Frosted Blooms

Mossbloom padded wearily into the medicine den, her mouth laden with a couple beech leaves. In one was a clump of blackberry leaves, and the other filled with a pawful of juniper berries. Setting them down on the den floor, she lifted her gaze to try to find Dovefrost. Her heart clenched with sympathy as he eyes landed on the tom. She too had lost her mentor as a young medicine cat, and it had been something she had never dreamed would happen to Daisybloom. It had been so sudden, Mossbloom heard her coughing in the medicine den as she walked past and popped in to check on her old apprentice, only to be met with the sight of her struggling to breath on the ground. Dovefrost had been at the Moonstone for the meeting with the other medicine cats, so Mossbloom had jumped in to do all she could, but it wasn't enough. Daisybloom had passed in front of her eyes shortly before sunrise, and it was around sunhigh that Dovefrost had returned from his journey. Tears and grief had choked the elder as she explained what happened, and in the days since she had been helping the tom as best she could. She may have gotten older and creakier, but she was still dedicated to the well-being of her clan, and would help however she could. Setting the wrapped herbs near him, Mossbloom offered him a sad smile. "Here, some juniper berries and blackberry leaves. Is there anything else we need? I can go out again after a quick rest." They were still replenishing the dwindled stocks from leaf-bare, and getting rid of the old, dried herbs that had been their only hope in the last moon of the bitterly cold season.

Dovefrost shook his head. "This will do for now. You need to rest some." He looked down at the herbs that she had brought him, a small sigh escaping him for a moment. He had managed to clear out most of the dried herbs to make room for the new herbs that he and Mossbloom have been bringing in for the past few days. He had everything organized exactly the way he wanted.. A small pang hitting his heart that Daisybloom's system had faded out of his mind so easily. As soon as the herbs were cleared it was hard to remember where she kept what. Her scent was fading from the den slowly. Her old nest spot became his. It was strange getting used to it all. But one thing that hadn't changed over the past few days was the little voice telling him, he should have been there.

"I can go out for the rest later, I'm sure Dustcloud, Ferretshine and the other elders miss having you around." She was an elder, she earned her rest, she didn't need to be helping him so much. He carefully grabbed the blackberry leaves, still in the wrap she carried them in, and tucked them away. Hopefully the extra protection would keep them fresher, longer. "You don't need to keep helping me. It wasn't your fault she died." He told her, his voice growing softer.

Mossbloom huffed softly, shaking her head. "Dovefrost, I've had moons of rest at this point. And I'll have many more before I pass on to the stars. Don't you worry about me." She mewed as she sat, suppressing the yawn that threatened to reveal her tiredness even as she said she was fine. What sleep she did get was haunted by her apprentice's final moments, but if she was awake and distracted it was easier to not think about it. She smiled slightly again. "They might, but we've spent a lot of time together. Maybe I could get Dustcloud and Ferretshine to join me in a walk later, they might enjoy the chance to get some fresh air." She stated, making a note to ask them about it later. His voice softened, and she shook her head from side to side. "I'll always help. I may have retired, but I'll always be a medicine cat first. The oath I took is not so easily broken by such a silly, simple thing as retiring." She mewed before her voice softened and she looked to where Dovefrost had moved his nest. "I know. I did everything I could. Daisybloom was not the first cat I've lost... But it never gets any easier," she murmured. She had never imagined that she would fight to save Daisybloom's life, let alone lose the battle. Yet here they were.

Not okay. The thought flashed in his mind real quick. Whether it was about him or about her, he wasn't sure. "I should have been here." He muttered softly, as he tucked the juniper berries away. He wasn't sure if anything would have change in that moment if he had been here instead of being at the moonstone with the rest, but he was her apprentice for Star's sake. He should have noticed she was sick sooner. It was his job.. Did he even deserve his title at this point if he couldn't even notice if his own mentor was sick?

"Should have noticed the signs.." Maybe if they had caught it earlier? Maybe then.. Maybe. He tucked his fluffy tail closer to himself as the thoughts ran through his head, his face remaining stoic as he spoke. He didn't continue to speak his thoughts allowed, opting to focus more on his work instead. Carefully the tom used his claws to pluck out a dried leaf that was stuck in a wedge.

"Dovefrost, there was nothing any cat could have done. There was no signs, no indicators that something was wrong... It's terrible, but there was truly nothing that could be done... It happed so quickly, and so suddenly. You won't always be here, as a medicine cat you have duties that call you to leave the clan. It's unfortunate, but you won't always be here." She mewed, curling her tail around her paws as she watched him remove a dried leaf that was wedged in a crack. The silence stretched for a while, Mossbloom looking at Dovefrost's herb storage system and comparing it to what she had done. Glad that he was seemingly confident enough to have his own system that worked for him, she smiled to herself. Dasiybloom had taught him well, that was for certain... It was a shame that she hadn't been able to stay to witness him become a full medicine cat. "I'm proud of you. I know she would be too. So, what else do we need?"

He paused in his sorting, taking in her words. He knew she was right. Everything told him that she was right, but there was a slight guilt still eating at him, telling him he could have done something. Maybe it would be gone with time, or maybe it would be something he would always deal with no matter what happened. He let out a small sigh, trying to clear his brain as best as he could. "You're right." He told her, her comment of being proud doing some to lift his spirits, especially knowing Daisybloom would be proud.

He shuffled somethings to the side in his storage before finally coming to the conclusion of what he needed. "Catmint.. and Chamomile. I want to be prepared in case a rare case of cough decides to show up with this unstable weather." He informed the elder. The other was pretty self explanatory. He was going to have to run moonstones, and the traveling herbs were important to have enough of.

Mossbloom smiled as he agreed, but didn't say anything. He seemed to be a bit more uplifted, but she knew from experience that words wouldn't be able to take away the self-doubt and pain. Time would dull it, and words did help, but there was only so much that could be done. He continued putting things in his organized space before noting two things they still needed. Mossbloom agreed to his choices and reasoning, stretching out her legs before standing. "Sounds good. I'll get a warrior or two to accompany me, one to help carry and one to keep watch. We'll be back before sundown, okay?" She mewed, bumping her head to the tom's shoulder. Backing away, she turned and disappeared with a flick of her white-tipped tail.