It was sunset, or something along that time, when the rain fully stopped. He didn't have a good sense of time since the clouds and long night had messed with whatever part of him decided exactly which time he thought it was. The clouds parted over the rain soaked lake territories to reveal the sun, its glory, vanishing over the horizon. The Beams of light it cast pierced above the distant forest that lay beyond the lake, a place no cat dared explore.
Frostpaw heard tales about the forest beyond the lake, after the twolegs left their places became overrun by rouges, dogs, and former kittypets who formed their own societies. He had been told about those threats spreading out into the forest beyond, and that was why they never went too far beyond the original boundaries of the clans, wherever they were was probably lost to time for good, the need for the memory lost. The Elders had often regarded places far away with dread, telling tales of past expeditions which tried to go beyond, which tried to explore the 'Near' Areas, but failed and ended in death or injury. No matter how much the clans wanted to take advantage of their new situation and blossom out into the surrounding land they were stuck, apparently unable to send enough cats out for long enough to get meaningful land or territory.
This must have been working on the clans for a while, Nursery tales always ended in the same lesson about this- "Don't go alone." They said, and to him it was a true lesson, one he had no doubt in his mind as to which was meant to save him, and any other foolish apprentice or warrior. Even the Outlands of Thunderclan territory, which were 'close' seemed too dangerous and wild to him. it was hard to conjure up an image of those truly distant lands which were of true alien nature to him, he had seen the catmint place, he was LIVING in the catmint place along with the rest of the clan, he heard tales of what Twoleg territory used to look like, Massive Monsters with large, round paws that could crush a cat moving at such high speeds that it was near impossible to even see it coming, Towering structures of shiny materials and who knows what other natures. The last time any cat came from Twoleg place to Thunderclan was many moons ago, he heard, and Frostpaw remembered the tales that cat told. Hundreds of cats lived in twoleg place, living such lives under true cats of evil that few made it out, and even fewer made it to the clans. He had heard that it was now overgrown with plants and trees but that The Twoleg structures still remained, a mix of nature and the lack thereof, forming a horrible maze of danger.
He wondered just how long exactly it had been, that such times of war and twolegs had taken place. He then wondered how long it would be until they were forgotten, not even the Parents of their Grandmothers had been alive during these times, no living cat had been alive remotely close for sure. He wondered how long it would take before the cats of today were forgotten, cast to nothingness as if they had never existed at all. Thunderclan probably would stay around forever, as it always had been. He actually wondered if Thunderclan hadn't existed at some point, surely the idea, the concept, of a clan, had begun somewhere, but if it had its founder and mastermind was lost to time by now.
He and the other apprentices had been sent by Brackenstar, along with Whitepelt and Brambleheart, to find herbs. He had no doubt the reason was because the floodwaters had ruined and drowned any herbs that were in the medicine den. He hadn't seen the flooded camp yet but he and the other apprentices were curious what it looked like. He then wondered what had been happening to the Lake Itself, had it also flooded and swallowed up the shoreline that surrounded it? He suddenly desired to know but then he heard someone calling his voice.
"Frostpaw, over here!" Graypaw said, and Frostpaw rushed to him. They were looking for Catmint and other herbs, leaf bare waited for no cat, and they had to be prepared for the harsh winter in particular since the clan would be so vulnerable. The Catmint had been mostly ruined at the Catmint place by the intense rain, with only around a third of the stores surviving. Ravenheart had told them that it would be a miracle if they even survived the winter, let alone had enough to sustain the clan. Ravenheart said towards the outer part of Thunderclan Territory lie plenty of herbal stores, which could have catmint. Of course, the issue was that it was very close to the outlands, if not part of the outlands themselves.
Graypaw gestured at the plants on the ground, which appeared to be a type of flower. Frostpaw was no medicine apprentice, nor did he desire to be one, but Ravenheart had shown him and Dawnpaw what the Herbs looked like, Brambleheart already knew what they looked like apparently and he had no time to show Graypaw, Shrewpaw or Viperpaw what Catmint was, they had to get the herbs home as soon as possible so that Ravenheart could begin restocking the stores. He looked at the herbs Graypaw had found, and he recognized them as…not catmint.
"They aren't catmint, they are probably just flowers." Frostpaw said, "Although I'd ask Brambleheart if I were you, he knows more about herbs so perhaps it could be something useful." He told Graypaw.
"I'll ask him." Graypaw said, walking off towards the Brown Tabby Tom who was nosing around a patch of grass looking for catmint.
Frostpaw looked with nervousness towards the area beyond Windclan, he could see the border through the trees, he could smell it too. But his fear wasn't of Windclan, Windclan was the last of Frostpaws concerns. He looked beyond Windclans' moors to the distant mountains, whose peaks were sticking out against the horizon, as if trying to claw the sky. He wondered what horrors lied there, probably even worse beasts than twoleg place. This time he didn't even want to think about this at the moment, too much on his mind, too much pain…
He nosed around the tree, he didn't know exactly where Catmint grew, he wished he had time to ask Ravenheart that, but the Medicine cat still had to tend to the other warriors who were injured during the fight with Skyclan.
As he looked for Catmint, he saw Brambleheart walk over to the flower he and Graypaw had just looked at. Brambleheart sniffed the flower and shook his head, and Frostpaw realized quickly that he was right in his earlier assumption that the flower offered no herbal Value to Thunderclan. He felt a bit down knowing it didn't turn out to be some Miracle sent from Starclan and that it wasn't something they could use.
He quickly continued the Catmint search, which seemed to escape his grasp as he couldn't find any. As the warriors continued the search, Catmint seemed ever so far away from them as they searched, and searched, and searched further, but none of them found any.
He sighed, his eyes must have shone with disappointment with their lack of progress, Dawnpaw looked equally as disappointed, as did every cat.
"We haven't searched the Outlands yet…" Whitepelt whispered, Brambleheart nodded "I believe the best course of action would be to head out there and search, Thunderclan depends on us so checking our outermost domain is the least we can do." Brambleheart said, but Frostpaw regarded the idea with dread, He hated the outlands, he wasn't lazy, but the long was long and painful on his paws, and to go that far to find a land fraught with danger who knows what else? Perhaps it even had badgers, foxes, or Starclan forbid dogs. Frostpaw knew, however, that the clan depended on them retrieving herbs and thus he had no choice but to comply, and he would raise no objection.
"I haven't been to the outlands yet…" Shrewpaw said.
"It's just like Clan Territory, but further away." Frostpaw told him, but as much as he wanted to tell him about his concerns about the outlands he couldn't, he thought it was just him who thought it was a scary experience being so far from camp, he didn't want to be the cat who held them back from helping the clan.
"Sounds cool!" Shrewpaw said, and Frostpaw wished he could share his excitement, but the last few days had taken a much bigger toll on him than Shrewpaw, who was more carefree and independent, never interacting as much with Cedarclaw and thus not being as affected by his loss. Frostpaw, however, was certainly affected, his need for exploration was dead, and his excitement ruined probably for moons.
"Come on, follow us." Brambleheart gestured with his tail as he spoke, and the apprentices went forward with them, Frostpaw sensed impending dread as they crossed over patches of grass in clearings between the Trees, the environment grew ever alien until they came to what was once a Thunderpath, it was wrecked, overgrown with grass and cracked with it so much it was hardly recognizable but a slab of dark, twoleg stone. It possessed no danger to them, and as they walked over the one deadly path Frostpaw felt an almost ancient evil coursing through it, but he shrugged it off.
As they crossed over it they came to a large expanse of grass which stretched far into the distance, intermingling with distant trees of forest never touched, Several Mountains stood far away and reached to the sky, and unlike the last one the distant trees gave him a sense of comfort, just like home. The clouds reflected the sun and in the setting of that very sun they had a vibrant orange color, and as much as he pained to recognize the sight he had to admit that it was beautiful. As he stared he saw their destination, what looked like a large, abandoned twoleg den. Its roof projected somewhat into the air, a prism of degrading slabs and wood as the winds of time eroded it down into nothingness.
"Alright, I've been here twice to assist in Gathering Herbs before, so I know that some things grow here, I can't remember if Catmint does but it's our best bet." Brambleheart said, as they followed him Frostpaw nearly stepped on something, and Brambleheart told him it was a Sharp Substance the Twolegs used on their dens in ancient times to see through the walls of their dens. He also told Frostpaw the Somewhat humorous story of how Whitepelt stepped on one and had to go to the Medicine cat to get it looked at, to which Whitepelt scoffed and then laughed herself gently.
As they entered the Den they realized it was covered in dust, the Age of Twolegs was so long ago that with no maintainers it was crumbling, it was a wonder it was still up, and Puddles of Water slushed on low spots where the roof leaked. He kept a careful watch for any deadly creature that may attack them, and as he did he heard a creak. He jumped, fur bristling, but relaxed when he realized it was just the wood on the floor being creaky. Viperpaw seemed to look at the items with astonishment, this place had many more things than the Catmint place, and as they finished their tour they emerged from the exit on the other side, which was nearly covered in cobwebs which Frostpaw avoided. In the back of the Abandoned Twolegplace was a Garden of Herbs, and Brambleheart began to look for them, as did Frostpaw and Dawnpaw, Whitepelt and the other apprentices hung back, looking at the stuff in the twoleg den.
As they did, Frostpaw heard Brambleheart cry out "Found it!" He rushed to Brambleheart, and in his mouth was Catmint, enough to cure several cases of Greencough hopefully.
"Alright, there isn't anymore Catmint here, so for now just head home, we will find some more later tomorrow if we can but this will do for Today." Brambleheart said, Frostpaw nodded, as did the other apprentices. As they exited Frostpaw glanced back, the Twoleg den stood against the Darkening Horizon.
As Night Fell they trudged home, the Sky became Dark and strewn with Stars, the Moon wasn't out yet, and almost no light shone on the cats at all, only through their better suited eyesight could they make anything out.
"It's cold outside." Dawnpaw shivered, and Frostpaw realized now it had gotten rather cold outside. He himself was shivering, and as were the other cats, Brambleheart looked at them, Catmint still in his mouth, Whitepelt spoke next.
"We are almost home, don't worry." Whitepelt said.
Yet as she spoke they heard a distant noise, it was like a scream, one of pain, it originated from a cat for sure.
"What was that?" Viperpaw asked.
"I don't know…" Brambleheart said, "But it did come from a cat, I know that much."
"It sounded young…" Whitepelt said.
"What if it was a kit?" Frostpaw said, Brambleheart and Whitepelt slowly turned a glance at him, then at eachother.
"Ok, change of plans, we are investigating where it came from." Brambleheart said, and although Frostpaw was deeply frightened by this noise he did feel some curiosity towards its origin.
"Are you sure? Flamewing taught me never to go into the woods when something like that is heard." Graypaw said nervously.
"Flamewing says many things." Dawnpaw said, and Frostpaw wondered what exactly she meant by that. "Besides, what if a Cat is hurt and needs our help?" She asked, and Frostpaw then wondered when her sense of adventure would end up leading her into trouble.
"Which is exactly why we are going, come on guys." Brambleheart said, "I promise if something does happen I will defend you with my life."
Reassuring to say that when that's the concern. He thought, but he knew he had no choice in the matter, in this darkness and cold and unfamiliar land he wouldn't be able to find his way home, or if he did it would be so long to find it that he would probably die of that same cold.
So, with great reluctance, he followed them. The Forest out here seemed off at this time of night, for whatever reason it seemed like something out of a nightmare. The Moon still wasn't up yet and the lack of light greatly increased the anxiety Frostpaw was feeling, it reminded him too much of that recent nightmare, which him thinking about brought tremors to his body. Dawnpaw must have noticed his tremors because she spoke to him quickly.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
"Yes…No, Sort of…." He said with an unsure voice.
"Listen, somethings up with you." Dawnpaw said,"You've been acting strange lately, I don't know WHAT it is but I need to know."
"It's too much Dawnpaw." Frostpaw whispered, "Its all too much for me."
"Oh, right." Dawnpaw said, "Frostpaw ...have you asked Brackenstar for help on that?"
"What can he possibly do to help me…." Frostpaw mumbled….
"A lot." She said, "He's been around for longer than we have been born, and he's so experienced and wise!" She said, Frostpaw sighed as he looked at her with clouded eyes.
"I know…" He said, "But all this at once? I think I'll just be a drag on the clan…" Frostpaw meowed.
"Don't say that!" She insisted, "We all want you here." She said with a calm voice.
"Thanks…" He said.
"Wait." Brambleheart said, and all the cats froze, an unusual scent hit Frostpaws nose, it was a Cat scent for sure, but it wasn't a smell of Thunderclan, not that all.
"It's a Skyclanian apprentice!" Frostpaw heard Brambleheart say with surprise. He looked past the Warrior with interest, and saw the still body of a Skyclanian Apprentice, in the hardly existent light he could see the outline of his fur, which looked to be a Dark Gray.
"Is he dead?" Dawnpaw asked.
"No, but he may be if we don't get him back to camp." Brambleheart said, grabbing the Apprentice by his scruff.
"You mean the Catmint place?" Frostpaw asked.
"Yes." Brambleheart grunted, Whitepelt had the catmint now in her jaws, and through the dim light he could see the wounds the apprentice sustained. They looked a lot like the Marks of Cat Claws!
"Did another cat do this to him?" Frostpaw asked.
"I think so, the wounds smell of more Skyclan." The Warrior said. "If his clan really tried to kill him, it means either he is a Good Cat, or a Seriously bad one given Skyclans Behavior, and Given his small size I'm going with Option one." Whitepelt meowed.
"He doesn't look any older than us…" Viperpaw said.
"He probably isn't much older than you at all, It's a Miracle from Starclan he is still alive." Whitepelt said, "Graypaw, run ahead and tell the Clan what we found, you know your way around these parts correct?"
"Yes, Whitepelt." Graypaw dipped his head before bounding off to the Catmint place to tell the Clan about the Catmint and the apprentice.
"Everyone else follow us back home." Brambleheart said with a stern voice, "You all don't know how to get back yet, so stay close."
"Yes Brambleheart." Dawnpaw said, her mentor nodded and led them back to the catmint place, which was slow because he was carrying an apprentice.
As they walked Frostpaw looked back, the moon emerging from the horizon, its dim light slowly casting itself upon them as they made their way back. He hoped to Starclan that he would get sleep tonight, because he knew the next few days he would need it.