Medicine Cat Gathering; the first

[guestie]

all your histories like fire from a busted gun[/size]

Tonight. The moon was half-full, a signal that he should be making his way to the Moonpool in the last couple of moments before the sun completely settled into the fine western horizon. He rarely meandered, it wasn't in his mental ability to do so, but for some reason he didn't know how to move in these moments, star-struck by the way that the single day was passing into a cool and dark night. New-leaf was farther into its season, but still he could feel the slight chill of winter shuddering along the lines of his fur. It was kind of uncomfortable, yet comforting all the same. He didn't know whether to enjoy it or to let it pass, a stilled breath coming from his throat as he suddenly rose from his seat at the edge of camp. He didn't look for Icepaw, his newly named apprentice, a quick three-sixty was all that he needed. The camp seemed at ease, the slinking of the warriors and apprentices to their dens bringing a small chuckle from his throat.

Then he was off, dark form blending with the darkening shadows of the pines. He wondered if he would spoke the stark white of his student out here, the trembling form of a child among the blankness of the night. Not that he could even tell the difference between the day and the night, or perhaps he could see the spotting shades of the sun through the clouds of his retinas. Wren did not know, he was not in the same situation.

The sparseness of the ShadowClan territory came to a sudden end when he reached the border between his home stretch and ThunderClan. He needed to get closer to the lake--he almost considered just passing through without anymore qualm--or else whatever patrol he unfortunately stumbled upon would think of some sort of emergency that would force the young medic to be pressing foot against their territory. No, that was not the case, but certainly there was no other reason for the young man to be so far in their forests. They would either direct him to their camp or back to the shore, so in saving himself the trouble, he passed the opportunity to cause havoc and settled into a diagonal stride towards the lake front.

There were little waves today, an effect from the cool winds that had brushed him by earlier, and the pull of the moon on the evening tide. When the water came closer enough to tap on his toes he felt the soaking cold shudder through his system. This was not appreciated, and it only gave him more of a reason to pull towards the forest. But, above the light splashing of the coming waves, there was a trickling gurgle of the stream. A welcome surprise, to him.

He came upon the natural fixture at once, sitting at the edge of the small brook that ran from the Moonpool down the lake. A serene expression was on his face, practically void of emotion, but all the more calm. He would wait here for the other medicine cats to join him, he had all the time in the world to be sitting here, though the agitating rise of the moon would come soon enough. He never loved the company of the other Clans, would've appreciated the Moonpool journey more if it was only he that was going. But, it was under the dictation of the stars that he kept good bonds with the other Clans, a sort of peace maker to all of the vicious things that spouted from their leaders. He could live with that, for now.

[Hamster]

"Hurry up back there, Mockingpaw!" scolded Dappleheart at her apprentice. "The half moon's not going to be here all the time."

Without waiting for the younger cat, she bounded ahead. She could almost scent the border that Zephyrclan shared with Dawnclan. A trickle of the river that fed the Moonpool had somehow seeped onto land, and the calico wrinkled her nose in distaste as her paws squirked on the marshy mud.

Now at a steeper elevation, she unsheathed her claws and dug them into the hillside so she would not slip. Two toms came within eyesight, a strage pair with their pelts of contrasting colors.

"Wrenflight, Icepaw, hello!" she yowled out in greeting to the other medicine cats. She probably should have spoken softer, but it wasn't as if they were a hunting patrol. "I heard that the cats of Dawnclan and Brookclan aren't coming. I wonder why?"

ooc| Silly goose, you used the old clans' names. xD

[shade]

I flicked my tail in greeting, looking up
at the newcomers as if I could see. My fluffy tail was
curled around my paws in a buisnesslike manner,
as I had always favored. I wasn't sure who the new
cats were only that one of their names was Mockingpaw.
As I believe, Mockingpaw's, mentor, has said in an
overly loud voice. With me, though, my hearing was sharp
so I always kept my mouth shut. Good-day," I
murmured softly, my voice barely audible. They probably
cannot make it. Or there are no Medicine cats I added
silently to myself. Thoughts of Talonpaw rushing at
me like a late train.

OOC;; Hope that was okay, I'm still learning how this site works.

[sunniful no one]

it doesn't hurt to say good-bye.
it's been a long winter.?

[/size]
[/center]

Tempted to just cry out and stop sullenly was one of the first ideas that crossed my mind. Being a Zephyrclan cat, I was fast, but I was still one of those late-bloomers, waiting to grow, my legs weren't that long yet. I hissed through clenched teeth and quickly pursued my mentor, Dappleheart. It became steeper and steeper, but here the grasses weren't so long.

Here I could run. A thick slice of moonbeam hit me square in the face, and for a split moment I felt blinded. Had we turned in such a direction that it was different than the moors I had just escaped from? Well finally the ground began to level out beneath my paws and I slowed from dashing along, best I can, to a swift trot. Now I could catch up to Dappleheart. She had stopped a ways up, I could scent the other two cats now. Stealthclan...

Not that I held anything against the other medicine cats, but the scent always got to me and made me feel sick in the stomach. I smiled weakly at my mentor before flashing a grin through clenched teeth at the cats opposite of us. Sorry Dappleheart. I murmured swiftly. Despite my normal actions internally, my outer shell was more quiet and soft spoken. I looked at Icepaw, it took me mere moments to realize that he was blind? His eyes never moved from their position, and well... Nevermind. This all went through my head in a matter of seconds, I didn't change my posture, smile falsely, or stiffen because of what I had just realize. I would have smiled kindly, but it wouldn't have made the difference. I-i, I'm Mockingpaw. I finally mustered after pausing after my ungraceful stammering.

Who are you? I haven't seen you here before? my question was directed at the alabaster apprentice, at least, I think that is what he was... It was kind of hard to tell in distorted moonlight. I looked to be a white pelt with silver splotches and my eyes looked dark green. I knew this because I'd had fallen in a puddle recently at night when I was out for a breather. Once the water had settled I had giggled foolishly to myself about how different I looked at night.

My plumey tail swung wind behind my. So... when are we going to start. I was a tad overly anxious. This was my first after all...

[shade]

I knew, Already, that I made her
feel awkward. I made alot of cat's feel awkward.
I also heard the stutter in her words and couldn't
help but smile. My name Is Icepaw, my mentor,
Wrenflight, is there. I pointed my tail towards
the midnight black tom. I had never seen him, though,
my sister had told me how most everyone looked and
acted. Maybe thats what spereated her from the
bunch and made her my best friend as well as
family.

[guestie]

all your histories like fire from a busted gun[/size]

Wren looked up as the rest of the medicine cats that would be attending showed their faces. There was only one true healer, Dappleheart, but her shy apprentice had followed after her with a bit of a struggle. He didn't note on it outloud, green eyes slipping about her and then towards his own apprentice as the white tom appeared from the same area as he had. Though blind he was effiecent in directions, and so Wren did not worry about what kind of problems he went through to get here. He had made it and that was all that mattered.

When asked his opinion as to why he thought that the other Clan medicine cats were not coming, the tom looked at the stream for a moment. "Perhaps devestating illness or laziness," he spoke of both with no expression, passive face turning towards the apprentices for a moment. "Both of them, this is both their first times..." He let a tilt of his head at the two of them, perhaps they would become good friends because of this fact. They would, afterall, be the medicine cats after he and Dappleheart, they would meet many times after this. "Well, we should go, since neither of the other Clan's have their medicine cats coming."

He turned at this point, leaving the three of them to follow after him or walk at his side. The climb was steep, but it was worth it. Together they could all share dreams with StarClan and be done with this half moon night. He didn't sense anything bad between the Clans or outside of them, but perhaps StarClan would tell him differently. As he began the acension he did not look back to see if they were coming.

[ooc: x___x I know, sorry Hamster. And could we keep to a posting order? It makes things easier to follow (and less like TOP's one where I got lost xD). So it'll be: Me, Hamster, Shade and then Sunni. For the sake of not having any confusion. :3]

[Hamster]

Dappleheart sighed, a bit ticked that the other two clans' medicine cats weren't coming for whatever reason. Seeing Wrenflight out of the corner of her eye as he rised, she followed suite. "Come on, you two," she mewed. Though Icepaw was not her apprentice and thus not hers to order around, it didn't seem as though Wrenflight would turn back to remind his blind Clanmate that it was time to depart for a closer look at the Moonpool.

Forgetting (and not paying quite much attention to the black tom as he spoke) that it was both apprentices' first time to the Moonpool, she went ahead with a brisk walk. Dappleheart could almost taste the water from the pool that would lull her into a sleep, where she could dream about whatever Starclan had intended for her to observe.

She could have caught up with Wrenflight easily, but stayed closer to the apprentices, silently pondering on what this moon's visions would be.

ooc| Shure, posting order does sound like it would be handy-dandy. xD

[shade]

I wondered, pondered, about why
she was staying near us but the only thing I could
come up with was she didn't want me to stumble.
I looked, or pretended to, at my mentor. No, we
were not friends, no we did not really speak. In fact
we almost completely ignored each other. That was
fine with me, I could do without a teacher. I had a
sharp sense of smell and hearing that helped me
out when it came to smaller issues about which herb
to use. How long have you been training together?
I murmured, turning my blind sapphire eyes to Dappleheart.

[sunniful no one]

OOC; ehp, I think its find of funny. A Zephyrclan/Windclan cat that can't keep up because she has short legs? -_- I'm getting tired of first person...

Mockingpaw didn't take notice that her mentor was lingering behind. Being Zephyrclan cat's they were expected to be swift. Being medicine cats most hoped they would really contemplate what they do before taking action. So it was easy for a medicine cat to fall into the middle of the scale. And for someone like Mockingpaw, a small, late-bloomer, it was easy to fall in the slowest category of the clan and really stoop to miss other clan expectations and be named off as lazy. She was more considerate than lazy, but she wasn't speedy either. Her eyes were a bit droopy, she had been working all day, and exhaustion was setting in. Her small jaw fell away from her top fangs as she tried beseechingly to contain her seeping tirement. With no avail. Her cheeks burned, but weren't shown through her fur or in the moonlight. Alright... she meowed in response to the anxious mews of moving on without waiting for anyone else.

Lips pressed together she followed, she was hardly awake, much less paying attention to anyone. Had there been a gaping hole in front of her with a Starclan cat warning 'watch your step!' she wouldn't have heard and fallen in. But because of her struggle she tried to listen, and caught the last words coming from the snow-boy's mouth. Something along the lines of 'training together?' She was about to turn a confused face on him, but then she would feel rude for not fully and attentively listening. So she straightened her features and pronounced, Not long. A half moon perhaps...

[guestie]

all your histories like fire from a busted gun[/size]

The journey, though time consuming, was not one that he particularly despised. It was a good dose of harder exercise, a different path of the days that he currently spent dozing about the StealthClan territory without a clue as to what to do. The injuries brought to him were few, though he was a good healer, and he often wondered if his Clan tried their best not to get injured. Did he seem like he didn't their company that much? He assumed this was so, especially when he just stared out into their masses during gatherings within the Clan and all. He stood, occasionally, beside Darkfire--always close to the rock, that is--but there was never a sense of kinship with the russet tom. He just took his rest there because it was usually very close to their leader and it would look something official. He was fine with that.

"We've arrived..." he glanced back, made sure that they were still there. The Moonpool stood, glistening in front of them and the reflection of the half moon dazzled the surface. He wondered, idly, what kind of dreams their ever present StarClan would send to the other cats. Not that it was his business, of course. He looked back at the felines who he had hoped followed him and motioned his tail towards Icepaw. The tom would be sitting beside him for the duration of this trip, unless, of course, he wished to spend the cold sleep of StarClan with the other new apprentice.

[/size]

[Hamster]

Dappleheart arrived. She didn't just arrive, she almost tumbled into the water, actually. Embarassed as the oldest member of the group, she quickly tried to cover up her mistake and acted as if she was merely too eager to start.

"Come on, hurry up," she mewed, but probably not loud enough for the two apprentices to hear. "The moon's not going to wait forever, you know!" She was echoing her irritated words she had used a while ago with Mockingpaw. Glancing up at the glowing orb in the dark sky, her forehead creased in worry as the moon started to make its descent.

She remembered her first medicine cat Gathering, the day she had been appointed the apprentice of the previous medicine cat. Tripping with excitement over her paws, she couldn't halt her fall and she splashed right into the Moonpool. Of course, she kept this a secret from everyone. There was no need to rouse the Clan into thinking they had chosen such a lousy, duck-footed cat as the next medicine cat.

[shade]

Icepaw walked near his mentor,
His white pelt formed sort of a snoke blend with
that of his mentor. He had graceful paws for one
that was blind. A learned grace maybe but a grace
non the less. Without his sister here he had no idea
what the area looked like, without someone to fill
in the blanks.

[sunniful no one]

frowning in deep frustration Mockingpaw scuttled forward, trying not to scowl. I am hurrying. she pointed out. It wasn't her fault, she couldn't make herself go faster than she was going. Sighing she stopped beside her mentor, her feelings slightly damaged, pride wounded by a deep blow, her shoulders sagged a little, though it appeared to be that she was tired. She tried to keep her spirits up but it was hard, she didn't even feel like looking at the other cats around her. She would've much rather scampered down the hill, went to sleep in her patch of moss, wept some bitter tears where no one could see, and wake tall. Everyone in her family had been tall... Except her. Her mother tried to tell her that she had once been like that, and then she grew. But Mockingpaw could see through that, it was just given to her to make her feel better. And sometimes it did to help to think of her beautiful mother, small-boned, but taller and regal, gorgeous most would say about her... And then... It didn't matter anymore.

She was here and thats what mattered. She counted her blessings and held her breath, looking expectantly up at Dappleheart, the lady she would someday, probably, replace. But she still didn't like thinking of it this way. So she turned her head the opposite way and stared blankly at the water, her eyes as glassy as its smooth surface...

[guestie]

all your histories like fire from a busted gun[/size]

Wren tilted his head to the side as his apprentice gracefully walked along the rim of the pool to stay at his side. He took no time to explain the appearance of the it all, it was a waste to try to recapture such beauty through petty wording. Perhaps, somewhere in his dreams, Icepaw was granted the gift of sight. Maybe he walked alongside the StarClan cats, saw their glistening forms in the pool. Silently he pondered such a capability.

"Let the medicine cat gathering begin..." he muttered, almost biting his tongue. It probably should have been Dappleheart who started, being the oldest and such, but he just wanted to get it over with. He sent a silent glance at the older feline, flicking his gaze in apology before settling down at the edge of his side. He whispered to his apprentice, "Drink from the pool." And though it was murmured it was loud enough for all to most likely hear. He had no intention of embarrassing anyone else, but how else did they expect him to show Icepaw the way?

His tongue touched the water, the reflection of the moon shattered as the water sent ripples. The influence overcame him in seconds, all sense of reality slipped into that frigid chrysalis. Moments later it broke, shattered, and he found himself watching a scene of gathering felines. Loads of them, all together, sitting together, gathering. He could not speak, could not move. All he could do was stand and stare, voice caught in some whirlwind. He could feel no one, see no one. They only brought him this.