The Cure

Story for Lilly's Contest

Omen
From the paws of a lone kit,

The fate of the Clan will be decided,

The kit has a choice...

Prologue
"Is she alright?" the beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat mewed, "I couldn't bear to lose another kit after what happened to Frostkit."

"Yes, Rushfeather, she seems to be fine," a dark brown she-cat, the medicine cat, mewed.

Rushfeather breathed a sigh of relief, the young she-cat was scared and Thrushclaw, the medicine cat, didn't blame her. Frostkit had been so small when he died, and nobody had known the cause of his strange illness, now more and more cats were becoming ill, and Thrushclaw didn't know what to do, she had never seen a disease like this before and now that the omen had come every cat was jumpy.

Chapter One
"I found you!" Honeypaw screeched as she lept at Thistlepaw. The two friends had been playing hide-and-seek together and Honeypaw was exited that she had finally managed to find her older denmate.

"Honeypaw be careful!" Rushfeather shrieked from where she was, sharing tongues with Honeypaw's father, Blazeleaf.

Honeypaw gave a nod, rolling her eyes. Ever since Frostpaw, Honeypaw's brother, had died from the disease that was striking the Clan, Rushfeather had been very protective of her. Now, almost every cat had lost a member of their families to this illness. Thistlepaw's brother and sister, Spottedpaw and Scamperpaw, both had been stricken with it. She suddenly didn't feel like playing anymore.

Almost as if on cue her mentor, Nightwish, called her.

"Honeypaw!" the big, burly, black tom called.

"Yes?" she replied, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"Come on, we're going on patrol with Fallowwing and Thistlepaw," Nightwish mewed, padding towards the camp entrance.

"Coming!" she called, exited to go on patrol with Thistlepaw and his mentor, as she got closer, she noticed another cat was joining their patrol. She shivered when she realized that it was Berryclaw, a tom that she had always hated.

"It'll be alright," Thistlepaw mewed, he always seemed to know her innermost thoughts, and she appreciated that.

"Let's go," Fallowwing mewed, observing that every cat was there.

Honeypaw started out the entrance, but before she was even half way through, Berryclaw pushed her out of the way and shoved through the barrier.

Out of every cat, why did he have to be in her Clan?

Chapter Two
Honeypaw returned from her patrol, and saw sick cats littering the clearing. She rushed up to Dawnpaw, the friendly medicine cat apprentice, and asked, "Why are all of these cats out here, I thought that they all were in your den."

"Thrushclaw thought it would be best," Dawnpaw replied, "Now that Featherfall and Stonespeck have fallen ill, there's no more room."

Honeypaw shivered, this disease would destroy them all!

She picked her way through the clearing, looking at the poor cats, some were retching and others sighed, as if it wasn't worth fighting to live anymore. She recognized the pelts of so many Clanmates, too many. Scamperpaw, with his ginger pelt glowing in the sun, lay in a pitiful heap of skin-and-bones, Spottedpaw, his sister lay, her tortoiseshell pelt matted and un-groomed.

''StarClan how could you let this horrible sickness attack the Clan like this? ''Honeypaw thought, mewing comforting, encouraging words to the sick cats as she passed. She slowed as she neared Thrushclaw.

"Can I do anything to help?" she mewed, her worry evident in her eyes.

"Yes," Thrushclaw replied, the brown she-cat looked as if she hadn't groomed herself in days, "Go and help Dawnpaw."

Honeypaw nodded, and bounded across the clearing towards Dawnpaw. In a way she was jealous of Dawnpaw, having such a dignified position in the Clan, but she knew deep down in her heart that her path led her to be a wonderful a warrior.

As she got to Dawnpaw and saw who she was leaning over her heart broke, it was tiny Primrosekit, her silver-and-black tabby pelt was so thin, that Honeypaw wondered how the tiny she-cat was warm.

She padded over and pressed her nose into Dawnpaw's fur, trying to keep from screeching to StarClan about how they could let a kit like this become so ill.

Chapter Three
Honeypaw hastily groomed her fur, she was now helping Thrushclaw permanently, on orders from Miststar. Now that so many cats had fallen ill, they barely ad enough to help with patrols, included in the cats that were stricken with this sickness were Blazeleaf, Dawnpaw, and Nightwish. She could barely quench the wave of anger that overcame her every time she saw the cats getting more and more ill, a few were even starting to die.

She padded into the clearing, stretching her jaws wide open in a yawn, and bounded over to where Thrushclaw sat, looking around the clearing.

"What are we doing today?" she asked.

Thrushwing peered over at her, her eyes stretched wide, filled to the brim with sorrow and hurt.

"Primrosekit died last night," she choked.

Honeypaw was too shocked to speak, she silently took a step back, and muttered an inaudible word under her breath.

"Where is she now," Honeypaw mewed.

"Over there," Thrushclaw responded, gesturing with her head.

Honeypaw stiffly padded over to where the small body lay, Primrosekit looked so small and frail.

I have to do something about this, she mused, she was angry at StarClan for taking a kit so small like Primrosekit, and she wanted to go out and do something.

She bounded across the clearing to Miststar, "May I go on a patrol?" she asked, wanting to be anywhere but here.

Miststar gave a distant nod, pointing to a patrol with Berryclaw in the lead at the camp entrance.

As Honeypaw started padding towards the entrance she saw Primrosekit's siblings, Robinkit and Newtkit sitting beside their mother, Greenberry as she sat vigil for Primrosekit.

I will avenge her death, Honeypaw thought with determination, following Berryclaw out of camp and towards the border.

- - - -

Once they reached the border the scent of ThunderClan was overwhelming.

"I think it's on our side of the border," Roseblaze mewed a worried look in her eyes.

"It is," Berryclaw mewed, "let's go!"

Honeypaw and Roseblaze raced after him through the pine trees, and they slowed once the heard other voices.

"Honeypaw and I will go that way," Berryclaw mewed, pointing with his tail, "Roseblaze stay here and attack when we do."

Roseblaze nodded, and Honeypaw followed him silently through the tall, green, pine trees.

Chapter Four
Honeypaw burst out into the small area where the ThunderClan cats were stumbling around, dazed and confused.

She immediatly lept onto a big toms back, and started clawing his ears. She was promptly shoved off of the toms back, and she fell rolling away from the battle, and into the trees. She tried to catch herself on a bush, but she only succeeded in tearing off some of the leaves.

As she sniffed the plant she wondered, she had never seen this plant before.

Could this help the sick cats? she pondered, but her thoughts were torn away from the plant after hearing a screach coming from where the cats were still fighting, she had forgotten all about that, and Berryclaw would be seething.

She hurried back, pushing some of the leaves into a hollow log on her way. She lept into the battle, fiercly attacking the ThunderClan intruders.

- - - -

Honeypaw had been just what Berryclaw and Roseblaze had needed to send the intruders back over the border.

While Berryclaw and Roseblaze chased them, Honeypaw rushed back to retrieve the herbs and get to camp.

Once she neared, she could smell sickness, thick in the air, there wasn't much time left. Even though she knew nothing about herbs in general, she felt a strong pull, deep down inside her, that she could help these cats, that had become her passion.

Chapter Five
Honeypaw looked up from where she had been resting beside the last sick cat, Nightwish. That herb was exactly what the cats had needed, and it was the perfect amount to treat all of the cats, too. Everybody had said that it was a gift from StarClan, and Honeypaw believed so too.

Berryclaw had started treating Honeypaw with respect, and she foundd that she could be having feelings for him.

Dawnpaw and Blazeleaf were back to full health, Blazeleaf going on the hardest patrols, and Dawnpaw always helping and offering up words of encouragement to the cats.

The Clan was almost at full strength, and it seemed that green-leaf was approaching.

Honeypaw promised herself that she would never be jealous again and she found that she couldn't be angered anymore, no matter what other cats, especially toms, did. She was truly a savior to her Clan.