A New Form || A Warrior Cat Fanfiction Series \\

/+Chapter 22+\

                   'That was embarrassing,' Northpaw thought, walking around the canopy of trees aloft, with a mouthful of accessory quarry, while the setting moon's rays glared down through peaking leaves. She couldn't jerk off the fresh memory of her and Whistlepaw earlier. Only a few more hours and the sun would climb, before that, the forest sent a soft chilling breeze, ruffling the apprentice's fur. Her whole body ached with exhaustion, wanting to curl up in her moss bed decorated with delicate soft feathers.
                    Northpaw noticed she was one of the first apprentices who came back to camp early, she waved her tail in greeting to Sheepaw and Wildpaw, who had recently arrived before Northpaw. 

Setting down her collected prey on the fresh-kill heap, Northpaw trotted to the apprentices' den on the far side, shortly acknowledging the other felines she had passed but without a small converse. When the stiff alders covering the apprentices' den came into view, she quickly poked her head inside, the air was warm but humid, and the shelter was also empty with a few twigs and leaves stretching from the sides.

Northpaw slid through the almost-narrow entrance, padding to where her nest lay. She made herself comfortable, preparing for sleep, and positioned herself into a loaf. For a second, rest made its way to her mind, when an odd smell drifted to her nose. Northpaw slowly looked up, seeing blurred surroundings and a strange sickly green glow on something or someone when she blinked twice for her vision to cope. 

When the blur faded, she saw the blue-gray fur of Hickorypaw with her tail drooping and the sick brown glow outlined her body, before gradually fading. Northpaw doubted her vision and shook her head, she pushed away the thought of the recent glow and set her mind on Hickorypaw. Usually, Hickorypaw is independent, impulsive and sometimes a bit demanding, the apprentice Northpaw once knew became less of those now.

"Hickorypaw?" Northpaw called over softly from her nest, "Yea?" Hickorypaw whezed and looked over from her bedding. Her voice was dull and scratchy, unlike her smooth-talking voice before Hickorypaw broke off into a coughing fit. She spat out goo-like saliva after, "Are you okay there?" Northpaw asked, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine, nothing beats a cool apprentice like me!" Not like what she sounds, it came out raspy and rough. Northpaw also noticed crusts around Hickorypaw's nose, with a small snob dripping down. "From what I see you're not fine," She retorted. "Hey, remember that time when we were young kits and Oddpaw snapped at Sheepaw just for asking how to get your way in the fog?"  Hickorypaw recalled, "Now you're just trying to change the subject." Northpaw cut through. "And I still think you must visit Midgeberry, just in case."

"And eat all those weird stuff if I am considered sick? No!" Hickorypaw moaned, "And that reasoning is why Cloudpuddle gives you less attention these days," Northpaw insisted. "Nice shot back," Hickorypaw slurred, her words tumbling out heavy and scratchy. Northpaw rolled her eyes playfully, getting up. 

"Are you going to come with me or Midgeberry will come to you? Oh so sick Hickorypaw?" She mewed sarcastically. Hickorypaw was nudged to her paws by Northpaw, guiding her to the med den. "'ey! I'm not some lil' kit!" She complained but still complied whatsoever.

At the entrance of the med den, it was decorated with dwarf willows and sedges. Northpaw went ahead to the mouth of the den and called, "Midgeberry? Oh, golden berry? I have a friend who has some sort of sickness! Sheeppaw?" Silence is what answered. "Ridiculous, I told you I'm not sick!-" Then a sober sneeze followed, "Yuck, you have, I mean look at your-" There came a rustle that disturbed the hanging decorations.
                                "Who is it?" A soft voice said, "Sheeppaw! It's good to see you," Northpaw exclaimed tinged with a tired tone, "We just had our encounter earlier when you had your chase on a mouse, remember?" He mumbled, "Anyways, what do you need?" Sheeppaw poked his head through the sedges, his hazel eyes glistened as he looked past Northpaw. "I see, come inside, Midgeberry's on an herb run so I get to take control until she gets back." Sheeppaw guided them through the well-lit den until they got to a nest. Northpaw remembers being inside, but not really further down, as she healed with Echopaw near the entrance. 

The medicine apprentice gestured for Hickorypaw to rest in the vacant nest. With a lot of hesitation, rebelling, and convincing, Hickorypaw finally laid down the mossy nest which was neatly adorned with brown-red leaves, which was almost matching with Sheeppaw's fur colour, only if the leaves were lighter they would match. 

After a quick examination, Sheeppaw straightened himself upright before turning to his sister, "I've heard about this from Midgeberry, least to say, Hickorypaw has the Mistfall fever." He commented, craning his head back to Hickorypaw. "That's a load of nonsense!" She rasped, greeted coldly with a few harsh coughs. 

"The cool Hickorypaw would never fall into sickness!" The she-cat slowly rose to her paws, revealing a small strip of dead chest fur. "While it's recent, it can spread throughout the Clan if you wander around!" Sheeppaw raised his voice a little bit, quickly getting to work on finding the right herb while Hickorypaw was suiting herself in the moss bed, her eyes twinkled with amusement as she sneezed from time to time.

Northpaw kept her safe distance a root length away, almost falling asleep at some point. Firstly, she had missed her chance of deep sleep for the remaining hours, and Second, she needed to help her younger brother watch over his patient until Midgeberry arrived. Third, she might have to miss out on training tomorrow morning, which she doubts will happen because she saw her mentor Kestrelpelt being on crack on catnip along with some others. Her whole body ached, she just wanted to sleep that badly, but no matter what she did, her younger brother would just put her right back on the job anyway. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Well, he's the medicine cat in charge now.