Warriors: Nightstar's End (COMPLETED)

Chapter Eleven

Lilyrose sighed as she pushed a few tansy leaves toward Vixenpool, who was coughing hard in her nest. "Eat these," she meowed encouragingly. "They'll help with your cough."

Vixenpool opened her eyes and looked at the herbs. Reaching forward with her muzzle, she lapped up the tansy and sank back into her nest with a sigh. "Thank you, Lilyrose." She rasped. "You're too good to me."

Lilyrose touched her nose to the senior warrior's forehead gently. She could feel the heat pulsing from her skin and she resisted the urge to wail aloud. She's got a bad fever! "It's what I do," she managed to say. "I'll bring you some honey for your throat and a poppy seed to help you sleep."

Before she could make it to her herb store, Vixenpool protested. "Don't bother," the senior warrior's voice was rattling and hoarse as Lilyrose turned around. "Don't waste your herbs on me when you can use them on a much younger cat." As she finished, she started coughing hard again.

Uncertainty settled like a cloud in Lilyrose's belly as she headed into her herb stores and found the last bit of honey. Holding the honeycomb in one paw, she looked over her shoulder at Vixenpool, who was shivering in her nest. She turned away from the sickly warrior and sighed. What should I do? She wondered. I've got a precious amount of catmint left. If I give it to Vixenpool, what if another cat falls ill with greencough or whitecough? Will saving Vixenpool kill another cat? Sighing, she took another leaf of tansy, the honeycomb, and a poppy seed and headed back to the she-cat. After watching the red-and-white warrior take the herbs, Lilyrose ducked out of the den.

A new blanket of snow crunched under her paws as she trudged toward the leader's den. She knew Froststar would trying to keep warm and healthy, away from the rest of her Clanmates. Goldenfire would do the same, but his pride clouded his judgment of falling ill. "Froststar?" She called, slipping into the cave.

"Lilyrose?" The crackling voice of her leader made her flatten her ears in fear. "What is it? Are you out of herbs?" Froststar broke off to cough before going on. "If so, I'll have Goldenfire send out a patrol or two to look for more."

Lilyrose cringed as she neared her leader, seeing her streaming eyes and running nose. Her heart froze in her chest as she saw clumps of fur on the stone floor. "No, my herbs stores are good." She meowed, trying to push past her feelings of unease. "I'm a little low on honey and tansy, but I'll find some more." Her gaze flitted over her leader's crouched form. "Are you okay, Froststar?"

Her leader nodded, trying to hide her coughing by clearing her throat, which only made her cough more. "I'll be just fine," she rasped. "Just a little tickle in my throat is all." Her eyes were strangely cloudy and Lilyrose flicked her tail nervously.

"I'll go into the forest and see if there's any tansy," Lilyrose told Froststar, desperate to get away from the sick leader. "If there isn't any, can I see if Shellfur has any to spare?"

Froststar nodded. "Send my regards to Pebblestar for Goosewing's death," she meowed and Lilyrose dipped her head. "Be back before sunset."

"Yes, Froststar," the medicine cat mewed respectfully and slipped out of the den. Raising her head, she called across the clearing. "Dawnflame!"

The cream-tabby dropped the two scrawny mice she was carrying and looked over. "Yeah?" She meowed, tail tip twitching.

Lilyrose padded up to her, her tail high and kinked. "Want to come with me to the DawnClan camp?" She offered and watched her friend's eyes widen. "I'm going to see if Shellfur has any tansy if there's none in the forest." She explained.

Dawnflame's eyes brightened. "Sure!" She meowed enthusiastically. Turning her head, she meowed. "Can Swiftsoul and Amberheart come?"

Lilyrose nodded. "We can't have too many cats or else we'll startle the DawnClan cats," she warned her friend.