Waging War Book 3: Blood Red Moon {COMPLETE}

Chapter 14

Owlpaw's gaze was directed towards the pale gray sky as snow fell in lazy flurries down towards the ground. The forest floor had become covered in a thin layer of snow and the air had become colder and colder which each passing day. Leaf-bare had finally arrived and with it would come endless troubles including less prey, less herbs and sickness. Honeyfrost and Pebblestep especially had been working hard to be prepared and it almost seemed like there wasn't anything Owlpaw could do to help.

She had found herself once again feeling like she was constantly in the way and getting under their paws. Neither of them had said anything but she couldn't help but notice that all of the difficult and more intensive tasks had been take care of by the older medicine cats whereas Owlpaw was still doing basic tasks like treating elders and checking on the nursery full of kits.

Owlpaw did the work without complaining, she knew that this was a serious time and she still had a lot to learn and she was still an apprentice but Owlpaw couldn't help but feel a deep longing in her chest for something more. She did her best to suppress these feelings but over the last few days it felt like a thorn in her flank.

"Owlpaw!" Honeyfrost's voice suddenly broke in her train of though and Owlpaw whipped around to face her mentor. Honeyfrost was giving her a look of confusion, even though Owlpaw drifting off into thought was nothing new.

"Sorry." Owlpaw dipped her head. "What did you say?" She asked, her belt burning slightly from embarrassment.

"I was going to ask you to go collect some herbs. In all the preparation for leaf-bare there's a few that Pebblestep and I overlooked."

Owlpaw lifted her head, collecting herbs wasn't the hardest task but it would allow her to get at least something important done. "Of course."

"You should take someone with you." Honeyfrost suggestion. "Someone to help you carry them. We need marigold, burdock root and some juniper berries. Anything else you see along the way feel free to grab as well. Thank you, Owlpaw."

"Of course." Owlpaw dipped her head and turned out of the medicine cat den, she didn't want to waste any time. She knew exactly who she wanted to bring with her because they hadn't had any time to spend together. As she stepped into the snowy camp she looked around until she found the mottled black pelt of her sister.

"Blossompaw!" Owlpaw called and she ran over to her littermate who was standing with Mudfall.

"Hi, Owlpaw." Blossompaw's ears perked up and her eyes lit up at the sight of her. "Did you need something?"

Owlpaw briefly looked to Mudfall and hoped she wasn't interrupting anything. "I was actually wondering if you wanted to come gather some herbs with me. Honeyfrost asked me to gather a few things and I could use some help carrying it all back."

Blossompaw looked to her mentor. "Can I go with her? Please?"

"Of course, Blossompaw." Mudfall waved his tail. "You've been training hard lately, something like herb gathering might be just what you need."

His comment made Owlpaw slightly nervous and she turned her gaze to Blossompaw. Is she over training again? While Owlpaw had been gone she had heard that Blossompaw had essentially overworked herself to the point of collapse which had her feeling concerned. "Well let's get going before all the herbs freeze!" Blossompaw nudged Owlpaw with her muzzle and the two sisters walked away from Mudfall.

Once they were outside of the main camp, Owlpaw asked the burning question. "You're not overworking yourself again, are you?" She asked quietly.

"No." Blossompaw ducked her head, her ears going back slightly. "I just like training, okay?" Her tone was definitely defensive.