.:Forbidden Love:. (Russetfang and Thrushtail)

[nightstorm]

Russetfang slipped along the moor, heading for the clump of brush not too far off. It was his usual herb gathering place, and he occasionally stored extra herbs here, hidden in a small hollow in the ground. Right now, he was concentrating on searching for a small clump of coltsfoot he had been lucky to find the other week. Coltsfoot didn't like shade, so it was fortunate that the shade of the bush nearby didn't bother it too much.

The tom's eyes brightened when he found what he was looking for. The whitish-yellow flowers were blooming. Thank StarClan. He needed to restock, for the coughs he had treated over the past Leafbare had include much shortness of breath, and his supply of coltsfoot was nearly gone. Russetfang proceeded to grab a handful of the herb in his mouth, and set the stems down next to him, before he glanced around in fustration. It would take several trips before he had refilled his supply. He should have brought Crowpaw. But his apprentice needed time to himself. The cat was still young, and you were only an apprentice once...

(short post, but wanted to wait on Thrushtail...)

[Ki]

Stupid Rivermist.

Stupid kits.

Stupid everything.

Thrushtail was not in a good mood. At all. Perhaps it was the tension in the camp. Perhaps it was the fact that in the whirl of confusion barely anyone had said a word to her, even when she tried to strike up a conversation. Or maybe it was the thorn she'd gotten stuck in her paw and pulled out on her own. It was making her paw incredibly sore so that she was limping slightly. Or maybe it was just because that all of her friends were off to find mates and had good ideas on where to start. Meanwhile the only tom Thrushtail was interested in wasn't allowed to have kits! Well, either way, Thrushtail wasn't happy. So she'd stalked off to go on a walk by herself.

Wait. What was that smell?

Thrushtail lifted her nose. The wind was blowing towards her, carrying all the scents with it. She smelled rabbits and the occasional vole or mouse. But the most prominent scent of all was him. He smelled like the medicine cats from the other Clans; tangy and slightly sweet, like many of the herbs they worked with. Purring a little bit, Thrushtail hurried forward. Her sore paw ached as she ran but that didn't really matter. Soon he came into sight. From the looks of it he was looking for herbs. Typical of him. Quickly, Thrushtail fixed her wind-blown fur the best she could before trotting over to him. Just because he was a medicine cat didn't mean she couldn't flirt with him just a little bit, did it?

"Hi there, Russetfang!" Thrushtail purred as she padded up. "Looking for herbs?"

[nightstorm]

Russetfang looked up, and smiled. "Hello, Thrushtail," he meowed pleasantly. "Yeah, I found the herbs I was looking for. I'm just trying to figure out how to carry them back in fewer trips." He purred in amusement, before glancing at the she-cat. "You're limping," he stated, concern in his gaze. "What happened?" He pawed the coltsfoot under the bush, and padded over to Thrushtail.

The tom gently nosed at her paw, turning it over with his own. Russetfang shook his head, and glanced up at her. "A thorn, eh? I can put something on that, if you want. I've got a few herbs stored here..." He gently set her paw down, and turned to the bush, quickly pawing out the root he needed. He deftly chewed the comfrey root, and began to mash it into a poultice, before returning to Thrushtail's side.

His green gaze met hers, as he said gently, "This might sting a little, but it will soothe the wound, and hopefully prevent infection." That said, he began to rub the poultice onto her paw, making sure to rub it in as gently as possible. "When did you get the thorn in there?" he asked her while he worked.

[Ki]

Thrushtail winced slightly as the poultice was applied on to her paw. But Russetfang was trying to be gentle, she knew. After a few moments the sting wore off. Thrushtail let out a low purr of content as the pain itself began to wear off a bit. Her eyes remained locked with Russetfang's. Why did he have to be so cute? It was a crime that a medicine cat should be as cute-looking as he was! "I stepped on a thorn when I was going for a little run. I didn't see the patch of thorns until it was too late." It had been when her frustration was running rampant. Because right after the thorn had lodged itself in her pad she'd sat down, grabbed it with her teeth, and ripped it out a low growl. Only when she was angry could Thrushtail accomplish such a feat.

"It wasn't too long ago, I don't think. The sun wasn't much higher in the sky than it is now." Finally her eyes looked away from his and she glanced up at the sky. It was cloudless and blue, and the sun was bearing down on the whole forest with no mercy. Suddenly she longed to be back at camp in the shade of one of the dens. Oh well, too late now. Camp was a good run away.

[nightstorm]

Russetfang nodded sympathetically, as Thrushtail described what had happened. "Well, it should be okay from here on out. Just don't run for a little while, and go easy on that paw. Tell you what. You can help me, if you wish. The walk back to camp is a little long, and I don't want you walking all that way yet. You need to let that poultice do its job." He let out a slight purr of amusement. "Meaning, no zipping around like you usually do. I do need some help sorting the herbs, if you want to help..."

He cocked his head. "Ravenstar didn't have any patrols for you, did he? I could always get Crowpaw to help..." But he felt reluctant to drag his apprentice from his friends. Sure, it might be necessary, but the young cat had already lost his brother...besides, Thrushtail was here. No sense in bothering someone else, right? He glanced at the she-cat, his gaze warm and curious. "What were you doing out here anyways? Everything alright? You don't usually go off by yourself..."

((Short post is short...ugh. Hate writer's block...))

[Ki]

Thrushtail let out a low purr. He was inviting her to help him! Finally, someone with manners! Back at camp barely anyone would look at her. She mewed, "Ravenstar doesn't have me on any patrols." (Or at least Ki hopes so) "So I'm free to help you." She smiled brightly at him. Perhaps running off from camp was the correct move after all! Now she got a little alone time with her crush! What luck! The girls would be so jealous!

...if it wasn't for the fact that Russetfang wasn't allowed to father kits.

What if she was the only one that couldn't find a mate? She'd be left kitless and alone while her friends all had nice little families of their own! The thought filled her with despair. But she'd smother it for a moment and enjoy her time with Russetfang. At his question she turned her head away. "It was like I wasn't even there at the camp, so I figured no one would notice if I went for a walk." Her voice was laden with bitterness at being ignored. But that was the story of her life, wasn't it? Everyone ignored her. Her mother, her brother, other warriors...

[nightstorm]

Russetfang smiled in relief. "Good, I wouldn't want Ravenstar to scold you for helping me," he said, purring in amuesment. He knew his leader would never be unfair like that. Perhaps the tom would be a little annoyed at first, but Ravenstar would soon get over it. After all, it wasn't like Thrushtail was doing anything wrong. She was just helping the medicine cat.

He shook off his thoughts quickly, and glanced at Thrushtail. His friendly gaze turned to one of concern, and the medicine cat straightened up as Thrushtail spoke bitterly about how no one ever noticed her. He shook his head, and padded up to her so that his pelt was pressed against hers comfortingly. "No, Thrushtail," he protested softly. "I'm sure someone noticed. I sure did. You're here, aren't you?" He smiled at her again. "And, if you don't mind my saying so, you're a little difficult to ignore sometimes..." That much was true; she sometimes acted like she was still a mouse-brained apprentice, though that probably was what caused Russetfang to tolerate her at first.

He chuckled to himself, and gave the she-cat a little nudge, trying to cheer her up. After all, she was one of his few friends. The somewhat cranky medicine cat didn't go out of his way to make friends, nor did he have the patience for it. Many cats annoyed him, and, surprisingly, Thrushtail was one of the few that didn't. It bothered him when she was upset, for she didn't seem to get upset often, though he knew that she was good at hiding her emotions sometimes. Russetfang glanced at Thrushtail again. "Is everything alright?" he asked quietly. "You seem...upset about something..."

[Ki]

Oh sweet StarClan above.

Thrushtail fought off a purr as he let his fur brush against her own. Was this some sort of sick, twisted test? Was StarClan trying to see if she could be a good little she-cat and move away from the medicine cat that was strictly off-limits? Because if so then they certainly didn't know her. Russetfang's words soothed her. At least he noticed her, right? She smiled briefly at him, but almost fainted when he nudged her. It took Thrushtail a few moments to recover from that. It had been unexpected, plus Thrushtail was just about ready to lose it. This was a mean joke or something. Why was it that a tom that was a leader could have kits, but tom medicine cats couldn't? It just wasn't fair!

At his question, her thoughts and mood darkened again almost instantly. Her gaze fell upon the ground underneath their feet. She squirmed uncomfortably under the greenleaf sun. And for a moment it felt as if she was suffocating on the warm, dry air. "It's a long story, Russetfang." She was just going to end up alone while all of her friends had little kits scampering around them and nice, strong mates bringing them fresh-kill. That was all.

[nightstorm]

Russetfang felt slightly confused when he felt Thrushtail sort of tense up, and he was even more confused by the way she acted, like she was on edge about something. But her downcast manner caused him to worry, and the medicine cat met her gaze evenly. "A long story, hm?" he said slowly. "Well, I've got nothing but time right now..." To prove his point, the tom plopped down where he was, herbs forgotten in his concern for his friend.

"So, what's wrong then? Can you tell me anything about this long story?" Was she still bitter about her brother and her parents' neglect? Probably. Was that what she was thinking about? He had no idea. It seemed as if there was more. Russetfang shifted a little closer to the she-cat. "Thrushtail, you know you can tell me anything you need to..." he said gently. "It's not like you to be so...quiet and sad-looking." He cocked his head at her.

[Ki]

Thrushtail's mind was whirling. Should she tell him? Oh, but the girls would kill her if they found out! This was supposed to be secret! But she was dying to get this off of her chest! Thrushtailw asn't any good at keeping secrets, her friends knew that! Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to tell Russetfang. After all, he'd just said that they were friends. Friends. Just. Friends. Shaking that thought away, Thrushtail mused over where she would begin. This plot was crazy, but to her it seemed fun. Starting a family at the exact time as all of her friends? Awesome! Finding a mate to go along with it? Not so awesome. She wouldn't be able to find a single tom in WindClan that was interested. Not a single one!

"Weeelllll...you have to promise that you won't tell anyone." Thrushtail began. She hesitated, then said, "Swear to StarClan you won't mention it to anyone. Not even Ravenstar!" It probably wasn't helping her cause that she'd just invoked the name of StarClan to a tom that she was crushing on, but couldn't have kits because of StarClan. But oh well. She'd work that out later.

[nightstorm]

Russetfang eyed her with amused suspicion. "Alright," he said, after a slight pause. "I swear to StarClan, I won't tell. But this had better not cost me any limbs," he joked. "This isn't a dangerous, secret, is it?" His gaze was questioning, as he waited to hear her response.

((Short posts suck... >.<))

[Ki]

"It's not dangerous. At least, I don't think it is." Thrushtail replied. It wasn't like she was harboring a hated rogue or planning on murdering a cat in another Clan. No. Starting a family at the same time as her friends seemed like a relatively simple idea. In fact, it seemed welcomed. Perhaps more kits and more future warriors would take away some of the power from ShadowClan. Hey, who knows? Maybe someone might pay a little attention to her if she was a queen! Her mother had gotten a lot of attention back Thrushtail was just Thrushkit. Had her mother relayed any of that attention back to Thrushkit? Of course not!

"Me and my friends are planning something." she began. "We all want to find mates and get pregnant with kits at the exact same time." Once again that fear came back to Thrushtail. That all of her friends would find nice mates and have little kits of their own. Meanwhile Thrushtail would be stuck alone because she couldn't find a mate. "And...I'm scared that...that I'll be the only one that can't find a mate..." Her tone now was childish, but not intentionally. No. Whenever Thrushtail acted like a kit it was purely accidental.

[nightstorm]

Russetfang listened as Thrushtail described her predicament, and he realized her problem a few heartbeats before she said it. She was worried about finding a mate. But why? It wasn't like she was hideously scarred or anything. In fact, she was very pretty, come to think of it. Russetfang scooted closer to the she-cat, again pressing his fur to hers comfortingly.

"You'll find a mate," he said encouraginly. "I just know it! Why, a tom would have to be blind to not see you for who you are. You're kind, charming, pretty..." Had he really just said that out loud? Idiot! He felt his fur prickle somewhat uncomfortably. "And you've got a great personality. Why, I'm sure there is at least three toms in that camp, that are just too shy to say that they like you." He nodded wisely. "Don't worry. You're friends will be jealous."

A sudden thought occurred to him, and the medicine cat turned sharply. "Just how many of your friends are in on this?" he asked curiously.

[Ki]

Thrushtail felt the heat rush to her head as he moved closer. She listened intently as he spoke, relishing in the compliments. Not because they were compliments. But because Russetfang was saying them! He thought that she was pretty! And kind and charming with a great personality! Part of her thought he was stretching it just to make her feel better. But that didn't matter. Yes, Thrushtail was on cloud nine at the moment. Nothing could spoil this for her. Russetfang was close by, complimenting her and telling her what a great catch she was. In fact, she almost didn't hear his question.


"Oh...four, not counting myself." Thruhstail replied. "Don't worry, though. Three of them are in RiverClan. You won't have that many kits to help birth!" She giggled.

[nightstorm]

Russetfang eyed Thrushtail with some concern. She seemed to have difficulty answering his question. Confused, the tom just shrugged it off. Instead, he laughed at her reply. "Only two queens in WindClan then? Good. Otherwise, I may never get any sleep, for another year!" The medicine cat nudged Thrushtail. "But don't worry about it. You'll find a good mate, and give birth to a nice, healthy litter. I'm sure of it."

With a gentle lick of comfort, Russetfang stood, and glanced down. "So, what about those herbs, huh?" He shifted his paws, somewhat embarassed by the thoughts running through his head, the least of which being, She looks so pretty, just sitting there, with the wind ruffling her fur like that... He licked at his chest fur to hide his embarassment, feeling his ears burning, until he was sure they should have sparked by now.