The dose makes the poison

Fuzzybelly’s sleep cycle was completely ruined at this point. He tried sticking to waking up at nights, but the SkyClan medicine cats needed him to help. After all, ShadowClan was staying on purely Briarstar’s good graces, and he didn’t want to jeopardize their sanctuary.

What he tried to do to varying degrees of success was to wake up before dusk and work until sunhigh, but that was not nearly enough sleep for a cat. He was bone tired, though he tried not to show it. As a surprise to Fogfeather and Plumpaw, Fuzzybelly decided he would find some catmint to replenish the stocks after Trufflesnap’s illness. He didn’t know the territory well, but he heard about a patch by the sunset side of the territory, and so at dawn, he set out on a journey.

ShadowClan only had sprigs available; the soft earth of his native territory was not good soil for catmint. In ShadowClan, he would have to snake upwards, north of the Great Marsh, and he’d sometimes find individual plants.

What he did not expect, though, was a massive patch, right before his eyes.

Fuzzybelly loved the smell of catmint, and this was downright intoxicating. The giant fluffy brown tabby tom sniffed the patch, the sun warming his fur…

The medicine cat fell asleep, rolling in the catmint.

———

Frostbite considered herself lucky; she was able to catch a cardinal and a robin this morning. This stretch of territory was not one she frequently traveled, preferring the taller pine trees to the south. The silver and black tabby weaved around the rocks and spotted a cat in a weird patch of grass.

“Do you see what I’m seeing?”

She watched in horror as the large tom roused, rolling in the weird grass.

“Is that cat hurt?”

Frostbite approached the tom, leaving her quarry behind.

Upon closer inspection, this appeared to be one of the ShadowClan cats that SkyClan took in.

“Hullo,” Fuzzybelly rumbled, purring loudly and rolling in catmint. “Minty grass for cats means StarClan loves us… gonna get some for the fog, some for the rain, some for my den, some for peace. Yeah.”

Frostbite looked to Crimsonflame, completely baffled. Was this cat completely out of bees in the brain?

“All the paws of all the cats for StarClan and all our paws are love, you guys…” Fuzzybelly had an open mouth and a goofy grin on his face, still rolling in the catmint.

Crimsonflame carried a starling in his jaws, padding beside Frostbite with a smile on his face. He was looking forward to bringing some prey back for his kits, and hunting alongside Frostbite was for sure an added bonus.

He stopped short when he found one of the ShadowClan cats in a patch of catmint. Weak and vulnerable. For a moment a growl rose in his throat, but it was quickly pushed down as he realized he didn't recognize the cat. This tom wasn't there that night. He had nothing to do with Apollo's murder. Crimsonflame let out a sigh.

"Right, so what are we going to do with this?" Although part of him couldn't help but laugh at just how ridiculous this all was.

“A part of me wants to leave the idiot to it.”

She blinked, looking closer at the lolling tom.

“Oh, great…”

“I think that idiot’s their medicine cat.”

Frostbite groaned. Of course they’d find some moron during their alone time. She wanted nothing more than to turn around. But if he was killed by some hawk or whatever, and they were the last ones to see the oaf alive… she shook her head at the thought.

“But what if… birds… taste like yellow?”

The silver tabby snickered, both out of the sheer ridiculousness and the futility of the moment. Stars, this was a mess. Her facial expression fell as she stared at the fluffy tom.

“…I’m going to have to speak to him like a kit, aren’t I?”

Frostbite groaned again. It was one thing with Asterkit, he was literally a child. But a cat older than her? Her fur bristled at the thought.

“Hey there, are you hungry?”
“Food… food sounds good. Frogs are the best!”
She turned to Crimsonflame, a look of disgust on her face. ShadowClan really ate everything, didn’t they? Frostbite inhaled sharply, laying her voice with a saccharine tang.
“I have lots of food! Come on, let’s get some food!”
“Lots of food for my belly, sun for my belly!”
“Yes, food for your belly! Time to get up for some food!”
Frostbite turned around, mouthing “you better not tell a cat in this whole forest, StarClan help me” as Fuzzybelly struggled to get his massive paws underneath him.
“Oh! My friends want the grass. The grass is nice.”
He grabbed a massive mouthful, trotting over to Crimsonflame, walking crooked. Frostbite turned to face the medicine cat, not convinced he could walk the whole way. At least he wasn’t asking for frogs again… ick.

Crimsonflame let out a sigh as Fuzzybelly tried to walk. Yeah, that was not going to happen. Seeing as he himself was rather large, Crimsonflame took it upon himself to force the medicine cat onto his back. And then immediately regretted it.

"Gah-! How much do you weigh?! How can one cat get so heavy on just frogs and rats?!" The tom nearly collapsed as he tried to walk the medicine cat to the camp. This cat was lucky Crimsonflame was stubborn, because he was really tempted to just drop him right then and there. Instead, he flashed a grin to Frostbite. "Ha! I might, wheeze, I might just be the strongest cat in the forest! Bet I can take him all the way back to camp all by myself. I'll even race you!"

Not that Crimsonflame would be going very fast with this cat on his back. What was he trying to prove again? How easily it was to give himself a heart attack by carrying possibly twice his weight?

Fuzzybelly giggled like a kit as Crimsonflame tried picking him up. “Wait… how do we know… what weight is? Weight?”

The tom purred as he was scooped up by the agitated SkyClan warrior. “I feel like Fuzzykit again on Duskflight’s back…”

“How long has it been since he was a kit?” Frostbite snorted. Crimsonflame was a giant cat to her, but watching this medicine cat drape over him was staggering. “There can’t be a frog left in that marsh with his appetite…”

She grinned when Crimsonflame mentioned a race. “That desperate to lose, huh? Do you want me to walk backwards?”

Fuzzybelly kept purring, his mouth holding catmint. He chuckled to himself, his bushy tail flicking about.