An Unexpected Visitor

Featherpaw wasn't busy for once, no cats having come to her with injuries or ailments major or minor, and the medicine cat apprentice took the rare moment of having nothing to do by slipping out of the medicine cat's den to search for herbs. After all, things they desperately needed were once again growing scarce with the icy weather. What caught her attention, however, was a plant she couldn't name - burdock? it might have been burdock, she didn't know enough to tell - something they were running low on, that she knew, but what weren't they running out of at the moment? No, the plant itself wasn't the interesting part. That was the tunnel it seemed to be growing out of.

Desperation seemingly overrided Featherpaw's typically cautious nature in that moment, and she looked around to ensure she was alone before slipping into the tunnel. She moved forward slowly at first, checking for plants, but moved more quickly when she realized there were none in the tunnel itself. She wasn't about to turn back, however - what if that plant had come from the other side? If that were true, she needed it. And then there was a fork in the road.

'Left or right? The right, yes, the right path.'

That being decided, the tiny silver she-cat continued cautiously, plant almost forgotten, and eventually she could see the way out make itself clear. The sun was just beginning its descent, preparing to make way for the night as she emerged. But she was somewhere unfamiliar now, this wasn't her home anymore - how far did the tunnels extend, exactly? - and she needed to find someone who knew where she was. Preferably another medicine cat. A quick look in each direction brought to her attention a familiar face to her left. So this must be ShadowClan.

"Sycamorepaw?" she asked, her voice soft as always. Though, for once, it was intentionally so.

Nettlesting jumped higher than a SkyClan cat and spun around, fur puffed. He hissed loudly, and unsheathed his claws. However, at the sight of Featherpaw, Nettlesting calmed down, although still highly confused. "Nettlesting now. I already got my full name." he corrected, before peaking around her. Nettlesting swallowed the urge to point out he wasn't even born when she was made an apprentice, and he was already medicine cat. Not with Featherpaw. "How did you get here?" Was StarClan now teleporting cats?

The WindClan medicine cat apprentice purred in amusement. "Nettlesting. It suits you." In that moment, the passage of time felt clear to her - perhaps her own naming ceremony would be upon her before long. At Nettlesting's inquiry, her eyes lit up - the way they only did around family or those she considered close friends. "The tunnels! I saw burdock growing next to a tunnel, so I decided it couldn't hurt to investigate... But instead of finding more burdock underground or at the other side, I ended up here!" she exclaimed, her excitement clear in her expression.

Nettlesting flicked his tail in interest, walking over to where she popped out of. "I guess so. Looks like a perfect way to be able to get to WindClan easily." Nettlesting purred in amusement, then went and sat in his nest. Well, how are things over on the moors?" he asked in interest.

"Not much, really," Featherpaw informed him. "This is the most interesting thing, really. I'll have to see where else they go, this could be ncredibly useful in the future. What about you, Nettlesting? How are things here in ShadowClan?"

Another, fleeting thought occurred to her as she thought of their names again. Part of the reason she felt a friendship with the ShadowClan medicine cat, something they shared. The loss of a mentor. But while Mottleheart had been given the role of mentor in Sageleaf's wake, Nettlesting was ShadowClan's sole medicine cat. She wondered, briefly, if it stressed him as much as it had her for the brief time when she had been without a mentor, but that was a question she would never voice.

Nettlesting tensed slightly, at the thought of how ShadowClan was doing. Their herb store was getting a little low as Leafbare went on. Cautiously, he approached this issue. "We're getting a little low on herbs right now." he admited softly. "But then again, aren't we all?" he laughed, shuffling his paws.

"Yes, leaf-bare is making it hard to keep a decent stockpile of anything," Featherpaw agreed. "I'm sorry to have interrupted whatever it was you were doing before I wound up here, by the way," she said, a soft laugh of her own escaping her.

Nettlesting shrugged, flicking his tail as if to flick away the comment. "No worries at all. I was just rearranging the herb stores. It's a never ending task. He nodded over to the pile.

"I suppose so. Still, if I want to investigate further, I should start heading back. It was nice speaking with you, though." Conversations weren't Featherpaw's strong point, no matter how hard she tried - and oh, StarClan, she tried. As much as she liked her fellow medicine cats, trying to keep up a two-cat conversation was practically impossible, and so she slipped away as quickly as she had come, thanking StarClan for having mercy on her today. Really, more than that - they had led her to discover how far the tunnels under the moor really did stretch.

Nettlesting nodded. "Travel safe." he said sternly, and stood to properly wish Featherpaw goodbye.