Bound

| Chapter One |

The tom looked around the land that surrounded him, studying it carefully. He made sure nothing was hiding in the plants he was in. The ground and sky was another place he studied carefully. The brown tabby wanted to make sure the clearing was safe for him. Falcons, crocodiles, pythons, leopards, bears, and tigers could be lingering around. He remembered hearing those predators near here.

Even if it seemed he was being unnecessary with his watchful eye, he had to. The echoes in his mind constantly told him so as he went outside of the camp of MistClan. It was also what his mentor always told him when she sent him out to get herbs. Plus, there was the fact if a predator caught him, he wouldn't be able to scream out for help.

The forest was clear. Nothing circled him above the sky. Tigers weren't out hunting. Leopards could not be seen up in the trees. All was fine for the brown tabby. Slowly, the tom crept out. He constantly looked around still. Even though there weren't any predators in sight, anything could jump out. If that was case, he had to keep his eyes fully open.

When his body fully emerged from his hiding spot, the tom jolted up. His body went from bunching over to standing up straight. The tom quickly walked toward all the areas that had herbs in the land he was in. His walking soon became running as he looked around. His mentor told him a certain herb was around this area, and he knew he had to find some before he went back to camp.

Crocodile dung! It's not around. She's going to be angry when she doesn't see that herb. She's going to become disappointed, the tom thought to himself, gritting his teeth in complete frustration. The voice that echoed in his head wasn't his. It was too feminine to be his voice. He recognized that voice as his mentor's.

The tom breathed heavily as he ran around wildly. He knew he just had to find the herb his mentor told him to get. He couldn't come back empty-pawed at all in this scenario. He knew the herb was around, but the tabby couldn't find where it was exactly. Asking for his mentor's help was scratched off as a possible idea, so his only choice was to run around crazily and look everywhere.

He soon padded over to the last patch of land he hasn't checked yet. The area was covered in fallen leaves and sticks from the canopy trees from above. The tom knew nothing would most likely be under all of the sticks and leaves, but he had hope that maybe the herb would magically appear in front of him when he cleared out the ground.

With his hope still in his mind, the tom shoved the leaves from the trees to the side. He picked up sticks and put them all in a pile. He was tired, but it didn't matter. He wanted to see if there was anything underneath the leaves and sticks.

The MistClan apprentice still breathed heavily, but he was able to shove off the remaining leaves. He looked down, expecting to see nothing, but he was wrong about that. His jaw dangled open in shock. The cat could have squealed out in joy, but he didn't.

Right in front of him was what he needed. It was cardamom. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed as if this certain herb was starting to become less plentiful. He heard cats talking about upwalkers coming into the forest, taking herbs for their own use. He guessed upwalkers were taking the cardamom in the mountains and forest.

He lowered his neck to reach the herb, extending forward to grab it. He slowly opened his mouth. The tom was taught to pull herbs carefully in order to not rip them up. He made sure he was careful. After finally being able to find some cardamom, he didn't want to bring his mentor the herb being shredded. Gently, the tom was able to pull out the cardamom in one piece. He held it carefully and tightly. The tom stood there proudly.