" we ' re sorry , batstar . this is all we could find . . " eveningstem , tabby fur ruffled , dropped a mouse at his leader ' s paws . his yellow eyes drooped because of the lack of sleep . everyone ' s eyes drooped .

batstar snorted in disgust . lashing his tail with anger , he whipped around and stormed into the leaders ' den . eveningstem gazed hopelessly after his leader , yellow eyes round with distress .

milkpaw watched from afar , sympathy shining in those clear blue irises . poor eveningstem . .

" milkpaw , focus ! " ivywhisper poked her apprentice with a petite paw harshly . moving the paw towards a leafy green plant . " tell me what this one is . "

milkpaw slouched over beside her mentor as she examined the plant before her . there wasn ' t much of a difference between other plants she had seen , but the prominent aroma of the herb was tantalizing . " catmint maybe ? "

ivywhisper nodded , pleased . the oriental ' s tail tapped another herb , blue in coloring .

milkpaw studied the herb closely . " um . . uh . . bor — no . . "

ivywhisper sighed . " borage . it will help with lotusdrift ' s milk supply once she has kitted . speaking of lotusdrift ' s kitting . . perhaps i should find a stick now . she ' s close to kitting , still has a cough , " ivywhisper paced around the den . " we can ' t be unprepared ! i ' ll be back ! "

milkpaw watched ivywhisper bolt from the medicine den , sadness forming in her clear blue irises . " well at least i learned some things . . " she cast a glance to the few herbs beside her . " catmint . . borage ? tansy , marigold , feverfew . where did she even find these ? and for starclan ' s sake how did she get them so fast ? " milkpaw found herself quietly ranting before being interrupted .

" milkpaw ? hi . " mushroompaw sauntered into the den , hazel eyes wandering . " do you know if there ' s a herb to help with sleep ? i ' ve been having some odd . . dreams . "

milkpaw felt her checks warm in embarrassment . " n — not that i know of . . " what if there is something i can use ? ivywhisper would be disappointed !

the bengal smiled . " why are you so flustered ? i mean , you seemed comfortable when ivywhisper left . "

alarmed , milkpaw stood up . " i — i will — i think i ' ll go visit lotusdrift . " milkpaw shuffled nervously towards the sick cats ' den .

" i ' ll go in with you then , " mushroompaw started towards her .

can ' t he see he ' s being creepy ? he was watching me ! " no thanks , mushroompaw . i can handle it . eveningstem might need a cat on patrol , maybe you should help him . " she quickly whipped around and brushed through the ferns , only to stumble into lotusdrift .

milkpaw rolled onto the damp grass , white coat stained with a little bit of mud . the fluffy molly hastily tried scrambling to her paws , only to slip in her haste . before she thumped back onto the moist earth , lotusdrift grabbed her by the scruff and set her steadily back onto her paws .

" best watch where you ' re going . there ' s a reason we tend to walk forward and not backwards . " lorusdrift meowed , a teasing purr edging her soft voice as she returned to her nest — a much nicer nest than milkpaw ' s .

" s — s — sorry . i was — " milkpaw stuttered before being cut off .

" i know , i know . mushroompaw is . . different , and too overconfident . " lotusdrift cast a glance towards the fern covered entrance before grooming her thin fur .

" oh , yeah , heh heh . " milkpaw laughed nervously . " h — how is that . . uh . . cough ? "

lotusdrift sighed . " you and ivywhisper need to stop worrying about me — cherrypounce is the elder , " the lilac point flicked her ear , " the stubborn elder won ' t even stay in here . she doesn ' t understand how quickly a simple cough can turn into the whole clan coming down with sickness . . "

milkpaw blinked as lotusdrift ' s gaze became distant . milkpaw was too shy to ask , so she said nothing more except " goodbye " before swishing past the ferns . thankfully , mushroompaw had left . the molly peeked outside ; another gloomy day . not to mention it was starting to drizzle .

not willing to have her paws caked with mud — as it took an extrodinarily long time to keep her coat in pristine condition — she returned to the small bundle of herbs . supposing it would be too late to finish training , she recited the names of the herbs in her head before putting them away in their correct place .

a rustle from the entrance to the den snapped milkpaw ' s attention towards the noise . ivywhisper slipped in , a small bundle of herbs in her jaws and a thick stick . curiously , milkpaw sniffed the herbs . it wasn ' t familiar , but what concerned her most was the minuscule amount of them . in the time ivywhisper took to gather a stick and a small bundle of herbs , it was an awful long time .

" that would be chickweed . it also helps with greencough , " ivywhisper tapped the herbs with her tail . " surprisingly , a lot of herbs haven ' t frosted over just yet . catmint is strongest against greencough , and i want to take you up to the orchard with me . that would be the place moorclan fetches herbs , but it isn ' t claimed . the only problem is it ' s towards where the sun rises ; farther than the moonpond . "

milkpaw ' s eyes widened . the orcahrd ? the molly ' s tail twitched nervously . she had seen the large place from afar — north of coveclan territory . my paws nearly fell off from the trek up to moonpond ! how am i supposed to make it to the orchard ? self doubt squirmed into her head , eating away at the little self confidence she had recently gained .

ivywhisper nudged a single chickweed plant towards her . " i want you to make cherrypounce eat this . she ' s stubborn and won ' t take anything from me so perhaps she ' ll succumb to you . " satisfied with her instructions , ivywhisper turned to the stock of herbs she had gathered and began pulling out herbs the young trainee didn ' t recognize and sorting one of each into two piles .

milkpaw took the chickweed in her jaws and started out of the den . she quickly rushed to where the elder ' s den had been made — a small den made of bracken , brambles , and other various items . paws already slightly muddied , she took her first few steps into the elders ' den .

" ivywhisper , i swear if you ' ve done brought those horrible tasting herbs for me again , you can expect your fur to line my nest ! " cherrypounce spat . the russet molly ' s voice was rough and when she opened her eyes , there was a flash of regret in their depths . cherrypounce blinked , and in the next moment , milkpaw was trying to hide herself behind a clump of ferns .

" sorry , young one . i didn ' t know it was you . " cherrypounce chided . she pawed at a spot on the damp ground next to her nest . " but if ivywhisper gave you an herb to bring me , i won ' t have it . " just as the elder finished her sentence , cherrypounce burst into a fit of coughing .

milkpaw , almost all confidence faded , anxiously forced herself into coming forward . milkpaw nervously pawed the tall stemed herb forward towards cherrypounce , who was wearing a displeased expression .

" please ? " milkpaw asked , shuffling her tufted paws . " it ' d help me a lot . . " milkpaw stared at the chickweed . " and it would help you get better . don ' t you want to stop coughing ? what if it spreads to others ? "

cherrypounce mumbled something inaudible before taking the herb in her jaws and chewing . the elders face scrunched up once she swallowed , a displeased expression . " hurry up and run . " cherrypounce meowed grumpily , a teasing tone edging her voice .

milkpaw didn ' t waste another moment . she sped off away from the strange elder as fast as her tiny limbs could take her . she burst into the medicine den , skidding to a halt just in time before hitting the black oriental before her .

" did she eat it ? " ivywhisper stared deep into milkpaw ' s clear blue irises , turning away with a small smirk when milkpaw nodded nervously .

peeking from behind ivywhisper , milkpaw found the pile of herbs ivywhisper had begun before she had left . before milkpaw could even ask , ivywhisper answered .

" burnet , chamomile , daisy , and sorrel . these are common in the orchard , and luckily , they will help us get to the orchard . " ivywhisper began working on yet another bundle . " unfortunately we have a limited supply , and this is the last of it . darkwolf has agreed to join us on our mission , so he ' ll be needing some , too . "

i thought she didn ' t talk this much unless she had something rude to say . milkpaw continued to watch her mentor . maybe she does like me ? at least a little bit ?

a couple moments later , ivywhisper slipped out into the rain . she appeared a moment later with darkwolf . the big , bulky tom loomed over the two like a cloud . milkpaw felt like a delicate flower about to be squished when his hard gaze landed on her .

" eat the herbs you two . we ' ll set off once you ' ve eaten every last one . " ivywhisper motioned towards the piles and began lapping them up .

milkpaw skeptically licked up the herbs ; a weird taste . after mentally preparing herself for the long walk across every clan ' s territory , she took a trailed after her companions who were moving quickly . the trainee muttered in disgust at the mud already beginning to clot to her paws and belly fur , being small was definitely not helping .

yay , dirt and rain . . what could go wrong ?