Blow After Blow [C]

It was rare these days that Sunfire allowed himself to rest, and after half of his morning was spent sitting idly around, he resolved to never do it again. This was so incredibly dull, just watching everyone else come and go and do things, and he just didn't. But he'd seen the medicine cat leave last night with Bearpaw and Thymepaw in tow, and he'd glowered after them for many moments after they disappeared, tail whipping crossly atop the frozen ground. Now, he was waiting for them to come back, to be reassured once and for all that their silly little dreams didn't work, that his son was meant to be a warrior, not a herb-collecting pacifist like Smokepetal. Bearpaw as a medicine cat. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, the idea that a born and trained killer like Bearpaw was suited to a lifetime of mending wounds and delivering kits.

Sunfire sneered at the absurdity of it all, and he sat back and he waited, until finally, Bearpaw's familiar silhouette slid into view. He stretched and rose as his son approached him, brows raising at the sudden, urgent change in pace. Bearpaw's body language was... concerning, but Sunfire let him speak without interruption. His tail flicked curiously, and without a word, he tipped his head towards the exit, and then led Bearpaw out, towards the lake. When they were safe from prying ears, Sunfire slowed, turning to face the other tom. "Tell me," he said quietly, his eyes traveling past the apprentice, to scan the treeline behind him.

It was clear to Sunfire that the news Bearpaw had was not the news he wanted to hear. His eyes followed the young tom as he moved closer, taking in the tight posture, the conflict in his gaze. Sunfire took a steady breath, hoping to transfer some measure of calm to his son so he could get out what he needed to say. When Bearpaw did speak, the pinprick of hope Sunfire had - that this was all some sort of misunderstanding - dissolved on the spot. He'd hoped that when Smokepetal did her silly little herb ritual, she'd realize she had the wrong cat for the job, but apparently not.

Though it was difficult to keep his expression neutral, somehow he managed. If there was one thing he didn't want, it was for his apprentice to think that Sunfire was mad at him. No matter. If they wanted to teach Bearpaw about herbs, fine. He would just double up on the apprentice's combat training, in return. Bearpaw wasn't yet allowed to be a warrior in name, but Sunfire would ensure he'd have the training of one. And when the others finally realized that the tom's skills were far better suited elsewhere, perhaps they would see reason.

He exhaled a quick, unamused snort, but Bearpaw continued before he could comment. He fought the urge to roll his eyes at the mention of StarClan, but was unable to hide the annoyance within them... annoyance that quickly turned into an unimpressed half-glare at Bearpaw's final statement. He stared, and he waited... for what, exactly, he was unsure. A smirk? A hint of humor in his son's blue eyes? A "ha, gotcha!" at the last moment?

None of those came, though. He wasn't joking. He wasn't joking?

Silence. Deafening, incredulous silence. Sunfire fell to his haunches.

Finally: "That's ridiculous."

Bearpaw couldn't go to WindClan because Bearpaw was SkyClan. The blood of generations of SkyClan warriors and leaders ran through his veins. First, the absurd notion that he should be a medicine cat, now, WindClan's medicine cat?  Sunfire had heard through the grapevine that WindClan lost both their medicine cats... but how was that SkyClan's problem? Why couldn't WindClan pick one of their own apprentices? More importantly - why would Smokepetal come up with the idiotic idea that Bearpaw should be sent to WindClan? Never before had Sunfire been tempted to put claws into one of his own clanmates, to shake them like an impudent kit, to knock some common sense between their ears.

"That's ridiculous," he repeated, though his tone had shifted to something angrier. "We'll take this to Wolfblossom and Birdstar immediately. I'll see it squashed. If they think for a moment that I would allow-" Sunfire stopped abruptly and closed his eyes, exhaling as slowly as he could manage. He was furious, there was no hiding that. But an outburst here wouldn't help Bearpaw - in fact, the young tom looked closer to afraid than Sunfire had ever seen before.

"We will figure this out. I promise you, my son, I will do everything in my power to fix this." He briefly touched his forehead to Bearpaw's, and then pulled back, eyes hard. "No matter who, or how many, I have to go through."  

Sunfire didn't move as Bearpaw tumbled into him, aside from the slight widening of the eyes that his son wouldn't have been in the position to see. He was still, but not rigid, and unused to rather than uncomfortable with this level of physical affection. Everyone had been keeping a distance from each other since the sickness started claiming victims, as they should have been... but Sunfire hadn't realized how badly he'd missed this until now. He forced himself to relax and turned so that he could rest his chin on the top of Bearpaw's head.

His feathery tail flicked behind him as he let his son speak, the bitter indignation at the entire circumstance rising like bile in his throat. Already, they had Bearpaw brainwashed into thinking he was speaking to dead cats when he closed his eyes.

Oh, how he wanted to protest. Loudly, and viciously, and until they cleared this ridiculous notion that Bearpaw belonged in the medicine den, much less WindClan's medicine den, from their silly heads. But he would get his chance later, when his anger would actually have effect other than upsetting his son. "Listen to me, Bearpaw. You were born to be a warrior, no matter who or what tells you otherwise. You are SkyClan, you are my son, and I would sooner die where I stand than see you waste away in a medicine den for the rest of your life. I won't lie to you and tell you I know how to fix it, either. But I will never stop trying."

He hoped that Bearpaw couldn't feel the quickened thrum of his heart, wouldn't notice the way his tail swept back and forth upon the ground like an angry snake, that it was by sheer force of will alone that he was managing to keep his paws on the ground. There was no enemy to fight, no physical threat, and yet all Sunfire knew how to do was prepare for one, anyway. What else could he do?