[Hellion]

Firesky LightingClan Deputy Fifty-Two Moons ### WORDS Fawn NOTES After the border clash with TC

The clawing that had tore into her shoulder had just finished the scabbing part of the healing, the fresh new skin underneath was pale and would most likely leave behind pretty decent scars had prompted the deputy to give her gratitude to the dark colored medicine cat. She departed from her spot in the sun and found herself waiting just outside his den. Taking the time to ponder her relationship with the tom she felt as if they were far from friends and hardly allies, there was something dark in his eyes, however she had a task to fulfill. With her short stump of a tail pointed upward the deputy made her way into the den, clearing her throat as she did so. "I came to offer you my service as a way to say thank you for taking care of my wounds. I can join you and carry herbs or provide an escort in the future, but you must allow me to show you proper thanks." There was a conviction in her voice and left no room for him to decline her offer. It was important to her that she helped out the tom cat despite her uneasy feeling toward him. Firesky waited for his reply, her eyes scanning the den around her.

HAYANA OF CAUTION 2.0

[Fawn]

⇒Medicine Cat of LightningClan⇐

---

It was always an inconvenience to have someone announce that they were going to be accompanying you while you completed your daily chores, and they clearly wouldn't take no for an answer. Rookfrost was not the leading expert in 'normal social reactions', but he had a hunch that if Firesky was not the deputy, and had so pointedly insisted on helping out a Clanmate with no room for argument, the response she would've received would be far from welcoming. However. She was the deputy, he was the medicine cat, and though he had proved himself incredibly capable as a warrior prior to having found his calling in the medicinal field, he was forced to oblige her.

"There is no need, I was only doing my job. It seems you have left me no choice, however, so I accept your offer." Oh how strange those words felt on his tongue; he didn't feel grateful to her at all, but he also didn't feel like revealing just how deep his soullessness truly ran, so he would efficiently place his true feelings behind a wall of superficial cooperation and orderliness.

Ah. It was times like these where he solemnly regretted not letting a few of his Clanmates die from their injuries; why did they feel the need to 'even the score' or 'express their profound gratitude' in ways that were of great inconvenience to him? Yes, he supposed it was incredible that he had pulled them from the brink of death (considering there were so few in the Valley who were qualified to do so), but was all of this... emotion really necessary? It wasn't. Not in the icy eyes of the healer, not in the icy soul of the healer, not in the cold, cunning mind of the self proclaimed 'specialist.'

"We're out of blackberry leaves." The jet black tom's tail swept from one side to the other before a steady pace was set in the direction of the meadows. Blackberry leaves weren't what he would call the 'height of feline medicine' and of 'grave importance', in fact, they only served the function of soothing bee stings, not curing sickness or acting as a stopping agent for bleeding wounds. Its limited uses aside, Rookfrost did not like having low herb stocks, so he felt compelled to collect them while they were still in season than simply go without.

He would undoubtedly look odd being surrounded on all sides by wildflowers and herbs in full bloom, and he quietly resented the sickly sweet aroma of so many flowering plants in one area. It irked him. Though he valued his sense of smell for many obvious reasons, it was an important part of fulfilling his role as medicine cat and fulfilling his extracurricular activities as a specialist, there were times when he toyed with the idea of giving himself congestion just to avoid obnoxious situations like this.

Funny how the smell of decay was preferable to the black healer than a field full of buttercups.

---

No wealth no ruin no silver no gold. Nothing satisfies me but your soul.

Word Count: 525 Words
Tags: Hellion

[Hellion]

Firesky LightingClan Deputy Fifty-Two Moons ### WORDS Fawn NOTES BLABLA

Firesky felt it, the former warrior did not want her help but Firesky had nothing else better to do at the moment. His formal way of accepting her help didn't ease the feeling within the calico's pelt but she nodded all the same. There was something off about the dark colored tom that haunted the camp like a foul stench. The deputy hadn't found the courage within her to bring up her uneasy feeling about the medicine cat to Redstar, but perhaps with enough evidence she would in the future. She watched him with narrowed eyes, her attention was on him but at the same time she attempted to appear interested instead of calculating. "Lead the way, I can carry them back for you." She answered to his statement about the leaves. Her knowledge of herbs was minimal but she was capable of guessing where the leaves would be. The direction he was leading her had filled her nose with sweet scents of flowers. Memories of her younger moons with Russetfall quickly flooded her head. Even later memories of bringing her young kits to play in the flowers formed within her head. The scent of the flowers would forever remain a positive note on the she-cats senses and useful to ground her when she felt overwhelmed. "Do you find it difficult to keep the herb stocked up?" She asked as a way to make polite conversation as he lead the way. Perhaps if she felt like she knew the tom more she'd feel less uneasy around him.

HAYANA OF CAUTION 2.0

[Fawn]

⇒Medicine Cat of LightningClan⇐

---

Rookfrost had a preference for silence. It was easy to declare that he had a certain abhorrence for unnecessary noise, as a result; trifle questions seemed to fall into that category, but he answered regardless. Lamenting what could have been a peaceful walk to the meadows, the jet black tom flicked an ear back as though to catch Firesky's question hanging in the air between them. "In light of Snowheart's death," he began in a clipped, quiet tone and pace, "I find it a greater task than if I still had assistance." Even when the snow white tom had been alive, it was not as though they ventured out into the woods together, tails twined, off to strip leaves and dig up roots as though the best of friends.

As the more senior healer, Rookfrost had collected the herbs as he saw fit, and Snowheart had been forced to look after the remainder—an arrangement that suited him just fine. Until the fluff-headed little fool decided to follow him. He could remember now, that low, sickening jolt in his stomach when he'd realized he was no longer alone; that seed of hate planted in his heart when he saw who had dared track him here, in his private haven. Call him hypocritical if you will, killing a cat whose curiosity got the better of him, but Rookfrost could not afford to be fair and understanding when it came to intrusion. As high as he placed curiosity, as much as he would encourage intrigue and the solving of medical mysteries if Snowheart had ever shown the slightest talents for doing so, the white tom's life had been unceremoniously snuffed out like a firefly the moment he'd arrived at the hollow.

Snowheart had not disappeared like the others. He was not added to the garden of bones near Rookfrost's hollow; a violent tussle with a fox had been staged (he had enough vulpine bits and pieces to make this sufficient), and he had limped back to camp, Snowheart's dirty, bloodied pelt clutched between his teeth.

He had needed it to fit the pattern of 'normal fatality'. Too many unexplained disappearances, and the Clan would become suspicious, just as Firesky may be at this exact moment... With the intent of changing the subject, Rookfrost added in a quiet tone, as though an afterthought. "Your assistance is most helpful. As I understand it, Weaselpaw is under your tutelage? I have advised a stricter hygiene routine for him in the hopes of improving his condition. Have you noticed a difference in behavior and appearance?"

Though he had ulterior motives for directing the flow of conversation onto Firesky's own apprentice, that wasn't to say he wasn't curious about Weaselpaw's progression. It was an interesting case study; mildly interesting, nearly on the cusp of not being interesting at all, but it engaged his fondness for problem-solving, which was enough.

---

No wealth no ruin no silver no gold. Nothing satisfies me but your soul.

Word Count: 495 Words
Tags: Hellion

[Hellion]

Firesky LightingClan Deputy Fifty-Eight Moons ### WORDS Fawn NOTES BLABLA

She was reminded of Snowheart's death with a tone of voice that made her think Rookfrost was speaking of the weather. It didt not make her felt comfortable around him but there was little she could do in the moment. "It must be a sad to know that a cat that you train died." Firesky commented about Snowheart. Her thought came to her first apprentice, he was a clever warrior and done quite well for himself. She hasn't seen much of Weaselpaw and that was her fault. It was hard to make a cat train when they had bene faced with so many health issues, how can you train the sick? Firesky remembered the reek of fox on Snowheart's pelt, it was likely he didn't stand a chance against the vile creature. It was luck that Rookfrost was able to find Snowheart's remains. Her short tail flicked, her paws keeping up well with Rookfrost as he lead the way. It was not a surprise that Rookfrost brought up her apprentice. "I admit I haven't been training him much. I do not know the details of his condition and I feel that makes me a poor mentor." She answered with a downward glance. Her failure for her apprentice had the deputy feeling uncomfortable but there wasn't much she could do at the moment. Perhaps Rookfrost had some insight.

HAYANA OF CAUTION 2.0

[Fawn]

⇒Medicine Cat of LightningClan⇐

---

"It must be a sad to know that a cat that you train died."

Sad was hardly the emotion he'd apply to the end result of Snowheart's service to LightningClan. If anything, he felt only relief at having another of Dovesong's kin finally out of his fur with no chance, short of a phenomena, of ever returning to the medicine cat's den. When the relief had subsided, the black tom had been briefly consumed with dislike over wasted efforts; though required to teach Snowheart how to function in his unique role within the Clan, Rookfrost hadn't enjoyed it. Difficult to derive any sort of satisfaction from their training sessions when he reviled his former pupil when he wasn't too busy ignoring him.
"It is always a stark reminder of how nondiscriminatory death can be," Rookfrost did his best to sound rueful, "When lives are lost so early in their life cycles."

Deeming this a satisfactory response to what was likely supposed to be a 'heartfelt moment' of such profound sentimentality, it would make him shed tears for a cat he had never been particularly close to. Alas, the icy pale eyes were dry as a winter sky as his gaze swung away from the tortoiseshell she-cat with the snubbed tail to examine the surrounding environs. It took little time or effort to identify the serrated edge of the noticeably green leaves a few foxlengths ahead of them, and though his task-oriented mind demand that he stride forward to begin the collection process, the small sphere of his brain reserved for being 'socially conscious when required', turned to the Clan's deputy instead.

He recognized that look of guilt crossing the she-cat's face, despite never having actually felt such an emotion himself. "In light of recent circumstances, reacquainting yourself with your apprentice seems like a reasonable course of action. Before the Clan begins to question his usefulness; winter will inevitably arrive. The Clan cannot afford idle, poorly trained paws." While they were a horde of sentimental fools in fur, even LightningClan could recognize uselessness when it was eating their prey and sleeping in their den without contributing to the greater whole.

Rookfrost was the last cat in the valley who wished to give advice on apprentices and the relationships that existed between them and their mentors, but he understood that he was expected to give counsel. So he gave it. Without further comment, he turned to delicately remove a few mouthfuls of blackberry leaves, his clean white teeth severing them at the stem. The lack of cutting precision of his own bicuspids irritated him, but only briefly. There was little he could do to change it.

---

No wealth no ruin no silver no gold. Nothing satisfies me but your soul.

Word Count: 462 Words
Tags: Hellion

[Hellion]

Firesky LightingClan Deputy Fifty-Eight Moons ### WORDS TAG NOTES BLABLA

feeling about Rookfrost. Her gut feeling about him wasn't anything more than a feeling and even if she was deputy it wasn't her place to confront him. Redstar seemed to trust the strange medicine cat and thus Firesky felt it was also her duty to trust him as well. Her lack of tail made flicking it difficult but it wagged a few moments as she watched him collecting the herbs. There wasn't a moment to interject anymore forced conversation so she remained silent as he worked. Rookfrost's words about her apprentice had the she-cat again nodding in agreement. He didn't utter any concerns about the healthy of the tom and in that moment she figured it was safe to say he was healthy enough to return to his regiment of becoming a warrior. "We will survive this leafbare and many more to come." She spoke to him in the tone of a proud and loyal deputy. LightingClan would no falter and crumble, they would live on for many moons. "Shall we return to camp?" She asked after what she thought was enough time for the tom to gather what he needed. Her amber eyes watched him for any sign of disagreement.

HAYANA OF CAUTION 2.0