Waging War Book 4: Empty Peace {COMPLETE}

Chapter 16

"Breathe deeply for me, okay?" Owlbreeze instructed Sparrowpaw. The apprentice did as he was told and the breathing that followed was ragged and rough, worse than the day before. Owlbreeze sighed stepped back after pressing her ear to his chest. "Your breathing is getting worse." She explained.

She could see how tired Sparrowpaw looked, he had been kept away all night from coughing. Owlbreeze also hadn't done much sleeping herself. "Lay down." She told Sparrowpaw. "I'm going to give you a little bit of catmint and tansy, as well as some poppy seeds to help you sleep."

"Okay..." Sparrowpaw's voice was raw from his coughing, but he curled up in his nest as Owlbreeze prepared the herbs for him. She set them in front of his nest and he took the herbs without complaint. With him treated, Owlbreeze moved on to Troutstream. The brown Tom was sleeping, but she could still look him over.

She leaned close, listening carefully to his breathing which seemed to be improving. She breathed a small sigh of relief, glad that at least one cat was improving. It still bothered her that Sparrowpaw was getting worse, but at least Hazelspring and Poppysong weren't getting any worse.

She wished she could give the updates to Mountainstar, but it was now the second day of the blizzard and Owlbreeze was all but trapped in her den. She hated being so separated from her Clan, not knowing if they were doing okay. She wondered how Riverstep's kits were doing, she knew they were protected and being kept warm by the rest of MountainClan, but it still scared her that she couldn't check on Riverstep or her kits.

Owlbreeze took a deep breath and walked to her own nest which was slightly separated from the other cats. She felt her own breathing sting a little and let out a small cough. She took some tansy for herself and laid down to rest. Since she was trapped in her den her days were essentially the same. Checking on the sick cats constantly before returning to her own den.

It made the days feel incredibly long and slow, anytime she peeked out of her den all she saw was the blinding white snow. She could see it falling in strong flurries from the clouds above, as well as the howling wind outside. It hadn't gotten as bad as the first night, where Owlbreeze had to stay close to her patients to keep warm even inside of her own den, but the snow was relentless.

Owlbreeze had plenty of herbs, but catmint was limited. She was only giving it to Troutstream and now Sparrowpaw in order stop them from getting any worse. Sparrowpaw definitely had greencough now along with Troutstream, but Hazelspring and Poppysong were still infected with whitecough. They had more energy than the other two and would talk to each other, keeping Owlbreeze at least slightly entertained.

They were talking quietly among themselves now, coughing every so often. Owlbreeze rested her chin on her paws, willing time to past faster so this terrible storm could stop and the snow could start to melt. She missed her Clanmates, she was worried about them.

She was also worried about her old Clanmates back in SunClan. She wondered how they were handling the storm, and how many sick cats they had. She hadn't really gotten to talk to Honeyfrost and Pebblestep as much as she wanted to due to the omen of the storm, but she knew that SunClan was in good paws. She passed the time by thinking of her siblings, she was so excited to learn their warrior names at the next gathering and to congratulate all three of them.

She managed to pass a bit of time before she heard Poppysong's voice. "How's it looking outside?" She questioned Owlbreeze.

"Still snowing." Owlbreeze replied. "Pretty sure the snow would completely cover my legs at this point." She looked at the two sick she-cats. "I wish I could go check on the others."

"I'm sure they're fine." Hazelspring assured her. "You taught Mountainstar herb knowledge right? She should be able to handle it."

"I know." Owlbreeze nodded slowly. "I just feel restless, time is going by so slowly. I feel like I'm going to go crazy cooped up in my den. I love being around you all, I just like keeping my paws busy."