WITHERING HERBS || A Warriors Fanfiction

|| chapter thirty nine

Owlpaw felt like they were acting like he was a kit.

I can take care of myself. I'm not a kit.

Adderflight soon ushered him into the medicine cat den. The medicine cat nudged him as they passed tangles of roots. The other tom soon showed him to the nest he had been in before and he patted down the moss in it.

"Lay down," instructed Adderflight, flicking his tail at the nest. As Owlpaw did so, the medicine cat quickly headed back to the other area of the den. Curling his tail around himself and tucking his paws underneath himself, the dark brown apprentice pricked his ears and listened to the chatter that echoed in the den.

"Shrewfoot, I need you... Shrewfoot, please, just...!"

Confusion swirled through the apprentice. Who was that? It sounded like Lilybreeze.

Does she love him?

All kinds of strange feelings leaped inside of him, controlling and moving horrifically fast. His ears flattened, belly churning nervously. Are they breaking the code?

A moment later he heard a quiet sigh of relief and a snapping noise. A strangled yowl of agony followed it and silence settled over the den. As the apprentice shifted his position, he saw Adderflight whisking between dens. The medicine cat dropped a few herbs in front of him.

"Eat," he ordered, nudging them closer, "And be quick, I have to help... Uh. I have to help Shrewfoot."

Owlpaw lapped up the herbs, cringing at the taste, but he gazed back at Adderflight, "I think he's fine."

Adderflight's face contorted with surprise and fury, "Did you see his paw? He lost a lot of blood, Owlpaw. He's weak and he's not fine."

"But he doesn't need you," Owlpaw pointed out, "Lilybreeze is helping him." The apprentice allowed a small amount of venom to tinge his tone.

Adderflight's fur bristled as he glared at Owlpaw, "Get out of my den if you're just going to gossip. She is helping him. Did you hear them? Yeah. She's worried as fox-dung over him because he's her friend."

"She said that she needed him," replied Owlpaw, struggling to keep calm.

"Needed him to eat the herbs!" fumed Adderflight, "I said, get out!" The medicine cat's claws were unsheathed and nervously clawing the ground.

Owlpaw huffed and rose to his paws, brushing past Adderflight. He headed out of the offshoot and sped up as he heard the quiet breathing of Sedgestorm and the mutters of Lilybreeze. He exited the den and gazed around.

Cats surrounded the medicine cat's den, eyes concerned and curious.

'What happened?"

"Is Shrewfoot okay?"

"Is his paw okay?"

"Where did you go?"

The voices surrounded him, threatening to overwhelm him. They swirled loudly in his ears, pounding in his head, churning in his belly. Owlpaw ran past them, heading for the fresh-kill pile. Hunger sent pangs through him.

"Owlpaw!" Flintpath's voice broke through the chatter. The apprentice was curling up near the fresh-kill pile, about to hook his claw on a mouse in the pile. Flintpath sprinted over, scrambling into a sitting position in front of him.

"What happened?"

Owlpaw looked up after biting into the mouse. He swallowed quickly and replied, "Shrewfoot got his paw caught and it sliced it."

Flintpath's eyes widened as he shifted to sit next to him, "Must've been scary."

"I guess."

The way the warrior's eyes became shadowed told Owlpaw something. The way he shuffled his paws told him something else. The way the tom's gaze darted swiftly around camp told him another fact. The apprentice pushed the mouse to Flintpath, who ate it fast. Almost... too fast.

After doing so, Flintpath pushed some dirt up with unsheathed claws and nudged the mouse so it was covered by dirt. He patted it down with a swift movement and resumed his odd movements.

"You..." Owlpaw began, not sure where to start.

Flintpath looked at the dark brown apprentice curiously, tilting his head, though the bright flashing of his gaze told him something.

"Do you think RoseClan is unsafe?" asked Owlpaw, feeling as if he was treading carefully on thorns of a rose.

Flintpath's gaze darkened and he instantly wiped the shadows of emotions in his gaze as he tactfully admitted, "I... feel as if nothing is going well. Shrewfoot is injured. Sedgestorm is hurt. Maybe... StarClan wishes RoseClan to disband otherwise they will continue to harm our cats."

"What do you plan to do about it?" Owlpaw questioned, keeping his voice smoothed over and allowing no clear emotion into it.

"I cannot do too much," answered Flintpath carefully, "However, I can... speak with... Yellowspark or Robinstar about it. Or Lilybreeze or Adderflight about their thoughts."

"They will say they believe StarClan is just giving us hurdles to be sure RoseClan can survive it," Owlpaw pointed out.

"But-" Flintpath cut himself off, closing his eyes as if he were keeping back every emotion from flowing out, "I can't... watch everyone be sick or injured just to be sure that we can survive."

Owlpaw watched the tom's reaction and then flicked his tail a little at the camp, "You've not forgotten about the sickness?"

"Don't," earned Flintpath, voice edged, "That was different. But StarClan's tests need to be in a different way... or cats will get upset and leave."

This was it. Owlpaw had known it was coming all this time. His breathing threatened to speed up as he returned his warm golden gaze to Flintpath. The words he would say, he knew, were deadly and almost treacherous to his and Flintpath's well-being. He knew he shouldn't even say it. But he had to.

"Like you."

Instantly, Flintpath practically collapsed, his head dropping to the ground and his whole body seemingly wracking with horrified and sad sobs. A singular wail escaped him as he fell into an awkward laying position, his face smashed against the ground as he let out another wail of pain as if someone was stabbing him with sharp claws. His speech was muddled as he cried loudly.

"Owlp-p-paw- I'm so-so s-s-sorry- I just c-can't do it a-anymore-" His voice came out as blubbering fits of speech as the warrior tried to look up at Owlpaw, but the sobs took hold of his body so strongly he couldn't move much. His shoulders sagged and rapidly rose again as he cried, "I'm so s-s-sorry but I just c-c-can't... I don't w-want to leave you but I can't s-stay here with RoseClan where every-everywhere I look is- is pain and agony within every- every cat who survived the- the-" He couldn't go on, cries growing louder and louder and more distressed.

Moments later, Yellowspark was practically bolting over, fur brushed up.

"What's going on? Flintpath? Someone get a medicine cat!" She yelled, shaking the tom by his shoulders.

"He... he wants to leave because.. because..." Owlpaw trailed off, tearing his gaze away. His claws sunk into the ground, trying not to break down himself. Everyone was leaving. Nobody was who they truly were; most were broken shells of their former selves.

He realized with a cry of grief that he was too.