Too chicken? [closed]

Smallbean opened his eyes. A soft sigh escaped him. He was thankful that his mind had decided to allow him a relaxing dream, even if just for tonight. The small tom laid in a field of grass, much like the moor. The stalks reached his ears in height. Above him was the starry sky. If he didn't remember falling asleep he would have thought that he'd just wandered out onto the moors after nightfall.

Although a part of him feared that something would emerge from the grass, another part of him enjoyed the serene peacefulness. It was a refreshing change from what he had been dealing with for the past moon. Besides, it wasn't as if he could really be hurt, it was only a dream. And so he stayed where he was, no sounds breaking the night's silence but the soft chirping of crickets- until a loud, almost bird-like sound rang through the air. It surprised the medicine cat, causing him to jolt up in alarm. Now on his paws, he looked around, trying to find out which direction of the sound had come from. A strange, yet familiar scent reached his nose. Was it... a hen?

Without warning, the bird crashed through the grass toward him, frightening him out of his fur. He let out a yelp and began running through the thick grass, the only sound he could hear being the shrill clucks coming from the hen. He ran away as fast as he could- which wasn't very fast at all- but the hen stayed at his heels, and he was starting to get tired. The chicken was larger than any bird Smallbean had seen in his life, easily doubling him in size. He noticed when the the grass began to thin out and shorten in height. In front of him now laid flatlands as far as the eye could see. If he could, Smallbean would run until there was nowhere left to go, but he knew that his paws would soon wear out. Never in his life had the tom seen such an aggressive hen. He looked over his shoulder to look at the hen, and in the short moment when he wasn't paying attention, he slipped, crashing to the ground. "No, no please!" He cried. The last thing he wanted to happen was to be eaten alive by a chicken. He squeezed his eyes shut, expecting the snap of a beak, or sharp talons piecing his flesh, but neither came.

Smallbean slowly opened his eyes. This time he awoke in the medicine den. He sat up in his nest, confusion clouding his gaze. What in Starclan's name caused him to have a dream like that? Shrugging it off, he stretched out in his nest before standing up. He began to walk over to his herb stocks to check on them like he did most mornings, but the feeling of something beneath his paws caught his attention. Looking down, he saw something that confused him even more than his dream had. "A hen feather?" He wearily picked up the feather and inspected it, half-expecting another killer hen to appear. There was no mistaking it for anything else, it's russet color was identical to the feathers that belonged to the hens at the twoleg farm. But why was it in his den? Eyes drifting down once more, he discovered a small paw print imprinted into the den floor that stood out from the rest. Softbreeze had told him about Starclan's omens, could this be one of them?

The medicine cat dedicated his morning to figuring out what it could mean. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that this had been set up by Starclan. The dream along with the appearance of a hen feather and a paw print? It couldn't just be a coincidence. He padded out into camp, watching as the warrior exited and entered camp. Every cat that passed him entered his train of thought, their name being tossed into the mix of theories and questions in his mind. That was until a small, tortoiseshell she-cat crossed his vision. Henpaw. Immediately she stood out to him. Her name made too much sense, it had to do with her. What could Starclan want though? Could something happen to her in the future? Did they think she would do something bad? Or maybe they think that she should become his apprentice. The last thought shocked him, even if his own mind made it up. Getting an apprentice had never crossed his mind before. Now that he thought about it, having an extra pair of paws to help out wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"Hey, Henpaw? Could I talk to you for a moment?"

Henpaw padded into camp, tail dragging on the ground. She laid her prey onto the pile and sighed. The pain, shame, and misery had dulled for a moment, and she thought frantically over her problem. She was a logical cat (at least she liked to think so) and she knew she had to do something about this… but what? Tell her siblings? Tell her father? Stars, should she tell her leader? Who knew- Tawnyflare might be dangerous. Henpaw’s ears flattened. Serpents… what should she do? Was it that important? Maybe… maybe it was somecat pretending to be Ta- no. That was mouse-brained, the wish of someone who didn’t want to face the truth. Henpaw always faced the truth. A true WindClan cat didn’t run. A true… she had run. But she’d return, she’d-

Smallbean’s voice caused her to turn her head. She didn’t know the tiny medicine cat very well. All she knew was that he didn’t do much about changing WindClan’s ‘cowardly’ image. Still, he seemed a nice enough cat, and had been a warrior for quite some time before becoming a medicine cat. What did he want? She was busy, for StarClan’s sake- busier than she had ever been. However, even she knew you listened to your medicine cat. Henpaw padded over, tail dragging in the dust. She needed to stop that, but… it was nice, somehow, to let her sadness and confusion out in some way. What did Smallbean want? Was somecat in her family injured- no, he was way too calm for that. Maybe he had somehow found out about Tawnyflare!!! No. There was no way he could have. “Somethin’ wrong?” She hoped there wasn’t, and if there was, well, why the stars was he talking to her about it?

Smallbean looked over the apprentice, noticing the way her tail dragged on the ground. Was something bothering her? Her tone of voice didn't sound particularly sad or upset, so he brushed it off. "No, no, nothing is wrong. Could you follow me into the medicine den, though?" He turned around and entered the den, flicking his tail to signal Henpaw to follow. His plan was to see if Henpaw had an interest in working with herbs. When Smallbean had become a medicine cat apprentice he hadn't really gotten a choice, he wanted to be able to give that to Henpaw.

"Now," He began, turning to face Henpaw, ignoring the small paw print that was still imprinted onto the den floor. "How would you like to help me out for a bit in the medicine den, if you have a moment. I promise I won't keep you here long!" A chuckle escaped him as he turned to his herbs. "How has your warrior training been going? I heard that Hayglow is your mentor. She's quite a nice cat." As he spoke his paws were busy, gathering and moving the pile of herbs he had brought in the night before that he had yet to sort. "If it's okay with you, let's sort some herbs? Come here and sit next to me."

Henpaw warily followed Smallbean into the medicine den. She glanced around curiously, not knowing what to expect. As a kit, she had thought the medicine den a direct pathway to StarClan- obviously, that wasn’t the case. However, it was a nice enough den, roomy, shaded, smelling pleasantly of herbs. There was an oddly distinct paw print on the ground, and she gave it a slightly curious look before turning back to Smallbean. Would she like to help in the medicine den? Uh… she opened her mouth to suggest that he had the wrong Henpaw, but… something about just sorting herbs sounded… nice. A way to get her mind off of… everything. A way to keep her paws busy and help the Clan, and also be able to plan what she was going to say to her family… stars, what was she going to say? Henpaw banished those thoughts to the back of her mind and sat down beside Smallbean. “Sure. I like the smell of herbs- relaxing.” Hopefully he wouldn’t read into that and ask if anything was wrong- she wasn’t sure that she could keep herself from pouring it out, she was that emotionally exhausted. She needed to rest her mind before talking to her family.

Henpaw nodded. “Hayglow’s nice. Erm… how do ya sort them? Same plant? Similar use? I know some of them from talkin’ to Cloverpaw as a kit.” Probably same plant, but she didn’t want to mess Smallbean’s herb stores up. She leaned down and sniffed dubiously at the herbs. “These seem kinda different-like from the ones Clover talked about. Probably cause RiverClan’s wet.” Just breathing in the scents made her fur slowly lay flat and her taut muscles relax. She’d have to spend more time here, perhaps- no, Fawnstep wouldn’t like that. Maybe Smallbean could teach her about some of WindClan’s herbs- it wouldn’t be WindClan-like if she only knew RiverClan herbs. For the first time since seeing Tawnyflare earlier that day, her heart slowed down and her thoughts calmed. This was good.

Smallbean achnowleged Henpaw's quesitons with a nod. "Every medicine cat sorts their herbs differently. I, personally, sort them into piles of the same plant, then I store them in the  crevices around the den." He vaguely gestured to the wall and floor in the back of the den, riddled with cracks perfect for storing herbs. "But I generally keep herb piles that serve similar uses close to each other. Like blackberry leaves and dandelions, both soothe beestings." It was nice being able to talk about something that he was passionate about, most of the cats who visited the medicine den didn't care to listen to rambling. The last cat he had spoken to like this was Spotlake a moon or two prior.

"Oh, you spoke to Cloverpaw?" The medicine cat asked with slight surprise. The Riverclan medicine cat apprentice had stayed in the Windclan camp for some time following Skyclan's attack, so he wasn't too sure as to why it surprised him. "But you're right, Riverclan's herbs differ from the ones we find here in Windclan. Us medicine cats share our herbs if needed, though." Now giving his complete attention to the pile of assorted leaves in front of him, he began leafing through it. "These herbs are all mixed, I collected them last night and haven't put them away yet." He picked up roughly half of the pile and scooted it over toward Henpaw. "Most of the herbs I collected are easy to tell apart, like parsley or daisies." He paused to pick up a small stem with thin, jagged leaves. "This is what parsley looks like, I'm sure you already know what daisies look like. Cloverpaw might have shown you a few of the herbs in here, but if you have questions, don't be afraid to ask." He explained, picking up a clump of chervil he had gathered and stuffing it in a crevice along with other leaves of it's kind. "Does this seem fun so far? Sorting herbs in the medicine den?" He asked, casting a quick glance over to Henpaw. So far the comments he heard from the apprentice have been positive. Maybe he had read the sign right after all?

Henpaw listened to the small medicine cat, nodding her head on occasion. His herb sorting system made sense, although why he had two herbs that did the same thing was beyond her. Maybe some really aggressive bees turned up on occasion. Who knew? She leaned down and sniffed at the herb pile, breathing in their combined scent. Parsley, huh. And daisies- she dearly hoped daisies were useful... she really liked the scent, faint though it was, and the appearance... so pretty... although this was something she'd never admit to anycat, least of all her father. Her father... who she had to tell about Tawnyflare... sooner or later... but the medicine den made her feel relaxed and at peace. It was probably the scent of the herbs, but there was something else, some history in the very rock that made her feel small, but at the same time, safe. A very strange feeling she'd never before experienced. If you were small, you were vulnerable. If you were safe, you were strong enough to fight off anything.

Henpaw was jerked from her thoughts by Smallbean's voice. "Fun? I mean... I don't really think of things as fun... it's useful, and relaxing, in a way hunting isn't... you know, the rush, the blood, the adrenaline, not relaxing... but necessary. I do like this, I think. Thank you." Henpaw gave Smallbean a genuine smile. She felt privileged in a way, being able to just relax... let her mind wander a bit... plan out her next steps without the constant bustle she hadn't even realized she lived in until now. The herbs seemed interesting enough to not be boring, and yet simple enough to not be all-onsuming of her attention... perhaps a true WindClan warrior wouldn't have thought this way, but for once, breathing in the scent of herbs, Henpaw didn't really care.

Henpaw's response wasn't exactly what Smallbean had hoped for... but at least she didn't hate it. Maybe it would be something that she would grow to enjoy, like Smallbean had. "I'm glad you like it." He let silence fall between the two, only breaking it to mutter small tips to the apprentice as they sorted through the pile. It didn't take long at all for them to finish sorting the pile, all of the leaves now separated into their own stacks. "See, I told you that it wouldn't take long." He teased, giving Henpaw a nudge. "I think we made good work. You're pretty good with your paws, better than I was when I began medicine cat training." He hoped that his words would serve as a hint. He really did mean what he said, though. Henpaw showed great potential.

Now that the herbs had been put away, there wasn't any reason for Henpaw to stay in the den. So now was Smallbean's chance to ask. Anxiety churned in his stomach, although he wasn't too sure why. The worst thing that could happen in this scenario was for Henpaw to not even give it a thought, replying with an immediate no. The tom cleared his throat. Here goes nothing. "Hey, Henpaw." His tone was the same as when he had said the same words earlier that morning. "This may be a bit... Straightforward? Unexpected? But I was wondering... if you would be interested in learning more in the medicine den with me as my apprentice." He squeezed his eyes shut, as he waited for an answer, not wanting to look at Henpaw's expression. "I just- I thought Starclan sent me a sign, and that it meant that you were to be my apprentice. You don't seem to hate herbs, so I was just hoping that you'd consider giving it a chance. It doesn't have to be forever." When he said the last bit, memories of Softbreeze asking him to become her apprentice flooded his mind. She had given him the offer to return to the life of a warrior once Asylum had left. At the beginning, he resented having to work with herbs, but by the time Asylum had left, returning to warrior life was something that hadn't once crossed his mind. If Henpaw accepted his offer, maybe she would end up feeling the same way.

Henpaw worked steadily and silently, paws sorting almost on their own as her mind wandered… only to be called back to the task at hand every now and then to sniff a herb or second-guess herself. Once the pile was sorted, Henpaw sat back on her haunches, satisfied. It was nice to complete something. Her ears angled towards Smallbean as he spoke. She’d always been good with her paws, but it was nice to be praised by somecat, even if he wasn’t her father. After all, Fawnstep knew little about herbs. She’d take his praise on hunting and Smallbean’s on herb sorting… even if it was something that was really easy. She stretched, getting ready to return to her worries but stopped as Smallbean spoke again.

…

Her? As his apprentice? What the StarClan? Henpaw looked at Smallbean with incredulity, opening her jaws to suggest that he was delirious… but… shut her jaws and listened. The thought had suggested something to her- that Smallbean really was WindClan’s only medicine cat. That if he was killed by some treacherous SkyClan cat, they’d be without a medicine cat… and something else, something even more important to her- Smallbean represented WindClan. If she was a medicine cat, she’d represent WindClan. She could make WindClan strong again. She could have an impact. And… there was something else… a small part of her thought of a medicine cat’s other duty- to be there emotionally for the Clan. Smallbean hadn’t done that. Maybe if he had, she wouldn’t have been so heartbroken by Tawnyflare. Henpaw’s gaze hardened. She had promised herself that no kit in WindClan would experience having no cat care about them. This was a way to do it.

But on the other paw… she’d be giving up the life of a warrior forever. She could never take a mate. (Well, that part wasn’t too bad. She hadn’t met any tom in WindClan that she cared scat about, other than her family.) Staying above Clan rivalries? Ptcha, everycat knew no one cared about that. Hadn’t Beechface taken one of Lilacstar’s lives? Hadn’t Wolfstar attacked Cloverpaw unprovoked? It would be best for WindClan if they had a strong medicine cat. Somecat to show that WindClan wasn’t cowardly or weak. That somecat could be her. She could change history. The only price was a small one. In practicality, no one would forbid her from hunting. She could still pounce on intruders. She could still fight to protect her Clan. The only loss would be- no more patrols. No mate. No becoming leader or deputy… which wasn’t a realistic hope anyways. Lilacstar and Dayspring were young. No, this was the best path, one set out by StarClan.

“Yes.” For WindClan, for the kits who wouldn’t have to face life without somecat to care about them, for the future cats of WindClan who would need somecat strong. Henpaw truly believed she could be that cat.

…

Now what the foxing StarClan was she going to tell her father?

When a response finally came from the apprentice, Smallbean opened his eyes with surprise. "R-really?" He accidentally said aloud. "I'm glad!" His expression turned into a warm smile. "We can leave for highstones this evening, I'll let Lilacstar know. Feel free to do what you'd like until we leave, whether you go on one more patrol or conserve your energy for the trip." Turning once more to the herb stores, he began picking out certain leaves for traveling herb bundles. Although he felt a bit nervous about training an apprentice, he was much less anxious than he had been to train apprentices as a warrior. In fact, he was actually a bit excited. "I'll come get you when it's time to leave!"