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Post by h a z e l ! on May 19, 2008 15:28:39 GMT -5
Hazelsplash crouched low. The long grass blades were swishing and ruffling her fur and yet she stood perfectly still. Her striking green eyes were trained on a small figure nibbling on an acorn, a small figure that took no notice of her. With great care, the dappled she-cat pulled herself forward paw step by paw step. Now close enough for a leap, she crouched even lower, as if trying to blend into the soil below her paws. Then with a massive force, Hazelsplash leaped and hurtled towards the mouse that had been obliviously eating nearby. Her front claws were unsheathed, and she landed lightly, scoring fatal wounds on the rodent. Sure that it as dead, she let out a small hiss of victory and lowered her head to pluck the small body from the ground. Her head now lifting once more, she stared across the grasslands. The lake was so close, and Hazelsplash pricked her ears as she heard the water lapping at the pebbled shore.
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Post by Hidden on May 19, 2008 18:24:16 GMT -5
((Just FYI, it's a sandy beach with a river nearby. But there are probably grasslands nearby. No lake though.))
A white cat stepped lightly across the crystal beach. Her ears were swiveled to the side to listen to the rushing water of the nearby river. She was headed to the Gnarled Palm in search of herbs, but she had decided to take the scenic route. It wasn't like there was any rush, with all the cats at the Gathering.
She sighed and padded onwards. Technically she should be there too, but the thought of all those cats made her nervous. She had always been jumpy around crowds; they seemed to suck all the fresh air away, leaving a musty feel behind. Sure, she liked other cats, but not all packed together. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the cool, damp air.
She picked up the scent of the river, and a cat's scent. She paused, tasting the air to double-check. It was definitely another StreamClan cat. Nothing to worry about. She hadn't been in StreamClan for very long, so she couldn't recognize each individual cat's scent yet, but she was curious about who wasn't at the Gathering.
As she followed the cat's scent, she picked up the mouthwatering smell of fresh-kill. Maybe she would get a bite, if they weren't going to take it back to the camp.
The white she-cat spotted the other cat up ahead. Hazelsplash. She flicked her tail across a patch of tall grass to let her know that she was arriving without scaring away all the prey. Only when she was close enough to talk normally did she speak.
"Hey Hazelsplash," she said in a cheerfully gruff way. "I'm surprised you're not at the Gathering. Hasn't Vastflame left yet?" She hoped they weren't waiting for her, because she didn't plan on going back to the camp for awhile.
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Post by h a z e l ! on May 19, 2008 18:31:04 GMT -5
"No. Rotten fleabags wouldn't let me go." Hazelsplash growled, her usual irritable air pulsating through the crisp air. "They said next time. I have a feeling they just don't want me along." The tortoiseshell she-cat hissed, the last bit half-to-herself. She knew full well that she was not a favorite among her Clan, and sometimes it hurt to know this. But Hazelsplash was proud and stubborn, and she would not let those slight moments show. "See if I care." She shrugged her anger away in a feeble attempt. Feeble, but it worked. She turned her leaf-green gaze to the medicine cat. "Do you need help with anything?" She demanded tartly, the worst of her temper gone with the wind, leaving Hazelsplash wit the ordinary snappish attitude. She enjoyed helping others out, and she wouldn't deny that much. Even as a kit though, she considered becoming a medicine cat and just couldn't bring herself to complete the dream for her wish to become a warrior was much greater than her curiosity of the life of a medicine cat.
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Post by Hidden on May 19, 2008 23:49:57 GMT -5
Ivoryfeather shrugged, irked by Hazelsplash's harsh tone. She had chosen to become a medicine cat partly to escape being looked down on. Oh well, at least she was asking for help. "I was just going out to collect herbs," she answered, pointedly matching the other she-cat's tone. But her tone changed back to her own as she continued. "Nothing overly important. We have enough to get by. I'm just looking for the backup ones, and ones for special cases. I don't need your help for that, per say." She shrugged and glanced down at the mouse Hazelsplash had caught. "I take it you're out hunting. Don't cats usually stay behind to guard the camp? It looks to me like you need more help than I do." One mouse wasn't much. Definitely not enough to feed a Clan.
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Post by h a z e l ! on May 20, 2008 20:21:51 GMT -5
Hazelsplash halted in her tracks for a moment. What Ivoryfeather had said was true. Though Hazelsplash herself would not admit it, the medicine cat was right. Picking up her mouse, she shrugged. "I was done hunting anyway." She told the creamy she-cat, which was half-true. Of course, it was also a great excuse to keep her pride from being hurt. "And are you sure you don't need help?" She asked, her voice muffled by the small prey clenched in her jaws. Her tone had cooled down, and she was easing up around the medicine cat. After all, Hazelsplash had no quarrel with any Clanmate, and most especially the cat who healed them all. She blinked as if it was a sort of an apology, and it was all Ivoryfeather was getting anyway. Apologies to Hazelsplash were only given in the gravest times, and this certain rendezvous was not grave by any means.
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Post by Hidden on May 20, 2008 23:08:33 GMT -5
Ivoryfeather hesitated, then sighed. She had been trying to get out of going to the Gathering by pretending to go out and collect herbs, but now that she thought about it again, StreamClan's Medicine Cat needed to be present. At least for the first Gathering. The rest, well, those would come later.
"I suppose I should go to the Gathering," she said, a bit sulkily. An idea popped out at her. She knew it would please Hazelsplash (or hoped so, anyways), but she didn't want her to get offended by it. She eyed the mouse with guarded interest. She was a bit hungry. "You can probably come with me, if you want. Vastflame wouldn't object to me having an escort." She flicked her tail towards the mouse. "But there's a fee." She pretended to mostly care about getting the mouse. [/blockquote]
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Post by h a z e l ! on May 21, 2008 16:50:48 GMT -5
"Could you do that? Oh yes please]" Hazelsplash gave a small leap of joy, as if a small kit told she could leave camp. Without hesitation, she nosed the small prey to the medicine cat eagerly. Her tail waved and she purred, actually purred. "That would be great!" Now most cats found Hazelsplash an annoying furball, full of irritable snaps and barks worst than her bite, but it was not always true. Deep inside, a few selected cats have the privilege of seeing the inner Hazelsplash, eager, fun, and all over the place. The dappled she-cat bounced around Ivoryfeather on her toes and began mewing excitedly, ranting about her friends and this she-cat from another Clan she met as an apprentice who seemed nice. On and on she went, like a small kit again. But Hazelsplash didn't mind.
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Post by Hidden on May 22, 2008 17:27:32 GMT -5
Ivoryfeather purred with amusement. This was a side of Hazelsplash she hadn't seen. "Stop acting like a stupid kit," she scolded, but gently. Whether her fairly good mood was because of the mouse or from the other warrior, it was making her less snappy than usual. She noticed that Hazelsplash had mentioned a cat from another Clan. Her interest was pricked, but she dismissed it. Tons of cats had friends in other Clans, since they had just formed. Still, she should keep an eye on her. "It's no wonder Vastflame didn't invite you."
She paused and took a big bite of the mouse. "We have to be careful to get there after the rest of the Clan does. Or at the same time," she mused between bites. "It wouldn't be good to show up before them. That would be hard to explain." She didn't really want to go back to the camp to check.
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Post by h a z e l ! on May 24, 2008 9:32:06 GMT -5
Hazelsplash stopped bouncing, and widened her eyes. Licking her chest fur in embarrassment, she flicked her tail in a reply. Lifting her dappled head once more, she turned her leaf green gaze onto the medicine cat. "Then do you suppose we go check camp first, to see if they left? That way we can follow, or just leave with them if they have not gone." She suggested, letting her tone cool down so it trickled with well-veiled tartness. The warrior looked up at the sky, noticing the moon was approaching the center of the entire starry sky above them. "Which should be soon, if not already done." She muttered, dropping her gaze once more. She stared at Ivoryfeather, her gaze scrutinizing and narrowed. "What is it like to talk to StarClan? To be a medicine cat and heal?" She asked guardedly. Of course Hazelsplash wanted to be a warrior, she was one! But the dappled she-cat always had a tug pulling her to the secrets of StarClan and the art of healing.
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Post by Hidden on May 24, 2008 22:19:00 GMT -5
Ivoryfeather paused to think. They could just go to Fourtrees. It would be easy enough to scent which Clans were there from fairly far away. Her thoughts were interrupted by Hazelsplash's question.
"Being a medicine cat...?" she said thoughtfully. How could she describe it? "Well... there are... herbs." She said lamely, silently scolding herself for acting like a mouse-brain. "Nothing big has happened yet," she added, regaining some of the pride she had lost due to her previous comment. "Mostly I've been pulling thorns out of warriors' pads. You'd be amazed at how they whine at something so small." She reminded herself that Hazelsplash was also a warrior. Better not to complain about them for too long. "Something bad will happen eventually. It may not be for many moons, or it may happen tomorrow. We'll have to wait and see."
And see if I'm able to deal with it, she thought. She didn't doubt her skills, but rather thought of it as a challenge. When the Clans had reformed, there had been no cat to teach her. She had simply known which herb would heal what. If an injured cat came to her, the herb that would help jumped out at her. Maybe it was StarClan's doing, or maybe it was something she had been born with. Inherited from those old fleabags?! she thought of her parents scornfully. They had been kittypets. Very, very old ones. They were probably dead, now that she thought about it. Whatever. She didn't care. When she had left them, she had claimed that she would find some cats named Socks and Scraps, her father's older siblings. Ivoryfeather was sure they were dead too. She frowned, willing her thoughts to move away from her insane father.
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Post by h a z e l ! on May 25, 2008 8:24:50 GMT -5
"Oh. Well, I know about the healing, I helped out when I was a kit. It was fun, and it kept me out of trouble, once you look back on it." Hazelsplash replied mildly, her main thoughts on the remembrance of the chores. She of course, was not allowed out of camp to fetch herbs, but she would organize them for the medicine cat. "I know you cannot talk about meetings with StarClan, but how does it feel to talk to them? Do most cats get scared or, is it something to cherish?" The dappled warrior put her words carefully. She wanted to know, but not to pry too deep. Besides, Ivoryfeather was restricted by the laws to keep her exact meeting details secret from most every cat, save for the leader and a medicine cat apprentice. Why did Hazelsplash feel so interested? She was a warrior, and she was good at it! She liked being a warrior too. So why, Great StarCLan, was the dappled warrior so interested and intrigued by the ways of a medicine cat?
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Post by Hidden on May 26, 2008 14:38:36 GMT -5
"Well," Ivoryfeather said thoughtfully. "I can't say about most cats, but I'm not afraid of StarClan." She emphasized the word "I'm" not to sound like she was bragging, but to stress that she could only speak for herself. "And I doubt other cats who talk to them are either. The rest... I don't know what warriors think about it. They don't usually speak to StarClan, but I know a few who get jumpy around the Moonstone."
Ivoryfeather had started her career as a warrior apprentice. Even she wasn't sure why she had decided to switch. She was strong, and semi-fast. But she was also very clumsy. Sometimes she still tripped over her own paws, even while simply walking across the camp. She had always enjoyed sparring with the other apprentices though, and suddenly longed for it again. The thought that Hazelsplash might train with her flashed through her mind, and for a moment she believed that it could actually work. Then her common sense returned. Medicine cats didn't fight, except in the most extreme circumstances. It went against the Warrior Code. And I don't want to fight, she reminded herself. I'm happy with being a medicine cat. Once again, she believed the half-lie. She was happy that she was a medicine cat, but sometimes she still longed for the life of a warrior. Still, her moments of sadness were brief and rare. She knew where she belonged.
"But why all the interest?" she asked, tilting her head sideways. It dawned on her that maybe Hazelsplash was interested in becoming a medicine cat. But that wasn't possible, was it? She was already a warrior, so she couldn't switch now. Or maybe she could. Ivoryfeather didn't know.
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Post by h a z e l ! on May 26, 2008 18:25:30 GMT -5
"Well I helped out a lot as a kit and in my free time as an apprentice. I found it so fun, you know? I felt so proud of myself, and though I never achieved anything big like saving a life, I did help some cats with their chills and if they had a cut or a thorn. Each time I helped a cat, I felt so happy that I was unsure that being a warrior was right for me personally." Hazelsplash confessed to the medicine cat, scuffling her paws on the ground below her. "But I never got dreams, not that I can remember now of. And you didn't say anything, nor did our leader so I let it go. I figured if it was meant to happen that StarClan would send a sign. I didn't realize that it could be my choice." She admitted, sighing after her monologue. "If it was destined, I felt that StarClan wouldn't said something." The dappled she-cat shrugged and twitched her whiskers. She remembered those days, and the sense of pride she always felt after helping another cat. Even as a warrior she was having doubts. Could it have been her choice?
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Post by Hidden on May 27, 2008 0:23:53 GMT -5
Ivoryfeather blinked, mildly surprised. Until just then she hadn't thought that Hazelsplash might want to become a medicine cat. She had been so busy learning the warrior code and settling into Clan life, as well as discovering her own abilities as a medicine cat, that she hadn't paused to think about taking on an apprentice. She had been little more than an apprentice herself when she had joined StreamClan, but her knack for herbs had made it seem natural that she would become a medicine cat.
It also dawned on her how their situations were almost the exact opposites. Hazelsplash had become a warrior because that was what had been expected of her, but she had doubts about whether or not that was what she really wanted. Ivoryfeather had become a medicine cat because she Clan needed one, but had secretly wondered about the life of a warrior. Maybe that was why she stuck so strictly to the warrior code, despite being a medicine cat.
Hazelsplash had confessed to her. Ivoryfeather opened her mouth to spew out her own confession, then closed it again. She was a medicine cat. Different rules applied to her. What would happen if the Clan found out that their medicine cat wasn't sure about being a medicine cat? Nothing good. So Ivoryfeather kept it to herself.
"I'm not that old," she said instead. "I wasn't thinking about taking on an apprentice back then. I was still learning myself. Now that I think about it, you were helpful. But I'm only a bit older than you are. Back then there was no way I could teach an apprentice." The thought that they could've been co-medicine cats crossed her mind. But Hazelsplash hadn't known the herbs, and Ivoryfeather had discovered them as she'd seen either the herbs or the injury. She had heard that there were certain cats who had "gifts," but she had never seen any, and had heard that most of them wound up insane. Unless spontaneously knowing herbs counted as a special ability, in which case she was one. Unease prickled down her spine. Was she destined to go crazy? Maybe she already was. Back to the real world, she reminded herself. "Are you still interested in becoming a medicine cat?"
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Post by h a z e l ! on May 27, 2008 15:35:44 GMT -5
"Well I..." Hazelsplash trailed off. What did she want? Oh sure she loved being a warrior, loved hunting and tracking and the skirmishes on the borders. But there was a certain ring to being a medicine cat. It sounded so great, and she didn't mind the chores. That seemed fun to her, she didn't even heal fatally ill cats, or speak to StarClan yet. StarClan. Maybe she could consult them, maybe they could push her in the right direction to her destiny. "Do...Do you suppose I could speak to StarClan about this? I know I am a warrior, but, I sort of wanted to ask them something." The dappled warrior spoke up once more timidly, scuffling her paws on the sand below. It seemed strange to ask, being an ordinary warrior, to speak with StarClan. Maybe they would have answers though, just maybe.
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