Hey let’s hang (closed)

Goldenfang appraised the fresh-kill pile. A pair of quails and a few eggs set in a shallow dip; a grouse, mysteriously missing several feathers along its neck and chest; two rabbits piled on one another; and a large hare, its sandy brown fur already beginning to turn white for leafbare. The deputy was pleased to see that prey was still running well despite the weather growing colder. She was nervous about the coming season. She was a young cat, nearing two seasons old, and had not yet experienced the harsh reality of snow and ice that the older cats warned about. There was no stopping its approach. There was only fattening up the Clan as much as possible and wondering how long RiverClan would be permitted to hunt on their territory.

She selected the hare and pulled it aside, rubbing her face along it to leave her scent. She was marking it to make sure no unsupervised apprentice or self-absorbed elder came along to snatch it while she stepped away. Goldenfang had picked a big piece of prey because she intended to share it with the medicine cat and was going to be quite unhappy if she found it in Flamepaw’s mouth when she came back.

“Hentooth?” She meowed, pushing through the gorse that separated the medicine clearing from the rest of camp. “I haven’t seen you eat yet this morning. I wanted to invite you to share a meal with me. Let’s get you out of this place, I’m sure you’ve smelled enough herbs for a lifetime.” Goldenfang laughed and retreated back to the main camp, trotting back to her hare. She settled close to the gorse wall to shield them from the north wind as they ate.

Hentooth lay awake. As she had been. Lately. It kept reiterating itself. The prophecy. Over. and. over. The line between sleep and waking blurred as the sun rose, the young medicine cat staring blankly at the herbs in front of her. Gentle paws… hesitant hearts… falling… failing… down…

She came slowly back to herself as the camp filled with noise. With a stretch and a yawn, she resolved to talk to Daystar about it- something she should’ve done already, to be honest, but they’d both been busy. Turning her attention back to the herbs, the calico spent some time making sure she knew what she needed. She yawned. Sneezed. Flicked an ear.

Then Goldenfang poked her head in, nearly giving the medicine cat a heart attack (right, not foxglove) and inviting her out. Of the den. Probably smart. She either spent her days entirely out on the moor or entirely cooped up. Not a good balance.

Hentooth stretched again, trotting out of her den, the smell of herbs following her as she padded over to the deputy. A loose strand of bindweed was tangled into her short fur on the back of her neck, but she disregarded it as soon as she sighted the wondrously fat hare… she could already taste it.

“Thanks!” She purred, sitting down and immediately starting to eat. Her initial annoyance at Goldenfang being named deputy over Ashfall had disappeared as quickly as many of her opinions. Goldenfang was a good cat, even if they weren’t quite on close terms- like with Ash, Timber, Swift, and Sage.

“How’s… you know, everthin’ goin’?” She asked, swirling her paw around in the air vaguely. Most of Down and Sage’s litter were apprenticed… she had more free time on her paws, but more worries to occupy her time.

“Oh, you know.” Goldenfang replied equally ambiguously with a shrug of one shoulder. She didn’t start on the meal just yet, ensuring that the worst of Hentooth’s hunger was satisfied before chewing the meat off one of the back legs. “Always a patrol to organize. Always a hole in the nursery the queens want fixed. It’s not bad, it’s just a lot to remember some days. How about your everything?” She asked, then went in for another large bite. “Any herbs I should look out for? Apprentices to restrict to camp for a few days?” It was sort of a roundabout way to say how can I help you? without outright saying it. Surely the medicine cat had a lot going on, too, considering she was always out of sight.