WITHERING HERBS || A Warriors Fanfiction

|| chapter twenty eight

"You're back!" Owlpaw exclaimed, leaping to his paws and dashing over. Though, his ears flattened as he observed their states.

Sedgestorm's eyes were darkened with grief. His shoulders sagged, his whiskers drooped, and his tail had fallen to the ground.

Flintpath scuffed his paw against the ground, looking as sad as ever. He looked as if he could sink into the ground at any moment and be swallowed up by horror and terror. His ears were pressed flat against his head.

"What happened?" Owlpaw asked tentatively, an ear flicking absently as he spoke.

"The other Clans are in deep trouble," murmured Sedgestorm gravely.

Owlpaw tilted his head, "The snowstorm?"

"Yes. PetalClan... they... PetalClan lost Sorrelflame, Quailnose, and Mousewhisker to the snowstorm. They were all trapped underneath a branch that fell. Finchtuft tried to save them, and Heatherstar dug at the tree, but it did not budge..."

The tom's gaze had flitted to the ground as he continued, "PetalClan's remaining cats are staying with PineClan... The forest in PineClan is so ravaged..." A shudder ran down his spine as he shook out his fur, "Almost every tree was fallen... Snow was as far as the eye could see, and there was remains of starved prey among the fallen pines. PineClan lost their camp and a sick Troutfur along with it. They had to move to PetalClan's new, make-shift camp. They're all starving and grieving for everything and everyone they've lost. We've had it so easy..." whispered Sedgestorm and suddenly the tom let out a wail of pure grief.

Flintpath looked at the sky, and then he mewed quietly, "SquirrelClan was still affected by it. Most of their trees had fallen and one even on their camp. The prey had scattered and now they're living off scraps. Nutgaze could barely walk, and Mossheart had contracted the sickness too. She was in the 'medicine cat's den' if you can even call that crude, new place part of their camp."

He took in a quiet breath, as if he, too, were still trying to process it all, and continued, "I gave them the herbs... but I fear Mossheart and Nutgaze were too far gone to be saved... I hope they're okay. They truly seemed as if they were being torn up from the inside... And not just from the sickness or because of the pain..."

Owlpaw felt as if a wave was knocking him over. It shoved relentlessly at his paws, nudging his legs harshly as it threw grief-filled explanation after grief-filled explanation. He swayed on his paws and desperately blinked his already-blurring eyes.

He wanted to cuddle up to his mother's starry pelt and wail until she comforted him. He wanted to race to his brother and sister and whimper about his worries until they played mossball to calm him down. He wanted to sink into the ground and never return. He wanted to soar into the sky and never come back. He wanted to claw all the sickness, all the pain, all the hurt and the anger that came with being in this life and sink his claws into its soft, plumy belly fur.

He sunk his claws into the floor. He suddenly felt an overwhelming emotion start to swirl inside of him. It started as a light simmer of irritation, but it soon boiled quickly and spilled into a furious swarm of emotion.

A silence seemed to fill the space between the cats as Owlpaw seethed with anger.

Suddenly, Hazelberry's voice broke the silence.

"It's okay... We should go help them."

Shock seemed to resonate deeply with all the cats as another silence swirled around the cats. Owlpaw felt his anger drain through his paws, sinking into the torn up earth beneath his paws, being replaced by surprise.

"What?" she snapped irritably, her head snapping around as she glared at them, "What?!"

Flintpath gaped, "You... you want to help the other Clans?"

"I'm a medicine cat! It's my duty to help the Clans!" the medicine cat retorted. Her gaze was as sharp as ice.

Sedgestorm shared a bewildered look with Owlpaw.

"How do you plan on helping them?" asked Sedgestorm.

Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to have surged deep into thought for a moment. Then, she looked up, a determined look on her face. Her whiskers twitched absently and she smirked.

"Well..."

^~^~^~^

After bickering, explaining, hissing, and a few curled lips, MudClan came up with a plan.

Now they stood, well-fed and sleek-furred, at the entrance to their camp. The wind seemed to swirl excitedly around them, slightly brushing up their fur, though not enough to ruin the well-groomed pelts of the cats. Each of their heads was lifted slightly and their chests puffed out. Their gazes were sharp and slightly curious.

"Are we ready?" The words came from Hazelberry.

Why do we have to agree with you?

"Yes," whispered Stonestar, who trembled slightly. He ducked his head and shuffled his paws nervously. His gaze darkened as he stumbled slightly, his fur rising anxiously.

Hazelberry hissed and shoved him, to which the leader stood up, unsteadily, straighter. 

"How about you, Sedgestorm?" she prompted, "And you too, Flintpath. Owlpaw too!"

Why did this have to be prompted by your idea?

A muffled "mhmm" came from Sedgestorm, followed by a similar noise from Flintpath. Owlpaw could tell they didn't truly mean it... or at least he thought so. He hoped so.

"Owlpaw?" She asked. Her voice held a strange venom to it. It almost seemed as if she was slowly dripping a neon-colored venom into her tone of voice, cradling the source of it in her throat carefully. She narrowed his eyes at him as she seemed to release more venom into her voice as she spoke again, "Owlpaw? Hello? Are you ready?" 

"Yes, Hazelberry." 

Why did you have to be our medicine cat?

"Good," she smiled, almost sagely, as she gazed out across the territory. She began to stroll away into the territory.

I am not doing this for you.