Childhood Crush {closed for CrescentStrike~}

She tilted her head and smiled. "Well, they should!" Her purr was mixed in with a slight laugh. "For the next question. Let's see..." She pondered on it for a moment. "Why did you choose to be a medicine cats?"

"I never felt like fighti-fighting was the proper w-way, you know? I decided to se-see what Cloud-Cloudstone did, and after that, I-I never wanted to fight anymore." Bouncepaw exhaled slightly, kinking his joints so that he crouched. "I never thought I'd get chos-chosen to be a me-medicine cat apprentice. I j-just knew I wanted to hel-help and heal," said Bouncepaw.

She purred. "I really could never find you fighting.. But that doesn't mean I think you're weak, which I know you aren't!" She sighed, then continued. "To be honest, I actually wanted to be the medicine cat apprentice for a while, but I knew that couldn't happen.." She looked at the ground, not wanting to look him in the eyes while asking this. "Would you teach me some herbs..?"

"Why not?" said Bouncepaw with élan. "It-It's always use-useful if me or Cloudstone are unavailable... for whatever reason," added Bouncepaw precariously, the wind ruffling the fur on his tail. "D-Do you rememb-remember the herb-herbs I gave to you, and how I-I described them, or do you want me to repe-repeat them?" asked Bouncepaw. It's always good for her to know, he thought.

"U-Umm.." She blinked, trying to recall the herbs. "I can remember Thyme, which soothes the mind, and Borage, which helps queens produce milk." She smiled, proud of herself for for remembering them.

Bouncepaw purred with approval. "G-Good! There's also ragweed, th-the other herb I gave to you whic-which gives strength." Bouncepaw beamed at the young she-cat, stretching out on the peaty floor.

She smiled, happy with the slight praise. "R-Rag.. Weed? Ragweed?" She mumbled, struggling slightly with the pronunciation. "Isn't there poppy seeds too? You said earlier that if I was restless I could have some.. So they help you sleep..?

Bouncepaw nodded at her final question. "Y-Yep! They calm yo-you down. Thou-Though, not like thyme. That j-just soothes the mind." Bouncepaw kept his tone as fluent and audible as possible despite the buffering stutter. He curled his tail around his front paws.

"Hah! I'm a quick learner!" She purred, her tail lashing from side to side playfully. "What else is there?"

"Well, ther-there are the leaves of the w-willow tree, which prevent vomiti-vomiting," explained Bouncepaw. He paused to let the she-kit soak it in, nodding to a pile. The gold medicine cat apprentice had a plethora of uses for the herbs, as he was educated by Cloudstone, and he wanted to teach a fraction of them to Shallowkit.

She nodded."Willow tree leaves for vomiting.." She repeated it in her head a few times, then looked up at Bouncepaw again, waiting for the next herb.

"Burne-Burnet leaves give stamina, and soo-soothe minor b-bleeding," mewed Bouncepaw. He listed off the ones he was completely sure of first, then he'd move to the ones he found laborious. Even with my stammer, I should sound confident, thought Bouncepaw resentfully.

"Burnet.. Minor bleeding and stamina.." She repeated. "You're really good at this!" She laughed. "You're a good teacher too!"

Bouncepaw tried to resist blushing at the she-kit's remark. "Th-Thank you..." he said quietly, tail oscillating on the flat floor of the den. His face turned a brilliant ruddy colour. He laughed demurely, but felt dumbfounded by Shallowkit's politeness.

She chuckled at his blush. "Has no one ever praised you before? You get so flustered!" She decided it would be funny to tease him about it slightly.