Two Birds to Find a Cure [c]

It was odd, stepping into the Fourtrees clearing only to have it be devote of activity. It was somewhat late - the moon hung silently in the sky but  it was a fraction of its normal self...Or at least the self that would cause any cat to be here. But the fact that nobody else was here was exactly why Duckfeather was here. Slowly they started to pace around the clearing, their eyes focused on the outskirts. Truth be told, they hadn't planned to come so late but their progress had been dampened by the very reason they were here - an unexpected nap they had made at Sunningrocks. Duckfeather knew they would have to go to a Gathering sooner or later but the last thing they would want was to fall asleep in the open so they had chosen to steal away to Fourtrees to look for places where they could take shelter if their exhaustion struck them - a place to nap and recharge without alerting the other Clans about their... Their condition.

A huff escaped them thought as they peered into the bushes, finding nothing to their liking. Not this side, then maybe... They turned, starting to cross the clearing to head towards the further corner when the sound of bush rustling caught their attention and they froze. It was coming from the direction they were heading - which meant it had to be a cat from another Clan...If it was a cat at all. Their fur prickled as they stood their ground, gaze searching fruitlessly in the shadows for whoever - or whatever - was about to make itself known.

Rookfire often found himself wandering Fourtrees at dusk.

Usually, he never got the chance to see anyone, but Fourtrees was often quite empty outside of Gathering nights, which gave Rookfire some time to himself. (The silence was... a good change of pace from interacting with his clanmates all the time - even if he did love talking with them.) And on the rare occasion when he did spot a cat from another clan, he could give them a smile and talk with someone new. After all, Fourtrees was always going to be neutral territory due to its connection to all five clans, and it was a much shorter walk than the trip to, say, Highstones.

Today was one of those nights where he wasn't the only cat in Fourtrees. The fresh scent of a RiverClan cat led straight to the Great Oaks, so Rookfire was hopeful they'd be open to talk. "Hey," he said, poking his head out of the bush to see a tensed-up RiverClanner glaring at him. Now that he thought about it more, he could see how approaching them could startle them. "I don't want any trouble. Just looking for someone to talk to for the night." He wasn't going to stay here forever, of course, but he did want to talk for a little while.

"What brings you over here on this beautiful night?"

Duckfeather's eyes narrowed for a heartbeat as a head popped out of the bush - the smell of ShadowClan reaching them as the tom spoke up. He was out at Fourtrees...Just looking for somebody to talk to? They weren't quite sure they believed that but it was a better reason than why Duckfeather was there and the tom seemed truthful so they allowed their fur to lie down, taking a seat as they gave the tom a suspicious glance.

"...Right," they said finally, before they paused to try to come up with an excuse - they weren't going to tell a complete stranger that they were looking for a nap spot of all things. The tom wouldn't understand, how could anybody? "Just...Wanted to get to explore Fourtrees for once without the crowds," they decided to say, a partial truth if anything. "F-For no real reason, just cause!" they added quickly, raising a paw to run over their ear in a nervous gesture. "...My name is Duckfeather by the way. RiverClan. And you?"

They didn't seem very convinced by Rookfire's explanation - he understood, though he wished the clans could work together in peace rather than being at a tail's length from each other at all times. WindClan stole ShadowClan territory away from them the second they returned from the lake, which made things a lot worse for ShadowClan. It wasn't surprising that they had such a massive kitten boom after they got a bigger territory, either.

But that was neither here nor there, and Rookfire was dealing with Duckfeather... that name sounded familiar. Not the name Duckfeather specifically, but the prefix combined with the appearance... He remembered taking care of a Duckpaw from RiverClan who had fallen unconscious all those moons ago. Was that the same cat? "Rookfire, of ShadowClan," he said, smiling back at them. There was no way that a cat who looked exactly the same as Duckpaw - and had the name Duckfeather, for crying out loud -was a different cat.

The black tuxedo shuffled in place. "You're doing really well for yourself, Duckfeather."

Duckfeather titled their head at Rookfire's comment - did the tom know them? Their thoughts drifted back to the trip to the lake and back - all the interactions they had, or could have had, with cats from the different Clans but...They didn't recognize the ShadowClan cat, which only made their fur prickle with uncertainty. They made a noise, unsure of how to respond as they shifted on their paws. Did they try to figure out how this Rookfire seemed to know them? They were afraid of the answer - their mouth started to part to try to say something but it was interrupted with a surprised yawn.

Terror and shame raced through their pelt as they sank onto their haunches, raising a paw to scrub at their face to try to chase the creeping exhaustion away. "Not now..." they hissed under their breath, but they knew there was little to be done. They would fall asleep soon enough - for maybe only a few heartbeats, maybe enough to actually be called a nap. It wouldn't have been an issue, if not for Rookfire's presence. Their fur prickled as they pushed themselves to their paws, swaying a bit as they gave their pelt a shake. "I-I should go," they said hurriedly, trying to keep themselves from yawning but their paws refused to actually take steps. Hesitation - as much as they didn't want a single cat from the other Clans to know... They would be safe here under Rookfire's gaze - or at least they hoped so. They were torn on what to do, even if every heartbeat they waited was a second closer to them collapsing on the spot in slumber.

Duckfeather's cold response was to be expected, in hindsight. They had no memory of Rookfire helping them when they were an apprentice - the most they probably heard was that a ShadowClan cat helped bring them to safety. "When the clans were headed to the lake," he said, "I helped get you into shelter when the rain hit. You were out cold, and it looked like you were dead at first glance. But-"

Duckfeather then let out a big yawn. It was late at night, so Rookfire understood why they might be tired, yet something wasn't right. As Duckfeather immediately wanted to leave - surprisingly aggressively for a cat who had just been warily eying him beforehand - the black tuxedo watched as they... stayed. It was like their legs had fallen asleep. "Um... Duckfeather?" he said. "What's going on?"