Warriors: Fire and Ice - Book Two (Completed)

Chapter Eleven

Yellowfang and Waterlily padded back into camp in silence. Waterlily had no idea how to bring up their dreams they had with StarClan. It had seemed that they had same dream, but she wasn't entirely sure. Yellowfang could have just imitated her expression.

When they got back into camp, the clan was quiet. They heard the soft breathing of cats as they passed by the nursery and into their medicine den. Cinderpaw was fidgeting like she was having a bad dream. Waterlily padded over to her and rested her tail on her flank to help calm her. Cinderpaw stopped fidgeting and laid still, breathing softly. Waterlily barely noticed Yellowfang escape the medicine den and then back again from Bluestar's den. 

"You spoke with Bluestar?" She mewed, softly, trying not to wake up the sick cats laying around them. 

Yellowfang nodded. "Yes. She was told your new name."

"That's all?" Waterlily tilted her head to the side.

"Should there have been more?" Yellowfang's raspy voice almost turned into a growl.

"Uh, no! I was just curious is all." Waterlily lied. She wanted to know if perhaps Yellowfang had the same dream as her, but she had guessed not if that was all she told Bluestar. Unless she was hiding something? Waterlily searched Yellowfang for more emotions from what all she answered, but she showed nothing. She was too busy looking through the herb store for something. 

Waterlily sighed then padded to Cinderpaw. She stared at her leg, then her face as she slept. What was Spottedleaf talking about? Nothing was right in front of her. She had no idea how to cure her. She can't just keep giving her poppy seed in hopes that she'll heal on her own. She knew it wouldn't happen in that way. There had to be something else that Waterlily wasn't seeing. 

Waterlily padded beside Yellowfang and stared at the piles of herbs neatly organized. She searched for a good remedy and felt hopeless. She twitched her tail impatiently, then Yellowfang turned to her. "What are you looking for?" She finally asked.

"I'm not sure." She mewed, softly. "Something to heal Cinderpaw, I guess."

Yellowfang's eyes clouded with sadness. "She can't be cured." She rasped softly.

Waterlily narrowed her eyes. She knew very well now that they did not have the same dream. "She can be cured!" She hissed. "I know she can. I will prove you wrong!"

Yellowfang backed away from the hostile tone in Waterlily's voice. She's normally not angry or she at least doesn't show it. Yellowfang dipped her head, then continued her inventory for the day. Waterlily sniffed some of the herbs and came upon an herb she recognized, but rarely used.  It has large leaves, small bell-shaped flowers, that were pink and white and fat, black roots. It had a rather tangy smell, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. She pointed to the herb with her muzzle. "This is good for broken bones, isn't it?" She asked.

Yellowfang stopped and looked at the herb. She glanced back at Waterlily. "Yes, but I don't think..."

She was interrupted by Waterlily's flick of a tail. "That's all I wanted to know." She hissed, then grabbed some comfrey root and bounded towards Cinderpaw. Yellowfang stared at her with dismay. Waterlily has never spoken to her like that. Is it because she's now a medicine cat, she think that she's all knowing? Or was she just being mouse-brained and going through some sort of hormone issue? Yellowfang had no idea how to react to her. She was amused by her reactions and hostile actions. She couldn't stay mad at Waterlily, so she just turned back to continue counting the herbs in stock.

Waterlily softly nudged Cinderpaw with her nose. Cinderpaw blinked open her eyes and shuffled to her side, and winced in pain. "Waterpaw." She mewed, hoarsely. 

Waterlily didn't correct her, and she chewed the comfrey roots into a poultice, then applied it to Cinderpaw's twisted joints on her leg. Cinderpaw winced with pain again and tried to hide it. Waterlily knew it would hurt, and felt bad, but she hoped that perhaps spreading this around will help. She smeared the poultice into her broken leg. "Let that settle in before you reposition." 

Cinderpaw had her doubts, but she let Waterlily put it on and she rested her head on her paws, not moving. Yellowfang turned to watch Waterlily and stared in astonishment. She knew very well what it was for, and didn't even think it would work. Waterlily could feel Yellowfang looking at her. She padded to her and meowed in a calm voice, "As a medicine cat, we have to try everything before we completely give it up to StarClan."

Yellowfang knew that already. She rolled her eyes softly and looked away from Waterlily. If Waterlily could heal her, then she'd be forever grateful, but even if she couldn't she was proud that she tried her hardest before giving up. "What did StarClan tell you?" Yellowfang finally asked, looking back at Waterlily as she came up with more remedies for broken bones and infections. 

"She just told me that it could be done." Was all that Waterlily had said. She grabbed some Horsetail - which was good for infections - along with some rush - which was used for binding broken legs. 

Yellowfang tilted her head, demanding to know more. "She, who?" 

Waterlily plopped down the herbs and looked up at Yellowfang. She looked as if she was going to tell her off, but instead she meowed in a hushed voice. "Spottedleaf didn't tell me how to do or what to do. She just said that it could be done. Cinderpaw can be cured and it's obvious how to do it if we just look at what is in front of us."

Yellowfang looked blankly at Waterlily. She had no idea what Spottedleaf had meant - like if she meant it literally or figuratively. You never know what StarClan is saying. They always spoke in tongues. She was staring in dismay at Waterlily, still. Waterlily's eyes were hopeful and perhaps that's all they needed... was hope. If hope was all they needed, they could get through this leaf-bare all too easily. 

Waterlily picked her herbs and padded to Cinderpaw. She was determined to get her better. "I'm going to move your leg. It may hurt, but it will help it heal." She mewed in Cinderpaw's ear. 

Cinderpaw nodded, slowly, getting ready for the pain when it came. Pain shot through her back, but only for a moment, and the pain was gone. She turned her head to look at her back leg. A large and wet leaf was wrapped around her leg. It was tight and kept it neatly bound together and straight. If this was going to help her get better, she had to get past the awkward feeling of this cast-like leaf on her leg.