Waging War Book 2: Gray Skies {COMPLETE}

Chapter 18

"What does this one do?" Owlpaw gently nudged forward a dock leaf.

"Uhh..." Cocoa gave the herb a sniff. Her yellow eyes seemed to be lost, as she desperately tried to figure it out. "Sorrel?"

Owlpaw shook her head. "No, this is dock." She swept forward a sorrel leaf with her tail. "This is sorrel. Dock has a tangy scent and taste." She explained. "Do you know what the two of them do?"

"Dock is for..." Cocoa trailed off, thinking. "Hunger--no," She corrected herself. "Sorrel is for hunger."

"Good." Owlpaw purred. "Dock is for...injuries? Like scratches?"

Owlpaw nodded. "It's good for scratches, yes. You chew it up and rub it into scratches to help soothe them, but it can sting a bit."

"I feel like I'll never get this." Cocoa admitted, sounding defeated.

"You'll get." Owlpaw assured her. "You've only been learning for a few days, and usually medicine cats are trained by medicine cats, not warrior apprentices. I don't really know all that much. I know how to treat some minor sickness and wounds and that's about it."

"But you saved Nettle's life right?" Cocoa checked.

"Yeah," Owlpaw sighed. "But I still think an actual medicine cat could've done better." She admitted. "She still has a limp."

"But I've seen her hunting, it doesn't look like it slows her down any."

"I suppose." There's also Tumbleweed... The pain of Owlpaw's past failures clawed at her chest but she quickly pushed them away. "Has Mosscloud visited you at all?"

"She did the night of the meeting." Cocoa replied. "She mostly told me about catmint and greencough. It sounds scary."

"It is." Owlpaw nodded. "Or so I've been told, I've never actually been a live through a leaf-bare yet." I hope I don't get it. She shivered, wondering what would become of her if she got greencough. "Anyway," Owlpaw replied and picked up some tansy.

"Oh!" Cocoa exclaimed. "That's tansy! I know that because you always take it for your cough right?"

Owlpaw nodded. "I know the taste of tansy all too well."

"How did you get that cough anyway?"

"When my mother gave birth to my littermates and I, we were a whole moon early. She didn't even know she was expecting kits. We were all very small and weak, myself and my brother Firekit in particular." She thought about her siblings, wishing she could've met Firekit. "There's an illness that attacks newborn kits in particular, and we all got it. Firekit died and I was close behind him until my medicine cat saved me.

"I continued to be sick for a while afterwards, even as I got my strength back I still wasn't completely better, I'm still not. All my littermates grew into normal sized apprentices, but I stayed small. Even now, I'm the smallest apprentice here. Even Mossie is bigger than me and it won't be long before Sheer Mountain's kits are too."

"Is that why you're becoming a medicine cat?" Cocoa questioned.

"Kind of?" Owlpaw shrugged. "I suck as a warrior apprentice. I'm no good at fighting and hunting. I don't think it's anything to do with my illness rather than just me being weak. Then Pebblestep taught me about herbs and it was like I could finally do something right. It felt like my destiny, like what I was meant to do."

"That's kind of what it feels like for me too." Cocoa stared at her paws. "But I'm still worried I'm not doing this right. What if I mess up?"

"Mosscloud told me that as long as medicine cats try their best, then they're doing it right. We can't save every cat, but as long as we try then we are doing right by our Clans. Like you said, we're both learning. Together."