Arrival [Again]

[chaos]

Brackenheart gave the she-cat a muffled smile, flinching when her paw came intact with his belly. " Sometimes.." The brown tom rolled over, batting at Thistlefur's whiskers playfully. " I don't mind really.. Acting like a kit and all. I don't care what others think." Brackenheart was truely a kit in the heart, and no one would stop him from acting like it. Well, almost everyone. He paused for a brief moment to lick his chest clean before continuing to paw at her whiskers.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Sagepaw shifted his weight uneasily as Earthfoot whisked out of the den, unsure of where he was supposed to go. Lightfeather had promised to watch Brindlepelt, and he didn't have any experience, so the apprentice guessed that he wasn't obliged to stay with the two she-cats. A gentle but meaningful look from the gilded white warrior confirmed this suspicion, and he tiptoed out of the medicine den with unsure pawsteps, trailing slowly in his mentor's wake.

Once he was out in the clearing, Sagepaw looked curiously around. His mentor was already disappearing into Specklestar's den, and without any instructions as to what he was supposed to be doing, the small grey tom decided against seeing if he was allowed inside as well. Instead he padded over to the ThunderClan patrol, where Swallowfang and Shadowstorm still sat, and now seemed to be conversing with a ShadowClan warrior. Sagepaw skirted around the large tom and sat beside Shadowstorm, feeling safer next to the Clan's deputy. Wrapping his furry tail around his paws, the small cat waited wide-eyed silence for his mentor to reappear.

[☆ Y e l l o w ☆]

Swallowfang blinked away the thought. No, thank you, she preferred her voles and squirrels. Her eyes narrowed further and her fur bristled a little more. "Ashstar isn't a mousebrained fool." She spat back. "And who would attack a medicine cat? Well, maybe ShadowClan?" Her attention was broken from the ShadowClan cat when she noticed Sagepaw come out of the medicine cat den and wander over next to them. "Sagepaw, what's going on? Is Earthfoot finished yet?"

[nightstorm]

Thistlefur smiled. Her whiskers twitched as Brackenheart batted at them, and her tail flipped over his muzzle. "I didn't think you did. You're right, again. Who cares what the others think. You're only a kit once; live your life to the fullest!" She let out a mrrow of laughter, her eyes twinkling.

Eagleflight shifted his paws, his fur relaxed as ever, despite the hissing she-cat beside him. "I didn't say she was, just wondered. And just so you know, ShadowClan would never attack a medicine cat. It's against the warrior code, which we know very well, thank you." His head swivled around, and his sharp gaze fixed upon Sagepaw, tail flicking. "I wonder how Brindlepelt is doing," he murmured, his cool composure disappearing for a moment, concern evident in his features. The stony facade reappeared within a moment, however, and he resumed his silence.

As Sagepaw sat beside him, Shadowstorm looked down, amusement in his eyes. "You should hear Swallowfang and Eagleflight go on and on," he murmured so only the apprentice could hear. "It's quite entertaining. Toads and lizards indeed." His whiskers twitched with contained laughter.

[. s p o r e l e t t ♪]

Sagepaw cast a subdued glance at Swallowfang, somewhat surprised that the experienced warrior was speaking to him. He supposed he was the medicine cat apprentice now... he certainly wasn't a kit anymore. He would have to get used to warriors talking to him instead of at him. "Earthfoot did what he could for the ShadowClan warrior," he replied somewhat shyly, a rare thing for him. "He's speaking to Specklestar now, though I don't know what they're saying. It's probably something about Brindlepelt... I don't know if she's going to be alright. She was still asleep when we left the den."

Blinking a little at the graphic memory, Sagepaw turned his fuzzy visage away and swept his gaze briefly around camp. There wasn't anything for him to do here... he hardly knew why he'd come. He could barely remember what Earthfoot had done for the ShadowClan warrior, let alone remember the names of the herbs or what they did. The grey tom peeped curiously around the ShadowClan camp, trying to count all the cats in the clearing. It was a simple activity, something suited to a cat of his age and inexperience. He saw a few apprentices, several warriors, and even one or two kits. They looked about his own age, so they might have been newly-appointed apprentices too.

Turning his glass-green gaze back to Shadowstorm, Sagepaw twitched his whiskers in a little smile. Who knew the ThunderClan deputy could joke like an apprentice? The small cat had never spoken much to him before, so he had no idea of what he might be like. It was slightly comforting to sit by his Clan's deputy and pretend all the cats' problems had gone away, if only for a little while.