"I was looking for a story that drew me in from the very first line, immersing me in the forest and the world of the Clans. I wanted a sense of action that moved the story forward, and something exciting to happen even if there wasn't time to reach a conclusion. I wanted little details that bought the location to life, such as sticky mud between toes, rain on leaves, the different herbs. And most of all, I wanted to feel that you brought something new and fresh to the characters, something that I wished I had thought of myself."
Victoria Holmes about reading the entries
The Disappearing Herbs is a short-story of Brightpaw during Forest of Secrets. It was the first short-story competition hosted on the Warrior Cats website, and fans were invited to interpret who stole ThunderClan's herbs.[1]
Summary
- In ThunderClan's camp, Brightpaw reflects how busy her sister Cinderpaw is with whitecough plaguing the nursery. Yellowfang, ThunderClan's medicine cat accuses ShadowClan of stealing the herbs. Bluestar decides to send Whitestorm, Longtail, Brightpaw, and Swiftpaw to investigate Snakerocks for signs of invasion.
- In one ending, two ShadowClan cats appear at Snakerocks to take some catmint. Despite their attempts to explain that they have sick cats who desperately need the herbs, Longtail, Swiftpaw, and Whitestorm all agree they must leave immediately. The two cats reveal themselves to be StarClan spirits and they scold the four cats for their lack of empathy.
- In another ending, the patrol encounters three rogues gathering herbs for their sick kits. Whitestorm allows them to take the herbs, though warns they must find herbs elsewhere. They decide to follow the rogues and discover they are enemy cats hoping to weaken ThunderClan by destroying their herbs. Whitestorm, Longtail, and their apprentices manage to scare them away.
Contest
- The first 500 words were written by Victoria Holmes, and fans were invited to finish the story in 500 words or less by December 10th, 2021. Participants were divided into the under 13 and 13 years plus groups. Winners were given a signed copy of Into the Wild and a $100 voucher for the Official Warrior Cats Store.[1] There were over 3,000 entries, with 1,000 being in the 13 years plus category.[2]
- On February 1st, 2022, Vicky announced the winners of the competition: Catriona in the under 13 years category and Bryce-Waterfeather in the 13 years and older category.[3] Click here for a transcript of both stories. Vicky also recorded videos of her reading the two winning submissions.