[Fawn]

⇒Medicine Cat of LightningClan⇐

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Tedious was the morning for the healer who had to rise at dawn just to begin the in-depth health-check of the entire Clan. Rookfrost, as a force of habit to minimize the hours spent in unproductive (but necessary) sleep, always awoke early and retired early, unless certain circumstances kept him out into the midnight hour.

The previous night had suffered no such circumstances, fortunately, and thus he was conscious and mentally prepared for the strenuous day ahead. His apprentice, Kindleflare, had been thoroughly forewarned that they would start at first light of dawn; Rookfrost did not take it upon himself to wake the ginger feline. She was responsible for herself; he would not waste precious time pretending to be a doting mother, making sure she was out of her nest and fully fed.

Rookfrost stepped out of his den, making a small note of the dawn patrol in the groggy processes of forming and departing. Redscar, if he had any concept of efficiency, would send the patrol to him as soon as they returned.

It was wisest to start with the warriors, and then the apprentices, with lastly the queens, kits and elders. The latter groups were not crucial to Firestar's plans for war, and thus there was no immediate need for health assessments of the elderly, feeble and prenatally occupied.

Rookfrost's icy gaze was matched by a clear blue stare from across the camp clearing, and though he expected the other tom to look away (most cats did), this one held his stare. And worse still, was approaching.

With withering internal disdain, Rookfrost recognized the white warrior as Icewhisker, the bane of his existence before Blazefang had even been conceived.

Withholding acerbic thoughts that involved digging an unmarked grave and getting away with murder, Rookfrost flicked his tail for the white cat to stop in front of him.

Another cat had appeared behind Icewhisker, and Rookfrost expected them to wait their turn. As much as he would prefer a streamlined, quick process, Rookfrost prided himself on a certain standard of excellence. He wanted this irritating feline in his presence the same way he wanted a flea infestation in his fur, but for the sake of his concept of diligence and work ethic, he would be thorough.

Rookfrost began with the standard set of questions around Icewhisker's senses, balance and any physical abnormalities he might have noticed. Already the cat was uttering something banal about the black color of his fur and his apparent colorblindness, which Rookfrost, for sanity's sake, ignored.

This was going to be a very tedious morning.

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

Word Count: 436 Words
Tags: BlooRey DVD , Phoenix (Icewhisker reference! XD)

[BlooRey DVD]

[smear:f78216]Kindleflare[/smear:f3e4d7]

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Bright, orange yellow eyes flashed open as the sunlight flickered through the den's entrance. Unlike her spectre of a mentor, the perpetually alarmed-looking she-cat did not trust herself to wake at a reasonable time. For this reason, she kept her nest close to the medicine cat den's entrance. This way, she was sure to wake in the earlier hours of the morning, or at the very least, when Rookfrost moved to exit the den. Ears pricked forward for signs of life, rotating just slightly as LightningClan's shadowy medicine cat slipped by her into the early morning light beyond.

Pushing herself to her paws, Kindleflare allowed a small shiver of anticipation to rock her. She still had much to learn, and she could swear her apprenticeship to Rookfrost was wreaking havoc on her lifespan. Her heart hammered at a million miles a minute whenever his sharp, yet empty eyes locked on her. She felt as though the world were about to end every time he called her name. This morning, he seemed to be leaving her to her own devices. Another one of his tests, no doubt. She had come to realize early on that Rookfrost was about efficiency and purposefulness.

He was not going to ensure she was feeling alright with every lesson; a soft sigh escaped her lips. Ignoring the slight pressure in her stomach, she followed in the steps the dark feline had taken not long ago. She could eat later in the morning. She feared nothing would stay in her stomach if she tried to eat just yet. Pausing just outside the den, her orange eyes flicked over the line already forming in front of the black tom cat. Her tail tip twitched just so, an attempt to mask the slight tremble trying to take over her.

It was here that a familiar black and white pelt slipped from the crowd. Her brother, Nightstep moved away from Rookfrost's line, his sharp yellow eyes focused on her. She could feel her pelt warm dramatically, leaving the timid she-cat to stumble forward. Quickly closing the distance between them, she settled to her paws a few tail-lengths from Rookfrost. One ear pivoted toward her mentor, picking up on the questions he was asking his patients. O-Okay... Questions... I c-can do that... She told herself as firmly as she could manage. Releasing the breath she had not realized she'd been holding, the medicine cat apprentice glanced up at her brother.

Offering him a timid smile, she nodded her head to him. Knowing she would want to talk to him for hours if she allowed him to start speaking, she cleared her throat softly and dove into the questions. "H-Have you noticed a-any... Issues relating to balance in recent days?" She listened carefully to Nightstep's response. She continued down the list of questions she had heard Rookfrost go over, evaluating her brother's responses each time. Once satisfied with her oral assessment, she pushed up from her seated position. "I'm g-going to check f-for any outward s-sign of fever." She explained.

Pressing her nose to his forehead, the tip of his ear and lastly his flank, she checked each for any outward sign of abnormally high temperature. Satisfied, she moved on to glancing over his frame for any signs of wounds. She noticed he seemed steady on his paws, and was not spending time favouring one side or the other. With her mental checklist completed, she stepped back on shy paws, nodding her thanks to the tuxedo tom. "Th-thank you for your patience, Nightstep. You may p-proceed with your duties." The tom smiled at her and responded with his own thank you, before moving past her.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she let her tail wrap around her paws as she dropped into another sit. Orange eyes flashed up to greet the face of her next patient.