Leaf of Faith [closed]

The morning sky was a dull blue-gray blotched with hints of pale pink, the sun unable to peek through the clouds at the bottom of the horizon as of yet. However, the day was warmer than yesterday had been. The air lacked the bitter bite that previous days had held, and Amberdawn, feeling restless, was glad to make full use of decent weather. The snowfall and the cold of late had most certainly killed any young herbs that had sprung up, and any that had survived would be hard to find under the new blanket of powder. Anything would be better than nothing, however, and besides that she could get a sniff around the forest. There had been muttering of Twoleg scent lingering in the snow and big clumsy paths trudged through forest territory from the warriors, and the newly named medicine cat was curious to experience it for herself. Other than her recent trip to the Moonstone to meet with the other medicine cats, she hadn't left camp since the first big snowfall and hadn't smelled such things herself.

The golden tabby sat in the center of camp. Even though she'd received her full medicine cat name, Amberdawn still found the idea of going into the forest alone unappealing. If she found a lot of herbs - or trouble - she would need more than her own two paws to handle it. She had heard that Tinystar took on a new apprentice, one of Tigerleaf's kits. Leafpaw. Perhaps she'd like to come with me, Amberdawn thought. I'd love to get to know my grandfather's newest apprentice. I doubt Tinystar will mind if I borrow her for the morning. So the medicine cat searched for the young pretty tabby and mewed warmly, "Good morning, Leafpaw, will you accompany me into the forest?"

Leafpaw sat outside the apprentice den, tail flicking from side to side, her yellow-green eyes stared off longingly into the forest. Ever since her mentor, Tinystar had taken her into the territory the apprentice had been itching to see more. From the very start she was enamored with Skyclan's great trees and big skies, every moment spent cooped up in camp seemed to suck the life force out of her. Then again, Leafpaw had always been one to overexaggerate. Tinystar was a good mentor, but he was also the leader of Skyclan, and had taken the day off to tend to more urgent matters. Not that Leafpaw was upset about this, she understood that the clan had to come first, but now she was left in camp all alone, with most of the other warriors out patrolling.

A voice tickled the brown tabby's ears and she spun her head around. Amberdawn! Leafpaw was just a kit when Amberdawn received her full medicine cat name. The young apprentice felt admiration towards the orange tabby ever since, dedicating your life to Skyclan's wellbeing... An honorable cause if she ever saw one.
"Hello Amberdawn!" The apprentice squeaked. She hadn't previously meant the tabby she-cat, but from the looks of her, Leafpaw was determined to be friends. "I would love to go into the forest with you! Are we gonna look for herbs? Ooh! Or maybe we'll help a sick cat! Although I'll warn you I've never healed anyone before but I'll try my best!" The brown tabby was practically bouncing on her toes. She managed to close her mouth and wait for Amberdawn's response, tail trembling from the effort.

Amberdawn's dark amber gaze landed on the apprentice who then quickly turned to face her after her question. She beamed at Leafpaw as the young she-cat returned the greeting cheerily. Leafpaw enthusiastically agreed to go and began spouting off questions. Amberdawn just purred as Leafpaw spke, feeling excited about her companion's good attitude. I was like that with Mintwhisker, she reminisced slightly, and sometimes I still am! Amberdawn replied happily, "Great!" Amberdawn moved so that she was beside Leafpaw, and she gently bumped the slightly smaller she-cat (who was already taller than their leader) as she added, "Don't worry, I don't expect there will be any healing necessary."

Amberdawn flicked her tail and began to pad out of camp, meowing, "Well, to be honest, I don't expect to find many herbs since we had such a heavy snowfall recently. The weather is just a bit nicer today and I figured it was a good opportunity to look around anyways." Just outside camp, Amberdawn paused to sniff the air; all scents were slightly muted by the fallen snow, but she could scent a bird here and there. She then looked at Leafpaw and mewed confidently, "I guess basically if you see any flowers or green things growing through the snow, let me know and I'll see if it's something we need."

Sensing a good opportunity to test Leafpaw's knowledge - being an apprentice and all - Amberdawn asked, "Where do you think is a good place to start? Have you noticed any spots that were more protected from snow when you've been on patrols or gone out training recently?" She hoped it wouldn't put too much pressure on the young she-cat, but Leafpaw seemed excited enough to try healing, so she doubted asking for a suggestion on where to start would dampen the apprentice's spirits.

"Well..." Leafpaw mewed thoughtfully, trailing after Amberdawn as they traversed through the snow. "Maybe under trees? Trees have leaves and can stop the snow fro-" The brown tabby stopped abruptly, looking up to gaze at the tall trunks that towered above the two. Silly! There are no leaves in leaf-bare! Leafpaw smiled at her mistake, bounding ahead to catch up with Amberdawn. She was glad for her longer coat, like her father, Condorshade. The snow nipped at her paws and the icy wind made her eyes water. But even with the cold, Skyclan's territory was stunningly beautiful. The brown tabby took in all the sights, tall trees of birch, ash, and pine. Pine!!

"Amberdawn!" Leafpaw almost shouted, jumping a little from excitement. "There might not be snow under the pine trees! They keep their needles for moons!" Without waiting for an answer, the spunky she-cat bounded over to the nearest evergreen. There weren't a lot of them in Skyclan's territory, but Leafpaw loved them all the same. She wiggled her way under the long, leafy boughs. The white powdery snow had been blown over the area, but it definitely wasn't as heavy as the rest of the territory. The she-cat sniffed around the dirt, glad to set her paws on something other than snow. She had no idea what an herb even looked like, let alone how to find one.
"Amberdawn!" Leafpaw squeaked again, popping her head out from under the pine's boughs. The brown tabby meant to ask about herbs, but quickly forgot her question. Instead, a playful smile rose on her face. "It's not as cold under the tree! Come look!" She kneaded the ground with her paws, excited for Amberdawn to see her discovery.

Amberdawn's gold ears flicked back as she listened to Leafpaw's musings. She chuckled at the first one as Leafpaw seemed to remember there were no leaves. "I was doing that for a moon, too," she told Leafpaw, giggling a little. "This is my first leaf-bare and it's hard to get used to the forest being, well, bare of leaves." Another few moments of wandering passed before Leafpaw let out an exclamation. Amberdawn immediately turned, mewing curiously, "Hm?" "There might not be snow under the pine trees!" The medicine cat apprentice grinned and mewed, "That's a good suggestion!"

Before she could say anything else, Leafpaw had struck off through the snow, looking almost like a squirrel with her father's bushy fur she inherited. Amberdawn let out a soft sound of surprise but then laughed and followed Leafpaw, plodding through the snow after her and watching the tabby pelt disappear underneath a sweeping pine tree. A moment later Leafpaw peeked back out and called for Amberdawn again. The golden tabby did her best to pick up the pace, but she was still a bit small and the snow went up nearly to her belly in some places. Soon she reached Leafpaw's side, but as a breeze shifted a certain scent made Amberdawn bristle with uncertainty.

The medicine cat climbed under the tree after Leafpaw and asked, "Hey, has Tinystar told you anything about the Twoleg scent in the territory?" She hated to ruin their fun, but... "I caught a whiff out there, but it wasn't fresh. We probably need to be careful, and make sure we tell Tinystar when we get back to camp." Then, Amberdawn glanced around the space which they had climbed into. Beneath the tree was rather spacious, though twigs and needles stuck out here and there in awkward places that made a cat have to walk funny to make it through. She nodded and mewed, "You were right, though, pines seem to be the place to look today. No snow to dig through." She began to slowly circle the tree, looking around for any green amongst the mottled gray earth.

Leafpaw purred as Amberdawn joined her under the boughs of the pine tree. She liked to think of it as its own little camp, safe from the snow and wind. Too bad the shelter could barely fit the apprentice and medicine cat, let alone a whole clan. The brown tabby quickly noted the serious tone Amberdawn's voice had taken, and she cocked her head to the side, curious. "Amberdawn…" Leafpaw started, yellow eyes glowing in the gloom, "you think there are Twolegs in Skyclan territory?" The apprentice's fur bristled at the thought. How dare they trespass!

There was a spark of fear in her voice as well, subtle, but still there. Leafpaw was even more glad of Amberdawn's company than before. She wasn't sure she'd want to be in the forest alone with Twolegs... "What does a Twoleg look like?" The brown tabby inquired, peeking out from under the pine tree, more sheepishly this time. "Tigerleaf told me they are very dangerous..." Her eyes meant Amberdawn's and Leafpaw let out a smile. Partly from fear, but mostly from excitement. Their whole forest escapade was starting to feel more and more like a quest, it made the brown tabby's paws bubble with anticipation. My first real adventure!

Amberdawn noted how seriously Leafpaw took her observation and hoped she hadn't frightened the young she-cat too badly. It was good to have a certain amount of fear so long as fear led to caution rather than panic. The golden tabby she-cat reassured her companion, "I don't think they're here anymore or the scent would be fresher. They have been coming through our territory too often, though. Who knows what they're doing or why?" The medicine cat had heard a few warriors and apprentices mention Twoleg scent in passing, but since Tinystar hadn't made an announcement yet it seemed as though the problem was still just minor.

Then Leafpaw asked a question, and Amberdawn looked at the fluffy tabby, blinking slowly. The apprentice slowly smiled and Amberdawn giggled a little, smiling back. "Well, I've never seen one," she admitted, scuffing a paw, "but Mintwhisker has told me that they're tall light-brown creatures that only walk on their hind legs, and they wear brightly colored pelts. She also told me that they're very loud and clumsy, so we should have plenty of warning if any find there way back." Amberdawn was quiet for a moment, listening to the forest. What birds had remained for the leaf-bare were still chirping away, which meant there were no threats. None they could yet see, anyways.

Amberdawn took a deep breath and sighed, mewing, "I think we'll be okay, especially if we're searching under pines like this." She began to looked around, then instructed, "I'm really looking for anything right now. We're most likely to find borage, burdock, and fennel. Just, ah, look for any plants that aren't dead from the cold and I'll check if it's something I need."

"Okay!" Leafpaw mewed, sniffing the dirt for plants. She thought long and hard about Amberdawn's warning. Loud, clumsy... Leafpaw snorted at the thought of a Twoleg trying to pad through the forest. Not that she had ever seen one, but the medicine cat's description seemed to relieve some of the apprentice's fear. She stopped toying with the dirt and let her gaze rest on Amberdawn for a small moment. Leafpaw wondered about her mentor, Mintwhisker. Mintwhisker saw a Twoleg! It amazed her sometimes how long Skyclan has been in existence. The big strong warriors before her and the wise medicine cats seemed to have endless tales of adventure, fighting for their clan, being the best cat possible. A spark of pride shot through the apprentice. She was glad to be a part of Skyclan, she vowed to forever be loyal.

A lick of green caught Leafpaw's eye. It was a small plant, growing out from under a patch of dirt. Tiny, but still there. "Amberdawn!"Leafpaw shouted, bouncing in delight. "Look at this green thing I found! What is it?" She stepped back to allow the orange tabby to take a look. Leafpaw was trembling from excitement. I found a plant!

The medicine cat apprentice was grateful that her explanation seemed to have eased Leafpaw's uneasiness, at least a little. The tabby apprentice went right to work poking through the dirt and shuffling around. Amberdawn did the same, using her dainty paws to gently bad touch away the upper layer of dirt to hopefully reveal some sprouts or, even better, a slightly matured plant that she could afford to take home with her. Since the two of them were under only the one tree there wasn't much to check. Fortunately, Leafpaw seemed to have some amount of luck as she called out. Amberdawn turned to inspect what the apprentice had found, getting close to sniff it and examine the shape of its leaves.

"Hmm..." Amberdawn murmured. "Oh! I think this might be a dock sprout!" She took a step back and looked at Leafpaw, purring, "Well done! It's still a little young, but it's nice to know this will be here when it gets warmer." The medicine cat apprentice approached the tree trunk and marked the base of it. "I'll try to remember where this is and check on it in a few days." Amberdawn looked at Leafpaw again, grinning broadly. "That was a good find! Shall we check under another tree?"

Leafpaw purred as Amberdawn's praise reached her ears. She sniffed at the green thing again and wondered how the medicine cat could tell that it was a... what was it? The she-cat narrowed her eyes in thought... A dock sprout! With a giggle, Leafpaw stared at Amberdawn in awe. The young brown tabby could never be a medicine cat, her mind couldn't possibly remember all the things there was to know. Leafpaw would probably squash all the supplies and feed a cat the wrong herbs. But this was no bother to her, she knew her calling and vowed to be the best warrior Skyclan has ever seen! "Thank you Amberdawn!" The she-cat squeaked, purring at her approval. Weaseling her way out from under the pine tree, Leafpaw stopped for a moment. "Amberdawn? I'm glad you exist!" Thoughts of warriors and battles swam in the tabby's mind. She wondered what the clan would ever do without a medicine cat. Shaking the thought away, the apprentice bounded ahead a few spaces, leaving heavy tracks in the snow. Leafpaw peered around for the next pine tree, feeling very much alive. "Let's go look for more green things!" She mewed, before marching off through the fluffy white flakes.