Adderpaw picked up her bundle of raspberry leaves, juniper berries, burdock root, and cobweb. The taste was bitter and the smell was even worse. "Featherpaw." She called, the black tom came out of a bush of juniper berries followed by Tawnykit.
"Burdock!" The tortoiseshell kit mewed, as he tumbled down the hill and dug up some roots. "Here Featherpaw." He said through a mouthful of herbs. The black tom gratefully picked it up and put it in his bundle.
"I got all of this," Adderpaw said placing the leaf bundle on the ground. The herbs and berries spilled out and she lifted up her paw to show them the cobweb. "Is this good?" She asked them.
"Perfect!" Tawnykit mewed bounding over on tiny legs. He wrapped the bundle up again and carried it around the corner. "Come on. Firepaw came back before with a few cuts." He said sticking his head back around the corner.
"Okay." Featherpaw said rolling his eyes, and flicking the kits ear with his tail tip. The two disappeared behind a tree and Adderpaw sat down by a stream to wash her paws.
"Stupid herbs." She growled washing some juniper berry juice from her paws. Pieces of leaves were in between her claws. She looked up when she heard the sound of tiny paws. She saw a plump mouse on a root nibbling a cobnut. Adderpaw stalked over and pounced, killing it easily.
She carried the mouse back to camp. After dropping it on the fresh-kill pile she headed for the medicine cat den. "Featherpaw? Tawnykit?" She called poking her head in. The two toms were sitting by the herbs they collected sorting them.
"No. It's goes here. With the other burdock." The kit told the black apprentice. The kit grabbed it in his jaws and places it in front of him. They argued for a few heartbeats before noticing she was sitting there.
"I was wondering where you got off to. I supposed you were off with Hawktail." He snickered. Adderpaw cuffed him over the ear playfully. "It seems every day your off hunting or taking a walk with Hawktail." He said turning back to his herbs.
"I am not." She mewed. "Am I?"
"Yep." Tawnykit squeaked, scurrying away to get some prey. "I will get us a rabbit." He called back.
"He's right." Featherpaw meowed fixing the stacks of herbs he had. "Help me carry these to the rock?" He asked. Adderpaw shrugged and grabbed a stack of raspberry leaves. They sorted half the herbs by the time Tawnykit reappeared with a rabbit twice his size. He dragged it across the floor and let it go in front of Adderpaw and Featherpaw.
"Enjoy!" Squeaked the kit as he ran off and then came back with the tiniest mouse ever. He sat down and started eating it.
"Eh. It's food." Featherpaw shrugged and bit into the rabbit. Adderpaw did the same. It's warm scent flooded her nostrils making her mouth water. When they all finished Hawktail came in and helped them put away the rest of the herbs. At one point Tawnykit stopped to put burdock on Firepaw's rat bite, he told them he got to close to twolegs place and was attacked by a rat.
"I gave him a scar he'll never forget!" The orange apprentice told Tawnykit. The kit didn't seem interested but he nodded and laughed as Firepaw told him about when he got stuck in a bush.
"The key to keeping them calm is talking with them. Even if you don't care just laugh and nod." The kit told Featherpaw when Firepaw left.
Right when Hawktail left Fernwhisper limped in leaning on Ravenstar. "A rogue attacked her when she was getting herbs!" He told them. "Do all you can." He said staring intently at Featherpaw.
The black cat nodded and flicked his tail at Tawnykit. "Marigold juniper and cobweb." He ordered the kit. "Get a lot more cobwebs and get poppy seeds." He said when Tawnykit placed the herbs by his side.
"Okay." He nodded and sprinted into the den.
