•Willowleaf•
Willowleaf sighed. She missed having Sunpaw in the den. It had been four moons since the young tom had become a warrior apprentice again, and since Brackenstar's death. She was sort of lonely now, even with Barkpelt around. Barkpelt laid the tip of his tail on her shoulder. "Are you alright, Owl?" He asked. She only had this nickname from him because one of the kits awhile ago couldn't say Willowleaf, so they just said 'Owl-leaf.' Ever since then, Barkpelt called her 'Owl.' Willowleaf leaned her head on his shoulder. Barkpelt was like an older brother to her, except he was younger.
"I don't know, Kelp." She replied. This nickname also came from a mispronunciation of a kit, where they called him 'Bark-kelp.' "I don't know if I'm alright." He curled his tail around her, and pulled her closer. "I wish...I mean I...I don't know, Barkpelt, I really don't know if I'm alright. I really don't know."
"That's alright. We all have those days, where we can't decide how we feel. It's really okay." He licked his paw and swiped it across his ears. She purred a little and flicked his ear with her tail. She sighed again and stood up.
"I had better get going. These herbs aren't going to sort themselves, are they now?" She pulled out a pile of marigold and began to separate the old, shriveling herbs from the newer, fresh ones. Beside her, Barkpelt began to sort horsetail and juniper berries.
***
Willowleaf padded through the gorse tunnel at the entrance to the camp, carrying a bundle of fresh herbs in her mouth. Her mouth was watering, because she had picked a little bit of catmint, since Snowkit was refusing to eat coltsfoot for her cough. Willowleaf shook her head. "Kits these days, so soft and ignorant. Kits in my day would be ready for battle at three moons, gulp their herbs like nothing, and go without prey for days." Barkpelt snickered behind her. She sighed. "Okay, that made me sound a lot less old in my head." He laughed again. She smiled, but kept walking to her den. There, she dropped off all the herbs but the catmint and coltsfoot. "Barkpelt, could you put these away?" She called, already on her way to the nursery. He nodded and disappeared into the medicine den.
Willowleaf peeked inside the nursery, but pulled back very quickly when she saw Snowkit hurtling toward the entrance. The little kit skidded to a halt when she saw Willowleaf. She coughed.
"Are you going to make me swallow some nasty herbs again?" She asked, her little pink nose held high in the air. Willowleaf laughed.
"Yes, but if you do it—"
"I won't!" The she-kit declared. Then she coughed again.
"—If you do it, I'll give you a little bit of catmint." She held the catmint under Snowkit's nose, and the calico she-kit sniffed it eagerly.
"Okay, fine." She complied, sniffing the catmint again. Willowleaf passed two small coltsfoot leaves over, and the she-kit growled, but choked them down. Then Willowleaf laid down a small catmint leaf and Snowkit devoured it, licking her lips. "Can I have more?" She asked sweetly. Willowleaf purred.
"Tomorrow." She replied. "You can have some more after you take your herbs tomorrow." Snowkit growled but turned back to the nursery. Then she turned around again.
"But I want more now." Snowkit complained. Willowleaf huffed and rolled her eyes.
"Too much catmint makes a cat go crazy." She said, much calmer than she felt. Snowkit cocked her head little calico head, her tail twitching excitedly.
"Really?" The kit practically bounced up and down. Then she coughed. Willowleaf sighed for the third time that day.
"You know what? I'll tell you a story. Would you like that?" She asked. She could tell by the sheer joy on the small kit's face, that that was exactly what she had been hoping for.
"Yes!" Came the reply. Snowkite bounded over, coughed, and promptly curled up against Willowleaf. The latter was taken aback, but the she-kit purred. The medicine cat rolled her eyes again and began her story:
"Once upon a time, when the Clans were in the old forest, there lived a tom named Russetheart. now Russetheart was your average tom—"
"So a little bit stupid?" Snowkit interrupted. Willowleaf nodded and laughed.
"—your average tom medicine cat. Russetheart only became a medicine cat because he loved catmint so much. One day, Russetheart went to fetch some catmint for a kit with greencough. While in the catmint patch, he rolled in it and ate all the leaves but one.
"When he got home, he was acting crazy, and he barely managed to give the kit her catmint without eating it, too. Everyone wondered what had happened to the nice, polite tom. Now, he acted like a demented rabbit, running everywhere, nibbling everything, scared easily. Poor Russetheart would disappear for days at a time, only to be found unconscious in a catmint patch somewhere.
"Eventually, they found him permanently asleep in a field of wild catmint and sunflowers. They all mourned him of course, but they were glad to be rid of his delirium. The end." Willowleaf stood up, ready to go back to her den, but Snowkit clung to her.
"Please tell me more stories. Please!" The little kit mewed pitifully. Then she cocked her head. "And does 'permanently asleep' mean dead?" She stared suspiciously at the light brown medicine cat. Then she pleaded more. "Please, just one more story? You're such a good storyteller."
Willowleaf could not fight this. She huffed and sat back down. "Fine. One more. Do you want to hear about how the Advisory came to be, or about the legend of Sunflower and Songbird?"
"Both, please!" Snowkit squeaked. Willowleaf shook her head in amusement. Her barrier was crumbling slightly, and this kit was one of the only ones getting through it.
"Alright," she conceded. "I will tell you both of them, then. "We'll start with the Advisory." She settled down, and tucked her paws underneath her. Snowkit climbed onto her back, digging her sharp kit claws into her back. Willowleaf winced, but didn't reprimand her. "Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a she-cat named Willowsong. She had a litter of four kits, all black as night. Their names were Nightkit, Onyxkit, Obsidiankit, and Ivorykit. I'm sure you've heard the tale of Onyxflame and Obsidianstar?" Willowleaf was taken aback when the calico she-kit shook her head no. "What are they teaching in the nursery these days?! Then I guess you'll be hearing four stories this morning.
"Well, anyway. Nightkit was apprenticed to the medicine cat. We're not completely sure what Clan they were in, but some say it was ThunderClan. Since I don't like maybes, we'll not name a Clan. Anywho, Nightkit became NIghtpaw, training under the watchful eye of a tom named Windbender. Windbender saw how attentive Nightpaw was, and how gifted he was.
"Willowsong thought that Nightpaw should be better than just a normal medicine cat, so she asked Windbender to consult StarClan. Windbender did as she asked, and gave her this prophecy:
"'There will one, dark as night,
Who seeks something greater,
The power to read the stars,
The power to shake the ground,
The power to uncover the lies,
The power to advise.'
"Willowsong wasn't satisfied with his answer, and she set out to make her son better than everyone else. She didn't seem to care much for her other kits, but apparently thought that only Nightpaw was special. Willowsong created a group called the Advisory, and appointed Nightpaw as the first Advisor. She renamed him Nightwhisper, after his quiet nature."
By now, almost the entire Clan was gathered, listening to Willowleaf intently. Willowleaf ignored them, and focused on telling her story.
"He advised Owlstar wisely of course, but he never asked or wanted to be in that placement. Willowsong was killed in battle soon after, and Nightwhisper stepped down from his position. Someone else succeeded him, because they liked the idea of having more power even than the leader of the Clan. This tradition continued, and they became the Advisory as you know it: corrupt control-freaks."
Silence met her words. Then, finally, Lightstar stood up.
"Is that treason I just heard?"
YOU ARE READING
A Hidden Reed (Book 2) A Warriors Fanfiction
FanfictionReedpaw knows something that his mentor would kill for. Reedpaw also knows that his mentor won't use his knowledge for good. He will do everything it takes to keep it from him. Willowleaf has always longed to be a mother. However, she got stuck as a...
