WITHERING HERBS || A Warriors Fanfiction

|| chapter two

Owlpaw woke up. He opened his eyes, and he got up, arching his back. He opened his jaws as he stretched, and his jaws snapped closed. He flicked his tail, and swiftly groomed his fur of some pieces of moss clinging to his pelt. 

Exiting the den, he thought that he saw a long-furred tortoiseshell. He blinked, and she did not disappear. He padded over to the medicine cat of MudClan. The medicine cat was normally out and about, searching for the one herb that would cure the raging sickness. She always came back late, with nothing that would heal it, and sleep minimally, to wake up and search again.

"Hazelberry," he greeted her, inclining his head. "How is everything?"

The medicine cat responded, "Fine. How are you?"

"As fine as I can be, right now," he answered.

"Stonestar told me that you'd be helping me look for herbs," she told him, tail flicking, "I wasn't sure if he had already let you know. But we'll be heading out very soon."

Why would they choose me to go out? He wondered, I am just an apprentice. Maybe it's because I'm younger... And Hazelberry needs someone like that.

Then, she padded off with a swish of her tail, calling over her shoulder to the apprentice. "I'll be waiting at the camp entrance."

As Stonestar exited his den and called the cats together, Owlpaw sighed, and padded over to the fresh-kill pile. In it lay two rabbits and a small, yet juicy mouse. He took the mouse and padded to Sedgestorm, flicking his tail invitingly.

The two soon finished the mouse. Sedgestorm dipped his head to Owlpaw, who returned the gesture, and the apprentice turned to the camp entrance. He padded over to Hazelberry and the two cats exited the camp.

Breathing in the crisp, leaf-fall air of the plain-like territory, he glanced over at Hazelberry He inquired, "What are we looking for?" 

"Anything," she replied, "I always look for any herbs. It is nearing the end of leaf-fall. We need as much herbs as possible, especially to cure minor illnesses. It'll help us in the end, if we can get rid of smaller sicknesses and try and deal with..." 

She did not finish, and her eyes wandered away. The brown apprentice lashed his tail.

"How am I supposed to know what I'm looking for?"

Hazelberry snapped, "I just said, anything. Now go to the right, I'll go left."

Owlpaw turned sharply to the right, irritation bubbling inside him. I thought she was going to be nicer! I'm not her apprentice; how am I supposed to know what certain herbs look like? 

He sniffed the air, critical golden eyes scouting the plains. Rock, rock, rabbit... He thought he spotted a tall, yellowish plant in the distance. He began to run towards it, his white paws thrumming across the ground. Wind rushed through his dark brown fur, and his ears lowered, being blown down by the strong gusts of the moor. Swerving around a few rocks, he approached the tall plant, that had bright yellow flowers. It grew right next to a rock.

Assuming it was an herb, he plucked a few stalks of it. He did not know the name of the herb, but to Hazelberry, that did not matter. A few pawsteps away, he spotted a plant with thin stems and white flowers.

He didn't know the name of this herb, either, but he got some nonetheless. Clamping the herbs in his mouth, he began to walk back to where the two had been. He gently opened his mouth a little bit, and he felt something slip back into his throat. He coughed and the rest of the herbs fell from his mouth. 

"Fox-dung," he cursed softly, lashing his tail. Nothing happened right away. It's not poisonous, then. Then, his stomach flipped upside down inside of him, and he blinked. The next moment, he vomited.

He spat, shaking his head. That was yarrow, he thought, his belly still tossing. Picking up the yarrow and the other herbs, he headed to where the two had been before they went their separate ways. As he arrived, he spotted Hazelberry already there, a green leafy herb and a few dried leaves laying at her paws.

"What took you so long?" she asked, then added, "Oh, lovely. More yarrow. And goldenrod."

He decided not to tell her about what happened. "Yeah," he meowed, "I found them. You asked for any herbs, remember?"

"I know that," she muttered, and directed him, "Pick up as many herbs as possible. I'll grab the remains of what you cannot carry. We've got some yarrow, goldenrod, burnet, plus some dried oak leaves. Be especially careful with the oak leaves. They crunch when they rip apart."

Owlpaw picked up all of the goldenrod, and some of the burnet. He was not holding the yarrow in his mouth after what happened last time. Hazelberry took the rest of the herbs and the two headed back to camp. 

Finally, they arrived at camp. The sun slowly lowered in the sky, which was waving goodbye to its pale blue color and greeting orange streaks. Grasses below bent to the wind, who was excitedly racing over the plains of MudClan territory, swerving to avoid tall rocks. 

Hazelberry meowed, "Follow me." She led Owlpaw into her den. He put down the herbs, and she dismissed him, telling him that he was allowed to eat something before he slept.

Owlpaw padded to the fresh-kill pile, which was surprisingly full. Sedgestorm and Heronleap lay on a flat rock, sharing a bird. Flintpath and Meadowdapple passed a hare back and forth. The apprentice dragged a fat rabbit from the pile, leaving three more prey. He curled up near the pile and dug into the rabbit, his belly growling. He soon finished, nothing left but a few bones. He thanked StarClan for its life and he buried them. Then, as Stonestar exited his den and leaped atop the highrock. Seeing that all cats were gathered, he curled his tail over his paws and launched into a story.

On good days Stonestar would often call together the cats of MudClan and he would tell an inspiring story. Some days it was about a certain cats heritage, parents, or the way they acted. On other days he gave long monologues about somebody they all knew, or a huge symbol in their lives. Occasionally he would give them something to think about before they slept and then he'd send them off.

Today, he decided to focus on Owlpaw.

"Owlpaw is the last surviving apprentice in MudClan," Stonestar began, looking down at the tom. "He has worked very hard to survive along with the warriors, and I appreciate that."

The cats gathered took up a small cheer. "Owlpaw! Owlpaw!"

Inclining his head, Owlpaw felt his pelt grow warm. After the cheer faded away, Stonestar continued speaking.

"His parents - Briarsplash and Liontooth - both died due to the illness. They both were excellent members of the Clan, and Briarsplash brought upon two lovely litters of kits. One of which consisted of Sparrowfeather and his sister, Wrensong, both of which also succumbed to the illness. The other had Owlpaw. Owlkit, at the time, had no siblings. Briarsplash's litter only had one kit and she delivered it so."

"As a kit, Owlkit was quiet. If any of you here remember, he didn't speak very much. You wanted to become an apprentice and serve your Clan well. You were briefly interested in herbs for a short while, but that soon dissipated after Liontooth was injured while fighting. Owlkit, at the time, wanted to fight whoever had hurt his father. The Clan name had never been released to the little kit, and still I expect the same now. Of course, Liontooth was healed, but you always thought he limped a little bit."

"Owlpaw became an apprentice. You continue to perform well under Sedgestorm's training and I hope we can see you turn into an excelling warrior of MudClan, in a world without sickness haunting us."

The apprentice staggered into the apprentice's den, and he sat in his nest. Thoughts crowded his mind but he forced them away. Stonestar just told the Clan, in summary, his life story. Everything that had happened to him. Everything. He forced himself to lower his head, his ears flattening. 

Then, Owlpaw fell asleep.