bury the blade [c]

Leopardsun hovered awkwardly outside the medicine den. She had never felt entirely comfortable being near or in it: before Fuzzybelly had vanished, it was because if she was there it meant something had gone wrong (enough that someone had demanded she see a medicine cat about it), and after it was because she preferred to avoid Burdockroot. But it was the place her eldest daughter now called home, so she needed to familiarize herself with it; as well as its other resident.

"Sorry to interrupt," the deputy said eventually, setting down the large mouse she'd brought. "But I brought something for you."

When Leopardsun was an apprentice and wanted to make a friend, she had presented Echomist with a frog. Given that it had worked out remarkably well in that instance, it was a habit that seemed to stick: fresh-caught prey made an excellent peace offering.