Busy, busy, busy day!

[Kitty]

The SkyClan medicine cat finished looking over Smallpaw's newly injured paw. The poor tom. He'd only just left the medicine cat den a few day ago, and here he was, back again. Although this time it wasn't for an illness; instead it was an injury apparently caused by an unfortunate accident. An incident with a rabbit hole. Poor thing.

With a forced smile that she tried to make look lighthearted, Sandcloud gave a brief nod. "Let's see, Smallpaw. It looks like a pretty bad sprain. But you should be able to do some light training in a few days. No battle training for at least a quarter moon, though," she meowed, eyeing him sternly. With that, she disappeared deeper into the den and rummaged around, reappearing with a bundle of herbs.

"Ah, Frostwing, we're running low on reeds to bind sprained and broken paws. Would you mind going out to fetch more?" she requested of her apprentice while she busied herself over Smallpaw, wrapping his injured paw in the rushes she'd fetched from the back of the den.

Well, today sure had been exciting. She'd helped Dovetail deliver her kits and now Smallpaw had sprained his paw. Plus, on a sadder note, a kit had died, and she was still awaiting the arrival of its body in camp. But no need to think about that now.

She had a patient to attend to, and she was all business.

[Ki]

Smallpaw's ears went up at the verdict. It was a bad sprain, but at least he hadn't broken it like when he was a kit. He could go back to training in a few days! He would have jumped up and yowled with joy, had his paw not been injured. Which, in retrospect, had he not injured it he wouldn't be there in first place. Smallpaw smiled gratefully and licked his injured paw tenderly. Hopefully he would not get sick within the next few days. If he did, the disappointment itself might just kill him. He looked out the medicine cat den entrance at the camp. Smallpaw wanted to be prepared when his aunt came back with Goldenheart and Honeykit. You would think being deputy would make her think she had an image to uphold or something, and she wouldn't fuss over her nephew so.

Nope.

"I'll be sure to kill a rabbit next time I go hunting." Smallpaw mewed half-jokingly. He thought back to the mother bird he'd spared earlier. Had he been wrong to? The Clan needed all the prey it could get...but by killing her, he would have had to kill her babies. Which somehow he just couldn't bring himself to do.

[Kitty]

"Ah, great," came a voice from the other side of the den. A light ginger she-cat was sitting there, her tail wrapped around her front paws as she observed the happenings around Smallpaw. Sandcloud was binding his injured paw with rushes, engrossed in her work and paying little attention to anything besides the injury. Most definitely not to some elder who always seemed to be visiting anyway.

"Once you do, you be sure to bring it to me, you hear, Smallpaw?" the elder meowed, letting out a purr as she spoke. Creamfoot was very close to the young apprentice, despite being the oldest cat in SkyClan. Nearly a hundred moons older than the tom, the two had struck up a fast friendship long ago, during his kithood. "You know I love eating the fresh-kill you bring to me, especially if you caught it!" she added, rising to her paws rather stiffly and heading across the den to take a place beside Smallpaw's head. Sandcloud glanced up and noticed the pain in Creamfoot's eyes - mousedung, my joints are acting up again - and rose to her paws, vanishing into the back of the den where she kept her herbs.

Creamfoot watched the medicine cat go, then returned her attention to her young friend. "Can't seem to stay away from this place, eh?" she teased.

Sandcloud went back into her den in search of some herbs for creamfoot. Her joints were aching, that was obvious, and the elderly she-cat's pride would not let her admit it. Best to just do it on her own and hope she didn't get clawed, she thought grimly as she found the right type of herb - daisy.

Returning to the main den, she padded over and placed them on the ground. Creamfoot eyed them disdainfully but did not protest as Sandcloud chewed them up and spread the poultice over Creamfoot's most common achy spots. Despite being unhappy about being taken care of, the elder gave a nod of thanks to the medicine cat before Sandcloud set back to work on Smallpaw, making sure his binding was secure.

[Ki]

"No, I can't. It's because I'm hopelessly in love with Sandcloud, so I put my life in jeopardy just to be near her." Smallpaw mewed in response. He grinned at Sandcloud to that, of course, he was simply teasing. She should be accustomed to his jokes and teases. It helped him keep his spirits up when he was sick. Not only that, sometimes they were just meant to entertain his visitors and Sandcloud herself. He was rather greatful to Sandcloud, all the same. Where would he be if she wasn't around?

Oh, yeah. Dead.

The binding didn't feel too great on his paw, just as he remembered. It was stiff and the herbs she bound it with made his fur it. But he remember enough from his kithood experince not to pick and scratch at the bindings. The more he did that, he remembered, the slower it would heal. Smallpaw smiled at Creamfoot as she took some herbs for her joints. He would consider himself very lucky and very blessed if he made it to Creamfoot's age. Most healthy cats didn't even live as long as she did! He mewed, "Joints bothering you again, Creamfoot? At this rate you might join StarClan before I do!" Some thought their jokes about death were morbid and inapprioate. But when you were so old and so sick, you had to learn to accept the fact that you would, eventually, die. Once you accepted it and did not feel afraid or sad...well, you just joked about it!

"Poor Sandcloud must have her paws full between us." With so many cats in SkyClan, Sandcloud was bound to be busy. At least she had Frostwing to help her.

[Yoko]

Frostwing had helped carry the little apprentice all the way back to the Medicine Cat Den. He was still learning many things, and today he learned how to tell a sprined paw from a broken one. Much to his disappointment, Smallpaw was only sprained. He would have to find other ways to keep the small apprentice in the Medicine Cat Den.

He smiled kindly at the little tom. "You see, you'll be good as new in no time. Sandcloud and I will see to that!"

It irked him that he would have to leave so soon, just to gather reeds. He wanted to stay and learn, and keep an eye on Smallpaw. He was possessive of the sickly apprentice. He would admit this at least to himself. Those innocent blue and green eyes, that small splash of black on his pink now. Nothing could be responsible for his death except Frostwing himself. He watched Creamfoot enter, intensely disliking her but giving her a naturally sweet and polite smile. His eyes ice clear and innocent looking, as if he had nothing to hide.

He lingered there for a while, listening to the conversation. Then, at last, he unwrapped his tail, which had been around Smallpaw's shoulders and mewed, "Well, I'll go fetch those reeds then. I'll be back soon."

He exited swiftly, his white fur flowing behind him. He would most definitely be back soon.

[Kitty]

The elderly she-cat just shrugged. "My joint always ache, mousebrain," she reminded him. "Comes with old age." She yawned. "Do me a favor and never get old, alright?" With that, though, her eyes narrowed playfully. "Not that you'll make it that long, anyway. I'm going to die first, though, and that's a promise, Smallpaw. If you manage to die before me, I'll go up to StarClan and kill you again!"

It was actually rather morbid, the way they joked about death. But it was something that they did. It was how the two of them bonded. Creamfoot was the oldest cat in SkyClan. Smallpaw was always sick and in the medicine den for some reason or another (like the paw injury he was in there for currently). The two options were to laugh about it or be terrified. Everyone died eventually, and it seemed that for the two of them death was approaching more quickly. Creamfoot felt as if she could die, though. Smallpaw was still so young. But, like Creamfoot always said, "Its all right. I'll see you again in StarClan some day!".

Ah, yes, she may as well have been famous for those words.

"I don't mind taking care of you two, really," the medicine cat insisted, backing away from Smallpaw after she confirmed that his binding on his paw wasn't going anywhere. "It keeps me busy. Better busy than layign about doing nothing, eh?" She stiffened when they started joking around about who'd be joining StarClan first. Sighing, Sandcloud wondered why they always had to laugh about that kind of thing. The two of them didn't seem frightened at all. There wasn't much reason to be, of course, but they weren't in the least bit scared. Quite the opposite, actually, as it seemed that either of them would welcome death with open paws.

It was odd, seeing two cats so far apart in age have so much in common. They seemed as if they were best friends. Creamfoot acted almost as a grandmother to Smallpaw sometimes, and others Smallpaw was the one caring for her. "I really wish you two wouldn't talk like that," Sandcloud murmured. There probably wasn't much point in saying something like that, though. It wouldn't change a thing, knowing them!

[Ki]

Smallpaw snickered at Creamfoot's comment. The black and white apprentice was about to say something in response to the elder when Sandcloud spoke. He flattened his ears against his head and smiled sheepishly at her. Smallpaw didn't really fear death. No. Many times when he was sick he would lay awake and think about it. Death, he viewed it, was the biggest opponent he would ever face in battle. Smallpaw pictured Death to be a giant black dog with long sharp teeth. That was always how he'd looking in Smallpaw's dreams, at least. Most cats could just run from Death. But not Smallpaw. Often he was forced to turn and face Death's fangs and claws. All anyone else could do was cheer him on and give him medicine to keep up his strength.

So far, Smallpaw had won every battle with Death.

How long until he lost?

"Sorry, Sandcloud. But it's true: every cat dies." Smallpaw mewed. It was a fact of life he'd accepted when he had seen the limp body of his brother. "Some sooner than others." He licked his injured paw and flicked his tail. How long before his old friend Death took advantage of this momentary weakness? "I don't fear death. I don't think Creamfoot does, either. When I do die, I'll just go tot StarClan to be with my parents and my brother and sister." What were his parents like, he wondered? Smallpaw never-absolutely never-asked Spottedsky about them. Occasionally he would ask his cousin a question or two, but that wasn't ideal either. Memories haunted both his aunt and cousin to the point where questions about the past were painful. So he relied on stories from other cats. Mostly Creamfoot.

[Kitty]

Sandcloud did little more than roll her eyes at Smallpaw's explanation, except to comment, "Its just a bit of a downer, hearing two perfectly okay cats placing bets about which is going to join StarClan first. Especially when they tend to be in your den when they do it." With that, she turned briskly - satisfied that Smallpaw's paw bindings weren't going anywhere, and padded across the den to sit beside a couple piles of herbs. The medicine cat set to work at sorting them, determining which ones needed thrown out and how many of each kind there were and whether they would need to stock up on more any time soon. She was soon so engrossed in her work that she heard little other.

Creamfoot simply let out a mrrow of laughter. "Ah, Sandcloud, you wouldn't understand," she purred in amusement. "You've never been on the verge of death. Smallpaw here might've even had more near-death experiences than I have had, even in my old age!" Her eyes widened. Great StarClan, did she just call herself old? Why, yes, yes she did. She'd accepted her age a while ago.

"But just because I admitted that, Smallpaw, doesn't mean you'll be the first to join our ancestors!" she meowed, fixing the apprentice with a playful warning glare. When she heard Smallpaw's comments, she paused and straightened up, regaining a serious face. "No, I do not fear death. Death allows me a chance to rejoin my family and friends that beat me up there." Her amber gaze turned towards the ceiling of the medicine den. Her mate, her family, her friends, they'd all joined StarClan before her. "I'm sure my passing won't be much of a problem for the cats here in SkyClan, anyway. One less elder to feed. Its not like I hunted or anything anyway." Creamfoot's voice became pouty as she uttered her next words. "You won't let me." If Sandcloud was standing next to her, she would've been prodded in the side, but she was all the way across the den. "Smallpaw would take good care of me. Wouldn't you, Smallpaw?"