OptimusPrime2017: You'll have to see!
Chapter 19:
"That's tansy," Hazelbush mewed, pointing at a green stemmed herb, tiny, yellow, slightly shriveled flowers at its top "It doesn't grow very well here so i'll need to search for more soon." The young tom sniffed at it.
It was sweet, the tiny plant nearly disguising the rest of the scents in the medicine den. He wrinkled his nose, taking a few steps away from the tansy.
"It looks a bit like goldenrod," he commented. Hazelbush nodded, placing it in
a small pile of more tansy. The brown tabby pulled out three new herbs from her stocks.
They all looked fairly similar, green stems, yellow and orange flowers and little scent. He observed them for a moment.
"The one in the middle has fewer and rounder petals," he mewed, narrowing his eyes in concentration. Hazelbush nodded.
"What's the first one?" the she cat questioned with a flick of her bushy tail.
"The first one is…" Ravenpaw hesitated for a moment "Hawkweed, I think. The middle one is marigold and the last one… dandelion?"
"The first one is dandelion," the medicine cat corrected "The last one his coltsfoot." The black and brown apprentice looked down in frustration at his paws, his fur beginning to bristle.
"You got marigold right," Hazelbush sighed "Don't get frustrated, I had trouble to when I was young." He gave a small huff.
"I guess," he muttered "But i'm just not used to all of these herbs, it's like if prey looked the same and you had to figure out which was which before you could eat it…" A purr rumbled in the medicine cats throat, the tabby curling her tail around the younger cat.
"Think of it this way," she meowed "Marigold has round leaves, hawk weed is short and stocky, dandelions have long and hollow stems, coltsfoot grows in wet areas and can have white flowers."
"I guess it helps a bit," the apprentice grumbled "But it's still a lot to think of every time I go looking for an herb."
"I know," Hazelbush said "But thinking of their differences helps me at least, like how goldenrod his taller than tansy and tansy is short and sweet." The medicine cat was about to continue when the sound of rustling distracted her.
A golden tabby she cat slipped into the cave, a scratch mark on her side, the fur around it staind red.
"Lightwind!" he gaped as the warrior lied down, gritting her teeth "What happened. The golden tabby glanced up at him.
"Me and Foxflight were hunting," she explained "We were pretty high up on Starpeak when an eagle swooped down and attacked us."
"Ravenpaw," Hazelbush cut in "Do you remember an herb used for wounds?" The apprentice looked at her in surprise.
This isn't the time for questions! he hissed to himself.
"Goldenrod?" he meowed quickly, a hint of anger in his voice. Hazelbush nodded, gesturing to the piles of herbs. The young tom padded over to them, his heart thumping hard. He went to pick up some yellow flowered plants before he stopped.
Is it tansy or goldenrod?
He sniffed at it, remember what Hazelbush had said: Tansy is short and sweet. The sweet smell hit him at once, nearly making him stumble backwards. He dashed for another yellow flowered herb, returning to Lightwind.
"Good," Hazelbush mewed "Now chew it into a poultice." Ravenpaw nodded, beginning to chew the herb. It tasted bitter and foul but he continued chewing it, the awful taste filling every inch of his mouth.
He bent down and pressed the chewed up goldenrod into Lightwinds wound. Hazelbush nodded her aprovel, grabbing some cobwebs in her jaws. The brown tabby spread them over the poultice with a sigh.
"How did you get down from Starpeak?" Ravenpaw said, lying down next to Lightwind. The golden tabby sighed, looking up at the medicine cat dens ceiling.
"Foxflight helped me," she mewed, a glimmer of affection flashing in her eyes "It's not the worst eagle scratch anyway, and I should have been more careful, its eagle nesting season after all."
A pang of jealousy hit him, his ears flattening and his tail lashing in envy. He looked away momentarily, turning to face Hazelbush.
"Should I get something to sooth the pain?" he asked, his neck fur bristling sharply "Poppy seeds?"
The brown tabby swung her head around "Pain? Get some dandelion leaves and let her chew some." He nodded, trotting over to the stack of yellow flowered herbs.
The young tom knelt down, grabbing them up in his jaws.
Hollow stems, he reminded himself, the plants hanging limply in his mouth as he padded back to the wounded warrior. He placed them on the floor and began to bite of the leaves, placing them in another, smaller, pile.
"How do you stand it in here?" Lightwind mewed, making his head lift "It smells!"
"I got used to it I guess," he shrugged, putting the dandelions back to their stack "I mean, I spent a little while here when I first came, then my claw, and now with my shoulder."
"I don't think I can stand it much longer!" the golden she cat snorted "The scents are overpowering!" Ravenpaw batted her ears and nudged some of the dandelion leaves over to her, a smirk appearing on his muzzle.
"You'll have to get used to it!" he snickered as she began to chew up the bitter leaves. More rustling at the entrance made his head turn, a dark russet tabby walking in, his gaze worried.
Foxflight… he thought darkly.
"Oh!" the young warrior meowed "Lightwind, your ok!" The russet tom pressed his forehead against the she cats, a purr rumbling in his throat.
Ravenpaw fought the urge to unsheath his claws as a wave of envy and jealousy hit him. With a silent snarl he slipped outside, the dusty air filling his lungs. He swiped his claws across the dry floor with a hiss.
"It's unfair," he spat.
Hazelbush sat down next to him, curling her bushy tail around the angered tom. The brown she cat glanced up.
"I know," she meowed "You want you train, you want to fight and patrol with your friends, but you have to try and take your recovery slow." She looked down at her paws.
"And that starts with making yourself busy," she snapped, her tone suddenly stern. The she cat nudged him sharply.
"I need some more juniper," Hazelbush said "It's pretty common so it should be easy to find." Ravenpaw look at the normally gentle she cat in surprise, but put up no fight.
"Get some ragwort while your at it."
He nodded, padding away to the entrance of camp, flashing the she cat a thankful smile as he trotted out of the hole in the thorn barrier. The air felt more smooth with the young tom's newfound drive, his eyes gleaming as he padded farther into the rocky landscape.