[Taxx]

Watch me, I'll make a name for myself

It had been Graywolf's idea. The sisters had been bored, lounging in the warriors' den but not able to sleep, and the gray she-cat had been the one to get that look in her eye, turn to Crowflame, and utter the words, 'I dare you.'

Crowflame had struggled to contain the amusement at the idea her sister hatched, muzzle buried into the pine needles of her nest, before she managed to calm herself, breathe, and nod. "Okay. Don't get in my way, though," she warned as she left the den, her bright blue eyes scanning the dim clearing to make sure there were no warriors hanging about. Except for the cats on the sunhigh patrol, NightClan was sleeping through the day.

Then, with another breath, the she-cat burst from the den and sprinted toward the medicine cats' den, hoping the wind would give her an appropriately ruffled look while her speed (and hopefully the fact that she'd be waking the medicine cats too) would work in her favor to convince them that something really was wrong.

Warriors shouldn't do this, she knew, but she was bored, and it wasn't like she had really hurt anyone. It was an attempt to liven up her day, Graywolf's, and even Shadowchaser's. Even if he got upset at her for claiming trouble where there was none.

"Shadowchaser!" Crowflame cried out as she hurtled into the medicine cats' den. "It's Bonetail! I don't know what- something's wrong! Hurry!" And she was gone again before the dark-furred tom had a chance to question her, because she knew she wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if he started asking exactly what was going on.

Crowflame

NightClan Warrior

I won't be just another face in the crowd

Fawn || Notes

[Fawn]

curiosity is not a sin...

...but we should exercise caution with our curiosity

Shadowchaser

A voice, high in the way that panic always was, called Shadowchaser from the depths of sleep. Spine arched, fur fluffed, he was the picture of alertness - the wild-eyed, heart-hammering kind. At once regaining possession of himself, Shadowchaser shook bits of moss off his nose and hastened after Crowflame. "I may need you to fetch some herbs for me, Smokefur will know which ones." Shadowchaser mewed, almost breathless from the quirk jolt from inactive to active.

He stepped into the warriors' den without pause, golden eyes adjusting to the even dimmer lighting. Sunlight illuminated the mouth of NightClan's subterranean camp, but the light could not stretch as far in as the dens. He didn't need it to spot Bonetail, stretched out on his side, his flank rising and falling evenly. Shadowchaser approached, pressing his paws to Bonetail's stomach, spine and the base of his neck for signs of anything out of the ordinary. "Bonetail, can you hear me?"

The cat groaned. Shadowchaser lowered his ear closer to Bonetail's muzzle, and felt breath tickle his ear. Puzzled, he tilted his ear away, frowning. One green eye snapped open, and Bonetail hissed. No words, just a single, disgruntled hiss over his sleep disturbed. The white-furred warrior abruptly rolled over, treating Shadowchaser as if he were no more than a pesky kit that had wandered out of the nursery.

"I don't care if you're a medicine cat, keep prodding me and I'll claw your ears off."

The truth dawning on him, Shadowchaser scowled through an apology. "My apologies, Bonetail, I read the situation wrong..."

Slowly, Shadowchaser's golden-eyed stare drew level with Crowflame, and he exhaled. Displeased. With a flick of a chestnut tail, Shadowchaser beckoned her outside the den.

medicine cat of nightclan

Taxx | jk rowling | background image | table by phoenix

[Taxx]

Watch me, I'll make a name for myself

Shadowchaser was quick to follow, and the brief glimpse she'd got of him before spinning around and darting out of the medicine cats' den again was enough to send amusement through her, with just the slightest prick of shame that she easily brushed aside. She didn't answer him in words, just nodded as they neared the warriors' den, and dropped back; peering through the entrance, she watched the dark-furred tom pad over to Bonetail.

It went about as well as she'd expected; her father was obviously displeased about being bugged, going so far as to outright hiss at Shadowchaser before ignoring him completely, and the younger medicine cat's gaze was quick to find Crowflame, the look in his eye one of irritation. Crowflame ducked back as he headed toward her, tail flicking in a silent show of his emotions, and flashed him her most winning smile as he emerged into the clearing- even as her whiskers quivered with barely suppressed laughter.

"He's okay, then?" she asked, her voice coming out half-choked. "I got worried- you know- he was just lying there, hardly moving..." She couldn't hold his gaze any more, blue eyes darting to the ground and staring with avid interest at a stray oak leaf caught in the branches of the warriors' den. "It was Graywolf's idea," she added on. "Not mine."

Crowflame

NightClan Warrior

I won't be just another face in the crowd

Fawn || Notes

[Fawn]

curiosity is not a sin...

...but we should exercise caution with our curiosity

Shadowchaser

Crowflame was struggling to hold back her laughter; he could read that even more clearly than he could read signs from StarClan. The medicine cat held firm, however; he would have been more willing to let this silliness slide if it weren't for his disturbed sleep and the unnecessary jolt of panic the prank had caused. "I don't care whose idea it was, Crowflame. It was a bad idea. What if I had wasted precious herbs, trying to 'cure' your father of an ailment that didn't exist? If anyone else had witnessed me running from the medicine cat's den as if the Dark Forest were on my heels, it would have caused a panic."

Shadowchaser's tail flicked, the unfamiliar, snake-like rhythm a true sign of his dwindled patience. Crowflame had enough maturity to look embarrassed, though, and Shadowchaser let up, sighing. "I don't mind a bit of fun and games, Crowflame. But not when games take it a step too far. I want you to change the bedding in the medicine cat's den, yes, all of them."

A sharpness returned to his gaze, something he unknowingly borrowed from his late father, Hollowcry. Echobreeze had never been much of a disciplinarian, but she hadn't needed to be; Hollowcry's steady authority held firm. The medicine cat waited for her murmur of confirmation. Am I being too hard on her? Given the season? No. Given the fox attacks that were still too fresh in mind? No. Given Foxstar's concerning health? No, not at all.

medicine cat of nightclan

Taxx | jk rowling | background image | table by phoenix

[Taxx]

Watch me, I'll make a name for myself

The lecture was expected, and while she knew she couldn't just walk away in the middle of it, if only because if she did then Shadowchaser might tell someone else who she couldn't walk away from, she didn't have to look at the tom as he spoke. Her eyes rolled. It hadn't been that big of a deal; he hadn't used any herbs and there was nobody around to see him, so his arguments against her doing this were about as convincing as someone trying to tell her mice could fly.

Until he mentioned cleaning out the medicine den, and then her gaze shot up to meet the tom's. Her mouth opened, breath drawn to ask 'why?' before she swallowed that stupid question. "Now?" she asked instead, a hint of hope in her tone that he might mean later and then forget, but he nodded, a firm but wordless response, and she knew there was no getting out of this. Graywolf was so going to owe her. Rising back to her paws, Crowflame headed across the camp to the medicine den to begin the task, muttering under her breath as she obeyed the Clan's medicine cat.

Crowflame

NightClan Warrior

I won't be just another face in the crowd

Fawn || Notes