A Mossy Corner - June

The sun was shining through the leaves far above her, filtering the light so it dappled along her back and paws. A calico ear flicked as the medicine cat apprentice carefully laid out another section of moss. The last several days had held a vast number of occasions, ranging from the return of the rest of the clan to her warrior ceremony that was interrupted by Pricklebush to realizing StarClan's chosen path for her in becoming a medicine cat. The turmoil of those had come to a peaceful and happy end with her ceremony at the Moonstone, and she had felt all was right with the world. Just a couple days after that, Flintfang had left the camp in the dead of the night in a storm, and she had followed him. He had left that night, disappearing with Burntstag into the darkness of the tunnel into ShadowClan, abandoning ThunderClan, Falconwing, Lilypaw, and her. A sigh left Mosspaw's jaws as she thought of that first Gathering, and how bittersweet it was to have her new position be announced in front of the clans, but not have her father to turn to with a smile. Shaking her head lightly, she realized she had started fidgeting with the corner of moss in front of her, and she gingerly laid it flat again before starting some of her other tasks. Things would be alright, eventually. Wouldn't they?

Graykit padded into the medicine cat den. There had been a thorn in the nursery, most likely having fallen out of some moss when the bedding was changed, that had gotten stuck in her paw. And yes, it hurt, A lot. So she went to a professional to get it out because her mother couldn't pull it out herself. "Are you busy?" She asked Mosspaw, who seemed to be doing tasks. Then she saw how distressed the medicine cat apprentice looked. "Is everything alright? I-I can find some cat to help me if you would rather I leave. It is just a thorn in the paw...." Her voice trailed off, a worried look on the kit's face.



(Aaa finally found an excuse to bring this girl in for you.)

Mosspaw looked up at the sound of a voice, and pushed her own worries away when she recognized Graykit. She smiled at the kit, and shook her head lightly. "Nope, just doing some general cleaning around the den, and some organizing. No dear, I'm alright, just thinking about some things. You said you have a thorn stuck in your paw?" She left what she was doing and made her way over, motioning with her tail for the kit to sit down. She sat in front of Graykit and lowered her head to meet her eyes, concern in their blue and green depths. "Mind if I take a look? How long has it been in there, and where did you step on the thorn, Graykit?"

OOC: yay!!! I'm excited  

Graykit sat down where she was told, lifting her paw. "It hasn't been there long. I stepped on it in the nursery and came almost immediately. After my mother failed at getting it out that is."

She couldn't help but think about how distressed the medicine cat apprentice had looked. "Are you sure you're alright? You looked like something was bothering you. You can tell me, I promise I won't tell any cat! Kit's honor!" She smiled, her eyes seeming to grow to half the size of her head. The she-kit wanted to help, she really did, but Mosspaw had to let her before she could do anything.

Inspecting the uplifted paw, Mosspaw nodded. "It was very smart of you to come here immediately, well done! It looks like it's a little deep, but since it hasn't been there very long, there won't be an infection at all." She peered at the thorn again, wincing internally at the pain it must be causing the young kit. Meeting her eyes, she explained what she was going to do. "So to get it out, I'm going to have to pull it with my teeth. It's going to hurt a little bit, but after the initial pain it will dull and you'll be able to walk just fine again, okay? As soon as I pull it out, I want you to start licking your pad gently. It will bleed a little bit, but not for long. Do you have any questions?"

She paused, waiting for Graykit's response before the kit piped up, and a purr rumbled in her throat. Blinking appreciatively at the kit, she smiled and shook her head. "I'm really alright. A lot has happened relatively quickly, and I'm still trying to get used to everything, and with Flintfang.... disappearing, I guess I'm just worried if he's okay." She longed to confide the full truth to someone, but she still hoped that maybe Flintfang would come back on his own, and didn't want to say anything to risk his ability to return should he try to. So instead she pretended she had no idea where he had gone, while hiding the truth deep in her heart. Shaking herself from her thoughts, she focused back on the kit. "I'm sure he's alright though, and will come home soon. Back to that thorn though, it's not going to pull itself out!" She checked it one last time before carefully bending her head down, slowly closing her teeth around the base of the thorn. She locked eyes with the kit and gave a muffled grunt, indicating it was time, before quickly pulling the thorn free from her pad. It came out easily in one piece, and Mosspaw spit it off to the side in the ferns before turning back to the kit. "Well done Graykit, lick your pad until the bleeding stops, it shouldn't last long. Once it stops, go ahead and put a little weight on it and tell me how it feels."

Graykit licked her paw gently as the pain began to subside before looking up to Mosspaw. "I'm sure he will return soon! Very soon even! I will even keep a look out for him if you like to see when he returns to camp!" The kit refused to say the word 'if' as if the word itself was cursed. "If you like, of course!"

When Mosspaw said a lot had happened, she assumed she meant becoming a medicine cat apprentice. "What is it like, being a medicine cat? It must be amazing helping cats every day! I wish I could do that!" The she-kit could only imagine what it would be like as a medicine cat. But with Mosspaw being a new apprentice, it was most likely not an option for her path. Besides, being a warrior apprentice would most likely be way more fun! She would get to hunt and fight!

A soft smile warmed the edges of her eyes as she gazed at the kit. "Thank you, Graykit. I would appreciate that very much, you're very kind. You'll make a wonderful warrior." She purred before checking the paw one last time. After making sure the bleeding had stopped, she motioned for Graykit to set it down. "Does it hurt to put weight on it?"

The question made Mosspaw pause for a moment, as she thought about everything she was feeling. "It's... busy. A lot goes on, and it's easy for injuries to happen, like thorns. There's a lot to learn too, but with such an amazing mentor like Pricklebush that's no issue. I hope to someday be as skilled as he is." She smiled, laying her tail on Graykit's shoulder. She had grown a lot, it wouldn't be long before she was made an apprentice. "We all help our clan in our own way, for Pricklebush and I it is the knowledge of healing and helping herbs and techniques - for warriors and apprentices it is the ability to hunt and fight to provide, care for, and defend the clan. You will be a spectacular apprentice, and a magnificent warrior, I can tell. Keep your mind open to those around you, and you'll learn more than you ever believed possible." She winked at the kit, and moved her tail back around her paws.

Graykit put her paw down, then pressed some weight on it. "It stings a little, but it is manageable. You are so good at healing!" She squealed.

As Mosspaw told the kit about being a medicine cat, Graykit's jaw dropped in awe. It seemed so cool, being able to heal others. But she wouldn't be able to do that. But one question remained in the young kit's mind. "Do medicine cats ever have to kill? Like warriors kill in battle? I don't want to kill, and I am scared that as an apprentice I will."

"That's wonderful news! The stinging will go away with a little bit of time, don't worry." She purred, grateful for the compliment. The next question chilled the medicine cat apprentice to her very core, and for a moment she stiffened, looking at the kit with an unreadable expression. For a few heartbeats, her mind fled back to the shores of the lake, and the events that they held. However, as her eyes came back to focus on the kit, she took this moment to help shed some light on a couple of things. She moved to sit next to the kit, just letting their pelts touch, and looked down. "As a medicine cat, we are called to heal our clanmates, and those in need, rather than to kill them. Even then, though, there may be times where we will need to defend ourselves or others in need. As an apprentice, you will learn many things, the ways of battle being one of them. There may come a time where you will need to fight, whether it is for your own life or one that cannot fight for itself. The warrior code calls us to not kill without reason, but to ensure our clans safety and well-being. When you hunt, to bring food for the clan, you will kill your prey, and if you come across a predator, you may have to fight it off to protect yourself. I trained to be a warrior before becoming a medicine cat apprentice, did you know that? Would you like to hear a story about it?"

Graykit looked on with horror. Was there no way out from her curse? Would she forever be forced to fight? The fact that the warrior code stated not to kill eased her mind, however. That means cats would most likely live from her attacks. But what if she did eventually need to kill? And even worse, what if she liked it? Then Mosspaw spoke of being a warrior apprentice herself. "You were a warrior apprentice? Yes, yes yes, tell me the story! Er, please?" In her excitement, she had forgotten her manners and said "please" at the very last moment.

Mosspaw recognized the horror in the kits eyes, and her voice was gentle. "Don't worry little one, we have medicine cats for a reason. Some cats fight over the tiniest things, the main thing you will have to truly fight will be predators. Ease your mind with that." She chuckled at the enthusiasm that the kit had to hear her story, and nodded. "Yes, I trained as a warrior before StarClan called me to the medicine den, it was during my warrior ceremony in fact. You should have seen the look on Leopardstar's face! I had been an apprentice for about a moon when the flood came, and we ended up on the shore of the lake. Amberdawn, the SkyClan medicine cat, received a message from StarClan with the way to lead us home. Before we could leave though, a twoleg with his two dogs came upon our camp." She watched the kit closely, making sure she wasn't scaring her too much. "It was a hard battle, but at the end we were able to fight one of the dogs, and the twoleg, off and away from everyone. I took part in that battle, and was very scared. But I knew I had to fight to protect my parents and sister, and the wounded that we had with us. The other dog..."

She paused, remembering her own dismay at killing it, and the confession to Leopardstar and Marshstorm after. "The other dog wouldn't leave. I ended up killing it, to protect those around. I did what I had to do - even if it wasn't what I wanted to do. I felt guilty for a long time about it, before working up the courage to talk to Leopardstar and Marshstorm about it. They both told me I did the right thing, and that I was protecting my clanmates and the others." She wrapped her tail around the kit and looked up to the sky. "Sometimes, to protect the ones we love, we have to do things we don't necessarily want to do. You get to choose what you do and how you feel about it, no one else. You don't have to like killing to be a warrior, there are plenty who use other means to achieve the same goal. Your mentor will teach you various ways to go about things, and it's up to you to choose what works best. What works for them might not be what works for you, so keep an open mind and heart to follow the path your paws take you down, okay?" She looked back down at the apprentice, hope and warmth in her gaze.

Batbite more or less charged into the medicine cat's den with her usual boldness, looking a little bit like she'd just lost a fight and completely unaware that she might be interrupting something. Her fur was a mess and there were several small cuts on her side, but it almost seemed like she hadn't even noticed. "Oh, hey, Mosspaw!" she exclaimed, as if expecting the medicine cat's apprentice to be somewhere else. "And Graykit," she added, finally noticing the kit. "Good to see you!" Well, it was certainly better than being greeted by Mosspaw's mentor. She was fairly certain Pricklebush wouldn't find the story behind her recent escapades amusing in the least, but Mosspaw might. "Oh, but what's going on here?"

"I promise you! I will always have an open mind and heart, and will let that shape my future! And I will never kill a soul! Never ever!" She looked at Mosspaw with bright eyes. "Unless I have to, of course. Like you had to kill the dog! I agree with Leopardstar and Marshstorm, you did what you had to! You saved lives! That is what I want t do! When I am an apprentice, I will be just like you, Mosspaw!" The kit squealed with excitement.

She then looked over to Batbite. "Hi! Have you come to hear Mosspaw's stories?" She then saw the scratches along the warrior's side. "Oh my! Those must hurt!"

Mosspaw purred at the words of the young she-cat, and pressed her nose to one of Graykit's ears. "I'm happy to hear that. You'll be a wonderful apprentice, far better than I ever was, I know it. You'll do great things, Graykit." She smiled down at the kit, before the tranquility of the fern enclosed clearing was interrupted by a black warrior, covered in small scratches and looking quite disheveled. Blinking at Batbite, it was a heartbeat or two before Mosspaw fully realized what was going on. "Hi, Batbite! It's good to see you too, although I must say I'm curious as to what exactly you got yourself into this time." She stood up from her place next to the kit, and walked over to look over the scratches. "I was just telling Graykit some stories from the shores, do you have any you'd like to share from the mountains? I could check these wounds for you, and I'm sure Graykit would love to hear about it! And so would I, after I hear what caused all of these that is." Her blue-green gleamed with amusement and anticipation, with Batbite this could be a really interesting story.

"The mountains?" Batbite asked, her eyes lighting up. "Absolutely." She had plenty of stories from the mountains, but before she could start sharing some of her favorites, Mosspaw asked about her injuries. "Oh, right! You wouldn't believe it! I was out hunting, you know? And suddenly I feel something scratching my side! So, like any good warrior would, I leapt to attack it!" Her voice only grew more and more dramatic as she went on, before falling flat. "...Except I may have failed to realize that what had scratched me wasn't an enemy patrol. It was just a thorn bush."

As she waited for Mosspaw's reaction to her theatrical tale, she turned her attention to Graykit. "And what mountain stories would you like to hear, little one? It was a very different place from the forest, and there are so many things that happened there. The battle, yes, but also hunting with the Tribe cats... Oh, and the time that Ferretpaw threw a cave beetle at my face. Can't forget that." That was perhaps a slight exaggeration: it had certainly happened, but it was maybe kind of a little bit her own fault. If she hadn't been putting cave beetles in Ferretpaw's nest, the apprentice probably wouldn't have thrown them at her.