Mintpaw sat quietly on a small boulder as she watched the distant sand for any sign of OceanClan cats. Greysight stood anxiously by her side, her claws drumming against the earth. If anyone were to sense the arrival of the OceanClan cats, Greysight would be the first.
Lostheart was watching for movement as well, but instead she chose to focus more on Greysight. When she finally saw the blind she-cat beginning to perk up, she knew Greysight had caught something.
"Are they coming?" asked Lostheart.
"Yes, I can sense a small group heading this way. There's three-no, four cats." Greysight meowed, taking an extra sniff of the air. Lostheart stepped to the edge of the border beside Greysight while Mintpaw leapt off of the boulder and stood behind the older she-cats, waiting nervously.
Lostheart's eyes narrowed as four dark figures appeared at the top of a large sand dune, silhouetted by the sunlight, and preventing her from seeing their faces. Almost instantaneously, a yowl sounded from the OceanClan cats and the group began rapidly approaching their trio.
As they got closer, Lostheart was able to recognize a few familiar faces, in particular that of the OceanClan deputy, Hawkmask. The OceanClan cats were suspicious to be sure, but Hawkmask only regarded them with a calm greeting.
"Hello, Lostheart." she meowed, addressing the other deputy, "Greysight."
Greysight gave a curt nod, but said nothing more. She knew that Lostheart would have to do most of the talking if they wanted to get the herbs. It was clear to Hawkmask that the group had been waiting for a passing patrol, the only question was why?
"We need you to take us to see Tidepool, its official medicine cat business." Lostheart meowed.
Hawkmask regarded the she-cat with hesitation, trying to avoid her unnatural gaze. "Medicine cat business you say? I don't see Roseclaw with you."
The cats behind Hawkmask nodded their agreement and looked to each other in confirmation. "She couldn't come. In fact, that's the reason we're here." Greysight meowed. "One of our cats is very sick and Roseclaw couldn't afford to leave her uncared for." Greysight turned around to face Mintpaw. She nodded supportively and gestured for Mintpaw to step up beside her in front of the OceanClan deputy.
The apprentice swallowed back her anxiety and padded up to her Greysight's side, happy to find comfort in being with her sister. "Yes, I'm Mintpaw, Roseclaw's apprentice. Leafbare is here and there is no more catmint on our territory, our stores are completely empty and we have none left. We'd like to talk to Tidepool and ask to borrow some herbs."
A young gray and white tom from behind Hawkmask gasped and looked to his mentor in disbelief. "They can't do that!" Hawkmask silenced the apprentice behind her with a quick flick of her tail and a sharp look toward his mentor. The apprentice shrunk back in embarrassment and returned to watching the DarkClan cats.
It was unusual for the clans to seek help from each other, but it did happen from time to time. Hawkmask doubted the DarkClan cats were lying, and if they were trying to launch an attack, there wasn't much three cats could do. It was true that they could be trying to spy, but she doubted Sunstar would have anything to gain from that.
Hawkmask met Lostheart's eyes briefly and nodded in compliance. "You will have to speak with Brisingstar, come with us and we'll take you to the camp."
Greysight and Lostheart merely nodded and followed after the she-cat. The OceanClan warriors fell in step around the DarkClan cats, watching them with apprehension. They weren't too happy with having to take two of DarkClan's darkest and most powerful warriors into their camp. Greysight didn't like the feeling of being boxed in between the OceanClan cats, it put her on edge and her paws twitched anxiously as she stepped through the heavy sand. Mintpaw, on the other hand, felt her pelt prickle with excitement. She had never been in another clan's camp before, she wondered if it was anything like DarkClan's.
Hawkmask led the group briskly over the sand dunes, Mintpaw struggled to keep up with the she-cats in front of her. She wasn't used to walking in the sand and was surprised at how difficult it was to push off the ground. 'OceanClan cats must have really strong legs.'
It wasn't until they came to the top of a particularly large dune that Lostheart was able to see the camp. OceanClan's camp lay in a flat area, surrounded by grassy sand dunes. She could see large openings at the base of the dunes and was surprised to see a cat crawl out into the sunlight. It reminded her of a fox's den. Greysight and Mintpaw had been observing the camp as well when Hawkmask's voice re-captured their attention.
"Come on." she meowed.
They were led down the hill and padded through a small gap between two hills and into the camp. Greysight and Lostheart's unfamiliar dark pelts caught the attention of several cats and many began to come out of their dens and watch the group from a distance. Their eyes were filled with curiosity and uncertainty. Brisingstar himself was plucking a fish from a large pile of fresh kill when he laid eyes on the DarkClan cats.
Lostheart could see from a quick flash in the leader's deep blue eyes that he wasn't too pleased. Brisingstar set the fish back down and padded around the pile to stand before the group. "What is the meaning of this Hawkmask?" he meowed, peering past her to get another good look at the DarkClan cats.
"They were waiting at the border, apparently they have a proposition for you." Hawkmask meowed, turning towards Lostheart, Greysight, and Mintpaw. Lostheart and Greysight faced the leader emotionlessly, purely focused on getting the herbs they needed.
"One of our clanmates is sick, and we don't have the proper herbs on our territory to cure her. We were hoping that Tidepool wouldn't mind giving us some catmint." Mintpaw squeaked from beside Greysight.
Brisingstar eyed the small she-cat curiously, if Sunstar had to send cats to another clan it must be really bad. Absentmindedly, he wondered who it could be. Sunstar was an old friend of his, and he could never forget the help Sunstar had offered him when they were younger. Perhaps if it wasn't for the golden tom he wouldn't be a leader today.
"I have no qualms with DarkClan, if Tidepool has enough catmint to share, I see no reason why we cannot let you take some."
Mintpaw felt like a huge weight had suddenly drifted from her shoulders, "Thank you, Brisingstar." she meowed, dipping her head respectfully.
"It's nothing. Come, follow me and I'll take you to the medicine cat den." Brisingstar meowed, waving away the OceanClan warriors surrounding the DarkClan cats with a flick of his tail. Mintpaw smiled happily and followed the OceanClan leader, pleased with the idea of seeing Tidepool again.
Lostheart padded silently after them, ignoring the stares she knew were burning into her pelt as the OceanClan cats whispered amongst each other. As she walked by, two toms stepped in front of one of the dens, narrowing their eyes at Lostheart in a threatening gesture. The sound of mewling coming from inside confirmed her suspicions that it was the nursery. The apprentices kept their distance, but Lostheart could seem them whispering amongst each other with wide eyes.
Greysight was happy to feel the release of pressure from the OceanClan warriors and kept up beside her sister, right now all she wanted to do was hurry and get the herbs and bring them back to Longtail.
Brisingstar instructed them to wait outside with Hawkmask while he got Tidepool. Seconds later, the white she-cat's familiar face appeared from the den, her wavy black stripes shimmering in the sunlight.
"Mintpaw!" she purred, "It's good to see you, where is Roseclaw?" Brisingstar cleared his throat from beside the medicine cat, fixing his deep blue eyes on the she-cats. "One of the DarkClan cats is very sick, and DarkClan does not have the proper herbs to cure them."
Tidepool's eyes widened slightly and she looked at Mintpaw sympathetically, "That's horrible! What do you need?"
Tidepool looked up from Mintpaw, finally noticing the other two she-cats accompanying her. Her pelt prickled as she met their eerie gazes. Sunstar had certainly sent Mintpaw well protected. Tidepool tried to ignore the two darker she-cats and the strange chill on her spine.
"Catmint." Mintpaw replied, "We don't have any more on our territory."
Mintpaw's voice distracted Tidepool and she quickly nodded, "I do have a few blades I could spare. I'll go get them for you."
"Thank you, Tidepool."
Lostheart didn't liked the way Tidepool's demeanor had suddenly changed when she laid eyes on her and Greysight. The blind she-cat didn't appear to be bothered by it, Greysight was lucky she didn't have to see things like that.
"Here you are." Tidepool had returned and placed a small bundle of grasses at Mintpaw's paws. The Siamese thanked her and carefully picked up the grass between her teeth.
After saying their farewells, Brisingstar had a group of warriors lead them back to the border. Now the three she-cats were hurrying back towards the camp. Greysight's stomach churned with anxiety.
'I hope we haven't wasted too much time.'