☁ 𝒜𝓈 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓊𝒹𝓈 𝒞𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒮𝓀𝓎 ☁

Chapter 6

𝒫𝑒𝓉𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽

~ ✵ ☁ ✵ ~

Petalwish examined the CliffClan warrior and elder carefully, making sure the illness they had caught just the day before was letting up as hers had.

Junipernose seemed to be doing well after his treatment, but unlike the elder, Leafpounce was still suffering from the sickness and it hadn't seemed to be getting better just yet. The young healer was patient though. All of her clanmates who had ended up catching it ended up recovering within a few days if not less, so she was sure as long as she kept up his treatment, he would be fine.

She was lucky that Oddblaze had been willing to help her out when she caught it. Without his assistance, she wasn't sure she'd be able to help her clanmates. She was even more surprised that Rainstar let him help after his offer, although she kept a close eye on him throughout the day.

Her herb store was running low though she noticed as her gaze drifted to the floor of the den. She hadn't even thought of gathering more while she was out the night before. She'd have to go out and retrieve more at some point during the day.

She trotted to the den's entrance, hoping Rainstar would approve of her making the trip much earlier to avoid running out of herbs as the day went on. Fear coursed through her veins as she approached the leader's den. The she-cat who led the clan could be mean and strict about what went on in CliffClan. But what made it worse was that Rainstar was her mother and ever since she decided to become a healer instead of a warrior, the she-cat disapproved of Petalwish.

She was greeted by Badgerclaw, the clan's deputy, giving her a scornful glare. The brown she-cat used to be her mentor while she was training as a warrior apprentice. Of course, she eventually became a healer apprentice instead, but Badgerclaw never seemed to forgive her for her decision.

Not all of her clanmates hated her though. Her former mentor, Junipernose seemed to like her and so did Leafpounce and Stoneshade, two of the clan's warriors.

"Rainstar?" She called to a reddish-brown she-cat who was perched just in front of the leader's den. The long-legged tabby turned and rested her blazing amber eyes on her daughter, and Petalwish thought she could see a flicker of annoyance cross her gaze for just a moment.

"What is it Petalwish?" Her mother's voice came in a low and irritated growl, but Petalwish was used to the leader's tone of voice.

"I just wanted to ask for your permission to gather herbs. My store is growing low and I'd hate for them to run out if a warrior gets injured or sick." She explained.

"Fine, go ahead." Was all she replied, flicking her tail at her, dismissively.

Petalwish's eyes grew wide in surprise. It was rare for the short-tempered she-cat to agree to something so quickly. She dipped her head in gratitude before bounding out of camp and towards the flower-covered hills where the gatherings were held each full moon.

She travelled through FlameClan since the route was quicker, but happened to run into a patrol on the way. She recognized the deputy, Pounceflight at the front with Thornflame, Tigernose, and another much younger-looking cat among them that she didn't recognize. That must be one of the apprentices. She thought to herself as they approached her and by his pelt coloring, she figured it was Twitchpaw's brother, although she had forgotten his name.

"Ah, Petalwish. What brings you to FlameClan?" Pounceflight greeted her warmly and Petalwish, while loyal to her clan, wished CliffClan's deputy could be as nice as the three other clan deputies seemed.

"Hello Pounceflight. I'm just passing through to get to the gathering place." She dipped her head in submission.

"Well, I hope you can find what you're looking for then. I will have to send a cat to escort you out of our territory though, just in case." The young healer gave the patrol an understanding nod. "Reedpaw, why don't you lead Petalwish here. Just meet us back at camp while we finish establishing new scent markers."

The younger tom nodded obediently, stepping toward Petalwish and beckoning for her to follow him. With one last farewell to the warriors, the two cats took off toward the opposite border.

"So, you're CliffClan's healer. I don't think we've properly met yet." The apprentice began.

"No, I don't believe we have, but your sister has mentioned you a few times to me during gatherings. It's nice to meet you." She replied.

"It's nice to meet you as well." They continued exchanging small conversations and before she knew it, they had made it to the border, the tall hills of the flower forest towering over the terrain, the brilliant sunlight casting looming shadows across the land.

With a thankful nod to Reedpaw, they both went their separate ways and departed from one another. The beautiful landscape was very quiet and the soft songs of birds filled her ears as she began gathering the herbs she needed. Crickets chirped nearby and a faint breeze rustled her fur. The chosen cats for the Clanless Clowder were lucky to live in such a peaceful area.

She was almost done gathering the needed plants and flowers when the sound of growling came from somewhere nearby. She parted her jaws to taste the air, but the scent she caught wasn't another cat as she had hoped.

It was a predator, and not just any, but a large strong wolf that could easily kill her in an instant. She tried to calm herself. Maybe it wasn't as nearby as she thought it was. If she was quick and made it out of the flower forest, the chance of it spotting her were low.

But just as she turned to head back the way she came, she saw it. A large gray wolf, its hackles raised and its jaws barred into a savage snarl.