You need help (Closed)

It was becoming increasingly obvious to Nightstar that he needed to speak with Burdockroot about matters. Nightstar knew that Burdockroot was being spread thin as of late, especially with all the injuries from the dog attack, but as well as maintaining her medicine cat duties with prophecy and the like. Nightstar didn't think that this conversation would be going over well, but it was a necessity to ensure that Shadowclan ran smoothly.

Besides, perhaps he should get Burdockroot to look over his hip and his still-healing ribs, it couldn't hurt since he was able to put weight on his leg now even if it wasn't much. Dipping his head into the stony confines of the medicine den, the tom cleared his throat before entering. "Burdockroot, I'd like a word." He meowed, waiting for her to finish whatever task he might've interrupted.

"What now?" Burdockroot said with a tinge of annoyance to her usual flatness as she turned around and faced Nighstar, her herb pile temporarily left unsorted. "Is it your Monster injuries? I'll take a look." Her tail swooped and she motioned for him to lay down in her 'out patient' nest. The den had slowly come back together, but it wasn't perfect quite yet.

Nightstar nearly scoffed at the annoyed tone but opted for a soft nod instead and padded to the gestured nest, easing himself into it with a wince from his ribs. "Not just my injuries. I wanted to inquire if you were considering taking on an apprentice?" Nightstar meowed, making it a question. He didn't particularly want to walk on eggshells to avoid insulting his medicine cat, but here he was doing just that. He picked up that she was unhappy with him, but he didn't particularly sure why, he had never treated her unkindly, just as he would any medicine cat.

Burdockroot scoffed at the comment and began assessing Nightstar's injuries. "No." The medicine cat said stiffly as she started to move around Nightstar's leg. She would choose when she chose an apprentice, not be told to do so. Fuzzybelly's existence hasn't even been confirmed to be erased yet. What if he came back?

He winced with the moment of his leg, his ears pressing flat against his head briefly until the sudden pain settled. "It's just- your workload never seems to end. I don't want you to overwork yourself, and that's inevitable with how accident-prone Shadowclan seems to be. With you so busy I can't seek your consult as much as I'd like or need to, especially with the mental health checks we've instilled." Nightstar reasoned, watching the she-cats expression carefully.

Burdockroot continued working and glanced at the leader. "Do you not realize that an apprentice will only be more work on myself? Especially with you ordering me around constantly like I am stupid and cannot think for myself. I am capable of reading a situation and acting accordingly. I do not need to be ordered to do it."] The medicine cat did what she could for Nightstar's injuries and took a step back, glancing at her herb pile. "But fine. I will consider my options. On the condition you treat me with respect from now on. I will not tolerate the disrespect on my intelligence further. None of the other leaders treat their medicine cats like this. I want to be treated with the respect of my title and actions as medicine cat - practically teaching myself since Fuzzybelly left shortly after my name and taking care of every single injury problem thus far successfully."

"Training an apprentice is an investment, and I expect that you being my former apprentice you'd know that." Nightstar huffed, biting his tongue as Burdockroot rambled, "I have not once made any insult to your intelligence, and telling me that I have is insane. I can digress that I am perhaps curt and short, but it is not in any way meant to be a disrespect to your character and I'm sorry you think it such. After moons of us being mentor and apprentice, and your leader afterwards, perhaps I had thought you understood me, I certainly understood that you could be just the way I can be, so I don't exactly understand why you think I had anything other than respect for you regardless of your social limitations. I care for you Burdockroot, but I do not always show it, but perhaps I should have considering that you don't know me as well as I thought you had." Nightstar snapped, his ears flattening against his head, "You are an excellent medicine cat in healing." Getting to his paws, Nightstar dipped his head to Burdockroot, a fit of anger low and simmering under his pelt as he regarded her with emotions that were many and hard to pin down.

Burdockroot's eyes flashed with anger as he spoke, the passive aggressive words evident to even her. "You also taught me I had to learn how to communicate better, and I have. Maybe it's time to take your own advice. You are upset that I am speaking up, because everyone else is afraid to. You can still respect me as a medicine cat while treating me like the dirt you walk on that has no emotions or feelings and responds only to your demands." She turned, facing her herb pile and shutting Nightstar out of herself in all ways it could mean. "Now leave my den. I have work to do. You don't even have to order me to do it." With a growl she began to return to the work she had started before. No more would Burdockroot go to Nightstar with her concerns, thoughts. It clearly was unwanted. Demanding everyone around him to cater to him and his emotions, demanding they change themselves and get upset they do. Nightstar was the one who told her to express herself, to talk. Now, he was telling her to shut up.

So she would.

Oh, so badly did she regret letting Fuzzybelly con her into this. She should have ran when she was Frostednight.

And now she was trapped.

Burdockroot didn't like being trapped.