw said, but she didn't move from Dandelionpaw's side. "Ooooh, what kind of herbs are those?" she asked, although she seemed more interested in his eyes than the leaves by his paws.

      "Borage," he answered. "Good for nursing queens, it. . . uh, helps their milk come."

      "Goldpetal could definitely use some of that," Dahliapaw rambled. "Dawnlight was just saying how she was low on that the other day, and she couldn't find any—"

      Starfur, who had been listening despite going over to chat with Nightwhisker and the tabby, interrupted them. "Dawnlight is low on borage? Here, take some." She offered some to the FernClan cats.

      "Thank you, Starfur," Nightwhisker purred, gratefully taking the borage. "Goldpetal will be very thankful."

      "Glad to help," Starfur replied, smiling. "Come on, Dandelionpaw, we have more herbs to collect."

      "Nice talking to you," Dandelionpaw dipped his head to Dahliapaw. "Goodbye." He bent down to get his herbs and followed his mentor.

      " 'Bye!" Dahliapaw called, her tail waving, before bounding back across the border.

      After a few moments of padding in silence, Starfur said, "I was worried you'd never make any friends."

      Dandelionpaw wasn't sure what to say. "There's also Fogbreeze," he said, although he was pretty sure Starfur knew he wasn't really Dandelionpaw's 'friend.'

      Starfur gave a slight laugh. "I just mean that I almost never see you talk with other cats your age, except for your sister."

      "Oh." They lapsed into silence again, but Dandelionpaw couldn't help replaying his mentor's words his mind. "I almost never see you talk with other cats your age." Was that true? I have friends, don't I? But he couldn't find a single cat who fit that description, except for Burrowpelt.

      But his thoughts were interrupted by Starfur, who suddenly stopped in front of him, and he just barely caught himself from bumping into her. "What is it?" he asked. Straining to look over her shoulder.

      Starfur didn't reply, she just crouched down and moved forward to watch something in the distance. Dandelionpaw padded after her her, lowering himself to the ground. He followed her gaze to a lone rabbit. The creature was nibbling on some foul-smelling leaves that were strewn across the ground.

      "What is that?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

      "I don't know, but it smells awful," Starfur whispered back, wrinkling her nose. "It must be really hungry to eat that."

      "Should we catch it?"

      "I don't think so, those leaves may be poisonous," Starfur said. "We should tell Stonestar."

***

When they reached camp, Starfur asked Darkmoon if he could get Stonestar. There was something in the deputy's eyes Dandelionpaw couldn't quite place as he dipped his head to Starfur, before heading toward the leader's den. He reemerged a few moments later with the large gray tom. Dandelionpaw's father stopped in front of them and flashed his son a small grin before turning his gaze to level with his mentor's. "What is it, Starfur?" he asked.

      Starfur didn't hesitate. "We found a rabbit eating strange leaves. We think they may be poisonous." She described the appearance and smell to him, although Dandelionpaw could tell that he thought that sounded like most leaves you'd find in the medicine den.

      "As long as we tell everyone not to bring back any bad smelling prey, we should be able to avoid any danger," he said calmly. "But if someone has already eaten it than we can observe them."

      Starfur nodded. "I don't think it's dire, I just thought it'd be important to let everyone know to avoid it."

      "You were right," Stonestar agreed. "I'm going to call a meeting and let everyone know." With that, he sprang onto the Echostone. And called the familiar summons. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather to hear my words."

      At his yowl, cats emerged from their dens, curiosity etched upon their faces. Dandelionpaw's sister came to sit beside him. "I don't suppose you know what's going on?"

      "You'll hear in a moment," Dandelionpaw replied, his eyes trained on Stonestar. Burrowpelt sighed and looked up as well.

      "My Clanmates, our medicine cats have found a rabbit eating strange leaves. They think it may be dangerous to bring in any prey that smells bad, so just be wary." Stonestar's voice rang around the clearing. "Any questions?" When silence met his words, he dismissed the meeting and leapt down.

      "There, hopefully that should make sure no one brings the sickness into camp. But just in case, do you have your store fully stocked?" Stonestar asked Starfur.

       "Low on some minor herbs, but we should be good for winter."

      "I don't want you low on anything, but I understand if you can't find any," Stonestar told her. "Hopefully this wont come to anything serious."

      Key word, hopefully, Dandelionpaw thought darkly, thinking of the prophecy. This leafbare will bring shadowy cases. But Stonestar was already retreating into his den before Dandelionpaw could make the decision to tell him or not.