Rise And Shine

[:c a i:]

"Hnugh" grunted a very bleary light-brown she-cat as she lay, fully sprawled out in her comfy nest. Her head felt like there were a thousand angry bees swarming around on the inside, and her entire body ached like never before. What had she done? Flung herself out of a tree? Got into a fight with Brackenpelt? She couldn't remember... What was going on? Dewleaf felt her eyes drag open of their own accord, slowly coming into focus as she fought to clear her mind.

"Ah. Good. You're awake. I was beginning to think you were out for the count." Who was that? They were talking awfully loudly... Dewleaf sighed, moving as if to get up and immediately wishing she hadn't.

"Ouch!" She grouched, flopping back with a groan. "WhaddidIdo?" She mumbled against the moss, shutting her eyes again. "I hurt."

"I'm not surprised." Came the amused voice, revealing itself to belong to Shadestripe as the medicine cat padded over to inspect Dewleaf, prodding her gently. "You took quite a tumble, I hear. Never mind. You'll mend. Eventually." Shadestripe let out a dry chuckle, pushing something slightly damp and smelly onto Dewleaf's head, causing her to grumble at him in protest.

"Ow! Shadestripe!"

"Stop complaining. Don't make me send for Silverstripe to tell you how lucky you are."

What? Silverstripe? Dewleaf opened one eye, frowning at Shadestripe. "What?" She asked suspiciously. "What does he have to do with this?"

Shadestripe looked at the she-cat with a raised eyebrow. "Ah, you don't remember. Well, perhaps he'd be able to fill you in when he gets here. I'm sure he'll come and visit again." Shadestripe gave a mysterious wink before disappearing into the depths of his den, leaving Dewleaf to stare at him and wonder whether the medicine cat had been eating too many poppy seeds.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe came out of the warriors' den, his fur ruffled and messy and his eyes dreary. He had gotten more sleep last night than he had the previous night but he still felt tired. Maybe it was because he usually felt tired in the morning, or he just hadn't been able to sleep well. Either way, he hadn't been his best the past few days. Not when he had spent so much time worrying. Dewleaf still hadn't woken up, and each hour that passed made the chances that she would lowered even more.

He glanced toward the medicine cat's den and was thrown back into the memory of what had happened only a few days ago. She had been unconscious by the time he managed to get the both of them to shore. He had tried to get her to speak but she had been unresponsive. When Shadestripe finally appeared to check on her, Silverstripe's eyes had been dull with denial and fear. He had been fearful for her life more than he had ever been afraid of anything. The saying "You don't know what you have 'till it's gone" suddenly seemed to apply.

Silverstripe knew the medicine cat had done everything he could, but it hadn't seemed to be enough. Even after they got her back to camp Dewleaf had still been out cold. He had a shaky sleep that night, kept awake and tossing around out of anxiety for his friend. The next day had been worse, with her showing no signs of recovery. He had started to lose hope.

Silverstripe sighed and decided he would check on her again. Her condition hadn't been any better last night before he went to sleep, but maybe something had happened overnight. He made his way quickly across the clearing until he stood outside of Shadestripe's den, looking in worriedly. Placing one paw inside the entrance and looking toward her nest, he was unprepared for what he saw. She was awake! His green eyes widened in shock and for a moment he was at a loss for words.

"Dewleaf!" he gasped, trailing off and then hesitating. "You're awake! Thank StarClan..."

[:c a i:]

Dewleaf's stomach performed a peculiar sort of flop the moment a very familiar voice broke the silence which had once again fallen in the medicine cat den. She grimaced slightly as she tried to turn her head, provoking an angry throb in her bruised side as she did so, even though there was no real need to do so. She knew exactly who had just come into the den... The thing she didn't know was why on earth he was in here visiting her. As far as she could recall, they were still not on the best of terms...

She fixed her old friend with a wary glance, attempting to pull herself around to look at him properly. Well this was going to be awkward... And not to mention embarrassing. How typical of her to be in the medicine cat den with the world's biggest headache and no idea how she had ended up there. Why was Silverstripe here though? She couldn't say she wasn't glad he was, since she had really missed her friend. And if their positions were reversed, then Dewleaf knew she would have virtually camped out in the medicine cat den to keep an eye on him.

Maybe Silverstripe had decided to get over their fight. "Hello." She said, sounding slightly unsure. "What... What are you doing here?" She asked, subconsciously glancing over to the depths of the den to see where Shadestripe was. Unfortunately, the medicine cat was nowhere to be seen. It was just her and Silverstripe alone... Dewleaf prayed that they wouldn't manage to descend into yet another squabble. Hopefully Silverstripe could tell her how in StarClan's name she had ended up here.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe had thought that her injuries hadn't been too bad, that she'd only been knocked out from the fall and she would be okay when she woke up. But now that she was awake he could see that when she moved she was in pain. How long would it be until she was fully recovered, he wondered, concerned. He would ask Shadestripe next time he saw the medicine cat. Did he even know Dewleaf was awake yet?

Glancing back at her, he was unsure of how they stood. Was she still angry at him for whatever it was that started their fight? Or had she forgotten about it? From the sound of her he couldn't tell either way for sure. Silverstripe stayed where he was, not wanting to do anything dumb and possibly make her more angry. She was probably miserable enough already. "I came to check on you," he simply said, being as careful as he could. "Shadestripe and I were both worried that you wouldn't wake up."

[:c a i:]

Dewleaf's brow furrowed in confusion as she tried to piece together her fragmented recollection of the past few days. What in StarClan's name had happened? She felt more confused than ever now, especially since she and Silverstripe were now apparently miraculously on speaking terms again. She looked at him from her rather inconvenient position, neck craning to keep him in her sights. She sighed impatiently.

"Well get over here so I don't have to twist like this!" She rolled her eyes. Whatever had happened seemed to have put them back on the right track, so she decided to just go with it. Of course, eventually she would have to ask what had really happened, but for now she decided to make the most of Silverstripe's better mood. "So... You're checking on me? Well... Do you want to tell me why I need checking on? I mean, what happened? I feel like I've been beaten around the head by an angry badger, but I can't remember what in StarClan's name has been going on for the past two days. Last I remember is you and I..." Fighting like kits had been the end of that sentence, but Dewleaf left it unsaid.

The small she-cat studied her friend for a few moments. She had to admit; she rather liked the idea of Silverstripe worrying over her by her bedside, even if that was a rather soppy image. At least it meant he still liked her, thought Dewleaf in a rather smug and childish way. "Care to fill me in?"

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe tensed, unable to tell if that snappy order had been her still furious with him or not. Maybe not, because if it had been she would have just ignored him or told him to go away. He stepped further into the den, straining to get a better look at her as he slowly padded over. At last when he was only a tail-length away from Dewleaf's nest, he sat down and curled his tail tightly around his paws.

It was quiet as he tried to think of what to say, forming the story in his mind of what had happened. He thought it hard to believe that she remembered nothing, it was almost as if it had never happened. Of course if it really hadn't then she wouldn't be lying in the medicine den. He looked down at his feet. "You don't remember? It was by the river, you fell in. I guess you must have hit your head because you were knocked out. Luckily I was nearby and I got you out."

Silverstripe paused, wondering how she would take it. "Shadestripe got there soon after and we carried you back to camp. He had no idea how long you would stay unconscious. We were both so worried." She was his best friend. No matter how much they fought, losing her would be devastating. He looked up at her again hesitantly.

[:c a i:]

Dewleaf frowned at Silverstripe for a moment, then rolled over onto her back, realising too late that it wasn't a good idea to be rolling about. Nonetheless, she found a comfortable position and stared up at the den roof, idly waving one paw slowly as she thought about it.

"The river." She echoed, sounding half disbelieving. "You got me out. You." Err... Something was wrong with that image. Silverstripe never got in the river if he could help it, and as far as she knew, they had been fighting two days ago. So why on earth would he dive into the thing he hated the most to rescue her? And why couldn't she recall this? If she was going to be rescued by him, then she at least wanted to remember it, if only so she could come up with a convincing explanation as to why she'd needed rescuing in the first place if anyone asked.

"You rescued me from the river?" Dewleaf rolled back over to scrutinise Silverstripe. "Really." She mulled the idea over, wondering whether to believe him. Maybe he was just trying to score points here. Get back into her good books, and all that. But then he would be far too scared of her finding out to do that... So no. Now she thought about it, she did hazily remember going to the river. Ah, yes. She had been furious. Furious about what, though?

Oh.

Him. She'd been furious at him. That was why she had gone to the river, and that was why she was here. She'd gone to the river, been blinded by anger and gone too close to the edge. And then she'd fallen in. And after that... She could only go on what Silverstripe was telling her. She glared at up him for a moment. "Well it's your fault I fell in! I was so mad at you!" She meowed indignantly, then paused and added grudgingly "but I suppose you did save me. Unless you're lying. Which I don't think you are. So thanks. You know. For saving me." Secretly she was delighted to know that Silverstripe had cared enough to come and rescue her, but she wasn't going to actually admit that. That would just inflate his ego. A little part of her was really quite gleeful, but of course, no one had to know about that.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Dewleaf seemed surprised when he explained what had happened to her. For a moment he wondered if she would ever remember it or not. However he thought more about how surprised she sounded when he said that he got her out of the river. He wouldn't have expected himself to go in but, maybe there was a limit to his stubbornness. He would rather get his fur wet than let someone drown while he just stood there. And he hadn't really been thinking at the time, either.

He bit back a grumble of a retort. Something like "Hey, well whose fault is it that started it in the first place?" Instead he was glad to see that she was still her old self. He also wasn't as angry as he had been a couple of days ago when they fought. Whether they were back on good terms or not he had yet to figure out. "Oh, it's okay. You don't have to thank me." he just said.

"Do you feel okay?" he asked. "Does Shadestripe know you're awake? Maybe I should find him." He started to get up and glanced toward the back of the den to see if he could spot the dark tabby. Would he be able to say when Dewleaf could leave the medicine den?

((Ha, I just realized I wrote the whole post without saying his name. XD))

[:c a i:]

"Huh?" Dewleaf said, only half concentrating on what Silverstripe was saying. The other half of her was in the middle of thinking about being rescued by Silverstripe and whether or not she should be annoyed or pleased that he'd had to save her. Well obviously she was pleased that she hadn't died, but once she got beyond that... Wasn't it rather embarrassing that she'd had to be rescued? Maybe. But Dewleaf found in actual fact she didn't mind. At least, she thought dryly, it was better than her rescuing him, which wouldn't have been an entirely impossible situation. "Shadestripe?" She repeated, returning her gaze to Siilverstripe. "Oh, no, he saw me just before you arrived. M'okay." She mumbled, yawning slightly.

Something was still niggling away at the back of Dewleaf's mind, and she decided to just jump in and say it with her usual to-the-point bluntness. No use in beating around the bush...

"So are we friends now, or what?" She blurted out, staring brazenly at Silverstripe as if daring him to say no. A sudden thought occurred to her: What if he tried to use the fact that she owed her life to him against her? That would be a rather solid ground for emotional blackmail... Better not put any ideas into his head. She nearly chortled at the thought of him trying to bully her into doing his bidding, deciding that they might as well just go back to being best friends. It was much easier that way, really. "Well you don't have a choice, actually. We're going to be friends. Don't care if you're still mad." She told him decisively, following it up with a what-are-you-gonna-do-about-it glare.

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[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe paused and looked back at her, then sat down again. "I don't know," He said. "Are you still mad at me?" What a dumb thing to ask. He wasn't mad at her, in fact the anger just... left. But maybe she was. She wasn't acting like it but he had to ask anyway. Although he was very glad to hear those words. He wanted to go back to being friends like normal. It wouldn't be completely normal, though, until she was no longer in the medicine cat den.

"So are we friends now, or what?" Never had he heard her say something like that. Normally when they argued they just started talking again like it never happened, no discussion needed. So this time they needed confirmation? Something was very different. This wasn't what usually happened, and that unnerved him.

Why was he being so glum? He had to cheer up, he told himself shamefully. Everything was fine.

((Urg, really weird post. X-x *glares at Silverstripe*))

[:c a i:]

Dewleaf gave Silverstripe a look which clearly said "keep up". She sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, Silverstripe, if I were mad still don't you think you'd know about it?" She rolled her eyes emphatically. Toms. They were hopeless. "Besides, it's you who was being the badger with a sore head for days. I don't even know why you were so mad at me!" She protested with an only half-serious glare. She sighed again, regarding him steadily.

"Look. Can't we just be like we were before the Gathering? Nothing's changed, right?" She sounded uncertain, because even though they might not be mad at one another still, it felt like something had changed. It wasn't just comfortable and easygoing friendship anymore. It almost felt like there was an elephant in the room, but they were both steadfastly ignoring it. What exactly was going on now? They'd made up, hadn't they? So why did they both look edgy and uncomfortable.

Well. The question really ought to be why did she look uncomfortable, since it wasn't exactly something she'd never seen on Silverstripe before in times of... conflict. But he was usually very glad when they got over their arguments. Now he looked decidedly gloomy! If only they could just rewind the past few days and sort out whatever it was that had gone so spectacularly wrong...

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe sighed, knowing she was right. He held back an explanation of why he had been mad. It didn't matter much now though, since they were talking again and they usually put things behind them. "No," he said. "Nothing's changed. It's just... weird." He wished he knew why they both looked uncertain. He was probably even more confused than she was.

"But yeah, I want to go back." That was the truth, he did want them to be normal again. But this didn't seem as easy as it usually was, something was different. Why did he keep thinking like this? He should be glad that they were speaking again and that Dewleaf was all right. Maybe it was the fact that she had almost died, he wondered. Maybe he was still in shock from the whole thing.

((I think they need to, maybe, go on a border patrol or something together. To focus them on something other than their relationship. xD But how long will be it be until she's recovered?))

[:c a i:]

((Er. Maybe we should use some super-duper magic-treatment to speed things up a bit...))

Dewleaf shrugged, slightly awkward as a silence fell between them. She wasn't sure what to say; wasn't sure what Silverstripe was looking for from her now. Dewleaf was a very talkative cat, Silverstripe of all cats knew that, but right now she was struggling desperately for something to fill the silence with. For a moment which lasted for far too long, she simply stared back at Silverstripe, unnerved as she tried to figure out what was different. Finally, her sociable nature stopped failing her and she regained her famous ability to babble a thousand words a minute.

"Well, I don't know, we'll just... See how it goes. I don't know when I'll be out of here, maybe we should ask? I don't think it'll be too long, I feel fine, just a bit sore, but not too bad. Is that Shadestripe? Yeah, I'll ask. Shadestripe!" She had barely stopped to breathe through her spoken train of thought. The medicine cat re-emerged from the back of the den, bringing some extra herbs for Dewleaf. He raised an eyebrow as he pushed them to her, earning a displeased look in response.

"What is it this time?" He asked patiently.

"Just wanted to know how long I have to stay in here." Dewleaf pulled a face as she chewed the bitter herbs.

"Eager to leave so soon?" Shadestripe looked amused. "Well I can't tell you when you'll be healed. You can leave when I see you can move about comfortably. And no, that doesn't mean you should start trying to sprint around my den, thank you." he added dryly, seeing Dewleaf make as if to get up. She flopped back with a disappointed sigh.

"Well when I get out, we can go hunting or something." She said nonchalantly. "Sound good?"

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Silverstripe nodded at what she said, agreeing. They should just let things take their natural path like they usually did instead of worrying. He watched as Shadestripe appeared and couldn't help but smile a little. He was felt lucky that he didn't have to eat any of the bitter herbs. It also made him glad to see that Dewleaf was really her usual self, not just around him. There was nothing to feel down about.

"Sure," he said. "Sounds good. I guess I should leave, see if I'm needed for anything." His voice held a bit of a brighter tone, as if talking had put him in a better mood. At least now he could look forward to this awkwardness between them disappearing.

[:c a i:]

Dewleaf nodded reluctantly, sighing as she waved her tail vaguely at Silverstripe. She knew it was selfish of her to want him to stay with her all day, but obviously that wasn't a possibility. It was just, she didn't like being alone for very long, and the medicine cat den wasn't famed for being a terribly interesting place, especially if you were a cat with Dewleaf's energy and chatty nature.

"Okay, but you have to come back and see me later. I don't know what I'm going to do all day..." she muttered, glaring mutinously at Shadestripe, who merely chuckled in response. "It's not like I'll be doing vigorous battle practice, is it?" she then seemed to think of something and her eyes widened. "Oh no, you're going to get ahead of me in training if I don't get out of here soon!" Dewleaf looked genuinely horrified by this prospect. She flopped back dramatically and grumbled to herself, already bored of being in the nest.

((Think that's about it. =/))