A New Morning [Open]

The horizon was a rich orange as Mottleheart pulled himself from the warrior den with a yawn. The days were getting warmer - if even by only the slightest - which hopefully meant that WindClan would once again be able to sleep outside without the fear of waking up blanketed in snow. His brown eyes narrowed as he stared at the rising sun as the sky slowly shifted from a darken blue to the light blue of day. He glanced around, seeing no sign of any cats ready to go on a patrol. He sighed as he headed toward the fresh-kill pile, picking the smallest piece of prey that he could find. His stomach rumbled, begging for something bigger but he knew he could survive on this little prey. Instead, the bigger pieces would go to the queens, kit and elders. Settling down, he took a bite of his small mouse. He face twisted into one of displease, having never liked the taste of mice but still he swallowed his morsel and took another bite. Oh how he couldn't wait until Newleaf.

Beetlepaw poked his head out of the medicine cat's den, blinking in the chill morning air. He wished the day to be peaceful as he gave his fluffy chest a tedious wash and padded outside of his warm den. The cat acknowledged Mottleheart with a nod a he made his way throught the camp and across to the fresh-kill pile. He found it weird, how he could have been besides the warrior with his own warrior name, maybe sharing tongues and planning a patrol if the odds would have went another way. Maybe every morning which woke him up to the den with the ever-lingering scent of Cindercloud would have brought another kind of sadness, not the deep grief he faced. Maybe if the odds rolled another way, his brother would have sprang up to greet him right now and joke about his closeness with Jaypaw. Maybe he would have known his mother better. Shaking his head and trying to come back to reality, the medicine cat apprentice nosed out a thrush from the low fresh-kill pile that would soon be replentished by warriors out on hunting patrols.

"Morning, Mottleheart. I trust you slept well?" he asked politely. He never dared to step over and pose himself as more inportant than any other of his Clanmates.

Mottleheart's ears flickered at the sound of pawsteps, glancing away from his mouse only to spot Beetlepaw padding from his den. He returned the nod of acknowledgement before he turned his attention back to his meal, taking another bite as the medicine cat headed for the fresh-kill pile. Beetlepaw wasn't the only one that felt it weird that Beetlepaw was still, in some sense, an apprentice. Beetlepaw was still without his full name but they had both been kits at the same time with Beetlepaw becoming the medicine cat apprentice shortly after Mottleheart left the nursery. But he supposed learning all of the skill of being a medicine cat took time - mostly when Beetlepaw was without a mentor after Cindercloud's untimely death and was now WindClan's medicine cat at such a young age... He was not envious of Beetlepaw's position and felt bad for the tom.  

He watched as the medicine cat picked out a thrush from the small pile and as Beetlepaw greeted him, he smiled softly back as he wrapped his tail around his paws. "Good morning," he greeted in response, dipping his head softly in respect. "I did, in fact. How about you? Are you doing well?" He had to imagination that the last few moons hadn't been easy for Beetlepaw, mostly with the faint hostility in the Clan thanks to that spat that Falconstone and Smokepelt had but at least things seemed to be calming down...Perhaps the warmth of Newleaf would help calm everybody's nerves and little trouble would be had...At least a tom could dream.