WITHERING HERBS || A Warriors Fanfiction

|| chapter seventeen

It felt like a moment had passed when he woke up. Pricking his ears, he opened his eyes and glanced around. This was not the Moonpool.

The sky was black as night - it was night, in fact - and it was decorated with plenty of stars. There were no clouds and there was no moon, though the world around him seemed hazy and light. Light green grass perked up underneath the apprentice's paws as his warm, golden gaze traveled around the area. There were minimal trees dotting the area. A river babbled nearby, rushing over slate-colored rocks.

Flicking his tail, he instinctively scented the air, catching Finchtuft, Logbite, and Talondust's smells all mixed together. He followed the scent to spot the three standing in a crooked-looking triangle. Finchtuft wordlessly waved his tail to the empty corner. 

Confused, he obeyed, padding over to the corner and standing around. Everyone waited.

A frigid wind swirled around them and he squinted up at the sky. It seemed as if shapes were moving from the stars, lightly padding down. He recognized the shimmering, calico pelt.

"Whitepaw!" The voice came from Talondust and himself. Several other cats drifted down from the stars, including Maplekit, Ashkit, and Meadowdapple, from MudClan. The she-cat flicked her tail at Owlpaw, and she landed on the ground with a soft thump. She padded away from the other Clan cats and waved her tail again.

Owlpaw padded over to her and the kits, glancing down at the small kits. They didn't seem weak and feeble anymore; their well-groomed pelts glittered with starlight, and although they were small and young, their eyes seemed to glow with wisdom.

"Owlpaw," Meadowdapple dipped her head to him and his golden gaze flicked down, studying his paws, "I'm sure you don't know why, completely, you were called here tonight."

You're right on that one, he thought.

"I know I'm right," she mewed as if reading his thoughts, "But that doesn't diminish the purpose of you coming here. I'm glad you decided to come. It's important for the survival of all Clans."

He looked up. "All Clans?" She nodded, placing her tail on his shoulder.

"But we are here to guide you," she assured him.

Frowning, he asked, "So, why did you call me - ah, us - here? Do you have something to tell us?"

Her gaze seemed to focus on something behind him and she bobbed her head slightly, glancing back down at her kits. She floated with quick steps over to where the other Clan cats had gone. The rest of the starry cats seemed to be doing the same and Owlpaw frowned, unsure of what to do. He felt a nudge and looked down to see Maplekit nodding forwards, and Ashkit pointing his tail towards the cats.

He hesitated and then nuzzled each of the kits. Then, he bounded off to where the others were standing.

"...Yes, Talondust," mewed a light brown tabby tom, nodding at the warrior, and his eyes switched over to Owlpaw. He glanced at the other starry cats and they dipped their heads. 

Meadowdapple stepped forwards, her gaze traveling among them. 

"This does indeed have to do with the sickness, but the stars are not here to tell you the cure. Simply to guide you in the right direction."

A gray-and-white patched tom stepped beside her, and so did the light brown tabby tom from earlier. Whitepaw's calico pelt shoved beside the tabby tom. All of the starry cats formed a swarm behind the four main cats, their heads raised towards the dark sky.

"Smell all the herbs in the den; the cure is right under your nose."

The words were first a small murmur, carried out by the four main cats who stood at the front of the crowd. Then, it got louder and louder, swirling around in the air. The wind itself seemed to chant the words endlessly, rushing past the four living cats and making them shiver as the words traveled around them, curling in their ears and in their minds.

The starry cats slowly began to fade away, the ones in the back disappearing first. Their faces morphed into horrified, agony-filled expressions. As they faded, the four main cats began to wither in front of the living cats, their smiles turning into pained, soundless yowls as if they were dying again.

Owlpaw's vision began to fade out, as did the cats in front of them. Their faces became blurry, though the agonization was clear in their expressions. As he felt the ground disappear beneath his paws, he saw one thing clearly.

Two small, limp bodies on the ground - Ashkit and Maplekit.

^~^~^~^

With a jolt, Owlpaw woke up to see the Moonpool glittering ahead of him. Moonlight clawed its way into the cave, and his gaze switched around. Talondust and Finchtuft seemed to still be asleep, but Logbite wasn't at the Moonpool.

He stood up, eyes flashing as he spotted Logbite sitting at the entrance. Her head was tilted up, and her fur was raised slightly, her ears flattened. Cautiously, he walked over to her, and her head snapped over to meet his gaze.

Looking away, he heard pawsteps behind him. Finchtuft and Talondust soon padded over to the cats, and a long moment of silence stretched between them. Nobody knew what to do or say, their eyes glancing around, all asking the same question:

Who will speak first?

Owlpaw frowned, and before he could offer a word, Talondust piped up.

"I think we all know what we're going to do."

Do we? Owlpaw thought incredulously and shared a glance with Logbite that echoed his thoughts exactly.

Logbite murmured, "Do we?"

"Well, I-I thought we would tell our leaders and our medicine cats..." Talondust's gaze flicked to the ground. 

Finchtuft sighed, "That was... kind of a given..."

They all talked quietly, their voices gentle, and Owlpaw didn't really know how to react or reply to any of the cats' words. He wanted to add something to the conversation, but he just didn't know how.

Losing himself in his thoughts, he didn't even notice Logbite trying to speak with him.

"Owlpaw? Are you okay?" She nudged him.

He shook himself, muttering, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"So? What do you think it meant?"

Frowning, he replied, "I don't know. We have the herb already, clearly."

"Well, yeah, I guess..." Logbite shrugged. Her ears were flattened, eyes narrowed.

"I should... probably be getting back now... Sedgestorm will probably be wondering where I am."

"We all should be going back." Finchtuft's voice became slightly louder. The sky above them was beginning to turn a bit peachy, the dark blue sky alarmed by the sudden change as it began to fade away. The stars were waving goodbye to the grasses that poked up between the small amount of snow on the ground.

Talondust nodded in agreement. In a moment, the tom was dashing off, his tail streaming out behind him. With a quick movement, Finchtuft was following him, but in a slightly different direction.

Logbite and Owlpaw nodded at each other, and the she-cat was off.

Owlpaw padded slowly back to camp, his paws dragging through the cold snow.