Of Herbs and Bright Eyes

[˚Reason˚]

Swansong


They were whispering to her again. The there but really not cats. The ones that haunted her relentlessly; well maybe haunt isn't the right word. There were not irritating in the slightest, well not all of them. Swansong visualized different cats with their own personalities and backgrounds. She doesn't bother asking them about their lives just listen to them whisper listlessly around her like the wind in the grass.

HE SAYS I HAVE ALL THE REASON THE BE SCARED

The current WindClan medicine cat was sitting her den sorting through her herbs like she usually did, a dreamy and far-away look on her face. The earthly smells of herbs wafted over her lovingly and aided with the soft green leaf breeze that wafted through the entrance of the Medicine Cat Den. The she cat sigh and sifted to a more comfortable position where her bright white tail wasn't in the marigold leaves she had collected earlier that morning. It must have been sun high by now but Swansong had yet to emerge from her den; though she was highly unaware to this. To her it felt like only moments had pasted since she exited the damp heat of the morning sun.

Hi there
You can't see me, but I can see you

[/color]

The medicine cat finally straightened her spine and yawned. She glanced sleepily out at the light coming into the den and sighed. She had to to see any injured cat today and was getting rather bored of constantly sorting her herbs. Swansong stretched, her claws slipping from their confinements and piercing the air before retreating. Climbing back onto her paws she trotted over to her nest and fell into it with a little huff. A small giggle tickled the hairs on her nape made Swansong glance over her shoulder to see a dark tabby tom cat with frost blue eyes. The young apprentice giggled again and leaped over the medicine cat only to crumble to dust in mid jump.

It's not your imagination
That sound
Is me

[/color]

Swansong blinked curiously at the sight before glaring. It wasn't an unusual sight for the she cat; actually it occurred on a daily basis. Swansong enjoyed the company that couldn't match any other cat, but she was having troubles determining between a real vision that could actually mean anything to her clan and one of her illusions. Swansong curled in on herself, closing her amber eyes and covered her face with her tail.

She was broken out of her mood by a concern mewl. Swansong glanced up, and saw the tabby apprentice from earlier. The tom sat down delicately in front of her, his bright blue eyes looking at the medicine cat in concern. "What's the matter, Swany?" Asked the young cat, tilting her head to the side in concern. Swansong smiled faintly at the apprentice as she uncurled herself and got to her paws. "Nothing that should concern you, my dear." She meowed softly, brushing her tail against the tabby's pelt, but only feeling air. The tabby purred at the treatment and leaned into it. [/size][/center][/color]

[gray]

Grayfur

Forever changing where we're at,
Plotting, scheming, hoping, dreaming
Two steps forward, one step back.

The long furred grey tom had been hunting a rabbit across WindClan's moors, paws pushing him across the ground when his paws had slammed down on a thorny vine. Grayfur had been distinctly irritated about it, and still was. Not only had the thorn ended up stuck in his paw, he'd lost the rabbit too. So that whole hunting excursion had not only been a total waste of time, Grayfur had also come out of it with a thorn embedded in his paw. "Mousedung!" The gray tom spat, which was probably the first thing that he had said all day, and it had been while he was all alone, no less.

Grayfur's tail twitched irritably and he glared in the direction of the rapidly disappearing rabbit. That could have been lunch! But instead, Grayfur had lost it because of that stupid thorny . . . thing. Looking distinctly irritable, Grayfur batted at it lightly with his paw, pushing it slightly aside. "Mousedung." He muttered again, this time less irritably, and glanced in the direction of WindClan's camp. This, he figured, called for the Medicine Cat, Swansong's expertise. It had been a long time since Grayfur had had any reason to visit the Medicine Cat's den.

With another twitch of his long furred gray tail, Grayfur turned and though he did limp slightly as he made his way back to Camp, Grayfur mostly didn't react to the injury. However, it was rather painful and Grayfur would really rather that Swansong look over it than he try anything on his own and get it infected or something. He'd had an infected injury once or twice, and it wasn't very fun. If possible, Grayfur would prefer to avoid that. And Swansong didn't really require him to talk much, which was nice too. Grayfur didn't like talking very much. He preferred to be silent, and Swansong seemed to respect that.

When Grayfur reached WindClan's camp, he shook himself slightly, closing his eyes for a moment and opening his jaws in a massive yawn before he padded on into the camp, eyes half-slitted. No one greeted him, which allowed Grayfur to make his way to the Medicine Cat's den in silence.

He cleared his throat politely when he was standing about a bodylength away from Swansong, trying to ensure that she didn't think he was sneaking up on her. If he wasn't wrong, Grayfur had just heard her talking to someone. Her apprentice? Or maybe another warrior or something. Grayfur's gaze flicked around curiously, but when he didn't see anyone, Grayfur simply shrugged it off. He didn't care enough to ask any questions. Instead, Grayfur simply flicked his tail and waited for Swansong to notice him. Now that he'd reached the medicine cat's den and wasn't walking any longer, Grayfur was in no hurry. Swansong could take her time.

"speaking" and thinking[/i]

[/size][/blockquote][/center]

[˚Reason˚]

The white she cat entertained herself by watching the tabby cat flick his paw uselessly at a ball of moss by the side of the den when the illusionary cat looked behind Swansong with a meow of greeting before turning his eyes back to the ball of moss, which was far more entertaining in her own opinion. Swansong's turned her head slowly to see another cat having entered her den without her notice. The frail she cat whirled around her amber eyes glittering in welcome as she bowed her head soundly to the tom in front of her.

"Welcome Grayfur, it is nice of you to visit me, unless there is something I may help you with?" The white she cat asked in her usual dreamy tone. As a secondary instinct, Swansong check the smaller gray tom for any injuries. Swansong always did this out of habit when she came face to face with another clan mate, something her mentor had drilled into her head relentlessly. With quick ease that only a medicine cat could have Swansong spotted the tom's paw being held awkwardly above the ground. Swansong's mind went into overdrive. Was it broken? No, there were no abnormalities that she could spot that would tell a broken bone. So then was it fractures? Possibility, but unlikely due to the lack of panic or pain showing on Grayfur's face. Swansong knew fractured bones hurt more than broken ones. A sprained paw? More likely, but from the way that Grayfur could swing the paw as he limped told the medicine cat that it was also unlikely. Most likely conclusion: scratch on the underside of the paw from a rock or sharp stick.

Out of common politeness, Swansong let out a small gasp and asked "Oh dear! What happened to your paw, Grayfur?" She made her way closer to the tom already running herbs through her mind. Vaguely, the white cat heard a sing-song voice coming from behind her. "Hehe, silly kitty got his paw hurt! But don't worry! Swany is here to save the day! After all, Swany loves all the cats in WinClan very much!" The tabby tom cat came into view and sat beside Grayfur, his tail flicking playfully. Swansong watch with slight amusement as the tabby tom stared at Grayfur for sometime before trotting back to sit next to Swansong and adopted the same pose as the medicine cat and puffed out his chest.

((OOC: SWAN. WHY ARE YOU SUCH A SHERLOCK-CAT?! DEDUCTING SUCH THINGS WITHOUT NEEDING TO ASK QUESTIONS. GRAYFUR, WILL YOU BE THE JOHN WATSON TO MY SHERLOCK?))

[ravenclaw]

Evening was approaching quickly as Smokepaw returned to camp with a mouthful of yarrow and another bundle of the herb under his chin. He didn't like yarrow, but he and Swansong were dangerously low on it, and his own paws were cracked and aching. He remembered Hawkfur telling him once that yarrow made an excellent poultice for sore pads and aching pads. As he neared the entrance to the medicine den, he heard another warrior go in. The scent told him it was Grayfur. He flicked his tail once and pushed his way into the clearing, hearing Swansong asking what happened to Grayfur's pad. Smokepaw dropped his load of yarrow in a corner to be put away before speaking. "Sounds like he stepped on the thorn, and guessing with the scent of blood it must've split the pad." Smokepaw mewed. He padded over to his stock of cobweb. "Grayfur, get over here so I can dress it." Smokepaw instructed, grabbing some of the cobweb. He sighed as he didn't hear any footsteps.

Instead, Smokepaw hobbled over to Grayfur on three paws and sat on his haunches, balancing perfectly and lifted Grayfur's pad. He swept his tail across the yarrow leaves and quickly put it in a poultice. He rubbed it on Grayfur's pad and put cobweb over it to help keep the yarrow on. "Alright, you should be good. Come back tomorrow so I can check on it, please." Smokepaw concluded and put his forepaws on the ground. He flicked his tail, dismissing the warrior, and went to a small pool in the corner of the medicine clearing to wash off his paws. He wasn't sure if Grayfur had gone, but his patience had run out with Swansong. He whipped around to face her, his black pelt bristling to make the small apprentice look quite large. "You should have treated his pad instead of talking to yourself and invisible cats! Why didn't you? What if it got infected while you were muttering to some cat that didn't exist? Huh, what then Swansong?" Smokepaw snapped, his blue eyes must've been blazing with annoyance and anger, because his pelt felt hot with rage.

Then he collected his thoughts and sighed. "Look, I get that you like to talk to yourself Swansong, but then wasn't the right time to do so. You had a patient and you seemed to ignore his needs. StarClan knows if its infected, why didn't you treat it?" Smokepaw's voice was gentle, as if he were the mentor and Swansong was the apprentice. "By the sounds of it, you were just sitting there staring at Grayfur. You can't do that. You have to help your clanmates get better, not look at them all day and wait for the wounds to heal themselves. It doesn't work that way. Now get to sleep, we have to collect water mint and catmint tomorrow. We got plenty of catmint, but StarClan knows we'll probably run out half way through leaf bare, and you and I both know how dangerous that can be." Before Swansong could say anything more, Smokepaw padded to Hawkfur's old nest in the cleft in the rock at the back at the clearing. He circled in it a few times before settling down. "Good night, Swansong." He mewed before falling into a light sleep.

Notes: Sorry if he sounds a bit harsh, he is just used to being on his own. xD
Muse: Acceptable

[˚Reason˚]

Swansong
Medicine Cat of WindClan

[/color]

Swansong was looking imploringly at Grayfur when she was distracted by the entrance of Smokepaw, her apprentice. The white she cat watched the young tom carefully, she was rather wary around her apprentice due to his bitterness since his last mentor's death. She flickered the end of her tail warily as she sat down on her hunches and flickered her amber eyes back to Grayfur, before turning back to Smokepaw. She noticed he held some yarrow in his jaws. "Thank you, Smokepaw, for getting some more yarrow." She meowed gently, a small smile on her jaws. It quickly evaporated from her face when Smokepaw completely ignored his mentor and went straight to Grayfur. Her eyes narrowed when he ordered Grayfur around like a kit rather then a warrior. Her ears pinned themselves to the back of her head as she watched her apprentice put some yarrow on the paw then seal it off with cobwebs. Swansong's eyes darted to Grayfur's face to look for any signs of pain that the warrior might have displayed before getting to her paws once again to check over Smokepaw's work. She nodded in approval and turned her attention to Grayfur. "Thank you for coming, Grayfur. Any longer in there and it may have become a serious problem. If you should notice anything odd, such as swelling or odd smell, you are more than welcome to seek my company for additional attention. If the pain bothers you too much, I will apply some comfrey to help sooth it." She meowed in the voice she used on all her patients, a calm and steady voice that she found helped sooth any worries they may have.

She was startled when Smokepaw whirled around to address her in such a brash manner that made her ears swivel forward once more and the fur on the back of her neck raise in surprise. That did it. Swansong turned slowly to look at her blind apprentice with dark eyes. He's young. He's young. He's young. Don't be too harsh on him. She repeated in her mind, trying to soothe her own irritation, but it didn't deter her words any. "You need to understand Smokepaw that being a medicine cat is more than just healing! Our clan members, even the clan leader, will seek us out because they trust us more than any cat! We are the cats chosen by StarClan that must help guide our clan from a distance! And that requires every cat's complete trust and faith! We won't gain this trust by acting superior than other cats. We are meant to heal wounds, soothe worries and keep faith in StarClan burning." By the end of her speech, Swansong's voice had softened, her eyes had a far away look as she spotted the tabby apprentice hissing darkly from her side. The small tom cat's blue eyes were glaring daggers at the black tom.

Swansong felt the guilt start to lap at the corner of her mind and brushed its aside darkly. Her fur flushed darkly as she glanced behind her to see if Grayfur. StarClan help her if word got out that the medicine cat and her apprentice didn't get along, there would go that trust and might even cause a rift in the clan. Swansong shook her fur and raised her head once again, gazing at Smokepaw as she exhaled.

"I understand Smokepaw, and I apologize if you think my ability to take care of my clan will be obscured by my connection with StarClan." Swansong hissed out coolly, before internally groaning. I'm pretty sure that isn't how a normal cat tries to reconcile with another cat.

"Ugh, look, Smokepaw. We're supposed to be a team, I won't always be around to help you heal cats. I, too, will die eventually and hunt in StarClan. Let's just concentrate on me teaching you how to heal, and I can only hope StarClan teaches you the rest. Then I'll name you a proper medicine cat and you won't ever have to see me again. We can make you a different den if you wish, StarClan knows! Maybe I'll just step down from being a medicine cat and join the elders early!" StarClan help me I may start growing gray fur if this keeps up. Swansong thought bitterly. "For now, I am the only one who can teach you these things. So I ask you, can we just get along for a few moons, just long enough for me to teach you all I know, then we can snap at each other all we wish. Please?" Swansong asked, putting all the emotion she could into the last word.

[ravenclaw]

Smokepaw growled as she spoke of more to being a medicine cat to healing. He rolled his frosty blue eyes and listened, only half listening as his thoughts drifted to Hawkfur. He didn't lecture the black apprentice like this dumb she-cat. He flicked his tail to her dismissively. "I know there is, Swansong. I'm not a rabbit-brain. But Grayfur needed help! And you just stared at him like he wasn't there. Yes, there is more to being a medicine cat than healing, but when the time to heal your clanmates come, don't just stand there and stare! Do something! I did something and now his paw can heal properly. I'm sorry for my job." He mewed crossly. "And I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a connection with StarClan, I'm just saying that you shouldn't let them distract you so greatly when a warrior needs help." Smokepaw struggled to keep his voice calm, to keep his fur flat.

Then he lost it when she said they had to work as a team. His pelt instantly fluffed to make the apprentice look twice his size, his black tail lashing angrily, his slender back arched. "I know we're supposed to be a team, Swansong! I'm not stupid!" He snarled, his eyes flashing with rage and stared at his mentor as if he could really see. "But I will not tolerate you ignoring our clanmates and you thinking that a wound will heal by just staring at it!" He yowled with rage, unable to keep it down now. "Take it easy, my apprentice. All is well. She is your mentor now, you must respect her." Hawkfur's voice sounded soft and comforting in Smokepaw's ear. He held onto the voice as he thought about what Hawkfur was saying. She's not my mentor! She will never be my mentor! You, Hawkfur, are my mentor. I respect you, and listen to you! Not her! I will never be her apprentice. I will never respect her! Smokepaw's thoughts raced wildly in his head. "Do it, Smokepaw, not for her, not for you. Do it, my apprentice, for me." Hawkfur's voice faded, and his scent evaporated into nothing.

Smokepaw sighed, letting his fur lay flat against his body and straightened his back. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about what he was going to say, and opened them again, staring at Swansong as if his sight had never left him. "Very well. I'll work with you. I may not like it, but I will." He spoke, his voice rigid with discomfort. His rage was ebbing away, but he still didn't like being the apprentice of another medicine cat. "But just now, Hawkfur spoke to me. He told me you were just trying to help. I guess I'm just so used to taking orders from Hawkfur that I didn't think that you were my mentor now, not him. I understand that he's gone now, and he's never coming back. It's just..." Smokepaw's eyes clouded with indescribable pain and grief that seemed to shake the entire medicine clearing. "I miss him, Swansong. I miss him a whole lot! I just have to realize that your my mentor now, and I have to start listening to you now. I'm sorry for yelling at you like that. It's just, I've been on my own now for a moon, I have to get used to having another cat around the clearing with me." He turned around and went to his nest in the cleft of the rock without another word. He curled into a tight ball and fell asleep.

The sun shone brightly in a clear, blue sky. The wind was a soft breeze, singing its beautiful song to Smokepaw. He discovered he could see. "I must be dreaming." He muttered. "Smokepaw..." A voice whispered softly in the breeze, echoing in his ears. "Smokepaw..." It sounded again. The black apprentice looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. He knew it was Hawkfur, and he longed to see his deceased mentor. Finally, he spotted the tom across the clearing, his snow white pelt shining like water under the sun. His black rimmed ears were perked forward and his amber eyes shone with happiness. Hawkfur was quickly closing the distance between himself and Smokepaw. "Hawkfur!" Smokepaw mewed joyfully. His his excitement turned to raw fear as Hawkfur leaped into the air in a wide arc. His white fur ripped off his body and he grew to five times his size, his muzzle growing in size, his lips drawn back, and large, white teeth glistened in the sun. Hawkfur had transformed into a large, furious dog. Smokepaw screeched with terror as the dog's teeth bit down deep into Smokepaw's foreleg. Pain surged through Smokepaw's body like a scorching fire. "No!" Smokepaw shrieked with terror and pain.

Smokepaw jerked awake with another yowl of fear. Blackness slammed down in his vision, making the young apprentice realize it was just a dream. He trembled with fear and moved his foreleg that the Hawkfur, the dog, had bitten into. He felt no pain in moving his leg, and he steadied his breathing. "Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream." He repeated, still trying to steady his breathing. He scented the den. Swansong's scent was faint. She must've left already. He thought to himself. The dream had felt so real, the pain in his left had seemed so real! It shook him to the bone, terrified him. He realized his fur was bristling and started to groom his chest. He heard the rush of several paws out in the clearing of the camp and pricked his ears. Then someone burst into the medicine clearing. He opened his jaws to scent the air and work out who it was.

Notes: I want his dream to be a warning, so maybe he and Swansong go collect herbs and Smokepaw is attacked by a dog? Not a big one, but big enough? Your choice.
Muse: Good.

[˚Reason˚]

Swansong hissed under her breath as she clearly saw her apprentice not listening as attentively as she had hoped to her words. Fine. She thought darkly. I hope those words come back to haunt you." Her white tail lashed in irritation at the tom's words, and this time it was Swansong's turn to roll her eyes. "You'd think I was the apprentice being lectured here." She muttered low enough for Smokepaw not to hear.

"I'll have you know that I can take care of my patients perfectly fine!" Was all she meowed sharply, clearly ending the topic of conversation. The she cat relaxed her stance and sat on her hunches, her head lowered and ears pinned back, undoubtedly showing her irritation at being talked back to as such.

Swansong wasn't surprised when the tom retaliated negatively to her words. This is what she was trying to avoid, but obviously it wasn't working. Swansong searched her mind for another alternatives but couldn't stop her tongue from lashing out at the tom. "Well obviously you need reminding! Or is this what the 'team' means to you?" She said, rage leaking into her own voice. She had quite enough of this. "You tolerate me?! I'm the one who has to tolerate you!" She snarled her eyes flashing brighter than usual.

The she cat watched the black tom carefully as he slowly seemed to calm himself down. Swansong mentally prepared herself for more harsh words but was surprised when the tom calmed himself down enough to speak with barely concealed rage. She cocked her head curious for what he would say now. A weird emotion flicker through the she cat's chest when he said he talked to a dead cat. Maybe something like me? She thought but quickly smother the thought. Of course not, look at how he had just reacted to her speaking to the tabby tom before healing Grayfur. At the reminder of her own spirit cat friend, Swansong glanced at her side to see the tom silently sitting there. His icy eyes were narrowed in rage and claws dug deeply into the earth. Swansong desperately wanted to speak to him, but this conversation was bad enough as it was without her talking to the tom cat.

Swansong flickered her eyes back to Smokepaw just as he started to talk about his mentor and how he missed him. Swansong felt a pang of compassion for the tom and self-hatred seared her pelt like harsh flames. Her shoulders fell in defeat as the she cat listened to the tom go on about the feeling of missing his mentor and how it felt to suddenly get a new one.

Swansong's jaw worked uselessly as she tried to come up with some words to console the tom but she was interrupted by the tabby at her side. "Leave him." The tom hissed darkly, letting out a snort of disgust at Smokepaw behavior. Swansong blinked at the tabby in surprise at his attitude before looking at Smokepaw who had already curled into his nest, asleep. Swansong's eyes hardened as she got to her paws gracefully and strode out of the den, her pelt refusing to lay flat. The medicine cat heard a dark chuckle from behind her that came from the dark tabby tom. She didn't even pause to wonder what the tabby was laughing at, already used to his dislike for most cats. Swansong screw up her eyes against the dying light as her frail body started to shake from the anger that she had pent up. She felt caged, a dark cloud of suffocation pushing at her from all sides that made her mind spin like she was suffering from a lack of oxygen.

A dark snarl rose from her throat as she stocked past her clan mates, who wisely got out of the way of the furious medicine cat. Once Swansong cleared the WindClan camp, she broke into a sprint, her legs quickly began to ache but she ignored it in favor of watching the tabby tom race in front of her. He was fast, Swansong noticed, but not as fast as a WindClan cat. She pushed herself faster until she was flat out sprinting. Her lungs seared like the shame that continued to burn at her pelt. How could she have been so cruel to Smokepaw? She thought miserably and almost tripped over a protruding rock due to her lack of concentration.

The she cat finally slowed when she thought her lungs would burst. She glanced around shortly and saw she had run to outlook rock. She jumped onto the rock and didn't bother looking at the lands, having long since gotten used to the view. She instead turned her head to the sky where the first signs of Silverpelt was appearing on the horizon. The medicine cat glared at the sky until her breathing went back to normal, but her anger levels did not. In fact they increased at the thought of StarClan being up there for her entire life and never once giving her a break. "Is this what its going to be like?! Am I just going to keep disappointing cats?! First my mother, then my sisters, then my clan and now my own apprentice?! Is it really that hard to ask to be able to do something right for once?! What will it take for something good to happen to me?! Or will all this just be the death of me?! Or worse, my clan?! Am I really destined to be the destruction of my own clan?!" Swansong scream at the stars, her vision blurred by tears as she scratched viciously at the stone beneath her until she actually ripped out one of her claws. The she cat spat and hissed in pain, since she was a medicine cat she wasn't used to pain. She collapsed onto the rock, her eyes fixated on her bleeding paw, not noticing the dark clouds that obscured the sky, like StarClan was angry. She watched the blood stain her white fur before slowly slipping away into sleep from her exhaustion...

Swansong's brilliant amber eyes snapped open as the medicine cat of WindClan awoke from her restless sleep. The she cat groaned and she staggered to her paws and hissed as she stepped on her injured paw. Swansong ignored the pain and limped over to a puddle of water and washed the blood off an observed the damage. As she was staring in the water, the reflection of the tabby tom came into view. The tom simply looked at Swansong blankly before meowing. "You'd better get back to the clan. Its already morning. Before turning to dust and leaving Swansong alone.

The she cat made sure she washed away all the blood and tested her paw for the amount of pressure it could take. When the pain dull enough for her will it away, Swansong made her way back to WindClan camp. The she cat didn't acknowledge any of the odd looks her clan mates sent her at her appearance from the moors rather than her den.

The she cat paused outside her den before sighing and sticking her head in. "Come Smokepaw, we need to get that Catmint." The medicine cat said shortly, with no emotion in her voice before quickly retreating and sitting some fox lengths away, waiting for the apprentice. She glanced at the fresh kill pile but her stomach rebelled at the even thought of food so she decided to skip eating for today.

((OOC: I'd love for them to meet a dog. Any I apologize for making Swan rather nasty, this goes hand in hand with the WindClan mini plot so she won't be forgiving Smoke for this any time soon.
I also apologize to Gray who we kind of forgot of, feel free to join in any way you wish.))

[ravenclaw]

Smokepaw forced his fur to lay flat as he heaved himself to his paws and gave himself a quick groom. His black fur gleamed in the early morning sun as he headed out of camp with Swansong. He knew where to find the catmint and followed its faint scent until it grew stronger. He sniffed along the ground, sniffing out the precious herb, and plucked leaves from the plant. He tucked a wad under his chin, and another in his jaws. He desperately wanted to chew on the juicy leaves, to roll in the catmint, but knew he couldn't. With his chin tucked to his chest tightly so he wouldn't drop any leaves, Smokepaw stood aside and waited for Swansong to get her bunch. As he waited for her to finish, he grew impatient. Why can't she go any faster? He thought with annoyance. Then the breeze carried a scent that made Smokepaw's blood freeze like ice. "Dog!" He squealed with panic through the catmint leaves in his jaws. He wasn't going to lose his load.

Smokepaw ran, hoping Swansong was behind him as he bolted. His stride was awkward with the catmint held tightly against his chest, but he was determined to keep the plant and outrun the dog. It's shrill yelps of excitement were carried on the wind like a bird as Smokepaw struggled to go faster. Now and then he lost a leaf, but resisted the urge to turn around and get it. Just then, he felt the hot, stinking breath of the dog on his haunches and dropped his catmint with a piercing yowl of agony and terror as the dog's teeth wrapped around his spine. He shrieked with terror, slashing his claws every which way, not knowing where the dog was. Finally, his claws ripped flesh and the mouth of the dog vibrated with a yelp. Smokepaw kept his claws embedded in the dog's cheek so he would know where it was. Smokepaw twisted around and bit the dog's face just under the left eye. The dog yelped, but only closed his jaws tighter around Smokepaw. Desperate and terrified, Smokepaw slashed the dog with blow after blow with his sharp claws and felt a little satisfaction with every yelp and whine the dog made.

A warm body brushed Smokepaw's hind legs as they dangled from the dog's jaws, and Smokepaw discovered he could see. He yowled with rage as he turned on the dog, able to see it's head and body. It was a large dog, well, large to him, and it was as black as he was with a white muzzle that narrowed to a stripe on its head. It's chest and forelegs were as white as snow, but was splattered with blood. Smokepaw realized that it wasn't just the dog's blood. He looked to see if Swansong was fighting the dog. He saw a flash of white fur and almost went limp with relief. Then he saw it was another cat and courage surged through Smokepaw like a giant wave crashing in the sundrown place. He had seen it only once, in his dreams, when Hawkfur showed him. He recognized the white cat not as Swansong, but Hawkfur! The white tom was slashing at the dog, ripping its fur off in large clumps. Blood sprayed across the moorland hills as Hawkfur seemed to tear the beast to pieces. "Fight, Smokepaw! I can't do it on my own and it is not yet your turn to join StarClan! Not yet! FIGHT!" Hawkfur yowled. Smokepaw was just happy to see his deceased mentor fighting for him for the very first time since he died. Smokepaw turned on the dog, twisting his back painfully in the dog's sharp teeth until he was upside down.

He snarled as he raked his claws on the dog's muzzle, ripping it to pieces it seemed. "You will survive. Help has arrived." Hawkfur's departing words whispered in Smokepaw's ear fur and darkness slammed on his vision. He was blind again, but he didn't stop moving his paws. His front and back claws, worked on the dog's muzzle, blood surging from the dog's lips. But Smokepaw's strikes and slashes were growing weaker very quickly. He was exhausted, and blood coated his black pelt as he felt himself slip into unconsciousness, the catmint leaves fluttering to the ground like leaves falling off a tree. Is this what you were trying to tell me in my dream, Hawkfur? Were you telling me that I would be savaged by a dog? Those were Smokepaw's last conscious thoughts as he went limp in the dog's savage jaws as it whipped its head side to side, spraying blood and shaking Smokepaw to the core...

Notes: Hehehe. Too much blood, but he won't die. I luff him too much!
Muse: Acceptable

[˚Reason˚]

As soon as Swansong saw the slightest hint of the black fur that belonged to her apprentice she instantly turned her head and headed for the camp entrance, not bothering to wait for Smokepaw. She still felt bad about the way she acted to him but was not in the mood to apologize any time soon. Her pride still stung from where he questioned her capabilities to take care of WindClan. She blinked her eyes rapidly when she realized that Smokepaw had over taken her and lead the way. She turned her eyes to the sky instead, anything was better than looking at the apprentice and imagining that disastrous conversation. Stray fluffy clouds would occasionally cast the pain in shadow before slowly waning back to sunlight. Since they lived on moors, the mentor and apprentice didn't get any relief other than the clouds from the harsh sun rays.

Swansong was broken from her thoughts by a soft mewl of greetings. She turned her head to see it was Omenfire. The tom cast an untrusting glance at Smokepaw to see that he was far enough ahead not to hear them then smiled at Swansong. "Follow me!" The tom meowed. Swansong glanced at Smokepaw to see he was gathering the catmint before slowly padding off with the tom. He lead her into some nearby tall grass which didn't even have to part for the tom, but did for the she cat. The tom sat down and looked back at Swansong with a small smile. "Don't worry, we aren't far from him." HE reassured the she cat who was glancing over her shoulder thinking of Smokepaw.

Swansong turned her attention back to the tom and sat next to him. "I'm sorry." She meowed simply, falling back into the familiar pattern of talking to illusionary cats.

"I heard you." The tom said, after a moment of reliving the nature around them. "StarClan heard what you said to them last night." He clarified, not looking at Swansong.

Swansong looked up sharply, her eyes wide with alarm before softening and tinging in embarrassment. "I apologize that you had to listen to that. It was a moment of weakness that I regret." Swansong meowed formally, realizing this conversation wasn't going to be a light one.

The tom sighed before looking at the she cat softly. "You haven't disappointed anyone, Swansong. And no cat can make all the right moves in such a cruel environment that the clan cats live in today. You can't please anyone Swansong, but yourself." The tom's tone became bitter as he looked at his paws, his eyes shadowed. "Cats will always disappoint you but you must never disappoint yourself. Rules never apply when it comes dealing with other cats. The balance between other cats and yourself is constantly changing. Remember that." The tom's tone was dark and menacing as he finished before looking at Swansong with his frost blue eyes and chuckled darkly that Swansong knew she would never understand before crumbling to dust.

Swansong sat for a while considering the tom's words before closing her eyes and whispering. "It never goes away... that feeling of disappointment."

Swansong jumped and her breathing halted as she heard Smokepaw yowl that single word. She leaped to her paws and with true speed of a WindClan cat ran out of the tall grass to where she had left Smokepaw. She saw the tom bolt by and glanced at the big black dog that was racing after him. Swansong let out her own yowl of alarm and raced after Smokepaw. Her breathing quickly escalated as her paced slowed. Swansong was a frail cat! A medicine cat! She had barely ran a day in her life. Not to say she was fat but severely lacking in the muscle department. Her race was interrupted as she heard a shriek from Smokepaw. She instantly skidded to a halt and watched in horror as the dog lifted the tom as easily as a cat would a mouse.

Instant rage over took Swansong as she let out the loudest yowl she could (which in reality, wasn't all that loud coming from such a normally quiet she cat) and flung herself with all her frail might at the dog's closest leg. She distantly remembered a warrior who had ripped open his leg in battle and remembered all the flesh and blood vessels inside. She remembered a bigger one that wouldn't stop bleeding for almost an entire day and aimed for it. Blood splattered across the she cats face as she tasted the bitter tang of blood in her mouth and felt her fangs sink past the muscle flesh, severing a blood vessel and right down to the blood. She closed her eyes as the blood splashed into her eyes and the dog screamed in pain. She could only hope that the dog had dropped Smokepaw in that time.

Amber eyes fluttered open slightly took take in the sight of the massive dog's jaws open in a snarl and the leg being removed from her grip. The she cat stumbled forward, suddenly unbalanced and was slammed to the ground by the dog's paw. The beast growled threatening at her, showing off its bloodied teeth, Smokepaw's blood, she realized. Her eyes looked around for the tom, hoping at least he would survive this encounter.

Instead her eyes fell on the familiar form Omenfire running towards her. The tom let out a fierce battle cry, much louder than hers and leaped right at the dog's eyes. The cat's claws sliced through the dog's eyes like honey. The dog yelped in pain again, lifting its crushing weight from Swansong's chest and scrambling backwards, its paws swiping furiously at its damaged eyes.

"Swansong! Move! Get away from it!" hissed Omenfire but... that wasn't Omenfire's voice.

"Om-Omenfire? She wheezed, her breathing still very harsh from the beating her chest had taken. The tom froze before glaring at the medicine cat.

"Never say that name near me again." He hissed. And suddenly, it wasn't Omenfire anymore. It was a dark brown tom, without the black stripes, but the same blue eyes. It was Brightsky.

The medicine cat blinked before yelping as the tom grabbed her by the scruff of he neck and physically hauling her away from the dog. The she cat froze.

"No!" She hissed, struggling against the tom's hold, her eyes looking around desperately. "Smokepaw! Where's Smokepaw!?"

[ravenclaw]

It seemed like only heartbeats before Smokepaw's eyes fluttered open and he was awake. The sounds around him were mute and he struggled to make sense of it. It was then he realized he could see. The ground around him was soft and blades of grass swayed in a gentle breeze. Smokepaw's back hurt, but he realized the skin was unbroken. He twisted around to sniff his spine. No sign of any injury at all. He looked around and recognized StarClan's hunting grounds. All around him cats moved about, the smells of the different clans mingling. His heart stopped and his blood chilled as he recognized one scent about all. Time seemed to slow down as Smokepaw turned his head and saw Galepaw walking his way. He wondered how the apprentice got here. "Galepaw. How-How did you die?" Smokepaw's voice was a whisper of disbelief. But Galepaw ignored the black apprentice and kept walking. "He was attacked in the marsh of ShadowClan territory by a brown and white animal that came from a water like a fish." An achingly familiar voice sounded to Smokepaw's left.

He whipped his head around to see Hawkfur. But he was hardly interested in what the white tom had to say, he turned to look at Galepaw again, but the gray tom had disappeared. "When?" Smokepaw asked, his voice distant. Then he froze, his eyes wide with fear. He spun around to look at Hawkfur. "Did... Did I die? Did that dog kill me?" Smokepaw asked, his voice trembling. "Fortunately not. However, you must get back to WindClan soon. Or you will..." Hawkfur's voice faded as StarClan faded. Darkness slammed on Smokepaw's vision. Still, the world around him was quiet until everything around him started to raise in volume. Smokepaw was on the ground in something sticky, he realized quickly it was his blood. He tried to move, but it was painful. He flopped to the ground like a fish out of water. "Smokepaw! Where's Smokepaw!?" Swansong's frantic screeches sent enough energy to Smokepaw.

He let out the loudest wail he could, hoping she would hear him. He listened for the dog as well and it was coming right at him, he realized as the ground began to shake. He struggled to his paws, but fell down again. The dog was on him in an instant. Smokepaw spat, slashing at the dog with his claws. Twisting to bite and scratch the beast sent agonizing pain through his body, but Smokepaw hardly noticed. Adrenaline rushed through Smokepaw, giving him strength. He leaped to his paws and launched himself at the dog, swiping his claws and striking the dog's face. His claws hooked into the dog's skin and Smokepaw threw himself onto the canine's head, keeping hold with his foreclaws and shredding the top of the dog's head with his back claws. The dog screamed with pain, shaking its head vigorously in attempt to throw Smokepaw off, but the black apprentice held on as he bit the dog in the eye. It cried out as it threw itself on the ground, rubbing its head against the grass, trying desperately to get Smokepaw off. The black tom hissed and spat as he reached over with his foreclaw and ripped his claws across the dog's other eye. The canine cried out again, and this time it reached to Smokepaw's heart. This dog was in immense pain and Smokepaw realized the dog learned a lesson about messing with cats. The apprentice jumped off the dog and immediately felt the ground tremble as it retreated with the speed of a rabbit. With the immediate danger gone, Smokepaw collapsed to the ground, unable to stand up any longer. His sides heaved, his breath quick and shallow. He felt warm breath on his ear. "Well done, my son." Smokepaw heard Ashstar's voice. Ashstar was leader before Stormstar, and Ashstar was Smokepaw's father.

Notes: None
Muse: Acceptable

[˚Reason˚]

The white she cat and dark brown tom both froze at the loud wail coming from the black tom. They both looked up as the the sound and watch with wide eyes as the dog recovered and went after the wailing tom. Swansong felt her limbs turned to honey as she collapsed in on herself, her eyes stuck on the tom who was surely about to be mauled by the dog. Brightsky was also struck in horror, but shook it off quickly and remembered he was a warrior who was supposed to protect his clan.

With a furious hiss, the tom launched himself at the snarling dog. He slashed at any part of the dog he could reach, which was mostly the sides of the dogs, but was thrown sideways when the dog started to rub its head on the ground to get Smokepaw off. Brightsky watched from the side lines as the dog took off, leaving the victorious medicine cat apprentice behind. The warrior got to his paws and watched after the dog, but couldn't find the strength in himself to chase after it. That would be the job of a patrol that could come later. He was almost positive that the dog wasn't coming back anyway.

When he finally regained some breath in him, the warrior let out a weak laugh. "You sure you want to still be a medicine cat apprentice, Smokepaw? For something like that I would go straight to Stormstar and demand you become a warrior early." He meowed lightly, walking up to the tom to make sure he was alright before glancing over at Swansong with narrowed eyes. "OR at least get you a better mentor." He hissed darkly, in Swansong's direction. By now the entire had heard about the fighting between the medicine cat and the medicine cat apprentice. Most just brushed it off, saying it didn't really matter that the two didn't get along, but Brightsky knew better. He was a senior warrior, and knew how important it was for the medicine cat and medicine cat apprentice always had to be at their best.

Swansong finally let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding as the dog finally got chased off. She staggered to her paws, still feeling the ache from her chest where the hound had struck her to the ground. She walked, or rather limped, over to the two toms and over heard what Brightsky had said. She glared right back at him before stopping. She knew she wasn't being a great mentor to Smokepaw, maybe he did deserve better than her? She flattened her ears to her head before turning back to Smokepaw.

"I will be going back to camp now to get the herbs ready to heal you." She meowed stiffly, turning her amber orbs back to Brightsky who leveled off a glare at her in return. "Do not bother with the catmint, I will deal with it. And let your new mentor here help you back to camp." She meowed coolly before turning her back on the pair, not allowing the bright blue gaze of Brightsky to effect her as she disappeared into the long grass. She didn't notice that the brown tabby had appeared behind her, lingering in the clearing with the other two toms, his eyes stuck firmly on Brightsky before narrowing and following Swansong back to camp.

Brightsky let out a quiet snort and meowed. "Good riddance!" He turned back to Smokepaw and looked over his injuries. "Can you get back to camp by yourself? And listen," The tom sat down next to the apprentice and lowered his voice to a more comforting tone. "That offer was genuine. If you really did chance your mind and wanted to become a warrior, I will more than happily mentor you."

Back at camp, Swansong had strode into the camp like an ominous storm cloud and quickly made her way into the medicine cat den with the dark tabby tom following her like a shadow. "Good riddance, I say. We don't need an apprentice like that, Swany! With no respect for you at all. How dare he." The tom hissed, pacing the length of the den like a caged tiger. The she cat just sighed and shook her head at the tom before gathering cob webs and sorting through herbs she knew she might need.

[ravenclaw]

Smokepaw felt the ground vibrate lightly under him. Is the dog coming back? Didn't I teach him what happens when he messes with WindClan!? Smokepaw was about to get to his paws, but Brightsky's scent wreathed around the black apprentice and he relaxed. "You sure you want to still be a medicine cat apprentice, Smokepaw? For something like that I would go straight to Stormstar and demand you become a warrior early." Brightsky's voice echoed in Smokepaw's ears. He was dizzy and felt sick, as through he would throw up on the spot. But when the warrior asked if the apprentice was sure about being a medicine cat, the black tom scrambled to his paws, ignoring the piercing pain in his back. "Well, StarClan knows how much I want to be a warrior, but the clan knows I cannot because of my blindness. I knew where to leap on that dog because I could feel its breath in my face. I knew where to go and what to do. I can't just jump on a cat's head!" Smokepaw mewed. "I would love to be a warrior, Brightsky, but it isn't possible. And Swansong isn't a bad mentor. Sure she can stop talking to... Omenfire did she say? She could stop talking to him for five moments of her life, but she knows things about herbs that I need to learn. Being a warrior would mean everything to me. But when I became blind, I knew that being a warrior would never be possible. No matter how much I want it." Smokepaw hung his head, his ears back and his eyes closed.

"And besides," He mewed, looking at Brightsky, "I owe it to Hawkfur to be the best medicine cat I can be. He told me to never give up. Whether he was referring to my dream of being a warrior or doing what I can as a medicine cat, I will never know. But I do owe it to him to not give up on helping my clan, with herbs instead of claws." Smokepaw thought about it for a moment as Brightsky declared he would be proud to have Smokepaw as an apprentice. "Maybe I can be both! A medicine cat and a warrior!" Smokepaw's heart soared with excitement. "Swansong can teach me how to heal, and you can teach me how to fight!" Smokepaw's eagerness grew. But then his hopes plummited. "I doubt Stormstar would allow it though! Medicine cats and warriors have two different codes, how I can follow them both?" He asked, his mind filling with questions and doubts.

Notes: None
Muse: BLECH!

[˚Reason˚]

Brightsky nodded his head at the apprentice's words, but sneered when Smokepaw defended Swansong. Brightsky had never favoured the WindClan medicine cat. She had always been odd to the point of insanity, and just now, when she mentioned his name... Brightsky shook his head, there's no way she could know him. He was dead, but then again Swansong could speak with StarClan. The tom snorted, or at least she thinks she cat. He thought, flicking his tail in agitation. Even if Swansong could speak with StarClan (which he still rather doubted), there was no way she could have contact with Omenfire, he was most likely not even in StarClan, but rather the Dark Forest. Brightsky winced at the thought of his own kin being in such a dark place before returning his attention to Smokepaw.

"That still counts as talent, if you ask me." Brightsky remarked. The tom froze once again as Omenfire's name was mentioned, his eyes darkening into a glare. "Well, just learn from her what you can then get away from her as quickly as possible. She isn't sane and we wouldn't want that to rub off onto you. The last thing the clan needs is another insane medicine cat." The tom mutter briskly.

Brightsky sighed at the mention of the old medicine cat of WindClan, he had liked Hawkfur and was very sad when he had passed on to StarClan. " All I can offer you Smokepaw is to ask. What is the worst Bluestar can do, say no? At least you tried in the end. In my opinion, all medicine cats should learn the basics of fighting to defend themselves." Brightsky meowed, getting back onto four paws and taking a few steps forward.

"But that is besides the point. We had best get you back to camp to get you healed, some of those wounds look nasty and we need to report this o Bluestar." Brightsky meowed, waiting for the younger tom to start walking.