Heart Of A Fighter (Book 4): Magic In The Valley

Chapter 5: Learning Journey

The cream and brown cryptid glanced around in awe as Lagoon Snarl curled his tail around her back, leading her around the beautiful flowery meadows filled with plants.

He had tested her on the basic herbs earlier that she already knew about, so now they had moved on to the more exotic and rare herbs that grew exclusively in the valley.

As of now, they had stopped in front of a rather curious looking bloom, with near transparent petals tinted with mint and spiky leaves on a stalk covered in soft hairs.

"This flower is called the Skeleton Flower. The stalk is useless, but the leaves and petals contain a special toxin that, when applied in small doses, can clot blood," he meowed, using his paw to touch it gingerly.

"An overdose on Skeleton Flower petals can cause regurgitation of clotted blood and internal bleeding, so this flower must be handled carefully and kept away from cats who don't know what they're doing."

He glanced kindly at her, and she nodded, memorising the look of the flower and its usage. "So how do we use it for any medicinal purposes?"

"We neutralise the toxin by mixing the petals and leaves with a plant called 'Coastal Core', which I will show you later if we see it," Lagoon Snarl replied.

"Hazepaw would've loved to learn about this," Wren thought, her heart aching slightly as she thought of her old friend. She hoped he was up there in the stars watching over her.

A steady drizzle had began to flow from the skies, but the light rain shower was ignored by the two healers as they both resumed their journey.

Lagoon Snarl steered her towards a patch of small bell-shaped flowers growing altogether in a massive cluster by the river.

"These are called the lilies of the valley. We use it to sweeten herbal mixtures in small dosages; a large dosage will lead to unconsciousness for some time depending on the amount ingested."

The snowy rosetted tom then gently used a hooked claw to slice off a small flower that was pink with a soft violet ombré shade.

"Try one, it helps to boost one's mood as well and can be eaten as a snack," he purred gently as he pawed the small flower to her.

Blinking down at the little bell-shaped flower, the cream and brown cryptid popped the flower into her mouth, feeling the smooth yet crunchy texture of the petals on her tongue.

The flavour seemed to resemble a mix of honey and mint, the taste being sweet and cold which sharpened her mind and seemed to let a new reserve of energy flow into her bones.

"Wow, it's really good!" She remarked, and Lagoon Snarl gave an amused chuckle. "It really is. I used to sneak out of camp all the time to snack on these when I was an apprentice."

Wren glanced up at her mentor in surprise. "Really?" "Yes. The deed caught up to me when I overdosed on it once and fell dead unconscious for two days. I was in a lot of trouble when I woke up," he purred.

Gently, he nudged her on, covering her head with a snowy wing as the rain grew a slight bit heavier. Even in the rain, the beauty of the valley was still there, visible for all to see.

Lagoon Snarl guided her to a patch of red flowers next, all of which were growing abundantly under some shrubbery near a tall oak tree.

"Now these here are called red spider lilies," he said, pointing to the flowers. Wren leaned closer to examine them, taking note of the thin scarlet petals that spread apart and the stamens all parted like spider legs.

"They taste revoltingly nasty but they help with digestion. When the petals are crushed and spread through the feathers, they get rid of a nasty feather mites that wither them and make it hard to fly well."

Wren nodded with understanding, but her ears pricked up when she heard a soft hissing sound coming from somewhere nearby that she couldn't really pick up clearly.

Lagoon Snarl seemed to have heard the hissing clearer than she had, because all of a sudden the snowy tom's warm demeanour was replaced by a look of alertness.

Slowly, he soon let out a louder, longer, drawn-out hiss as he stared in one direction, and when Wren peered closer at what he was hissing at, her blood ran cold.

It was a snake. A giant, slimy snake.

The serpent had dark green scales striped with black, with an angular head and an ivory underbelly. The creature's eyes were slitted and glaring menacingly at the two cats.

Suddenly, the serpent struck forth, jaws unhinging to reveal small sharp teeth and a dark, forked tongue. Wren almost fainted as she stood frozen, staring in horror.

At the same time, Lagoon Snarl struck back as well, unlocking his jaws and latching them tightly to the snake's head. He brought his claws down on the snake's writing scales for good measure.

The serpent let out a horrifyingly unnatural sound that was like something between a snarl and a hiss as it writhed and squirmed, struggling clear in her mentor's grasp.

Wren watched as the snake began coiling its long body around her snowy mentor's body, trying to constrict him and squeeze all the life out of the larger tom.

She moved quickly, darting over and sinking her teeth in the reptile's body, balking at the bitter taste though she chose to bite down harder as it hissed louder.

She was startled when the reptile began convulsing and Lagoon Snarl pushed her away quickly as he suddenly spread his wings wide open and began to struggle more vehemently.

Wren watched in shock as her mentor clamped his jaws down harder on the snake's head as it began releasing him, writhing and trying to escape his maw unsuccessfully until she heard a dull crack and the reptile fell still.

She stared in shock as Lagoon Snarl spat out the snake's head and balked before turning to her. "The tighter it constricts you, the harder you bite," he explained with an amused grin at her reaction.

"Be careful though, Wren. Snakes aren't the only dangers to be wary of in the valley."