Her Catmint Garden- Chapter Two

Rockthroat and Turtlefoot had finally returned to the serene shore of the CoastClan camp and were met with the same tumultuous sight they had left not one sunrise ago. The air was made stale by rotting freshkill and the miasmic wheezings of their diseased clanmates. Warriors in good health were forced to make their nests outside among the sand in order to make room to quarantine sick queens from healthy kits and rasping apprentices from their friends and littermates. A black-tailed blur dashed across the camp, carrying water-plumped moss and dry, fractional serving o herbs. Turtlefoot stepped forward and managed to stop him en route to the medicine cat den. She laid her pile of catmint at his paws.

"We have returned with the catmint you requested, Spottedhead."

Spottedhead gave only a quick nod before scooping the catmint into his jaws and disappearing into the medicine cat den, beckoning the two warriors to follow with his tail. The den, usually filled with the strong scent of drying herbs and remedies, laid nearly devoid of medicine. A small she-cat rested half-awake on a soft nest of green moss and gull feathers near one side of the den. She gave Spottedhead a glazed stare as he hurried to her nestside. Placing the bundle of catmint at his paws, Spottedhead gnawed off a three-leaved section of the herb and gently placed it in front of the seal-pointed she-cat. He gave the apprentice a soft nudge on his way up.

"Are you able to smell again, Singepaw? Can you tell me the name of this herb?"

Singepaw inhaled as deeply she could the scent of the faded green cutting placed before her. "I-is this catmint, Spottedhead?"

"Indeed, my apprentice. Nice work. I trust you know what this herb treats. Now eat up and return to your dreams." The black van tom shifted his gaze toward the warriors behind him. "You two start distributing that catmint among the queens and kits. I'll start on the elders. If you see any other warriors returning from hunting patrol, demand they take some." With that said, Spottedhead stormed out of the medicine cat den towards the elders' den. Turtlefoot stripped a few stalks of catmint from her brother's jaws and spirited away with Rockthroat not too far behind.

The nursery resounded with the whimpers of young kits pleading for warmth amid the violent coughing fits of their mothers. Rockthroat took to the queen at the far end of the nursery, reaping the opportunity to check on his mate and kit. She raised her head and her ears perked up at the sight of him.

"How are you feeling, my sweet Mudstripe?"

Mudstripe gently nuzzled his shoulder before answering with a hushed, "It is slow, but I am feeling stronger by the day." She looked down at the tiny cream she-kit curled up around her light brown belly fur. "Little Shorekit has finally settled down. I see you and Turtlefoot found the catmint."

Rockthroat, reminded of his task, quickly snapped off a section of catmint for Mudstripe along with a leaf for their kit. "Is Shorekit old enough to chew the herb on her own?"
"She's isn't even half a moon old. It'll be a while yet."

Rockthroat gave his queen a proud, toothy smile. "Good thing her father has the strongest jaws in CoastClan!" He wasted no time chewing the catmint into a paste easy enough for Shorekit to swallow as Mudstripe gently woke the resting she-kit with a few flicks of her tongue. She began to mew amidst short, spastic rasps, and her mother guided the still sightless kit to the green medicinal paste. Both Rockthroat and Mudstripe shared a soft smile as Turtlefoot padded over, grief painted across her mottled face.

"Greetings, Mudstripe. I am sorry to take Rockthroat away, but we must get the catmint to the sick apprentices and warriors. Spottedhead is counting on us for assistance."

Mudstripe gave an approving nod and rested her head as Rockthroat began towards the nursery entrance with his sister. Noticing her forlorn visage, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"There were three sick queens, Rockthroat. Mudstripe and Cloudshade remain strong, but Fogspots…"

"Where is she?"

"Look around outside. I trust you'll find the answer. I'm surprised we didn't notice on our way into camp."

Rockthroat blew through the entrance of the nursery and frantically scanned the camp. His jaw swung open as his yellow-eyed gaze set upon the shade of a large oak near the east side of camp. Two bodies laid unmoving under the massive branches. Rockthroat raced over to get a closer look, Turtlefoot not too far behind. He padded sorrowfully to the dark grey she-cat covered with silver patches.

"Fogspots…" He couldn't say much else at the sight of the former warrior and dear friend.

"She took a turn for the worse around the time we left, Cloudshade told me. The greencough was just too much for her. The other warriors have been so busy hunting for the sick and patrolling the borders they haven't had time to bury her, or Minkpaw, it seems." Turtlefoot shifted her somber glare to the smaller tom, a chestnut tabby. His once-vibrant amber eyes were softly shut as if in sleep. "Cedarfrost must feel terrible; Minkpaw had the makings of a fine warrior."

Rockthroat stared at his sister and his two former clanmates, feeling, as well as sympathizing, her grievings. After a long pause, he placed a large, grey paw on her shoulder. "We've spent too much time here. Our living clanmates depend on us." He turned, snapped up the catmint, and started towards the apprentice den. Turtlefoot, reluctant to leave Fogspots' side, slowly turned to follow her brother. As soon as she began to pad away, she heard a muffled cry from behind. She twisted back to her original stance in front of her dearly departed clanmate. A little ball of black fur came into view curled up next to Fogspots, weeping softly next to her body. Turtlefoot could hear him sniffle.

"Mom… Mom... Please wake up."

It was Duskkit, Fogspots' only son. Turtlefoot bent down to the kit's height.

"Oh, Duskkit… Who am I kidding? Her passing is the worst for the kit she loved most."

Duskkit raised his head to face Turtlefoot, the grey fur of his muzzle ruffled from his mourning. Turtlefoot calmly nuzzled him. "Hush, little Duskkit. Fogspots would want you of all cats to be strong in the event of her passing. She eagerly waited for the day she could watch you receive your warrior name with the clan's pride on your shoulders."

The shadowy tom replied, tears flowing down his face, "But now she won't get to. How can I even face my apprentice ceremony without her?"

"I thought she would have told you by now. In a few short moons Fogspots will look down from StarClan and smile at her precious kit, thinking to herself how much he has grown since she left. She'll focus her hearing, waiting for the clan to call out your new name."

Duskkit, partially soothed, gave Turtlefoot a tiny smile and stood up. Turtlefoot also rose. "Come, we should get you back to the warriors den. I'm sure the other healthy kits are wondering where you are."

About halfway to the warriors den, Turtlefoot spied Spottedhead racing toward the medicine cat den, crossing her path resulting in both cats falling to the ground. Spottedhead shook his rattled skull, focusing on Turtlefoot. "Turtlefoot! You should be delivering catmint to the apprentices by now."

"I apologize, Spottedhead. I found Duskkit curled around Fogspots' body and was taking him back to the warriors den with the other kits."

"Duskkit should know how to get there on his own. He's four moons old. If anything you're not showing the kit a good example of following warrior duties. Run along to the den, Duskkit. Turtlefoot has a few sick warriors to attend to."

Duskkit silently walked away toward the warriors den. He whispered to Turtlefoot "I thought you were doing a good job."

"Now," Spottedhead continued, "Get to the apprentice den. The place is packed with wheezing warriors and hacking apprentices."

Rockthroat and Turtlefoot didn't finish passing out catmint until late into the night. After bringing any extra catmint back to the medicine cat den, both warriors settled down in their temporary lodgings by the sea. Rockthroat turned to Turtlefoot, who had nearly drifted off into slumber. "Do you remember that thing you were going to tell me after we got back to camp? About Lady?"

Turtlefoot stared sleepily at the black-spotted tom. "Yeah. What about her?"

"You said there was something odd about her."

"Oh, yes. Thanks for reminding me." Turtlefoot lowered her head in contemplation, raising it a few moments later. "Normally I'd find such mastery of clan vernacular by a kittypet to be rather odd, but if clan medicine cats have been visiting her for quite a while then I suppose it would be expected. Still, she seems to know a little too much for a yearly visit from medicine cats. And then her scent. It seemed almost…"

"Familiar."