Promisepaw sighed and shook her head slowly. Stone-Moss-Yis scampered beside her like a hyperactive kit, occasionally ducking between her legs and weaving around her paws. The weasel giggled madly; Promisepaw wondered if it really was mad. "You know what we seek, yis?" it asked.
"Cobwebs, marigold, wild garlic, poppy seeds, and thyme," Promisepaw repeated. "Cobwebs to stop bleeding, marigold for infection, wild garlic to draw out the rat poison, poppy seeds and thyme to help us get to sleep."
Stone-Moss-Yis flicked its fluffy tail towards a clump of bracken. Its eyes glinted merrily. "We think you'll find what you seek in there," it informed her. Promisepaw gave the weasel a skeptical glance.
"Really now?" she asked dryly. Stone-Moss-Yis nodded rapidly.
"Yis. Trust us. We've protected you so far, haven't we?"
"Why do you speak of a 'we,' friend?"
Stone-Moss-Yis giggled. "Because we are neither she nor he. We are us."
Promisepaw shook her head as if she were scolding a naughty kit. Stone-Moss-Yis used its dainty paws to push aside the worst of the thorns. Promisepaw lowered herself onto her belly and slipped through, cursing softly as thorns snagged her ears and pelt. The sight that met her eyes was incredible.
The bramble wall hid a long, narrow ravine. Promisepaw gasped in awe. Laid out neatly below her was a quaint Twolegplace. Stone-Moss-Yis was sitting on her back before she knew it. "Kitty go down into nest of Giants. Get what need." It nodded. "We will go with you. Down, kitty!"
"I am no one's kitty!" growled Promisepaw, but she crept through the breach in the wall and started down the ravine carefully.
About two tail-lengths down, though, Stone-Moss-Yis got impatient. It gave her tail a sharp nip, squealing, "Slide, kitty!"
Promisepaw felt her paws slide out form under her as she slid down the ravine on her back. Stone-Moss-Yis made itself comfortable on her soft belly, squealing as if this was the most fun it had ever had. The white queen felt a yowl build up in her throat and let it out, long and loud. Her amber eyes grew wide. This was...fun!
The wind wailed in her ears, mingled with her shouts as well as the weasel's. Brown of brambles and bare branches swirled in the corner of her eyes, mixed up with reds and oranges from the fallen leaves. She let out a long howl of pure exhilaration as the colors, scents, and sounds blurred into one living adrenaline rush.
And then...it was over. As soon as it had begun, the wild ride was finished. Promisepaw sat up, shaking her head vigorously to clear the thrill from her mind. Stone-Moss-Yis tumbled down beside her. "Fun, yis?" it asked mischievously. Promisepaw purred.
"Incredible," she mewed.
"Kitty needs to learn to trust us. We know what's good for kitty." It darted back and forth in front of Promisepaw, tail flicking a thousand times a heartbeat. "Follow us. We will help you." Promisepaw nodded and started after the weasel. Stone-Moss-Yis stopped in front of a Twoleg structure that looked like a bridge, only much, much bigger. It twirled its tail in the joints between posts and showed Promisepaw a tail swathed in web. "We will help you," it repeated.
"Thanks. Hold onto that for me." Promisepaw padded across to the Twoleg's garden, sniffing to check for the needed herbs. She picked out the tang of marigold instantly and spotted its bright flowers. The white she-cat bent her head and snipped off a few of the flower heads, as well as a couple of leaves.
Stone-Moss-Yis appeared with a Twoleg contraption. "In here," it said. "Things in here. Carry them."
"Where did you get this from?" Promisepaw asked, examining the basket skeptically.
"Kitty in the Gianthouse gave it to us." The weasel curled its tail in pleasure. "We are very good friends with the kitty."
Promisepaw dropped the herbs into the small basket and took it in her jaws. "All weef need nowf if fome poffy feeds," she muttered thickly. "I fink I know where there'f fome wild gar'ik, an' Twolegf alwayf haff thyme in their gardenf."
Stone-Moss-Yis nodded, apparently understanding her every word. "Follow us, kitty!" It zipped away, forcing Promisepaw to break into a run if she wanted to keep up with it. The weasel skidded to a halt a few nests down, motioning for its companion to stop as well. Promisepaw looked around. She could make out the scent of thyme clearly, and dropped the basket as she jumped atop the fence. From her high perch, the white apprentice could see a neatly-tended garden...guarded by a large dog. She hissed.
"You've led me to a dead end!" she spat to Stone-Moss-Yis as it joined her on the fence. "There's no way I'll get past that dog!"
"You, no. Us, yis." Without another word, the weasel slipped down and streaked over to the garden. "Tell us about this 'time.'"
"It's a small shrub with round leaves and a very distinctive scent," Promisepaw whispered, wary of the large canine. Stone-Moss-Yis poked its head out of the tangle of stems with a mouthful of leaves. "That's mint." It dove down and resurfaced. "That's rosemary...Sage ...Catnip, but bring some of that with you. Actually, a lot. Ah! That's thyme!"
Stone-Moss-Yis slipped back up the fence, its jaws crammed with thyme and catnip. It deposited the herbs in the basket. Promisepaw cheered softly. The dog growled low in its throat, a growl that soon changed into a thunderous bark. Promisepaw's tail bristled to twice its size as she bolted, just barely remembering to grab her basket of herbs when she fled. Stone-Moss-Yis erupted into a fit of giggles. Promisepaw rolled her eyes silently.
Out of earshot of the dog, the pair sat down to examine their spoils. Thyme, marigold, cobwebs, and a generous portion of catnip. Promisepaw purred. "We told you we could help," the weasel cooed, flicking its web-wrapped tail.
"And you did. Now all we need is the poppy and the garlic. Any ideas?"
"Come with us."
Promisepaw had no choice but to follow the weasel as it sped across the neat lawns of the Twolegplace. She skidded to a halt beside a narrow Thunderpath, looking from side to side for monsters. Nothing. The Thunderpath wasn't even paved with that acrid-smelling black stuff. It was just dirt, which surprised her. Stone-Moss-Yis squealed and darted out across the path. Promisepaw bolted after it. Once more, it motioned for her to meet a sharp halt in front of another garden.
The white queen patted a few stems, nodding. "Yes. This is poppy. How do you know so much about herbs, friend?"
"We were right?" Stone-Moss-Yis looked strangely relieved. "We were just guessing." Promisepaw swiped playfully at it.
She stretched up onto her hindpaws and clipped a few stems neatly with her teeth, then dropped them into the basket. Then, taking the basket up in her jaws, she twitched her tail for the weasel to follow her back to the barn.
They stopped along the way only once, to grab the patch of wild garlic Promisepaw had scented earlier. They reached the barn at sundown. By the time Promisepaw was settling in and sorting her herbs, Sunpaw and Shadowpaw arrived, carrying between them a vast amount of prey. Stone-Moss-Yis squealed with glee and pounced on the mice, devouring them with gusto.
Trickpaw heaved a sigh of relief, butting his head against Promisepaw's flank. "Thank StarClan you're back," he meowed. "I was beginning to worry. It's not safe out there, what with all the badgers and foxes..."
"Trickpaw..." Promisepaw drew back. His tone of voice suggested that the ginger tomcat had been truly worried about her well-being, almost as if he truly believed she was in danger. "I...It's...I'm not some helpless kit!" she spat, losing her temper. "You've seen me hunt! You've seen me fight! I've trained as a warrior as well as a healer! For the love of StarClan, I can take care of myself!"
"Promisepaw, I didn't mean it like that!" Trickpaw protested. Promisepaw turned her back to him. She was stung beyond all belief.
"If anyone needed some cat to worry about their tail, it would be you, kittypet!" spat Shadowpaw. "Promisepaw was forest-born. In fact, she's been looking out for you a lot this whole journey! Be grateful that she didn't turn you away when you followed us!"
Promisepaw didn't bother silencing the hostile she-cat. She gazed up at the window. Small flakes of white fluff drifted down across the dark square. It was snowing on the moorlands. She sighed and leapt onto the ladder, making her way up to the hayloft to sleep. Her heart beat a sad refrain, repeating the young tom's name. Trickpaw. Trickpaw. Trickpaw. Trickpaw. Trickpaw.
The white queen flopped down beside Wavepaw. The silver cat was twitching and mewing softly. Nothing was going right. Wavepaw was down...Trickpaw was...being a—the word hurt to even think—kittypet. Soft pawsteps alerted her to the presence of Shadowpaw. The dark she-cat held the basket in her jaws. "I brought this up to you," she meowed. "Is everything all right?"
"No."
"Sorry. Stupid question. Of course everything's not all right." Shadowpaw heaved a soft sigh. "Look, I know Trickpaw upset you. Forget about him. Remember that when it all comes down to it...it's not like you can really love him."
"I know." Promisepaw buried her head in her paws. "But I can't help it. I just...he makes me feel so..." She sighed. "Think about you and Sunpaw. That's how I feel."
There was silence, although it wasn't true silence, with all Wavepaw's soft squeaks of feverish pain. Promisepaw got up and sighed once more. "I'd better get to work on Wavepaw," she murmured. "Before he gets any worse."
"Anything I can help with?" Shadowpaw asked.
"I'd love an extra pair of paws. Yes. Chew these leaves up, but don't swallow too much of the juices." Promisepaw pushed a few bits of marigold towards her friend. "When you've got a good mouthful of juice, spit it onto that wound on his tail."
She sat down to watch Shadowpaw do as she was told. Then she called for Stone-Moss-Yis to bring its tail, still wrapped with cobwebs. She wrapped them around the bitemark. "Now we wait. There's nothing more we can really do now."
Shadowpaw nodded. The sound of paws alerted them to another cat joining them. Trickpaw. "Hey, uh...can you help me with...the badger wound on my face?" he asked timidly. Promisepaw fought to keep her hackles low as she shoved a mass of cobwebs at him.
"Do it yourself," she growled, and padded over to sit on the windowsill.
Snow drifted down in white bits of down, slowly coating the windy moor with white fur. Promisepaw heaved a soft sigh. She recalled the first time she had ever seen snow, being just a little kit. Bearpaw—Bearkit—had been surprisingly timid in his first steps onto the white fluff. Summerpaw—kit—had set him straight, though, tackling him into the nearest drift. Promisepaw remembered Great...kit urging her to take the first step into the white world. She had done so, and had won every game of hide-and-seek that day.
Snow was nice. It was white like her pelt, and didn't hold onto scents.
She sighed. Leaf-bare was here, no doubt about it. They had to hurry if they wanted to save PromiseClan before the warriors became too weak with hunger to fight off whatever the danger was.
Suddenly, Promisepaw was blinded by a bright ray of golden light. She gave a startled yowl and toppled back from the ledge, landing on the loft floor.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Shadowpaw mewed anxiously.
"Promisepaw! Say something!" Trickpaw pleaded. Sunpaw sat down in Promisepaw's former spot.
"Go up to the hayloft and look out below...Follow the gold beam wherever it shows," he murmured.