Disclaimer: I do not own the warriors' terms or other references from the book. My friend owns Fern :)

Chapter 10

Ginger woke up to bright light streaming in through the lean to. Fern was still sound asleep next to her. She quietly got up and tiptoed out of the lean to. Ginger stretched and went over to the stream to get a drink. When she saw her reflection, she jumped back, screeching. Her fur was sticking out in all directions and her fur was no longer orange. It was a musty brown color and she had sticks and grass poking out from it. How did I get this dirty? I am no longer a cat! Well, to think of it, Ginger couldn't remember the last time she did clean herself. She decided to take a run through the forest before doing something no cat would be proud of.

Ginger loved early morning runs. It always made her feel refreshed and re-energized. She came back to the stream looking even dirtier. Ginger felt hot and sweaty underneath her pelt and was panting slightly. She made sure Fern was still asleep before doing this. Luckily, he was, so Ginger went over to the edge of the deepest part of the stream. She made herself step into the cold rushing water. It felt good, soaking into her fur. The water only went to her belly, it wasn't deep enough.

Ginger got out and walked at the edge of the stream, looking for a deep spot. Finally, she spotted one. A tree trunk had fallen over onto the stream making a bridge and also a dam. Leaves had piled up making a perfect dam. The water was clear and clean, for you could see to the bottom. Ginger had no fear of being swept away by the current for the pool had no current. Ok here goes nothing. She leaped into the water, causing a huge splash. Ginger had her eyes shut tight and was kicking her legs and paws out in a rhythmic motion. She opened her eyes to see herself swimming in a circle around the pool. Ginger gasped with delight. She loved the feeling of the water soaking into her fur and brushing her sides. The feeling of flying was in mind. Ginger hadn't gotten her head wet so she ducked underneath the surface. So this part wasn't so great, the water rushing into her ears tickled but she didn't mind it. Ginger pushed her head back up to the surface and swam away from the pool and into the shallow stream. She swam upstream till her paws touched the bottom and she could see the lean to.

Ginger easily caught two silver creatures swimming right towards her. She jumped out of the stream and headed to the lean to with her prey. Fern still hadn't moved. What a lazy butt. Ginger threw one creature over to where Fern sat and took the other one. After ginger was finished, she went over to Fern. His cuts weren't that big and could heal on their own. But there was one big wound in his back leg which caused the limp. Fern's leg was sticking out behind him in a funny way. Then ginger noticed that it was broken. The badger must have grabbed him by the leg and torn it.

For Fern's open cuts and scratches she and in mind one of these herbs; marigold, goldenrod, dried oak leaf, or dock. Then for his broken leg she needed comfrey and some cobwebs. Ginger glanced down at Fern who was breathing heavily in his sleep. She rested her paw on him. Ginger pulled it back in shock. Fern was very hot to the touch. He definitely had a fever. Then she needed feverfew and maybe chamomile. Ginger had no idea what kind of herbs that was in the forest. Before she left she dabbed water on his body to help his temperature. Then she sped off into the forest.

The forest surprisingly was plentiful in herbs. It had chervil, chickweed, dandelions, dock, horsetail, juniper berries, lavender, and…..ok let's just say there was plenty of herbs for the two of them. There were lots to choose from and Ginger carried back as much as she could. She brought back cobwebs, comfrey, and broom for the broken leg. Ginger brought back feverfew, lavender, poppy seeds, honey, and horsetail for the scratches, fever, and pain. She also got some rush to bind the leg.

When Ginger approached the lean to, she was overwhelmed by the smell of a sick cat. She found Fern lying on the ground for he must have rolled off the moss. He was letting out a terrible groaning noise. Ginger saw that he had tried to digest the silver creature she had caught but was back up in a pile next to his head.

"Oh no Fern. This isn't good." Ginger had a worried look on her face.

"Well that's obvious. Now can you do something to fix it?" Fern had mumbled this in his old grouchy way. He then let out another groan. Ginger than started to work. She took the horse tail and chewed it up into a poultice. Ginger then applied it to Fern's infected wounds. She still had a lot of it so she pushed it to the side. Fern would jerk ever so often when it stung. Then Ginger had Fern carefully sit up and eat some of the leaves of the feverfew.

"Wow. This tastes awful. What, are you giving me mouse-dung?" Fern meowed looking a little green.

"And that's why I brought you this." Ginger gave him the honey on a leaf. Fern licked it up quickly. Ginger then decided to use the comfrey. She took the large leaves and the small link bell-shaped flowers and pushed them to the side. The important part was fat black-colored roots. Ginger chewed them into a poultice and used it to treat Fern's broken leg. She took the extra poultice and dabbed it on fern's wounds. When ginger did these the grimace of pain on Fern's face slowly disappeared. She quickly bind his leg in rush.

Fern attempted to life his head but to no avail. "Thanks again." He mumbled and conked out into a peaceful sleep. Ginger quickly cleaned up the remains of the herbs and washed her paws in the stream. It was busy work to care for a sick cat, but in a way, she liked it. Ginger liked to heal Fern and perhaps other cats. She quickly caught super and ate it. Then, Ginger padded into the forest to find fresh moss.

After hours of searching the forest thoroughly, Ginger gave up. She wad only found a little wad of moss, but it will have to do. It was dark outside anyways and Ginger couldn't see much. She found her way back to the lean to and collapsed on the soft moss. It had been a long day and Ginger was exhausted. Her body ached and her head throbbed. She hoped that she wasn't coming down with a fever. Many worries were prompted and shot through Ginger's head.

Who would take care of Fern? Who would take care of herself? Would she ever find her kin? What would happen if the badgers came looking for them? What would she do if they found them?! And if- Ginger decided to stop all the "what ifs" and just go to sleep. It didn't take long.

You sit at your dinner table eating a delectable Thanksgiving dinner when you hear a little meow at your front door. You go to see who or what it is. You open the door to see a little gray kitten with big huge kitty eyes. Its so skinny that you can see its ribs and all its bones. It looks up at you, pleading. Your heart gives out to this little adorable kitten. You bring it some food from your enormous meal. It takes the food and eats it delicately. Once it is finished, it steps back and looks up at you with pleading eyes yet again. "What do you want this time?" You ask.

"Review." You think you heard it meow this. You shake your head and think I have had way too many pieces of pie.