i'm waiting for a lifeline [c]

The marsh was humid, to say the least. The air hung heavy and damp, and it seemed to stick to Nightpaw's fur as he walked. Every step was a chore. Even now, as dusk began to sweep across the horizon, it was unbearably hot. But today was important nonetheless. One of the medicine cats Rookfire had mentioned, Fuzzybelly, had agreed to show him some places where important herbs grew. He'd never met the tom before, and the prospect of talking to someone new made him nervous - but he was still more comfortable learning from Fuzzybelly than he was going to another Clan to seek the assistance of their medicine cats. No, this would do just fine, at least until he worked up the nerve to travel to WindClan or ThunderClan.

Nightpaw glanced curiously over at the tom, but didn't speak. He'd gone missing, if Nightpaw recalled correctly, and had come back only recently, having to start over as an apprentice. He thought it was a bit rude of Leopardstar to make a grown tom sleep with the apprentices, but her word was law. Really, he was just glad there was another cat in the Clan who knew something or other about herbs. Between him, Rookfire, and Fuzzybelly, ShadowClan would be okay. At least until Heatherberry came back. He... hoped Heatherberry would come back.

A vaguely familiar scent caught Nightpaw's nose, and he caught Fuzzybelly's eye before nodding in its direction and motioning the tom to follow. "I think I've found something." He padded toward it, satisfied to find the scent growing stronger as he neared, and ducked down to scan the ground for anything he recognized. What was that? He recognized the smell from the medicine den, but he wasn't sure it was an herb he knew...

Finally, he reached the source of the scent. As he brought his muzzle to the cluster of suspects - each made of two tall, light green leaves attached to a small white bulb - he curled his lip and looked up at Fuzzybelly. "I... I don't know this one. Is this an herb?" The smell hadn't been quite so bad at first, but now that he was close, he realized how pungent it was. It definitely wasn't something he'd dealt with before. What in StarClan's name would you use this for? Perhaps it wasn't an herb after all. He shrunk into himself as he waited for a reply, half-expecting the older tom to say it was nothing at all.

Nightpaw found wild garlic!


OOC: Find the herb list below!

Herb List:

Wild garlic. Rat bites. Nightpaw's anxiety melted away as the tom didn't laugh or gawk, but instead answered his kindly. He nodded in satisfaction as Fuzzybelly explained the odd little plant, and he did his best to commit it to memory. It couldn't be too difficult - the smell alone set it aside from most of the other plants in his den. None of them were half as fragrant.

He plucked a few of the bulbs, his teeth wrapping around the plants gently. The taste... was oddly not bad, in spite of the pungent scent. "Huh. No, it's really not too bad. But, hey, there's nothing wrong with being weird." Nightpaw purred softly, glad for the tom's patient guidance. He was a bit odd, but Nightpaw was finding that he liked him.

He felt the weight of Fuzzybelly's stare as he straightened up again, ready to find the next plant. Then, there it was - that question. Nobody had really asked if he was okay before, but every cat definitely wanted to know how he was 'holding up'. Fuzzybelly just sounded more genuine. Nightpaw hummed for a moment, his ears flicking lazily as he thought. Then he nodded. "...Yeah. Yeah, I guess I'm okay. It's been hard, but... I'm just glad I found my path, I guess." He shrugged. Even if Heatherberry was gone, he was convinced she was coming back someday, and he was just focusing on learning what he could in the meantime. Maybe, deep down, he was deflecting. But it was hard to think about. He shifted suddenly, a somber mood falling over him. "Do you think that... that Heatherberry will ever come back? Or have I really lost her?" Grief clouded his gaze. He had only just met her. She couldn't really be gone... after all, Fuzzybelly had returned after all these moons, hadn't he?