Legacy: Infinity (Book 3)

Chapter 11: Crescent Arch

Chapter 11: Crescent Arch

"This is chervil, it can be used to cure infection and it can help bellyaches. In addition- Jay, are you listening to me?" Jay flinched, pausing in her seventh examination of the surrounding walls and whipped her head back to face Tinge.

"Yes," she mewed, staring Tinge straight in the eye.

Tinge stared at her for a moment and grabbed a knobby, brown root in her paw. "What is this?" the old she-cat asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Chervil, it can be used for infections or bellyache," Jay responded promptly.

Tinge shook her head sharply, "No, this is comfrey root. This-" Tinge flicked her tail at another pile of brown, knobby roots, "Is chervil. Now, what is comfrey root used for?"

Jay's tail quivered. How was she supposed to tell what root was what?! They all looked and smelled the same anyways. I hate this. "Comfrey root is used for broken bones," Jay mewed, she remembered her mother telling her that.

Tinge nodded slowly, "And what else?" Jay snapped her mouth shut, it could be used for something else? Tinge sighed, "It can soothe wounds, heal wrenched claws, soothe itching, and help wrenched shoulders."

Jay rolled her eyes, who cared. There were plenty of cats who knew this stuff, and she'd only be here for a moon, so what need was there for her to memorize all these roots and leaves. Besides, all this herb stuff was way out of her forte. Tinge shook her head, "Well, it's only the second day. You have time to learn," the she-cat mewed, sounding more like she was trying to comfort herself rather than Jay as she started to gather her herbs together to put away.

"Does that mean we're done for the day?" Jay asked, it was only sun-high.

Tinge nodded, turning her back to her while she put the herbs away, "Ash's patrol gets back soon. You should go see him. Who knows? Maybe he'll take you out on a walk or something. If he does, I want you to try to spot the herbs we went over today. Do you remember them?" Tinge asked.

"Chervil, comfrey, dock, marigold, bindweed..." Jay mewed, going over the herbs Tinge had focused on showing her that day.

"Juniper berries and ragweed," Tinge mewed, shaking her head.

"Right, I'll remember," Jay mewed, probably not, though. "Well," she mewed, getting to her paws, "I'll be going." I don't know where, but anywhere other than this stuffy den is an improvement.

She turned towards the exit but halted suddenly as another cat almost walked into her. "Oh, sorry," the cat's mew was muffled by a bundle of herbs and she blinked at Jay in surprise. "Oh! You must be the new cat!" the she-cat mewed, dropping her herbs to smile at her.

The she-cat was a sleek, silver tabby she-cat with black eyes. She had the normal mountain cat characteristics of large round paws, large pointed ears, and a round face and was smaller in size than most Clan cats. "My name is Thyme," the silver she-cat purred friendly.

Jay relaxed in the warm, dark gaze. This was a cat that was complacent and happy, they were harder to manipulate and often not very useful, but they brought a freshness to life that Jay couldn't find in every cat.

"I'm Jay, nice to meet you," the dark gray she-cat introduced herself, dipping her head.

"I won't keep you since Ash just got back, but I look forward talking to you later," Thyme mewed, bending down to pick up her herbs and padding past her.

Jay breathed in her scent and frowned. Although these cats had a underlying common scent, they mostly just smelled like their own immediate family, and this smelled familiar. Rainfall? Jay frowned and shook her head, padding out of the den.