Stone and Petal [Smokepetal]

Stoneheart dragged the hawk into camp, smugly dropping it on the fresh-kill pile. It hadn't been her intended prey, but when it had decided to pick a fight with her over her actual prey (who had escaped, of course) Stoneheart had no problem killing it and taking it back to camp. The feathers would be salvageable, mostly. But her shoulders stung where sharp talons had dug into her flesh, and Stoneheart reluctantly padded toward the medicine den.

"Uh, Plumleaf? Smokepetal?" Stoneheart called into the den. She had vague memories of Plumleaf's kind voice when she was a kit, leading her and her sister from the chaos at fourtrees. Smokepetal she had sparred with as an apprentice, and it seemed that she'd found her calling as a medicine cat, not that it was truly surprising. Still, she was unsure how busy they were, and felt a little guilty bothering them. But the wounds on her shoulders hurt, and she knew better than to ignore it.

Pawsteps at the entrance of the medicine den drew Smokepetal's attention only a few seconds before Stoneheart called out. From where she'd been sitting, going through their collection of herbs, the smoky she-cat responded, "Oh? Yes, Stoneheart do come in." She rose to her paws, padding over and giving the warrior a kind smile. "Are you alright? Is-" it was then when she saw the raw slashes across the she-cat's shoulder, and she paused mid-sentence to inspect it.

"Hawk? Owl?" she questioned, already running over the treatment in her head. They had more than enough dock leaves, and she'd just picked some goldenrod this morning... Smokepetal mumbled the directions under her breath... chew into a poultice, apply to the wound... "Lay right over here," she instructed, navigating Stoneheart to a small grass nest. "Before I start... do you need a stick to bite for the pain?" Probably not, she was sure, but best to ask, each cat's pain tolerance was different.

"Hi, Smokepetal," Stoneheart was glad to see the medicine cat despite the circumstances. "Hawk, it's on the fresh-kill pile now." She confirmed, doing as instructed and sitting in the nest that was indicated. "I think I'll be fine without it." Pain? Stoneheart was pretty sure she could handle it. The herbs couldn't be worse than the hawk's talons, right?

"How's being a medicine cat?" She asked, "Feels like we haven't spoken in forever."

Eyes beaming suddenly, Smokepetal looked down at her friend. "Oh, it's wonderful," she said. Turning away from Stoneheart, the medicine cat continued speaking as she padded over to gather the herbs. "I... I liked being a warrior, you know... anything for the clan, but - dandelion!" she separated the dandelion and began pawing through them again. "It just didn't feel like that's what I was supposed to be doing. But this does." Finding the dock leaves, she returned to Stoneheart's side.

"Eat these. It's dandelion - it's not strong, but it will take the edge off the pain." She smiled at the warrior. "And you're right... I've been so busy lately, learning, and training, and going to the Moonstone, I... I'm afraid I've begun to neglect my friends." A sheepish, apologetic grin crawled across her face. "I'll be better, promise. But... I'm really happy, now."

She looked over Stonepetal's wounds, eyes critical. They didn't look too deep, but she was sure they hurt. Gently, she cleaned the area around the wound, and then chewed some of the dock leaves, applying the poultice on the scratches. "How have you been?"

Liked being a warrior? She held no doubt that Smokepetal would serve her clan, of course, but Stoneheart did not think that the other she-cat had enjoyed much of being a warrior. Rather than bring it up however, Stoneheart nodded. "You seem happier," She agreed.

Stoneheart sniffed at the offered herbs, nose wrinkling, but she did as instructed and ate them. They weren't... Too bad. Not as bitter as the herbs she'd eaten on the way to the moonstone had been, at least. "I bet you have your paws full, at least all I have to worry about is hunting and border patrols mostly. The birds seem to like me. Or... Not like me, I guess." Her head turned slightly, gaze rueful as she looked at her shoulder while the medicine cat worked. The pressure almost made her flinch, but Stoneheart kept herself from doing so.