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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2018 17:35:28 GMT -5
Can you hear my heartbeat? Tired of feeling never enough...
Ever since helping Kindleflare take care of Firebird, Tigerkit had found himself more and more interested in the work of the medicine cat. At first he'd been hesitant to visit her again, afraid he would just be bothering her, and he knew her jobs was super important. He was sure she didn't have time to both with a silly kit. But he'd spent more time around Firebird since then, partly because he wanted to help the kind old she-cat, as well as the other elders, and partly hoping maybe he'd be able to help Kindleflare again.
When he hadn't been able to catch her at it for several days, he finally managed to work up enough courage to return to the medicine den. Kindleflare hadn't been mad, hadn't told him he was getting in the way. Which was good because he tried very hard NOT to be in the way, and even asked her about some of the herbs she was sorting. Since then he'd been a bit braver because Kindleflare was always so nice to him, and seemed to like telling him about all her herbs. At this point, he was pretty sure he could even say he was friends with the medicine cat.
He didn't really have any friends besides his sister. He didn't like playing with the other kits, they were too rough. And he knew they didn't like playing with him either, he always gave up right away and never fought back in their pretend battles, and he never wanted to go exploring around camp, afraid of getting under paw of the warriors and apprentices, getting into some place he shouldn't be, being a bother and making some cat angry. But the medicine den was safe. Kindleflare always welcomed him with a purr.
So he trotted quickly toward the medicine den now, hoping he could catch Kindleflare before she had to go out gathering herbs or something. Stopping at the entrance – he didn't want to just barge in and startle her – he breathed a sigh of relief that her familiar scent was strong and fresh, meaning she was definitely inside. He called out softly to alert her that he was there and slipped inside, feeling more at ease in the dark, herb scented den than he did out in the middle of camp, here where it was just him and Kindleflare, a cat he had come to know and trust. Stepping up beside her, he rubbed against one of her legs affectionately, purring softly, and stepped away with a look around, “You're not leaving any time soon, are you? I was... I was hoping maybe I could help you today.... But I can come back later if you're busy.”
He always said that, or something to that effect, even though she always seemed to have a little time for him. He looked up at her hopefully, half wishing he was an apprentice already so he could go with her gather herbs, and half relieved he wasn't, because that meant battle training, and to be honest exploring beyond the camp was more frightening than exciting. He knew what was out there from the elders' stories. Badgers. Foxes. Demon, the giant monster cat that gobbled up little kits that wandered too far from the nursery. He didn't want to go out there.
I close my eyes and tell myself that my dreams will come true. BlooRey DVD
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| Conquer the monster in your head, and then you'll fly |
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GaleClan Medicine Cat
INVENTORY
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Post by BlooRey DVD on Jul 2, 2018 7:56:23 GMT -5
 A quiet air hung about her den. The ginger and white she-cat took to humming softly to herself, some silly tune she'd concocted long ago about whatever herb she happened to be sorting at the time. Most days were rather uneventful for the she-cat, which was undoubtedly a good thing for the Clan, but... It did leave her feeling rather lonely. She only had a few visitors now, since her mother rarely felt well enough to wander as far as the medicine cat's den. Nightstep did his best to drop in now and again, but with a new family... Who could blame him for being busy?
And then there was Tigerkit. At the thought of the little tom, her heart warmed and a smile spread over her maw. He'd stopped by quite a few times since helping Firebird a while back, and she found his company welcome. He was young, timid, but beneath it all, curious. And he seemed to come out of his shell a little when he was in the dim light of the medicine cat's den. It made her indescribably happy to see him able to be a little more confident, a little more comfortable around her.
As if conjured by her thoughts, a familiar call broke the silence of the medicine cat den. He'd learned a specific method of garnering her attention without startling her in the last moon, another detail that warmed her heart. "T-Tigerkit!" She purred, returning his greeting by laying her muzzle on his head as he rubbed up against her leg. All the while, a steady purr rumbled from her chest, her tail waving joyously. His words had her shaking her head. "D-Don't be s-silly, I'm n-never too busy f-for my f-favorite visitor!" She told him, her tail swishing around to guide him.
Turning him around so he was tucked between her forepaws and facing the herbs she'd been sorting, the medicine cat continued to purr. "L-Look, I c-collected some h-herbs this morning, a-and one of those was p-poppy seeds. You c-can't see the seeds y-yet, because to obt-tain the seeds, you n-need to dry the f-flower. But r-right now the f-flower is still fresh. It's the b-bright red one h-here." She told him, using her right paw to gently push his towards the flower, making sure he shifted his weight off the paw before moving it too far from his center of gravity.
"S-See how s-soft it i-is? Y-You can touch the petals w-with your n-nose if you'd l-like. They're s-so thin, it a-almost feels like they a-aren't even there!" She rambled excitedly. This was far from the first time she'd handled a poppy flower. Simply, it was the first time anyone genuinely interested in her work was around to listen to her while she had a fresh flower. She paused a moment to let him grow more comfortable with the flower's properties, before leaning down and touching her nose to his ear warmly.
"H-How are you d-doing, Tigerkit? I-Is everything o-okay?" She asked, aware that she'd sort of leapt into her herbs rather than making sure the little kit was actually alright. She hoped nothing was askew in his young life. If something was, she'd do her best to try and solve it, she vowed silently to herself.  |
@zen Note: 58 moons old |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2018 13:38:25 GMT -5
Can you hear my heartbeat? Tired of feeling never enough...
His bob tail flicked happily as Kindleflare called him her favorite visitor. Doubts about coming to see her and being a bother washed away under her reassurance. He was always worried about getting in her way, but so far his visits only turned into learning experiences, with her often telling him about some herb or another she was working with at the time. Kindleflare's knowledge never ceased to awe the young tom. There were so many different herbs and she knew all about them. It was hard to wrap his mind around how one cat could know so much. Most cats had some sense of wonder over medicine cats, mostly for their connection to StarClan, but to Tigerkit the every day things a medicine cat did were just as amazing.
He allowed her guidance, settling between the ginger's she-cat's forepaws, as she explained what she'd been up to that morning. Pointing out the bright red flower, she told him about the process of getting poppy seeds. His ears pricked slightly as he recognized the name of the herb. Every cat knew what poppy seeds were. But how many of them knew how to harvest them? How many of them ever stopped to wonder where they came from? And how did the first medicine cats figure out how to use them? Or any herb for that matter? He peered down at the bright petals wondrously, shifting slightly as Kindleflare gently pushed his paw toward it and, when she gave him permission, leaning down to touch his nose lightly to the petals. They were soft.
He wriggled his nose a bit and sat up, glancing at Kindleflare, “How long do the flowers have to dry before you can get the seeds? How many seeds do you get from one flower?” He tilted his head down at the poppy, as if the flower were going to answer him, and bit back more questions that rose on his tongue so Kindleflare could answer the ones he'd already asked before he overwhelmed her with more. Where did they grow? Were they hard to find? How often did she have to collect them? He thought that if they were something needed often, maybe when he was an apprentice he could bring some back for her sometimes, if he ever found any while he was out hunting or... patrolling. His ears twitched back uncertainly at the thought of patrolling LightningClan's borders, meeting cats from the other Clans as enemies, and he pushed back into Kindleflare's fur unconsciously, taking comfort in her presence.
Her touch on his ear had him blinking out of his less than pleasant thoughts about his upcoming apprenticeship, and she asked if he was all right almost like she could read his mind. Maybe she could. Maybe StarClan told her what he was thinking. He stared down at his white paws, his tiny tail flicking apprehensively, “I... I'm scared.” Lynxkit was crowing every day about how they'd be apprentices soon, eager for the day, as ready for it as Tigerkit wasn't. It was likely he wouldn't escape the fate of apprenticeship for more than a few more days. And then what would he do? He'd have to train all the time, and hunt and patrol. Would he be able to spend time with Kindleflare like this anymore? That was a new thought, and he looked up at her with wide eyes, “I can still come visit you when I'm an apprentice, can't I? I....”
He hesitated again. The only cat he'd told about his desire NOT to be a warrior was Lynxkit. His sister reassured him, promised she'd help him, that when they were finally apprentices he'd be all right, he'd learn and he'd get over it. But Tigerkit didn't think so. He hadn't even told Russetfall. He didn't want to disappoint his father by admitting to being such a coward. But soon the whole Clan would know. He shifted and pushed his nose into Kindleflare's fur, “I don't wanna be a warrior. I don't wanna fight. I don't wanna hurt cats. I wanna help them... like you do.” He peered up at her mournfully, then down at his paws again, pressing close for comfort, waiting for her to say something like Lynxkit always did. His sister didn't understand. She wanted to be a warrior so badly, she couldn't even imagine another way of life. And really, Tigerkit couldn't either. He couldn't leave LightningClan, that would be even worse than being a warrior. What choice did he have?
I close my eyes and tell myself that my dreams will come true. BlooRey DVD
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| Conquer the monster in your head, and then you'll fly |
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GaleClan Medicine Cat
INVENTORY
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Post by BlooRey DVD on Jul 12, 2018 7:49:01 GMT -5
"W-Well, that a-all depends o-on how well y-you dry the f-flower before t-trying to harvest the seeds." She began answering his question. "N-Normally, you s-set the flower o-out in a g-good patch of s-sun, o-on a bit of a r-rise so it's w-well out of the w-way of Clanmates' p-paws. A t-trampled f-flower is n-no good, a-after all. I u-usually l-leave them out for a f-full day if I c-can. A half day can work t-too if the s-sun is hot en-nough." She explained. "A-As for h-how much... I-If I'm lucky, I c-can get a wh-whole season's w-worth of s-seeds from two or th-three flowers." She finished with a smile.
She always loved seeing the wonder and fascination in Tigerkit's eyes. It made her feel good to have someone interested in what she was doing. This wasn't to say she didn't have supportive members of her family. Just... Sometimes when she babbled on about her herbs, she could see her family's eyes spacing out slightly, not really understanding just what it was she was so excited about. But with Tigerkit, it felt... Different. He asked her questions about what she was talking about, proved to her that he so desperately wanted to know more.
Her train of thought was disrupted, however, as Tigerkit answered her question to him. Her deep amber eyes blinked momentarily in alarm as he revealed that he was scared. He continued, asking her if he could still visit her once he became an apprentice, and she felt her heart clench for him. "O-Of c-course you can v-visit me a-after you become a-an apprentice, T-Tigerkit. My d-den is a-always open to y-you." She murmured softly, doing her best to make her words comforting to him. She knew that once he started training, he'd become busier than he was now, and his visiting frequency would decrease.
She was surprised at the wave of disappointment that crashed over her at the thought. It would be strange to lose a routine and a bond that had become so natural to her in the last couple moons. And suddenly, he was trying to bury himself in her fur, and her heart broke for him all over again. Wrapping herself instinctively around the little tom, she pushed her nose reassuringly against the top of his head. "I u-unders-stand, Tigerkit. I r-really d-do." She told him, remembering all those moons ago when she'd gone through similar thoughts.
"I w-was a w-warrior b-before I was e-ever a medicine c-cat apprentice. I t-trained all th-those moons to e-earn my w-warrior n-name, but... I w-was never very good at it, and I n-never really enjoyed i-it. " She admitted. "I'm l-like you... I d-don't l-like hurting o-others. I don't like seeing others get hurt. A-And... And I w-was a-always in the s-shadow of m-my siblings." The medicine cat explained, pausing to rasp her tongue over a bit of unruly fur between the little tom's ears. "Sh-Shadewhisker w-was a loyal w-warrior, j-just like Fl-Flameshadow was. J-Just like my d-dad was. A-And... And I w-was growing u-up s-side by side w-with Nightstep."
She emphasized his name, like it meant something important to her, but she wondered if Tigerkit and Lynxkit would have heard of her brother's prowess yet. "H-He's o-one of my l-littermates, a-and he's extraordinary wh-when it c-comes to combat. Y-You should see the w-way he m-moves. He e-even once h-helped a warrior red-develop b-balance and c-combat skills a-after g-going b-blind in one e-eye. Understanding a b-battle and an op-pponent or a-ally is his f-forte. B-But me? I j-just wanted to h-hide under a r-rock and never s-set paw on a b-battle field ever."
Using her tail to complete the nest like shape she'd created around Tigerkit, the LightningClan healer continued softly. "A-And then, f-for some r-reason Rookfrost ch-chose me as his a-apprentice. R-Right out of the b-blue. There w-were o-other younger, m-more confident c-cats in the C-Clan, but... M-Maybe he d-didn't w-want to w-work with kits. I d-don't know. He j-just... Decided o-one day. I-If I'm h-honest, I didn't h-have much say i-in my a-appointment but... I th-thought that it at l-least c-couldn't be w-worse than b-being a warrior, r-right?" The ginger and white she-cat smiled gently at Firestar's son.
"I s-still c-can't believe it h-happens some days... I-It's like I expect to w-wake up and f-find myself in the w-warrior's den, like it w-was a-all a very l-long dream and I'm s-still j-just 15 m-moons old... B-But I th-thank StarClan e-everyday th-that I'm n-not. I thank th-them for m-making the decision t-to set me on a d-different p-path. And... Although R-Rookfrost o-often t-terrified me... I th-thank h-him too, f-for choosing m-me. For s-savin-" Her words cut off suddenly as her deep amber eyes w-widened in realization.
All the conversations with Flameshadow suddenly reared their heads and simultaneously collided within her. Her mother's voice found it's way into her head too. She'd been meaning to pick an apprentice for moons now. But her own terror at being charged with the responsibility of an apprentice had caused her to delay it for moons. Although the thought of having an apprentice still made her heart race uncomfortably, she suddenly realized she could save Tigerkit like Rookfrost had saved her. Tigerkit showed a genuine interest in herbs. He was gentle, put others before himself. He'd be perfect. "T-Tigerkit!" She squeaked, meeting his likely startled gaze with her own.
"W-Would... What do y-you th-think a-about... I m-mean, w-what if you c-could be m-my a-apprentice?" |
@zen Note: 58 moons old |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2018 1:40:36 GMT -5
Can you hear my heartbeat? Tired of feeling never enough...
Listening to Kindleflare explaining how she harvested the poppy seeds, Tigerkit gave her his full attention. All the different things Kindleflare had to do to make sure she had enough herbs for the entire Clan was a bit of a daunting task, especially considering she did it all by herself. Sure, she could ask an apprentice or warrior to help her gather herbs and carry them back to camp, but in his time with the medicine cat thus far he had learned that there was far more to it than just finding the herbs and bringing them back to camp.
Some herbs needed to be dried out, some needed to be kept fresh, sometimes the flowers or the leaves or the roots needed to be separated, and sometimes they went bad because they dried out or got moldy and then she had to separate out the bad from the good and find more to replace the bad stuff. There was a lot more work involved than any cat seemed to give the medicine cat credit for. When he'd tried to tell Lynxkit as much once, and explain all the different things that went into it, she just looked bored and quickly tried to get him to play a game with her instead. He hadn't tried to talk to her about herbs since.
He was glad at least when Kindleflare told him he could still visit her. Hopefully he would still have time for stuff like this. As she wrapped around him, he took comfort in the contact, and looked up at her in surprise when she said she understood. His eyes widened in shock. Kindleflare had been a warrior before she became a medicine cat? He didn't even know that was possible. Nor could he imagine gentle Kindleflare as anything but a medicine cat. The names of her siblings, Flameshadow and Shadewhisker, didn't sound familiar to Tigerkit. He knew of Nightstep though. The tuxedo tom was popular among kits and apprentices because of the stories of his battle prowess, and Nightstep's mate and kits had shared the nursery with him for several moons, so he had seen the tom visiting his family on occasion. And stayed out of his way. If he was such a great fighter, Tigerkit didn't want to risk making him mad.
He hadn't realized Nightstep and Kindleflare were littermates though. It was hard to imagine they were even related, considering how different they apparently were. But then, he and Lynxkit couldn't get much more different either. He found himself nodding along as she talked about wanting to hide rather than ever participate in a battle. He quite agreed. He settled against her side as she wrapped her tail around him, his curiosity about her story pushing his own concerns aside for the time being. But suddenly she cut herself off, and the silence that stretched out coupled with the strange look on her face was had him on edge. Had he done something wrong? “Kin-” He squeaked in alarm when she finally spoke again and it was his name she was exclaiming.
It took him a long moment to understand just what it was she was asking him and it had very little to do with her stuttering speech. First, there was relief that it appeared he hadn't done anything wrong, Kindleflare was just excited by a sudden idea. Then it dawned on him just what that idea was. He stared up at her with wide amber eyes, processing just what she was suggesting. Her apprentice? Kindleflare's apprentice? He could be... a medicine cat? He'd never thought about it before. In all the times he'd visited Kindleflare, it had just never occurred to him that it was even a possibility. But even medicine cats needed to take an apprentice, to pass on their knowledge. Medicine cats may be able to heal lots of things, but they couldn't prolong life forever. The thought that she would be training him to replace her when she eventually went to StarClan was an unnerving thought. And he didn't want to think about it anymore.
“I... I could...?” He studied his paws, still rolling the idea over in his mind. He didn't have to be a warrior. But medicine cats were so important... they took care of the whole Clan, and they did things no other cat could do. What if he messed up? He didn't want to be a warrior, but would he make any better of a medicine cat?
”I th-thought that it at l-least c-couldn't be w-worse than b-being a warrior, r-right?"
Kindleflare hadn't been confident about her place as a medicine cat either, but she was certainly capable now. He swallowed nervously, “I... I don't know if I'd be any good at it.... But... I'd like to try?” When he looked up again, there was a hesitant sort of determination hiding in his gaze, if you looked hard enough, “I want to make Russetfall and Firestar proud of me... and I want to help. I know I'd be a terrible warrior.... Hopefully... I think... with your help, I could be a good medicine cat... maybe. You've already taught me things... I'm sure you'd be a really great mentor. I promise I'd try my best to learn.”
I close my eyes and tell myself that my dreams will come true. BlooRey DVD
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