Help Me, Help You (Closed for Night)

"Cloudstone?"  Finchstream pushed her way into the medicine cat's den - her short height allowing her to simply pad in without having to duck her head - and gazed around, squinting her eyes slightly to see in the darker space.  The nests and stacks of herbs had become a familiar sight to the long-furred she-cat, since she had spent almost a moon laying in here under the care of the medicine cats after the Sunningrocks battle, healing from a fractured rib.  The bone, thankfully, was pretty much healed now, and she had returned to her nest in the warriors den, but she still had something to do here.  "Cloudstone, Goldeneye?  Are you in here?"

Cloudstone's ears barely twitched at the calling of his name. 'Who else got themselves wounded?' He opened his mouth to taste the air, but found nothing out of the ordinary, and not even a whimper from a kit could be heard. That was odd. No sounds of pain, no blood scent, just Finchstream. Still unsure of the situation, he turned from the small puddle within his den and padded into view. "Yes, I'm in here, Finchstream." The black tom took a quick glance over the grey she-cat. No sign of injury or scuffle. What could she be here for? "What do you need?" He prayed to StarClan no one had had an accident outside camp and couldn't be carried in.

Finchstream's eyes finally fell upon the dark pelt of the medicine cat as he stepped out of the shadows, and she greeted him with a friendly smile.  "Hi Cloudstone, I don't need anything really, it's just I..."  She trailed off, looking a bit unsure and embarrassed as her golden gaze flicked down to her paws.  "w..well I...I wanted to thank you and..and Goldeneye for helping me after the battle...with my rib and my shoulder...s..so I was wondering..is there anything I can do to help you guys out?"  All clan cats were grateful for their medicine cat's healing abilities, but since the she-cat's injuries had been brought about by her own...cowardice, she had felt guilty through the whole process, feeling as if she was wasting herbs and the medicine cat's precious time.  This was her way to come to terms with that.  "I..I know that probably sounds a bit odd...you were only doing your job...but still."  She stood up straight, and raised her head as confidently as she could.  "I took up so much of your time...it's only fair that I use up some of my own in your favor."

A look of surprise flashed across his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find anything to say. He was being thanked? He'd never really been thanked before. Cloudstone had thought of his duties as a requirement for so long that he had taken his own abilities for granted, especially with the sheer number of cats that seemed to come in and out of his den every day. After a moment he realized she needed a response, and cleared his head. "Oh, well, if you want to help," he looked around his den, and for the life of him he couldn't think of one thing she could do in that moment, despite there being so many blatant issues he'd kept tabs on for the past few sunrises. His eyes landed on the rather sad pile of plants that wasn't getting any bigger. "If there are any still alive, perhaps you can help me find some herbs?" Perhaps there were some hardy ones hidden beneath the snow?

Finchstream's broad smile flickered for a moment into a wide-eyed look of curiosity when the dark-pelted medicine cat hesitated  to reply; he seemed, stunned?  While she knew most cats didn't go out of their way to do favors for the healers of the clan, from the shocked expression on Cloudstone's face you would think he'd never been thanked for his skills...at all?  The moment only lasted a heartbeat though, and soon enough the bright smile had returned to the silver warrior's furry face.  She followed his gaze to the pitiful pile of herbs, and nodded vigorously at his suggestion of searching for more.  "Sure, I can do that!"  Tail held high, she turned around and was about to rush out of camp when she realized...she didn't know what any herbs actually looked like.  She knew a few - mostly flowers and berries like marigold, juniper, goldenrod, tansy - but when it came to anything else she was at a dead end.  With an awkward purr, she gazed over her shoulder back at Cloudstone and meowed; "Um...y..you probably- uh, definitely know where everything could be better than I do...are you coming with me?"

He watched her turn around with a bit of confusion, unsure as for what to do. Then, she turned around again with a sheepish look. 'Oh! It wasn't a joke.' Cloudstone stifled an equally awkward laugh. "Mm. I suppose I am." He felt a bit odd speaking with a healthy Clanmate other than Goldeneye or Ivystar, and he didn't quite know what to do with himself. What did warriors even talk about besides fighting and hunting? He wasn't sure. The tom slowly began leading - or walking beside? - Finchstream out of camp in search of herbs. "It's nice to have someone volunteer to come and help, so, ah, thank you." He felt strangely uncomfortable, shouldn't he know her well, having been Clanmates for seasons? His dark paws pressed into the newly-fallen snow, leaving near-perfect prints behind them both.

Finchstream smiled, quite relieved, as Cloudstone fell into step beside her, and the two cats padded out into the snowbound territory.  The silver warrior knew that many cats hated snow, but despite the fact that her pelt was easily clogged by the cold flakes the she-cat had always loved it.  Seeing a whole field covered in the sparkling substance, illuminated by the sun, was a beautiful sight, and it could be pretty fun to toss a clump of the stuff over a good friend's back.  She let out a low laughing purr before turning to meet Cloudstone's gaze, her tufted ears pricked to pick up his words.  Smiling sheepishly, she felt her face flush with warmth beneath her fur as her gaze flicked down to the ground; "Oh, i..it's really no problem...I'm always happy to help out the clan w..wherever I can..."  Shaking her head sharply in an attempt to shake off her embarrassment, she met the medicine cat's gaze and meowed strongly.  "It's a shame more cats don't think to come help you out, or even just come by to say hi...you and Goldeneye do so much for the clan, it's only fair that you deserve more recognition.  You two probably do more for the clan than I could ever dream of accomplishing...""  Her tone lowering slightly, she broke off from the tom to sniff a snow-covered bush, and meow; "Could there be anything under here?"

Cloudstone observed Finchstream curiously. He'd never had that many friends as a young apprentice, training with his WindClan mentor Emberleaf and all, so he still felt uncertain on many social cues. He was taken by surprise when she locked eyes with him. 'What do I say back?' He was able to stammer out something, "Th- Thank you," then coughed as if to clear his throat. The tom watched her approach a bush laden with snow, tilting his head slightly. "Perhaps..." He trotted towards it, white tail raised, and nosed his way beneath it. It was a bit dark, but a tad less cold than the outside. He forced his whole front under the bush before he found a little sprig of marigold, but it wouldn't be mature, and therefore useful, in at least another quarter moon or so.

While he wriggled out from under the shrub, he felt a great lump of snow fall on his back. "Oh, for StarClan's sake," he muttered, shaking out his short pelt with irritation, accidentally flinging some in the warrior's direction. "Uhm, I apologize." He reached and flicked a clump of snow off of her shoulder with his tail. "There is something there, it just isn't ready yet. We'll come back in about half a moon." Who did he mean by "we"? Him and Goldeneye, or him and Finchstream? He didn't know himself.

Finchstream stepped aside, giving the medicine cat more room to slide under the bush and investigate for any possible herbs.  Sitting down delicately on a patch of powdery snow, she gazed around at their surroundings for a moment with inquisitive eyes, before looking back at Cloudstone.  She couldn't quite hold back a laugh at the sight of only the tom's back legs and fluffy white tail sticking out of the snow-blanketed undergrowth, and covered her mouth with a forepaw in an effort to muffle a giggle.  

Once he began to back out, the fluffy gray molly hopped to her paws and padded forward a pace, her golden eyes glowing in sharp contrast to the pale landscape as she opened her mouth to ask if he had found anything-

She snapped her eyes shut as a few clods of snow flew through the air from Cloudstone's pelt, and came to rest on her face and shoulders.  With a laugh, she shook her head to clear the snow off of her tufted ears, and purred as Cloudstone apologized.  "Haha, it's alright!"  She was about to shake off her pelt as he had done - in a different direction of course - but before she could she felt a sensation of warmth against her shoulder, as Cloudstone used his tail to help fix his mistake.  For some reason, Finchstream's stomach felt as if it had dropped, her heartbeat quickening slightly.  It was an odd sensation...she felt as though she should be flinching away from his touch, but it seemed to remind her of something...a similar feeling she hadn't felt for a very long time....and she didn't want to move.

Once he had swept away the snow, Finchstream shook off the rest of her pelt, and tried her best to blink away the shock that had begun to reflect in her eyes.  Hoping that he hadn't noticed her odd mannerisms, she forced her expression of enthusiasm to return as she nodded in reply to his report.  We?  He must mean him and Goldeneye...unless he'll still want my help by then...  Taking a step forward with an unsure paw, she meowed; "S..so, where to next?"