[Abyss]

Crunching and squishing sounds echoed in her ears, her paws kneading beneath her with some soft and some lumpy feelings under them. Thankfully the large shell she stood next to was stable enough where it was positioned that it didn’t move, allowing her more leverage in her task. Though it would be hard for any other cat to distinguish what exact herbs were in this shell, Rust knew, but at this point it was hard for even her to pick out specs of certain ones. Juniper berries, chamomile, daisy leaves, a little bit of fennel juice, some heather nectar, and a small splash of water. The efforts of Rust’s small paws allowed all of these things to mush and merge together into a paste, and though there were still some lumpy parts, she knew to keep going to get them out.

Before long, there weren’t quite as many lumps, which was her signal to start the next phase. She leaned over and grabbed a small shell she had sitting nearby, a smooth and thick golden liquid clinging to the edges. She tilted her head just slightly, pouring some of the honey into the larger shell, but not all of it. She set it down and moved to a different one, a medium-sized shell that held more water, which she also poured some of into the larger shell.

Just as she went to put her paws back in, she heard footsteps and a familiar voice call for Shadowchaser. She remembered Shadow informing her that Newt and himself were heading out to collect some more herbs, so she was by herself for a little while. Which was fine, she could hold down the fort. Which meant answering to anyone who came in looking for help.

“One second!” She dipped her paws into what remained of the regular water, washing the paste remnants from her paws before she turned, padding into the other portion of the den where she saw a particular gray-coated she-cat.

“Oh, hey Graywolf. Shadow isn’t here. Him and Newt went to gather some herbs. What did you need?”

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