A Dark Figure [c]

(OOC: Follows directly from this topic)

Thankfully, Duskflight made it back to camp, limping past the thorn bush and heading towards the medicine den with a held front leg. It ached awfully, and it swelled, too. He wasn't sure what was wrong. The bite the raccoon did on him was no less lethal, though somehow, he managed to defeat it. And so, he made his way into the den, taking in a deep breath before calling out for Basilbloom. "Basilbloom? Sorry to interfere with you, I know you've been busy these days," He frowned. Being a medicine cat was not easy, even if he'd never experienced it before. "A err.. raccoon attacked me. Could you help, please? It aches a lot." The tom blinked, looking down at his front right leg, then back at the molly. Hopefully, she'd know what's up.

Basilbloom looked up as Duskflight entered the den, greeting the young warrior with a friendly purr as she turned away from the herb bundle she was packing for her trip.  "Oh don't worry about that Duskflight, I always have time for my clanmates!  What can I do for you?"  As he explained the swollen forepaw, Basilbloom's eyes flicked down to the limb and her brow furrowed.  "A raccoon you say?  Hmm..."  Inspecting his leg, she was glad that there wasn't much of any bleeding, however, she noticed some little nicks from the creature's sharp teeth under his fur.  "You're not bleeding, but its teeth did break your skin.  Raccoons bites can easily cause infection.  I usually just use oak leaf, but..."  Smiling to herself a bit, she reached back into her store and pulled out a couple of long sprigs of wild garlic.  "I'm going to use the strong stuff, just in case.  You might be a tiny bit stinky for the day though, sorry about that!"  

After gently cleaning Duskflight's paws with a bit of wet moss, she broke open the garlic stems - nose crinkling at their strong order - and spread the sap onto the warrior's paw.  She also wrapped a blackberry leaf around the injured area before covering it in a secure bandage of cobwebs, nodding at her satisfactory work.  "The garlic helps prevent any infection from setting in, and the juices from the blackberry leaf will help reduce the swelling over time.  Come back before you go to sleep and I'll check on it, and just relax in camp for now.  Walking on it will only make the swelling worse."  She was about to dismiss him, but she paused and instead sat down, patting the ground with her tail for him to join her.  "Duskflight, could I ask something of you?"

"Thanks, Basilbloom. And no worries! It might stink.. but at least it's helping," He smiled, nodding to her words. However, as the garlic stems were broken open, his nose scrunched up— making a face nearly identical to the expression he'd made moons ago after eating the bitter herbs. He knew she meant no harm, and after all, was a good friend. As much as it was unpleasant to smell, he bared it anyway. It stung as she applied the herbs onto the wound, and he flinched, quickly forcing himself to stay still as she continued. "That's true, though I'd miss being able to use the leg so much more frequently," He gave a small chuckle, about to excuse himself out of the den.. when she paused, sitting down. He joined her, following the movement with a tilt of his head. "Of course. What is it?"

Basilbloom smiled at Duskflight's calm humor; he had always been a pleasant cat to be around, one she considered a friend despite not knowing him very well.  If he agreed to this though, she supposed that would soon change.  "As you know, I'm going to leave on my trip to find the mystery flower StarClan showed me in a few days, along with the medicine cats from the other clans.  I've been thinking about which warrior I want to accompany me on the trip, and I was wondering if you would like to be my traveling companion?"

"Each medicine cat is going to bring one of their clanmates with them, so it would be an awesome chance to meet new cats, and explore outside of the clans!  It won't be easy, but I believe that you'd be the perfect cat for the job Duskflight.  What do you say?"  Basilbloom smiled, confident in her choice.  Loudnose had only recently recovered from his fractured ankle so he hadn't been able to come, Mistyfalcon likely wouldn't get along with many other clan cats, and Nightstalker and Swiftheart were a bit too young in her opinion.  For this trip it wouldn't be about strength or dominance; she needed friendliness, logic, and diplomacy, and Duskflight's calm and caring demeanor would fit nicely.

The mysterious flower? Wait, him? At that moment, he nearly froze, eyes lighting up with joy. He'd nearly have been so ecstatic to forget about the injury— though as he was going to move, it ached, and he winced in pain. The tom settled himself to sit again, giving Basilbloom a firm nod. Countless thoughts raced through his head as she invited him, and the stories that Robinpatch has told him moons ago came up. Would this journey be the same, perhaps? Maybe not so scary, although, with Basilbloom's determination on this mission, he doubted she'd allow for dangerous ideas. After all, she'd gathered the five clans together for this, and whether or not he decided to go with her would be grand. He looked forward to traveling new lands, meeting new cats, and having further more stories to be told from his eyes. Of course, he would come! "Thank you for trusting in me, Basilbloom! I'm sure I won't disappoint your expectations," He grinned, ears perked— and tail wavering in joy.

Basilbloom purred as Duskflight agreed, amber eyes sparkling with excitement.  "Oh no need to be too serious, this might be an important journey but what we'll need most of all is good humor!  I'm excited to spend more time together Dusk, let's do our best to accomplish our mission with a smile!"  Tapping his shoulder supportively with her dappled tail, the medicine cat laughed; "Now go relax, I'll let Frostgaze know to take you off patrols while your foot heals. I want you well by the time we leave!" Her tone was serious but softened by a playful wink. She knew that as long as he stayed off the paw they would be all set to leave in the next few days, and her excitement soared.