Darksong's Struggle

Chapter 6

Darkpaw's paws ached as he limped into camp. The sun was going down, casting it's last golden light across the clearing and turning the clouds golden with light. Darkpaw turned his paws towards the nursery, but a nudge from Fennelfeather snapped his attention to the medicine den; a wall of thick ferns that was covered by gorse. A gap in the bush led into a shadowy tunnel that split into three seperate ones.

"This was dug by rabbits moons ago," Fennelfeather explained. He pointed at the tunnel to the left. "That one is where we put the patients, so they are guarded by the wind. We sleep in the middle tunnel, and the herb store is in the right tunnel."

Darkpaw nodded with a yawn.

"I haven't got time to prepare a nest for you, so you can have mine for the night." The medicine cat mewed.

"Oh- you don't have to," Darkpaw mewed, not wanting to feel like an inconvenience.

Fennelfeather purred with amusement. "It's no big deal! I have fur long enough to cushion me when I sleep, and the earth is soft and warm."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm certain."

Darkpaw allowed his new mentor to lead him to the middle tunnel, which was shadowy and warm, with ferns and moss sprouting out of the wall. A nest was in one corner, which Darkpaw settled down in while Fennelfeather made himself comfortable in the small amount of undergrowth near the walls. Darkpaw felt guilty that he had taken the kind medicine cat's nest. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't have this useless leg. Then I would be a warrior. But he couldn't decline Fennelfeather's kindness, and besides, he couldn't change how his leg acted. It would always be like this.

He felt a bit of peace wash over him as he fell asleep. I'll make it up to Fennelfeather by being the best apprentice... medicine cat apprentice... I can be.

***

The cool dawn light of late leaf-fall woke Darkpaw as it filtered through the tunnels. A crisp, frosty leaf blew through the tunnel, landing on his nose. He slid open his eyes and noticed that Fennelfeather was gone. Alarmed, Darkpaw woke, cursing as his limp arm slammed against the wall. "Ow..." He groaned, limping out of the nest and down the tunnel.

He spotted Fennelfeather outside, staring at the clouds. Darkpaw emerged. "Hello," He mewed awkwardly.

"Good morning, Darkpaw!" Fennelfeather purred. "Come with me."

He turned and padded into the tunnel. Darkpaw followed him, his paws soft against the sandy ground. His mentor led him into the herb store, which was much bigger than Darkpaw expected. It was stacked with piles of herbs, sorted by color. Each leaf pile had a small hole dug out, with a few holes dug in the walls. It made Darkpaw happy, and he guessed that Fennelfeather enjoyed things being organized.

In the middle of the store was a pile of leaves that smelled fresh and sweet. "These are three different herbs," Fennelfeather explained. "I picked them this morning." He carefully took three of the leaves out and pointed to a lighter one. "This is catmint. You can tell by it's smell." Darkpaw sniffed it curiously; it smelled of mint.

"This is thyme," The medicine cat pointed to a smaller leaf with four points that smelled quite pungent. "Used for shock." The last leaf looked exactly like catmint, but it smelled more tangy. "That's comfrey." Fennelfeather dug around in the pile and pulled out some long, black roots. "That's it's root. Comfrey can be used for burns, broken bones, wrenched claws... even just normal wounds. A good substitute for dock or yarrow."

Darkpaw had no idea what those herbs were- his mind hadn't processed much of it- but as long as he had a nose, he could probably sort the herbs right.

"There might be some yarrow in there," Fennelfeather warned. "Just put it in with the rest."