eternal: anemone || warrior cats

chapter 5

mintberry

~~~

LEAFPAW'S STATUS WAS difficult. There was both a good and bad part.

On the up side, despite the leafbare weather, the gray tabby had managed to find the herbs she'd needed to heal Leafpaw's injuries. It wasn't extremely difficult. RiverClan, WindClan, and now even ShadowClan's territories were at her disposal. And, she could easily stop by ThunderClan and ask Rosepool if she needed anything.

While Leafpaw's physical wounds healed nicely, Mintberry quickly noticed that an illness had taken over the black-and-white apprentice's body. He had a fever, his phlegm turned green, and often coughed up mouthfuls of blood. 

Nothing Mintberry did worked. Feverfew didn't cure his worryingly high temperature, and she didn't even know what to do for the blood. In fact, the symptoms she saw in him were strikingly similar to the disease Ivorystar had.

She shivered. Great StarClan, how was it possible that Leafpaw contracted the disease? No cat in ShadowClan, other than Ivorystar, had gotten it. How in the world did Leafpaw get it?

 When she shared this with Dapplestar, the silver bengal stared back at her with wide eyes. "And how did you heal her?"

"I didn't." Mintberry swallowed roughly, feeling ashamed to admit this. "Ivorystar lost a life."

An instant panic had overtaken Dapplestar's expression. "Leafpaw dying is not an option," she mewed. "I can't have an epidemic under my reign. Mintberry, please."

The gray tabby twitched her pelt and bowed her head. "I'll do all I can."

But that was rather difficult, wasn't it? StarClan was gone, and Clearfrost had never taught Mintberry about such a disease. 

So, the gray tabby often found herself a bit away from RiverClan's camp, in a secluded area by a weeping willow tree to think. And think she did. 

She thought long and hard about what happened last time with Ivorystar. She hadn't gotten sick. Why not? The deranged ShadowClan leader had breathed into her face, yet she hadn't gotten it. Was she just immune? Or was it...

Tansy.

Mintberry gasped, the dots in her head suddenly connecting. The night before Ivorystar had lost a life to this disease, Mintberry had had an encounter with the rogues. She was panicked, and to calm her down, Viperfoot had tried giving her thyme - but, with his lack of herb knowledge, he'd fed her tansy instead.

Could that be what prevented her from contracting the disease?

This is silly, Mintberry thought as she padded back into camp for search of the herb. Yet - carefully, maintaining a distance from Leafpaw's nest - she ducked into the medicine den, located the herb, chewed the stems, and swallowed.

~~~

ODDLY ENOUGH, they seemed to do the trick. For the rest of the week, as she worked on the black-and-white apprentice's wounds, she remained perfectly healthy. Satisfied that tansy seemed to work, Mintberry wanted to pick more. However, tansy typically grew in Twolegplaces, and the nearest one was located on WindClan's territory edges.

The very same border where the rogues had taken her and her brothers.

"Take some warriors with you," Dapplestar mewed when Mintberry told her her plan, her blue eyes flickering with worry. "I would come with you, but I really can't get away right now. I have a meeting with Swiftstar, and-"

"That's okay," the gray tabby interrupted gently, passing her a light smile. "I get it."

With Swiftstar's old age, it's better to have as many meetings with him as possible before it's too late.