[Fawn]

BLACKWOLF

The return trip from the Moon Tree had been far from what Blackwolf was expecting. For starters, Smokefur had barely spoken two words to him before, weak with hunger (whatever that was about, was she starving herself or something?!), the NightClan Medicine Cat collapsed. With her herbal scent cloying his nostrils, Blackwolf soldiered on, trying not to let her body drag through the quickly condensing snow as he trudged back in the direction of camp.

It was hard work, carrying a full-grown she-cat around like she was a kit. Grunting, the warrior felt the muscles in his neck strain from the weight, his mismatched eyes blazing in a look of both agitation and intense effort. He was by no means a scrawny cat, and as such his struggling more or less was due to the weather than any lack of physical strength. It was always tougher to move when the snow was high enough to touch the softer fur along his belly.

After what felt like ages, Blackwolf finally made it back to NightClan's camp. When a few apprentices hurried over to help, however, the warrior growled through the Medicine Cat's scruff, sending them skittering back as he took her to the only place that made sense. Her den. Feeling immense relief once he was able to set her back down on the cool earthen floor of the Medicine Cat's humble abode, Blackwolf shook the flakes from his pelt, flexing his jaw as though the muscles had grown sore from the long trek.
"Let's never do that again. Ever." He griped, stretching and checking to make sure he hadn't strained or pulled anything in his efforts to bring her back safely.

With his current physical state being tired but perfectly fine, the brawny warrior next turned his attention to Smokefur, black nose pressing against her shoulder as he gave her a faint nudge.
"Wake up. I've brought you back to camp. I think it's about time you ate something." Growled the warrior, his face scrunching in slight concern.

Had this been any other cat, he would have verbally shredded them to pieces for making him carry their sorry carcasses back to camp, and probably would have crowed that they were a waste of good prey anyhow. But Smokefur was different. She had a purpose to fulfill, and whether Blackwolf liked it or not, she could not die before taking an apprentice, then NightClan would be screwed six ways to StarClan if she left them before finding an appropriate replacement.

Though this was only a fainting spell... Nothing serious, right?

---

Word Count: 457
Notes: None~

[Deleted]

Smokefur did feel awful that the larger tom had to carry her almost all the way back from the medicine cat meeting, it was a testament to Ravenstar’s ability to punish her severely. The silver she-cat hated to admit it but she was near the point of groveling at Ravenstars paws for mercy, it was a horrible punishment and even worse was the fact that it was rather acceptable because a bit of food and she would be good as new like nothing had ever happened. She wasn’t quite ready to grovel yet though, she held onto her last spark of dignity and stubbornness as she opened her eyes to look up at black wolf and declare, “I won’t be eating, I refuse. Talk to Ravenstar if you must, I’m sure she can tell you everything you need to know.” With those words out she laid down her head on her paws gently and waited for him to leave and return with news of what her fate was to be.

[Fawn]

BLACKWOLF

“I won’t be eating, I refuse. Talk to Ravenstar if you must, I’m sure she can tell you everything you need to know.”

Though Blackwolf had already been grumpy, those stubborn stubborn words had sparked an agitation, a temper he had not felt since Shadepaw's incident with that other TreeClan apprentice, and the thorough thrashing his little brother had been given by the enemy cat for his error.
"Your life is not your own, you know!" He spat, muzzle wrinkling with frustration, ears flicking off to the side, tail alive and visibly fluffed just at the tip.
"I don't care what point you're trying to make, Smokefur - if you die, what do you think happens to us? I'm not bothering Ravenstar right now, so you get to be the one to enlighten me. Why in the name of the Dark Forest are you not eating?"

Was she sick? Was she dying? What the heck would cause a Medicine Cat to suddenly stubbornly decide that a basic necessity for survival was abruptly no longer that necessary? Blackwolf, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what it was.

---

Word Count: 224
Notes:

[Deleted]

Smokefur growled as the tom refused to go see Ravenstar and continued to bug her over the subject, she gritted her teeth slightly for a moment before willing herself to stop. Her face contorted with agitation and before she could speak she willed herself to calm down, taking a deep breath she readied her words and began to speak. “Ravenstar is punishing me, she has not allowed me to eat. I think she has allowed me to eat now, but honestly I refuse. Perhaps I will just die without taking an apprentice.” She growled laying her head down, she was very displeased with the turn of events she had only wanted to see Ravenstar stop stealing prey from other clans. “I just wanted to prey stealing to stop, so I get punished for trying to do something about it. Perhaps its worth the life of her sister for her arrogance.”

[Fawn]

BLACKWOLF

I just wanted to prey stealing to stop, so I get punished for trying to do something about it.

The ebony warrior let out a rough, condescending snort. "It's never going to stop, Smokefur. Unless the prey suddenly wakes up early and walks right into NightClan's camp. Our only options are steal or starve." Even though it looked as if Smokefur had chosen the latter, Blackwolf felt his pelt bristle with agitation; yes she was bound to a different set of rules than they were, but did she honestly want her Clan to starve to death? Ravenstar wasn't stealing prey because she could, it was a I'll do anything to survive type of strategy, and it was one he gleefully partook in, no sense of guilt over the hungry bellies in the other Clans because of their actions.

And he wouldn't feel very guilty about his next move, either. Though Ravenstar would likely criticize him for it, what else could he do? That mousebrain for a Medicine Cat was going to starve just to prove a point. Sort of. Exiting the den, Blackwolf's ears pricked forward, his tail batting against the exit as he left, the rush of cold air just what he needed to wipe away the potent tang of dried leaves and herbs.

Walking towards the pile, Blackwolf began to sniff amongst the meager offerings, not wanting to pick anything too large - especially if she was going to waste it - or anything too small it wouldn't have any effect at all. Selecting a grackle, Blackwolf felt the scrawniness of the creature against his teeth, ears flitting sideways in a look of displeasure.
Maybe if she took a good look around the camp, she'd see that prey-stealing is necessary.

He was done trying to think of ways for Smokefur to change her mind. He wasn't here to change her mind. He was here to make sure she didn't die on them, and if that meant taking drastic measures, then so be it. Dropping the grackle down in front of the she-cat, Blackwolf chose then to sit, like a black sentry, mismatched eyes locked upon Smokefur's weakened form.
"Eat it, Smokefur. Your Clan still needs you, whatever your issues are with Ravenstar's decisions."
Just eat it, mousebrain.

---

Word Count: 428
Notes: Do you mind if he brings in a friend to help forcefeed Smoke?

[Deleted]

The silver she-cat had drifted off in the short time Blackwolf had left her alone, and jerked awake when the prey was dropped in front of her with a small frightened yip. Embarrassed she looked away for a few seconds before her wandering eyes brought her back to the grackle the larger tom had left at her feet. He instructed her to eat it but she would do no such thing, instead she would respond with a bit of venom. “I refuse, and who are you to be giving me orders warrior?” She asked turning to glare daggers at the tom. She felt no ill will towards him but he had started her on the defensive, so naturally she would raise her voice and get angry with him because she had nothing else she could possibly do. “I’m not dead yet, I don’t need it.” She growled out softly, “Not like it would matter anyway, my skills are replicable apparently…”

[Phoenix]

What is this? It was not odd to see Blackwolf throwing his weight around and asserting his dominance over some poor cat; in fact, it would was more unnatural to see the large black tom doing otherwise. Luckily, or unluckily depending on the perspective, those times were few and far between. What had captured his attention was not what, but who.

As medicine cat, Smokefur pulled rank over Blackwolf, who was simply a lowly warrior like the rest of them. In his opinion, to see the tom challenging this hierarchy was not as much surprising as it was interesting. It meant that something was happening, and at the very least, it would act as food for thought for the next few days. Thin dark legs carried a wiry frame closer, wide yellow-green eyes peering out at the two of them from his haunt in the shadows. Suddenly the large, ebony warrior strode away, and he froze instantly, watching the tom carefully as he picked out a bird, unidentifiable from the distance, and returned to the silvery she-cat. The warrior placed it by the medicine cat's paws, and after taking a few careful steps forward, Ratfur could hear the exchange.

Interesting. Smokefur was refusing to eat? Not that it mattered to him, for there was no debt between them; he had never understood the concept of loyalty either, so that had never applied to his life. All in all, she was just another mouth to feed, even if she was a rather important one because of the knowledge held inside her mind. But if she was stupid enough to turn down food, then she could starve for all he cared. Every cat was expendable; he agreed with her on that point. NightClan could make do without a medicine cat for a little while, during which brave idiots could either experiment with various herbs using themselves as test subjects. Or perhaps Ravenstar would bend her proud neck and request help from another clan. In all his indifference, he was rather reluctant to have a cat in charge of his well-being who would no bother to take care of herself.

Storing the information away for later consideration, the lean tom moved forward, easily slipping on his mask of weakness. Blackwolf was so thick that he probably would not detect any change, but he did not know Smokefur so well; it was best to remain consistent with whatever previous opinion she had of him. "Hello Blackwolf, Smokefur," He greeted the two in a small voice, acting as though he had not just witnessed their hushed conversation. Yellow-green eyes landed on the bird planted between the two cats - a grackle, he realized belatedly - and he flicked his tongue briefly over his lips. "Are either of you going to eat that?" Internally preparing for the worst, he raised his wide-eyed gaze to look just below Blackwolf's mismatched one.

[/blockquote]

[Fawn]

BLACKWOLF

"I refuse, and who are you to be giving me orders warrior?"

"And who are you to be such a mousebrain?" Spat back the warrior, losing his temper in the wake her defensive and entirely unyielding behavior, a low growl erupting from deep in his throat before he could put himself in check. Of all the stupid things to be happening right now -

"Are either of you going to eat that?"

In an instant Blackwolf's mismatched ire-filled eyes settled upon the scrawny form of his lackey, Ratfur, the usual welling of bile in the back of his throat absent in light of no longer having to deal with Smokefur's behavior by himself. "The one and only time I'm actually pleased to see you - take off a piece of that grackle, Smokefur refuses to eat and I refuse to let a Medicine Cat die to prove a stupid point."

Her skills were replaceable. However, they weren't replaceable right now. It wasn't as if she had been training someone for moons who wasn't intent upon starving themselves; considering the season and the lack of medicinal knowledge any other NightClan cat had, Smokefur was a loss they wouldn't be able to make up for in a matter of days. Now that Ratfur was here, however, some of Blackwolf's anger dissipated, raw determination taking over his blue and golden gaze as he flicked his tail towards the hunger-weakened Medicine Cat.
"I'm going to hold her down, and you're going to force feed her that grackle." He informed his brand new accomplice, tone suggesting that Ratfur got neither a say nor a chance to back out of this.

Dark head swiveling, he walked closer to Smokefur, intending to press both large paws down upon her firmly if it would keep her in place. It was surprisingly fortunate that Ratfur was here. The lanky tom had smaller paws than the brawnier leader of the pack, and while Ratfur was considered a failure in everything but standing, it wasn't as if he was hugely clumsy. He may've been a hopeless hunter and fighter, but he had a certain grace about himself that Blackwolf completely lacked.

---

Word Count: 417
Notes:

[Deleted]

Smokefur was laying still as she could, she couldn’t stop her random muscle spasms and shaking however. The cold was partly to blame for the involuntary movements, and some of the other were due to the muscle fatigue she had endured from the lack of a meal for so long. She did her best to stop the motions however as they wouldn’t help her case as she tried to defend herself from Blackwolf, it was fruitless though as she knew she would be powerless to actually stop him from physically doing whatever he wanted. She did her best to hide behind her thin veil of authority her medicine cat status granted her, however as Ratfur entered the picture she was completely lost for words having no idea how the situation was going to end. “Go ahead-“ she said answering his question about eating the bird, however she was cut off by Blackwolf and as he said he would hold her down and ordered Ratfur to force feed her. A look of horror came across Smokefur’s face as a fear came over her she had not felt any other time during the conversation. “W-wait...” She mewed out in a quiet submissive tone as she rolled over onto her back to try for a less confrontational position, she squeaked softly as Blackwolf’s large paws were pressed down onto her chest. “L-let’s talk about this…”

[Phoenix]

He would not pretend that Blackwolf's opinion of a polite greeting had not stung, but far too many moons of weathering harsher insults dulled the blow. With his head lowered and jaws parted, about to wrap around the bird's small carcass in response to Smokefur granting him permission, he could do nothing but wince slightly and halt as the older tom turned his attention to him. Yellow-green eyes slowly rotated upward to give the black warrior a questioning look as he pulled back slightly, shutting his jaws with a snap. Large ears flicked as Blackwolf gave him instructions, the iron in his tone suggesting that Ratfur had no choice but to listen and obey. Nodding, looking for all the part a cowed feline, he lowered his gaze, agreeing quietly, "Alright, Blackwolf," and turned his attention back to the bird.

Placing a paw on the body, he clamped his jaws on a feathery wing, pulling at it until he felt the muscle give and the section part from the main carcass. Unbothered by the dismembered bird at his paws, he swung his wiry head around, eyes first finding the older tom before swiveling to pin Smokefur with a somewhat apologetic look. After all, it wouldn't do to appear as though he was enjoying this. As much as he thought she was replaceable, she was currently in charge of his well-being. Forced into silence by the wing in his mouth - a fact that he was indifferent to - he only watched as the darker, stronger warrior pinned the medicine cat.

Should he consider it an honor that he was the one to witness this odd display? Rarely did a warrior turn on his own medicine cat, and even if it was for her own good, it was not often that Ratfur, or any other cat, could see a warrior pinning his medicine cat. All things considering, he thought that Blackwolf was being rather gentle about it, as if he didn't want to hurt the she-cat's delicate frame. Never considered that for me, He mused darkly, eyes turning to look at the subject of his thoughts, waiting for the next direction. Of all the times he had been pinned by the stronger warrior - which consisted of every training session he remembered, and then some - he was sure that Blackwolf had not eased up on the smaller opponent. Being himself with no natural fighting ability whatsoever, all Ratfur could do was weather the blow and hope for the best.

With a twitch of an ear, he collected his thoughts and brought his focus back around to the present. It would not do to become lost in thought while he waited for Blackwolf's signal to either begin or back down.

[/blockquote]

[Fawn]

BLACKWOLF

Blackwolf signaled with an agitated flick of his tail for Ratfur to come closer, mismatched gaze locking onto the suddenly frightened she-cat. What, did she think he was going to kill her or something?

“L-let’s talk about this…”

The warrior snorted, lips curling back from his teeth in an expression of intense dislike - she had frustrated him to the point where being nice was not on today's itinerary. "You have one last chance, Smokefur. Either eat on your own, or we'll help you." He could feel her delicate rib-cage beneath his paws, the tom conscious to keep a majority of his strength in check, not wanting to do serious damage to the one cat who could heal them all.

Though this was likely to have nasty repercussions later, Blackwolf didn't care. She was being ridiculous, refusing food like that. He'd never seen a more pathetic, miserable way to try and end one's life before; weren't Medicine Cats supposed to be loyal to their Clans first and the rest of the forest second? So what if NightClan was stealing prey. They had to in order to survive; no one said she had to like it, but she'd made her first mistake trying to convince Ravenstar to stop it.

Her second mistake, was making NightClan look weak with her little scene back at the Medicine Cat gathering. She should have taken the fall for that one - lied and said she was sick, or that she had been overworking herself. Not that Ravenstar had punished her - the intimidation of a leader willing to put their only Medicine Cat in her place had not been the right message, in his opinion. It made Ravenstar come off as some sort of crazed dictator or something...

Smokefur's third mistake, was thinking him a tom who did not follow through with his threats, whose fear of StarClan outweighed his desire to survive. Yes he feared StarClan, but he feared a Clan without a proper healer more. He had siblings to look out for, and no stubborn Medicine Cat was going to get in his way.

---

Word Count: 385
Notes: Phoenix, xD you can have Ratfur edge in a little closer~ and wait for the final cue.

[Deleted]

The fear in the silver medicine cat’s eyes didn’t diminish at all, no it increased even more as Blackwolf spoke this new demeanor he had taken on scared the medicine cat. He was to the point where even committing treason didn’t seem to slow him down at all, she couldn’t possibly figure out what was driving him to force her to eat as she didn’t think he would miss her that bad if she did croak. She figured she could talk him down this was so out of character, or at least out of character for the Blackwolf she thought she knew but perhaps he wasn’t the cat she thought he was. “Y-you will both stand down, n-now!” She said trying to sound as authoritative as possible, and it wasn’t exactly a very convincing display either. She tried to stick to her guns though, even a bit shaken and scared she was sure that the toms wouldn’t go through with it.

[Phoenix]

In comparison to Blackwolf's commanding tone that clearly indicated that no argument could be made, Smokefur's attempt at an equally authoritative voice was pathetic. Not only did she stutter while voicing the command, her voice was not nearly as confident and steady as it should have been. Granted, she did have one of NightClan's bulkier warriors sitting on her chest and glaring down at her with mismatched eyes, and it was for that reason that he could not help but feel some pity for the smaller she-cat. Or was it empathy? He knew first-hand how intimidating the large black tom could appear, particularly when he was worked up about something, and he could relate to the slight quivering that automatically began when one was pinned with Blackwolf's less-than-pleased gaze.

At the same time, it seemed as though Smokefur had been asking for it. Perhaps she lacked an understanding of the older tom's motivation and could not comprehend why her own health was important, but it would have been simpler to appease Blackwolf and eat the stupid grackle. She could have avoided his irritation, whereas he seemed to earn it just by existing. Lucky me. Though he already knew that his companion would be equally unimpressed by Smokefur's attempt, green eyes flicked over to the other tom, assessing his expression and reaffirming his belief that he would not be given the order to back down.

Glancing back at the she-cat, he felt another flicker of empathy. While the fear in her eyes struck a chord inside of him, he was not about to back off. He had experienced Blackwolf's ire before and was not keen to do so once more. Besides, the role reversal was rather refreshing, and he found that he much preferred to watch another cat grovel and quake instead of being the scapegoat himself. He was not about to protest and risk being included in the multi-colored glare. Better the medicine cat than himself.

In any event, it sounded as though the she-cat had just thrown away her last chance to eat under her own power. In his opinion, that was a foolish mistake on her part, though it seemed like Smokefur was full of them that day. Small paws inched his wiry frame closer, his mouth nearly watering as the scent of the grackle filled it. He longed to swallow the wing and fill his own empty stomach, which growled softly in response of the proximity of such fresh food. Green eyes were locked on Blackwolf, waiting for the cue that would no doubt come.

[/blockquote]

[Fawn]

BLACKWOLF

A muscle in Blackwolf's jaw flexed, and his muzzle wrinkled into a snarl of distaste at the pathetic scene overall. "Maybe if you'd eaten it the first time I told you, you wouldn't be in this mess, eh Smokefur?" He remarked with such dryness, mismatched gaze aglitter like the chilly scales of a serpent.
What was she so scared for? The fact that control had been wrest out of her weak little paws and into the paws of two cats who were not afraid to resort to extreme tactics? The ebony warrior's tail swished and swayed behind him. If he'd been in her fur right now, he probably would have felt the same. Despite the understanding of where her fear was coming from, Blackwolf couldn't quite work up any such sympathy for her or this situation. He gave a curt nod of his head for Ratfur to step up and feed Smokefur the grackle.

He had to admit, the skinny brown tom was a highly efficient minion. Maybe he'd found something he was good at after all? Watching the lithe brown warrior-tom with sharp eyes, his attention was only dragged back down to Smokefur when he felt her shift beneath his heavy front paws as though in a last-ditch effort to try and wriggle free. Increasing the weight, Blackwolf growled a low, menacing note that resonated right out of his throat like the forewarning of a dragon about to breathe fire.

Was this considered treason? Holding your Medicine Cat down and forcefeeding her? It wasn't exactly listed in the Warrior Code as something you couldn't do - particularly when said Medicine Cat was being stubborn and neglecting her own code by being near-useless. Eh, Blackwolf could have all the time in the world to contemplate the wrongness of his actions after they were finished.

He didn't doubt that Smokefur would have quite a few choice words for him when her strength had returned, but he was more than prepared for that. After all - he'd be spitting venom if anyone had the audacity to do this to him.

---

Word Count: 357
Notes: None!

[Deleted]

Smokefur was lying on her back, the weight of the much heavier tom was still pressed into her chest pushing her down, holding her in place for the meal she was soon to be forced to ingest. The entire time she had been receiving her lecture from Blackwolf her eyes had been becoming wider and wider, she now was at the point where she was completely lost for words. She stuttered softly as she tried to find her voice, however nothing came out but what could easily be mistaken for a soft whimper or breath caused by the weight of the warrior holding her down. The silver medicine cat was trying her best to protest what came next, she would do everything in her power to try and prevent it from happening she would have promised to eat as soon as he was off of her so she could. However there was nothing she could say, so she remained silent as she looked back and forth between the two toms.