Imaginary Hunting Hijinks! (c)

Daisypaw sat outside the medicine den, fuzzy tail curled tightly around her white paws to ward off the morning chill. The fever chills from last night were fading, and the morning looked a little clearer than it had the days previous. The temporary remedies weren’t much as the days continued to drag on, and the sickness continued its siege on her clan, but they helped a little. She took a deep breath of the cold morning air, wincing slightly as it burned the back of her tender throat. Progress was still progress she supposed. She glanced around for her brother, but either he was still asleep curled up out of sight in the grass, or he was already busy with twice his share of the workload around camp. It couldn’t be helped with so few warriors to hunt and maintain their tentative borders.

She watched two of WindClan’s kits stalking some innocent leaves and shook her head fondly. The journey that stretched through her kithood and the adventures she had still felt warm and near, like she could brush her nose against the memories and catch their scents again. The dandelions she picked for Lavendercloud, the tree incident, the shiny-backed bugs she caught between her claws. She ached quietly for Berrypaw, and closed her eyes against the fresh sting of grief. Her sister, who had always been so soft and joyful in life, unblemished by the heavy claws of time and tragedy, who had laid so still and cold in death. The gray and white apprentice watched the kits play quietly, an afterthought in the misty veil that hung over camp, caught somewhere between one memory and the next as they came crawling up her spine, begging for her splintered attention.

She blinked away the encroaching haze, fever dreams were always trying to sneak up on her. She sunk her claws into the crumbling soil, grounding herself firmly in the present. She could spend a few minutes watching the kits play and enjoy the sunshine before she went back into the dim of the medicine den. A few minutes to clear her lungs, clear her head, and then it was back to her tasks.

((Daisypaw is quietly watching the kits play!))

Daisypaw twitched her tail in amusment as the kits did their best to stalk their prey. Galekit’s aim was true, sending the leaves scattering into the morning air. His sister less so. She tilted her head, watching the she-kit celebrate their victory over the leaves. The squinted eyes, poor judgment of distance. It almost reminded her of Molehill. Maybe it was just kitten clumsiness to blame, but maybe it was something else. The bi-colored molly pulled herself to her paws, white-tipped tail lifting in greeting as she neared the kits.

“Good morning, looks like you two have been busy.” She purred, looking over the scattered leaves and foliage covered kittens. She picked out one of the crumpled leaves, brittle and dry now with the changing seasons. It clung to her sharp claw as she pulled it over. “See this leaf? It’s from an oak tree, you can tell by the shape of its edges. When it’s new and green it can be useful, but not so much now.” She batted the leaf up into the air so it could flutter back down. She turned her amber gaze on the dilute she-kit and the small milky stain in her left eye. “Does your eye ever bother you Cloudykit?” She asked with a curious twitch of her ear.

Daisypaw offered a reassuring purr. “Don't apologize." She said, flicking her tail playfully over the kit's nose. "You’ve got a little fleck of blurriness in your left eye, but if it’s not troubling you then all is well. You should come find me if you notice your vision is getting worse though.” She turned her attention back to the crumbling oak leaf and smiled softly at both kits. “Oak leaves are chewed and applied to wounds, helps with infection. Smallstar told me they aren’t common around the moors. Not many trees at all apparently, but we saw many different kinds of trees and plants on our journey here.”

Daisypaw’s small ears flicked back briefly. Her distraction with the leaf obviously hadn't been successful. She scooted closer to the kits, wrapping her soft bushy tail around both of them. She felt a squeeze of despair in her heart at the sight of the kit close to tears. “Cloudykit.” She said gently, giving her scruff a few quick licks in the wrong direction in an attempt to bring her back to the present. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I asked about your eye because I wanted to make sure you were doing alright. It’s my job to keep WindClan as safe and healthy as possible.” The bi-colored molly explained. “If you’re safe and healthy then everything is going to be alright okay?” She blinked softly at the tortoiseshell she-kit, offering a bit of reassurance. She let the quiet lapse, giving the kit a moment to digest everything before giving her a smell, secretive smile.

Daisypaw swept her eyes thoughtfully over Cloudykit, furrowing her brow in mock concentration. “Let’s see here, look at those long whiskers! Perfect for finding prey.” The medicine cat apprentice purred warmly. ”A good nose, it will serve you well to catch scents on the wind.” She gently batted the kit on the nose with a white paw, just like Lavendercloud had done to her as a kitten. “And nice sharp claws it looks like, those will be deadly weapons one day, WindClan’s enemies will cower at the sight of them!” She leaned back, nodding thoughtfully at the siblings. “Good strong legs and tough paws. My official diagnosis is that both of you will make fine apprentices one day.” Daisypaw said, very seriously.