[Zero]

Originally Posted by Charmer

Shinefang nodded along with the other tom's news of his clan, gathering what he could about the other cat from this small interaction. Lack of food makes them lighter and faster? Next he'll tell me that dirt smells like fresh catmint too, he thought to himself. There was something odd at the end of his little speech though. An odd twinge of something Shinefang couldn't quite place before it was gone. Unease? Fear? He couldn't say. His ear gave a thoughtful twitch. "Always good news," he replied evenly. At the mention of aching joints, Shinefang looked squarely at Surgestorm, his eye narrowing as he looked the black-furred tom up and down. So here was another thing he had learned: this one had sharp eyes... Breaking the silence with a good-natured chortle, Shinefang replied in a low whisper. "Nothing gets past you, huh?" He went on, speaking at normal volume. "I'll have to remember that for some of the Skyclan elders. Sounds a lot more practical than daisy leaves on the joints," he remarked, remembering Daydream's suggestion. He had only tried it once, and had felt it made him look too feeble to walk around camp with herbs plastered to his own body. "Not all of them want to sit still to have their joints wrapped, but they all like to sleep." He gave Surgestorm a grateful nod, letting the unspoken thanks hang between them.

Surgestorm naturally leaned forward at his whisper to catch it, then sat back with a wink and a widening, prideful grin before the other tom continued on. Not much does anymore, he thought, but refrained from speaking the words aloud. The tom listened thoughtfully as Shinefang explained his previous attempts with his own elders, nodding with a knowing look in his yellow gaze. An intelligent gaze studied the tom before him just as Shinefang seemed to study him - he had caught onto that almost instantly. He figured it was a natural reaction though, it made sense that the older tom would be curious about any one of the medicine cats that he would be working with. Surgestorm certainly wanted to get to know the SkyClan medicine cat as well, already enjoying his company despite their conversation lasting only about 2 minutes so far. He spoke up after a moment, not wanting the silence to stretch too long and become any bit awkward. "If you ever need any help, or need any info, you're always welcome to ask me," He meowed truthfully. The medicine cat almost hesitated before continuing, wondering if his chosen words were a bit too prideful before he even spoke them. "I have all the herbs and their uses memorized." He let himself boast for a few seconds, but then corrected himself. "Or... I'd like to think I do, anyways." The ebony tom chuckled to himself.