Freezing cold rain poured down, soaking the forest from the top of the trees, to the ground below- which had turned thick with mud. The wind howled through the trees, bringing the chill of leafbare with it.
In amongst the soaked bushes, a brown molly poked her head out from under the wet foliage. She shook her large paws individually and kept her jaw tight around the herbs she held in her mouth.
Blinking the rain out of her eyes, she fixed her gaze on the trampled grass that led to an opening in the nearby bramble bushes. After giving her paws another shake, she ran out of her hiding spot, darting straight for the opening.
Once inside, she placed her herbs down to check if she still had everything after running from the other side of her clan's territory in the pouring rain. She thanked the stars when she saw nothing was missing. She needed all she could find right now. Picking the plant up, she padded through the thorn-filled tunnel until she reached a deserted, puddle-filled clearing.
Doing her best to ignore the chill that greeted her as she left the tunnel, she quickly headed for an old badger sett; her den.
As she entered her den, the sour smell of sickness welcomed her. Despite herself, she shivered. She was chilled to the bone, but she needed to press on. Her patients needed her. She did not hesitate slinking her way into the dark inner workings of her underground den.
With the downpour, there had come an epidemic of green-cough that swept through the clan like a tidal wave. Despite the molly's best efforts to treat all those who were sick, several cats succumbed to the illness- including two queens and one of their young kits.
If only I had found that patch of tansy sooner, the brown molly had wept as the kitten was carried out of her sett to be mourned.
The molly directed herself through the darkness, using her whiskers and muscle memory to guide her. A complicated tunnel system made up the medicine sett, so complicated that only she knew the way. Any other cat would quickly become lost in it's innerworkings.
Coming to the chamber that housed her sickest patient, she climbed inside. In the near pitch black, the medicine cat could just make out the shape of a large tom lying on a moss nest, his flank slowly raising and falling in time with his ragged breathing.
She took slow pawsteps as she approached him, placing her herbs in front of him.
"Eaglestar," she whispered into the sickly cat's ear. "I brought you chickweed." The tom didn't respond, prompting her to speak again. "Eaglestar, please take it."
It took several heartbeats, but Eaglestar shifted slightly and let out a cough. "How is Morningbreeze. . ?" He rasped. "Is she well?"
The molly blinked at her leader, forcing herself to smile. "She is growing stronger. She will fight more battles to come. So, please." She pushed the herbs towards Eaglestar's muzzle. "Take this chickweed so you can fight those battles beside her."
Her words seemed to bring ease to the sickly leader. He raised his head to take the chickweed, He chewed slowly and swallowing the herb was a struggle, but he managed. He put his head back down and wheezed out a weak thanks. "Thank you, Rockfoot."
Rockfoot gently ran the tip of her tail over her leader's tattered ears, taking note of how warm they were. Still feverish. "I will be back to check on you soon. Sleep as much as you can, and drink from the moss I've already given you, aright?"
She got a coughing fit in response.
Rockfoot's heart felt heavy as she exited the chamber and headed upwards, towards her own chamber that held her dwindling herb stocks.
Eaglestar isn't getting any better, she thought darkly. He's been sick since this whole ordeal started. Oh, Fallen Ones, have mercy on him.
On her way to her chamber, she poked her head into two other occupied chambers that she had initially passed on her way down to Eaglestar. They were healthier than their leader, which Rockfoot was more than thankful for. One was a young apprentice, barely a moon out of the nursery. The other, was a warrior that Rockfoot admired greatly. From what she could see, they were going to be back on their paws soon enough.
The revelation lifted some weight off Rockfoot's shoulders. It gave her hope that her clan would make it through the outbreak.
Rockfoot finally made it to her own chamber, and was about to head into the back to see if she could salvage some left over catmint when she heard her name echoing down the entrance tunnel over the sound of the rain.
Heeding the call, she turned around and padded straight for the entrance. She was greeted by the bulky shape of the clan deputy standing just on the inside of the sett to dodge the downpour.
"How is Eaglestar?" He asked in a hurry. "Has the coughing gotten any better?"
The sound of Eaglestar's previous coughing fit rang in Rockfoot's ears as she shook her head. "Sadly, no. I would give him some honey to help, but I already used the last of it to soothe Cloverkit's throat before sunhigh."
She saw the grey tom's shoulder muscles tense up as she continued. "I. . .fear he won't last much longer, Stonegaze."
True to his name, the deputy's eyes turned hard as he snarled at her. "Liar! My father will recover! He has lives to burn, doesn't he?"
Rockfoot took a step back, doing her best to keep herself composed. "I don't know what Eaglestar has told you, but. . .he's on his final life. He's been on it for some time now."
Stonegaze's eyes burned with fury, unsheathing his claws. "My father is strong! He has thrived this long, and he'll continued to do so! Something as small as green-cough will not cause his demise!"
"This leafbare has been difficult on all of us," Rockfoot hissed. "And that's no different for Eaglestar. He is our leader, yes, but he's still just a cat. Just like you and me."
Stonegaze flexed his claws, his mewl turning dangerous. "Let me see him."
Rockfoot quickly turned herself to block the tunnel into the sett with her body. "I can't let you do that! I can't have anymore cats contract green-cough if I can help it. That includes you, Stonegaze." When the tom's tail started to lash behind him, she went on. "What would our clan do if the leader and deputy are too sick to lead them?"
The large tom dug his claws into the sandy ground that led into the sett's tunnel. He looked away, mulling over what his medicine cat had told him.
He finally took a step back, his scowl still set in place. ". . .you're right." He slowly turned around to look at the pouring rain, then sat down heavily. "Will there ever be an end to this rain? I don't know what we did, but the Fallen Ones are punishing us for something. I can't remember the last time I felt dry earth under my paws."
Rockfoot relaxed as she realized how exhausted her deputy truly was as he stared blankly at the rain. "No storm lasts forever," she mewed quietly. "nothing does."