The Herbal Thicket

Little paws scampered about the camp, the moon hanging upon the sky. Familiar shadows were cast around the small body of the kit, who was approaching apprentice age quickly. Well, no, by her calculations, she was apprentice age. Although, she had never felt the push to be a warrior. A life of battling, and potentially having kits... It wasn't going to be for her. She had been guided towards this den before, the smell heavenly enough to want to investigate as to what was the cause of it. Her rowan appearance was caught by this den more than once, and sadly, she had been dragged away by a rather upset mother each time.

This time though, that wouldn't happen.

Once again, she was tantalized by the scent of what she'd later to find out were herbs. Delicious, they smelled... They appealed to her more than the scent of prey. While fresh-kill always was nice, this seemed to resonate in her brain as, just all around better. She had common sense enough not to eat any of the plants inside, but, of course, they just smelled too good. Her stomach rumbled as the scent of a certain plant wafted into her nostrils, and instantly she bounded into the den. Her amber eyes went wide, and discovery and amazement filled them.

Such a curiosity to know anything about everything inside hit her mind, and instantly she started zipping around and trying to decipher what all of them were. There were many things that she liked, as she'd later find to be mint, and burdock root. There was one that was hard to pull away from, and, without a doubt, it was catnip. Why wouldn't she be attracted to it? Pulling herself away eventually, the look of amazement and will still shone as she looked around the den. Once more, her small body approached a pile of leaves, and she touched them.

She was ready to leap back at any moment, even if she was in a total happy-land.

Praise to Starclan, nothing happened. She touched them again, sniffing and licking her paw. A purr of enjoyment rolled off of her tongue, and even if the taste just tasted like, well.. her paw, there was still a bit of a tangy-like taste.

She couldn't have been any happier, and hoped that no one would take her away from a confined area of wonder.

"What are you doing out here, little one?" a voice purred. Behind the kit stood Magpiewing, he small smile on his face as he looked down at the reddish kit. Ever since her mother's death, the black tom had taken the little kit in, along with Mudkit. But it was odd finding her in the empty den. She always preferred the safety of the nursery. Is she interested in medicines?

"It's dangerous to lick them. I don't even know their properties. Or their names," the tom chuckled and brush her face with his black tail. The warrior's heart always lifted when speaking to kits. Something about them excited him even more than a fresh catch. He felt young again, like he was playing with his many siblings while his parents stood watching with bright smiles. Smiling a little to himself, he directed his attention back to Thicketkit.

The young she-kit had been 'investigating' more of the herbs, including scrutinizing some red berries that she already knew were poisonous. From even being just hardly being born, she had been warned about these. Deathberries, they were called. They could kill a cat, but most of all they were just all around unhealthy. From the stories she had been told, her mother had ate a toad laced with them... The 'rogues' had supposedly stuffed the toad with them to nuke whoever ate it, and it just so happened that her mother had done so. The violent death still played in her mind, and she had to shake it away. Pain stabbed at her heart from it, but she had at least been lucky enough to be taken in by a warrior, Magpiewing. Even if he wasn't a she-cat, he was enough for her.

Speaking of him...

When he spoke, the she-kit literally lept. Her little heard in her small chest was racing so hard, she could feel it pounding and trying to handle the sudden adrenaline through her veins. Having looked back at the older cat in a fluster of terror before calming down, she went over to him and brushed her head gently against the side of his leg. "I-I-I wanted to see... W-W-What they were... What they were like... They smelled to nice... I hope I'm not in trouble..." Her ears flattened as she looked up at her 'father', wanting to know if she was doomed with fate or not. "T-They just smelled so good... I like them..."