Turtleheart's Path

Chapter 20

Turtleheart sighed, it had been two moons since Bramblestar lost her seventh life. She lifted her head as Graytooth rushed in. "Rabbitkit won't play with his siblings! What if Birchkit gave him greencough!" Sparrowfeather turned away from the other three patients in the den: Birchkit, Redcall, and Lightpelt. "We have not had Greencough this bad in moons." Sparrowfeather huffed as he passed her. "Turtleheart, can you check on Stoneclaw? I thought I heard coughing from him last night." He added over his shoulder before following Graytooth. She bounded to the elder's den, hearing a deep chested cough before she entered. "Stoneclaw, your cough." She gasped. "It hurts." The elderly tom rasped, coughing again. "I'll fetch honey and tansy." She turned and bounded from the den before returning with the herbs. "Have these herbs." She pushed them closer. "They'll help." Stoneclaw ate the herbs and lay down. "If it comes back, come to the medicine den immediately." Stoneclaw nodded and fell asleep. "Turtleheart, come speak to Bramblestar with me." Sparrowfeather padded off, beckoning her with his tail. She followed quickly.
"Bramblestar, we cannot keep the greencough patients in the medicine den. There is barely room to move. What if they went to the spare den?" The heavily scarred leader shook her muzzle. "That's close to the nursery. What if the kits wander in there?" She mewed. "The kits wander everywhere, Bramblestar. It makes no difference. Kits, warriors and possibly Stoneclaw are sick. None of the camp is safe. If some cat gets injured and goes into our den they'll get sick too. The sickness will continue to spread if we do not isolate the sick." Turtleheart said sternly, fear sparking as her mother turned her head towards her. After a moment of silence her mother nodded. "Well spoken. Very well, you may move the sick to the spare den. I will have some warriors move some brambles or shrubs in the way of the den to make it more difficult for wandering kits." Bramblestar decided. Sparrowfeather nodded and the two medicine cats padded back to their den. Behind them, Bramblestar called for her warriors. "Mumblejaw, take Haresprint, Hawkgrowl, Waspear, and Whiteclaw. Collect as much moss as possible. The rest help clear the medicine den of the sickly moss while Sparrowfeather and Turtleheart move the sick to the spare den. Graytooth and Yellowwhisker, keep your kits in your den." Bramblestar gave orders. Cats began to gather into groups. Sparrowfeather and Turtleheart filed into their den. "I'll help Redcall since he is very ill. You help Lightpelt and then check on Stoneclaw after you've given yourself a very quick wash. I'll grab Birchkit afterwards." The thought of kits popped into her head. "Hey, Rabbitkit, what was wrong with him?" She mewed. "He had a thorn in his back and it hurt to move. Yellowwhisker was afraid he was sick too." Turtleheart nodded and helped Lightpelt to her paws.
"Come, Waspear and Whiteclaw have just laid fresh moss all over the floor." She guided the sick warrior into the den where she plopped in a corner. "There you go." She purred. "Ill ensure you have prey and herbs whenever you need them." Turtleheart promised and bounded down the slope to the elders' den. "Hey Stoneclaw, how did that honey and tansy help?" She mewed cheerfully. "It helped some, thank you." The elderly tom managed a purr. "Still a quiet cough but it still hurts my chest." Turtleheart nodded. "Ill give you tansy, for cough, coltsfoot to ease breathing and borage for chest tightness." She said the herbs out loud, more to make it make more sense to her than for the tom to hear. She turned and bounded into the medicine den, grabbed the three herbs and returned. She pushed each herb to Stoneclaw and watched as he ate them one by one. "Good, I'll grab you some prey. Blackbird sound good?" She offered. Stoneclaw nodded with a smile. Turtleheart backed out of the den and trotted to the fresh kill pile which was in the middle of camp near a bush. She grabbed a blackbird, dragging it to his den. "I'll pluck it to put in your nest." The elderly tom shook his head. "Greencough brings fever, the victims of the sickness should take the feathers to make them warm." He rasped. Turtleheart sighed and smiled. "Thank you, Stoneclaw." Plucking the bird quickly, she slid it towards him and took the mouthful of feathers into the spare den and spread them out between the sleeping cats.
She helped Sparrowfeather spread fresh moss along the medicine den floor where the nests used to be. It was barely even sunset yet she yawned and stretched. She'd told Brackentail she'd meet him tonight but she was too tired. She fell asleep in between thoughts.
When she woke it was nearly moonhigh. She scrambled from her nest and slipped from camp without looking behind her. She darted across the moor and skitted to a halt next to the great rock. "There you are, I thought you'd been held back." Brackentail purred. Turtleheart shook her head. "Many greencough cases, long day. I was tired, so I fell asleep." The Riverclan tom shrugged and sat down. "It doesn't matter. If you wouldn't have come I would not have been mad." She purred. "You were right, about Turtleheart." Brackentail smiled. "I knew you would be named Turtleheart. Your heart is bigger than your body can hold." He purred, his tail resting on her spine.