Judgement Day

Chapter 5

Almost.

"Which one of these is chervil?" Badgerheart prompted him from beside him. Ashpaw carefully examined the two identical herbs laying in front of him. He outstretched his paw, touching the herb to his left. "Very good! You're a natural at identifying herbs." Badgerheart said in admiration.

Ashpaw shrugged. "The other one just smells different." He mumbled. This praise was nothing new. Everything he did Badgerheart acted as if he were doing something special or unique. He was grateful for the praise, but all of it was unnecessary. He wasn't even that interested in herb duty, he just wanted to know Badgerheart's plan to find his mother.

But the old tom hadn't talked about it since that night on Sunning Rocks. Any time Ashpaw tried to bring it up, he would just change the subject or make him do work. He had only agreed to this apprenticeship for the chance to find his mother, not to take care of cats he didn't care about. He sighed, and blinked tiredly at the ground.

"By the way, I was meaning to tell you," His mentor started talking while sweeping up the herbs, "tonight is a special night. You've been training for half a moon, and tonight at last the moon is halved."

"A half moon." Ashpaw corrected him.

"Right," He nodded. "There are medicine cats in the other clans too. Each half moon we travel northwards toward Highstones together, a large mountain on the edge of the clans. Once we're there, we will see...something."

Ashpaw's ear flicked curiously, and waited for his mentor to continue. But when Badgerheart did not elaborate, he asked cautiously, "So...what is it we'll see?"

He only smiled ominously. "It's a surprise."

When the evening came and the day began to grow cooler, Ashpaw was given a small mixture of herbs from Badgerheart. He sniffed it, and he could smell sorrel and chamomile in it, as well as some other herbs. "What's this for?" He asked, pawing the odd bundle with a paw.

"It'll give you strength on our trip to Highstones. Hurry and eat, we're leaving in just a moment." and so he did, but not without a struggle. The herbs were bitter and tough, and it was hard to swallow. When he finally gulped it down, and Badgerheart had done the same (his smelling considerably more like marigold), he and Badgerheart walked together out of camp.

They walked in a new direction. Ashpaw had been out of camp many times since his apprenticeship began, but he had never gone this way before. The trail they walked on was barren, flattened by centuries worth of cats walking up and down it. Wherever this lead, it must have been important.

By the time they reached the edge of the forest, the sun was nearly set. They stopped on the edge of a small dip, and Badgerheart beckoned him forward eagerly. Ashpaw came to see what could have been so interesting, but his eyes stretched wide when he saw it.

Four towering oak trees sat in each corner of the hollow, each reaching higher than any other tree he'd seen before. In the center of this clearing they sheltered a large, shining boulder that glinted in the dying sun. It was breathtaking to say the least.

"This is Fourtrees." Badgerheart said. "It's where each clan gathers once a moon to meet in peace. It's a similar tradition to what we're doing tonight, only this meeting is for medicine cats only, and is much further. You might attend the gathering during the next full moon."

While listening to his lecture, Ashpaw thought he saw movement from behind the rock. A tail? It was long, thin, and gray. It couldn't be. Ashpaw darted down the slope, despite hearing Badgerheart holler out after him. It couldn't. It can't be her. He told himself this as he sped towards the rock.