Bloodflower

Chapter 5

Dawnpaw nudged the newly sorted herbs into their respective hollows in the ground of the medicine den. She let out a satisfied breath; all the freshly picked herbs sorted before sundown, just as Grayleaf had briskly asked her to. She'll be pleased at how quickly I can do this!

She glanced around, suddenly wondering what to do now. Grayleaf had not given her any other tasks, and was now gone from the camp again, to see what else she could find before sundown.

"As if we really need more herbs," she muttered to herself, glancing at the overflowing herb holes. But it was better to have to many herbs than not enough, right?

I suppose I should go see the elders, and find out if they need anything.

Stretching luxuriously, Dawnpaw padded out of the den, relishing the feeling of the setting sun's warmth on her back. Inside the den was cool and dim, with a canopy of ferns as a rain-proof roof.

Dawnpaw was halfway to the elders' den, when she heard someone call her name.

She turned toward the sound, ears pricked curiously, and saw Grayleaf approaching with a tiny bundle of herbs in her jaws and a smaller cat leaned on her shoulder. Suddenly Dawnpaw recognized the scratched, ruffled tortoiseshell fur. Rosepaw!

Her heart lurched. Was her sister okay? What happened? Did Grayleaf need help? She rushed toward Rosepaw and Grayleaf.

She slid to a halt in front of her sister and immediately began sniffing her scratches. "Great StarClan, Rosepaw! What happened to you? Did you get into a fight?"

To her surprise, Grayleaf's eyes glimmered with amusement. "She did indeed," the medicine cat replied. "She fought a bramble bush and lost!"

Rosepaw rolled her eyes good-humoredly. "I was after a mouse and didn't see where I was going," she explained. "Nightpaw helped free me, and then sent me back to camp."

"I found her stumbling her way back to the camp and helped her the rest of the way after she told me what happened," Grayleaf added.

Oh, thank StarClan, Dawnpaw thought with relief. She isn't seriously hurt.

Aloud she mewed, "Nightpaw? He was gathering moss with you, right?"

Rosepaw nodded. "If you're wondering, he's on his way back now with the moss."

"All right. We should get you to the medicine den and treat all those cuts."

"Yes, come on," Grayleaf agreed. "The cuts may not be big, but together they can be quite nasty."

Dawnpaw bounded ahead to make sure a nest was prepared for Rosepaw. She used her tail to sweep dirt off of one mossy nest. She sat down beside it as Grayleaf led Rosepaw into the den.

As Rosepaw settled into the nest with a wince, Grayleaf prompted, "Right. Dawnpaw, what would we use to treat Rosepaw's scratches?"

"Hmm...marigold, to stop the bleeding and prevent infection," she responded after a moment of thought.

"Yes, we could, but there's another herb that's even better for smaller cuts. We usually use marigold for larger wounds, and these cuts are whisker-thin."

Dawnpaw thought hard, trying to remember as quickly as she could. "That's right, dock leaves!" she blurted suddenly. "Perfect for smaller wounds, right?"

"Yes, very good," Grayleaf praised her. "I'll go get some now."

As she padded away, Rosepaw meowed, "You know so much already!" Her round eyes stared at Dawnpaw with awe.

"I only listed two herbs and what they do," Dawnpaw murmured, beginning to feel embarrassed. "That's not even half of it all."

Grayleaf quickly returned with two dock leaves held loosely in her mouth. She set them down in front of Dawnpaw.